Chapter 327: Forgetting and Remembering

Third Person’s POV

Rebecca hadn’t stopped crying.

Maria sat on the floor beside her while Stephanie held her tightly against her chest, but Rebecca seemed barely aware of either of them anymore. Her eyes were swollen and unfocused, her breathing uneven as she kept one hand pressed against her lower stomach.

"My baby..." she whispered.

Stephanie tightened her arms around her, but Rebecca’s hand only moved slowly across her stomach, almost as if she were searching for something beneath her skin.

"My baby. Where is my baby?"

"Rebecca..." Stephanie whispered.

"Where is he?" Rebecca suddenly lifted her head, and something changed in her expression as she looked around the bedroom. Her eyes moved from Stephanie to Maria, then toward the healer standing several feet away. "Where is he? Where did you take him?"

Nobody answered, and the silence only seemed to frighten her more. Maria reached for her. "Rebecca, sweetheart..."

Rebecca pulled away from Stephanie and pushed herself onto her knees, trying to stand.

"Rebecca, don’t." Stephanie quickly grabbed her arm.

"Let me go."

"You can’t stand yet."

"Let me go!" Rebecca pulled against her grip. "I need to find him."

Her legs gave out the moment she managed to get one foot beneath herself. Stephanie caught her around the waist before she could fall, and Maria immediately moved closer.

"Rebecca!"

"Get off me!" Rebecca struggled against Stephanie. "Where is my baby? Where is he?! I want my baby!"

The healer quickly moved toward them. "Lady Rebecca, please. You need to calm down. Your body is still very weak."

Rebecca stopped moving.

Her eyes slowly lifted toward the healer, and for several seconds, she only stared at her. Then recognition appeared on her face.

"You."

The healer’s expression softened, but Rebecca continued staring at her as if she had suddenly remembered something important.

"Check again."

Her voice cracked through the room, and the healer fell silent. Rebecca stared at her for another second before all the anger suddenly disappeared from her face. Her shoulders dropped, and she moved toward the healer on her knees. Before anyone could stop her, she grabbed the front of the woman’s dress with both hands.

"Please. Check again," Rebecca begged. "Maybe you made a mistake. Maybe he’s just weak and you can’t feel him properly. You said the choker affected both of us, remember? Maybe that’s why."

Tears filled the healer’s eyes. "Lady Rebecca..."

"Just one more time. Please. I won’t move. I promise. You can do whatever you need to do."

The healer slowly shook her head.

Rebecca’s fingers loosened around her dress. "No."

"I’m sorry."

"No, you’re not listening to me." Rebecca released the healer and pressed both hands against her stomach. "He was fine this morning. I felt him." She looked desperately at Stephanie. "He was fine, wasn’t he?"

Stephanie’s lips parted, but nothing came out. Rebecca turned toward Maria instead.

"Mother?"

Maria covered her mouth, and tears started running down her face.

"He can’t just disappear," Rebecca whispered.

Something about their expressions seemed to frighten her more than anything the healer had said. Stephanie moved toward her, but Rebecca immediately held up one hand.

"No. Don’t look at me like that."

"Rebecca..."

"He’s not dead."

The room went completely silent. Rebecca looked from Stephanie to Maria and finally back to the healer.

"He’s not."

Nobody answered, and her breathing became faster. "Say something. Mother, say something."

"Rebecca..."

"Tell them."

Maria blinked through her tears. "Tell them what?"

"That he’s not dead."

Maria couldn’t do it.

Rebecca stared at her mother, waiting, but when Maria remained silent, something slowly changed in her face.

"Why are you crying?"

"Sweetheart..."

"Rebecca, please..."

"Stop."

Maria tried to move closer, but Rebecca shook her head.

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Sweetheart..."

"Stop!"

Rebecca grabbed both sides of her head as another wave of pain throbbed behind her temples. Everything was becoming confused again. She remembered falling. No. She remembered Kaden fighting, then blood, then the healer. But she also remembered talking to Kaden about the checkup. That was this weekend. He had promised to come.

Rebecca’s breathing slowly began to settle as that memory pushed everything else away.

"The checkup."

Stephanie looked at her. "What?"

Rebecca lowered her hands. "My checkup. My first pregnancy checkup is this weekend. I told Kaden about it."

"Rebecca..."

"He said he’d come." Rebecca wiped the tears from her cheeks, suddenly speaking with strange urgency. "So we need to make sure everything is ready. I don’t even know what they do during werewolf pregnancy checkups. Do you think the healer will be able to tell whether it’s a boy or girl already?"

Maria turned away.

Rebecca stopped talking.

Slowly, the small amount of excitement disappeared from her face.

"Mother?"

Maria pressed her hand over her mouth.

Rebecca looked at Stephanie, but Stephanie couldn’t meet her eyes.

"What did I say?"

"Nothing."

"Then why are you crying?"

The healer stepped closer, watching Rebecca carefully. "Her mind is struggling to process the loss."

Rebecca heard her. Her head turned sharply.

"What loss?"

The healer hesitated.

Rebecca stared at her.

Then she remembered again.

Her hand flew back to her stomach.

"Oh."

The single word barely left her mouth. For several seconds, she didn’t move, and then her face crumpled.

"No. No, no, no..."

Stephanie immediately reached for her. "Rebecca..."

"I forgot." Her voice broke, and Stephanie froze. "I forgot he was gone."

Whatever control Rebecca had left disappeared. She bent forward, clutching her stomach as another sob tore through her.

"For a second, I forgot."

Stephanie dropped beside her and pulled her into her arms. "I’m sorry."

"I was talking about the checkup." Rebecca cried harder against her shoulder. "There isn’t going to be a checkup. There isn’t going to be anything."

"Rebecca..."

"I want my baby back."

Stephanie held her tighter. For several minutes, nobody tried to move Rebecca. Maria stayed close, rubbing her back while Stephanie held her, and the healer watched from nearby. Eventually, Rebecca’s sobs became weaker, not because the pain was passing, but because her body simply couldn’t keep crying that hard.

The healer finally crouched in front of her. "Lady Rebecca, you need to lie down now. Your body has lost blood. You need rest."

"I don’t care."

"You have to."

"I said I don’t care."

The healer reached carefully for her arm, but Rebecca immediately pulled away.

"Don’t touch me."

"Rebecca," Maria said softly.

"I don’t want anyone touching me."

"Okay." Maria held up her hands. "Nobody will touch you."

Rebecca sat there breathing heavily for a moment. Then her eyes wandered toward the open bedroom door, and another confused look crossed her face.

"Where’s Kaden?"

The question caught everyone by surprise. Stephanie slowly released her.

"What?"

"Kaden." Rebecca looked into the hallway. "Where is he?"

Maria watched her carefully. "He left the room."

Rebecca frowned as if that answer didn’t make sense.

"Call him."

Maria didn’t move.

"Mother, call him."

"Why?"

"He’ll know what to do." Rebecca continued staring toward the doorway. "Kaden always..."

She stopped.

Another memory returned.

The fight.

Kaden and Callum.

The stairs.

Her own screams.

It’s your fault.

Get out.

Rebecca’s hand went back to her stomach, and her expression changed immediately.

"No. Don’t call him."

Stephanie frowned. "You just said..."

"I don’t want him here." Her breathing became uneven again. "It’s his fault."

"Okay," Maria said quickly. "We won’t call him."

"I want my baby." Her voice was so quiet now that Maria almost didn’t hear it. "I just want my baby."

The healer slowly stood and looked at Maria. Something in her expression made Maria rise and move a little closer to her.

"Alpha Maria," the healer said quietly, "I need to put her to sleep."

Maria’s brows immediately pulled together. "Is that necessary?"

"Yes."

Stephanie looked frightened. "Why?"

"Look at her."

They did.

Rebecca was sitting on the floor with both arms wrapped around herself, staring at nothing.

"Her body is exhausted," the healer continued quietly. "She’s still recovering from the blood loss and the fall, but I’m more worried about her mind. She keeps moving between remembering and forgetting. Every time she remembers, she experiences the loss all over again."

Maria looked back at her daughter. "What happens if she doesn’t sleep?"

"She’ll keep pushing herself when her body desperately needs rest. She needs a few hours where her body and mind aren’t fighting this."

"Will it hurt her?"

"No. I’ll only keep her asleep for a few hours."

Rebecca’s head slowly lifted. She had heard them.

"No."

Maria turned toward her. "Sweetheart..."

"I’m not sleeping."

"The healer says..."

"I don’t care what she says."

Rebecca tried to get to her feet again, and Stephanie immediately moved toward her.

"Rebecca, please."

"No! I’m not sleeping!"

Her legs trembled badly, forcing her to grab the side of the bed to keep herself upright. Maria moved closer but didn’t touch her.

"You need to rest."

"I don’t want to rest!" Rebecca cried.

That broke Maria.

She crossed the small distance between them and pulled Rebecca into her arms. This time, Rebecca didn’t fight her. She collapsed against her mother instead, clutching the back of Maria’s dress.

"Mother, it hurts."

"I know, sweetheart," Maria comforted.

"I don’t want it to be real."

Maria held her tighter. "I know."

"I want my baby." Rebecca buried her face against her mother’s chest. "Please give him back to me."

Maria squeezed her eyes shut. "I’m so sorry."

"No." Rebecca shook her head against her. "Don’t say sorry. Everybody keeps saying sorry." Her hands gripped her mother’s clothes even tighter. "Just give him back."

Maria couldn’t answer.

Rebecca’s crying had become weak now, her body barely moving with each sob.

"I’ll be good."

Maria’s eyes opened.

"I’ll do everything right this time," Rebecca whispered. "I won’t run around. I won’t get angry. I’ll eat everything the healer tells me to eat. I’ll stay in bed if I have to. Just give him back."

"Oh, Rebecca..."

"Please, Mother."

Maria kissed the top of her head as tears ran down her own face.

Behind them, the healer quietly raised her hand. A soft green glow formed around her fingers. Stephanie noticed immediately and understood what she was about to do. She moved closer and took Rebecca’s hand.

Rebecca looked at her through swollen eyes. "What?"

"Nothing." Stephanie squeezed her fingers. "I’m here."

Rebecca stared at her for a moment before nodding weakly.

The healer gently placed two glowing fingers against the back of Rebecca’s neck.

Rebecca flinched. "What are you doing?"

Warmth began spreading through her body, and her eyes widened as she understood.

"No. No, wait."

Maria tightened her arms around her.

"Mother."

"I’m here."

Her eyelids were already becoming heavy.

"Mother, please."

Maria’s tears fell into Rebecca’s hair. "I’m right here."

"I don’t want to sleep."

"I know."

"Please."

Her voice weakened as the magic began pulling her under. Rebecca fought it with whatever little strength she had left, but her body had already endured too much.

"My baby..."

Stephanie squeezed her hand.

Rebecca looked at her, but her eyes could barely stay open anymore.

"Where’s my baby?"

Stephanie’s lips trembled.

Rebecca’s head slowly fell against Maria’s shoulder.

"Please..."

Her fingers loosened around Stephanie’s hand, and then her eyes finally closed.

Maria continued holding her as the last of the tension slowly left Rebecca’s body. Within seconds, she was completely limp against her mother’s chest, finally silent after hours of crying, screaming, begging, forgetting, and remembering all over again.

Nobody spoke for a long moment. The healer kept her fingers against Rebecca’s neck until the green glow slowly faded.

"She’ll sleep for several hours," she said quietly. "Don’t wake her. Let her body rest for as long as it needs."

Maria nodded without looking up. With Stephanie’s help, she carefully lifted Rebecca from the floor and placed her back on the bed, pulling the blanket over her before brushing the damp hair away from her face and pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Even asleep, Rebecca didn’t look peaceful.

There were still tears on her cheeks.