Hugo's POV

As the hours went by with each minute marking the ticking clock closer to the full moon, I paced around the master bedroom back and forth. Living in this changing canvass of chaos and uncertainty, instantaneously, I noticed my body's nuances of emotions shifting. Many thoughts ran through my mind. Her choosing to carry out the ritual by herself was incomprehensible to me. There must be something I could do to change her mind.

It was hard for me to go through the flashback spell with her. And I could only imagine how she may have felt as she relived the atrocities that had happened. All of that suffering was caused by the very people that should have protected her. The moment she recounted how her father had abused her, infuriated me. I felt like smashing a hole in the wall. I considered reviving him just to have him perish at my hands instead. My body was fueling with wrath, and I knew I needed to leave the dining room to cool off.

I didn't want her to see me like this.

Helpless.

My body started to feel as hot as fire. I took a seat on the bed and tried to compose myself. I inhaled deeply and let it out slowly as my pulse rate began to quicken. Emotions can be such a strange concept; if your mind or heart can't handle them inwardly, they start to manifest themselves externally all over your body.

"Hugo . ." Wolfie spoke in my head, but I was too consumed in thought to care.

"Not now" I muttered.

She is a true blood hybrid. Someone like me is unworthy of someone of her stature. I was simply a weak beta, that's all. I was aware that she didn't view it that way and that her main concern was my safety. However, I cannot help but feel that I wasn't up to par. Being powerless angered me. Usually, at this point, I'd want to curl up and cry as that has been my first response whenever shit hit the fan.

But things were different this time. I felt hatred and anger .I felt like I was having an out of body experience but at the same time it came so natural to me.

"Hugo.." Wolfie spoke in my head again.

"Not now, Wolfie. I'm pissed" I grunted.

"That's good. I'm pissed too" he replied.

"Did you know.. that she's true-blood?" I asked him. I knew Alpha Talia talked to Wolfie, maybe she confided in him before she told me.

"I could sense she was different but couldn't really put my finger on it. Now we know" Wolfie murmured.

"Well, we also know that we aren't her mate. She comes from the Draverri witch bloodline and true-bloods can only procreate with an Alpha. Her life is in danger and I . . can't do anything about it" I groaned as I gallantly ran my fingers through my hair.

"How does that make you feel?" Wolfie asked out of nowhere.

"What kind of a stupid question is that? It makes me angry! What else am I supposed to feel?" I growled. Knowing that she was mated to an Alpha bothered me. What could I possibly do in this situation? Watch her suffer every full moon until she decides to find her true mate who wasn't me? And even if by some chance, she did find her mate, can I let her go?

No, I can't. I won't.

Rage that kept multiplying was evolving from pain. I only had a distinct feeling like my soul had vanished into an eternal darkness of rage and suffering. But I still hadn't reached the point of giving up.

"Hugo, you haven't been angry in a long time. And I feel like I've spent forever waiting for this moment. You've got the right energy now. You just have to channel it" Wolfie's words didn't make any sense. He was doing a lousy job if he had assumed he was comforting me.

"Channel what? Did Frieda's concoction make you drunk?" I questioned, genuinely wondering if he was out of his mind.

"I'm not drunk, but that drink was strong, not gonna lie" He replied.

"Channel what? Wolfie. Quit stalling. I'm in no mood for your games" I asked impatiently.

"I wish I didn't have to dump this on you tonight right after finding out about Talia's past but I've waited for this moment for so long. You're finally coming into yourself, Hugo. There's something's from your past you don't remember" Wolfie stated quietly.

"What are you on about? Don't remember what?" I muttered.

"I sort of might have repressed some of your memories, because at the time you had asked me to do it. There are things that happened during that dinner incident that you don't remember. This is the reason why I run away from conflict because fighting includes getting angry and you were not ready then. But you're ready now" Wolfie's manner of speaking was rather enigmatic.

"What things at the 'dinner from hell' happened that I could possibly forget?" I asked curiously. Every time I tried to remember that dinner with my family, Wolfie would shut me out.

I recalled the dinner in my mind. We spent a significant portion of the full moon night racing around the woods, the Shaw pack was prospering, happy and strong. Dinner was ready when we returned. Despite the disagreements between my father Alpha Derek and my uncle Julian, no one resorted to violence. The Shaw family lived in harmony and always looked out for one another.

To this day, I often wondered why no one could detect the wolf's bane in any of the meals. Ultimately, only one conclusion could be drawn. Undoubtedly, a witch assisted Uncle Julian in carrying out his nefarious scheme. All I can recall after becoming paralyzed as a result of the wolf's bane were the screams and the last bit of will I had to muster, to slaughter that evil bastard.

"Hugo . . . before I make you remember, I just want to remind you that you asked me to do this" Wolfie stated.

"What do you mean I'm ready now? I don't understand, I would never tell you to repress memories" I replied, perplexed at his statement.

"Well, see it for yourself" Hugo murmured.

Within seconds, I felt my heart palpitate and my eyes glowed yellow. The surroundings blurred, and I started to remember events from my past that I couldn't recall before.

From a very young age, I observed every training my father had undertaken for me. I excelled at everything and that made father very proud. Wolfie and I were best friends, we were always in tune with one another. In order to connect with Wolfie during my first transformation, I utilized rage as my main emotion channel.

I exhaled as I watched more training sessions that were being held progressively in order for me to get ready for the transition ceremony. I was being prepared by my father to succeed him as the Alpha. The ceremony was a few days away when the dinner occurred.

The flashback abruptly transported me to the aftermath of the wolf's bane. I was now on the ground. The dosage was so strong that I almost felt it in my veins numbing my entire body. I felt tears welling up my eyes as I witnessed my mother's lifeless body being savagely dismembered.

My gaze shifted to my father, Alpha Derek, who was lying down in front of me. Between the roars of my uncle and the sound of organs being ripped apart, I couldn't hear father's heartbeat. But as soon as I saw his eyes open slowly, a sense of relief swept over me. I felt immobilized by the wolf's bane and lacked the energy to stand up, but I managed to crawl my way towards him.

He extended his hand to my forehead and his eyes blazed a maroon scarlet red. Despite the fact that I was aware of what he was doing, I resisted accepting my father's decision to end his life. He brushed his bloodied thumb across the top of my forehead while firmly closing his eyes.

"No" I managed to utter, choking on blood.

"You must, son" his wolf connected with mine and for a brief second both our eyes glowed at once.

"I ... can't" I stammered, unwilling to accept that my father had bestowed his Alpha status to me.

As Wolfie awaited his transformation, I mustered up the strength to reach for my father but he took his last breath in front of me. I felt anger, I felt betrayed. After killing my uncle, I stared at the dining area that were covered with piles of dead bodies. Everyone was dead. Everyone whose safety I had pledged. The devastation I felt was unfathomable. As I hit the ground, I cried my soul out for the very first time. I couldn't bear the sight, nor the fact that I was all alone.

That was when I requested Wolfie to erase my memory. Make it seem like I was a weak beta all along. I made the decision to hide behind and not face my fears as a result of my pain. I decided I wasn't worthy to become an Alpha.

A tear escaped my eyes as I was jolted back to reality. When my old memories came back, I struggled to integrate the old and new parts of myself. Everything that had happened up to this point had been precipitated by my attempts to avoid my issues.

"So you see, you have the power to still become an Alpha, Hugo. You just forgot who you truly are" Wolfie spoke slowly.

"Father bestowed it before he died?" I breathed quietly as I asked. I was reclaiming my former self, but the merge was taking time as I found it quite hard to accept that the 'old me' couldn't deal with the trauma of being a failure when the 'new me' was getting used to it.

"I'm sure that's not how he would have envisioned himself passing down his legacy, but yes he did. It's like an offering that you still haven't accepted yet" Wolfie remarked.

"If I didn't accept it then, wouldn't it have been lost now?" I asked him.

"It wasn't lost because when he offered it, I accepted it. But you didn't. We were not on the same page. But now . . . now you have a purpose, Hugo. A reason to accept it. For her. For our mate" Wolfie urged. All of a sudden, the situation didn't seem as dire. There was a chance I could become Alpha and spare her from her fate.

"Okay, what do I need to do?" I asked, feeling determined.

"Yeah, well.. I'm not really sure. Your father bestowed it to you. To us. But I don't know how to unlock it. All I know is that, it's up to you. You have to find how" Wolfie's response irked me. How was I supposed to unlock something I didn't remember receiving? And how was I supposed to unlock it within the next five days before the full moon comes?

"I have to unlock it before the full moon" I spoke my thoughts out loud.

"Remember Hugo, you weren't weak just because you chose to become vulnerable. We needed that time to process our emotions. You've spent majority of your life in training and you were so disciplined that when it was time for you to find your mate, you still chose your duty to the pack first. So during that dinner, when you hit your lowest, all your suppressed emotions came out at once. You couldn't handle it and that is why I agreed to repress your memories when you asked" Wolfie stated. His words weighed heavy because I was finally beginning to understand that I didn't have a wolf who I had thought was selfish and coward. All this time, Wolfie had been having my back and waiting until the right moment.

"So what should I do?" I asked again.

"Learn to use both. Embrace your vulnerability as one of your strengths as well. Remind yourself that you are who you perceive yourself to be. If you think you're weak, then you'll stay weak. Let's get back to training like in the good old days" I managed to smile at his words. A wave of confidence rose within my body.

"We'll start first thing in the morning, but first I got to go find her" I muttered standing up from the bed.

I won't run away from problems anymore, I pledged myself. I wasn't going to let her perform the ritual alone. But before I can get her to even consider my plea, I needed to get her vulnerable. I still needed an answer to one more question.

I felt a confidence boost as I walked back in to the dining room. She was still seated at the table alone, zoned out. As soon as her eyes met mine, she stood up from the seat. Confusion engulfed her face as she tried to read mine.

She's my mate and therefore I've come to claim her.

Before she could say anything, I put both of my hands on the table and looked her straight in the eye and demanded.

"STRIP"