HANNAH
The sounds of frantic voices calling my name stir me from unconsciousness, their tones laced with concern. I slowly peel open my heavy eyelids, and they widen in shock as I take in the sight before me an older woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to myself, her features mirroring my own. Beside her stands Alex, his brow furrowed with worry.
“You’re awake,” Alex breathes, relief washing over his face as he helps me sit upright on the bed, his strong arms encircling me in a protective embrace.
“Are you okay?” the woman asks, her voice trembling with a mixture of hope and trepidation as she reaches out to touch my arm. Instinctively, I recoil from her touch, my body tensing with a visceral wariness that courses through my veins like liquid fire.
“Stay away from me,” I warn, my tone sharp and uncompromising as I level an icy glare at her, my heart pounding against my ribcage.
“Aura, I’m” she begins, but I cut her off with a dismissive wave of my hand, my anger simmering just beneath the surface.
“My name is Hannah, and I don’t know who the fuck you are, so leave,” I spit out, the words laced with venom. A torrent of questions swirls in my mind a million unanswered queries that only fuel the flames of my rage. How could she have left me in the clutches of Alice’s monstrous parents? Didn’t she know the cruelty they were capable of? And the question that cuts deepest – why did she abandon me in the first place? Each question ignites a fresh wave of fury, and in this moment, the anger coursing through my veins is too potent to allow her presence.
“Hannah!” Alex exclaims, his voice tinged with reproach at my harsh tone, but the woman raises a placating hand.
“It’s alright, Alex. It’s totally understandable for her to be angry. I’ll leave, and we will be staying at the Fairmount Olympic Hotel,” she says, her eyes glistening with remorse and unshed tears.
“We?” I echo, my brow furrowing as I scan the room, realizing she’s not alone.
“Yes, Kevin,” she confirms, and a familiar figure steps into the doorway, his presence sending a jolt through my core.
“I wasn’t dreaming when I saw you,” I whisper, tears welling in my eyes as I scramble off the bed and throw myself into his arms, clinging to him with a desperate fervor. “I missed you so much, Kevin,” I sob, my shoulders quivering with the force of my emotions as the tears stream down my cheeks, dampening the fabric of his shirt.
“Uhmm…” he murmurs, gently disentangling himself from my embrace, his expression one of bewilderment. “Do I know you?” he asks, and my heart plummets, shattering into a million pieces. He looks at me, confusion furrowing his brow. But then I recall his eyes lighting up, shining with recognition when I walked into the room earlier. Could I have been mistaken in what I saw?
“Kevin, it’s me, your sis” I falter, the words catching in my throat as I remember the harsh truth I wasn’t actually his sister, merely an interloper in his life. My heart clenches painfully at the thought, but I push it aside for now.
“It’s me, Hannah. Don’t you know who I am?” I ask, tilting my head in a silent entreaty for him to remember.
“I don’t,” he responds, his voice laced with bewilderment, and my heart sinks once more, a lead weight in my chest. Although I can’t fathom how he’s alive, his claim that he isn’t Kevin leaves me utterly bewildered. Am I simply mistaking him for my brother? It seems impossible, given they share the same face and name. A knot of confusion tightens in my gut as I struggle to make sense of this baffling situation.
“It’s my fault,” the woman’s voice cuts through my turmoil, and I whirl to face her, my eyes narrowing.
“Your fault?” I demand, my tone accusatory.
“Could you wait for me downstairs, Scott?” she requests, and the man I had mistaken for Kevin nods before departing, leaving me reeling in his wake. Scott? Had I truly been so blinded by my desperation to see a familiar face that I confused him for someone else? But she also called him Kevin.
“I have his memories locked, so he doesn’t remember who you are,” the woman explains.
“His memories locked? Why?” I ask, confusion swirling in the depths of my mind, mingling with the maelstrom of emotions that threaten to overwhelm me.
“It was necessary,” she states, her tone resolute, and something within me snaps.
“It was necessary?” I snarl, the words tumbling from my lips in a torrent of rage. “The same way locking mine was?” I can feel Alex’s hand on my arm, his grip tightening in a silent show of support, but it does little to quell the inferno raging within me. Not only had she abandoned me to the cruelties of those monsters, but she had also robbed me of the one person who truly cared for me, stripping away his memories as if they were inconsequential.
She releases a weary sigh, her eyes softening as she regards me with a mixture of sadness and longing. “There is so much I need to tell you, my dear, so much I want to explain. If you would just let me, I would.”
“And there is a lot I want to hear,” I retort, my voice trembling with the weight of my emotions, “but maybe just not right now. Please leave.” I turn away from her, unable to bear the sight of her any longer. A part of me yearns to hear her explanations, to unravel the tangled web of secrets that have shrouded my life, but the rawness of my wounds is too fresh, the pain too acute to confront it all at once.
“Goodbye, dear. You know where to find me,” she murmurs, and I hear her footsteps retreating, the sound echoing in the silence that envelops the room.
The tears I had been holding back burst forth, a torrent of anguish and confusion that wracks my body with tremors. In an instant, Alex’s arms encircle me, drawing me into the shelter of his embrace as I surrender to the maelstrom of emotions that consume me.
“It’s okay,” he soothes, his voice a balm against the turbulence of my soul.
“Why did she suddenly appear now? After all these years, why now?” I sob into the comforting warmth of his shoulder, my words muffled by the fabric of his shirt.
“I don’t know, my love, but…” he trails off, pulling back slightly to meet my gaze, his eyes shining with understanding.
“I know, I know,” I concede with a sniffle, recognizing the unspoken truth in his eyes. “It’s perfect she arrived the same time I found out. I didn’t have to look for her to get my explanation, but I wasn’t ready to receive them. I wasn’t even ready to accept that my parents weren’t mine and that I was one powerful silver wolf.” The words tumble from my lips, punctuated by the steady stream of tears that trace glistening paths down my cheeks.
“I understand, honey, and it’s okay. Take your time. Nobody is forcing you to accept this revelation in your life immediately,” Alex reassures me, his voice a soothing balm against the turbulence of my emotions.
“Thank you,” I whisper, offering him a small, tremulous smile, grateful for his unwavering support in the face of this upheaval.
“You’re always welcome,” he murmurs, drawing me back into his comforting embrace as I bury my face in the warmth of his chest, allowing his familiar scent to calm the tempest raging within me. Yet, our moment of solace is short-lived, interrupted by a sudden realization.
“Before I forget, I can smell your scent now, Hannah. I don’t know what happened, but I can,” he says, his chin resting atop my head.
“I bet my birth mother knows,” I mutter, a flicker of curiosity kindling amidst the embers of my turmoil.
“Yeah, and when you’re ready to find out, just let me know. I’ll set up the meeting,” Alex offers.
“Thanks,” I reply, closing my eyes once more and drawing a deep, steadying breath as I endeavor to calm the raging tempest of emotions and silence the cacophony of thoughts swirling in my mind.