JASPERS POV Alpha Warrick was staying in one of the unoccupied homes a little ways from the pack. I didnât even bother to get the assholes first name; It didnât matter to me. That man was nothing but a s***m donor in my opinion.
âJasper, how could you do this? He has years of experience on you!â Mom wailed.
I sighed. Sheâd been crying nonstop since Alpha Douche left. For the first time, she was very unhappy with Violet, and she made that clear.
âLinda-â
âDonât Linda me!â She snapped at Dad. âOur son is going to die!â
I scoffed. âThanks for the confidence Mom.â
She glared at me. âThis is a fight to the death Jasper. There is no yielding, no mercy. Youâre taking on an Alpha. Do you not understand how ridiculous this is? Youâve all but signed your own death notice!â
âMom, Iâve been training since I was eight. I can handle any weapon put in my hand, and Iâm the best shot around.â
âHe has a point.â Alpha Dimitri added. âJasper was already on his way to becoming the lead warrior. Iâd even make him a Beta, if it was my decision. But he wasnât meant for those roles. Heâs an Alpha.â
âThis is different than training. Youâve never killed anyone before.â Mom whimpered.
I got down on one knee in front of the couch, catching her eyes.
âThat man is tearing families apart-sending children to the battlefield. The only thing heâs fighting for is maintaining his lifestyle. Iâm fighting for the freedom of the pack. I have way more motivation to win than he does. I will not lose this Mom. I give you my word.â
Silent tears ran down her cheeks, but she didnât argue again. Everyone else was already consigned to the fact that I was Hell bent on this challenge. Weâd agreed it would take place as soon as possible, which just happened to be tomorrow evening. Enough time to clear the training yard, and notify those who needed to be here. Namely, Alpha Warricks mate and son, his Beta and Gamma. I gave Mom a tight hug before I stood, but she caught my hand.
âIf you die, I will kill you.â She growled.
Low laughs sounded at her words. âI know.â I chuckled.
I was ready for some alone time with my mate. However, just as I reached her, an unexpected figure appeared beside us. Literally, popped into the room out of thin air. I jumped about five feet back, pulling Violet with me.
âHello everyone.â
âGrandpa!â
âGood Goddess Dad! Iâve told you to stop doing that!â Shouted Luna Lily.
Gideon simply laughed, looking highly amused.
âI seem to have a renewed interest in scaring people this way. I forgot how fun it was.â
âYeah, hilarious.â I grumbled.
Gideon looked around. âWell, everyone is here. Thatâs good, saves time from having to round you all up.â
âWhat are you talking about?â Alpha Dimitri frowned.
Gideon took the seat next to my Mom, who was staring at him as if he was a demon that had appeared. He ignored her, focusing on his daughter.
âI reckon I beat Garrett home, as he just left my house. But Iâll still have to make this short.â
âGarrett went to your house?â Luna Lily asked.
Gideon nodded. âI could explain everything that happened, but the short version is he told me what was going on with him, his mate and Jasper here.â He gestured to me. âI came up with a solution, and he agreed.â
I was very confused, but the Alpha and Luna narrowed their eyes considerably.
âWhat solution did he agree to?â
âTo take his memory of the conflict between him and his mate.â
His words were followed by a tense, stunned silence. Every single pair of eyes were centered on him, and a lot of jaws had dropped to the floor as well. I personally had no idea what to think. Garrett had no memory of that night anymore? What about Sophia?
âWhat about Sophia?â Violet asked my unspoken thoughts.
âShe was there. She also agreed. Well, she actually asked for me to do it.â
âHe⦠He agreed to let you take his memory?â Luna Lily whispered.
âNot all of them. Specifically the event that has caused so much torment, and anything resulting from it. Including finding out Sophia was his mate, and the resentment towards Jasper and Violet.â
âWait.â Mom shook her head. âSo⦠those two⦠donât know they are mates anymore? What about their wolves?â
âThe spell works on them too. When they see each other again, it will be like the first time never happened.â Gideon explained. Then he turned to the Alpha. âI would appreciate it if you refrained from punching me again. Iâm not as young as I used to be.â
That comment was lost on me, but everyone turned to Alpha Dimitri. To my surprise, he didnât look angry.
âPerhaps⦠it was for the best.â
Gideon raised one eyebrow, but Luna Lily rounded on her mate.
âWhat?!â She shouted. âYouâre condoning this?!â
âYes.â
âWhy?!â
âBecause it was killing our son Lily. He wasnât himself, hasnât been himself. If there is one thing I donât want, itâs for him to turn out like me. Like I was. If Iâd had the option of erasing my pain, my anger, Iâd have taken it too. Maybe⦠Maybe we would have had a different start if I had. I wonât deny Garrett this opportunity to have that second chance.â
The Lunas posture shrank, her chest deflating. âI canât argue with that, I guess.â
âSo, nobody is going to hit me?â Gideon asked.
âI still might!â His daughter hissed.
âIn that case-,â He stood, giving Violet a quick sidehug as he passed us, â- Iâll be going. Ta!â
He snapped his fingers, disappearing as easily as he had come. I really couldnât deny that I liked the guy. He was amusing, if nothing else.
âSoâ¦â Violet wrinkled her nose as she thought. âDoes this mean that Garrett and Sophia⦠think theyâre still together? If neither of them remember that night⦠then they wouldnât remember breaking up, right?â
âI think so?â The Luna sounded uncertain.
âBut they havenât been with each other in over a year. How are they going to-â
âHey!â
Violet let out a high-pitched squeal at the sound of her brothers voice.
âGarrett!â
He looked around the room. I tensed, as usual, when his eyes landed on me. Instead of the anger and hatred Iâd come to know, he simply nodded at me, no trace of his previous feelings in his eyes.
âWhy is everyone in here?â He asked curiously.
âWe were, uh, in a meeting.â Luna Lily said.
âWith another Alpha.â Beta Ben added. Heâd been so quiet, Iâd almost forgotten he was here.
âOh.â
Violet cleared her throat. âSo, uhm. Whatâs going on? Did you need us for something?â
âNot really. I was just wondering where everyone was. Why are you guys acting so weird?â
Nobody seemed to know what to say; They were glancing at each other nervously. I stepped forward.
âTheyâre just nervous. Iâm challenging Alpha Warrick tomorrow night.â I said.
Garrett stared at me. Again, there was no hint of anger.
âReally? Why?â
âPartly because heâs an a*****e. Itâs a long story.â
âHuh. Well, good luck.â
âThanks.â
âIâll see you guys at dinner.â
And he left. A collective sigh was released from everyone present. And thenâ¦
âGet. Back. Here. NOW!â
Everyone winced as the Lunasâ voice sounded in our minds. Alpha Dimitri rubbed her shoulders, trying to calm her down. Clearly, she hadnât meant to mind-link all of us, her emotions taking over.
Gideon popped back into the room, a good distance away from his daughter, who was seething with fury.
âHe doesnât remember anything!â She shouted at him.
âThat is the point of the spell.â Gideon told her.
âViolet says theyâve been apart for over a year! Heâs going to go crazy when he realizes heâs skipped more than a year, with no memory of how or why!â
âLily, relax. Do you take me for a novice?â
âA novice? More like a fuc-â
âWhat exactly did you do?â Alpha Dimitri interrupted. He had his arms around the Luna, rocking back and forth slightly. It didnât seem to be helping though.
âI replaced the memories he lost.â Before he was yelled at again, he held up his hand. âLet me explain. There was one memory where he was in his room, doing homework. He started thinking about that party, and couldnât finish because he was so upset. I took the painful part of that. When Garrett looks back on that night, he will only remember being too tired to finish the homework and going to bed.â
âBut what about the break up?â Violet asked. âThey havenât hung out, or been a couple in a long time. How are they going to explain that when they see each other again?â
âAs far as they know, they did break up, but not the way it happened. It was a mutual break up, but they remained civil and friendly. They ended on good terms.â Gideon explained.
âSo, you took me out of the picture completely?â I asked.
âYes.â
I couldnât deny the relief that brought me. Yes, I had f****d up. Badly. What I had done was now the cause of so much grief and stress within this family. How could I not feel happy that the anger and tension was erased, allowing everyone to move on finally?
âThank you.â I told Gideon.
âI did not do it for your benefit.â He replied. âI did it for my grandson.â
âUnderstandable.â
Luna Lily stepped forward. âYou better know what youâre doing.â She scolded.
âI do. Trust me Lily, this will work out.â
She rolled her eyes but it seemed the argument was over. It was already done, after all. I turned my attention to Violet again, rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand. I opened my mouth, but was once again interrupted.
âJasper. Come here.â Alpha Dimitri ordered. I released his daughters hand, walking to his side.
âYes Alpha?â
âHow do you feel about a little training? Refresh your techniques, loosen up a little before tomorrow?â
My jaw almost dropped. âTrain? You mean, with you?â
He chuckled. âYes.â
I felt like jumping around like a little kid. Training with the Alpha? That was a privilege very, very few people got. I nodded enthusiastically.
âAbsolutely Alpha!â
âDad.â Violet joined us, frowning. âDonât hurt him, okay?â
âWhy do all you women not have any confidence in me?â I asked.
Violet hands went to her h**s. âYou forget who trained me? I know what he can do. I want you back in one, whole piece.â She eyed Alpha Dimitri meaningfully.
âHe will remain intact.â He promised. Then he turned to me. âYou good to start now?â
âYes Alpha.â
I turned to Vie, kissing her forehead.
âI wanted to spend time with you, but you can come and watch if you want.â
âActually, I want to talk to you, Violet.â Luna Lily said behind me.
She frowned, until I gave her one more k**s.
âIâll see you tonight then. âKay?â
âOkay.â
With one last smile, I turned and followed Alpha Dimitri out of the room. Beta Ben was accompanying us, and I hoped he would join in on the training too. I focused on why I was doing this, the will to win at any cost. By tomorrow night, I would either be dead, or I would be the new Alpha of Silver Moon.