Chapter 26

Aaron POV

My eyes snap open as my mind runs in panic. Aaliyah collapses onto the bed beside me. I pull her closer and try to shake her awake.

"Angel!" I scream, the worry making a fist around my heart, "Aaliyah! You need to wake up."

She stays unmoving as little whimpers leak from her trembling lips.

"Please, angel. Wake up," I beg her, calling out over our bond too.

I try to reach back into her head, but the door stays locked. I scream and pound against it in her head, but she refuses to open it.

Dad! Grab the witches and get to my house now! I scream over the pack bond, not bothering to explain the urgency.

"Aaliyah, let me in, angel," I try again, "I can't lose you. I need you to come back."

Her whimpers increase in volume and tears start to push past her closed eyelids to stream down her cheeks. My heart breaks at the sight and I tug her into my lap. I hold her tight and rock her back and forth to try to calm her down.

But it isn't working.

No sweet whispers or loving touch or even begging is going to bring my mate back to me.

She's not going to wake up. She's trapped in her mind and lost in her memories.

"Aaron!" I hear my mother call out as thundering footsteps move through the house and towards the bedroom. The door crashes open and my eyes meet those of my father.

"She won't wake up," my voice cracks as I feel the tears stream down my face.

*****

I’m holding my mate in my lap on the bed as my parents talk to Ivy. I try to focus on keeping my heartbeat steady, but it’s still running a marathon.

Aaliyah’s whimpering hasn’t stopped even as I rock her back and forth. I feel Kiba try to reach out it Aiya, but he can’t feel her either.

Why won’t mate wake up? She needs to wake up, he whines.

I don’t know how to answer him. I can’t focus and the fear I’ve been trying to hold back keeps squeezing my heart the longer this goes on.

The argument at the end of the bed is getting louder by the minute, but I can’t hear the words they are saying. The only thing I can understand is that they don’t have an answer.

“Enough!” I growl, halting their words completely. I tear my eyes away from Aaliyah’s face to the group of them, “Can you wake her up?”

Ivy shakes her head, “If I try to force her out of her memory, it could break her mind.”

“When mates go through the sharing, they go deep into each other’s subconscious and memories. Aaliyah is now trapped there, we can’t just pull her out,” my dad says.

“There has to be a way to get her back,” I say. I will not accept that my mate is lost to me now, trapped in the memory I saw.

She had been tortured for years in that lab. I promised her she would never go back and now she’s trapped there.

“Has this ever happened before?” My mom asks Ivy, “We’ve had mates who failed the sharing and were pushed out of it, but both the pair were brought back out.”

“It depends on what stopped the sharing,” she answers, “With the pair before, why didn’t it work?”

“Lack of trust,” my dad speaks up, “She had slept with some one before and he saw it in the memory. She didn’t trust that her mate could accept it and let go. It took some time, but they eventually tried again and completed the bond.”

“Trust wasn’t the problem,” I bite out, angry that I allowed the though to cross my mind.

“What happened?” Ivy asks.

I shake my head as my grip tightens around my angel. Aaliyah never talks about what happened at the lab and sharing her memory of the torture feels like a betrayal.

All I can feel over our shredded bond is agonizing pain. I don’t know how to talk about what I saw in her head while trying to keep that pain out.

I see Ivy move closer to us and take a seat on the bed, “I know this is hard, but I need to know what happened. Let’s just start off slow. You were in Aaliyah’s mind right?”

“Yes,” I catch a tear off my mate’s cheek and kiss her gently there.

“Was the memory from when she was a kid?”

I shook my head in denial.

“Was it the lab?”

I feel my heart crack at that question, “Yes.”

I try to think about what I saw and push my anger deep down. Aaliyah whimpers again as if she can feel my emotions even while trapped.

“They were cutting into her,” I tell her, “They didn’t even put her under. There weren’t any pain meds. The doctors just started cutting and cutting...” my voice fades out as the rage I felt returns.

“Oh god,” I hear my mom gasp. My dad moves to comfort her as Ivy waits for me to continue.

“I watched her heart stop on that lab table. I could feel my anger bleeding through the bond, but I couldn’t stop it,” I explain, “Aaliyah started panicking. She didn’t want to relive that memory. She started pulling back, and... she slipped right through my fingers.”

Kiba’s whining breaks in my head at letting our mate down. She trusted us to protect her during the sharing. I promised I would protect her.

I failed and now I may have lost her forever.

“Don’t do that,” my dad orders, “Do not blame yourself. Aaliyah wouldn’t want you to wallow in self pity. She doesn’t need that.”

“She needs you strong,” my mom soothes, “She needs her protector.”

Taking a deep breath, I let that wash over me. I push the pain and fear as deep down as I can. My mom’s right. My angel needs me to protect her.

I turn my eyes back over to Ivy, “What can we do?”

“The sharing stopped because of a traumatic moment and now she’s stuck in the memory. If you want to get her out, you need to go back in.”

“How? I’ve been trying to push back through the door, but she’s blocking me.”

“I can place you into her memory, but there are risks.”

“I don’t care what the risk is, I’m getting my mate back,” I say definitively.

“What are the risks?” My mom questions.

I honestly don’t care though. I would give my life so Aaliyah could live. I will risk everything to help her.

“A sharing is ancient magic. To manipulate it by putting Aaron back into his mate’s mind could have serious consequences, for Aaliyah, Aaron, and their bond.”

“What could happen?”

“If Aaron can’t find Aaliyah or can’t convince her to come out on her own, they will both be trapped in her mind.”

“I’ll risk it,” I say, wanting to move this along. The longer my angel is like this, the more pain she has to endure. I won’t stand for it.

“It’s not only being trapped you have to worry about,” she says, “Forcing your way into her head could shatter your bond. If you try to force Aaliyah out or the trauma is too much, her mind could snap. And even if you get her out, her mind might already be gone.”

“I healed her once,” I say, knowing I’m going to do this, “I will do it again. Our bond is strong enough to survive this. I know it is. Do the spell.”

“Are you sure?”

I look to my parents. I’ve watched their connection my whole life. I knew when I found my mate, I would do anything for her just as my father does for my mom.

Ivy is giving me a chance to bring my mate back to me. I don’t care what could go wrong because it’s worth it if Aaliyah opens her eyes again.

“I will do anything to heal my mate, whatever the risks,” I answer, “Do the spell.”

Ivy nods and gestures for my to move back.

Leaning back, I lay Aaliyah across my chest. I feel Ivy place her hand against my forehead as she does the same with my mate.

“Now remember, when you get into her memory, you’ll have to find her. I’m going to place you in the spot with the highest emotions for her right now. If it’s the wrong memory, look for a door and focus on where you want to go.”

“Got it.”

“Good luck, Aaron.”

I feel the mate bond tug me forward as a light cloud encases my mind and throws me into my angel’s head.