Love me in the Shadows of Our Memories (🇬🇧)

Chapter 17 - Unwavering Love's Symphony

You showed me the sun where there were only clouds before.

You made the stars sparkle where darkness once prevailed.

You saw me where others overlooked me.

You restored my belief in myself.

How, oh how, can I ever stop loving you?

Magnus

Magnus sought out Tessa the next morning to put his objective into action. The day hadn't started well for him. He had slept poorly, and dark dreams had repeatedly jolted him awake. Magnus was relieved when the night finally came to an end, and it was time to start the day.

With a throbbing headache and a feeling as if his limbs weighed several tons, he crawled out of bed and dragged himself into the shower. Fortunately, he felt a bit better afterwards, and the two cups of coffee he consumed at breakfast helped alleviate the headache and tiredness a little.

After breakfast, Magnus bid farewell to his pubs, who headed off to school, and then trudged to the infirmary. On the way, he contemplated whether he should postpone the conversation with Tessa. However, he quickly realized he was just searching for an excuse. It was inevitable. He had to let go of Alec definitively, as difficult as it was for him.

Tessa and he were assigned the morning rounds at the infirmary, and together they moved from patient to patient, providing medication and monitoring the progress of the illnesses. When they reached the last patient suffering from a severe case of pneumonia, Magnus could no longer hold back.

"Is there a way to break a bond without the alpha noticing?" Magnus asked in a hushed tone, not taking his eyes off the monitor display, from which he was reading the patient's current data.

"Why would one want to do that?" came Tessa's puzzled response.

Magnus recorded the numbers in the patient's file and looked up. Instead of answering, he ran his hand over his neck. Tessa followed the gesture with her eyes, and realization flashed in her eyes.

"You want to get rid of your alpha's mark," she said. It was not a question but a statement.

"Yes," he replied.

A sympathetic smile appeared on his foster mother's face.

"Let's go to my office. We can talk undisturbed there," she suggested. Magnus nodded and followed her out of the room.

"Why don't you wait for it to fade naturally?" Tessa asked as soon as they entered her treatment room. She settled into her chair behind the desk and crossed her legs.

Magnus also sat down and placed the patient files on the desk.

"I don't think that will happen," he said.

Tessa tilted her head. Her eyebrows furrowed, and a fine line formed between them.

"If the bond has been in place for a long time, it might take a while for the bond to break and the mark to fade," she explained.

Magnus sighed. He had suspected that he had to tell her the truth. Otherwise, he wouldn't get the answers he needed. He looked down at his hands.

"Nate was never my alpha," he said softly.

"Then who?" Tessa asked.

Magnus pressed his lips together, and his heartbeat quickened.

"It's Alec," he replied hesitantly, lifting his gaze. Surprise and disbelief battled on Tessa's face.

"Our Alec?" she asked.

Magnus shrugged helplessly, and a wry smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.