Remember Me, Mate

Chapter 9

TRISTAN

My welcome dinner party was even worse than I had anticipated. I was starving after feeding solely on rabbits for so long, but it was hard to dine when my pack, my own family, didn’t stop staring and whispering about me. It felt as if I wasn’t really welcome here anymore. Even my closest friends, who had certainly missed me and seemed undeniably happy about me being alive, didn’t look too fond of the idea of having me as their leader again.

The only good thing about the most awkward meal of my life was getting to interact with my mate for a while longer. Her marvelous scent still had a calming effect on me, and the sweet sound of her laughter was enough to comfort my wolf. Still, my human mind couldn’t be at ease seeing her smiling so vaguely at me. Throughout the whole night, she treated me as if we had never had a life together. Well, I guess for her, we hadn’t.

I knew I couldn’t blame her for forgetting everything, but boy, did it make my chest ache.

By the time dinner was over, it was quite late. Zahra excused herself to go to sleep, and despite how badly I wanted her to stay, I couldn’t come up with a believable excuse as to why she should stay up with me when there was nothing between us. Circe followed her, leaving me alone with the boys. They kept drinking and laughing for another hour, but the second the love of my life was gone, so was the remainder of my joy. In the end, there was only my brother and I, and he insisted on taking me on a tour around the pack.

At the beginning of our walk, all I wanted was for the night to be over so I could go back to sulking in my misery. I thought being back home would be a relief, but honestly, I found myself wishing I never left the hell I had been in; at least fighting for survival offered me a good distraction.

However, as Tyrone guided me through the common rooms, explaining about the changes he had made and the troubles he had faced, I started feeling something…different. Not anger, or pain, or sadness, which were the only emotions I’d experienced since my return. Learning about the challenges my brother faced, and how he struggled to protect the empire I had built, made me proud. More than that, hearing about how he managed everything while also making sure my Luna remained happy provoked an intense feeling of gratitude.

I had lost my mate. My pack. Even my friends had grown more distant. But at least, my relationship with my brother was unchanged.

“Father chose me to be Alpha, but you seem to have been doing a pretty good job in my place,” I observed after he finished telling me about his most recent win against an enemy pack.

“I had no choice but to learn.” He showed me a sad smile. The simple gesture let me know how much he had gone through. Being a leader was no easy task, and unlike me, he had been completely on his own.

“What did you tell the pack?” I asked. It took him a few seconds to understand I was referring to me leaving.

“That you had gone out on a mission - one you probably wouldn’t return from.” His voice cracked, filled with pain.

“What about Zahra?”

“I told them the truth,” he revealed, shocking me. “And they agreed to play pretend, for Zahra’s well being. They truly love her.”

“They don’t seem to like me much anymore though.” My small laugh was filled with sadness as I looked down.

“They were loyal to you. Their trust in you was broken when you abandoned them. Give them time to forgive you, and I’m sure they’ll accept you back as their leader.” This time, Tyrone showed me a genuine smile before his attention fell on what was ahead of us. “This is the last room I wanna show you. I promise I won’t keep you from sleeping after we’re done here.”

Only then did I realize he was standing hesitantly in front of a worn-out wooden door. I had been so absorbed in the story he was telling that I lost track of where we were. Taking a quick glance around, I realized we were in the basement. What the hell could he possibly want to show me here?

“I know you probably feel like I tried to erase your existence along with Zahra’s memories. I assure you it’s not the case.” Probably noticing my confusion, he continued as he slowly pushed the door open, “There were thousands of little tiny details we had to worry about after the spell was cast. We were afraid that if she heard about you or saw any reminders of your relationship, it would send her into a mental breakdown.”

As soon as he turned on the light, I could finally see what was hidden in the small room. My knees nearly failed me when my eyes landed on the many portraits of my Luna and I. There were pictures dating back from when we were teenagers, before life was complicated. With my heart pounding, my feet moved without command as my hand reached for one of the photographs - the last one we had taken before I left. I had to hold back the tears as I held it in my hands, my fingers instinctively caressing my love’s face over the glass.

“Circe wanted me to burn them to prevent Zahra from ever finding them, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.” Ty’s voice pulled me back from my daze. I heard his footsteps as he approached me carefully. “I thought that as long as these pictures were here, they would be enough proof of the love you and her shared; the past wouldn’t be completely erased, and neither would you.”

I closed my eyes, holding the portrait closer to my chest before putting it down to turn to my brother. “You were a d**k for taking away my mate’s memories of me,” I spat, causing the guilt to return to his eyes. “But I never thanked you for taking care of my pack while I was gone. And my Luna. You did what you thought was right to keep her safe, and for that, I’ll always be grateful to you.”

My brother smiled before his expression turned into one I couldn’t quite figure out. It was as if my words had made him feel even more guilty.

“It’s late, brother. I believe we both need to get some rest.” He turned off the lights, leading the way out of the small room. “We’ll start discussing our options tomorrow.”

“I’m looking forward to that,” I replied sincerely.

“Do you need me to guide you back to your room?”

“We grew up in this house. No matter how long I stay away, I’ll always know my way around here.”

“Very well.” He squeezed my shoulder as he walked past me. “Goodnight, brother.”

“Goodnight,” I uttered as we both went our separate ways.