CHAPTER 24: CHAPTER 24: RUN AWAY

Damian attempts to wolf out but fails. His form twists awkwardly, leaving him half man and half wolf before his wolf withdraws completely. Even so, he recklessly lunges at Alpha Torrin.

Alpha Torrin meets him head-on, fully aware of his advantage.

Damian is thrown several steps back, his body bouncing savagely against the ground, making him groan in pain.

"This is the perfect chance for you to pay for what you did to me!" Alpha Torrin growls.

Damian’s eyes widen in shock as he turns them on me. "You knew?"

I nod, and shame pulls his gaze downward.

Alpha Torrin charges toward him to finish him off, but I make sure to reach Damian first.

I wrap my arms around Damian, shielding him with my own body.

Alpha Torrin halts just in time before he can strike me by accident.

Disappointment shadows his face. "Why are you protecting him?"

My voice trembles with guilt. "I already severed our bond by rejecting him, thinking it would help me feel less guilty once he’s dead. But I was wrong."

"That’s why I’ll kill him myself," Alpha Torrin snaps.

I shake my head. "Don’t forget what the multi-eyed seer said. Your bond with me may have returned, but it’s still not strong enough to pick up where we left off. Other than that, you also need to regain your will to lead and to protect your pack. Therefore, it’s my duty to fulfill what she said. But I need time to gather the courage."

Alpha Torrin clicks his tongue and turns his back on me out of frustration.

Meanwhile, Damian wraps his arms around me, as if letting me go would kill him. He pleads, "Please don’t hate me for what I did to Torrin. I’ll do everything so that you’d forgive me. I won’t tell dad that Torrin is still alive. Coz if he finds out, he won’t stop until he finds and kills him."

He hesitantly continues, "Dad plans to tell another lie to the pack that Torrin was killed by rogues who recognized him while he was on the run, so the pack would stop hoping that he’d still come back and would eventually forget his fake letter about abandoning us to find himself. It’ll also clear dad’s name from the crime he thought he already succeeded in doing."

"Don’t listen to him!" Alpha Torrin hisses. "You can’t go back. Now that all this is exposed, he’ll only hold you hostage. Come with me instead."

Once again, I hover between the two of them: If I return, I’ll be at risk since Damian would no longer trust me. But if I don’t, it will be even harder for Alpha Torrin to take back what he’s lost; I won’t be able to gather and lead his loyal warriors or try killing Damian when I finally have the heart to.

Suddenly,...

When Alpha Torrin briefly drops his guard, Damian lunges at him again.

They crash to the ground, and Damian forces a drop of what looks like the elixir I heard about into Alpha Torrin’s mouth.

I wolf out and charge at Damian, forcing him to the ground, while Alpha Torrin desperately tries to spit the elixir mixture out.

Damian smirks triumphantly... until he meets my glare.

Slap!

My paw strikes his cheek, the tip of my claws scratching his skin.

"How far will you go to ruin Alpha Torrin just so you can steal what rightfully belongs to him?!" I growl.

Damian snarls back, "If you consider yourself rightfully belong to him, then I’ll go to the deepest part of hell, even if I burn alive."

A chill runs through me. I stagger back, shift into my human form, and gather the scattered books.

Alpha Torrin is right: returning to Damian after this would be a terrible mistake!

I suddenly consider killing him now. Though my wolf no longer protests, my heart still isn’t strong enough to do it. I’m scared that I’m gonna have nightmares if I push through it.

"We’ll meet again. And when we do, I won’t hold back," I say before turning to Alpha Torrin, who’s shifting into human form while clutching his head in pain.

I help him to stand straight, "Let’s go."

Damian’s face tightens with fear as we sprint away. He tries to chase us, but he can barely stand straight. "No! Harleigh! Don’t leave me!"

Alpha Torrin and I quickly hail a taxi as soon as we reach the highway. In the backseat, his skin burns with fever, while his body is limping heavily against me.

"Don’t bring me to a hospital. Someone may recognize me there and report us to Atticus. Let’s book a hotel instead," he whispers.

As he requests, we pull up a few kilometers from the Frostveil territory and book a hotel.

Since our money isn’t enough, we can only pay for a studio-type room, which isn’t big, but just enough for the two of us.

While he lies on the bed, moaning in pain, I dump a wet towel on his face and arms, hoping to ease his fever.

From time to time, I’m anxiously leaning my ear against his chest just to make sure his heart is still beating.

Fear gnaws at me, thinking that the elixir seems to be taking hold of what he’s already restored: a small portion of his memories and our bond.

Night comes, and Alpha Torrin’s body temperature improves, along with his pulse.

I lie beside him, resting my head on his chest, my arm around his torso.

.

.

.

When I wake the following day, the space beside me is empty, sending me into a frantic search for Alpha Torrin.

I rush through the hallway, asking anyone I bump into if they’ve seen a tall, silver-haired man with piercing purple eyes. But no one can help.

Did he leave me?! Or am I just overreacting?!

I race down to the lobby, to the front desk, to the underground garage, but he’s still nowhere to be found.

I climb to the upper floors until I reach the rooftop.

Then,...

My heart beats with extreme relief when I sense his scent.

He stands at the corner, absently staring at the morning sky.

I hug him from behind, making him jerk in surprise. "You scared me."

"You?" he mumbles.

I squeeze my eyes shut, refusing to believe that the elixir worked.

But then,...

He asks, "I’m sorry. But who are you again?"

My heart sinks, tears finally fall as he turns to face me.

"I’m Harleigh Hale, your fated mate. You may not remember me again, but we’ll try together to get through this like we’ve been doing."

"Fated mate?" he echoes, then adds, "But I don’t feel any bond with you."

My heart sinks further.

I explain everything that’s happened: who he is, how we met, and how we ended up here.

Skepticism covers his face, but he says nothing to discredit my stories.

We return to our room. While he quietly sits on the balcony, I prepare our breakfast. During breakfast, I cut his omelet for him, hoping this will help him remember his own habit, but he doesn’t react.

I try to lighten the awkwardness in the air by telling him more stories about the good memories we’ve shared. But instead of appreciating it, or even pretending to, he insensitively cuts me off.

"I’d like to take a shower. Excuse me."

My shoulders slump as I watch him leave his chair and enter the bathroom without even glancing at me just to check how I feel about his dismissiveness.

What should I do? Where should I begin?

Desperation squirms through me, amplified by my wolf’s desire for intimacy.

Maybe intimacy will help Alpha Torrin’s wolf feel even just a portion of his bond with me.

I take a deep breath, then remove my clothes until I’m left with nothing. Trembling slightly, I step into the bathroom.

Alpha Torrin angles his gaze toward me, water dripping down from his head to the rest to his body through the shower faucet above him. Like me, he doesn’t dare cover his n.aked body.

His muscles ripple with each small breath he takes, his ethereal form stealing my breath away.

He doesn’t step back when I link myself to him.

I tip onto my toes, loop my arms around his wide shoulders, and press my lips firmly against his. I kiss him passionately, pouring all of my love into him.

But,...

He doesn’t kiss me back.

Instead, he jerks away and grabs my arms tightly. "What are you doing?"

I swallow. "Trying to restore even just a little of your bond with me."

Though he looks and sounds calm, there’s a tinge of sharpness in his gaze and his words. "You think having s.ex is the right thing to do with someone who has lost his memory? Imagine if our genders are reversed. You’d be considered a predator, a criminal."

"Anyone can pretend who they are in my life, and you’re no exception to that," he adds, before turning away from me.

Shame envelops me as I lean against the tiled wall. Aside from that, there’s the pain of him not trusting that I’m his fated mate, and the anger for being a coward when I had another chance to kill Damian and bring back the old Alpha Torrin I knew and fell in love with.