Thirty Nights Forgotten

Chapter 23: Betrayal

Nicholas’ POV

I can feel it: Addy’s betrayal.

It feels like a hot sword being pushed through my body, and I immediately recognize the sensation. There are tales of werewolves betraying their mates — and the physical and emotional pain it brings them.

Even at this distance, I can feel it.

My Light One barrels into my bedchamber, clutching at his chest and grimacing in pain.

“You feel it too?” he gasps.

Unable to answer, I nod my head curtly.

“She wouldn’t do this to us! Addy would never betray us like this.”

Gritting my teeth, I rise to my feet and push past him out into the hallway. Persephone and Sol are standing in the middle of the corridor, looking petrified as I barrel past them down the stairs.

“Nicholas? Where are you going?”

My Light One calls out after me as he chases me down the stairs into the foyer, gripping onto the banister for support as the agony begins to subside.

“Someone is forcing our mate against her will,” I answer roughly, pushing out the front doors toward the stables. “That is the only logical explanation.”

I have to go to her.

“I’m coming with you.”

“No. You will just be in my way.”

“No!” he shouts, grabbing onto my arm from behind. “She’s my mate too, okay? And if someone’s hurting Addy, I need to help her.”

“Lord Nicholas! Sir Nick! Stop, please!”

Both of our gazes turn to find Persephone chasing us down the steps, her white nightdress billowing behind her.

“Do not stop me,” I warn her dangerously.

“But your grandmother said—”

“I don’t care what that old wench said! My mate is in peril, and she needs my help!”

“Our help,” he says, giving me a pointed look.

“I do not have the time to argue with either of you right now!”

“But, my lord,” Persephone pleads, “you will be putting yourself in harm’s way. You can’t save her if you are captured upon arrival. And whoever is doing this to her could punish her even further for your actions. Please, don’t do this! I’m begging you, my lord!”

Her words give me pause, cutting through my fury right to my very heart. What if she is right? Could my actions bring Addy even further pain through her captor’s retribution?

“Please,” she begs breathlessly. “Madame Mary is at the ball as we speak. Let us wait for Madame Mary to come back with news.”

Breathing heavily through my nose, I pin her with an intense gaze, making her flinch.

“I will give it until sunset tomorrow evening,” I hiss, taking a step toward her. “If my grandmother does not return by then, I am taking the remaining pegasus and flying straight for the castle.”

Without a word, she nods tentatively.

***

Pacing the front steps of the balcony, I keep glancing up into the sky for any sign of my grandmother. The red sun is beginning to set beyond the horizon, and she should have arrived home by now.

The others are in the drawing room, no doubt watching me closely for any signs of flight, but they have kept their distance from me since last night.

They are smart to stay away from me. I am feeling particularly murderous, and I am going to kill the person who did this despicable act to my mate – even if it is the new king.

Suddenly, a black spec in the sky catches my attention, making me halt in my tracks. Using my enhanced vision, I can make out the flapping of black wings, and they are drawing closer.

Soon, the others come rushing out the front doors, but they don’t say a word as the pegasus flies closer to the Summer Mansion, beginning its descent toward the open, grassy field.

Once my grandmother lands, I step forward to help her dismount.

“Well?”

She turns her sharp gaze onto me.

“I have had a long journey,” she barks. “Let me rest before you start interrogating me.”

It takes every ounce of willpower to not ring the nasty old wench’s neck this very second, but I need her. She has information about Addy that I need.

“Let us have dinner, shall we?” she proposes, pointing her cane toward the house. “Persephone, have Perla bring me something to drink. I am parched after the long journey home.”

As we file inside after her, she leads us through the foyer but freezes outside one of the sitting rooms.

“What happened in here?” she demands sharply. “It looks as though the place has been ransacked!”

“Well,” my Light One says sheepishly from behind us, “Nicholas threw a sort of fit last night, you see. We almost flew out to the castle to save Addy, but…”

My grandmother does not mask her displeasure as she turns her icy glare on me.

“We will discuss your bad temper later,” she hisses. “I assume I will not be reimbursed for all my precious furniture being destroyed?”

“Not unless you accept credit card,” I sneer, folding my arms across my chest.

She clearly has no concept of Earth currency, as evidenced by the brief confusion that crosses her face. However, she decides not to address it as she continues her way into the dining room, taking her seat at the head of the table.

Perla comes in with a pitcher of blood, which she serves to both my grandmother and me. The others, including my Light One, take their seats between us as a silence falls over the room.

I watch her like a hawk as she slowly sips on her glass. Clearly, she is dragging this out for her own twisted pleasure, and I am about to leap across the table to shake the truth out of her.

“Enough of your games!” I growl dangerously. “Tell me: did you find Addy last night?”

Setting down the glass leisurely, she takes a moment to think before turning her stern, burgundy gaze onto me.

“Lady Addison is alive and well,” she says, barely masking a smirk. “In fact, she’s doing so well, she has become the consort of the new king.”

My Light One looks alarmed, turning his fearful gaze onto me.

“Do you think he was the one that forced himself on Addy last night?”

“Oh, I don’t think he forced himself,” she chuckles, clearly taking delight in our torment. “She was quite relieved when King Elijah interrupted our conversation. They even left the ball early together, no doubt to engage in…relations.”

“NO!”

My fist comes down forcefully on the table, making everyone jump in surprise.

“Addy would never betray me like this!” I hiss. “She would have felt physical pain after what happened to her last night. You are lying, old woman!”

“But how could she know that you are her mate if she doesn’t remember you?”

“What nonsense is this that you’re spewing?”

This woman is testing my patience. I make sure to convey every ounce of my disdain for her in my gaze, and I grip the table to keep myself from flying into a rage.

“Lady Addison was acting quite strangely,” she continues, enjoying the suspense. “She had no recollection of me, and she kept calling herself ‘Annabelle.’”

Annabelle? Where have I heard that name before?

“Did…she mention anything about us?”

My Light One asks the question that I am too afraid to know the answer to. And the sneer that appears on my grandmother’s face makes my heart drop into my stomach.

“She does not seem to even know who you are, boy.”

A silence falls over the room as the weight of her admission sinks in.

Addy, my wife, my mate…does not remember me.

“How is this possible?” I growl.

“Can witches or mages cast spells to erase memories?” my Light One asks me.

“I have heard of such magic,” I admit slowly, considering the implications of his question. “I never needed to employ its use while I sat on the throne, but perhaps that is what happened to Addy.”

“That’s the only way she would betray us. I know it, Nicholas. Addy would never cheat on us unless she didn’t know who we were.”

“Perhaps you are right,” I sigh, rubbing my temples. “If her mate mark is still intact, it would have stopped her from committing the act.”

“I saw her mark,” my grandmother interrupts, making us glance up at her. “It was the shape of the sun and the moon.”

“That’s it!” my Light One says excitedly. “That’s the one I gave her. She’s still mated to us!”

“Obviously, she is still mated to us, you dimwit. Otherwise, we would not have felt her betrayal last night.”

“But, if Elijah tries to force himself on her…she’ll be in pain.”

“Don’t you think I know that? We don’t have time to waste. We need to get to Addy and find a way to undo this memory curse, and we need to get her out of there before more harm comes to her.”

It feels like my heart is being squeezed in my chest. The idea that my mate would not recognize my face hurts, even worse than the pain I felt last night.

I would almost rather her take another lover knowingly than not remember me at all.

“There’s still hope,” my Light One says, nodding with determination. “As long as she’s mated to us, we’re still connected to her. She’ll remember us. That’s the power of the mate bond.”

If only I could possess my Light One’s optimism. Perhaps that would ease this pain in my heart.

I certainly want to believe he is right. I have to believe he is right.