Faking Amnesia to Replace Me? Keep Her, I’m Gone. Chapter 02

Faking Amnesia to Replace Me? Keep Her, I’m Gone. Chapter 02

It had been twelve years since I met Kieran Blackwell, and seven since we completed our mate bond.

I first met Kieran at Blackridge Pack’s winter hunting festival.

I had just come of age, but I hadn’t truly been happy in a very long time.

My parents saved all their patience for Nessa. When she had her first shift, they gathered half the Pack to celebrate. When she got a small scrape during training, Mother waited outside the Healer Lodge until late at night.

No matter how high my grades were or how dangerous the patrols I completed, I always heard the same thing:

“Seren, you’re the older sister. You should’ve done better.”

I’d grown used to being overlooked.

That changed when Kieran walked toward me from the other side of the pines.

The moment the wind carried his scent to me, the wolf sleeping inside me rose to her feet.

Pine, fir, and the scent of a bonfire on a winter night.

My pulse went wild.

His wolf recognized me at that exact moment.

“Mate.”

When the word left his lips, I thanked the Moon Goddess for the first time in my life.

He filled the void left by my family’s neglect with a love that seared hot.

He always remembered which part of the forest my wolf liked to run in. He knew that after every argument with my parents, I’d go alone to the old pine tree.

No matter how late it was, he could always find me.

“Seren, you’ll always be my first choice. I’ll do everything I can to make sure you never have to envy anyone else again!”

Later, we completed our marking beneath the full moon. I rested in his arms and listened as the two wolves’ pulses slowly fell into the same rhythm.

Elsie was the pup we’d waited three years for after completing our mate bond.

The day she was born, Kieran’s howl echoed through the entire Blackridge Pack.

Elsie used to cling to me, too.

Whenever I came back from the Healer Lodge, she’d run barefoot across the wooden hall and throw herself into my arms.

“Mother, you worked so hard! Elsie loves you!”

She’d slip me the berry candy she’d secretly saved for me.

Whenever I got hurt on patrol, she’d curl up beside my bed and ask over and over if I was in pain.

So what had happened?

Why had the mate who once put me first and the pup who once couldn’t leave my side sided with Nessa, just like my parents had?

I looked at Kieran stubbornly.

Choose me.

If you did, I’d give you one more chance.

But after a moment of silence, Kieran still shook his head.

“Seren, the most important thing right now is helping Elsie stabilize.”

“She’s accepted Nessa’s scent. Why insist on taking her to a Healer she doesn’t know? Are you trying to upset her all over again?”

“I know you don’t like Nessa, but she’s never done anything to wrong you!”

Then he said a sentence I’d heard countless times from my parents.

“Seren, you’re her older sister. Why are you always picking on your own sister?”

I smiled, but I couldn’t stop the tears from falling.

“Kieran, if Elsie never gets her memories back, are you planning to keep pretending Nessa is her mother for the rest of your lives?”

“Do I need to give her my place as your Luna, too?”

He froze and reached out as if to wipe the tears from my face.

I took half a step back.

His hand stopped in midair.

“Seren, don’t make things up in your head.”

“Nessa is your sister. I see her as my sister, too. She’ll never replace you.”

“Is that so?”

Before I could say anything else, her tearful voice came from behind me.

“Seren, I really only wanted to take good care of Elsie. I never wanted to take your place as Luna.”

“If this really bothers you, I’ll leave Blackridge right now.”

She hadn’t even finished speaking when Mother rushed out.

She stepped in front of Nessa as if I were about to hurt her.

“Seren, do you have no conscience?”

“Who slept beside Elsie all these nights? Who coaxed her to eat every day? Instead of thanking her, you’re standing here forcing her to leave?”

“How did I end up with such a cold, selfish daughter? Get out right now! This family doesn’t want you!”

Father leaned halfway out of the study doorway and sighed.

Then he withdrew, leaving me with nothing but a disappointed look.

They were such convincing actors.

If I hadn’t overheard that conversation, I probably would’ve been consumed by shame and started explaining myself in a panic.

But I already knew the truth.

In the middle of the confrontation, Elsie suddenly ran out of the living room.

She raised a building block and threw it at me.

“You bad woman! Don’t you dare bully my Mother!”

“Get out! You’re not welcome here!”

The block clipped my shoulder before clattering to the floor.

Kieran instinctively took half a step forward, but Nessa had already rushed over.

“Seren, are you hurt? Let me see.”

“Don’t touch me.”

I pushed her away gently.

Even so, she staggered as if she were about to fall.

Kieran immediately turned and caught her, while Mother hurried to check whether she was hurt.

I stood there alone.

My mate was holding my sister.

My mother was shielding them.

My pup was glaring at me with hatred.

Suddenly, I remembered the full moon twelve years ago.

I’d looked up at the Moon Goddess and sincerely thanked her for sending Kieran to me.

But the Moon Goddess had never promised that a fated mate would stay by your side to the end.

I turned and walked away.

Back at my apartment, I sat in silence until my phone rang.

A ticket to London had come through.

Departure: tomorrow.

There was only one sentence on the screen:

[I’ll be waiting for you. ❤]