Chapter Twenty Four

"Anything?" I looked up at Idris with hopeful eyes.

He shook his head once more, and I felt my hope diminish. It had been hours since we left and I expected to hear something about Henry, but Idris had been unable to get a hold of Amber and he had no other information other than that our home was abandoned.

"Alix," Idris crouched before me. "This isn't necessarily a bad thing. They may have bonded and just fled together."

I shook my head, as much as I wanted to believe that, I just couldn't. "I've known Henry since we were kids, Idris. He's stubborn. So bond or not, if Henry hates Amber, then he will never accept her...even if it kills him."

I felt the sting of tears in my eyes. I couldn't help but feel responsible for everything that had happened. For all the pain I had put Henry through.

"What happened back there, Idris?" I looked into his eyes for some clarity. "You said he was shifting? Shifting how?"

Idris ran his hand through his dark hair, a mixture of emotions crossing his gaze. "I smelt it on him once he began to change."

"Smelt what?"

He sighed, "Werewolves give off a certain scent—"

"Werewolves?" My mouth hung open in surprise. No, I must have heard wrong. Werewolves couldn't exist, right? But here was Idris, a vampire, so why couldn't werewolves exist?

I shook my head. "Henry is not a werewolf, Idris. He... he can't be. I would have noticed such a thing." I scoured through all of my memories with Henry. He'd had a normal life, normal parents. Idris had to be wrong...but then again, something had happened to him back in our home.

He had been howling in pain, grunting and growling like an animal.

"I think he may come from an old dormant bloodline and something must have triggered his werewolf genes."

"So, he shifted into a werewolf?" The sound of his cries still haunted my ears. I'd left him all alone to handle such a painfully drastic change on his own. "I should have stayed with him. I should have tried to help him."

Idris shook his head, "He hurt you in his rage, Alixandria." His gaze momentarily traveled to the hand Henry had sliced. "A new werewolf turning is a violent thing. Their mates often get hurt in the process, but Amber isn't human and she is the only person that could have helped him without getting hurt."

Amber.

I knew nothing about her other than what Henry had told me. From what I heard, it sounded like she was as much his mate as Idris was mine. Perhaps she had been able to help him. I hoped that she could.

"If he's a werewolf, does that mean he can feel his bond to his mate stronger?"

Idris nodded his head and that brought me relief.

"Then I hope now that he can accept her."

"He has no choice." Idris said somewhat solemnly and that caught my attention.

"What do you mean?"

With a huff, Idris stood back up, conflicting emotions crossing his eyes. "I mean if he doesn't, he could die."

"What?!"

"The pull, it exists for a reason, Alixandria. It draws us to our mates. However, if our mates reject us or die, the pull becomes so painful, it can kill you."

"Are you saying if Henry rejects Amber for too long, he will die?"

He nodded his head. "That's why Amber is also desperate for him to accept her."

Then another equally horrifying thought occurred to me. "So if I would have rejected you... you would have?"

His silence was my answer.

"Fucking hell," I looked away, feeling a deep sense of guilt. "I rejected you for so long, Idris. You could have—"

"Being close helped prolong the pain, but none of that matters now. You are with me, right?"

I looked up then, "Of course." I sat up from my seat and my arms wrapped around him tightly.

I felt his hands soothingly stroking my back.

My eyes closed for a moment, focusing on the beat of Idris's heart.

Wherever Henry was, I hoped he would find happiness. I didn't want him to die. He deserved a mate that loved him deeply. I couldn't be that for him, but maybe Amber could. And I had a feeling she wouldn't give up until he admitted to himself how much he wanted her.

"Idris?" I pulled away from his arms, staring up into those silver-green eyes.

"Yes?"

I felt nervous, stroking the healed skin of my palm, but there was a question that had been nagging me since Henry had revealed a hidden truth from me, "Did you feed me your blood like Henry said? Is...is that why I healed?"

I knew the answer before he could reply, nonetheless, I felt a sense of turmoil as he nodded his head.

"Yes."

"Then why can't I remember?" I asked. "Did you compel me?"

"I did."

"Why?"

"Because you asked me to, Alixandria."

"What?"

His finger gently stroked my cheek before letting go and stepping back. "I compelled you, because when I fed you my blood, you asked me to make you forget it ever happened."

"Why?" I asked sternly.

"Do you finally want to know?" His eyes narrowed, "Are you finally asking me to give you your memories back?" There was a tinge of hope layered behind the deep tone of his voice.

I took a confident step toward him. "Show me." I said.

Idris closed the distance between us. His fingers took my chin, tilting my face to meet his eyes. The small, dark circle in his eyes widened and I felt mesmerized.

"Remember then, darling."

It felt as though a part of my brain had been unlocked and I was flung into the memories I'd had him compel me to forget. I understood— as waves of heat entered my bloodstream— why I had asked him to take those memories away.