Alpha's Hidden Precious Luna-Chapter 132

Kai POV

I stared at Tobias, his weathered face illuminated by the setting sun.  

Now that he was up close in front of me, he had a lot of similarities to Lily. The color of their eyes, for instance. Now he was staring at me waiting for me to say something—anything. But I didn’t have a damn clue what to say.

"A spell?" I repeated, trying to keep my voice even. The words felt foreign in my tongue, unreal even as they registered in my brain.  "You’re saying someone cast a spell on me?"

Tobias nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. "Not just any spell, Alpha Kai. A powerful binding charm, created by a hybrid witch. The magic is... unusual. Ancient. I’ve rarely seen it’s like."

I ran my hand through my hair, trying to process his words. My life has been a series of unexplainable misfortunes and pain recently.  Could it all be because of some curse?

"How can you be sure?" I asked, my throat tight. "That’s ridiculous."

Tobias tilted his head. "Is it?"

I opened my mouth to argue, to shut him down, but the words caught in my throat.

Because deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

Deep down, I’d always known something was wrong with me.

Ever since I discovered that I lost my memory, I had felt... off. My emotions, my instincts, the way my wolf reacted to certain things—it never felt right. There were gaps in my mind that I could never explain, moments that felt like ghosts of a life I had lived but couldn’t remember.

And then there was the pain.

The unbearable, soul-crushing pain that came in waves, dragging me into darkness when I least expected it.

Tobias must have seen the flicker of doubt in my eyes because he leaned forward slightly, his voice dropping lower.

"There’s more," Tobias continued, his voice dropping lower. "The nature of the spell... it seems to be some sort of love charm gone wrong. Or perhaps right, depending on the caster’s intention." He leaned forward, his gaze intensifying. "Kai, have you ever loved a jealous woman? Someone who might have wanted to bind you to her—or punish you for leaving? And the more I look at you, the more I see it all over you."

I tensed.

"A love charm?"

Tobias nodded slowly, watching me carefully.

"Tell me, Kai. Have you ever loved a jealous woman?" he asked again, staring at me strangely.

The question slammed into me like a punch to the gut. I wish I knew the answer to that.

My mother’s words echoed in my head. You didn’t kill her, Kai. It wasn’t your fault.

I had spent years believing I had murdered my first mate, the woman my wolf once longed for. But my mother swore that wasn’t true.

"I..." I started, then stopped. But who was ’her’? My first love? My first mate? The memories remained frustratingly out of reach, locked away in the vault of my mind.

I realized Tobias was still waiting for an answer, his knowing eyes seeing more than I wanted him to.

"I wish I knew," I finally said, forcing a calm I didn’t feel into my voice. "There are... gaps in my memory. From a long time ago."

I didn’t mention that those gaps coincided with the worst pain I’d ever experienced—both, physical and emotional. The time when I apparently lost someone important to me. Someone I might have loved.

Tobias’s eyebrows rose slightly. "Memory loss? That’s significant, Alpha. It could be part of the curse itself—designed to keep you from remembering who cast it, or why."

Then why did I feel like pieces of my past had been stolen from me?

Who was she? And what did she do to me?

Tobias was still watching me, waiting. But I still  had nothing.

I forced a slow breath through my nose and straightened my shoulders.

"It doesn’t matter," I said evenly. "I’m fine now."

Tobias arched a brow. "Are you?"

I ignored the question.

"That’s enough for today," I said, firmly. "I’d like to rest."

For a moment, Tobias looked like he wanted to argue. But then he sighed and gave a slow nod.

"Very well," he said.

I turned to start walking away again but paused again.

"Thank you," I muttered. "For taking care of Lily."

His eyes softened slightly, but I didn’t stay long enough to hear his response.

I needed to get out of there.

I needed air.

I needed to think.

Who cursed me? What had I done to deserve it? And why couldn’t I remember?

~~~

I must have fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow, exhaustion finally overcoming the turmoil in my mind. But instead of the peaceful darkness I craved, I found myself somewhere else entirely.

The dream felt different from others—more vivid, more real. The colors were brighter, the sensations felt real. I stood in a garden filled with wildflowers, their sweet scent carried on a gentle breeze.

And I wasn’t alone.

A woman stood beside me, her hand in mine. I couldn’t see her face clearly—it remained frustratingly blurred, as if viewed through frosted glass. But I could feel her warmth, the softness of her skin against mine, the contentment that radiated from her presence.

We were happy. I was happy—truly happy in a way I couldn’t remember feeling in my waking life.

Not even with Lily.

"Do you remember this place?" she asked, her voice melodic yet somehow distorted, as if coming from underwater. "This is where you first told me you loved me."

I tried to turn, to see her face, but I only smiled and squeezed her hand.

"How could I forget?" I replied. "It was the best day of my life."

But I had forgotten. I had forgotten her, this place, that moment. The realization sent a jolt of pain through me, breaking the serenity of the dream.

"You promised we’d be together forever," she continued, her voice taking on a strange edge. "You promised I was your only mate. Your true mate."

The meadow darkened, clouds rolling in to block the sun. The flowers at our feet began to wither and die.

"But you lied," she whispered, her hand tightening painfully around mine. "And now you’ll pay. You’ll never be happy without me, Kai. Never."

I tried to pull away, to see her face, to understand what was happening, but the dream was already dissolving around me, the woman’s laughter echoing as darkness claimed me once more.

I jolted awake, heart hammering against my ribs, sweat soaking my sheets. The digital clock on my nightstand read 3:17 AM, its red numbers the only light in the darkness.

The dream clung to me like a second skin, refusing to fade as dreams usually did. I could still feel her hand in mine, still hear her voice, still sense her anger.

I ran a shaky hand down my face, my entire body trembling.

That dream—that memory—felt real.

It was real.I knew it was.

Which meant—

I had loved her. I had loved someone. And she had loved me.

So why couldn’t I remember her name? Why did my heart ache like I had lost something vital?

"Have you ever loved a jealous woman?"

Tobias’s words replayed in my mind, I didn’t know.

I didn’t know.

But I needed to find out.

And I knew, with sudden, chilling certainty: Tobias was right. Someone had cursed me. Someone I had once loved—and somehow forgotten.

I reached for my phone and dialed Lily’s number before I could think better of it.

"Kai?" she answered, her voice thick with sleep. "Is everything okay?"

"No," I admitted, the word escaping before I could stop it. "But I think it might be, someday. If you help me."

Because if anyone could help me navigate the darkness of my past, it was Lily—the woman who was somehow becoming my future.