"Thank you so much for bringing me here," Anaya whispered, a smile on her lips, as they stood outside the orphanage door, waiting for Aunt Anita. Despite the dark clouds hovering over the Imperial Royale Pack, Icarus kept his promise, and here they were, ready to meet the people who meant the world to Anaya.

"It's nothing, really." As long as it made her happy, he was willing to give her everything.

The door opened, but the lady who greeted them wasn't the one Anaya anticipated. "Hello. Nice to see you here. You want to adopt a girl child?"

"Hi. Um, no, I'm here to see Aunt Anita. I grew up in this orphanage, and she'd looked after me." 

"Oh! My apologies! I mistook you for the couple who called earlier. Please come in. I'll let Ms. Anita know."

Anaya nodded and stepped into the hallway with Icarus. It hadn't changed the slightest. Kids were strewn about the carpet, playing and chatting amongst themselves. A few stopped to cast their curious gazes on them before returning to their own business. Anaya found herself looking at the girl sitting by the window, and she was instantly transported back to her lonely childhood, when she would stand in the same spot and watch couples arrive and depart with different kids, none of them being her.

Footsteps behind her diverted her attention from those thoughts. She turned around, and a grin lit up her face. "I have missed you."

Anita's eyebrows furrowed, a displeased look on her face. "Where the hell have you been?"

She wrapped her arms around the small woman, unfazed by her words. She understood her sentiment and felt her love when she hugged her back. She used to visit the orphanage on Sundays, but she hadn't been here for over a month. It was reasonable for Aunt to be furious. She opened her mouth to explain but stopped short. Revealing that she'd been kidnapped by a werewolf and was living with him would sound insane. Aunt was a practical woman, she would never believe it.

"I-I'm sorry. I was preoccupied."

Anita frowned, her gaze shifting to Icarus. "Is he the reason you left so abruptly?"

Anaya blinked. "How do you know that?"

"Your luggage wasn't there in your room."

"Yeah, I did something stupid, and the owner kicked me out," she muttered, mortified by her actions. "Did you go to my flat? How are my friends?"

Anita's expression went blank. She took a step closer to Anaya and sniffed the air. "Have you been smoking weed, young lady?"

Anaya shook her head, rattled by Aunt's odd question. "What are you trying to say?"

She scrutinized Anaya's face. "You grew up here. You don't own any flat."

Anaya knew old age brought with it the problem to remember things, could that be the case? Had Aunt fallen sick while she wasn't around? She drew in a steady breath to break free from the fear gripping her chest. "I moved out once I got the job at the restaurant."

"Anaya," The old woman grumbled and settled on the chair. "Did you hit your head and lose your memory? You never left the orphanage. You were a cook here."

"It's okay." Anaya's voice softened. "Don't stress yourself. We will call the doctor."

"Do you hear yourself, Anaya?"

"Please, Aunt, I think, um, you have a memory problem."

Anita looked at her and then turned to face the other woman. "You have been here a month. Is there anything I have ever forgotten?"

"Not at all, ma'am."

"What did I tell you about the previous cook when I hired you?"

"She ran away."

"I'm perfectly fine. Please get the doctor, but for yourself."

Anaya staggered back, almost colliding with the wall if it wasn't for Icarus who held her. "No, that's not true," she clarified, her tone growing frantic. "After scouring the internet and applying for jobs, I got hired by the restaurant, so I left the orphanage and moved into a flat."

"Calm down, Anaya. Let me talk to her," Icarus said with a calmness he did not feel. "Are you certain she was a cook here?"

"More than anything." Anita nodded. "She was outside my door when she was three. I sent her to school and college. She graduated in computer science, but she wasn't finding any job. I couldn't see her upset, so I let her cook for the kids. She'd always been around me in the kitchen and learned a lot from a young age. It also made sense because there are more kids than when I had started this orphanage, and my legs couldn't support me for very long. When Anaya disappeared, I was worried. She wouldn't go anywhere without informing me. I even filed a missing report."

"I-I want to leave, Icarus. Please take me to the restaurant. I'll show you where I used to work. You can meet the manager; he hates me because I had turned down his proposal."

"What is the name of the restaurant, Anaya? Where is it located?" Icarus asked slowly. Her head jerked to the right at the tone of his voice. There was hesitation and doubt, laced with something akin to fear.

She met his gaze. "It's Grilled Hub, 1002 Baker Street."

"Are you sure?" Aunt and the other woman said in unison, exchanging glances with each other. "That's an ice cream parlour. You used to bring ice cream for the children from there every Wednesday and Sunday."

Anaya's shoulders stiffened. "That's not possible. It's a restaurant. I have been working there for so long. I'm sure of it." She stepped away from them and made her way out of the door, having enough of their lies.

"Anaya, wait!" Icarus called, rushing after her. He cupped her face in his hands and drew her to his chest. "No matter what we find out, I'm here."

"What do you mean by what we find out?" she hissed angrily and pulled herself out of his grasp, stepping away. She hated the look on his face. "You believe them, not me!"

"Because I know it's an ice cream parlour!" he yelled.

"No!" Tears filled her eyes, and she gripped her hair, pleading with him to understand. "You can ask my friends. I swear, Icarus, I'm not lying."

"Those friends with whom you were dancing that night?"

"Diya, Laura, and Megan. They love me. They won't lie to you. We can go to my flat. Oh no, they must be working right now. We can call them. Yes, please give me your phone."

Icarus hesitantly handed his phone to her. She began to type but paused and shook her head, blinking away the tears as a frustrated scream tore out of her lips. "I can't remember their numbers."

"Let me ask Immanuel and get their numbers from the registry."

She nodded.

"Immanuel said there are no girls with those names working there."

She nodded again, but she wasn't listening anymore. Her fingers shook, and Icarus' phone slipped out of her hand. How could this be happening?

"Drive me to my flat."

When he didn't answer, she looked at him and felt her breath catch in her throat. He was staring at her as if she was someone he did not recognise. 

It cut her deep.

She ran. Ran as fast as her trembling legs could carry her, away from the nightmare before it swallowed her wholly.

She stopped in front of the restaurant, but somewhere within, she already knew what she'd find once she stepped in. The woman who greeted her was Rita, her supposedly landlady. She immediately smiled at Anaya and asked her whereabouts for the past months while she began to pack ice cream for the kids. Anaya stood there, blood pounding in her ears, thump, thump, thump. The sound got loud enough that she could hear nothing else over it. Her vision blurred, and she ran. Again.

Her next and final stop was her flat. The two-storey bungalow she'd come to love over the years was there, and a ray of hope sparked through her. Maybe there was still some truth left. But when she knocked on the door, the couple who appeared were complete strangers. They looked at Anaya questioningly, but she ignored them and walked in, her heart sinking to her stomach. The flat which had once been her home now felt unfamiliar, and that's when the truth really hit her.

She felt terrified. 

She collapsed to the ground on her knees as sobs wracked her body.

The couple stared at her in bewilderment but said nothing. Icarus lifted her in his arms, apologized to them for intruding, and walked out. She clung to him, crying in muffled sobs against his chest, the only truth left in her life. For a split-second, she considered him to be her imagination, a part of her brilliant story because werewolf out of fantasy was laughable, but then his arms around her tightened and he leaned down to plant his lips on her forehead, and the comfort that blanketed over her at that very moment said everything she needed to believe he was very much real. And hers. 

With that realisation, she closed her eyes and let herself fall into a deep slumber.