My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

Chapter 310 - Burning Hope

"What do you mean 'Who is August,?" Greta laughed. "You are kidding right? Please tell me you are kidding."

She backed away from her brother who was sitting on the couch still looking half asleep and confused. He raked a hand through his hair and squinted at her.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice lowering now in suspicion. "Is this some kind of joke? Because it's not funny."

Greta's throat bobbed and she glanced at Sam before her eyes landed on Sylvia. Sylvia's hands were covering her mouth and her eyes were wide in reaction to Graeme's words, but when she saw Greta watching her, she gave her a weak, reassuring smile—clasping her hands in front of her.

"Graeme," Greta sat in the chair across from her brother, leaning forward and placing a hand on his knee. 'Do you remember your mate?' she asked through touch in the wordless communication they shared.

He instinctively scoffed out loud at the question, but his eyebrows threaded together when he noticed how serious and concerned his sister was. 'What mate, Greta?' he asked back. 'What is going on?'

Her face crumpled and she withdrew her hand. Graeme just stared at her in confusion, searching her for any clues as to what this was all about.

"This can't be happening," she mumbled, wrapping her arms protectively around herself as a sudden wave of nausea crested over her, making her lightheaded. "What did that monster do?"

"Gret, are you okay?" Sam kneeled next to her, feeling her physical reaction as his own.

"No. No, I'm not okay. None of this is okay. What are we going to do?" she asked, her voice rising in panic.

Sam pulled one of her arms into his lap and squeezed her hand.

"What do you remember, brother?" he asked without letting Greta's hand go.

"I was headed this way through the Grimm," Graeme answered groggily, rubbing his eyes. "There was a stray I tracked down not far from here. I figured I would come visit afterwards."

"That's it?" Greta accused in her high-pitched voice that was now near hysterics. "That's all you remember? That was months ago, Graeme!"

"What are you talking about?" he answered defensively, his voice coming close to a growl. Why was Greta so upset? She was always overjoyed to have him home.

"It's Samhain!" she yelled despite Sam tightening his hold on her hand.

Graeme chuckled. That was impossible. It was September.

"Seriously, whatever this is isn't funny," he rose from the couch, wrapping the blanket around himself before heading to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Greta called behind him.

"Clothes," he called back simply, annoyed with this weird conversation and unable to entertain any more of it.

Sylvia, Sam, and Greta all watched in stunned silence as their Alpha walked up the stairs without another word.

Greta stood from the chair and started pacing. "What are we going to do?" she asked with a choked sob. "He doesn't remember anything! How could he not remember his mate?! It's his mate, for Goddess' sakes! This can't be happening."

"The ancient one must have done something," Sylvia said, her shock taking on a calm, grave quality in contrast to Greta's growing panic. "He must have altered his memory."

"What does that mean?" Greta asked as Sam stood by, at a loss for words but hoping he would somehow be able to comfort his mate.

"Maybe this is like what Zoe went through. She couldn't remember her past because of something the vampire did, but it all came back to her. Maybe it's reversible," he thought aloud, arms akimbo as he watched Greta continue to pace, her eyes fixed on the floor in thought.

"So someone needs to bite him in the face?" she scoffed, not seeing how this was the same.

This wasn't the same as Zoe at all. Graeme didn't seem like an entirely different person. He seemed… like Graeme before all of this. The Graeme who avoided his pack like the plague and rarely came to visit. The Graeme who was still traumatized by the loss of their parents and the alyko.

But there was no way that all that had happened the past several weeks could just be gone. August and their mate bond had transformed Graeme's entire being in such a profound way, she didn't believe that even the vampire could reverse all of that. No one could make that vanish completely. And tonight had transformed the entire pack in such a profound way… how was the pack going to react to this?

"The whole pack…" Greta said, trailing off at the horrific thought of how they would react to a missing Luna and an Alpha who didn't even remember he had taken power.

Sam stopped her pacing—putting his hands on her shoulders and then wrapping his arms around her, inviting her into his warmth. She gradually softened to his touch and let him comfort her.

"We will be the leaders the pack needs until Graeme and August are back," he whispered into her hair. "It's going to be okay. There is no way they have truly forgotten each other. I could never forget you. If someone forced me to, I know that deep inside I would be fighting to the very core of my being to get back to you, whether I was aware of it or not."

Greta started weeping quietly against him. It had been so beautiful tonight—so achingly beautiful when the whole pack felt their Alpha and Luna deep within. She still felt it even now.

"You're right," she said, wiping her eyes and pulling out of his embrace. "I still feel them both. Don't you?" She asked, looking from Sam to Sylvia.

Sylvia nodded. "You are right," she whispered. "That hasn't changed. That unity is still there, burning with hope. I can feel it."

Greta let out a heavy breath. "Okay," she said. "As long as there is still hope, I can do this.. Let's try to figure out how to help him remember her."