Shenaya’s POV
The air was thick with anticipation as I prepared for the journey that lay before me. Aunt Belle’s hut was filled with the scent of herbs, their pungent aroma lingered in the air as she arranged them into intricate patterns around a large circular tapestry. The room was very heavy with energy, the air tingled with the magic that would guide me to Aiden’s mind where I would search for his lost wolf and his broken memories.
“Shenaya,” Aunt Belle said gently to balm against my frayed nerves, “I hope you still remember that this is not a physical Journey. It’s a journey within your mind. It’s a place where memories are intertwined with emotions and spirit. I’ll be here to guide you, but only you can reach him.”
I nodded slightly as I knelt on the tapestry, and my hand began to shake. My thoughts kept drifting to Aiden’s face, his empty eyes when they looked at me. His eyes used to be very warm whenever he looked at me but now they are filled with distance which I hate so much. This journey was the last chance I had to restore what we had lost.
Aunt Belle knelt across from me with a calm and focused face.
“Close your eyes, Shenaya. Clear your mind. Let go of the anger and the sorrow. Find the place within you that connects to him.”
I took a deep breath and focused on the steady rhythm of my heartbeat. I let my mind empty as I felt myself fall deeper and deeper into silence. A dim warmth began to pulse within me, a faint sensation that grew stronger as I concentrated on it.
“That’s it,” Aunt Belle murmured. Her voice was faint as if I was slipping into a distant world. “Follow that bond. Let it guide you.”
Suddenly, I was no longer kneeling on the tapestry. I felt a strange light within me, like I was drifting through an endless void, surrounded by shadows. Then, a burst of light appeared in the distance across the forest. It was a faint, pulsing glow that seemed to call out to me. I moved toward it, and the shadows parted, it revealed a path that led to a forest shrouded in mist.
I stepped onto the path, the ground was solid beneath my feet but shrouded in a mist so thick, it felt like it was alive, I wrapped my arms around myself as I listened the the whispering secrets from the past. The trees loomed over me, very ancient and gnarling, their branches twisted into strange, haunting shapes. It was a place of memories, Aiden’s memories.
As I walked by the images began to flicker through the mist, like ghostly projections cast by some unseen hand. I saw glimpses of Aiden’s childhood, moments of laughter, moments of trauma, and moments of pain. I reached out to touch one, and the image shivered before transforming into another memory, a younger Aiden training with his father as sweat dripped down his face, as he struggled to master his shifting. His father’s stern voice echoed through the trees, urging him to be stronger, and faster. A small smile crept on my lips before my eyes caught another one.
In this one, a younger me was dancing in the rain while Aiden was hiding behind a tree looking at me as I sway my hips to the rhythm of the rain. I didn’t even know he was looking at me on this day that I barely remember now. I remember it was my eighteenth birthday. It was also the day I got my wolf and I was so happy that day so I decided to dance in the rain as that was the only place I could celebrate.
I forced myself to keep moving, the ache of these memories pressed down on my heart. I had come here to find the piece of Aiden that belonged to me, not to linger on the fragments of his past but the path twisted and turned which led me deeper into his memories, each one of his memories became more intense, more painful than the last.
Finally, I reached a clear space, and there he was.
Aiden was standing in the center with his back turned to me, but he looked different, he looked paler and thinner. His body looked ghostly, his head was bowed and his shoulders were hunched as if it was weighed down by an invisible burden.
“Aiden,” I called softly, my voice trembling.
He didn’t respond. He remained still as if he hadn’t heard me at all. I took a step closer, and that’s when I saw the chains wrapped around his wrists, it was binding him to the ground. They glistened in the dim light, it was made of silver and something darker, something that seemed to absorb the air around them.
“Aiden!” I called again, louder this time.
He slightly lifted his head and turned in my direction, his eyes met mine, but they were empty, hollow, as if he was seeing me through a haze of fog.
“Shenaya?” he murmured, his voice was barely audible.
I ran to him with a pounding heart, I reached out to touch his face.
“It’s me, Aiden. I’m here. I came to bring you back.”
His gaze flickered, a spark of recognition flashing briefly before fading again.
“I… I’m struggling to remember you,” he whispered with a broken voice. “Everything is… it’s all wrong.”
I held his face in my hands and forced him to look at me.
“It’s not wrong my love. You remember me-you remember us. Think of the nights we spent together, the vows we made. I know it’s buried deep within you but it’s there. I’m here to help you find it.”
He closed his eyes with a faint tremor running through him as he took a shaky breath.
“I remember… something. Something warm, something real.” His voice cracked. “But every time I reach for it, it slips away, like sand through my fingers.”
I reached down taking his hand in mine. The silver chains around his wrists pulsed with dark, menacing energy, and I felt a jolt of pain as I touched them. It is laced with wolfsbane, this was what had been holding him, draining him of his memories and his connection to his wolf.
“We need to break these chains,” I said trying to steady my voice despite the fear gnawing at me. “They’re keeping you from remembering and keeping your wolf trapped.”
Aiden looked down at the chains with his face etched with despair.
“I’ve tried to break free, Shenaya. I’ve tried so many times. They’re too strong.”
I shook my head.
“We’re stronger. Together, we can break them.”
I closed my eyes to focus on the bond between us, the only thread that tied my soul to his. I reached into myself and pulled on every memory, every moment we had shared, and let the love I felt for him fill me until it overflowed and poured into the chains that made them shatter.
Then the chains started to shake more vigorously and then fractures were seen along the length of the chains. Aiden flung wide his eyes and he squeezed my hand harder, several bolts of electricity started and seemed to intensify between us every other second.
As the noise reverberated through the forest resembling a clap of thunder the chains broke. Aiden tripped and fell to his knees on the floor. I got down on my knees beside him, putting my arms around him, and he leaned his head on my shoulder and cried solid, without a sound.
“I remember,” he murmured and his voice trembled slightly, “I remember everything.”
Aiden’s eyes refocused, He stepped back, The familiar warmth and tenderness of the lover that I’d been missing for days was there, but in his eyes, there was something feral, something of the wolf.
“He’s back,” he said almost reverently. “I still see him; I’m still able to hear him and feel him, it’s just like a voice at the back of my head.”
A low growl from the back of his throat escaped him and his eyes flew open revealing their wolfish amber brilliance. He stared at me with compassion and sexual desire in his eyes. A sense of goosebumps went through me.
“I’m here,” he murmured, his voice laced with a new strength. “I’m whole again”.
The journey back through the forest was different this time. The mist had cleared, the trees no longer twisted and dark, but vibrant and full of life. Aiden walked beside me. His hand was warm and steady in mine and I could feel our bond stronger than ever.
As we reached the edge of the forest, a bright light appeared, guiding us back to the world beyond. I glanced at Aiden, and he smiled with his eyes filled with the love and devotion I had longed for.
We stepped into the light together, and the forest faded away. It was replaced by the familiar surroundings of Aunt Belle’s hut. I opened my eyes, feeling the rough tapestry beneath me, the scent of herbs filling the air. Aiden was beside me with his hand still in mine, his gaze was unwavering.
Aunt Belle smiled, her eyes were shining with pride.
“You did it,” she whispered, “You brought him back.”
I looked at Aiden, my heart swelling with gratitude and love.
“We did it together,” I murmured, reaching up to touch his face. He leaned into my touch and whispered,
“Thank you, Shenaya. Thank you for never giving up on me. On Us”
Tears filled my eyes as I pulled him into a fierce embrace, my heart was finally at peace. We had fought through the darkness, pain, and loss, but we had come out stronger, and our bond became even more unbreakable.
At that moment, I knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, we would face them together.