Chapter 5
Damon’s face went deathly pale for a moment, the color draining from his features like water from a broken dam. His hands began to tremble as he stammered:
“How could that be? Didn’t she refuse initially? Why did the Alpha Council arrange for her to go there again!”
His voice cracked on the last word, desperation seeping through every syllable.
“I don’t believe it. I need to ask her myself!”
But just as he stepped forward, his legs unsteady beneath him, Harper burst through the ceremonial hall doors. Her face was flushed with anger, her beta wolf instincts on high alert.
Harper came from a prominent beta family in Red Stone pack with high status, so she dared to directly block Damon’s path. She planted herself firmly in front of him, her eyes blazing with fury.
“Don’t you understand yet?” Harper’s voice was sharp as a blade. “Aria has completely lost faith in you!”
She took a step closer, her finger pointed accusingly at his chest.
“And there’s no antidote to the memory potion. Why else do you think it’s forbidden magic!”
Damon’s eyes widened in horror. “What… what are you saying?”
“Aria should have already forgotten all memories of you by now. She doesn’t love you anymore. Stop bothering her.”
Harper’s words hit him like physical blows. She watched as his face contorted with growing panic.
Damon’s eyes turned red, his face finally reaching an extreme pallor. Sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cool air.
“The memory potion… has no cure?”
His voice was barely a whisper now, horror creeping into every word.
“Are you telling me the truth?!”
He grabbed Harper’s shoulders, shaking her slightly. “Tell me you’re lying! Tell me there’s a way to fix this!”
Harper shrugged off his grip, her expression cold and unforgiving.
“Why would I lie about something like this?”
Only then did the full weight of his actions crash down on him. The memory came flooding back in painful detail.
When he had sought the potion from the witch, she had been reluctant to give it to him. Her wrinkled face had been creased with concern, her gnarled hands hesitant as she reached for the vial.
“Alpha, you don’t understand what you’re asking for,” the witch had warned.
But he’d been so focused on his plan, so convinced of his righteousness, that he’d cut her off.
“Just give me the potion. I know what I’m doing.”
He’d only gotten it by using his Alpha authority, his commanding presence forcing her compliance.
