Chapter 1 Chapter 1

Dylan Thomson's first love, Jocelyn Wilkes, had returned from Northia. That day, he poured me a cup of water with sweet clover added to it and handed it to me. "The silver venom has penetrated her bones. She only has 21 days left and wants to spend her last days of life with me." He spoke very calmly, as if he were talking about the weather that day. There was no trace of emotion in his voice at all. I frowned. "At a time like this, she should be looking for the pack's elders, shouldn't she? Why is she looking for you?" Jocelyn was his first love, and she was also Dylan's younger stepsister. He once said that even though they had parted ways long ago, they would still be "family" from a different bloodline. I had often been jealous of her in the past. Dylan and I were true mates, and we had been sure of each other from the moment we met. Now, there was only half a month left until the bonding ceremony that I had been looking forward to for a long time. Dylan lowered his eyes and avoided my gaze. "Her father was caught in an avalanche a couple of months ago while he was out hunting, and her mother abandoned her when she was only four years old. She's all alone," he explained. "So your heart softened toward her?" I was sharp and caught the emotion in his voice that he had failed to conceal. "I just feel a slight regret," he said. He shrugged lightly, acting as if it was fine. He reached out to tweak my nose and changed the subject on purpose. "Are you nervous? We're going to have the bonding ceremony soon." I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "We haven't held the ceremony yet.""It'll come very soon." He laughed softly, and his tone changed as he looked seriously at me. "You're my only wife and mate. The only one in my life." Dylan had always been reticent and somber. He never said cheesy, romantic things to me. Even when the Moon Goddess had led our wolves to meet, he had only protected me in silence and supported me emotionally. He never made promises lightly. However, he had now said the word "forever". I snuggled into his arms and pulled out the background photo for the ceremony. I laughed and said that I wanted him to help me choose a picture to welcome the guests. He just hugged me tightly. "You can choose. I've got to return to the Healing Center at the pack and hand over some work." Dylan then went to change. He had always taken care of his appearance. Even if he was only going to the market to buy some fruit, he would dress neatly, and it always made my heart flutter. However, he had gone out with his outer robe hanging loose and rumpled. The cuffs of his pants were uneven, and even his socks did not seem to be a matching pair. I pressed my lips together, but I did not say anything. After I got downstairs, I called a cab and followed him at a distance. I watched Dylan pass the pack's Healing Center without even going in. He went straight to the clinic at the foot of Mount Aquilo. That was the observation area set up for wolves that were critically poisoned with silver venom. I did not keep following him. He had probably gone to visit his stepsister, whom he showed far too much concern for.

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Dylan finally got home when dawn was about to break. I hadn't lit the lamps. I was curled up on the animal hide couch, my gaze fixed on the door. He pushed the door open and came in. He raised his hand to light the night crystal lamp, and when he saw that I hadn't slept, he was clearly startled. He began walking slowly toward me. "You know," he simply said. He swallowed, his voice sounding tight as he tried to hide how flustered he was. I nodded. We had been with each other for five years, and we were too familiar with each other. His sudden promise, his messy clothing, and the wrong steps he had taken had all alerted me to the fact that he was hiding something. I had always been perky, and I never sat silently in a corner late at night. Dylan knew that it wasn't normal for me to be like that. He sighed and sat down beside me. He took out a long, thin crystal tube from the pouch that he carried around with him. It contained a blue potion, and he placed it gently in front of me. "She's in a lot of pain. She's lying in the observation area at the clinic, and she's hooked up to all kinds of equipment." He looked at me and said in a voice so calm that it was almost impassive, "I promised her father and my mother that I would look after her." My chest felt as if I had been plunged into an icy lake. My breath caught in my throat, and my fingertips turned numb. "So you've decided to spend her last days with her?" He nodded. "Yes." The silence around us was so thick that it felt as though all the sounds had been turned off. After a while, Dylan moved his hand hesitantly to touch the crystal tube. "What is this?" I asked as I stared into his eyes, my voice sounding scratchy and dry. He averted his gaze from mine and said in a low voice, "Melody, she's counting down the days to her death, and she just wants me to keep her company. I knew you wouldn't agree, so…" His voice was becoming softer and softer, but every word seemed to pierce my heart like a knife made of ice. "I hope you'll still bond with me after I've walked the last leg of her journey of life with her. Therefore you… you just need to forget me temporarily. When I get back, everything will be the same as it always was." I finally understood. This was his newly developed "Memory Lock Potion". It could temporarily cut off our link with our wolves and block our memories. "You want to wipe out all traces of me from your mind," I said flatly. I stared at him in a daze. I could feel my wolf trembling like I was. My mate was going to devote himself to keeping another she-wolf company. "No, Melody! It's only for 21 days." Dylan tried to explain himself softly, as if he were trying to coax a pup. "When she's gone, I'll come back. We'll have the bonding ceremony, just like we planned. We're true mates. Our wolves get on so well. They're inseparable." I sat there woodenly, feeling my eyes sting. It had been five years. I laughed sardonically. "You've only just developed this potion. You haven't even tested it yet. What if something goes wrong? What if I forget you forever, and not just for 21 days? What if it hurts my wolf?" Dylan's finger froze, but he only remained silent for a moment before pulling out the stopper of the tube firmly. There was a soft sound, and the potion glowed a faint blue. "There's nothing wrong with my potion. I'm the best Neuro Healer in Southia." He held the tube near my lips. "After 21 days, I'll come back and marry you, and we'll become the happiest couple." I turned my head away. "Why should I? I'm not a recycling center. Why do I have to accept a werewolf who cheated?""That's slander! I haven't betrayed you!" Dylan was suddenly agitated, and his eyes reddened. "She's about to die. She doesn't have much time left, and she deserves my company!" The mate that I had loved deeply for five years was now desperately defending another she-wolf before me. He took a deep breath and got up abruptly. He pressed my shoulders down. I was about to resist, but he pinched my chin harshly. The ice-cold crystal tube was stuffed into my mouth by force, and the bitter liquid slid down my throat. I struggled desperately and choked violently on it. The potion had accidentally entered my windpipe, and I could barely breathe. However, Dylan did not stop. Instead, he held me down even more forcefully. I aimed a vicious kick at him and hit his abdomen. Dylan grunted, and his arms loosened. I wanted to vomit the potion out at once, but he suddenly grabbed my hair and yanked me back. He held my face in an iron grip and poured the rest of the potion in by force. My tongue was cut open by the tube, and the taste of blood mingled with the bitterness. It hurt so much that tears streamed down my cheeks. The tears clouded my vision, and I could no longer see the expression on his face clearly. When the potion had almost finished, he finally let go of me. I tried desperately to dig into my throat with my nails, but bile rose up and I could not throw up. I could only gag hoarsely, and I felt as if I was being torn apart. I cradled my head in my hands and trembled. My head felt as if it were being torn open by sharp claws, and my consciousness was being devoured inch by inch. My wolf trembled with me. Darkness was falling over me, and I slumped onto the floor. I could only vaguely hear his voice. It rang out in my mind as if from a distance. "Melody, I truly love you, but Jocelyn is about to die. I have to keep her company, so… please… forget me. Forget… Dylan." His voice seemed to be getting further and further away, and it was growing more faint. I fell onto the sofa, and the only word that resounded in my mind was Dylan. Who was that?

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

The noise of my phone's ringtone woke me. I opened my eyes blearily. My head felt very heavy, as if it had been stuffed with rocks. "Melody, what are you doing?" It was Lira Johnson, the pack inspector sent from the Alpha King in Northia. She was also a good friend whom I'd grown up with. "I rushed over snowy mountains overnight to get back in time to witness your bonding ceremony, but I couldn't even enter the ceremony venue! "Also, why is Jocelyn the bride? Who is she? What are you and Dylan playing at?" Lira questioned. I was immediately alert, and my heartbeat sped up all of a sudden. "Wh-who's bonding? What are you talking about?" Lira was even more surprised than I was. "Isn't today the day of you and Dylan's mate bonding?" I felt cold all over and retorted at once. "Who's Dylan? I'm single. Don't you know that?" "You've been together with him for five years. Even your wood carving has your names engraved on it!" Lira almost laughed out of sheer anger. I scrambled out of bed in a panic and began rummaging through the house. However, all the clothes and even the scents were all mine. "I carved that wooden sculpture myself for fun. Didn't I tell you I wanted to practise my skills?" I asked in resignation. "Look, even my bed is a single bed." "That's impossible!" Lira clenched her teeth. "Don't move. I'm coming over right now." She hung up before I could reply. After a while, she rushed in and panted as she scolded me. "Are you mad? Why are you pretending to have lost your memories? Do you want to frighten me to death?" However, when she finally stood in my room and saw the colorful oil painting on the wall, as well as how there was no trace of Dylan at all, she was stunned. "That's impossible… look, I have proof." She pulled out her phone quickly and found a photo that she had taken casually. In the image, I was wearing a velvet gown and hanging onto the arm of a male werewolf who was dressed in a black hunting robe and wore silver-rimmed glasses. I was smiling very happily. I was startled. I had no impression of the male werewolf at all, nor did I feel any sense of familiarity or any change in my heartbeat. For some reason, tears slid down my cheeks almost at once. I reached out to wipe them away, but the moment my fingers brushed the corners of my eyes, I had a flash of inspiration. "Lira! Do I have a long-lost twin sister? She's the one who's bonding, right?" I asked. Lira looked exasperated. "Have you and Dylan had a fight?" I was agitated. "You still don't believe me. I really don't recognize him!" Lira stared at me, and her expression gradually turned serious. "Have you really lost your memories? Have you bumped your head recently, or have you been poisoned? Wait! Where's your wolf?" She grabbed my phone anxiously to try to find information about Dylan on it. However, no matter how much she searched through it, she couldn't find anything. Not even his name was in it. She had no choice but to call him herself. After a moment, there was a familiar but tough male voice. "Who is it?" "Dylan! Have you gone crazy? Melody says she doesn't know you, and you're having a bonding ceremony with another she-wolf? Melody's wolf has disappeared too!" There was silence on the other end for a few moments, and then Dylan said coldly, "You have the wrong number." Lira almost flung her phone away in anger. "Drop the act! Can't you tell from my voice that it's me?" Before he could say anything, there was a weak cough on the other end and a hoarse female voice. "Who is it, Dylan?" Dylan sounded nervous. "You have the wrong number." After that, there was only the sound of a busy signal. He had hung up. "No, this is way too strange," Lira muttered, running outside at once. "Leave everything else. I'm going to find a solution to help you get back your wolf and your memories. Stay at home and wait for news from me. I'll investigate," Lira said. She had always been quick to act. However, I sat where I was, not feeling nervous at all. I really did not have any memories of Dylan. I had never been interested in strangers. Right now, I was more concerned about where my wolf was and why tears kept trickling out of the corners of my eyes. Why was there a dull pain in my chest?

Chapter 4 Chapter 4

When Lira got back, I was already curled up on the animal hide mat. I had ordered a huge bag of cured meat and roasted nuts, and I was watching a video of the pack discussing healing techniques while I ate. "Hey, Lira, do you want some? This fruit-flavored cured meat is delicious," I said. Lira swatted my hand away at once. "Has your brain gotten infected with silver venom? How can you even eat at a time like this? That jerk Dylan has betrayed you! "The she-wolf that keeps coughing beside him is his stepsister! She's the mate that he bonded with at the ceremony today! I heard that she's got a fatal disease and that completing the ceremony with Dylan was her dying wish!" It was strange, but I didn't care at all. I handed Lira a piece of fruit-flavored cured meat. "Oh, how dramatic! And then what?" I asked sarcastically. Lira opened her mouth and swiped the cured meat away. She chewed on it while glaring at me. "Your mate, whom you haven't bonded with yet, switched to a different she-wolf behind your back and even held the ceremony. Aren't you bothered about that at all?" Lira asked. I kept munching. "Oh, how juicy!" I tossed two more into my mouth. "Infected with silver venom, the rekindling of an old flame, a change in mates… this plot is almost as good as the Night Legends. However, I don't know him at all. He can bond with whoever he wants," I simply said. Lira ignored me and got into gossip mode at once. She poured out everything she had found out over the past few days from the warriors. Dylan had been traveling around Northia with the she-wolf called Jocelyn. He said that it was a trip to fulfill their wishes. He had held a grand bonding ceremony for her and danced with her during the Moon Goddess Festival. He had sworn that they would mate again in the next life. Now, everyone in the pack called him devoted and said that he was a model of loyalty. Lira curled her lips in anger. "Are you just going to forget it?" "I can't remember him, and I don't know him. His existence is like that of an ant to me. Why should I get into a conflict with a werewolf that I don't know?" I replied. Lira was rendered speechless, but she did not give up. She bought the video records of the ceremony from someone else. Under the lights of the Moon Goddess Festival, Dylan held Jocelyn's hand and led her over the Moonlight Altar. They swore oaths to each other with the blessing of the pack, and they held each other and kissed, looking inseparable. The beauty of the moonlight during the Moon Goddess Festival made the ceremony seem ethereal. Lira bounced on the couch indignantly. "Those flowers are the Moonblooms that we only managed to pick after I searched with you at the border for half a month! It's a token of trust that represents a promise to never commit betrayal! How could he turn around and give it to another she-wolf?" I was startled for a moment. All the decorations in that ceremony had been designed by me, from the lights to the flowers. I had stayed up all night to choose them. Lira criticized Dylan harshly, "Is he crazy? You only just forgot about him, and he turned around immediately to take someone else's hand! That isn't a loyal mate! He even made your wolf disappear too! You must get revenge!" I spread my hands helplessly. "How touching. His stepsister is sick and is about to die, and her first love is staying with her until the end." Lira continued to watch the news closely. She told me that they were going to the Sacred Raine Cliffs in Northia for their honeymoon, while also stopping by the Caydian Orchard. It was rumored that it was the place where true mates during ancient times would travel to together. As for my wolf, I knew she hadn't disappeared or been sealed away. She was just temporarily in a deep sleep. I continued to study and do experiments, and my days were mundane and uneventful. However, occasionally during experiments, I would feel a sudden pain in my chest. Tears would slide down my cheeks and drip off my chin. I shook my head briskly and continued working. Since I had forgotten it all, it didn't matter. … 21 days later, my phone suddenly began vibrating wildly. I tapped on it and saw a barrage of intimate photos of Jocelyn and Dylan. They included the entire ceremony, their honeymoon, and everyday photos of them. There was also a disgusting message attached. "Thank you for giving us your blessing, Mel. Dylan rushed over to your place the moment he got off the plane, and I didn't have time to develop these photos for him. I'll have to trouble you to do it on my behalf." I was flummoxed. Was she crazy? Was I just part of some kind of weird game they were playing? I couldn't help it, and I replied at once, "Are you sure that a doctor who can treat silver venom is what you need right now? Do you want to go and get checked by a psychiatrist while you're at it?" I deleted the photos as I cursed her. My hand ached from all the deleting. I was even going to take them to the psychiatric clinic in the east. It was renowned as a place for treating those who had lost their minds. I was furious, so I sent those insane messages and photos to Lira immediately so that she could criticize them with me. We were happily insulting them when the door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang. Dylan, the person we were criticizing, was standing right in front of me. "Melody, I love you. But she needed me more back then." "But that’s over now. I’m back, and we can finally be us again."