Chapter 54: Erasing Her Memory

Michael’s POV

The second shapeshifter pushed himself away from the broken mirror.

Glass fell from his shoulders as he slowly straightened, his eyes fixed on me.

I could feel the anger radiating from him. He was stronger than the first one. That much was obvious. But strength alone was not enough to defeat an Alpha Primogen.

He charged at me again. This time, I did not wait for him to reach me. I moved forward and met him halfway.

Our fists collided, and the force of the impact sent a sharp vibration through the room. He immediately followed with another attack, but I blocked it and struck him across the jaw. His head snapped to the side.

Before he could recover, I grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. The wall cracked.

He pushed himself away from it and came at me again. I caught his fist. We remained locked in place for a second. He tried to overpower me, but I tightened my grip.

His expression changed when he realized he wasn’t moving me.

"You are not as strong as you think," I told him.

His eyes narrowed. "I am strong enough."

He attempted to strike me with his other hand. I caught that one too, then drove my knee into his abdomen. The air left his lungs.

I released him, and he stumbled backwards.

Across the room, Alaric was still fighting the first shapeshifter.

She had managed to catch him off guard and sent him crashing into one of the restroom stalls. The stall door broke under the impact.

Alaric stood up slowly. He looked at the broken door, then at her. "You are going to pay for that."

She laughed. "You can afford it."

Alaric smiled. "That isn’t the point."

He moved so quickly that she barely had time to react. He grabbed her and slammed her into the floor.

She tried to get back up, but he stepped on her wrist and held her there.

Meanwhile, the second shapeshifter came at me again. I turned towards him. He swung his fist, and I caught it.

This time, I didn’t throw him away. I pulled him towards me and struck him hard enough to send him crashing through the remaining section of the tiled wall.

He dropped to the floor and remained still for a few seconds. I waited silently. Eventually, his fingers twitched, indicating he was still alive.

I walked towards him. He looked up at me; there was fear evident in his eyes now. "Wait."

I stopped. "What?"

"You think killing us will end this?" He stared at me for a moment before smiling. "You have no idea what is coming."

I crouched slightly. "Then you should have brought someone stronger."

His expression hardened. I reached for him, but he tried to pull away. Too slow. My hand closed around his throat.

I lifted him off the floor and squeezed. He fought for a few seconds, then went still. I let go, and he dropped to the floor.

At the same moment, Alaric finished off the other one.

I turned to him. The shapeshifter lay motionless beneath him.

Alaric met my gaze. "Done?"

I nodded. Then the body on the floor began to change. Colour drained from its skin, and the flesh seemed to dry from within.

Within seconds, the body that had looked completely human began shrinking. Its skin tightened over its bones, its features collapsed inward, and the body became unnaturally thin.

I had seen this before.

The human bodies taken over by shapeshifters could not survive once the creature occupying them was dead.

Alaric stared down at the corpse. "They’re getting faster."

I looked at the second body. It was drying up in exactly the same way. "Apparently."

Within moments, both bodies were little more than dried remains.

Emerald had seen enough. Her breathing became uneven. She looked from the bodies to me. Then she looked at Alaric.

"What..." Her voice was barely audible. She took one step backwards. "Mr. King..."

Her knees suddenly gave way. I moved before her body could hit the floor. I caught her in my arms and held her against my chest.

"Emerald."

She didn’t respond. Her eyes had already closed. I checked her breathing. It was steady.

Alaric came towards me. "She fainted."

"I know," I replied.

Then he glanced at the bodies. "We need to get this cleaned up before anyone notices."

I nodded and said to him, "Secure the restroom."

Alaric walked towards the entrance.

He stepped outside, looked along the corridor and then returned inside. With his abilities, he secured the area and placed a clear sign outside, making it appear as though the restroom was temporarily unavailable.

No one would come in.

Then I pulled out my phone and called Xero. "Bring the others."

"Where Alpha?" He quickly asked.

I gave him the location. "There are two bodies. Remove everything."

There was a brief pause before he responded with, "Understood."

I ended the call. Then I looked towards the CCTV camera positioned outside the restroom. I extended my power. The camera flickered.

I moved through the system, locating every recording connected to this section of the building. I erased the footage showing the actress entering. Then I removed the footage of the second shapeshifter.

I deleted the recordings of Alaric and me entering the restroom. I made sure Emerald’s movements were also removed from the relevant recordings.

When I finished, the system returned to normal. There would be no evidence of what had happened here.

I looked down at Emerald. She remained unconscious in my arms. There was only one thing left to do. I could not allow her to wake up remembering what had happened.

I lowered my gaze to Emerald’s face and focused on her mind. My power moved carefully, precisely, and in control. I could not risk damaging anything.

"Emerald," I said quietly. "You will remember coming to the restroom."

I separated the memories that had to disappear. "You will remember nothing after that."

The shapeshifter vanished from the part of her mind where the memory had formed.

"You will not remember the woman."

I pulled away the memory of the fight.

"You will not remember what you saw."

The supernatural strength, the broken mirrors, the bodies—everything disappeared.

"When you wake up, you will remember feeling dizzy and fainting." I paused. "Nothing more."

I withdrew my power. Her breathing stayed steady.

Alaric returned to my side. "Xero is on his way."

I nodded and looked down at Emerald again. She had no idea what had happened to her, and she never would. At least, that was the plan.

I tightened my hold around her and waited for Xero and the others to arrive.

Whatever had brought those shapeshifters to the wedding, they had made one serious mistake.

They had gone after Emerald.