The Forgotten Mate

Chapter 3: Ryker's POV

Her scent still lingers.

I don’t want it to. I’ve ordered the windows open for the air to flow through the room, but nothing can rid me of her. Celeste. She’s everywhere, in everything, even though I’ve tried to erase her.

The gifts she gave me, the little trinkets she left behind, still sit on the shelf by my bed. A picture of us, back when everything was simple—when we didn’t have packs and politics between us—rests at the edge of my desk. Her smile, soft and full of hope, stares back at me. Mocking me.

I can’t stand it.

“Alpha Lord Ryker.” The soft voice of a maid snaps me from my thoughts.

“Take it all out,” I command and my voice is harder than I mean it to be. I gesture to everything—every piece of her still left in this room, every reminder of the life we used to have. “Everything.”

The maid doesn’t question me. No one ever does. She moves swiftly and starts taking the picture, the gifts, the pieces of Celeste that haunt me. I turn away and stare out the window, my hands gripping the edge of the windowsill until my knuckles go white.

It should feel like a relief but it doesn't. It feels worse, like I'm cutting off something I shouldn't—something that's still part of me.

I hear Enara's footsteps before she even speaks. She's always light on her feet and always watching, always judging.

"Why haven't you marked me yet?"

I don't turn around. Her voice is sharp and laced with impatience. It's a conversation we've had too many times and I'm not in the mood for it again.

"Enara, it's not time," I mutter tiredly.

"Not time? Ryker, we're mates. It's been weeks since the ceremony. Everyone's wondering why their Alpha hasn't sealed the bond."

I feel her come closer and her presence fills the room like a scent I can't shake. But I don't move. I can't.

"It's not that simple," I say coldly. "There are things you don't understand."

"What don't I understand, Ryker? You rejected Celeste. You made your choice." Her hand brushes my arm but I pull away irritably. "So why can't you commit to me? What is it that's holding you back?"

I clench my jaw and refuse to answer. I won't tell her. She doesn't need to know. The truth is something even I can't fully comprehend and I'm not about to share my doubts with her.

"This conversation is over, Enara."

She glares at me but I don't care. I won't mark her. Not yet.

Not until I'm sure.

©©©

Later that night, the moon hangs low and casts shadows through the palace. Everyone's asleep, or at least they should be. But I can't rest—not with the thoughts tormenting me and the words that still echo in my head.

Two months ago, everything changed.

I summon Cain and he arrives silently. He's dressed in dark clothing and ready for whatever I need. Always loyal and always by my side.

"Come with me," I tell him.

We move through the palace and we're led by the torchman and Element, one of my most trusted advisors. Element, with his long cloak trailing behind him, carries an air of authority but there's something creepy about him. He's too calm and too prudent. But that's why I keep him close.

We descend into the Spiral Tunnel, deep beneath the palace, through winding corridors lit only by the flickering light of the torches. The air grows colder the further we go and the weight of the earth presses down on us.

The Spiral Tunnel leads to the Grove, a place only a few know about—a place where knowledge and power converge.

And where the Arola waits.

The Arola. The crippled old man, bound to his seat and surrounded by ancient books and scrolls. His body is frail and twisted with age but his mind is sharper than any blade. He was brought here by my father after conquering the Sages Pack over two centuries ago, but I never paid attention to him. Not until recently—not until his words shook me to the core.

He's the reason I had to reject Celeste.

"Alpha Lord Ryker," the Arola whispers, his voice like dried leaves rustling in the wind. "You seek answers again."

Behind him, the stars are aligned in a holographic illustration and they glow faintly against the stone wall. They haven't moved. They haven't shifted, as the Arola said they would once I rejected her.

"Why haven't the stars changed?" I ask harshly. "You told me they would."

The Arola tilts his head and his milky eyes focus on something beyond this world, beyond the room we stand in. "It is not enough to reject her, Alpha Lord. She still lingers in your mind—your heart."

I grit my teeth and my hands curl into fists. "What do you mean?"

"To truly sever the bond, you must forget her. Erase her from your thoughts—from your soul. Only then will the stars shift. Only then will your fate be secure."

I take a step back and the weight of his words sinks into me like stones. How can I forget her? She's been part of my life for as long as I can remember.

"You must ensure she never meets the scarred one," the Arola says softly and deliberately, "If she does, Alpha Lord, your end—and the end of this pack—will be nearer than you know."

Cain and Element stand silently beside me but I can feel their anxiety. The Arola has always been mystic but there's something darker in his words this time—something that chills me to the bone.

"I'm done here," I mutter and turn to leave as my heart pounds with anger and more fear.

As I climb back up to the palace, the Arola's words echo in my mind. The scarred one. Who is he? Why is Celeste connected to him? And how can I protect her from something I can't even understand?

©©©

Back in my room, Enara sleeps beside me. Her breathing is soft and steady. I stare at the ceiling; my thoughts are tangled in knots I can't untie.

If I can't see Celeste, can't think about her... how am I supposed to keep her safe? How can I protect her from this "scarred one" if I'm forbidden from even caring about her?

It's unfair. To her. To me.

But my position, my pack—they come first. They have to.

She's the Demwa. Doom reincarnated.

And no matter what my heart says, I have to let her go.

For good.

Or I risk everything.