KIDNAPPED BY MY TRUE MATE

AYLA CROSS

"Doctor, please. Tell me she’s going to be okay."

"She may recover in a few weeks… but the impact to her head was very severe."

I frown, trying to open my eyes, but a sharp pain shoots through my head when I do.

I keep hearing voices very close to me.

I try to recognize some of those voices, but I can’t remember anyone. Everything is so confusing now.

"Is there a possibility of permanent damage?"

"Unfortunately… yes."

I try to move, but everything hurts.

"Are you going to tell her what really happened?" the doctor asks.

"No. Never. And you will do the same, doctor."

"Yes, sir."

I turn my head, slowly opening my eyes, feeling a hand gently touching my face. Then I see a man with glasses watching me with concern.

"Love?" he calls, and I frown before looking around and realizing I’m in a hospital, but I don’t remember what happened before this.

"Who…" I try to say, and he smiles.

"Ayla, love… thank the gods, you’re awake. Can you hear me? How are you? Talk to me, please."

I blink several times, feeling my head hurt even more. I try to understand what’s happening, but I can’t.

The man keeps calling me affectionately, but I don’t know who he is.

"Who… who are you? Where… where am I?"

He stops smiling immediately.

"Ayla, it’s me. Damon. Your husband."

"Husband? I… I don’t remember. I don’t remember you or how I ended up here…"

"That’s normal, love. You fell down the stairs at our house. It was two nights ago. You hit your head very hard."

Fell down the stairs?

"I… I don’t remember that. Not you either. What’s my name?"

"Ayla… Ayla Renwen. Wife of Alpha Damon Renwen. And I’m so glad you’re alive."

Alpha? Wife of an alpha?

I widen my eyes, looking at the doctor in confusion.

I shake my head and then touch my forehead, feeling a bandage, and then my eyes land on the ring on my finger.

I look at my supposed husband’s hand and see a ring identical to mine.

I’m married to a man and I can’t even remember his name.

Oh my God.

I feel tears filling my eyes, and then I feel Damon’s hand on my shoulder.

"I can’t remember anything. What’s happening to me?" I ask desperately.

"It’s okay, Ayla. The doctor said your memories might come back at any moment. You’re going to be fine."

I nod quickly.

"I… I need water…"

He rushes, grabs a glass near the bed, and helps me drink.

I look back at my hands, but something catches my attention when I look at my wrists and arms.

There are purple marks and dark bruises on my skin.

I open my mouth to ask, but he’s already adjusting my pillow, fixing the sheets, trying to distract me.

"Ayla, you don’t remember me… but we’ve been married for years." He forces a smile and picks up a phone. "Look. A picture of us."

I look at the photo, seeing us together, younger and happy.

"It’s from college."

I try to recognize something, anything, but I can’t.

"I…" I stop speaking when the door opens and I see a little blonde girl run in and straight to me.

"Mommy!"

She climbs onto the bed and hugs me tightly, and I widen my eyes in shock.

I look at Damon, who smiles at me before touching the little girl’s hair.

"This is our daughter. Hazel," he whispers softly.

The girl keeps hugging me tightly, and I let her, even though I can’t remember her.

"You woke up, Mommy…" she laughs, and I see her eyes are a mix of blue and gold.

"Damon…"

"It’s normal, love. All of this is normal. We’ll take you home as soon as the doctor allows it."

Hours later, I’m still trying to get used to the idea that I have a husband and a daughter.

Damon arranges everything to take me home, and when I enter the bathroom, I look at myself in the mirror.

Ayla. That’s my name.

There’s a cut on my lip and my forehead, and more marks on my body, as if I really had fallen from a great height.

I remove the hospital gown and leave the bathroom quickly when I hear shouting.

I feel dizzy as I rush into the room and see two guards trying to hold back a tall man running down the hallway.

"AYLA!" he shouts my name.

I look at Damon, who is holding our daughter and looks tense.

"We’re going home now, Ayla," Damon says as the door opens.

The man enters and freezes when he sees me, staring as if I were a ghost.

"Get him out of here! Now!" Damon shouts at the guards.

I can’t move.

"Ayla…" he whispers my name, and I step back as he shakes his head when he tries to touch me.

"Don’t you dare touch her," Damon says angrily.

The man looks at him with fury and then grabs Damon by the shirt.

Hazel runs to me, hugging me tightly in fear.

"You did this! You made me believe she was dead all this time! You’re a monster!" he shouts, ready to hit Damon, who pushes him away.

"Get this man out of here now!"

Damon holds my hand as the man tries to get close to me again.

"Ayla, I don’t know what he did to you, but it’s me. Cael. I found you," he says, his eyes full of tears.

I try to remember that name, but I can’t.

"Please, Ayla. Try to remember me. I’m begging you, my love."

The guards keep trying to drag him away.

I feel tears running down my face as something strange stirs inside me.

"I don’t remember you…" I whisper.

He shakes his head.

"Please! I looked for you for months! I fought for you! I love you more than anything in this world!"

"Ayla…"

"Get out of this room now before I call the police," Damon threatens, and the man looks at him angrily.

"What did you do to her, Damon?" he asks.

I feel even dizzier, almost falling as everything spins around me.

"Damon…" I call, and he holds me quickly.

"Ayla, Damon is not who you think he is. He’s a monster, and he did this to you."

"That’s enough, Cael!"

"Who… who are you?"

"I’m your husband… your true mate. Ayla, you are my wife. You disappeared months ago, and I could never find you. He did this."

I shake my head, unable to believe it.

"Damon, I want to go home," I whisper, and he nods.

Cael tries to get closer and grabs my wrist.

"Let her go now!" Damon growls.

"Please. Look at me. I am your real husband. He kidnapped you. He did this to you. You need to come with me now."

"He stole you from me!" he keeps shouting.

"I… I can’t understand…"

"You have to believe me. You’re not safe with him. He planned everything and made you lose your memory so you’d never remember."

"Enough!" Damon shouts as more guards arrive to remove him.

"Ayla, please!" he begs, crying as they drag him away.

"Let me go! She’s my mate and he took her from me!"

I feel more tears as Hazel hugs me tightly.

Cael’s eyes stay locked on mine, and I can’t look away.

"It’s okay, Ayla. He can’t hurt you anymore…" Damon whispers.

I look at the ring on my finger and then at Cael.

Why can’t I remember anything?

I can’t move.

I look at Damon, who seems even more tense now.

"Damon… what he said… is it true? Who was he and why did he seem to know me?" I ask, confused.

Damon turns to me so fast I almost get dizzy again.

"Ayla, no. No. He’s crazy. A dangerous man. He’s been stalking our family for years."

"But he… he seemed so…"

I don’t know what word to use. Sincere? Desperate?

Damon holds my face with both hands, forcing me to look only at him.

"Listen, love… you just woke up from a horrible trauma. You fell down the stairs, hit your head, were unconscious for two days. Your mind is confused. He’s taking advantage of that. I would never hurt you."

"I…"

I sob, and he hugs me tightly as I close my eyes.

"You’re safe now. I’m here. I’d never let anyone hurt you."

I feel strange. Not completely safe. Not completely in danger. Just… lost. As if my body doesn’t know who it belongs to.

"Let’s go home, my love," he whispers, and I nod.

I can’t remember any detail of my life, but I never imagined I lived in a mansion like this.

I enter the house with Damon and Hazel, looking around at everything.

We’re rich, I guess.

There are paintings on the walls and photos of when Hazel was a baby.

I try to remember something. Anything.

"Mommy, do you want to play dolls with me now?" Hazel asks, and I smile, but before I can answer, Damon does.

"Mommy is still recovering and can’t make any effort, Hazel. Go play in your room, sweetheart."

She nods and runs off.

God, I have a daughter.

"Can you remember anything now?" he asks, and I shake my head.

I look at the long staircase in the living room and feel something strange.

Could falling from there really cause all of this?

"Hey… don’t think about that now. It was a terrible accident, but you’re here now."

I try to smile back. He seems to believe it so much that for a moment, I do too.

He starts showing me the house.

When we reach the bedroom, my heart stops for a second when I see our bed.

Photos are scattered across the dresser.

I step closer and realize they all seem to be from many years ago. College. Old parties. Trips I don’t recognize.

"No recent photos…" I say without thinking.

Damon smiles, trying to seem natural.

"You always hated taking pictures, love."

I nod, as if accepting it. Maybe I really did. Maybe.

"I’ll run a hot bath for you. You need to relax."

When he leaves, I start searching through everything, trying to find something that makes me remember my life, but nothing does.

My head starts to hurt again. I place my hand on my forehead, leaning against the wall.

The door opens and Hazel enters holding a new doll.

"Mommy! Do you want to see the new doll Daddy bought?" she asks, and I kneel down to her level.

I touch her hair and nod as she shows me the doll.

"Mommy, can we play just a little now?" she asks again.

"Sweetheart, Mommy is too tired to play right now."

Hazel looks at me with teary eyes and runs away.

"Hazel!" I call, feeling my head hurt even more.

"You didn’t need to say it like that," I whisper to Damon.

He sighs.

"I just want you to rest. Don’t take too long. Dinner’s ready," he says, kissing my forehead quickly before leaving the room.

While I shower, I still feel like something is wrong, but I don’t know what.

I put on other clothes and go downstairs, hearing Hazel’s laughter coming from the dining room.

I sit at the table, feeling Damon watching me the whole time.

I try to eat, but I can’t.

"Who was that man at the hospital, really?"

Damon chews before answering.

"A madman. He stalked our family for years. Obsession. You rejected him a long time ago… and he didn’t take it well."

I nod and go back to eating.

After dinner, I take our daughter to her room.

She’s sleepy but happy that I’m there.

I lay her in bed, and when I get up, she holds my hand.

"Mommy… tell me my favorite story?"

"I…"

The truth is I can’t even remember it, and I feel awful.

Hazel smiles and grabs a book before handing it to me.

I smile and lie down beside her.

When she falls asleep, I kiss her forehead.

"I wish I could remember you. I really do…"

When I return to the bedroom, Damon is taking off his shirt.

I stop and just watch him.

He’s handsome.

The kind of man anyone would find irresistible.

"You always looked at me like that, you know?" he teases with a smile.

I feel my face heat up when Damon approaches and touches my face.

"You don’t have to be shy with me, love…"

His mouth is about to kiss me, but something inside me shifts suddenly.

I turn my face away before he can kiss me.

"I… I’m in pain," I say quickly.

"Of course. I understand."

When I try to sleep, I feel him behind me, his arms around my body.

He seems asleep, but I can’t sleep.

My eyes fix on the ring on my finger and the marks on my skin.

Everything feels too confusing.

I turn my head and look at Damon sleeping, his arm tight around my waist as if I might run away.

What really happened in this house?

AYLA CROSS

Flashback on:

"I’m pregnant…" I whisper in shock, staring at the pregnancy test in my hands.

"My God… I’m pregnant…"

I turn around, expecting to see Damon behind me.

But the man… isn’t Damon.

It’s Cael.

He smiles happily before kissing me and pulling me into his arms.

"You’re going to be a dad, Cael…" I whisper, emotional.

Then his hand slides to my belly.

"My love… this is the best day of my life."

"We’re going to be great parents…" he whispers against my lips, and I nod, laughing.

Cael lifts me up and spins me around.

And then everything disappears, and when I open my eyes, I’m running.

I’m running from something… or someone.

"AYLA!"

Damon.

But he’s not calling me. He’s screaming. He’s furious.

I run faster, looking back and seeing him chasing me.

"YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME! YOU’RE MINE! YOU’RE MY WIFE!"

"LEAVE