Shenaya’s POV
I lay awake on my bed looking at the ceiling while the morning sun streamed through the curtains, I felt like I had no heart for it was overpowering me. Aiden had finally woken up after days of unconsciousness, but the man who opened his eyes wasn’t the one who had promised me forever. Now, it has been a week, which had been a week of empty sorrow and true suffering despite the fact that Aiden was alive. A week today he stared at me with that blank look on his face and then walked out with Skylar.
I slid my hands along the edge of the bed where he once slept, and I suddenly realized there was no one. Aunt Belle had tried to reassure me, she tried explaining how Aiden’s memories had returned jumbled, woven with pieces of his past with Skylar. She’d assured me that the things he remembered doing with her were our memories, they were things he did with me, our moments but somehow, he saw Skylar’s face in them. I clung to that explanation, but it didn’t ease the ache. It didn’t make the sight of him leaving any less painful.
The only thing I could think to do now was to confront Skylar. If she had somehow trapped him like she had before, I needed to know. My mind reeled with flashes of their past, the betrayal, the control she had exercised over him. Could she have done it again? The answer is for Skylar to answer. I left my room and made my way to Skylar’s house.
I reached Skylar’s place just after noon. The air was thick, laden with tension and bitterness. Her door loomed in front of me, and for a second, I doubted my resolve. But the image of Aiden, leaving without a backward glance, steeled me. I raised my hand and knocked firmly.
Skylar opened the door with a look of surprise flashing across her face before it hardened.
“What are you doing here, Shenaya?” she asked, crossing her arms defensively.
“I think you know exactly why I’m here, Skylar. What did you do to Aiden?” I ignored her greeting and stepped closer with my eyes narrowing.
“I haven’t done anything to Aiden, Shenaya. He remembers what he remembers. It has nothing to do with me.” Her eyes widened briefly, then she scoffed
“I don’t believe you,” I snapped, my voice breaking with the emotion I had been bottling up. “You trapped his soul once Skylar, you twisted his mind. You could’ve done it again. You’ve shown me you’re capable of anything.”
Skylar’s face softened slightly, a look of pity I didn’t want to see.
“Believe what you want, but I didn’t touch his soul. If you want answers, maybe you should ask Aunt Belle again.”
I took a step forward, close enough to feel the tension between us.
“Aiden remembered everything, Skylar. The moments, the words… everything that was mine was suddenly yours. How am I supposed to believe you’re not behind this?”
She didn’t flinch.
“Because it’s not my doing this time. Aiden… he lost his wolf, Shenaya. Without his wolf, his memories are incomplete. His mind has filled in the blanks with pieces from the past. That’s all I have to say.”
Her words sliced through me, but I held my ground.
“Why should I trust you?”
She sighed, and her expression became unreadable.
“I don’t need you to trust me, if I tried to trap Aiden’s soul again, I would have done that a long time ago but I need you to know that this isn’t about you or me. It’s about Aiden. He’s broken, Shenaya, and he’s lost more than you realize.”
I wanted to argue and yell at her but there was something in her tone that told me she was telling the truth about this. Skylar has done a lot of wrongs in the past but ever since she started training Zoey, she has been on her best behavior. Without further bants, I turned to my heels and left her place.
I found Aunt Belle in the small herbal garden she kept behind the house. She was carefully snipping a few sprigs of lavender, but when she saw my expression, she set the herbs aside and gestured for me to sit next to her on the worn bench beneath the old oak tree.
I hesitated, unsure how to voice the whirlwind of emotions inside me but her gentle eyes were patiently waiting for me to begin.
“I spoke to Skylar,” I said finally, my voice barely above a whisper. “She said it’s because Aiden lost his wolf that’s why he remembers… everything wrong.”
I looked at her, seeking something-anything that might tell me this wasn’t true.
“Is it possible, Aunt Belle? Is it possible that he could come back to me, whole?”
Aunt Belle’s expression softened as she placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Losing a wolf is a rare thing, Shenaya, but yes, it can happen. And without his wolf, Aiden is missing the part of him that knows you as his mate. His memories are… they’re fractured.”
“So, he doesn’t remember me because I’m tied to his wolf?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Does that mean… he’ll never remember?”
Aunt Belle shook her head, and her grip on my shoulder became firm.
“No, Shenaya. The bond you share with Aiden runs deeper than memory alone. If his wolf can be restored, he will remember everything. The love, the vows, the promises you made to each other. They’re all still there, waiting for him to find his way back to you.”
My throat tightened as I tried to process her words.
“How… how can I get his wolf back? How do we bring it back?”
Aunt Belle’s face turned grave.
“I won’t lie to you, my dear. It’s a path few have walked and even fewer have returned from but it’s not impossible. I can gather what I know and reach out to the elders, but it will take time.”
My heart dropped. Time. Every second without Aiden felt like an eternity but if time was what it took, then time was what I would give.
That night, sleep didn’t come. The thought of Aiden so close yet feeling miles away left me restless. I remembered the night we marked each other under the stars, the moonlight casting our shadows together in a bond that felt unbreakable.
But now… now it felt like that bond had shattered, leaving only shards that I clutched tightly cutting my hands but unable to let go.
With Aunt Belle’s promise to find a way to bring back Aiden’s wolf, a sliver of hope nestled itself in my heart. I went back to see her the next morning, her hut filled with herbs and ancient scrolls she had gathered overnight. She looked weary but determined.
“I’ve spoken with the elders,” she began. “There’s a chance, Shenaya. A ritual-a journey that can lead to the heart of Aiden’s spirit. It will take you into his mind, to where his wolf might still be hiding, trapped but there’s risk.”
I swallowed with my hands trembling.
“What kind of risk?”
“It’s possible you might encounter parts of Aiden’s past, memories both his and his wolf’s. You might see things that were never meant for you to see. And if his wolf doesn’t wish to return…” She trailed off, her gaze sympathetic but unyielding. “You might lose him for good.”
Her words stroked my heart as if she punching me but when I closed my eyes I could still see his face and hear the sound of his laughter, I could even feel the warmth of his arms around me. I would brave any nightmare and take any risk if there is even a single chance of having him back.
“I’ll do it,” I said, innocent and determined, though my heart raced as fast as my tongue did.
Aunt Belle looked at me seriously and grabbed my hand.
“Then prepare yourself Shenaya? The journey won’t be easy but if anyone can bring him back, I think it’s you”
I would face every shadow, confront every memory, walk through the fire if it meant that I’d get to the part of Aiden who recognized me, who knew that no matter the odds, we were built to stand the test of time.
“I will take you back,” I whispered again to the silence, solidifying my words with a fervor that even darkness wouldn’t pull out of me. “No matter what, no matter the cost you shall return to me”