No Memories Of You Left

Chapter 46
Radoff saw Karina enter the forest. As ordered by the alpha, he stood guard at the edge of the forest. He let Karina, in wolf form, pass by with a strange bottle in her mouth, waiting for the two guards assigned to follow her.

But before they appeared, he saw Nalani silently following Karina.

"Damn it. What's going on here?" he muttered. Two girls sneaking into the forest at the same time would make thealpha lose his temper. When the two guards finally arrived, he stopped them.

"What happened?" he hissed. "Nalani also entered the forest."

"We know, Radoff," one of them said. "We were following Karina when we saw Nalani also go into the forest. So, we held back so we could track them both at once."

Radoff nodded. "I'll join you," he said. "I don't know how much worse this situation could get if Nalani is involved." He had seen Nalani neutralize the creature's venom from the wounded wolf. He had a hunch that there was some sort of magic within Nalani.

If true, it could lead to a dangerous confrontation with the creature.

The three of them transformed into wolf form. Radoff led the Way, following the two girls' tracks deeper into the heart of the Mond wilderness.

And there they were, watching the creature attack Karina and Nalani. From their hiding place, they saw Nalani suddenly surrounded by a blinding white light, forcing the creature to retreat.

The two guards were about to move to help, but Radoff stopped them.

"Wait!" he ordered telepathically. "We'll help if they're really in danger, that's Alpha's orders. Look, Nalani hasn't moved an inch from her spot. I'm sure that thing won't be able to hurt them."

Radoff looked in awe at the magical shield Nalani had created.

The last time he had seen a magic shield was when he was a child, watching Lorelei-the mother of Karyan-practice with the castle guards. Lorelei was beautiful and gentle in her role as the alpha mate, but strong and disciplined like a seasoned warrior as she demanded the guards not slack off.

His father had once been Lorelei's bodyguard, which was why he was friends with Karyan.

"Karina!" She saw Nalani approach Karina who was standing unsteadily and grabbed her hand.

Both of them were now Inside the same protective shield. Meanwhile, the creature recovered from its shock and began to rise.

"Are you alright? We need to get out of here," Nalani said.

Stubbornly, Karina shook her head. "No."
"I can't fight, you know that. And we can't rely on your shield Alone.” She spoke slowly; gasping for breath.

Nalani clenched her fists.

"He has to listen to me." Karina was on the verge of tears.

"He won't and he can't. He is no longer your father. He only remembers his name but has forgotten his old life."

"He can't possibly forget me!" Karina shouted.

Meanwhile, the creature began to rise and howl even louder at them.

"We will die if we stay here!" Nalani shouted. "He said he would kill us!"

"He won't..."

Suddenly the creature stood up and swung its long, clawed hands at them.

Radoff had anticipated this. He came out of his hiding place and lunged at the creature, throwing it back once more.

"Drag them out of here!" by telepathy he ordered the two guards, who now emerged from the bushes, snarling at the creature. Each grabbed Nalani and Karina by the scruff of the neck, threw them onto their backs, and ran away from the scene.

Radoff growled and bared his teeth menacingly at the creatures that were trying to get back up.

"Don't even think about killing them, Deegon. You have a message from the boy whose parents you killed: if that happens, he will never forgive you again."

Radoff growled ferociously one last time before turning and running after the two wolves carrying the two girls.

Behind Him, the creature howled aggressively but did not dare to chase after them.

Radoff ran behind the others, just in case the creature changed its mind and chased after them. He was gratified to see the two girls clinging to the back of the guard wolves that carried them.

Their hands hugged the wolves’ neck and their bodies were bent to avoid colliding with branches throughout their escape.

The top of the castle came into view and the trees became sparse. Finally, they arrived at the forest boundary. The two guards lowered their bodies so that the two girls could get down to the ground.

Instantly, the three wolves turned into humans.

Nalani and Karina stood unsteadily among them.

“Well, welcome back to safety, wayward girls,” Radoff said. “I wouldn’t put up a defense before the Alpha if I were you.”

Someone could be heard approaching from the direction of the castle. The alpha’s face was frowning, Mita walked behind him. “I do not accept any defense,” he growled.

Then he looked at Nalani with disappointment in his eyes. “I can't believe you went along with disobeying orders, Nalani. Mita reported to me that she saw you go into the forest.”

“I followed Karina,” Nalani said weakly. She was too tired to argue. The magic shield seemed to be taking up a lot of her energy.

***
It was Radoff who suggested that the two girls should first be examined by Bertold.

He saw firsthand how the creature attacked them.

“If the creature’s fingernails even slightly scratch their skin.... “ Radoff shrugged with a look of horror. The two girls were still in shock after all. It would be best if Karyans scolded them tomorrow.

Hearing that, Karyan allowed them to be taken to Bertoldi's Place. The old healer chuckled when he heard what happened.

He cast a disapproving look at the two.

“This one stole my potion,” he said, pointing at Karina. “Well, did you manage to use it on that thing?”

Karina shook her head grimly. “I couldn’t even get it to listen to me.”

Karyan snorted. “Do you understand now that that thing is no longer your father?”

Karina’s eyes glazed over at the sharp words.

“But I think he’s listening to Nalani,” said Radoff.

Nalani, who had been silent as if in thought, turned her head. “I read his mind,” she said half dreamily. “It’s so mixed in there, besides animal instincts, he feels fear and guilt. And Maybe, that’s all that’s left of his humanity.”

“Did...did you hear my name?” asked Karina. There was desperation in her low, trembling voice. “He knows his name is Deegon... He responds to you when you call him that. Karina... is it on his mind?”

Nalani shook her head. “Only Lorelei,” she said with a pitying look at Karina. “All he remembers is Lorelei, with regret.”

“Do you understand, Karina?” said Karyan. “You almost died twice because of your stubbornness. And if you think I’ll be happy about your death, well, no. I’m not happy.”

Karina’s tears broke out, and Bertold immediately ordered people to leave his infirmary except for the two girls. “Let Them rest here. And you, Alpha,” he looked at Karyan. “I ask you to postpone your desire to punish these two poor girls. There’s still tomorrow.”
***