"Everyone else take a seat. On the floor if there aren’t enough chairs."
As Vasile had expected, the dominant wolves remained standing, as did their mates.
Sally looked up at her Alpha. "I don't really know what I'm doing, so I'm just going to touch him as I did you."
Vasile nodded.
"Decebel." Sally's voice was tentative.
Decebel turned his amber gaze on her, and though Sally knew he didn't remember her, it was still shocking to see the lack of recognition in his eyes.
"May I place my hand over your heart?"
He stood up, towering over the small healer. "You may."
Sally reached up and placed her small hand over Decebel's heart. She was not surprised by the strength she felt in his muscles or the way they tensed as she made contact.
She closed her eyes and let the knowing force inside her take over. She saw darkness. An entity flowing through his veins, moving through his body until it reached his brain, where it created a slimy supernatural film. Sally reached into the darkness, seeking its origin, its purpose. She gasped as she felt the wicked intent behind it. A curse.
No, Sally thought. Not a curse. Two curses. She pushed against them and briefly felt the magic behind it – dark magic meant to destroy memories. Not just any memories, but cherished memories, life altering memories.
Sally couldn't believe the curses' intricacy. The second curse bound Decebel as the sole wolf able to seek out Jen. She wondered why the one who cursed him would choose Jen's mate as the only one able to find her. He could track her, couldn’t he?
Cherished memories, she remembered. Decebel doesn't remember his mate.
Sally felt the wolf's pain as his very soul sought for the comfort of his mate. As Sally continued to look deeper into his unconsciousness, she saw that the memories were still there, but they were bound. Then she found something that she wasn't expecting.
The curse was for Fane.
Sally pulled her hand away, collapsed, and would've hit the ground had Costin not, somehow, been there to catch her. She pressed her hand to her head, feeling the darkness recede from her own mind. Costin helped her stand and kept his hands on her waist until he was sure she was steady. She looked up at him, brow furrowed. He grinned and winked at her as he stepped back.
Sally shook her head thinking it odd that Costin had been there to catch her.
Vasile cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him.
"It is a curse. Well, actually, it's two curses," she began. "I'm going to try and describe this the best I can. It's kind of complex." She looked at Vasile, waiting to see if he had anything to say.
He nodded, indicating to her to go on.
"Right then. The first is some sort of memory binding curse. From what I could tell it has bound Decebel's good memories. And by good, I mean his precious and life-altering memories. So the mundane, everyday, hoo-ha stuff remains."
"Did she just say hoo-ha?" Jacque muttered.
Fane smacked her lightly on her butt. "Behave."
"I'm just saying. Jen would have loved that one," she said absently.
Taking no notice, Sally went on. "It appears that the curse started binding his good memories from the day of the death of his sister. My guess is that she wanted him to forget his mate. Anything important in Decebel's life that was positive is gone. It's why he doesn't remember becoming your Beta; it's why he doesn't remember new pack mates. I imagine he doesn't remember any matings either. The most important fact, I would like to point out, is that she made him forget his mate."
The entire room gasped. Each of them understood the implication of something so important as essentially losing your mate. If Decebel didn't remember Jen, what would that do to them and their bond? More importantly, how would she be found?
"The next curse is where it gets really messy. The curse makes Decebel the only one able to find Jen. It's almost like she's bound the pack through him. Also, I need to tell you Vasile, that the first curse had Fane's name on it. Decebel blocked Fane with his body and got hit with it."
Jacque wrapped her arms around Fane. "I don't know what I would do if you couldn't remember me," she whispered.
"You probably would beat me until I did remember," Fane teased, easing the tension in his mate.
Jacque snorted. "You know me so well."