Page 1 of Reign

Chapter 1

Ember

Fire burst across the sky,the setting sun painting the horizon with shades of citrine, coral, and red as it dipped down behind the expanse of the turquoise ocean. It was mesmerising. Every night I felt it sink, its final flare calling to my soul before the darkness arrived. I bent my legs and jammed my heels on the smooth concrete bench, squeezing my arms around my knees and hugging them to my chest as I watched the blazing orb of the sun shimmer and flash before it disappeared beyond the horizon. Tears burned my eyes, my nails digging into my forearms. What the fuck was wrong with me? I was alive. I had survived. With jerky movements, I swiped at the dampness on my cheeks. But surviving wasn’t living, was it? Yet another day had ended, and nothing had changed, except I didn’t know what it was that I wanted to change. Since my accident, there was a hollowness inside my soul, one that never eased no matter what I did.

The air temperature dipped, but on the Amalfi Coast, the breeze remained warm and was infused with the scent of citrus. I pushed a few strands of my red hair from my eyes and inhaled deeply. All the scents from this beautiful part of the world seemed heightened at night, especially around the time leading up to a full moon. I shuddered, my fingernails scoring deeper into my skin. My headaches and nightmares had been worse than ever since the last full moon. For three nights, as it waned, my head pounded, and my nights were filled with visions of wild animals, monsters and fire.

Pushing those dark images from my mind, I glanced up. Above me, the semi-darkness was a staggering canvas of twinkling lights, as if the gods themselves had taken a brush and showered the heavens with starlight and then added a sprinkle of magic. It was beautiful.

“Hey,” said a deep voice.

It was a rich and sexy sound that had grown on me and was one of the only things familiar to me now. I smiled up at my fiance. His hazel eyes sharpened, honing in on the blood that welled from my self-inflicted nail marks. A soft crease appeared at the bridge of his nose, his brows drawing down.

“Hi,” I replied, doing my best to smile. I was trying so hard to be happy with my life, but this hollowness in me had become much worse lately, more so with the lead up to the full moon. It was strange, almost as if my happiness was trapped inside. Was I depressed? Was that normal after a head injury? I had no idea.

Jed sat down next to me on the small stone bench, grabbed me around my waist and pulled me into his lap. He didn’t usually push the intimacy side of things, but his focus was on my scratched skin. A low growl came from his chest. “What’s this?” His grip on my forearm was gentle but firm.

Yanking away from his grasp and off his lap, I mumbled, "Nothing." Crossing my arms over my chest, I leaned on the low wall that overlooked the terraced gardens of my father's luxurious and well-guarded home.

It seemed I was engaged to the powerful and handsome man behind me, yet I still wasn’t comfortable with such closeness. I hadn’t been since I’d awoken from my head injury. I’d had no idea who I was then, and I still didn’t—not really. My father and my boyfriend, if I could call the tall and ridiculously well-built man behind me a boy, had told me who I was.

During my wakeful moments in the hospital, they had shared my past; photos of me as a little girl, stories of my time growing up here, of our engagement party—of my life, and I couldn’t remember a damn thing. My throat ached as tears pricked my eyes, and one rolled down my cheek. If my life was here, and I had been so happy and privileged, why did I feel so empty—so sad?

Jed placed his big hands on my shoulders. “You’ll remember eventually, Sarah. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. None of this is okay.” I sighed and rubbed my hand on the back of my head, where the pounding always started when I got upset or stressed.

“Maybe not right now, but it will be. Look, I know you don’t trust me yet, but just know that I’m here for you. Whenever you want me.”

I swallowed that ache in my throat and gripped the stone balustrade. “Really? Are you going to spend tomorrow with me then?” My voice was stilted and needy, and I hated it. I didn’t want to need anyone. Did I?

Jed tensed, silence seeping into the air around us. It was a common theme between us since I’d come home from the hospital six weeks ago, or rather I’d woken up in a room in this house. I had no memory of how I got here from the private hospital I’d been in. Jed worked for my father and spent very little time at home during the day. Or at least he spent very little time with me, as he was always with my father, and I got it, I really did. He worked as my father’s security advisor and was always busy, but I was supposed to marry him next year. A pain stabbed through my head and I grabbed onto the wall for support, wincing. I wanted to get to know him. At least, I thought I should try. I was supposed to love him, after all. Mostly, though, I was just so lonely.

The only visitors to the house were my father’s business acquaintances. They were not interested in a young woman with amnesia, who could barely hold a conversation without getting a headache, or who got so muddled in her mind she couldn’t talk properly. After the first few times of trying to be interactive, I’d given up.

My father’s house rested in the cliffs above the ocean. It was a plot of land difficult to reach from any direction other than the single track road that led from the mountainous main road above. The house was a huge place with tiled floors and a minimalist look. Secretly, I hated it. Not the house itself; that was stunning, with lots of glass to appreciate the sea views. But it was so cold—and empty. Oh, there were security people surrounding the property and patrolling around the house, but inside it was hollow. I rattled around by myself, constantly feeling like some huge part of me was missing.

Dad was a rich businessman; property andother interests, he told me. God only knew what they were. He’d promised to show me the business, in time, when he and Jed felt I was ready, but both of them wanted me to rest for now. It was hard to argue when I had no idea what I could even do to help with such a global company. So I spent most of my days walking around the stunning gardens alone or reading books about werewolves and vampires that Jed had bought for me. I wasn’t sure why he’d picked those types of books, but they were fun. There were also beautiful swimming pools, both indoors and out. I used one daily, sometimes twice a day, but I still wished I could get to the clear blue ocean and dive into its cool depths. Unfortunately, there was no way of reaching the ocean, not alone. The cliffs were sheer, and the base of them was rocky and dangerous. There was definitely no jumping. I shuddered. That would lead to more than a head injury.

Jed brushed his lips over my ear, sending a shiver down my neck. I almost pulled away. It wasn’t that I hated his closeness, but I didn’t feel one hundred percent comfortable with it either. Perhaps I never would. That thought alone had ice coating my insides. I had no idea what I would do if that happened. He seemed like a nice guy under his tough exterior, and he’d been nothing but patient with me, but...

“Let me talk to Rex. I’ll do everything in my power to be here for you tomorrow,” he said, his voice quiet. “You come first.”

I huffed a little. “Yeah,’ course I do,” I muttered, hating that I was almost begging him for some attention, but loneliness was a bitch. It didn’t matter how many times they told me my past or how many photos I looked at. I remembered nothing of who I was. And this, all of it—me, this house, my fiance, my father—felt so alien.

I twisted to look into his beautiful hazel eyes. His full lips tilted into a soft smile. “You do. Hey, it’s my job to keep you safe and happy.”

I returned his smile with a small one of my own. What the hell was wrong with me? My gorgeous fiance had just said I was the most important thing in the world to him, that he was going to spend a whole day entertaining me tomorrow, so why did I still feel so empty? Something tugged on my heart, and my chest tightened at the same time as a sharp pain hit the back of my head, making me cringe.

Jed pulled me gently back into his arms, and I tried to relax, to accept his support. “Is your head hurting?”

“Yeah, it’s getting worse, not better,” I confided.

He kissed my head. “I’m sorry. Let’s go in. I’ll get your painkillers. Your father will be home soon, and then we can eat. I’m starving. I’ve not eaten since breakfast.”

I smiled. And this time, it was genuine. I’d never seen anyone eat like Jed. He could pack away the equivalent of two of my meals, sometimes three when he’d been training in the gym below the house with his men. I’d never seen the gym. Dad had instructed it was absolutely off-limits to me until I was not getting headaches anymore. The doctors had informed me that I was unlikely to have a brain haemorrhage again, but I should be careful. Apparently I’d been in a car accident on the road outside our home. I couldn’t remember any of it…for which I’m told I should be thankful. But I suspected that’s where my nightmares of fire came from.

Jed took my hand in his big paw and gently pulled me along. I couldn’t help but smile at his eagerness to get to the dinner table.

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