The man she'd devoted her life to.
The love of her life.
The father of her child, Ken.
Tears poured down Beth's face as the memories swamped her. She gasped for air, trying to keep herself from being swept away entirely, but their pull was more than she could bear. She'd left Ken, abandoned him, but why? Why couldn't she remember any of it?
She'd left him alone, and Joanna without a father, all for what?
The knowledge came with a searing pain like her heart was being ripped out, and she cried out, clutching at her chest.
"Mom!" Joanna's voice was distant now, as though she was calling to Beth from the other side of a tunnel. "Mom, what's wrong? What's happening?"
Beth couldn't answer. All she could do was cling to the memories of her past life with Ken and hope they didn't drown her. But as the pressure in her head ebbed, and the visions still didn't stop, she knew she had one chance to find answers.
She relaxed into the flow of memories. This time, instead of letting herself float in the stream of all the time she'd lost with Ken, she pushed for the truth.
Why had she left Ken?
The stream of memories shifted, and she found herself fully immersed in the memory of a dark wooded area. She knew it wasn't real, it was a memory, but she couldn't feel the vehicle she was sitting in. She couldn't hear Joanna's frantic voice anymore. Had she passed out?
In the memory, she was a wolf, autumn leaves crunching beneath her paws. The scent of blood was heavy in the air, and a sense of urgency made her fur stand on end. She knew she shouldn't since she was alone, but she followed the smell anyway. It drew her further into the woods until she came upon a group of goblins surrounding a young deer. They were laughing and jeering as they tortured the creature, and Beth wanted to be sick.
But it wasn't the dying deer that caused her so much turmoil. It was the goblins.
They were all supposed to be dead. They'd been eradicated from Silvercoast.
The wolf shifters were supposed to be living in peace, and yet, there they were. Their mortal enemies, living and thrivingin the woods around the wolves' home. The goblins' dark brown and gold, warty skin rippled with malice as they began dragging the deer away.
Beth had already stayed too long. She needed to leave, needed to warn her pack that the goblins were still out there, and that they wereclose. Only a few days ago, Beth had found out she was pregnant, and she hadn't told Ken yet. Staying out and risking her baby to the wolves' mortal enemy wasn't a good idea by any measure.
But the goblins were right there! If she had followed them, she could find out where they were hiding. She could make sure she knew exactly where to bring her pack to find the goblins.
So against her better judgment, she followed. The goblins didn't go far—through the woods and around the mountainside, then down a slope to a cave entrance. It was well hidden between mounds of rocks; Beth didn't think she would have seen it, or understood what it was, if she hadn't seen the goblins drag the dead deer inside.
Beth could feel the evil emanating from the nest. It called to her, drawing her closer. The magic tugged on her, and her paws slid forward, knocking loose rocks down the mountainside.
Before she could turn to run, one of the goblins spotted her and let out a shrill cry. She tried to run, but it was too late. The next thing she knew, something struck her in the head and she hit the ground with a whimper, looking up at a tall, imposing figure with dark green skin and sharp teeth. His eyes glowed red in the darkness.
"You should have left well enough alone," the goblin king sneered at her. "Now you'll never see your family again."
The vision ejected Beth at once, and she struck her forehead on the steering wheel when she violently woke from the darkness. With a gasp, she threw her head back, hitting the headrest of the driver's seat instead. A hand flew to her chest, and she slapped her arms and face to find that she was in her body again, that she was whole, and that Joanna was still next to her.
Sweat drenched her body from head to toe, but she was alive. Joanna was alive.
She pulled her daughter into her arms and let out a choked sob. "My little girl," she cried.
Joanna hesitantly hugged her back. "You're scaring me. What's happening? Do I need to call an ambulance? You passed out and started howling."
Beth wiped the tears in her eyes away. The concern in her daughter's eyes was touching, but they had greater concerns.
Now, Beth remembered the life she once had. The one the goblins had stolen from them.
They had to go back to Silvercoast. They had to find Ken and warn him, and their pack, of the danger they faced.
"You want to know what happened to our pack? Okay. Then we'll head out tonight to find them," Beth said.
"Really?" Joanna perked up. "You mean it?"