Easter~

    I couldn''t breathe. My gaze locked on Jacob, disbelief widening my eyes as if the truth he''d just spoken had cracked the air between us. The moonlight nted through the jasmine vines, scattering silver across his face—so beautiful, so achingly familiar, and now so unbearably distant. My chest thudded with frantic rhythm, like a bird thrashing against its cage, wings battering bone and rib. Around us, the night seemed to dissolve—the glowing spirit orbs dimmed to a blur, the Seine''s whisper faded to nothing. There was only him. Only this moment.

    My curls, damp with night mist and sweat, stuck stubbornly to my cheeks. That blush I could never shake—Jacob always teased me about it—now burned hotter, a fever born of fear and confusion.

    "Jacob…" The word slipped out as a whisper, weak and trembling, carried off by the restless wind stirring the garden. "Say that again. Please… tell me I didn''t hear you right."

    His eyes—those warm, endless brown eyes—caught mine and held me steady, though my world tilted under me. There was no teasing spark in them tonight, no hint of the yful wolf who had once made meugh until my stomach ached. His gaze was deep, eternal, heavy with sorrow, and it frightened me more than anger ever could.

    He reached for me then. His hand—broad, strong, yet impossibly gentle—cradled my cheek, his thumb brushing the heat of my skin like he was afraid I might shatter. His touch carried the tenderness of a

    lover, steady and grounding, even as his words cut through me like ss.

    "Easter, my love," he said, his voice low,ced with something I''d never heard from him before—guilt. "You do have a family. A father. A mother. And… a twin sister. Her name is Melody. They''re real. It''s all real."

    The world mmed into me all at once. My breath hitched, sharp and shallow, as tears welled and blurred his face into a mosaic of shadows and light. I drew back, trembling so hard my knees almost gave way. My thoughts spun like a fog rolling off the river, thick and suffocating.

    Family? A twin?

    How could he say that—how could he hold that truth while I had spent months piecing myself together from scraps of suffering? My memories had been nothing but broken ss—Ruben''s fists, the escape, the hollow silence where pieces of me should have lived.

    And now he was telling me… I had been whole once?

    A spark of anger lit beneath my ribs, fierce and hot, ring until it burned away the fog. I snapped my gaze back to him, betrayal flooding every word as it tore out of me.

    "You—" My throat caught, raw and stinging. "You erased them?" My voice cracked and rose, loud in the still night. "My family, Jacob? You wiped away my family like they were nothing? Like they never existed?!"

    Tears spilled freely now, but they weren''t soft or gentle. They seared. "You told me you only took the nightmares—the memories that tortured me, the ones about you and this world of wolves and spirits I wasn''t ready for. But this—this wasn''t part of that!" My fists balled tight in myp. "This was me. My blood. My life. My sister."

    He looked at me sadly, his sharp features softening with sorrow, those brown eyes dimming like the moon behind a cloud. His athletic build shifted slightly under me, his arms loosening their hold but not letting go entirely, as if he feared I''d shatter. "Easter," he murmured, his voice heavy, "your family... they were horrible people. Truly horrible. You had cut ties with them long ago. Severed every connection, every thread that bound you to them. It was your choice, and it was the right one."

    I blinked rapidly, tears spilling over my cheeks, tracing salty paths down to my chin. Horrible? The word echoed in my head, but it didn''t fill the gaping hole of ignorance. I pushed myself up from hisp then, my legs shaky as I stood before him, the soft grass cool under my bare feet. My curls bounced with the movement, framing my face like a chaotic halo, and I crossed my arms over my chest, hugging myself against the chill that had nothing to do with the night air. "Then why erase them?" I demanded, my voice sharper now,ced with frustration. "If I''d already cut ties, what was the point? Why take away the knowledge that they even existed? It doesn''t make sense, Jacob. None of this does!"

    He rose slowly, his movements predatory yet graceful, like a wolf unfolding from rest, his lean frame towering over me just enough to make me feel protected rather than intimidated. He reached for my hands, but I held back, waiting, my eyes searching his face for answers. The spirit orbs around us pulsed faintly, as if mirroring the tension, and the jasmine scent grew heavier, almost cloying. "During that time," he began, his tone measured, "when the nightmares were guing you—threatening your sleep, your sanity, and the life of our unborn Diane—I knew erasing your memories of me and my world was the only way to save you both. But after I did it... something unexpected happened."

    I tilted my head, my brow furrowing, the blush on my cheeks deepening with the intensity of my emotions. "What? What happened?"

    He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling under his shirt, and he stepped closer, his warm eyes never leaving mine. "You forgot that you''d gotten divorced from Ruben. Because I was the one who helped you through it—guided you, supported you. With me gone from your mind, that milestone vanished too. And I realized... if you could forget something as pivotal as your divorce, you''d also forget cutting ties with your family. I helped you with that as well, Easter. I was there, standing by your side as you broke free from their toxicity."

    My heart stuttered, a knot forming in my throat. "So... you thought I''d go looking for them?"

    "Exactly," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper, filled with protective fervor. "Without remembering what they did to you—the pain, the maniption, the hurt—it would have been too dangerous. You might have sought them out, thinking they were lost loved ones, and walked right back into their web. I couldn''t let that happen. So, I decided to create a new memory for you. I called on Mariel, the dream weaver. She wove a different story for your divorce—one where you managed it on your own, strong and independent. And then... I personally took away the memories of your family. Buried them deep, so you wouldn''t even know to miss them. It was to protect your heart, my love. To keep you safe from ghosts that didn''t deserve you."

    Shock rippled through me like lightning, electrifying every nerve. I staggered back a step, my hands flying to my mouth, muffling a gasp. My eyes widened impossibly further, tears streaming freely now, soaking the cor of my dress. The world spun for a moment—the vines blurring, the orbs flickering—and I felt like the ground was crumbling beneath me. "You... you rewrote my life?" I breathed, my voice breaking. "Created memories? Jacob, that''s... that''s uneptable. How could you y with my mind like that? Even for protection?"

    He closed the distance, his hands finally capturing mine, his touch warm and grounding, like an anchor in a storm. His expression was a mix of remorse and unyielding love, his ck hair catching the moonlight in silvery highlights. "I know it sounds overwhelming," he said gently, his thumbs stroking the backs of my hands. "But I can return those memories now. They''re not tied to the nightmares—they were a separate shield. And now that you know the truth, I trust you won''t go looking without arming yourself with the full story. You deserve that choice, Easter."

    I nodded slowly, my hair bobbing, but the shock still lingered, making my nose wrinkle in confusion. "Why tell me now? Why bring this up at all?"

    He pulled me closer, his athletic arms wrapping around my waist, drawing me into the quiet strength of his embrace. The scent of him—earthy, like pine and wild winds—enveloped me, calming the chaos in my soul. "Because you deserve the truth," he murmured into my hair, his lips brushing my forehead. "All of it. And secondly... you deserve to choose your path. Eternity with me means outliving so much—friends, perhaps even parts of your past. Your family... they''ll grow old and die, just like any humans. I have no intention of offering them the gift of long life. They''re horrible, Easter—they don''t deserve it. But you... you have the right to decide if you want to live a mortal life alongside them."

    I pulled back just enough to look up at him, my eyes searching his face, disbelief etching my features. "A mortal life? But... I''m a werewolf now. You changed me."

    He smiled faintly, a touch of sadness in the curve of his lips, his brown eyes gleaming with depth. "I haven''t marked you yet, my love. Not fully. As a werewolf, you could still choose a shorter path—live out a human span if that''s what your heart desires. You could forgive them, rebuild if you wanted. Go back to them. All I care about is your happiness. I don''t want you sad, not for a single moment. Eternity without joy... it''s not worth it. I''d rather have a lifetime of your smiles than forever without them."

    I stared at him, my mouth slightly agape, like I couldn''t believe the words tumbling from his perfect lips. The romance of it all—the selflessness—made my heart ache in the sweetest way, tears welling anew. He was offering me everything, even at the cost of us. "Jacob..." I whispered, my voice thick with emotion, "you''re... you''re incredible. But this... it''s too much."

    He leaned down, his forehead resting against mine, our breaths mingling in the intimate space between us. "Easter," he said softly, his voice a caress, "do you want those memories back? The ones of your family? I can give them to you right now. But I warn you... it won''t be pretty. The pain, the betrayal—it''s raw. Ugly. Are you ready for that?"

    I hesitated, my eyes locked on his, the world holding its breath around us. The spirit orbs dimmed further, the jasmine vines whispering secrets in the wind, and in that dramatic, depth-filled moment, I felt the weight of eternity pressing down. My blush deepened, tears fell down my cheeks freely, and I squeezed his hands, drawing strength from his quiet power. The choice hung there, heavy and unresolved, like a storm cloud on the horizon.