Chapter : A Name on the Tip of His Tongue

The night air was cool against Roo's skin.

He stood by the balcony, staring into the dense forest beyond the estate. The moon was high, watching him.

It had been hours since the strange vision—or whatever it was—but the feeling hadn't left him.

That unshakable sense of something missing.

Something taken.

Something he should remember but couldn't.

The wind carried the scent of the triplets, strong and familiar. Roo didn't turn when he felt Alexander step behind him.

He didn't have to.

He could feel him there—too close, too intense.

"You're not sleeping," Alexander murmured.

His voice was deep, steady.

But there was something underneath.

Something strained.

"Neither are you," Roo whispered back.

A pause.

Then—warm fingers grazing his wrist again.

The same place.

The same invisible scar.

Roo stiffened. "You keep touching that spot."

Alexander didn't move. "So do you."

His breath hitched.

He hadn't even realized.

That he had been rubbing at it, pressing his thumb against it—searching for something that wasn't there.

That had never been there.

Had it?

"Roo," Alexander said his name quietly.

Softly.

Too softly.

Like he was trying not to break something.

Or trying not to tell him something.

Roo turned to face him, heart pounding. "You know something, don't you?"

Alexander didn't answer.

But his jaw tightened.

Roo reached for him—for the first time, for once, he was the one reaching.

Grabbing his wrist.

Holding him in place.

"Tell me the truth," Roo whispered. "What are you not telling me?"

Alexander's golden eyes burned into his.

Then—

He opened his mouth to speak.

But before he could—

Alec and Ace's scents spiked.

A warning.

An intruder.

And just like that, the moment was gone.

Alexander turned away, stepping back into the shadows.

Like he had never been there at all.

Like he had never been about to tell Roo something that could change everything.

The scent hit Roo first.

Faint. Unfamiliar.

Yet strangely familiar.

His body reacted before his mind could place it—his pulse quickening, fingers curling into the balcony railing.

"Who is that?" Roo whispered, barely realizing he had spoken aloud.

No answer.

Not from Alexander, who stood rigid beside him.

Not from Alec or Ace, who had disappeared into the darkness below, tracking the source of the scent with lethal precision.

Only the wind replied, carrying that scent closer.

Too close.

The estate's security was impenetrable. No rogue could set foot on their land without being torn apart by the patrols.

So how—?

Roo stiffened.

There.

Beyond the trees.

A shadow, moving unnaturally fast—too fast for a normal wolf.

"Stay here," Alexander murmured, but his voice was too sharp, too controlled—a warning wrapped in an order.

Roo swallowed.

His instincts screamed at him to obey.

To let the triplets handle it.

But something deep, primal inside him—something he didn't understand—refused.

Because that scent…

That scent meant something.

And Roo wasn't sure if it was dangerous.

Or if it was his.

—

Alexander was gone in a breath.

One moment beside him, the next—a blur vanishing into the shadows.

The triplets moved like ghosts.

Silent. Deadly.

Their presence, overwhelming.

Roo hesitated for only a second before following.

His body wasn't built for speed. His Omega instincts screamed at him to run in the opposite direction. To let the Alphas fight.

But his mind—

His heart—

Told him he had to see.

Had to know.

He slipped through the trees, heartbeat thrumming in his ears.

And then—

A voice.

Low. Raspy.

"…I've finally found you."

Roo froze.

The world around him stilled.

A shadow stepped into the moonlight.

And everything inside him shattered.

Roo's breath hitched.

The man stood in the moonlight, his face obscured by shadows—but Roo knew him.

Somehow.

Somewhere.

But no memory came.

Only a hollow ache in his chest, like a forgotten wound reopening.

"…Who are you?" Roo whispered, his voice barely audible.

The stranger tilted his head, silver eyes gleaming like twin slivers of ice.

"You don't remember me?"

That voice.

It did something to him.

It didn't just echo in his ears—it crawled down his spine, sinking into his skin like it belonged there.

Like it had always been there.

"I—" Roo's lips parted, but before he could say another word—

A growl.

Low. Dangerous.

Pure Alpha rage.

Then—

A blur of movement.

A body slamming into the stranger with unforgiving force.

Roo barely had time to gasp before the scene exploded before him—

Alec had the man pinned, teeth bared, claws digging into his throat.

"Who the fuck are you?" Alec snarled.

The man didn't flinch.

Didn't fight back.

He just—stared at Roo.

Not at Alec. Not at the furious Ace standing at Roo's back, nor at Alexander stepping out of the trees, golden eyes burning.

Just at Roo.

"Tell them, little one," the man rasped. "Tell them I belong to you."

Roo's breath caught.

Alec's grip tightened. "He belongs to no one."

Roo should have agreed.

Should have said something, should have denied whatever twisted claim this man thought he had over him.

But his throat locked.

Because deep inside him, something was screaming.

Something was breaking.

Something knew.

And that terrified him more than the man's words.

More than the triplets' unrelenting fury.

More than the feeling that his life was about to change forever.

The forest was silent.

Not even the wind dared to move.

Only the sound of Alec's claws digging deeper into the stranger's throat filled the air, the sharp scent of blood curling around them like a warning.

Alec was seconds away from tearing the man apart.

Ace had already shifted halfway—his wolf raging beneath the surface, barely restrained.

Alexander was deadly still.

The way he always was before he destroyed something.

And yet—

Roo's pulse pounded against his skin, erratic, wild, uncontrollable.

Because the stranger—

He was still looking at him.

Like he knew something Roo didn't.

Like he was waiting for Roo to remember.

"I don't know you," Roo finally forced out, his voice shaking. "You have the wrong person."

The stranger exhaled, slow and steady.

Like he expected that answer.

"No," he said softly. "You just don't remember… yet."

Alec snarled.

"You think we'll let you live long enough to play mind games with him?"

The stranger finally—finally—looked at Alec.

And he smirked.

Not in defiance.

Not in mockery.

In sadness.

"You'll kill me," the stranger murmured. "You won't be able to stop yourselves. And he'll let you. Because he thinks he should."

Roo's stomach twisted.

Why did those words feel like a knife to the chest?

"Enough." Alexander's voice cut through the air—unforgiving, absolute. "Who. Are. You."

The stranger held his gaze for a moment.

Then—

He turned back to Roo.

And he spoke.

One name.

One sentence.

And everything fell apart.

"I'm the one who died for you, Roo."

Roo's breath caught.

Something in his head snapped.

And before he could stop it—

A memory slammed into him.

Too fast.

Too hard.

A flash of blood.

A scream.

A name, lost on his tongue.

Then—

Nothing.

Roo staggered back.

"Roo?!" Ace caught him, alarmed.

But he barely heard him.

Barely saw anything past the sharp, blinding pain ripping through his skull.

His chest heaved.

His vision blurred.

That scent—that damn scent—

It wasn't unfamiliar.

It never was.

The stranger didn't move.

Didn't say another word.

Just watched him.

Just waited.

Like he had done it before.

Like this moment—this exact moment—had already happened once.

And Roo—

Had just forgotten.