*~Hazel’s POV~*
"Are you sure you’re not wearing the red dress?" Aurora asked for the hundredth ti.
I turned so fast I almost gave her a full-on glare. "I am not, Aurora."
"I already look beautiful in this," I added, more to convince myself than her, as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
The blue gown Caspian had picked shimred like moonlight over water. It hugged in all the right places. Delicate diamonds laced the bodice, and the off-shoulder sleeves gave a soft, elegant glow to my collarbones. I smiled faintly.
But of course, Aurora wouldn’t quit.
"You know what’s going to fit you even more perfectly? That red dress. It would bring out your hair and your eyes." She gestured dramatically toward it.
"I said I’m not wearing it," I replied through gritted teeth. "Now pack it up and take it to Elder Anna."
"Elder Anna already has her dress."
"Well, Cayden brought this one for her," I countered.
"No, he didn’t. He lied." Aurora folded her arms. "He got it for you."
"Aurora, please don’t stress . I have a whole day ahead of ," I sighed, then turned my attention to my babies. They were already dressed in the most adorable little outfits. My heart swelled. "We’ve waited so long for this, and now you two look perfect. I just wish I knew what your nas were."
I crouched slightly, brushing my fingers against their soft cheeks.
"I thought of a million nas back when I was pregnant, but now? Nothing. My mind’s blank. It’s like... you two don’t need nas," I chuckled softly. "Weird."
Just then, as Aurora was reluctantly packing the red dress back up, Leon walked in.
Aurora stumbled—literally stumbled—and turned her face quickly away from him. I smirked.
He looked between us, holding out the red dress. "Alpha Cayden told to leave this in Luna Hazel’s room."
"Here it is," Aurora said quickly, handing it over. "She’s not wearing it, though. Already put on the blue one."
Leon blinked. "He didn’t say you should wear it. Just that it should be left here."
"Why?" I asked suspiciously.
"I don’t know, ma’am. He just said it was for you," Leon replied, his expression unreadable as he bowed and left.
Aurora turned to , eyes practically screaming "I told you so." I glared at her before she could say it out loud.
"Fine," she muttered, raising her hands in surrender. She dropped the red dress gently on the bed, turned on her heels, and asked, "Are you ready? We should go."
I hesitated. "No. I need to see Cayden first."
She tilted her head slightly. "Why?"
"To talk... about the babies’ nas. And the danger he ntioned. Sothing’s not sitting right with ."
She nodded with that sa softness she always reserved for serious monts. "Alright. I’ll send him straight to your room."
I sat back, a heaviness pressing down on my chest.
Why does this feel so wrong?
Naming my babies — sothing that should be beautiful, sacred even — felt like I was doing sothing wrong. Like I was naming children that already had nas... nas I once knew. My mind spiraled.
I stood up, the urge overwhelming .
I need to see Jonathan.
He promised to co today... promised to tell the truth.
The truth that everyone’s hiding from .
I walked to the window where I had first seen him — the very spot our hands once touched through the glass, as if it were fate trying to stitch together two tilines. I placed my hand on the cold surface, closed my eyes, and willed him to appear. To show up. To tell what no one else would.
But when I opened my eyes...
There was no hand waiting on the other side this ti.
No Jonathan. No answer. No truth.
Just a tight grip around my lungs and the sharp sting of betrayal settling deeper in my bones.
"What if my mories are connected to this?" I whispered. "What if I’ve already nad my babies? What if... I never even lost my mory in the first place?"
The thought made my chest twist.
Maybe I did rember everything after giving birth — maybe sothing happened... sothing big... and then they made forget. Every piece of this puzzle didn’t make sense — and yet, the more I thought about it, the more it started to.
No wonder Jonathan said they’ve hidden so much from .
And if that’s the case, whatever Cayden and his band of wolves are plotting to "protect" — I’ll go against it.
If it ans getting my mories back...
If it ans making this suffocating feeling in my chest go away...
I’ll do it.
Even if it breaks everything apart.
I was still deep in my thoughts when I heard the door creak open.
I turned sharply — startled — only to see Cayden step in.
"You said you wanted to see ," he said softly.
I flinched. My fingers hurt — I hadn’t even realized I’d been biting them again.
"We need to talk about the babies’ nas," I said quickly, avoiding his gaze. "There are two babies, Cayden. Not one. We can’t just show up and stare blankly when they ask us to announce their nas."
"Right," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Any ideas?"
He paused, then offered, "I was thinking... maybe the boy could be Jordan, and the girl... Kaylee?"
I blinked. "What kind of nas are those?"
He raised an eyebrow. "What? You don’t like them?"
"No," I said firmly. "In fact... I have this feeling. This weird, aching feeling... like we’ve already nad them before."
His eyes narrowed, just a little. "Hazel..."
"Don’t Hazel ," I snapped. "Tell the truth. Have we ever talked about baby nas before? Have we... already nad them?"
"If we had, we’d rember," he said calmly, but there was sothing guarded in his tone.
I shook my head. "No. No, I don’t believe that anymore. I think it’s one of the things you all are hiding from ."
"We’re not hiding anything."
"Then explain why everything about my childbirth feels like a giant black hole!" I snapped again, the emotion bursting. "You keep saying I had trauma. That Aurora will explain. But Aurora deflects everything. You all keep pushing things onto her — And I’m left here in the dark. It’s not fair."
He sighed deeply. "Hazel..."
I waved a hand. "No. You’re not choosing Jordan and Kaylee. My babies aren’t going to be called that."
He crossed his arms. "Then what do you want to na them?"
"I don’t know yet. But I’ll know when I feel it."
"Or do you want to na one after yourself?" he asked. "Is that it? Hazel junior?"
I stared at him blankly. "That’s not funny."
He lifted both palms in surrender. "Okay. Fine. You’re right. This is important. But... can we talk calmly? I want us to choose together. Like actual parents."
I swallowed hard. "Then stop hiding things from , Cayden. Stop lying. And if you really want to help na these babies... start by helping rember who I was before you all rewrote ."
He looked away.... And that was all I need to know.
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