CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
The morning of my wedding should be filled with anticipation, not the cold dread that sits like lead in my stomach as I make my way to Elder Lina's tower. Her summons arrived at dawn, brief and urgent: "Come immediately. The blood results are ready."
Each step up the spiral staircase feels heavier than the last. Part of me doesn't want to know what Lina has discovered, doesn't want confirmation of the suspicions that have been eating away at me for days.
But if I'm right about the white wolf's identity, if my worst fears are true, then Aubrey deserves to know—no matter how much it will destroy her.
I find Lina standing before her workbench, her silver hair gleaming in the morning light as she studies a collection of vials filled with various colored liquids. When she turns to face me, the gravity in her ancient eyes confirms what I already know in my heart.
"The blood samples match," she says without preamble, her voice heavy with sympathy. "The white wolf is indeed Aubrey's mother."
The words hit like a physical blow, even though I expected them. My hands clench into fists at my sides as rage builds in my chest—not at Lina for confirming the truth, but at whoever could do such a thing to an innocent woman. To Aubrey's mother.
"The preservation magic is extremely sophisticated," Lina continues, moving to another vial that seems to pulse with its own dark energy. "Whoever cast this spell wanted to ensure maximum psychological impact. They're not just torturing the victim—they're creating a weapon to torture the living."
My stomach churns with revulsion. "You mean they preserved her specifically to use against Aubrey?"
"That would be my assessment," Lina confirms grimly. "The magical signature is consistent with long-term manipulation spells. Whoever did this has been planning for years, possibly decades."
The implications crash over me like ice water. This isn't random cruelty—it's calculated psychological warfare targeting my mate specifically. Someone has been orchestrating events around Aubrey for far longer than any of us realized.
"There's more," Lina says, holding up another vial filled with silver liquid that seems to move of its own accord. "I found traces of the same magical signature in Aubrey's blood sample."
My blood turns to ice. "What kind of traces?"
"Memory manipulation," she says quietly. "Someone has been altering her memories, suppressing certain experiences while enhancing others. The bindings are breaking down now—that's what's been causing her headaches and distress."
The revelation hits me like a sledgehammer. All this time, I've been wondering why Aubrey seems so conflicted, why she keeps secrets, why she sometimes looks at me like she's seeing a stranger. If someone has been controlling her memories, manipulating her very thoughts...
"How long?" I ask, my voice rough with barely contained fury.
"Years," Lina confirms. "The oldest traces suggest the manipulation began around the time of her family's massacre."
The timeline makes my jaw clench with murderous rage. Someone has been controlling Aubrey since she was thirteen years old, molding her thoughts and memories like clay. The violation of it, the sheer cruelty, makes me want to tear apart whoever's responsible with my bare hands.
"Can you reverse it?" I demand. "Can you break the remaining bindings?"
"I can," Lina says carefully, "but the process will be extremely painful for her. Suppressed memories often contain trauma too severe for the conscious mind to process. When those barriers fall, she'll experience everything at once—the true events, the emotions, the pain that was hidden from her."
I run both hands through my hair, trying to process the magnitude of what we're facing.
My mate has been living a lie for years, controlled by someone who used her own mother's preserved corpse as psychological ammunition.
And today—our wedding day—I have to somehow find the strength to help her through learning the truth.
"There's something else you need to know," Lina continues, her voice dropping to something more ominous. "The magical signature matches samples I've analyzed from other sources."
"What other sources?"
"The missing children," she says quietly. "The tortured young wolves we've been investigating. The same person responsible for manipulating Aubrey is behind those disappearances."
The final piece clicks into place with sickening clarity. Whoever's been controlling my mate is also the monster hunting innocent children across the kingdom. The scope of their cruelty, the systematic nature of their evil, makes my wolf snarl with protective fury.
"Our mate has been in the hands of a monster for years," Liam growls, his presence sharp with barely contained violence. "And we had no idea."
"I need to tell her," I say, the decision crystallizing with painful clarity. "Before the ceremony, before anything else—she needs to know what's been done to her."
"Are you certain?" Lina asks gently. "Learning this truth could shatter her completely. Some secrets are too heavy to bear."
"She's stronger than you think," I reply, though uncertainty gnaws at my gut. "And she deserves to know who she really is beneath all the lies."
Lina nods slowly. "Then I'll prepare the memory restoration potion.
But Knox—" Her ancient eyes lock onto mine with fierce intensity.
"Once we start this process, there's no going back.
Whatever memories surface, whatever truths emerge, you need to be ready to help her through the storm that follows. "
I straighten my shoulders, feeling the weight of responsibility settle over me like armor. "I'll protect her. No matter what we discover, no matter who's responsible—I'll make sure she's safe."
"Even if the truth implicates someone close to you?" Lina presses. "Even if the person responsible is someone you trust?"
The question sends ice through my veins, but my resolve doesn't waver. "Especially then."