“The cemetery is over there,” Hyde told Rune as he pointed to the left. They couldn’t see it yet, it was obscured by buildings. Hyde wanted to show Rune more of Corburn. His parents were out for the day, too. They were on the opposite side of town, now.

  Rune hummed. “I’ve never been to one.”

  “Wanna go?”

  “Sure.”

  They walked through the graves. It was a big, fenced field. Gravel paths laid between the gravestones, all leading to the centre where a small, stone building stood; a mausoleum.

  Hyde searched through the graves, looking for one in particular.

  “Are you looking for your grandad?” Rune asked.

  Hyde shook his head. “No, my grandma. My grandad’s in there.” Hyde nodded to the mausoleum.

  “Why?”

  “That’s where they put all the alphas. My dad didn’t want him in there, he wanted him to be buried with a gravestone.” Hyde waved his hand to their surroundings. “Like this. Like any ordinary person. But my grandma wanted him in the mausoleum and since she was the spouse, it was her decision.”

  Rune frowned. “Why didn’t your dad want him there?”

  “One big building with a bunch of other people’s bodies feels a lot less personal than a grave.”

  “But isn’t the whole idea behind it that the whole family gets laid to rest together?”

  “Maybe, but it’s not the whole family. Only the alphas. And in my grandad’s case, it’s not even his family, it’s my grandma’s. He isn’t related to any of them, hadn’t even met any of them. At least, until my dad dies eventually.”

  “Right.”

  They walked around the mausoleum with a curve. Hyde still searched along the stones.

  “Is that normal?” Rune asked.

  Hyde glanced up. “Hm?”

  Rune pointed at the small building. “The doors, they’re open.”

  Hyde looked, the two big doors were wide open. He squinted. “I’ve never seen that before.”

  “Should we be worried?”

  Hyde shook his head. “No, they’re probably cleaning it or something. Oh!” He jogged towards a gravestone. He turned back to Rune with a smile. “Here’s my grandma.” He read the text on the stone.

  Vela Walker.

  Loving mother, taken too soon. Reincarnated into her granddaughter.

  He squinted as he realised something. He looked to the mausoleum. He didn’t actually know his grandfather’s name. His dad always called him My father, My dad, Your grandfather. Hyde hummed. He should ask him.

  “Reincarnated into her granddaughter?” Rune asked.

  Hyde turned his attention back to him. “Oh, yeah,” he chuckled. “She died less than a week before my sister was born. And while she was on her death bed, she said if she died before my mom gave birth, they’d know she reincarnated into her grandchild.” He shrugged. “It’s an inside joke, I guess.”

  “Quite a grim one.”

  Hyde looked around the cemetery, then to Rune again. “Want to head back?”

  Rune nodded.

  “We could take the long way through the forest.”

  Rune chuckled. “Okay.”

  Hyde stared at the tops of the trees. It was always so quiet here, only the sounds of nature. The lack of sensory stimulation was nice once in a while.

  The forest hadn’t felt safe the past week. The other pack seemed to have retreated for now; they hadn’t had any more issues, at least. Warlon was still recovering. Perhaps they wanted to wait until he was viable for a fight again.

  But now, it was the middle of the day, and Rune was with him, so Hyde could let himself relax.

  Rune grabbed Hyde’s hand, Hyde turned his face down to it. Rune pulled his hoodie sleeve over both their hands and continued walking.

  Hyde chuckled. “Afraid your hand will burn?”

  “Obviously. But I want to hold your hand, so”—Rune pulled their hands up—“a solution.”

  “Genius.”

  “I know.”

  Hyde flinched and yanked himself around at a sudden noise. There was rustling in the bushes. He tensed and growled as he pulled Rune behind him. He waited for a moment. Nothing showed itself. Hyde stepped closer, Rune followed.

  “Anyone there?” Hyde called.

  No answer.

  He approached the tall, dense bush further. He pushed it out of the way, his eyes widened. A werewolf sat on the ground, his head in his claws and between his knees. He was panting and tense.

  Rune pinched Hyde’s hand. “Do you know him?” he whispered.

  “No,” Hyde whispered back.

  “Doesn’t seem like he’s much of a threat.”

  “Right now, no, but he could be if we startle him.”

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  Hyde let Rune’s hand go and stepped closer. “Hello?”

  The werewolf yanked his head up, then jumped to his feet and growled.

  Hyde took a good look at him. He was tall, slightly taller than his dad, maybe. His hair was short and dark brown, his beard was short but thick, his eyes hazel brown. He had scars on his face; three lines, like a claw. His neck was scarred, too. Hyde couldn’t tell what kind of scar it was. It covered a big surface, a burn perhaps?

  Hyde put his hands up and smiled a little. “Hi. No need to be so defensive, we’re not here to hurt you.”

  The werewolf didn’t relax, he growled again.

  “We were taking a stroll and heard you rustling around in the bushes.” Hyde frowned. “Are you okay? You seem like you had a panic attack or something.”

  The werewolf seemed anxious; his ears faced backwards, his shoulders tense, his claws ready to slash.

  “Do you need help? We could help you find your way home or something?”

  The werewolf shook his head with a grunt as he took a step back.

  “Would it help you relax if I let you sniff me? So you know my scent?”

  The werewolf gave him an unsure look. Hyde slowly approached him and stuck the back of his hand out to his face. The werewolf sniffed his hand. He released the tension on his face, only to replace it with confusion. He stared at Hyde’s face for a moment. He turned away with a grumble.

  He stepped back and grabbed his head. All his extra hair shed, his ears retreated into their regular shape, his claws went away.

  The man let his head go and looked at Hyde, his eyes exhausted.

  Hyde frowned. “Do you have anywhere to go?”

  The man glanced down. “I don’t know,” he murmured.

  “You could come home with us to get some rest?”

  The man considered it, then nodded.

  Hyde gently tugged at the long sleeve of the shirt he wore, the shirt seemed familiar to him. “Come on, then.” He let him go and began walking home with Rune beside him. The man followed.

  Hyde kept an eye on him. He didn’t seem to be registering anything. What had exhausted him so much? What was going on with him? What happened?

  He noticed Rune giving him a concerned look. Hyde only shrugged with a frown.

  “You can rest on the couch for a bit, I’ll get you a glass of water,” Hyde told the man as they entered the living room. The man dragged himself to the couch and collapsed onto his back. Hyde went to the kitchen. He opened a cupboard and grabbed a glass. Rune stood beside him as he filled it at the tap.

  “What are we going to do with him?”

  Hyde shrugged. “We’ll see when he’s rested and not as delirious. Maybe then he’ll remember where he lives.”

  Rune looked towards the man, shoulders tense.

  Hyde raised a brow. “Why are you so on edge?”

  “Unlike you, I don’t like bringing strangers into my house.” He glanced at Hyde. “I know this isn’t my house, but I am staying here.”

  Hyde put his hand on Rune’s cheek with a little smile. “It’ll be fine. If he wanted to hurt us, he would’ve done so in the forest. He’s the one that’s vulnerable here, not us.”

  Rune looked at the exhausted, sleeping man again. He sighed and released the tension in his body. “I suppose so.”

  Hyde rubbed his thumb over his cheek, then went to the couch. He placed the glass of water on the small, square table beside the couch. He stared at the man for a moment, then forced his gaze away. It felt creepy to stare at him sleeping.

  But curiosity got the better of him. He glanced back and examined his face. His short, thick beard had some grey patches in it. He had lines on his face, showing his age. Hyde guessed somewhere in the forties. His hairline hadn’t receded much, lucky him, but it had begun losing its colour at his temples.

  The scars on his face seemed recent. Hyde compared them to his own scars. The man’s scars had a red tone to them, Hyde’s didn’t anymore. He was muscular like the average werewolf, and tall. When they stood, the top of Hyde’s head only reached the man’s nose.

  Hyde squinted. He weirdly reminded him of his dad, for some reason. Maybe because they were both middle-aged, tall, werewolf men.

  Hyde turned his head away and walked to Rune in the kitchen, deciding that was enough creeping.

  They stayed in the kitchen, watching the man and waiting for him to wake up. After a couple hours, he finally moved. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, then propped himself up on his elbows. He stared at the two in the kitchen.

  Hyde went to the couch again. The man moved his legs off it and sat normally. He spotted the glass of water beside him and grabbed it. He took a sip as Hyde sat cross-legged beside him, facing him.

  “Why were you so exhausted?” Hyde began.

  The man swallowed his sip and hesitated for a moment. “I can’t explain.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t know what happened. I just—” The man shrugged. “Woke up. And I was panicking, the last thing I remembered was fighting for my life.” He frowned down at his hand and flexed his fingers. “Then I woke up and I was fine. I wasn’t missing any fingers or eyes, I wasn’t bleeding anywhere, I could breathe. It’s like I dreamt my own death.”

  “O-kay. I’m not sure what to make of that,” Hyde admitted.

  “Neither am I.”

  The man took another sip and looked around the house. He squinted as if he came to a realisation. “Is this your house?”

  “It’s my parents. Why?”

  “This is where I lived.”

  Hyde raised his eyebrow. “What? How long ago? My dad has lived here his whole life and I’m pretty sure he’s older than you.”

  “I—” The man looked down at his glass with tense, furrowed brows, like he was questioning his own reality. “I’m not sure.”

  “Did you hit your head at some point?”

  “Not that I can remember, but it’s possible.”

  Hyde sighed. He wasn’t sure what to do. Should he take him to the doctor? Did he have amnesia or something? Did he remember anything? Wait, he should test that.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Barry.”

  Hyde hummed. He remembered his name, at least. What next, his family?

  “What’s yours?”

  Hyde flinched out of his thoughts. “Hyde.” He pointed to the kitchen. “That’s Rune. Do you remember anything about your family?”

  “Yeah, I lived here with my wife and son.” Barry glanced away. “And his girlfriend,” he added.

  Hyde considered it all. It didn’t make any sense to him. Barry distinctly remembered living here with his family, but Hyde’s family had lived here for decades.

  He recalled all the events from that morning. They visited the cemetery, then found him nearby. Were those connected? Nothing seemed to stand out at the cemetery. Except…

  Hyde glanced at Rune; he’d noticed it first, the mausoleum was wide open. Now, there was a strange man he’d never seen before and the last thing he remembered was his own death.

  Hyde turned to the man again. “Where did you wake up?”

  “Eh,” Barry was unsure. He rubbed the back of his neck. “It sounds insane.”

  “You already sound insane, so get on with it.”

  Barry huffed. “Yeah, I guess. I woke up in the mausoleum, in one of those stone caskets.”

  So Hyde was correct. It happened again, this time in Corburn instead of Enath. It’s like it was following them. But why Barry?

  “Was it like waking up from a nap?”

  “Kind of? Not as relaxed, though.”

  Hyde tensed, his heart sank as he came to a realisation. “Were you alpha at some point?” He must have been, he wouldn’t have been in the mausoleum, otherwise.

  Barry nodded. “Unfortunately.”

  “What’s your surname?”

  Barry raised a confused brow, then said, “Walker.”

  Hyde was quiet as he stared at him.

  “That’s my surname, too.”

  Barry silently stared back. He glanced away, Hyde saw the gears turning in his head.

  “You had a familiar scent on you,” Barry mumbled. He glanced at Hyde’s face. He stared at him, as if to examine his features. “And you look familiar, like someone I know.” He tilted his head and squinted. “Or rather, like a combination of people I know.” He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next question. “Is your father’s name Fallon?”

  Hyde nodded with tears in his eyes. “Are you my grandpa?” he whispered.

  Barry froze. He looked confused, upset… lost? “Seems like it,” he whispered, too.

  Hyde didn’t move, eyes welling with tears fixated on Barry. Was this really possible? He guessed he wouldn’t be the first. What other explanation was there?

  He flung his arms around him, making Barry flinch. He hugged him tight, tears rolled down his face onto Barry’s shoulder. “I never thought I could meet you.”

  Barry only put his hand on Hyde’s back at first, then hesitantly hugged him. “I really was dead?”

  Hyde nodded.

  “How long? How the hell am I alive now?”

  “You died thirty-one years ago, six years before I was born. I think I do know how you’re alive, but it’s hard to explain. It can wait.”

  Hyde let Barry go. “I should get my dad. He’d be really confused.” He remembered Rune’s reaction to his father’s return. “Maybe even upset.”

  “I hope he’d be happy to see me,” Barry commented a little sadly.

  “Yeah, of course, but it isn’t easy to process someone coming back from the dead. Especially someone you’ve grieved so much.”

  Barry frowned. “Right.”

  Hyde stood up. “I’ll be back soon,” he told both Barry and Rune.

  He left the house, leaving Barry to process everything.