"Alright once you drink this it's going to hurt a little at first but then it'll start working after that. You'll blank out a bit and then it should bring you back through the memories." Hermes explained as Owen and I sat in a pair of comfortable chairs before them.
"How bad will it hurt?" Damien questioned with narrowed eyes at Hermes.
"I don't know I've never had to go through this. I'm only telling you what I've been told." He explained.
"I don't want them in a lot of pain for nothing." He growled.
"It won't be for nothing daddy, we'll be getting our memories back." Owen replied before I could.
"I know that but...I know I'm usually the easygoing dad and I don't really get riled up about much but we just got you out of an intensely difficult situation where we almost lost you. You came back bloodied, bruised and lost. I don't want anything else happening to you. I've already failed you once and I don't want you to get hurt again." His voice was thick with emotion but he managed to get it out.
"Dad?" I muttered. "It wasn't your fault."
That's right. It was yours.
"I may not have been the direct cause of it but I couldn't get to you when you needed me the most." He sighed.
"Dad, don't think like that." I whimpered. How could he even think that he was to blame? It wasn't his fault. I looked between Damien and my other fathers and I could tell that they were all thinking the same thing. They blamed themselves for what happened to us and that wasn't fair to them.
"Listen, you guys can talk about this later but I need you two to remain calm which means that this," Hermes mentioned to the five of us, "can not happen."
"Fine." Damien relented after he opened his mouth to say something else.
With that one word the conversation was dropped. Silence descended as Hermes left the room momentarily before he came back in a second. He was carrying in his hand a clear bottle filled with a blue black-ish type liquid with smoke filtering out the top of it.
"No. Nope. No!" Nicholai started as he held up his hand to stop Hermes. "What's in that? That does not look safe at all!"
"Oh Zeus, here we go..." Imani smirked.
"Don't you 'Here we go.' me! That thing has smoke coming out of it!" He shouted jabbing his finger at the bottle in Hermes' hand.
"It's from the Underworld. Did you think it was going to be rainbows and sparkles?" Imani teased.
"Well that wouldn't hurt would it?" Nicholai seethed. "That is not easing my nerves about this at all."
"It's pretty harmless. It will only be painful for a minute or two and then it'll be like their sleeping." He explained once again.
"I don't like this at all." Nicholai muttered crossing his arms over his chest.
"We don't have to like it just endure it with them." Mateus tried to reassure him as he draped his massive arm around our dad's shoulder. He huffed but leaned into his chest seeking comfort. Just seeing them like this made me remember why I needed to get my memories back.
I wanted to remember all the good times that I had with them. I could tell that they were amazing fathers and that they loved us greatly but just knowing that wasn't the same as remembering it. I wanted that warm fuzzy feeling every time I think of them the same way I feel when I think of Owen or Set.
Currently they were my only lifeline. Since we mated everything revolves around them. I wish I could have that connection with my fathers again. I just needed someone to anchor me and maybe I could survive this for my mates. I just want them to be happy and well looked after and all I've done is caused them pain. If I could have just been the wolf my uncle needed me to be then they wouldn't have been hurt.
"Alright just take a sip of this and we'll begin." Hermes' voice interrupted my thoughts and brought me back to the present. He held it out in front of me and hesitantly I took a sip of the dark liquid. It burned slightly on the way down but other than that it was alright. He pulled it away from my lips and brought it over to Owen who took a sip as well.
Maybe Hermes exaggerated a bit when it came to the pain that we would be feeling. Nothing was happening and I wasn't sure if I should speak up and say something or not. Turning my head I looked over to Owen who shrugged his shoulders at me thinking the same thing as me.
"Umm...Shouldn't it be doing something by no-" I couldn't even finish my train of thoughts as a warmth began to creep into my veins. It was obviously caused by the drink but it wasn't painful just a nice warmth that kind of made me feel like I was wrapped up in Set's arms.
But that soon ended when the warmth began to climb until it started feeling uncomfortable and I squirmed a bit in my seat trying to ease the burn. Soft whimpers came from besides me as Owen began to burn up as well. I threw my arm over the side of the chair and reached out for Owen. He turned his head slightly to the right to look at me and quickly grasped my hand with his own.
The burn went from soothing warmth to raging inferno in a matter of seconds and I screamed out in distress. My other hand reacted on it's own pulling up to scratch at my neck, trying in vain to claw at whatever it was that was now coursing through our veins.
"Is that supposed to happen?" I could faintly hear Damien growl.
"Yes, now shut up." Hermes snapped.
Opening my eyes I tried to catch someone, anyone's eyes to help. My vision began to blur but my eyes did catch a certain pair filled with more hurt than the rest. When our eyes caught he must have seen something in mine that caused him to race over to me. Set grabbed onto my other hand and a soothing calm raced through me easing the pain just a bit but it wasn't like it was gone completely it was just transferred from me to someone else.
"Shit..." Set's deep voice muttered and in an instant I knew he was carrying some of our burden.
'Stop Set...' I muttered over our link. It was the best I could do in this situation. If I opened my mouth again I would cry out in pain. My teeth were clenched so hard that I was sure that one of them would chip anytime soon.
'No.' He was adamant in his speech and I knew there was no way he would listen to me or let go. His grip on my hand tightened as I was lost in my own mind. Images began to flicker behind my closed eye lids and I couldn't place them but then it hit me.
My memories.
They were my memories. I couldn't quite grasp hold of them but they were there, flickering in and out like a movie reel moving too fast and the all of a sudden blackness. It was all dark. There was a soft humming in the background though, something that just made me think of home.
The pecuilar humming began to become clearer and it sounded as if a woman was humming lowly. Her soft melodious voice surrounding me like a blanket, warming me from the inside out. My vision began to clear and there I was, lying in a bed underneath my favorite blanket. How did I know it was my favorite? I just knew.
"You have to go to sleep now baby. Mommy needs to leave now." I turned my head to the woman and I felt like crying. I wanted to bawl my eyes out at seeing her and all I could do was just lie there and stare up at her. Her dark brown hair fell around her face as she stared down at me with all the love in the world. "You too Owen." She smiled brightly.
Turning my head to the side I looked into Owen's eyes knowing that he was right there experiencing it with me. He looked no older than four or five and if I didn't know that this was serious I'd coo over his cuteness. Neither of us could change anything that was happening in the memory no matter how much we wanted to. If I could I would throw myself at her and wrap my arms around her, never letting her go.
"Addison they're never going to sleep if you don't leave the room." Another woman walked in laughing brightly. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a high pony tail showcasing her gorgeous face but that's not what I saw immediately. Her large blue eyes were the thing that drew me in.
'Mother? Is that my mother?' His voice cracked in disbelief.
"I can't help it Aubrey. I just can't help but want to keep my baby close and you know Owen counts as one of mine." She laughed. "I was trying to sing them to sleep but nothing seems to work."
"We can always bring up their daddies. You know these two will do anything for daddy." Aubrey smiled as she pushed Owen's hair out his face and pressed her lips to his forehead gently. Owen was outright crying through our link and I wasn't far behind. My heart was broken and I already wished I had never done this.
"You know James and Colby are out patrolling. We can't do that." My mother huffed.
"It's that brother-in-law of yours." Owen's mom replied, narrowing her eyes.
"I know but Colby doesn't see what everyone else sees. It's his brother so you know he's blind to the problems he causes." My mom sighed as she stood up straight. Reaching down she pulled the edge of the sheet up under my chin and tucked me in properly before kissing my forehead and whispering good night.
"Let's go Addison." Aubrey smiled as she pulled my mother from the room.
'I want them back! It's nor fair that we've lost them.' Owen shouted in my mind and I completely agreed with him.
As the door closed behind our mothers the dream like memory began to fade and meld into another one. This time we were outside and Owen was sitting down on the ground holding his bloody knees as he bawled his eyes. For some reason anger pulsed through my veins and I could feel my younger self looking around for something.
I caught sight of a boy about two or three years older than us laughing with his friends and somehow I knew it was his fault. Little me knew that he had done this before and I was angry, so angry that I had decided that I would put an end to it. I marched up to the boy and before he could say anything I kicked his leg hard enough to cause him to fall over.
Once he was on the ground I kicked him again and again wherever I could. His friends made a move to come help him but I turned around and growled at them. They must have sensed something because they stopped their approach allowing me to keep kicking him. Next thing I know strong arms wrap around me and pull me away from the boy.
"What's going on? Declan why are you kicking this boy like that?" A deep voice questioned.
"He hurt Owen." My little defiant voice rung out proudly.
"Well then you don't go and kick the boy into submission, son. You take it up with the Adults." He replied as he spun me around. My eyes came face to face with who I could only assume was my father. His face was serious but his eyes told me exactly how proud he was of me in protecting my family. As soon as our eyes met the feeling of love and happiness flooded my veins and I was too happy just to see him.
"I'm sorry daddy but I don't want anyone hurting Owen." I pouted.
"I know you want to protect Owen but next time come get me or his dad." He answered.
"Okay daddy." I squeaked happily.
"Good, now let's go take care of Owen so you two can go back to playing." He smiled down at me as he stretched his hand out for me to take. My little fingers wrapped around his larger hand the best it could as he led me away.
We went back over to where Owen was sitting, his crying now reduced to sniffling as he clutched his leg close to his chest. He stared up at my dad with those big blue eyes and I knew that there was no way any one could resist helping him.
"Come on Owen." My dad spoke softly as he reached down with both arms to pick him up. Owen wrapped his arms around my dad's neck and his legs around his waist, as much as he could as I walked besides the both of them as my dad led me through the yard and to the house.
"Alpha..." A random woman greeted my father and didn't even bat a lash at seeing him carrying Owen. Many other people greeted my dad the same way, some even said hi to the two of us and everyone seemed so happy to just be alive. My dad walked through the house leading us to a room that I just knew was his office. He opened the door and there was a man sitting behind a large desk scribbling on some papers.
He looked up as we walked and his eyebrows furrowed in worry as he jumped up from the chair in a matter of seconds. He walked around the side of the desk and instantly took Owen from my dad who gladly handed him over.
"Again Colby?" He questioned looking up at my dad.
"Well this time Declan decided to take matters into his own hands. He took care of the boy who did that to Owen." My dad replied smugly.
"Really? What did he do?" Owen's dad asked as he ran his fingers through Owen's hair gently.
"Well when I found him the boy was on the ground curled up protecting himself from Declan's kicks. For whatever reason his friends refused to help him until I pulled Declan away. They apologized, more to me than to Owen or Declan and ran off." He explained.
"If they had jumped in I doubt your boy would have been able to protect himself." He replied with worry.
"That's true. Why didn't they hurt you Declan?" He turned his head and looked down at me.
"I growled." I answered truthfully. "Then they didn't hurt me when I kicked Tommy."
"You growled?" My dad questioned. "Like my wolf does?"
"Uh huh." I nodded my head. "I wanted them to stop and it cames out as a growl daddy."
"Colby he's only five that shouldn't kick in until he's at least fifteen." Owen's dad replied.
"Well it looks like my boy is going to be one special wolf." My father grinned.
"As long as he keeps looking out for my boy I don't care what type of wolf he becomes."
"James I doubt the two of them will ever part." My dad laughed. His laughter echoed in the background as many silent memories flashed before our eyes. Hours of Owen and I playing games of hide and seek with other kids. Pack meetings that Owen and I snuck into just to see what was going on.
Night after night of our mothers singing us to sleep and sometime even our fathers tucking us in. Nothing but love and happiness surrounded us as we went from memory to memory. Soon his barely heard laughter was louder and joined by more laughter as the last memory faded into a clearer one. One of both of our families were sitting around a large table as our parents laughed and talked animatedly.
"Aubrey, please tell your husband that he's not allowed run through the pack grounds naked simply because he was planning on shifting eventually." My dad laughed. "I'm sure there are plenty of unmated females that will be showing up at your door every now and again to just talk with him."
"If that happens then you'll be hearing about all the unmated she-wolves that I've had to kill." She laughed before lifting a glass of wine to her lips.
"Should we be talking about killing in front of the boys?" My mom questioned teasingly.
"Addy, you worry too much about the boys. The chances that they'll remember any of this is very slim. They're still quite young." My dad replied.
"Well after what started happening last year I don't think we should even put the thought in his mind. And I don't worry too much, I worry just the right amount." She replied playfully as she stuck her tongue out at my dad.
"He just let the boys have a little warning growl. Didn't ya champ?" He questioned turning his attention to me.
My head nodded up and down furiously before i went back to scarfing down whatever it was that was on my plate. Owen snuck a peek at something on my plate and I found myself spooning over some of my mashed potatoes, knowing that he liked those the most.
"Besides that boy healed up in no time. Declan barely did any damage." My dad replied proudly.
"He was a five year old Colby. He shouldn't have caused damage at all." James laughed.
"Well what can I say? My boy is remarkable."
"Men." My mom laughed as her and Owen's mom locked eyes.
The memory faded and a couple more flickered before our eyes as more and more memories were recovered. Of course there were some times when the memories weren't the best, like when I fell out a tree and broke my arm. They had to break it again so that it would heal properly once they found Owen and I out in the woods. Needless to say we weren't allowed back there anymore by ourselves.
One thing that I noticed throughout the memories was my uncle. He always made me feel uncomfortable in each memory. Even as a child I knew that something wasn't right with that man. He would glare at my daddy when he thought he wasn't looking and he was a little too ruthless when it came to punishments.
'He was evil back then too wasn't he?' Owen questioned through our link.
"Yeah he was.' I agreed.
Finally the reel of memories stopped and we stopped at another memory. We were back in the woods, Owen and I. The feeling of guilt resonated inside me and I knew that we weren't supposed to be back here. We ran through the bushes, jumping over broken branches and small rocks as we giggled and laughed completely oblivious to the world around us.
"Wanna play hide and seek Decky?" Owen asked me.
"Yeah!" I cheered as we each held out our hand to play rock, paper, scissors to decide who would be it. A snap of a twig behind us caught both our attention. We couldn't see anything and we were far too young to have heightened senses. The sun was throwing shadows making everything in the forest now seem a lot creepier than before.
"Daddy?" Owen whimpered as he moved behind me a little. I could tell that my younger self didn't know what to really do but he knew that he should protect Owen at all costs. My eyes darted around the forest looking for anything or anyone that I knew shouldn't belong.
"No, not daddy." A dark voice sneered. A tall man stepped out from behind a large tree and I knew that face instantly. It was my Uncle's beta but he looked a bit younger but just as menacing. There was no long scar covering the left side of his face but it was definitely him.
"Where's my daddy?" Owen sniffled as his tiny hand gripped the back of my shirt tighter. I stepped back pushing him back with me as the man stepped forwards.
"That's what I would like to know. Me and my friends would just like to have a word with your daddy..." He smirked flashing two rows of perfectly sharp and dangerous teeth.
"No." I growled out. "You need to go." I snarled.
"Oh boys, look at the little boy here. Thinks he has some power over us." The beta laughed and soon his vicious laughter was joined by that of more rogues as they appeared all around us. Before I could even catch his movements the beta lunged forward wrapping his hand around my small throat. Owen still clung to me and with my free hand I made sure to hold onto his arm making sure no one took him from me.
'We were just children...' Owen's voice was confused as we both relived the memory.
"Let him go." Owen whimpered from behind me.
"It seems that you don't understand what's going on here. We're rogues and we don't follow the same rules that are set by your Alpha and the rest of the werewolf community. So when I say that I want to speak to your dads I wasn't requesting it I was demanding it." He snarled.
Apparently I was a fighter at that young age. In a fit of rage I reached out and with all my might scratched at his face. He threw me back, against the tree causing me to slam into it with great force. My entire body pulsed in pain and I wanted to just curl up and cry.
Without my consent I sent out some sort of call to my father who instantly questioned me as to where we were and what was going on. I knew that in minutes he would be there with help to save us and I was right. The Beta had dropped me and I was holding Owen in my arms as we huddled together besides a tree.
The beta was the only one who wasn't in his shifted form right now. He stood there eyeing me and Owen and simply shaking his head in disgust. A sense of comfort began to blossom inside me and the sound of rustling behind me alerted me to the fact that our Calvary had definitely arrived. There stood four wolves which I assumed to be our parents snarling and glaring daggers at the rogues who had shifted into more of a fighting stance now.
There were two large wolves and two smaller wolves. Somehow I knew that the smaller brown one was my mother and I faintly remember riding on her back when I was younger. Her and Aubrey's blonde wolf would race through the forest as Owen and I clung to their backs.
"Hey there, come on now. We just wanted to chat. No need for all the snarling and growling." The beta laughed.
The largest wolf of them all stepped forward and instantly I knew it was my father. He shifted on the spot and wasn't ashamed of his bare form as he walked forward and took in the situation before him. He kept walking until he was directly besides Owen and I.
"What is it that you want in our territory?" My father's voice was deep and serious.
"Well we were just passing through and wanted to know if we could hunt on your lands." He replied calmly and somehow I knew that was a lie.
"You come here and threaten my child and his best friend as they play in the forest and then you want to act as if you're here simply to come hunting? We both know you're here to start trouble and if you don't want to be killed here on the spot I suggest you leave." He snarled.
"Well then I'm sorry this didn't work out. I suppose we'll be moving on through to the next territory to see if they're more willing to help." He smiled brightly, flashing his dangerously brilliant smile at us. He whistled loudly and the rogues all stood up and followed behind the Beta and it appeared as if they were going to leave but it all went downhill from there.
Without warning two of the rogues lunged forward to attack my father who shifted instantly to defend us. He stood in front of us trying to hold back the two attacking wolves. My head turned to the side and I watched as the Beta shifted but stood aside as more rogues emerged from the forest to attack our parents.
Owen was crying into my shirt as I shielded him from the carnage that I was watching. My father had torn into the throats of two rogues already but he was slowing down now that he was bitten a couple of times. My mother had one leg partially held up in the air as she hopped back and forth trying not to put too much pressure on her injured leg.
She was fighting back to back with Owen's mother who was fighting off most of the rogues now that my mother was injured so badly. Owen's dad had taken on three wolves injuring as many as he could and killing the ones he could. The beta still hadn't attacked yet but I knew that he was just waiting for the right time to attack.
'Go back to the pack house. Get your Uncle. Get help.' My father's voice rang out in my head and I knew that it was an order from my Alpha and not a request from my father. My body reacted on it's own as I jumped up, snatched Owen's hand in my own and ran off through the forest as fast as we could.
'I don't want to watch this anymore.' Owen whimpered over our link. 'They're going to die aren't they?'
We both knew the answer to that question and thankfully the fates had mercy on us as the rest of that memory faded from our minds. Feelings of hurt, depression, and betrayal coursed through my body as more memories from that time flickered in and out of sight. Just as I was about to give up hope on their being anymore happiness for our young selves a ray of sunshine entered our lives.
We were in a new house and Owen was running towards what looked to be a younger Nicholai. He climbed up into his arms and began to cry into his chest. I ran up to them holding out a paintbrush with a blue paint hanging right off the edge ready to drop.
"Stop!" Owen cried more into Nicholai's shirt.
My eyes roamed over all four men as the memory played on. Each of them seemed so much younger but no less stronger than now. It was strange seeing Nicholai cuddling Owen to his chest as if he was meant to be there and yet I knew that we had never seen this man before in our lives.
From that moment on all of our memories began to become brighter and brighter. We were adopted by Nicholai and our fathers and our lives were amazing. Despite the hardships that our fathers had to face we were always happy, loved and cared for. Memories upon memories of family vacations with our new blended family.
Rue, Kaya, Owen and I getting into trouble growing up in the pack. Making friends and maybe even a few enemies as we played pranks on our fellow pack mates. Getting punished by our Mateus and then having those punishments lifted by Nicholai who always thought they were too harsh. Burnt breakfasts by Damien and long tutoring sessions with Imani.
I could feel the tears brimming in my eyes as I watched each memory and was bombarded by the feelings that came with each one. They loved us. Those four men genuinely loved us for who we were faults and all.
The Declan and Owen in the memories were growing older and older and I knew that soon we would be all caught up and I was right. The memory of the first time we met Set had me laughing at the entire encounter. It was all so weird to us. All we had growing up were the two of us and then all of a sudden we have another mate.
When Horus' face flashed before us I was overwhelmed with anger. He had caused so much trouble for us and all of it was for something so trivial. All I ever wanted for Owen and I was to be happy and some pissed off god who knew how to hold a grudge for thousands of years was the one person standing in the way of that happiness. Then it was as if all the memories had been wrapped up in that last moment and everything faded to black.
I could feel Owen's hand wrapped tightly around my own and Set's hand holding onto my other one. My breathing was heavy, my head was pounding with a head-ache that just wouldn't quite and my mind was reeling with everything that we had just experienced. I had just relieved my entire life and for whatever reason I couldn't feel any happier at knowing all that I knew. My memory was back, I had my mates and I was ready to fight for my new life.
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