09. "Accept it, or die."

"Excuse me, sir?" The nurse asked Kalmin from the doorway, pulling the curtain back softly.

"Yeah?" Kalmin groaned, sitting up in his chair, eyeing the woman as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes before looking over at Nuri, who still hadn't woken up, so it couldn't have been more than a few minutes since he'd fallen asleep.

"I'm sorry, I just had a few questions, so I could get her paperwork filled out." The nurse said, smiling softly.

"Okay, sure," Kalmin said with a nod as he stood and followed the nurse back to her station, where she handed him a clipboard and explained what he needed to fill out or could fill out until Nuri was awake. "Not sure how helpful I can be, as I only really know her name," Kalmin muttered as he took the clipboard back to Nuri's room.

*'Kalmin, she's awake!'* Rian happily gasped when he saw that Nuri's eyes were open, and she was looking around the room curiously.

"Nuri, how do you feel?" Kalmin asked her as he walked to her bedside, looking over her curiously. *'Shit, you bled through your bandage.'* Kalmin thought as he cupped her chin and turned her head to the side so he could inspect it. He leaned forward and clicked the call button, then furrowed his brows as he and Nuri locked gazes, but found no sort of recognition in her eyes as she peered back at him.

*'Nuri! This man is our mate!'* Tempest gasped out breathlessly as she looked into Kalmin's eyes and saw his wolf looking back at her.

"You're my mate?" Nuri asked softly, her heart welling up in happiness as she looked into Kalmin's beautiful green eyes, unknowing of their most recent past.

"You... You don't remember, Nuri?" Kalmin asked her softly, furrowing his brows as he searched her light blue eyes, but found nothing in them to suggest she had any idea who he was. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Huh? Oh, well, the last thing I remember is going to sleep, I guess." Nuri responded as she sat up in bed, cocking her head to the side as she watched Kalmin's reaction curiously. She started to open her mouth to speak but stopped as she turned her attention towards the curtain where the nurse pulled it to the side, then clicked the call button to shut off the alarm.

"Hello, I'm June, how are you feeling?" The nurse asked as she checked Nuri's vials, asking her questions about how she felt, but Kalmin couldn't force himself to listen.

*'She doesn't remember us, Kalmin. What does this mean?'* Rian asked, his voice filled with chipper curiosity.

"Why are you so happy to know that she doesn't remember us?" Kalmin asked as he stepped out of the room to give the nurse space and walked back outside, lighting a cigarette once he was far enough away from the entrance.

*'Kalmin, if she doesn't remember us, then we can have a fresh start. She won't remember the things you've said or did, and that means she doesn't know that she hates you.'*

"She didn't hit her head that hard, Rian. She may remember me by the time I walk back into the room."

*'But if she doesn't, it's a fresh start. You promised me that you'd start being nice to her.'*

"No, I promised that I would no longer purposely bring harm to her. When did I promise I would be nicer?" Kalmin taunted, trying to hide his chuckle as he felt his wolf's anger. "I know, Rian, relax. I will do things your way, but I do not believe it will work, just for the record."

*'Noted.'*

"Very well, then," Kalmin said with a chuckle as he tossed his cigarette away and walked back into the hospital, making his way into Nuri's room where the nurse was finishing her examination and was typing into a computer. "How is she?"

"It appears she's suffering from some side effects from her concussion. Memory loss is the worst of it, and the others are minimal."

"How long could the memory loss last?" Kalmin asked as he returned to Nuri's side and took a seat, watching her as she smiled softly at him, seemingly happy to see him.

"There is no telling, I'm afraid. The doctor will be in soon, and we'll need to run some more tests, and once we have, we'll be able to give you a more definitive answer." June said with a soft and reassuring smile before walking back out of the room, pulling the curtain closed.

"I'm sorry to ask, but, um..." Nuri started to say but trailed off as she bit her lip, hesitantly bringing her eyes to meet Kalmin's. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kalmin, and I'm your mate," Kalmin said as he sat on the edge of Nuri's bed, watching her. *'She really forgot me? Rian, you may be correct. If I wish to start over with Nuri, this is my chance.'*

"What were we doing? I mean before I got hurt?"

"We were going to dinner to celebrate your wolf picking a name."

"You picked a name?" Nuri gasped softly, speaking to her wolf.

*'I don't remember telling you my name, maybe our mate can tell us? I'm sure I would have asked you to tell him, and that's why we were celebrating!'* Tempest responded happily, cooing over how beautiful their mate was.

"She asked if you know the name she picked?"

"Tempest," Kalmin said, watching as Nuri conversed silently with her wolf, her blue eyes far away for a few minutes until she finally focused her attention back on Kalmin.

"She says she's always loved that name, and that was the one she wanted to pick, but she doesn't remember picking it." Nuri finally said, then shook her head softly. "How long have we known that we were mates?"

"Not long, a few days. I brought you to live with me yesterday."

"We live together?" Nuri gasped, her eyes going wide in shock.

"Yes."

"I'm sorry for all of the questions,"

"No, you don't have any reason to be," Kalmin said, shaking his head as he stood and moved to the side as the doctor was walking towards them, knocking softly at the doorframe before pulling the curtain back.

"Hello, Nuri, how are you feeling?" The doctor asked, smiling softly as he looked over Nuri's clipboard, reading through what June has notated. "The last thing you remember was almost two weeks ago, correct?" He asked, waiting for Nuri's nod as he wrote something down, then began rechecking Nuri's vitals as he continued to question her.

*'I can't believe she's actually lost her memory. I know she smacked her head pretty good against the dashboard, but I didn't think she would lose so much of her memory. This is insane, but I can't tell her the truth about our relationship. At the same time, if she remembers and knows I've been lying to her, it would only make things worse. Though, at the same time, if she doesn't remember, then this is my only real chance.'* Kalmin thought,

"Kalmin?" Nuri asked softly, bringing Kalmin out of his thoughts. "Are you okay? You've been staring at nothing for a while, and the doctor left minutes ago."

"Yes, sorry. I didn't hear what the doctor said." Kalmin said, shaking his thoughts loose.

"Well, he asked me questions, then he asked Tempest questions, and he said I'll be good to go home, but I need to be kept watch over because of the concussion," Nuri responded with a giggle, shaking her head "I can't believe I'm saying this, but, we can go home now."

"Of course. Let me sign the paperwork." Kalmin said as he walked out to the nurse's station and signed the paperwork, before turning around to join Nuri as she got ready to leave. "Are you ready?" Kalmin asked, knocking softly at the doorframe of her room.

"I'm ready," Nuri said with a grin as she pulled the curtain back, taking Kalmin's hand as they walked back towards his car. "Kalmin, could we still get dinner? I'm really hungry."

"Of course. Tempest picked a burger and fries, and you said you've never had it before. Is that still what you wish?" Kalmin responded, trying to hide the shock of feeling Nuri's hand in his own.

"Of course Tempest picked that. But, yeah!" Nuri said, nodding happily as she looked out the window, watching the trees as we drove by, her happiness not going by unnoticed by Kalmin, who was watching her closely.

"Nuri, are you happy?" Kalmin asked after a few minutes of silence, watching her closely.

"Of course I am! I never thought I would find my mate, and even if I did, I thought they wouldn't accept me because of me being a hybrid." Nuri mumbled softly as she looked down at her hands in her lap, shaking her head.

"So, you're happy to have me as your mate?" Kalmin continued, narrowing his eyes as he watched the road, but kept his attention on Nuri, trying to gauge her reactions. *'She doesn't remember me, so that means she doesn't remember that I'm the alpha?'*

"I must have said or done something before that would make you think otherwise, didn't I?"

"We both did, originally. Nuri, I'm the alpha."

Nuri gaped at Kalmin for a long few moments, trying to gather her thoughts as they began to run rampant. *'The alpha? It makes sense why he's so terrifying then. But I wonder what I said or did when I found out? It couldn't have been good, otherwise, he wouldn't be reacting this way. But if it was something bad, then why would we have been going to eat dinner together? Wait, how the hell did I get hurt?'*

*'Nuri, you're overthinking this. Calm down! If it was bad, he would have told us, right? Even so, losing our memories of the first time we met may be the best thing. It's like a do-over.'* Tempest responded, trying to cheer Nuri up.

"You and Tempest must be having quite the heated discussion, I take it?" Kalmin said after a few minutes of watching Nuri's reactions, her blue eyes darkening then brightening, telling Kalmin that one of them was angry and the other was happy. Though he couldn't tell if it was Nuri that was happy or her wolf.

"Not really a heated discussion, but yes, sorry," Nuri said as she looked around and saw that Kalmin had parked at the restaurant and was waiting for her to get out of her head so they could go inside.

Kalmin chuckled as he got out of the car and walked around to Nuri's side to open her door, offering his hand to help her step out, before walking alongside her into the restaurant.

"You said we've only known each other for a few days, right?" Nuri asked after they'd ordered, sitting in a booth across from each other.

"Yes, that's correct," Kalmin responded with a nod, taking a drink of his water as he watched her.

"So, I guess I can't be forgetting too much about you, right?"

"What you know about me now is nearly all you knew about me previously. Except for remembering my home, that is."

"How much do you know about me?"

"I know your name is Nuri, you're eighteen years old, soon to be graduating from high school. You're a hybrid, your parents' names are Bella and Alvin. To be honest, that's really all that I know about you." Kalmin said, then leaned back in the booth, watching Nuri as she considered what he said for a few moments. "My name is Kalmin, I'm twenty-four years old, alpha of the blue river pack."

Nuri nodded and was beginning to speak, but just as she was starting to, the waitress came back to the table to set down their food. Nuri couldn't help but feel a wave of jealousy washing over her when she saw the way the waitress was smiling at Kalmin, but she bit it back and tried to hide it. Though she tried to hide it, Kalmin had already noticed it, and couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped when he saw how jealous Nuri was getting. *'Look at how adorable she is when she's jealous.'*

*'Don't mock her, Kalmin.'* Rian roared in protest, growling lowly when he saw how much amusement Kalmin was taking on Nuri's behalf.

"How did we meet? I've been trying to remember, but I can't." Nuri said after a few minutes, playing with one of her fries.

"The pack threw me a birthday party, which you attended. You tripped over absolutely nothing and I caught you, which is when our wolves saw each other."

"Tripping over nothing is the Nuri specialty," Nuri scoffed, shaking her head as she took a bite of her fry, smiling when Tempest told her to try the burger. "Okay, calm down, I'm getting to it." Nuri giggled as she took a small bite of her burger, which resulted in Tempest howling her pleasure, making Nuri laugh aloud.

"I see Tempest is very happy with her decision?" Kalmin said after watching the way Nuri laughed after taking a bite, then leaned forward to wipe the sauce off of her chin with his napkin.

"She's being a drama queen about it, but it's cute," Nuri said with a nod as she set her burger down and ate another fry, much to Tempest's chagrin.

"And that is our wolves specialties," Kalmin said with a nod as he began eating, fully aware that Nuri was watching him, but ignoring it nonetheless as he knew if she wanted to say something, she would.

*'Tempest, what are you hiding from me?'* Nuri thought as he bowed her head to begin eating, not wanting Kalmin to notice that she was speaking with Tempest, as she didn't want him to know what they were talking about.

*'I'm not hiding anything, Nuri.'* Tempest lied.

*'Tempest, I know you're lying to me. If it's something personal, I'll leave it be with respect for you, in the hopes that you'll eventually tell me. But I know that you stole my memories of Kalmin, so tell me why.'*

*'You... You know that I stole your memories? How?'* Tempest gasped out, shaking her head.

*'I can feel the void there, Tempest. I know what happens when a wolf steals memories, and I know that you stole only my memories of Kalmin, which isn't normal for a concussion.'*

*'Nuri, you trust me, right?'*

*'Of course I do!'* Nuri responded, feeling a bit hurt that Tempest felt the need to ask. *'What kind of team would we be if I didn't trust my own soul?'*

*'I wasn't trying to offend you, Nuri, I promise. But please, trust me in this. What I'm doing will help us so much and I swear you'll be thankful to me for doing this when the time comes.'*

"Are you ready to go?" Kalmin asked once he'd paid the bill, and saw that Nuri finished her meal and was absentmindedly stirring her tea.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Thank you." Nuri said with a smile as she stood and walked with Kalmin back to the car, where he held the door open for her, then drove back towards home. *'I have the utmost trust in you, Tempest. That always has and always will be the truth. Will you at least tell me why?'*

*'If I tell you why, I may as well give you your memories back, and that would destroy the entire point. Nuri, Kalmin is our mate, and he's so beautiful. Enjoy his company, and stop worrying about it, okay?'*

"Okay, yeah," Nuri said, then swore when she'd realized she said it aloud. "Sorry, I was saying that to Tempy. Oh, that's a cute nickname, can I call you that?"

*'Absolutely fucking not.'* Tempest snarled, shaking her head.

"Okay, wow. She said I may absolutely fucking not call her Tempy, just a forewarning." Nuri said to Kalmin, giggling as she shook her head.

"At least she's made up her mind about it?" Kalmin offered with a laugh, shaking his head.

"Oh, I meant to ask, but I wasn't sure if I was allowed to... Um, what's your wolves name?"

*'Rian, do you wish me to tell her?'* Kalmin asked Rian, then laughed as he could feel the annoyance emanating from him before he could even finish asking the question. "Rian."

"That's a really cool name, actually. I wonder how our wolves can pick such amazing names without ever hearing or seeing them?"

"I've thought the same thing myself on numerous occasions," Kalmin agreed with a nod as they arrived back at his house, and he pulled the car into the garage. "Welcome home." He said, then chuckled internally as he thought about what he'd done the first time he brought Nuri home.

*'Don't you dare, Kalmin! If you do anything mean to her I will revolt, and that is a promise.'* Rian snarled, taking Kalmin by surprise.

*'Revolt, Rian? You wouldn't. A soul revolting against the host would kill us both!'* Kalmin responded, but he could feel the danger in Rian's words, and he knew he was being serious. *'You'd really kill us both if I don't treat Nuri the way you demand I do?'*

*'I will. Those are your choices. Accept our mate and treat her the way she deserves to be treated, or die. I know you don't want to accept Nuri, and I know you'd rather fight me every step of the way, so I made your decision for you.'*