Chapter 5 Mates and Memories
MATES AND MEMORIES
My stomach plummets as if the floor has disappeared beneath me. Heat floods my skin, burning me like a fever.
Ours?
Mate?
“Like hell I am.”
I’m hallucinating. It’s the only plausible explanation.
The room tilts sideways.
I barely manage to brace a hand against the wall before my knees give.
Strong hands catch me before I hit the floor. Griffin’s body shields mine as he eases me down, his presence a solid wall between me and everyone else.
“Enough,” he snaps at the room, sharp and unmistakable. “Back up.”
Space opens around us.
“She’s still weak,” Willow says.
Griffin doesn’t look at her. One of his hands stays warm and steady at my side, grounding me as nausea rolls through my body and the cool tile presses against my palm.
“What did you give me?” My words come out thin, lacking the accusation I intended.
Elementals. Mates. The words churn in my mind, too heavy to hold. Exhaustion seeps into my bones, and I let my head fall back against the wall.
“None of this is real,” I murmur.
“We call it a healing overload. It can hit you like a wall.” Griffin’s voice drops, rougher now, threaded with something dangerously close to reverence. “Your body wasn’t ready for that much power.”
Willow blinks, then nods. “Likely.” She hesitates before adding, “You’re safe, Brielle. No one’s going to drug you. Or hurt you.”
Doubt pokes holes in her assurance. Safety is a facade—a belief I was sold at a young age in the form of smiles, promises, and white picket fences.
Griffin’s eyes sharpen as he slides his hands up to my shoulders, as if anchoring me to him.
From the corner of my vision, Lochlan watches, his gaze unreadable.
“Breathe, Spitfire,” Daire says gently, crouching beside Griffin.
I flinch as he rests a hand over mine, but warmth radiates from the contact, slowing my pulse.
“In.” He inhales deeply through his nose and holds it. “Out.” He slowly exhales.
I fight to move.
I fight to remain still.
“Again.” He breathes with me as he glides his thumb in slow, rhythmic sweeps over my skin. “Hold it.” He stills. “Good. Out.” His steady touch sweeps over me again.
His voice grounds me, but I hate that it does.
I repeat the breaths, my lungs expanding more fully each time.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
I pinch my thigh, and to my utter shock, pain radiates through my body.
“How did we get here?” I ask. “How did we get from the prison to here?”
Daire nods. “I brought us here.”
“How?”
His lips curve with the hint of a smile.
My heart feels like it’s tap-dancing in response, elated to be on the receiving end of his amusement.
“Tomorrow, when you’re not about to pass out, I’ll explain the flaws in the laws of physics you were taught.
Right now, we need to get you to Mysthaven so you can rest. You’ve had a very long day. ”
I pull in another breath, testing my lungs. “I’m still convinced I’m dreaming.”
“That makes two of us,” Griffin murmurs.
“What’s the difference between a mate and a bond?” I ask.
“The bond is what connects mates,” Daire says, helping me to my feet.
I still feel unsteady but refuse to admit it as I rest a shoulder against the wall for support. The idea of leaving this place becomes less appealing by the second, the word mate chanting in my head.
“I want to stay here.”
Daire’s expression tightens.
“Not happening,” Griffin bites out.
“Why?” My tone matches his.
He doesn’t blink. “Because it’s not an option.”
I narrow my eyes. “Says who?”
“Mysthaven is the safest place for you,” Daire says.
“He’s right,” Willow says. “Being with your mates will be essential for your healing and for stabilizing your elements. It will also be the safest place for you in every universe and dimension.” She looks at Griffin and then Daire.
Griffin extends his hand as if to touch me. I flinch back, a reaction that has become my new norm. Everything, including his breath, seems to stop as his brow furrows with what looks like pain before he turns to Daire. “Have you contacted Holden and Kai?”
Daire shakes his head but doesn’t offer more.
Griffin curses again, shoving his fingers into his hair. “We should get a glider.”
“Brielle wants to walk,” Daire says.
Griffin turns to me, raising a hand as though he’s going to touch me again, but pauses. Another hard swallow. “Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure of anything.” It’s the most honest response I can offer.
Willow clears her throat. “It’s freezing today, but the fresh air and sunlight will help ground you. We can bundle you up.” She glances at the three men before returning to me. “I can drop by to check on you if you’d like.” Her kindness seems too generous to trust. “It’s on my way home.”
Lochlan clears his throat. “Before we leave, I need to see her medical records.”
Willow shakes her head. “We both know I can’t give them to you without her consent.”
Lochlan’s smile steals my breath. “Of course. But she already did, right?”
Willow’s brow creases. “Oh, yes. Of course.” She moves toward a large monitor.
Scarlet whips her head to follow her. “No, she didn’t.”
Lochlan turns cold silver eyes to her, and she freezes. “Willow healed Brielle, and then Brielle left with Daire. Neither of you saw Griffin, and you never suspected a mating bond or anything out of the ordinary, which will be documented in your report.”
“What is he doing?” Terror holds an entirely new form, stapling my feet to the floor.
Daire’s jaw clenches. “He’s not hurting them. It’s to protect you.”
“He’s brainwashing them or—” I take a step. “Willow! Stop. He’s controlling you! Scarlet!” I take another step.
“Are you two going to make me do everything?” Lochlan’s voice is a slow drawl as he looks between the two men still bracketing me.
Griffin catches me around the middle before I can move closer.
Scarlet pales. “What you’re doing is illegal.”
“Run!” I shout.
But she can’t. The same invisible shackles that held me to the bed now hold her as she strains but doesn’t move.
Lochlan glares at me.
“They can’t know your connection to us,” Griffin says before Lochlan can speak. “Not until we understand what in the hell’s going on.”
“And then what? He makes me forget?” Fear is a rusted blade against my chest. What if I’m turned into a mindless servant? A prisoner without even knowing it?
Griffin shakes his head. “You’re his mate. His element won’t be able to harm you.”
My head swims with the confirmation that part of me expected to hear. I’m confident Lochlan tried to kill me and couldn’t.
I want to laugh and cry all at once.
Lochlan turns to Willow. “You’re going to send me Brielle’s medical records, which will state that she is a Soul Elemental.
You will forget that she created air and fire.
” His voice is silk, yet goose bumps cover every inch of my skin.
“You won’t remember Griffin or suspicions about her power, her strength, or anything about Soul Mates. ”
Helplessness and disappointment tangle in my throat. Willow not only healed me but also was the first person to show me genuine kindness in what feels like years.
Loathing cuts through my fear as my hands curl into fists.
Griffin’s fingers tense like he senses the change, and he leans closer to me. “We’re going to walk out the door, and you’re going to remain calm. Once we’re a few hundred feet from here, you can scream, shout, run—whatever in the hell you want. But not yet.”
I twist out of his grip, hating the way his handprint feels like it stains my skin. “I’m not going anywhere with you. Scarlet! Willow!”
Willow robotically fishes a phone from her pocket, her movements too precise, too calm. Scarlet pales, watching her, though she still can’t move.
Lochlan’s attention snaps to her.
My heart catapults. I step in front of Scarlet, catching the fury and hint of confusion in his gaze.
“Fucking hell,” Griffin says. “Why didn’t it work?”
Lochlan waves a hand at me. “Ask her.”
Daire steps forward, tension rolling off him in waves. I shift again, blocking his path to Scarlet.
“We’re going to need to bring her with us,” Daire says. “Until we understand what’s happening.”
Scarlet looks at Willow and then me. Something settles in her expression. “There are better ways to do this than threats and mind control.”
Lochlan pins her with a stare. “I was being pleasant before, but if you insist on being a pain in my ass—”
“It’s nothing personal,” Daire cuts in, his tension tempering, voice even.
Scarlet scoffs as she slowly eases forward. “It feels pretty fucking personal!”
“No one can know she’s our Mate,” Daire says, finality replacing diplomacy.
The room seems to shrink.
“What are you talking about?” I’m glad Scarlet still has her voice because I’m frozen, trying to process the fact that Lochlan can control minds, erase and change memories. Rewrite reality like some goddamn computer programmer.
“Why can’t anyone know?” Scarlet demands.
Daire exhales. “Because she wouldn’t be safe.”
“Mates are celebrated,” Scarlet argues. “Sacred.”
“Except we aren’t supposed to have one,” Lochlan says, his silver eyes hardening to steel. “Therefore, if the Council learns about this or her, she’ll be arrested as a traitor and either exiled or killed on the spot.”
My stomach twists violently.
Exiled or executed for something I didn’t ask for—don’t want.
Griffin’s shoulders tense as his gaze flicks toward the door that leads into the healing center, looking like he’s preparing for a fight.
I glance at Scarlet, needing her to tell me this isn’t real—that this is some bizarre misunderstanding or scheme. “Is he telling the truth?”
She shakes her head, her blue gaze shifting around the room before landing on me. “I don’t know. I’m not a Soul Elemental. I can’t tell if he’s being honest, but...” She blows out a long breath. “You’re undoubtedly their Mate, which means protecting you will come before everything else.”
“Which is why you’ll need to come with us,” Griffin tells her.
“No,” I say.
“As our guest,” Daire adds, softer but no less firm.
“You two are now cousins,” Lochlan says, almost amused. “That’s how I’ll rewrite the records and their memories.” His eyes are sharp, daring us to object. “That way, if Scarlet tries to betray us, she’ll be hunted down and killed as an accomplice to a traitor.”
My blood turns to ice as I process how words of assurance and safety have turned to threats in seconds.
“It’s not a bad idea,” Griffin says. “We can employ Scarlet on paper, backdate her start date. Then we’ll have reason for Brielle to stay with us.”
Fear sparks higher in my chest as they talk like this has already been decided. “She’s not a pawn.”
“We swear our protection so long as she keeps this secret,” Griffin says smoothly.
I shake my head. “This is not happening—”
Scarlet’s eyes lock on mine. “It’s fate,” she says softly. “This is meant to happen.”
“No. I...” I turn pleading eyes to Daire, desperate. “I’ll go with you, just don’t hurt her. She didn’t do anything.”
Daire looks almost regretful as his gaze gentles. “She’ll be protected and safe. I swear on our bond.”
“Someone’s coming,” Lochlan says, turning to face the door. “You need to go. I’ll finish cleaning this up.” He glances back at Griffin. “Now.”
Griffin’s grip on my hip tightens—possessive and unyielding. Before I can process what’s happening, the two men have us out the door and several hundred feet from the building.
Cold, crisp air fills my lungs for the first time in months—real air that doesn’t stink of fear, sweat, or iron. It kisses my cheeks like a forgotten lover.
Like a lie.