"They just let you leave?!" Chase asked, incredulous. I nodded with a shrug, trying to seem calm when all I want to do is break down and throw myself at him. Totally out of character, but I crave his touch whenever everything feels like it's out of my control.

"I know, it's hard to believe. I was sure I was going to die. But it's not really death, is it? When they consume you, they consume your soul, but it's impossible to destroy a soul completely, so they have to leave a little of it left so you have to suffer alongside them" I explained, although I soon realised I was rambling and closed my mouth again.

Silence fell between us, and it was only then that I noticed we'd been standing outside our bedroom door for a little while now. I knew Fabian must be in there, so I tried to prepare myself as best I could, though I'm not quite sure how you prepare for someone losing all their memories of you.

"I think he's awake" Chase whispered, pushing the door open. But Fabian wasn't there.

Well, at first glance. I sighed, having a pretty good idea of where he was, especially as his scent was still almost overpowering.

"Fabian, please come out from under the bed" I spoke softly, but the response I got was a hostile one.

"No! Take me back to Lukah! You monsters, take me back!" He wailed, making no attempt to come out. His words stabbed at me, but deep down I knew this wasn't the Fabian I know speaking. It's the altered one, and he's only renting.

But it's worse than I ever imagined. Poor boy, he must have gone through a lot to end up like this...

"Fabian? Do you remember your leap?" I tried, trying to make my voice as gentle as possible.

"Of course I do, but how do It's because you killed them, isn't it!" He yelled from his hiding spot, kicking out at the bed above him. "You killed them and took me from Lukah!"

Well, that wasn't exactly the response I was hoping for...

"No, Fabian. You have to try and remember, I know you can do it!" Chase interrupted, giving me a sad smile that was supposed to reassure me that everything would be okay.

No, Chase. You may be able to manipulate other people and influence them to feel the way you want, but it's never worked on me. You know that. Points for trying though I guess, shows you really do still care about me too.

"No, I remember everything quite clearly! You took me from my leap, but... but..." he trailed off, seemingly uncertain.

"And?" I probed, exploiting his moment of uncertainty.

"But Lukah saved me after you tried to hurt me?" He said, though his voice made it sound more like a question than a fact. This memory altering as some faults, then. Faults we can use to make our precious shifter remember us again.

Eww, I sound like Chase! Since when did I start using affectionate terms?!

"But you know that's not true, don't you, Fabian?" Chase prodded, urging Fabian to remember something, anything.

"I don't know! My memory is all fuzzy, I can't seem to get a clear image! Leave me alone, stop trying to confuse me!"

"No, we're trying to help you. You need to distinguish your real memories from your altered ones, and you need to see beyond those which have been changed!" Chase replied, trying to keep us voice down. It was clear to me that the frustration was getting to him. That makes two of us.

"Leave it, Chase. We'll try again later" I told him quietly, dragging him from the room. We'll discuss this together, and figure out a way to get Fabian's memories of us back.

No matter what.

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Kind of a filler chapter, I was having a block and wasn't in the mood to write. I felt bad that I hadn't updated though xx