Chapter 4

Vasile stood, more of his strength returning every minute. "Sally, come forward."

Sally took tentative steps to the front of the room and took a position next to Decebel. It didn't escape Vasile's attention that Costin was moving amongst the pack, following Sally's progression to the front.

"Everyone else take a seat. On the floor if there aren’t enough chairs."

As Vasile had expected, the dominant wolves remained standing, as did their mates.

Sally looked up at her Alpha. "I don't really know what I'm doing, so I'm just going to touch him as I did you."

Vasile nodded.

"Decebel." Sally's voice was tentative.

Decebel turned his amber gaze on her, and though Sally knew that he didn't remember her, it was still shocking to see the lack of recognition in his eyes.

"May I place my hand over your heart?"

He stood up, towering over the small healer. "You may."

Sally reached up and placed her small hand over Decebel's heart. She was not surprised by the strength she felt in his muscles or by the way they tensed as she made contact.

She closed her eyes and let the knowing force inside her take over. She saw darkness. An entity was flowing through his veins, moving through his body until it reached his brain, where it created a slimy supernatural film. Sally reached into the darkness, seeking its origin, its purpose. She gasped as she felt the wicked intent behind it. A curse.

No, Sally thought. Not a curse. Two curses. She pushed against them and briefly felt the magic behind it – dark magic meant to destroy memories. Not just any memories, but cherished memories, life altering memories.

Sally couldn't believe the curses' intricacy. The second curse bound Decebel as the sole wolf able to seek out Jen. She wondered why the one who cursed him would choose Jen's mate as the only one able to find her. He could track her, couldn’t he?

Cherished memories, she remembered. Decebel doesn't remember his mate.

Sally felt the wolf's pain as his very soul sought for the comfort of his mate. As Sally continued to look deeper into his unconsciousness, she saw that the memories were still there, but they were bound. Then she found something that she wasn't expecting.

The curse was for Fane.

Sally pulled her hand away, collapsed, and would've hit the ground had Costin not, somehow, been there to catch her. She pressed her hand to her head, feeling the darkness recede from her own mind. Costin helped her stand and kept his hands on her waist until he was sure she was steady. She looked up at him, brow furrowed. He grinned and winked at her as he stepped back.

Sally shook her head, thinking it odd that Costin had been there to catch her.

Vasile cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him.

"It is a curse. Well, actually, it's two curses," she began. "I'm going to try and describe this as best I can. It's kind of complex." She looked at Vasile, waiting to see if he had anything to say.

He nodded, indicating to her to go on.

"Alright then. The first is some sort of memory binding curse. From what I could tell it has bound Decebel's good memories. And by good, I mean his precious and life-altering memories. So, the mundane, everyday, hoo-ha stuff remains."

"Did she just say hoo-ha?" Jacque muttered.

Fane smacked her lightly on her butt. "Behave."

"I'm just saying. Jen would have loved that one," she said absently.

Taking no notice, Sally went on. "It appears that the curse started binding his good memories from the day of the death of his sister. My guess is that whoever placed the curse on Decebel wanted him to forget his mate. Anything important in Decebel's life that was positive is gone. It's why he doesn't remember becoming your Beta; it's why he doesn't remember new pack members. I imagine he doesn't remember any of the matings that have occurred in the last one hundred years either. The most important fact, I would like to point out, is that she made him forget his mate."

The entire room gasped. Each of them understood the implication of something so important as essentially losing your mate. If Decebel didn't remember Jen, what would that do to them and their bond? More importantly, how would she be found?

Sally continued. "The next curse is where it gets really messy. The second curse makes Decebel the only one able to find Jen. It's almost like the witch, and I think we can all be certain now that it was a witch, bound the pack through him. Also, I need to tell you Vasile, that the first curse had Fane's name on it. Decebel blocked Fane with his body and got hit with it."

Jacque wrapped her arms around Fane. "I don't know what I would do if you couldn't remember me," she whispered.

"You probably would beat me until I did remember," Fane teased, easing the tension in his mate.

Jacque snorted. "You know me so well."

Vasile stepped up to his Beta wrapped him in an embrace. "Nici un cuvânt nu-mi poate exprima gratitudinea pentru că mi-ai protejat fiul, (No words can express my thanks to you for protecting my son). We will fix this, Decebel. We will not stop until you have your memories back and Jen is safely by your side."

Decebel stepped back from the embrace. "Who is Jen?"

"She's your mate."

"I don’t have a mate. I don't care about the curse—there is no way in hell any wolf could forget his mate." Decebel shook his head.

As she watched her best friend's mate deny her, Jacque couldn't stop the tear that slid down her cheek.

"Decebel, I'm telling you, you have a mate. I would never say such a thing if it wasn't true," Vasile implored.

Sorin spoke. "You do have a mate. She's a little spitfire who drives you insane."

Other members of the pack began to nod, trying to convince their Beta.

Decebel continued to back away from the pack toward the door. He had to get out of there. He couldn't stand the weight of their stares.

"I HAVE NO MATE!" he snarled and turned, storming toward the door. The crowd parted, some stumbling to get out of the furious Beta's way.

Sally and Jacque jumped as the door slammed shut so hard that it rattled the walls.

Fane wrapped his arms around his mate and pulled her close. Through her tears he heard her whisper, "I can't imagine the pain he must be feeling inside, even if he doesn't know why. What if he never remembers?"

Fane rubbed Jacquelyn's back, attempting to calm her. "We won't give up until he does."

At that, her tears returned full force. "What about Jen? How will we find Jen?"

Sally came over, tears streaming down her face as well. "Just the loss of her memory is ripping his soul apart."

Cynthia, Crina, and Costin came over and surrounded the other three.

Costin watched the tears run down Sally's face and felt something inside him break. He stepped closer and took her hand. He gave it a comforting squeeze and then let go, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. Sally looked up at him with red, swollen eyes. Her expression told him that she appreciated the gesture.

Jacque pulled away from Fane and turned to Cynthia and Crina. "Where have you two been?" She asked wiping her eyes. She realized that she hadn't seen them since they climbed out of the Hummers.

"Vasile had us talking to the owner of the tavern about staying here. We slipped in about the time Sally was just finishing her healer stuff. We heard everything," Cynthia explained.

"So what's the plan now?" Crina asked.

"I think we need to wait for my father to let us know,” said Fane. He will utilize every resource the pack has at its disposal, so don't worry, you will have a job to do." Just as Fane finished speaking, Vasile reached them.

The Alpha addressed Fane and Costin. "Sorin and Skender are to help you organize room assignments. I believe there are six rooms in the building attached to this one. Cynthia and Crina, show them where to go. Make it work."

Before they could respond, Vasile left the room.

Vasile decided to seek out the three Alphas before he went to Decebel. He figured his Beta needed to be alone to sort out the information that Sally had discovered.

He climbed the stairs and found them standing by the railing, deep in conversation.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Vasile politely said as they all turned to face him.

"Vasile, we offer our condolences for what has happened to your pack," Victor told him quietly.

"Thank you. We all appreciate your support. At this time there really isn't anything that you or your packs can do." Vasile held up his hand to preemptively placate the Alphas." I don't mean that as an insult. Sometimes too much help winds up being a hindrance."

"Understood," Victor acknowledged. "We can arrange for some pack mates to take the vehicles back as we prepare to depart. We should be on our way by this evening."

Vasile looked at his watch. "With all that has gone on I hadn't realized it was four in the morning. If you and yours need rest, please take it."

All three Alphas shook their heads.

"We are doing well," Victor promised.

Vasile thanked them again and gave his goodbye. That done, he felt it was time to seek out his Beta and try to patch him up as much as possible. Vasile's blood boiled that someone—and not just someone, but a witch—had hurt one of his own. There would be hell to pay.

After doing some searching, Vasile found Decebel sitting on a bench across the road from the tavern. Vasile walked toward him, looking up and down the road. There weren't any cars to disturb the silent night. The crunching of the snow under his shoes seemed to echo loudly.

The village was small, and very primitive in some ways. Though there was indoor plumbing, there was no electricity. Oil lamps lit the buildings and fires heated the homes. Vasile smiled to himself at the simplicity of life here. But even here, complexity and trouble found its way to his pack.

Decebel looked up as Vasile sat down next to him.

"How could I forget my mate, Vasile? What kind of man does that make me?"

Vasile wrapped an arm around him, briefly giving him the comfort of touch and letting him know he wasn't alone.

"It makes you like the rest of us—vulnerable. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we can't protect our mates from everything. We aren't omniscient or omnipresent.” Vasile sat back, contemplating. “I think part of the reason that she has been wiped completely from your memory is that you haven't yet completed the bonding ceremony or the Blood Rites."

Decebel snapped his head around. "What was I waiting for, an engraved invitation?"

Vasile chuckled. "It wasn't that simple."

"Is it ever with women?"

"Don't let my mate hear you say that," Vasile teased.

"So why had I not bonded with my mate?"

"You were drawn to one another from day one. The intensity of your relationship is one of the strongest I've ever seen. That said, there were no mating signs."

Decebel took in a sharp breath. "None?"

Vasile shook his head.

"And yet I was sure she was my mate?" Decebel asked in disbelief.

"We all were. It was confirmed just before the mansion went up in flames."

"How?" Decebel felt hopeful. Why? He wasn't sure. He didn't even remember the girl Vasile spoke of.

"Your bond finally connected. You were able to hear each other's thoughts." Vasile watched as his Beta processed that news.

Decebel felt like he had been punched in the gut. He had a mate—a mate! His head cocked to the side as a thought hit him. "If I have a mate, where the hell is she?"

"The Alpha of the Serbian pack tried to have her killed."

Decebel stood up abruptly, outraged, but then a key word hit him. "Tried to have her killed? So, she isn't dead?"

Vasile shook his head.

"Tell me," Decebel said simply.

"Marianna, one of our younger unmated females was fooled by Thad into agreeing to kill your mate. It was assumed this would take you out of the picture and leave me without your protection."

Decebel squeezed his eyes shut. "I remember that. I remember killing a girl, but I don’t recognize her. She was pack? I killed one of ours?" His voice shook with horror.

"Be still, Decebel. She betrayed our pack. She tried to kill your mate. You were justified in your judgment and sentence." Vasile paused, narrowing his eyes as he continued to remember the events of that night. "When your bond connected, Jen was able to tell you what she remembered. You shared your memories with me. She was pushed into a cavern and had been severely injured."

"Why have I not been searching for her?" Decebel interrupted.

"She made you promise to get her friends to safety first."

"And I listened to her? I put her friends before my own mate?!"

Vasile laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" Decebel's brow furrowed as he watched his Alpha in confusion.

"You're mate can be quite convincing when she needs to be. She pretty much told you that if you came for her without taking care of her friends first that she would never forgive you. And you knew that she spoke the truth. If there is one thing Jen is, it's loyal, fiercely loyal to those she loves."

"So, she's out there, hurt and alone in this freezing cold?" Decebel realized that even though he didn't know this girl, didn't know what he was supposed to feel for her, he still wanted to save her—he wanted a chance to meet her.

"We will find her." Vasile's words were absolute. He would accept nothing less than Jen's safe return and his Beta's memory restored. And the witch who dared touch what was his, well, he wanted her head on a stick. Violent? Definitely. But then, he was Alpha and nobody hurt what was his.

"So, what's the plan?" Decebel asked. He refused to sit idly by just because he couldn't remember things. She was pack. He would do whatever he needed to protect that pack.

"We do need to make a plan. Meet me in the back room of the tavern. I will go and get the others."

The Alpha and his Beta began to walk back towards the tavern.

Decebel continued on when Vasile stopped to talk with the tavern's owner.

"I will compensate you well for the time you allow us to stay," he told Nicolae, a short, middle-aged man with a round belly and five o'clock shadow. Nicolae had an easy smile and, from what Vasile could see, he was a gentle soul. Vasile spoke in their native tongue, wanting to befriend the gentleman and create a comradeship with him.

"I have heard you have a member of your family missing?" Nicolae asked.

"Yes. We were having a family gathering and the girl got lost in the woods. We will be here until she is found."

"Anything that I can do, I will. For now, I'll have meals readied for your family."

Vasile nodded. "That would be great. I will send some of my people to help you prepare and gather whatever you need. Thank you."