Untouchable by Marii Solaria

Chapter 3 – Lost Memories

“Memory loss is one way of coping with damage.“– Jeanette Winterson

Kiya

It’s nearly noon when I woke up. Guess I needed that sleep. But everything feels weird. Here I am, sitting at the foot of Neron’s bed, staring at my reflection in his vanity. Can I attribute my restful sleep to Neron’s scent? Or the fact I’m in his room? Hard to say, especially since I’m covered in it.

And I can’t say it’s a bad thing. He smells nice.

But there’s one thing that bothered me. The sparks. They aren’t as powerful as they used to be. Back at the couch, when his fingers brushed against my arm, I felt them but, they’re weak. When he tucked me in the bed and touched my face, the sparks weakened that I barely noticed them. I’m used to the weakness in the sparks of our mate bond, but this time, everything felt foreign. Abnormal.

A dull pain throbbed on the side of my neck. It made itself noticeable through the panging underneath my epidermis. It’s also the same area where Osiris bit and drank from me those weeks ago. A profound effect of the bite still exists long after his death. Vampires are more skilled than I originally thought.

He’s dead. He’s gone.

And yet, he continues to fester in my mind. Why?

“Ugh…” Scratching my head, I hopped on my bare feet and took in the Alpha’s room once more. Neron has everything in his room than an adult male ever dreams of and then some. The color scheme of blue, black, and red fits him in strange ways. This is the first time I’ve ever been in his room and I felt out of place. Like I

shouldn’t be here.

But my feet remained rooted against the soft carpet. Because of my damn curiosity. As the humans say, curiosity killed the cat, and satisfaction brought it back.

Good thing I’m not a cat!

birthday. One, however, captured my attention the most. It’s a picture, the frame in pristine silver with no blemishes or flaws, standing prominently from them all. It’s a frame that Neron took care of the

their biggest and brightest of all their smiles; cheerfulness compartmentalized in their matching sapphires. A happy picture meant to invoke joy invoked pain in me. Pulsating to the rapid thumping of my heart. My fingers, trembling, brushed

best friend.

my mind. In a flash, I’m plunged into a powerful episodic memory where I can smell Nuria’s

beautiful innocent

improved my days,

Third Person POV

leading into the pack house kitchen. The smell of freshly baked brownies and cookies wafted into the air, beckoning the children to eat them without a care in the world. Nuria’s crystal blue eyes trained right on its target; the plateful of treats resting on the island behind Lead

this is a good idea?” Halima asked her

eyes!” Nuria exclaimed proudly. “And if we run away into the woods after. Besides, Miss Cassandra makes the best brownies in the world!

says never to hit people without a reason. Only hit if

you had a reason.” Nuria retorted with a

but I didn’t want to get in trouble.” Shaking her head with bouncing curls, the young Beta pointed

from behind and quietly take the plate and run

“You can’t eat cookies and brownies without milk. It’s like eating spaghetti without cheese!”

things we got to do.” Nurla groaned, pondering in thought for a few seconds. In the end, she threw caution to the wind. “Forget about the milk. We’ll get it another time. We have a

incredulously. “Really? You made up that name

Now, let’s go!”

to use the chair available near it. Luckily, the Beta’s daughter didn’t have to move it. With quick haste, she climbed the chair, grabbed the plate in silence, hopped off, and escaped out the kitchen. Once Nuria saw their mission was a success, she quickly ended the conversation and scurried out of the kitchen.

admiring their handy work. Nuria patted Halima on the back, showing off her million–dollar smile. “You

are you

and Nuria froze at the sound of the voice. Slowly turning around, they saw Neron standing with his arms crossed. Quirked an eyebrow, he pointed to

girls asked in unison.

“That.”

children feigned innocence. “We don’t know what you’re talking about!”