Chapter 157: Memory Exercises

Words : 1136 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

Chapter 157: Memory Exercises CALEB POV My mate link snapped like a broken wire. The pain hit me so hard I fell to my knees, holding my chest where it felt like someone had ripped out my heart. Through the magical chaos around us, I could see Lily drifting in that dimensional energy, but when she looked at me, there was nothing in her eyes. No love, no recognition, no record of us together. She looked at me like I was a total stranger. "Lily!" I shouted, reaching toward her even though Viktor’s claws had left me bleeding. "It’s me, Caleb! Your mate!" But she tilted her head like she was trying to remember a word in a foreign language. The Triple Moon Mark on her wrist flickered slightly, almost completely faded. "I don’t... who are you?" she asked, her voice sounding hollow and confused. My wolf howled inside me with sadness. Elena’s memory spell was working. Everything we’d shared together - our first kiss, our mating ceremony, the way she laughed at my bad jokes - was disappearing from her mind like words being erased from a page. "Sage!" I called out desperately. "How do I reach her?" Sage was deep in her spell trance, sweat dripping on her forehead as she fought Elena’s magic inside Lily’s memories. "Start simple!" she gasped out. "Basic events first! Don’t try to force the big feelings!" I climbed to my feet, ignoring the blood running down my shirt from Viktor’s attack. Around us, the supernatural politicians were still arguing about who got to claim Lily, totally ignoring that she was dying right in front of them. "Lily," I said softly, moving closer to her dimensional bubble. "Do you remember books? You always loved reading." She blinked slowly. "Books?" "Yes. We used to read together in the pack library. You’d curl up in the big chair by the window, and I’d sit on the floor next to you." A tiny spark flickered in her eyes. "Library... with books..." My heart jumped with hope. The basic memory was still there, hidden under Elena’s spell. I pressed on. "You loved the fairy tale about the princess who saved herself," I continued. "You said it reminded you that omega wolves could be heroes too." "Omega?" Lily’s expression got more confused. "What’s an omega?" The pain in my chest got worse. She was forgetting not just our relationship, but who she was completely. Elena’s spell was removing everything that made Lily herself. "An omega is someone special," I said carefully, remembering Sage’s advice to keep things simple. "Someone who takes care of others. Someone who sees things other people miss." Elena’s laughter echoed through the basement. "Give up, little genius! Soon she won’t even remember her own name!" But I ignored Elena’s taunts. In the pack library, I’d studied every book about memory magic we had. I knew that emotions made stronger memory pathways than facts. If I could make Lily feel something - anything - it might help rebuild the links Elena was destroying. "Lily," I said, moving even closer to her energy bubble. "Touch my hand." "Why?" she asked suspiciously. "Because I want to show you something important." Slowly, carefully, she reached through the dimensional energy. When her fingers touched mine, I felt a tiny spark of our mate link trying to reconnect. It was weak, like a candle glow in a storm, but it was still there. "Feel that?" I whispered. "That warmth between us?" She nodded, looking shocked. "It’s nice." "That’s because we fit together. Not because anyone told us to, but because we picked each other." For a moment, something deeper flickered in her eyes. But then Elena’s power surged, and Lily jerked her hand back with a cry of pain. "Stop fighting it!" Elena ordered, her void form growing larger. "Embrace the silence! Forget these weaklings who only want to use you!" I watched in fear as more memories drained from Lily’s face. The small name I’d built was fading again. That’s when I realized something terrible. Elena wasn’t just taking random memories. She was specifically targeting every moment that made Lily feel loved and valued. Every time someone had chosen her, backed her, or seen her worth - those memories were being ripped away first. "You won’t just make her forget us," I said, knowing Elena’s real plan. "You’re making her forget she’s worth loving at all." Elena’s smile was pure evil. "A Guardian with no emotional ties is much easier to control. She’ll become my perfect weapon." Rage filled me like fire. Elena wasn’t just taking away Lily’s memories - she was ruining Lily’s entire sense of self-worth. She was turning my brave, caring mate into an empty shell. "Sage!" I yelled. "Elena’s not just wiping memories! She’s attacking Lily’s self-esteem!" "I know!" Sage called back, her voice strained. "But there’s something else! Something worse!" "What?" "Elena’s not doing this randomly. She’s following a plan I’ve seen before!" I felt cold fear creeping up my spine. "What kind of pattern?" Sage’s eyes suddenly went wide with terror as she looked deeper into Lily’s memories. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no." "What is it?" I asked. "Elena’s not trying to control Lily," Sage whispered, her face going pale. "She’s trying to become her. The memory spell isn’t just stealing Lily’s past - it’s copying it into Elena’s own mind!" My blood turned to ice as I understood. Elena wasn’t just making a weapon out of Lily. She was planning to steal Lily’s full identity, leaving Elena with all of Lily’s Guardian powers and memories while Lily became nothing but an empty shell. "But that’s not the worst part," Sage continued, her voice shaking. "For the spell to work completely, Elena needs one final component." "What?" I asked, though I was afraid to hear the answer. Sage looked at me with eyes full of fear. "She needs Lily to freely give up her memories. The spell can steal most of them, but the deepest ones - the ones that make Lily who she really is - those have to be given freely." I turned to look at Lily, floating in her dimensional energy, getting more empty and confused by the minute. "And if she’s forgotten everyone who loves her," I whispered in horror, "if she can’t remember any reason to keep fighting..." "Then she’ll give Elena everything willingly," Sage finished. "Just to make the pain stop." At that moment, Elena’s form hardened into something that looked almost exactly like Lily, but with cold, empty eyes. "Tell me, dear Guardian," Elena said in a voice that was becoming more like Lily’s with every word. "Wouldn’t it be easier to just let go of all that confusing pain?" And to my absolute terror, Lily slowly nodded her head.

Chapter 157: Memory Exercises

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