Chapter 12 Memory Wipe

Chapter 12 Memory Wipe
Verona

Soren walked straight to a table, the soft clink of glass echoing as he poured himself water. Evan’s voice followed, layered with tension and worry.
“We didn’t take her to the human world to protect her only for her to come back and be mated—and thrown into politics which would lead her to dangerous scenarios."

I stilled.
If I’m guessing right… he’s talking about me.
Taken to the human world for protection?
Was I really that significant?

“Your mate… as I’ll presume, she’s dead now,” Soren said as he set the glass down after gulping down water. He turned fully toward Evan, his expression firm. “She did what was best for your family, Evan. She protected the only legacy of your house after your son’s disappearance.”

My eyes flew open.
A legacy? A family?
Are they saying I have a father who’s alive?

“But if he hears of her return, Your Majesty,” Evan replied, jaw tight, “you and I both know he’ll try to kill her. And her being your mate only makes it worse.”

I blinked fast, staring at the two men—who had clearly forgotten I was sitting right here, listening to them talk about my father wanting to kill me.

“Who wants to kill who?” I blurted out.

They both looked at me in perfect sync.
“No one,” Soren said quickly.

But I wasn’t deaf. I heard them.
My father… wants to kill me?

I turned to Evan, who swallowed hard and avoided my eyes.
“I believe we’ve said too much,” he muttered.

Too much?
I needed answers, not silence.

“Evan, leave us,” Soren commanded.
Evan bowed, but before he walked out, he looked at me as if he wanted to say something—something he wasn’t allowed to.

“Why are you dismissing him?” I asked, but no one answered.
Evan simply left, closing the door behind him.

The moment the latch clicked, frustration burned in my chest. They didn’t want to tell me anything. Just like the last time I asked about my parents and Evan had brushed it off.

Soren approached slowly. He stretched out his hand for me to take, and when I placed my palm over his, his hand felt warm—too warm.

“There are some things,” he said with a soft smile, “that are better left unknown.”

Before I could snap at him for that vague nonsense, a sudden bolt of lightning shot through me—straight from his hand into my skull. My body jerked, not painfully, but sharply enough to grip me with discomfort. After a moment it faded, and I pulled my hand away quickly.

“What was that?” I gasped, eyes widening.

“Oh, I just helped with your headache,” he replied calmly, his smile returning as if nothing had happened.

I opened my mouth to ask the question again—the one burning at the tip of my mind.

But…
What question?

I frowned.
I searched my thoughts.
It was right there—something about what he and Evan said.

But the memory…
was gone.

I remembered wanting answers.
But I couldn’t remember what I needed answers to.

“Is your headache gone now?” he asked.

I reached up and touched my head.
Indeed… it was gone.
A breath slipped out of me, relieved but still slightly off balance.
“Yes… I don’t know what you did, but thank you all the same,” I said, still feeling a little disoriented.

“Good,” he replied, that deep masculine voice curling around the word.

Then he lowered himself, crouching until he was at my eye level. His golden eyes locked on mine—steady, intense—as if he was searching for something he misplaced inside me.

“For today, I shall allow you go with your grandfather,” he said softly. “And I’ll do my best to help you get to know me. I’ll court you like a proper lady. But for now, I need to put my house in order… before I can bring you here.”

I blinked at him, stunned by how casually, how soothingly he spoke—as if this was the most normal conversation in the world.

“So yes,” he continued, “I’ll visit you in Evan’s from time to time. And when I do… don’t run from me.”

His voice dropped even lower—smooth, warm, and far too tempting.
With his handsome face so close, those dangerously captivating golden eyes staring into mine, it felt like he’d put me in some kind of trance.

Before I knew it, I was nodding my head like a complete fool—completely taken aback by the down-to-earth, devastatingly sexy man… or rather, werewolf king… kneeling in front of me.

The sudden urge to run my hands through his hair… touch his face… even pet him like some giant, impossibly handsome wolf… washed over me so strongly I had to swallow hard just to keep my hands where they were.

“You have beautiful green eyes,” he said.

I blinked.
Well—that caught me off guard.
Here I was busy admiring him, and apparently he’d been doing the exact same thing.

“Uh—thank you,” I managed, forcing the words out.

He smiled, slow and warm, before rising to his full towering height. Then he offered his hand again. I hesitated—after what happened the last time he touched me, how was I not supposed to hesitate?—but I placed my hand in his anyway, and he lifted me gently from the chair.

“Your grandfather will be waiting for you,” he said as he guided me toward the door. “As much as I don’t want you to leave, he must miss you dearly. He doesn’t want you out of his sight. So, for now…”

He opened the door.

Evan was standing there, staring between us.

“Go with your grandfather,” the king finished, placing my hand into Evan’s as if handing over something fragile—something important.

Evan accepted it, and I turned back toward Soren. His eyes were still fixed on me, steady and unreadable.

“Well… sorry for ruining your birthday,” I said. “Happy birthday or whatever. You really shouldn’t be celebrating it, honestly you're—”

“You’re losing your tongue again. That’s our king,” Evan cut in, immediately scolding me.

And I swear… I heard it—
a low, rumbling sound from Soren’s chest.

The Alpha King.
The man claiming to be my mate—or whatever that means.

And he was watching me with a look I wasn't familiar with.

As we stepped out of the grand hallway, we nearly collided with Tori and Obed. Both of them looked like they’d seen a ghost—faces tight, eyes wide, dread written all over them.

“Are you seriously saying she’s mated to the Alpha King?” Obed blurted, staring at me as if the answer might magically change if he looked hard enough. He sounded not just shocked, but almost desperate to deny it.

“We should leave. Now,” was all Evan said, his voice clipped as he ushered us forward.

We didn’t question it. We just moved—fast—out of the palace, or whatever this place was. The moment we stepped outside, guards closed around us instantly, forming a protective wall as they hurried us toward the waiting limo. No hesitation, no slow steps, nothing. It was all urgency.

I was pushed gently into the limo first, then the others followed.

The second the doors shut, Obed’s eyes locked on me. He didn’t even blink before muttering, “This… this isn’t a good thing.”

I opened my mouth to ask why—because how could being someone’s mate cause this kind of panic?—but Evan cut in sharply.

“No more of it, Obed.”

Obed went quiet immediately, and I swallowed the question that had been right on my tongue.

Maybe it was just the danger of being mated to their king—maybe that alone was enough to make everyone act like the sky was falling. But something in my gut whispered that wasn’t the whole truth.

There was more.
Something they all knew.
Something tied to me.
Something they refused to say.

They were leaving me in the dark… and I hated it.