Here's an update to make up for the one I missed last week! <3

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In front of the entrance, I see most of the pack crowded around a figure on a stretcher. I push through the crowd and gasp at what I saw. My mate, bloody and bruised, covered in leaf bits and dirt. He was unconscious, and the only thing that told me he was alive was the weak rise and fall of his chest.

I look at our mark on his neck, a symbol of our undying love for one another. It wasn't grazed, seemingly the only part that wasn't. How could this have happened? It was only a morning patrol. A group of medics carries Chanyeol down the medical hallway, and out of the crowd. I dash after them, not being able to bear the thought of leaving him.

Yixing pulls me aside, "Look, he's lost a lot of blood. You won't be of any help."

I close my eyes, the tears beginning to fall. "So connect him up to an IV drip!"

Yixing grabs my shoulders. "We can't." My gaze hardens. "What do you mean, can't?"

Yixing sighs. "Sit down, it's a complicated matter." We sit on the floor, backs against the wall as he begins. "Okay, so basically, Alpha comes from a long line of alphas, he's a direct descendant of the alpha of the First Pack. He has alpha blood, and nobody else has it, except..." he trails off.

"Except who?"

Yixing looks me in the eye. "Except you."

"Me? But how? I'm no alpha."

Yixing smiles sadly and points to my mark. "The old legend about mating is true, your mate give you a part of him to carry around wherever you go. So you carry the genetic information for it too."

I place my head in my hands. "So, is there anything you can do with it?"

Yixing scratches his nape. "Well yes, but it would require the removal of your mark."

At this point, I don't even care what the cost is, I need to save him. If not for me, for the rest of the pack. They deserve an alpha like him. "I'll do it."

Yixing puts up a hand. "Wait, you need to know wh-"

I stand up, "I don't care, I'm doing it."

Yixing pulls me back down. "Well I'll tell you anyways." He takes a deep breath and starts softly. "You do know it's going to hurt a lot right? Mark peeling used to be used as a form of torture and punishment for mated wolves. At first, it's just agony, but then you start hallucinating, and when you're completely stripped of your mark, you lose all the memories along with it."

I take a couple deep breaths. "You mean, I won't remember Chanyeol?"

Yixing shakes his head, "Not exactly, you'll only know him as the alpha of your pack, nothing more, nothing less. He'll remember though."

My heart aches at the thought of forgetting my beloved mate. All the time we spent together will be gone. How could I forget? "Will the memories be gone forever?"

Yixing sighs "Until he marks you again. And even then it's not guaranteed." He clasps my hand. "Still want to do it?"

"You won't be able to persuade me not to."

"Come on then."

I let him lead me to a surgery room. "Can't you sedate me or something?"

Yixing shrugs as he cleans the needle. "It won't work if I do." He turns around. "Lie down on your side, mark up." I comply and Yixing holds the needle over my mark. "You sure you want to do this?"

I nod, and a second later, howl in pain. Yixing grabs my hand, "It's okay, it's going to be okay." He repeats the words over and over again, like a mantra.

The sharp pain spreads from the one spot on my neck downwards, as if engulfing my body in flames. The only thing I can think about is my mate. I want my mate, I want him beside me, comforting me, helping me ease some of the pain. Chanyeol. The pain settles into a dull ache, and I get a moment's respites before the pain spreads to my head, a loud banging on my skull. At this point, I can't hear anything from the outside world, and my vision blurs, then clears.

I'm watching a person being dragged away from me. He yells my name repeatedly before dissolving into mist. A weight of grief settles on me, and I wail aloud. I can't place a name on the face I saw, the only thing I know was that he was important to me. I close my eyes, trying to block out what I just saw, only to see it again, and again. The same person, beginning dragged away while calling my name, disappearing.

With a pop, all of the pain stops and I slip into a haze of darkness.

Yixing's POV

I squeeze Baekhyun's hand when I hear him wail, and I know the hallucinations have begun. His wails go on for I don't know how long, until I finally manage to pop his mark off. The wails stop abruptly, and he falls unconscious. He's going to be out for a few days. I take the mark, with its precious information and run it through a blood scanner. I put a base blood material in and soon, I have a good amount of alpha blood. I take the mark out and store it carefully. I might need it later. I run outside the room and dash down the hall to the room Alpha's in.

I quickly connect the blood to a drip and stick the needle into his arm. Now we play the waiting game.

***

Chanyeol's POV

I open my eyes with great effort. I feel like I tried to drown myself in a lake. Ugh. I slam my hand down on the 'Press for Assistance' button and wait. Soon, Yixing comes dashing into the room. "Alpha! You're awake!"

I smile weakly, "How has the pack been?"

"Great! Beta Jongin has been doing a good job."

I try to catch my breath. "That's great. What happened to me?"

Yixing points to the drip in my arm. "You lost a lot of blood." For the first time, I finally see the IV drip stand next to my bed. I look back at Yixing, who has a guilty look on his face.

I'm about to ask why when I realize myself. "Is Baekhyun okay? Is my mate okay?" A million thoughts race through my head. Baekhyun suffered for me. And Yixing let him. But somehow, I can't find it in me to blame Yixing. Maybe it was because there was no way he could have stopped my mate. Maybe it was because he would have helped Baekhyun make it as bearable as possible. I should be grateful.

But a part of me wants to blame him. To blame him for not trying harder to stop Baekhyun. To blame him for the memories I know my mate has lost, for the mark he no longer has. I want to blame him for the all agony and pain, the wailing and tears. I sit up.

"When can I see him?" The distress in my voice is noticeable.

Yixing helps me lay back down. "Soon. Once we disconnect you from the drip." He looks into my eyes. "I am sorry about not being able to stop him. But you and I both know he would have found a way to help you."

I look away, "I don't blame you. It's just, I miss him."

"I do too."

"How long has he been out for?"

"About a week."

***

"Can I go see him now?"

Yixing looks up from the equipment he's cleaning. "I think I'll have to let you see him, before you go ballistic." I throw off my covers, jumping off the bed. Yixing comes over, "Woah, take it easy." He pauses. "You know he's not going to remember, right?"

I shoot him a glare. "I'll be fine." He lets go. "Fine." He asserts. And with that, I'm out the door and headed towards my mate.

I enter the room quietly and pull a chair up to his bed. He's still unconscious. I clasp his hand in mine and give it a squeeze. I run my eyes along his sleeping figure, stopping when I see the red rash in place of our mark. Why did you do it? I keep my eyes fixed on the rash as I card my fingers through his fluffy golden brown hair. How is it still so soft?

Baekhyun's POV

There's suddenly an urge for me to wake. There's someone beside me. But I don't want to wake up. I'm perfectly fine here. There's nothing in the waking world that needs me. But my eyes open anyways.

Chanyeol's POV

I watch as my mate's chocolate brown eyes open slowly, confusion clouding them. "Oh hey Alpha! What are you doing here?"

The words stung, more than they should have. He really doesn't remember. "Can I sit next to you?" I really just need to be near him again.

Baekhyun wrinkles his nose at my request. "Sure." It comes out like a question.

I carefully settle on the edge of the bed, grabbing Baekhyun's hand in my own. "How are you feeling?"

Baekhyun rubs his temple. "Okay, I guess. I have a light headache as of now." He looks me up and down, eyes lingering on my mark. "Since when where you mated, Alpha?"

I let out a sigh as I run my fingers over my mark. "For a while now. I'm mated to the best wolf there is. He has soft golden brown hair, deep chocolate eyes, and is the kindest wolf I know. I almost killed him when we first met though." I allow a small chuckle at the end.

Baekhyun gives me a crooked smile, "He sounds a lot like me. Only I'm still unmated."

I twirl a strand of his hair in my fingers. "He is a lot like you. Maybe that's why I've taken such a liking to you."

"But you can't have favorites. You're the alpha. You have to care for all of us equally." Baekhyun muses quietly, as if he's afraid to contradict me.

"You care so much. You'd make a good alpha."

Baekhyun blushes at the compliment. "Alpha." He whines, gradually loosening up with me.

You aren't supposed to call me that. I'm your Chanyeol.

I suppose I'll have to make you fall in love with me all over again.

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Consider it my Valentine's Day gift for you all! <3

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