Chapter : Forgotten Life
Roo's breathing was ragged.
The world around him warped, the towering trees fading into distant shadows as the stranger's words lodged themselves into his skull.
"I'm the one who died for you, Roo."
It didn't make sense.
It couldn't make sense.
And yet—
His body knew before his mind did.
A cold, paralyzing dread slithered through his veins, gripping him from the inside out. His heart pounded too fast, too hard, like it wanted to claw its way out of his chest.
Ace's grip on his waist tightened.
"Roo?" His voice was low, urgent.
Alexander took a step forward, his golden eyes locked onto the stranger with lethal precision. "You have three seconds to explain before I rip your throat out."
The stranger—unshaken, unwavering—just smiled.
Not in defiance.
Not in arrogance.
In knowing.
"You can try," he said, voice barely above a whisper, "but it won't change anything."
Alec bared his teeth, his fangs elongating. "You think you're untouchable?"
"No," the stranger said calmly. "I think you're afraid."
Alec snapped.
In a flash, his claws shot forward—aiming straight for the stranger's throat.
But before he could land the blow—
Roo moved.
Not by choice.
Not by instinct.
By something buried deep inside him.
Something older than the life he remembered.
Something primal.
Something desperate.
His body lurched forward—his hands gripping Alec's arm just in time to stop the strike.
"Stop!"
The word tore from his throat before he even knew he had spoken.
Alec froze.
Ace stiffened beside him.
Alexander's eyes darkened.
But it was the stranger—
The stranger who watched him so carefully, like he had been waiting for this exact reaction.
Like he had known Roo would stop them.
Like he had always known.
Roo's hands trembled against Alec's arm.
He forced himself to breathe.
"I don't—" His voice cracked. "I don't know why, but... I can't let you kill him."
Silence.
Dead silence.
Then—
Alexander took another step forward, towering, dangerous.
"You don't know why," he repeated, voice calm, too calm. "But you want to protect him."
It wasn't a question.
It was a statement.
A cold one.
One that made Roo's stomach churn.
He swallowed hard. "I just—"
"Roo." Ace's voice was strained. "Do you know who he is?"
Roo's lips parted.
But he didn't have an answer.
He shouldn't have an answer.
And yet—
His throat tightened.
His heart ached.
Like it was trying to remember.
Like it was begging him to remember.
The stranger watched him silently.
And then, as if he could see straight into Roo's soul—
As if he knew exactly what Roo was feeling—
He whispered:
"You still dream about it, don't you?"
Roo's entire body locked.
The air vanished from his lungs.
The forest spun around him.
And suddenly—
The memories came crashing in.
A flash of bloodstained hands.
A voice—screaming his name.
A promise—whispered in the dark.
And then—
Death.
Roo's knees buckled.
Ace caught him just in time.
Alec's face twisted in fury. "What did you do to him?"
But the stranger didn't answer.
He just watched Roo.
Waiting.
Waiting for Roo to remember.
And this time—
Roo knew he would.
Roo's body refused to move.
His mind—fractured, unraveling—clawed at the edges of something he couldn't grasp. Something just out of reach.
The stranger's eyes bore into him, waiting.
Waiting for him to remember.
"Roo."
Ace's voice wasn't soft this time.
It was sharp, cold, filled with a tension Roo had never heard before. His arms were locked around Roo's waist, not letting him go.
Alec stood stiff beside them, his fangs still bared, his breathing uneven.
And Alexander—
Silent. Watching. Calculating.
The forest was too quiet.
The wind had stilled.
Even the rogues from earlier had long since vanished, but the air was still thick with the stench of blood.
The stranger took a slow step forward.
Alexander's body tensed. "Don't."
It wasn't a threat.
It was a promise.
But the stranger didn't stop.
His gaze never left Roo.
"You know me, don't you?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
Roo's breath caught.
Alec snarled, "He doesn't know you—"
"I do."
The words left Roo's lips before he could stop them.
The triplets went rigid.
Ace's fingers dug into his waist. "What?"
Roo swallowed. Hard.
His heart pounded loudly in his ears.
Because he didn't know how.
He didn't know why.
But the moment the words left his mouth, he knew they were true.
The stranger smiled. Softly. Sadly.
"I was wondering when you'd remember."
Alexander moved first.
In the blink of an eye, he had Roo out of Ace's arms and behind him, his claws already out, his golden eyes flickering to black. "Then tell me who you are."
The stranger sighed. "I told you already—"
"You died for him?" Alec's voice was like ice. "Then how are you here?"
The stranger's gaze darkened.
"Because," he said slowly, "he wasn't supposed to forget me."
The words hit something deep inside Roo.
Something ancient.
Something buried.
And suddenly—
His vision blurred.
The world around him melted away.
And then—
He was somewhere else.
A different time.
A different life.
And in that life—
He saw him.
The same man standing before him now.
But this time—
He was dying.
Chapter Sixty Memories in the Blood
The past was a cruel, unforgiving thing.
Roo had never asked to remember.
Yet now, it was consuming him.
His breath hitched as the world around him shifted—not the cold forest, not the looming triplets, but something older. Something distant.
A temple.
The scent of incense.
And blood.
Someone was lying before him, body broken, eyes staring straight into his.
That man.
The same man from the forest.
But in this vision, he wasn't standing. He was dying.
"Stay with me—"
Roo heard his own voice but it wasn't his voice. It was someone else's. A past self. A forgotten self.
The dying man had tried to smile. "It was always going to end like this, amore."
Something inside Roo cracked.
The memory shattered.
And suddenly—
He was back.
Gasping.
Shaking.
Ace caught him first. "Roo!"
"What the fuck just happened?" Alec's voice was sharp.
Alexander's eyes were already on the stranger. "Who are you to him?"
The man smiled.
"I told you."
His gaze landed on Roo.
"I died for you."