Remember Me, Mate

Chapter 13

TRISTAN

“Hi, Tristan,” she greeted me before I could find words again.

The corner of her lips started to turn up in a smile, but her expression soon shifted into a surprised one as she looked me up and down. Her brows furrowed just slightly, and for a second, I saw her blue eyes flash violet. My lips parted to let out a hopeful sigh - could her reaction mean what I thought it did, or were Cypress’ wishes fooling me too? I didn’t have enough time to tell. The vivid, amethyst hue was only there for a moment before she shook her head, snapping out of her shocked state.

“Tyrone didn’t warn me that we were going to a fancy restaurant. Am I too underdressed for the occasion? If you don’t mind waiting, I could go back to my room and-”

“No, you look…beautiful.” The adjective didn’t do justice to how stunning she was, but all other words I could think of would probably lead her to think I was trying to hit on her.

The second I let my guard down, a lustful howl echoed inside my head. My wolf’s claws almost came out as he begged me over and over again to claim our mate, to love her and worship her, to cover her in our scent. I wanted nothing more than to do exactly that, but I knew our relationship was not as simple now as I would have liked. It seemed like Cypress was getting stronger, because I actually had to fight to hold him back. As soon as I did, her melodic voice sounded again, making him purr like a puppy.

“Thank you. You’re looking quite handsome yourself. Although I think I recognize that tie…” An amused smile played on her lips as her gaze landed on my neck. “It’s a relief to know you’re better at tying it than your brother.”

“It’s one of the skills they teach us in Alpha school. That must be why he never learned how to do it properly.”

Zahra chuckled at my joke right before she was distracted by her phone beeping. “Aw… Circe said she won’t be able to come anymore.” She had just finished reading the text when she lifted her head, allowing me to see her eyes clouding over. After she exited the mindlink, she blinked a few times. “That’s weird. Ty just told me he’s stuck at the office taking care of some unforeseen problem regarding the pack.”

“Well, this is awkward…” I tried to pretend like I didn’t know this was supposed to happen all along. There had never been secrets between us, which is why I hated lying straight to her face, but what other choice did I have? Keeping up my act, I showed her an apologetic smile. “I understand if you wanna call it off.”

“Oh no, it’s alright,” she insisted. It was evident that she wasn’t too thrilled about going out with me alone, but because of her kind nature, she would rather go through with it than hurt my feelings. The best part about faking it was that I could act like I didn’t know her well enough to read between her lines.

“You sure?” She nodded. “Cool. Should we get going then? The driver must be already waiting for us outside.”

“Yeah, sure.”

As expected, the limousine was parked right in front of the main building. The driver opened the door for us, and we quickly hopped in. It was nearly an hour drive to the closest city. This time, I wasn’t the only one trying to keep the conversation going; Zahra was too polite to ride in silence with me. The simple act of speaking with her made my heart beat faster, which was no surprise to be fair. What was truly shocking - and relieving - was that she also seemed to be enjoying my company.

“What exactly is this place?” My former Luna asked once we made it to our destination, her eyes carefully analyzing the castle-like building through the window of our vehicle.

“It’s a themed restaurant. The catch is, it’s owned by a shifter,” I clarified, watching as her mouth formed the shape of an ‘O.’ “Only the supernatural are allowed in.”

“Interesting.”

“Have you ever been here?” I asked as I offered her my hand to help her get out of the car.

“I don’t think so.”

I must have already gotten used to her memory-loss, because I wasn’t shaken when she didn’t remember the place I took her on our very first date, and many of our following dates. As we crossed the stone pathway towards the entrance of the restaurant, I couldn’t help but notice the way she carefully observed her surroundings. Holding the door open, I gestured for her to walk in first. She stopped abruptly right after taking her first step.

“I will say though, this place kinda looks familiar.” My eyes glistened at her remark; thankfully, she couldn’t see it with her back turned to me. “I must have seen pictures of you and Ty here.”

“Probably,” I played along.

A hostess soon appeared to take us to our table. To make the story more believable, a reservation had been made for a party of four. After I explained that our two other friends couldn’t come, they asked if we would mind taking a table for two instead. Of course, I didn’t object. Zahra and I took a look at the menu, and I suggested she ordered what used to be her favorite dish.

While we waited for our food to arrive, I put the second part of the plan into action. I told her the same jokes I had told her on our previous dates here, and shared the same stories about my childhood. I even ‘accidentally’ knocked over my glass, splashing my wine onto her hand like I had on our first night out, and her cheeks turned the exact same shade of ruby. I carefully planned everything to maximize her experience, from the clothes I picked to the most important points of our conversation, and even after she ate the same food she had always loved. she still looked at me like I was a stranger.

But weirdly enough, it didn’t shatter my hope. If anything, I actually found it heart-warming to relive those moments with the love of my life. Yes, it still hurt that she didn’t remember me or the challenges we faced by each other’s side. Yet there was something about this kind of ‘do-over’ that made me feel genuinely happy.

Besides, I was confidently one step closer to fixing our broken relationship.

By the time we made it back to Scarlet Meadows, I was feeling a lot lighter than I ever had since my return. Instead of heading straight inside, we spent some time outside, relishing the light of the moon. The more we talked, the more natural it felt, and the less I found myself revisiting old memories to control how our night would go.

“You’re so funny, Tristan!” The sound of Zahra’s laughter brought inexplicable peace to my soul. It had always been so easy to entertain her, but I never had enough of that marvelous sound. “I wonder why we weren’t close before you left.”

“Things were more turbulent under my rule. I was always busy fighting a different fight.” Well, that was partially true. “Believe me, I would have spent a lot more time with you if I could.” I was afraid my last sentence would have sounded too desperate, but her sweet smile said otherwise. And in a brief second of madness, I felt confident enough to make my first, unplanned move. “Are you tired yet? Maybe we could go to the meadows again.”

“Is your wolf ready to come out?” she asked, not opposing the idea.

“Not yet, but your wolf’s energy earlier seemed to make Cypress more lively. I think interacting with other wolves is igniting the pack flame inside of him and encouraging him to push forward.” I blurted out the first excuse I could think of. “Oh, perhaps you could show me some of Holly’s special tricks!”

“Tricks?” she repeated, blinking a few times. “She can sit pretty and roll over, but she usually doesn’t do it on command,” she said playfully, and it was my turn to laugh.

“No, I mean…her powers.” I smiled, yet for some reason, all I could read in her expression was disbelief.

A second later, she burst out laughing. “Holly’s strong, but she’s not a superwolf. She’s a good fighter and a fast runner, but that’s about it.”

At first, I was confused, but I decided she was probably just afraid of revealing her secret to me. “It’s okay, Zahra. I’ve seen you use your powers many times, you don’t have to hide the truth from me.”

For a moment, there was silence as utter confusion stained her expression. Soon after, she directed a pitiful look at me.

“Oh, Tristan. The doctor said your head might be all over the place after your traumatic experience.”

“What?” I furrowed my eyebrows at her.

“You should be fine once your wolf is fully recovered though.” For the second time since my arrival, she offered me her sympathy. Was she really implying that I was insane? “Maybe we should end our night here. I’m sure you could use some rest to organize your thoughts. Can you give me your phone for a second?” Moved by my confusion, I simply obliged, watching blankly as she typed something. “I hope you feel better in the morning. If there’s anything I can help you with, please text me. I put my number in there.” She smiled as she handed me my phone back.

As we made our way back to the pack house, I was speechless. I wanted to celebrate my small victory, but I couldn’t focus on it after what I had just found out.

It seemed like my brother didn’t just erase me from her memories - he also erased traces of her own identity.