Remember Me, Mate

Chapter 12

TRISTAN

Maybe I should have thought my idea through instead of acting on impulse.

For the first time since my return, everything had been going according to plan. I managed to approach my former Luna without her noticing how non-accidental our meeting had been, as I had tracked her sweet scent to find her. We had a casual, yet natural conversation, which slowly became more personal. I was able to tell her the truth about my disappearance, and she seemed to sympathize with me. In fact, her words even made me dream she would forgive me for what I had done once she regained her memories. Her reaction gave me enough confidence to make a riskier move - that was where I went wrong.

Now, here I was, standing in the middle of the flower field, watching my wolf mate play with my brother.

A silly spark of hope glowing inside of me made me wish Hollyhock would recognize me when Zahra let her out. The simple sight of her woke Cypress from his deep sleep, and we were both filled with joy. It was hard to control my rapidly-beating heart as I was awestruck by the light gray she-wolf’s beauty. Even though she seemed just as clueless as her human about who I truly was, I had a back up plan: in face of my current condition, she would let me ride on her to the meadows, thus allowing me to be closer to her. Of course, Tyrone had to thwart my plans, and I was left to ride on Nevan instead.

“I don’t like how close he is to mate,” my wolf tried to growl, but in his weak state, he ended up coughing. “Tell him to back off!”

The jealousy he felt was quickly absorbed by me. I was sure my eyes turned a vivid shade of auburn as I watched Nevan run after Holly, knocking her on the ground in their carefree play-chase. My fingertips itched, my claws begging to come out as Cypress tried to gather the little strength he had. For a moment, I was tempted to let him use it. Yet in a blink of clarity, all I did was shake my head, easily pushing my ravenous beast to the corner of my mind.

Tyrone had supported Zahra in my absence. I was sure she also helped him recover from his loss. It was only natural for them to have grown closer through the years; I had no reason to be jealous of their friendship. Besides, I knew my brother would never betray me like that, especially not after he carefully picked up the broken pieces of the mess I left behind.

At some point, they seemed to get tired of rolling over the grass. Holly got distracted bathing in the sun, and I didn’t miss the opportunity to confront my twin.

“Thanks for being the third wheel, bro.” The white wolf stiffened when I reached inside his mind. A second later, he turned to me with a wolfish grin.

“Maybe you should have waited until Cypress was ready to come out to invite her wolf to play.” Ty laughed, clearly joking. Nevan, however, seemed rather amused by the frown on my face.

“I’m f*****g serious! You said you’d help me,” I snapped.

The angelic beast creased its brows at me, but his human gave in. “Okay, okay. Why don’t you take her out for a nice wine and dine?”

“Of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?” My tone was filled with sarcasm. “Thanks to you, she doesn’t remember me, or us. It would be weird as s**t if I asked her out point blank!”

“I wonder why father chose you to be Alpha when I’m clearly the brighter twin.” Nevan chuckled at my brother’s remark. “Yes, it would seem like you’re trying to make a move on her, unless Circe and I tag along.”

“What’s the point if I don’t get to be alone with her anyway?”

“Think, Tis.” The wolf shook his head. “We say the four of us are going out to celebrate your return, but Circe and I will bail out at the last minute. Then, you can have your hopefully-not-so-awkward date.”

“That’s actually a pretty good plan.” I blinked a few times, processing his idea.

“You’re welcome.” Nevan winked at me, moments before Hollyhock playfully tackled him, holding him against the ground.

It seemed I would have to endure watching them for a while longer before we could head back. At least, I was at peace knowing Zahra and I would have our first date after my return tonight.

***

My brother, Zahra, and I returned to the main square to have lunch with Circe, when he spontaneously invited them to a casual dine in the city, and I acted as if we hadn’t already discussed everything in private. Although my mate’s best friend hadn’t been told about it beforehand, she caught on to our plan very quickly. After our meal, we all went our separate ways.

The rest of my afternoon was spent in bed. With a full stomach, it didn’t take long for sleep to consume me. Cypress had lent me his energy while we were fighting, and now he was the one taking mine to recover. As exhausted as we both were, the hopeful thought that tonight would be the first step in the right direction to win her heart again gave us the strength we needed to pull through.

An hour before the four of us agreed to meet, I started getting ready. Interestingly enough, I’d never paid much mind to how I would look on my previous dates with Zahra. Everything I did on our nights together was…natural. I felt comfortable just being myself, because I knew she loved me no matter what. This time, however, one wrong move could destroy my chances to make us work, while every right move would push me further towards my goal. I had to make sure our night ran smoothly.

Still, I couldn’t deny I felt a little stupid scouring through my brother’s wardrobe, trying to find the perfect outfit. Despite being twins, we had very different tastes in clothes. It was just my luck that he had thrown out everything I owned, though I could understand why he had done it. Either way, I doubted any of my clothes would be wearable after sitting in a dark, damp closet for three years.

“That one…” When I heard Cypress’ voice, I immediately froze with one of the hangers in my hand. “With a white suit. It’s similar to the outfit we wore at our Marking Ceremony.”

“Great idea.” I smiled as I quickly pulled the outfit out of the wardrobe.

First, I put on the white trousers. I then buttoned-up the ivory cotton shirt, proceeding to do the same with the burgundy satin vest. Lastly, I easily tied the dark maroon mulberry silk tie around my neck. After combing my wild golden brown hair, I decided to take a look at my reflection in the full-length mirror.

“It’s perfect,” my dark gray wolf breathed out, clearly satisfied. “It’ll definitely remind her of that day.”

“Don’t get your hopes up, bud.” As he retreated to the back of my mind, I knew he had heard me, but he obviously chose to ignore me. Somewhere deep inside of me though, I prayed he was right.

I took deep breaths as I exited the room to rush down the stairs. Funnily enough, it seemed I had lost track of time choosing my outfit for the occasion, and I didn’t want to keep Zahra waiting for long. The moment I made it to our meeting spot in the front hall, I could see that she was indeed already there. And the second I saw her standing in a long, simple raspberry dress that embraced her delicate frame, with her straight auburn hair flowing like a fiery waterfall down her back, I was awestruck.