Fated but Forgotten

Chapter 8 - Rocco

Morning had come around sooner than I had expected, despite barely sleeping in the uncomfortable hospital seat. Every noise that Aria made had me sitting up to check that she was okay, yet she had seemingly slept soundly. As soon as the clock upon the wall had reached a reasonable hour I had showered in the small washroom next to Aria’s room, and freshened myself up like I did most days. I think I have returned home only a number of times since the incident now, and that had been simply to bring clothes, or deal with things that were urgent. All of my duties as Beta were falling to the wayside right now, but thankfully, I had an understanding of Alpha and friend.

My mind was upon bringing my mate back, and that had been all. Completing any duties would be an impossibility. I feared what was happening with my mate, and I needed to be close to her. In the time since the attack, our pack had begun to slowly return to itself. Any evidence of an attack was now gone. Or physically at least. The emotional and mental scars would last for a lot longer...

The many repairs in and around the pack were complete. All the dead were now mourned and buried. The injured were treated, and all but Aria had returned home, fully recovered; but, of course, all of them had their wolves to assist in their recovery. But, my mate… my mate was still struggling to recover. The doctors were still unable to give us a full answer to what was happening or what might happen. This did nothing but frustrate me. These were meant to be some of the best doctors available. Medical experts. Yet none could tell me when or if my mate would be back to herself.

So, all I knew was that I would be by her side each day without fail, of that there was no doubt. My beautiful girl needed me, and seeing her struggle yesterday in hearing her parents were gone had broken me. I had never meant to cause her the pain that I did, but seeing her break as she fought with the truth tore me apart inside. I knew the agony she was in. She had spoken to me soon after we had got to know one another, telling me the pain of losing them, how it almost destroyed her. That had been the reason she had moved to the cabin… the place that we had met by sheer chance…

And, all because of me speaking without thinking meant she had to relive that pain again. I could not get used to the fact my mate had lost her memory. It was difficult to comprehend sometimes. Because she seemed to know fully who she was, and at times she seemed to hold earlier memories… like her parents. The doctor told me this was possible… but I could not help but wonder if the doctor would tell me this simply because they did not know what was happening, or even to reassure me.

I walked from the bathroom, feeling deflated at the thought of yesterday. I could only hope today was a better day. I wanted us to start to connect. Even if Aria did not recognize me, I hoped for a bond to grow... allowing me to feel my mate beneath all of this loss. And as i walked across the room her big, beautiful eyes were upon me in an instant, like the movement of my walking had caught her attention. And once again I caught sight of the fear within her eyes, feeling like a knife through my heart. I hated that I was the one causing that fear. I was the one that was meant to make her feel safe. Secure. That is what a mate should bring to a mate. Yet each time my beautiful mate looked at me, all I saw was terror and that was destroying me…

“Good morning, Tesoro.” I said without thinking, and her delicate button nose screwed up in confusion. Did she recognize the name? It had been an affectionate nickname I had used for her since the day we had been together… since the first time we had awoken together…

Her eyes moved away from me toward the door, as if to dismiss the words I spoke, and I felt my heart fall. She did not want to interact with me again. No matter the way I was towards her, she seemed to avoid any interaction. I knew she did not know who I was, but I hoped through regular contact some recollection might happen. But there was nothing. I think this is what had begun to finish off my wolf. I was battling with the pain, but he seemed to feel it so much more intensely, because he felt it all as a direct loss of his mate, because he had no wolf to reach out to. He had nothing...

I took a deep breath to compose myself. I needed to continue this though. My bid to help her remember. My bid to bring us closer. “Aww, you look so peaceful, Bella. I love your face first thing in a morning. So adorable and sleepy. Do you remember that first time we woke together? In your cabin in the forest? I had told you who I was… “ I began as I perched myself at the foot of her bed, and at my words her head spun to look at me, suddenly seeming interested. Had I triggered a memory? My heart raced at the possibility.

“You know the cabin?” her voice was dry, and sounded like it still hurt for her to speak, as she looked at em eagerly awaiting an answer. She remembered the cabin then...

I smiled with a nod. “That is where we met, Bella. I happened to be passing through the forest on a run, remember? I think I took you by surprise that night! Many times, in fact!” I chuckled at the memory. “You had not long lived there. You moved there when your parents…” I paused momentarily, realizing it may not be a good idea to mention their death again. “Erm, anyway, you were out on the deck drinking hot chocolate, and reading. You had my attention immediately. And from that moment I knew. I came back, night after night. Oh, how I loved to hear your laughter dancing on the night breeze…”

Her face seemed twisted somewhere between pain and confusion. Was she struggling to remember? It was all so clear within my mind, and it was all the memories Aria and I had so frequently revisited together. Precious memories. It hurt that they could be so easily gone. I knew this whole experience was going to be extremely hard for me…