“I could kill you.” I tilted my head, considering. “I should kill you. It would be easy, satisfying. No one would ever find the body.”
Tears were streaming down his face now. The smell of fear was dense in the air, mixed with the acrid tang of urine. He’d pissed himself. Again. He might have bladder issues, who knew.
“But that would upset Riley,” I continued. “She has a soft heart, my mate. Even for vermin like you.”
I reached out and grabbed him by the throat the same way he’d grabbed Riley.
“So instead, I’m going to give you a gift.”
This was a trick few wolves knew. Old, dangerous magic. It drained the user, left them vulnerable for hours after. I’d only done it once before, and it nearly killed me.
But for Riley, for her safety, her peace of mind, I’d drain myself dry.
I looked into Damien’s terrified eyes and pushed.
“Forget,” I commanded, and the word carried ancient and absolute power. “Forget who you are. Forget your name, forget your life. Forget every person you’ve ever known.”
Damien shuddered, his eyes going glassy.
“Leave this place. Go somewhere far away. Start over. Build a new life. Be a better person.” I leaned closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. “And forget, forever, the name Riley Hawkins. She never existed. You never knew her. You never touched her. She’s no one to you.”
The compulsion took hold. I could feel it, like hooks sinking into his mind, rewriting, erasing, replacing. When I released him, Damien slumped against the tree, consciousness fading.
“Go,” I said.
He stumbled to his feet and walked into the woods, not looking back once. He didn’t know why he was walking or where he was going, he just went.
I stayed on my knees for a long moment, breathing through the exhaustion crashing over me. That took more out of me than expected. My vision was swimming, my limbs felt like lead. But it was done. Damien was gone, I hadn’t killed him, and Riley was safe.
Now I just had to convince her not to hate me forever.
I dragged myself upright, found a house at the edge of the woods, stole clothes off a laundry line. Jeans and a flannel shirt, not my style but functional. Then I made my way back to Riley’s apartment to wait for her judgement.
The jeans were too short, the shirt had a picture of a fish on it that said “I’m hooked on fishing.” Truly, my dignity had never been lower. I didn’t care.
I could hear her before I reached the door.
She was pacing fast, frantic footsteps going back and forth across her apartment. And she was talking. A constant stream of words, rising and falling, punctuated by occasional hysterical laughter.
“...can’t be real. This can’t be real. I’m hallucinating. I’m having a breakdown. I’m...”
More pacing.
“...a WOLF. A giant fucking WOLF. In an ALLEY. And then he was NAKED...”
A thump. She’d thrown an object at the wall.
“...and his eyes were GLOWING. Eyes don’t glow! That’s not a thing that happens in real life!”
She kept pacing, faster now.
“...fated mate. What does that even MEAN? Is this a furry thing? Did I accidentally join a cult? Oh god, did I sleep with a cult leader...”
Hysterical laughter.
“...I’m a romance novelist. I write about werewolves. And now I’m DATING one? This is too on the nose. This is cosmic irony. The universe is laughing at me...”
My wolf whined at the distress in her voice. I forced myself to stay still on the landing, listening…My hand moved on its own, though, and I knocked on her door.
