My Alpha Forced Me to Forget Him Chapter 01

My Alpha Forced Me to Forget Him Chapter 01

“Elara, just three days. Once Selene’s surgery is over, I’ll restore our mate bond immediately.”

Ryker gently pressed a crystal vial into my palm.

The liquid inside shimmered with an eerie silver glow.

His voice was soft, almost coaxing, as if he were persuading a child to take medicine.

“It’s called the Lethe Elixir. For the next three days, no matter what happens between Selene and me, your wolf won’t feel any pain.”

He paused before adding with a confident smile, “When the effects wear off, you’ll love me even more than before.”

I didn’t answer. I simply looked at him.

I’d spent nearly ten years memorizing every inch of that face—those steel-blue eyes that always carried unwavering confidence.

I used to mistake that confidence for strength.

Now I knew the truth.

It wasn’t strength. He had simply never needed to care about how I felt.

Without another word, I tilted my head back and swallowed the potion.

The instant it slid down my throat, an agonizing scream exploded inside my mind.

My wolf.

She wasn’t crying from pain. She was breaking.

The mate bond between us was being torn apart, strand by strand, while she howled in despair.

What Ryker didn’t know was that the Lethe Elixir came with a cruel price.

It wasn’t as simple as drinking it and forgetting.

If, during these three days, he truly treated me like his mate—stayed beside me, protected me, cherished me—then my memories and feelings for him would gradually disappear until nothing remained.

But if he hurt me…

My wolf’s instincts would shut down forever.

The mate bond would never be restored. Ever.

He wrapped his arms around my waist and lowered his head, brushing his lips against my ear as he chuckled softly.

“Don’t look so miserable, Elara.”

“When these three days are over, I’ll love you even more too.”

I slowly turned around in his embrace, my fingertips brushing the stubble along his jaw.

This was the man I’d once believed was my forever.

The Lethe Elixir wasn’t something anyone could buy.

My brother, Adrian, had spent three years creating it before he died.

Now I was the only person left in the world who knew its true cost.

In three days, I might not even remember Ryker’s name.

A memory suddenly surfaced.

Just last month, we had been drinking wine together beneath the moonlight on the balcony.

I had smiled and asked him,

“If one day we stop loving each other… would you let me go?”

His expression changed instantly.

He pulled me into his arms with such force I could barely breathe.

“Elara.”

His voice had been fierce.

“Listen to me.”

“Unless I’m dead, no one is taking my mate away from me. Never.”

Back then, those words had sounded like the sweetest vow in the world.

Now?

We were both alive. His hand still rested around my waist.

Yet he was the one who had forced the Lethe Elixir down my throat and willingly severed our mate bond.

My eyes stung. I looked up at him.

“Ryker…”

“Aren’t you afraid… that I’ll never love you again?”

His brows knitted together. A dangerous look flashed across his eyes.

Without warning, he seized my chin and crushed his lips against mine.

The kiss hurt.

There wasn’t a trace of tenderness in it. Only anger.

“Don’t.”

His voice dropped into a warning growl.

“You promised me. You said you’d love only me for the rest of your life.”

Once, hearing words like that would have made my wolf purr with happiness.

Now I only felt suffocated.

Because the one forcing this poison on me was him.

I lowered my gaze and swallowed the lump in my throat without saying a word.

Perhaps Ryker realized he’d gone too far.

He sighed, pulled me back into his embrace, and gently stroked my back.

“I know this is hard, but I don’t have another choice.”

“Selene’s surgery can’t wait.”

He held me as though comforting a frightened pup.

“When she recovers, I’ll pay back everything I owe her.”

“After that, it’s over between us.”

“I’ll take you to Iceland. You’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights, haven’t you?”

I nodded. Bit my lip. Stayed silent.

The irony almost made me laugh.

Seven years ago, Ryker had been cursed with a blood curse.

His wolf had been dying.

Everyone believed he wouldn’t survive the next full moon.

I knelt inside the Temple of the Moon Goddess and swore before the Moon Goddess herself—

If he died, I’d follow him into death.

In the end, only Selene’s blood could break the curse.

I had knelt before her. Crying. Begging.

Pleading for her to save my mate.

From that day on, Ryker believed he owed Selene his life.

I never complained. Because I believed that debt belonged to me as well.

Lost in thought, I suddenly heard the sound of rolling luggage downstairs.

I snapped back to reality.

Ryker was already standing by the door, his expression tense.

“Elara…”

“Selene isn’t doing well. I need to stay with her for these three days.”

He hesitated before adding,

“Just three days. Everything will go back to normal afterward.”

He leaned over and kissed my forehead. Then he walked away.

The front door clicked shut.

I remained standing alone in the living room.

A long row of fresh floral arrangements covered the table.

I’d spent the entire afternoon making them. I hadn’t even stopped for a sip of water.

Before, no matter how busy Ryker was, he’d always sit beside me with a cup of tea, watching me arrange flowers.

He used to smile and tell everyone my hands were blessed by the Moon Goddess.

One day, he’d said, he’d let the entire pack admire Elara Hawthorne’s floral art.

Now…

He couldn’t even spare a single compliment.

It didn’t matter anymore.

In three days, I’d forget everything.

I’d forget the warmth in his eyes whenever he watched me work.

I’d forget the icy tenderness in his voice whenever he spoke Selene’s name.

No mate bond.

No chains.

At last, my wolf would be free.