Chapter Thirty-Three: The Ghosts of Memories Past

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Ghosts of Memories Past
Oh shit!

This whole encounter with Ember had been a colossal fuck up, Carin thought to himself. It was bad enough that Ember had caught him creeping around her neighborhood, now she had also figured out that he was the one who’d erased her memory.

All he had wanted to do was track down the Lycan who killed his sister and make the son of a gun pay for his actions, but the threads of fate clearly  had other plans; plans that included Ember in ways he never could have anticipated.

“I asked you a question, how did you know my name?” Ember’s question came again. 

This forced Carin to look down at her as she was now crouching on the floor in the middle of the abandoned alley.

“What the hell are you doing on the ground? Get up, Ember”. His tone was firm, with a hint of possessiveness that surprised even him.

“Why do you care? You have not given me a single answer to all my questions and all of a sudden you care whether I am on the floor or not?” Ember’s voice had a biting anger to it.

Carin clenched his jaws and yet again, he evaded her series of questions. “All I want is to find my sister’s ring and I’ll be on my merry way. You can forget all about this after I’m gone”

The anger burning inside her ignited a spark within her and she stood up, her movements swift and decisive. 

She practically screamed her frustration at him, “You don’t get to say that! Tell me why your ring is the same as the one in my memory! Tell me how you knew my name! Just tell me! I need answers!”

When Carin still gave her no answers, her frustration bled into pleading as she spoke, her tone growing more urgent. “Just… just tell me. I just… I just need answers, please”

Carin tore his eyes away from her as his brain scrambled to regain control. Seeing Ember in that position just did something to his mind that he couldn’t handle.

“Ember…”, he muttered, his voice cracking as he spoke.

She approached him with a loud sniff, her face just inches away from his. “Ever since I woke up by the side of that road with my memory scrambled, all I’ve done is obsess over what happened to me. I have asked myself questions that I had no answers to…”

She paused and searched his face for a reaction but his face remained hard set. “… I don’t think it’s a coincidence that we met here. Just tell me what I need to know”, Ember pleaded.

“You ran away and I saved your life. That’s all you need to know” Carin told her matter of factly. 

“Either that, or you kidnapped me, tortured me and took away my memories. If you ask me, I’ll tell you that my own version of the story is easier to believe” Ember retorted. 

Carin sighed and clutched his head in his hands. Ember was being too headstrong about this and he just needed her to stop.

He couldn’t find the words to tell her that there had been a flicker of attraction between them and he couldn’t handle that. That was something he couldn’t even admit to himself, let alone to Ember.

While the thoughts were still tumbling around in his head, Ember’s voice demanded. “I will not let you leave here without telling me the truth, so I suggest that you just tell me already”

He rolled his eyes, totally fed up with Ember’s relentlessness. “Fine by me, I’ll just show it to you then”

Without warning, he cupped her face in his hands, forcing her eyes to stay steady on his. Ember groaned, scrunching up her face as the quick surge of electricity sped through her brain.

The pain crackled through her skull in hasty motions as a loud cry tore from her lips. What were the odds that she would have her brain fried twice in the same day?

As quickly as it had began, the pain stopped, and Ember dropped to the ground. For a split second, she was motionless and then her body began to shake violently as the memories surged back.

With a stoic gaze, Carin watched her, his face showing no emotion. When her eyes fluttered open, he extended his hand and helped her rise. When she was on her feet, Ember took a step back, creating distance between her and the vampire. 

She remembered everything now. It was not much, but it was still a lot.

“Normally, you would need to be very relaxed and more comfortable for the memory retrieval process, but since you were in such a hurry, we couldn’t do that.” Carin said. He observed her and pretended not to notice the rage in her eyes.

“How is your head? Is it good?”, he asked.

“I remember everything.” Ember announced, ignoring his display of care. 

Before Carin could even process her words, she charged at him, hitting his chest with her fists. “Why… why did you do it?”, Ember asked, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

Carin didn’t fight the blows that she landed on his chest. Instead, he hung his head low and let her express her anger how she deemed fit. 

“You!” Ember’s words stung his ears like a vengeful queen bee. “You ruined my life!”

He grabbed her hands and shook his head slowly. “Don’t say that, Ember. I didn’t ruin your life, I saved it”

“I begged you.” Ember screamed at him, unable to contain the weight of his betrayal. “I begged you to let me stay”

Carin scoffed, but it was more out of shame than disdain. He told her, “Werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies. They fight each other, not live under the same roof”

His explanation only served to fuel Ember’s fury further. She replied, “Then, you shouldn’t have saved my life , you should have left me in the woods to the mercy of my pack”

“I wasn’t thinking at all when I did that. You’re right, maybe I should have left you to the mercy of your pack. I should have let them capture you, or even better, kill you” Carin admitted. 

Inwardly, he winced at how harsh his words sounded. All he really wanted to do was have her in his arms. He wanted to inhale her scent and feel the softness of her flesh on his.

“You are such an arrogant piece of shit.” Ember scoffed. Before she turned away, she added.  “And, you were right. Having my memories back doesn’t make your presence any more valuable. You were better off to me when you were a stranger”

Carin winced as the sharpness of Ember’s words cut into his brain. He started to say ‘You don’t mean that, Ember’ but before he could complete his sentence, she was already walking away.

“Ember!” He called after her, but she didn’t turn back.

A heavy and hollow feeling consumed him, and his knees buckled. He dropped to the floor as nothing but the thoughts of Ember lingered in his heart.