The Day He Forgot He Hated Me by Evangeline Marrow 88 Summary
Outside the ancient temple, the group moves cautiously through a dark, cold forest shrouded in thick mist. Gage lags behind, his limp a reminder of a previous violent encounter, but more concerning is the haunted, restless look in his eyes. Trinity senses that Gage is no longer just angry but deeply disturbed, an observation shared by Asher. When Trinity gently questions him, Gage reveals that since a mysterious mark appeared on her, he feels a burning, uncontrollable fire inside him, a torment linked to her presence.
The tension escalates as Arlo discovers that the guardian’s energy still resides within Gage, infecting him and feeding off his jealousy toward Trinity. Gage struggles with this dark force, his shadow twisting into a sinister shape, and he pleads for relief as the guardian’s influence grows stronger. The group debates how to stop it, with Asher wanting to fight and Trinity warning that harming Gage would also hurt her due to their mysterious connection. Arlo suggests that Trinity’s blood, linked to the first moon and the mark, might be the key to cleansing Gage.
Despite Asher’s protests, Trinity shares her blood with Gage, hoping to calm the bond and expel the guardian’s influence. The process is painful and intense, with dark smoke and shadows battling against the healing light. Just as the light seems to falter, a vision overwhelms Trinity, revealing a blood-soaked moon and wolves bowing before a dark figure, with Gage and Trinity at the center. The energy explodes, leaving Trinity shaken and Gage changed, his eyes glowing faintly gold like the guardian’s.
Gage now claims he can still hear the guardian inside him but insists he won’t harm Trinity. Instead, he reveals a shocking truth: the mark has chosen him as well, suggesting the bloodline may be evolving to accept two heirs instead of one. As the mark on Gage’s neck glows, he vanishes in a flash of light and smoke, leaving a stunned group behind. Trinity feels the mark on her chest burning hotter, reaching out for him, while Asher and Arlo grapple with the terrifying new reality that the guardian didn’t just manipulate Gage—it chose him.
CHAPTER 88
Outside the ancient temple, the sky was shrouded in darkness, despite it technically being morning. Thick, heavy clouds obscured the sun, casting a somber shadow over the forest. The air had turned noticeably colder, and the mist that clung to the trees was no longer a gentle fog but had thickened into something almost like smoke, dense and suffocating.
We moved cautiously through the dense woodland, the only sound the soft crunch of dry leaves beneath our boots. Every so often, I glanced back at Gage. He lagged behind Arlo, his limp a reminder of the guardian’s violent throw. Yet there was something more troubling about him—something I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
He wasn’t just angry anymore.
There was a haunted quality to his expression, a shadow lurking behind his eyes that made them seem darker, as if something restless stirred within.
Asher noticed it too. I could tell by the way he kept looking back nervously, his body taut and alert, ready for anything.
“Are you okay?” I asked Gage softly when we paused beside a small, babbling stream to catch our breath.
He didn’t respond immediately, his gaze fixed on the rippling water, his reflection wavering. “I’m fine,” he said finally, his voice flat and hollow.
Despite the emptiness in his tone, I sat down beside him, trying to keep my voice calm and reassuring. “The temple affected all of us. What happened back there—it’s not your fault.”
Slowly, he turned to look at me, his eyes locking with mine. “You think I lost control because I was jealous?”
I hesitated, unsure how to explain what I felt. “I think… the temple did something to us. It thrived on conflict. It used us.”
He let out a low, harsh laugh—not amused, but bitter. “You think that’s all? No, Trinity. It’s you. You’re changing everything. You’re changing me.”
His words hit me like a cold wave, freezing me in place. “What do you mean?”
He rose and began pacing, restless and agitated. “Since that mark appeared on you, nothing’s been right. I can feel it inside me—in my mind, in my chest—like something’s clawing its way out.”
Asher stepped forward, his tone firm and commanding. “That’s enough. You’re not thinking clearly. The guardian’s energy has infected you. We’ll find a way to fix this.”
Gage spun toward him, eyes flashing with fury. “Don’t treat me like I’m broken, Asher. You think you can fix everything, but you can’t fix her.”
“Gage,” I said softly as I stood, trying to soothe the tension. “You need to calm down.”
He took a step back, shaking his head vehemently. “No. Stay away. It’s like fire coursing through my veins. Every time I look at you, it burns hotter. Every time you glow, it feels like something is tearing me apart from the inside.”
My heart pounded painfully in my chest. “It’s the mark,” I whispered. “It’s reacting to you.”
—
Arlo looked up suddenly from the Codex, alarm evident in his eyes. “He’s right. The guardian left something behind inside him. The energy—it’s still there.”
Asher cursed under his breath. “How do we get it out?”
Flipping through the glowing pages faster, Arlo admitted, “I don’t know yet. The writing keeps changing, like it’s responding to what’s happening now.”
Suddenly, Gage groaned, clutching his head as if trying to hold something back. “Make it stop!” he shouted desperately. “Make it stop, Trinity!”
The earth trembled beneath us. His shadow stretched unnaturally, twisting and writhing on the forest floor like a living thing. The air around us grew sharp, cold, crackling with static energy.
Asher pulled me behind him protectively. “Arlo, do something!”
“I’m trying!” Arlo yelled, flipping pages frantically. “But the Codex is hiding the answer.”
Gage collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. “It’s inside me,” he panted. “The temple. The guardian. It’s whispering—it wants something.”
“What does it want?” I asked, my voice shaking.
His head snapped up, eyes glowing faintly gold. “You.”
I stumbled backward, the mark on my chest flaring brightly in response, burning hot against my skin.
A low growl rumbled in Asher’s throat. “Stay away from her, Gage.”
“I don’t want to hurt her!” Gage yelled, clutching his head in agony. “But I can’t control it! It’s pulling me—your mark—it’s calling to me like I’m part of it!”
Arlo muttered, “The guardian’s energy has bound itself to his life force. It’s using him as a bridge to reach you, Trinity.”
I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. “So it’s not just him—it’s the guardian, manipulating his emotions to get to me?”
“Yes,” Arlo confirmed grimly. “That’s why his jealousy has worsened. It’s feeding off his feelings for you.”
Suddenly, Gage screamed—a raw, painful sound that sent chills down my spine. The air around him shimmered, and for a fleeting moment, I saw black smoke curling from his skin, twisting around him like dark tendrils.
Asher lunged forward. “We have to knock him out before it takes over completely!”
“No!” I cried, grabbing his arm. “Hurting him could make this worse!”
“Then what do we do?” Asher snapped, frustration clear in his voice.
I was at a loss. My mind spun with fear and confusion. The mark on my chest pulsed again, reacting to Gage’s torment. A thread of light stretched from me to him, a fragile connection.
When he saw it, Gage gasped. “Trinity… I can feel you.” His voice trembled with desperation. “It’s in my mind—your voice, your heartbeat—it’s like I’m part of you.”
—
The light between us pulsed once more, then Gage screamed again. This time, his shadow rose up, forming a dark, half-formed creature with glowing eyes.
Arlo stumbled backward, alarmed. “It’s the guardian’s echo! It’s trying to come through him!”
Asher drew his sword. “Then we end this now.”
I stepped in front of him, heart pounding. “No! If you hurt him, it’ll hurt me too—I can feel the connection.”
The creature’s shape grew taller, feeding off Gage’s body. He cried out in pain, clutching his chest—the same spot where my mark burned fiercely.
“Asher, it’s connected to both of us,” I said, panic rising in my voice. “If we kill it, we might kill Gage too.”
“There’s another way!” Arlo shouted. “The Codex says if you can calm the bond—if you can push the mark’s energy back—it might release him!”
“How?” I demanded.
“Your blood,” Arlo said. “The blood of the first moon created the bond. It can undo it too. You have to give him some of your blood.”
Asher whipped his head toward him, disbelief clear. “What? No. That’s insane.”
“It’s the only way!” Arlo insisted. “The mark’s power can cleanse him, but it has to recognize him as part of your line.”
Gage screamed again, the shadow around him growing stronger. “Please… help me…” he begged.
—
Sharing my blood with Gage was a monumental gesture, especially for Asher. Among wolves, that kind of bond was sacred—reserved only for mates. So I understood Asher’s resistance, but we had no other choice.
Without thinking, I moved quickly, ignoring Asher’s shouted protests behind me. My chest burned, and my hands trembled as I knelt beside Gage.
“Trinity, stop!” Asher yelled, reaching for me, but an invisible force pulsed between us, pushing him back.
Gage looked at me with wide, terrified eyes. “It hurts… please make it stop…”
I pressed my glowing hand against his chest. “You’re not alone, Gage. I’m here. You’re part of the pack. You’re part of me.”
The light from my mark flowed down my arm and into him. His body convulsed violently as the black smoke began to crack and dissolve.
“It’s working! Don’t stop!” Arlo shouted urgently.
Then, suddenly, the light flickered and dimmed. The shadow screamed, twisting into something darker, more sinister. It wrapped around me, pulling me toward Gage.
I gasped, “Asher!”
—
He was already on his feet, reaching out to me. “Trinity!”
The shadow tightened its grip, and for a brief moment, I saw through Gage’s eyes—a vision.
A blood-soaked moon hung in the sky. Wolves bowed before a dark figure. My mark shone brighter than the stars. And at the center of it all stood Gage, eyes black as night, beside me.
Then everything went white.
The light exploded outward, throwing us all backward. When it faded, I lay on the ground, trembling. My chest burned fiercely, and my vision was blurred.
Asher was immediately by my side, gripping my shoulders. “Trinity! Talk to me—are you okay?”
I blinked, trying to focus. “Where’s Gage?”
Arlo pointed toward the clearing, voice shaky. “There.”
Gage stood motionless in the center of the clearing. The shadow had vanished, but his eyes were different now, glowing faintly gold, reminiscent of the guardian’s.
He looked down at his hands, then back at me. “I can still hear it,” he whispered. “The guardian… it’s still inside me.”
Asher stepped protectively in front of me. “Don’t move, Gage.”
Gage tilted his head, a strange smile playing across his lips. “Don’t worry, Alpha. I’m not going to hurt her. I just finally understand.”
“Understand what?” I asked quietly.
He met my gaze steadily. “The mark doesn’t want to destroy me. It chose me too.”
My heart stopped cold. “What?”
Arlo’s face drained of color. “That’s impossible… the bloodline can only choose one heir at a time.”
Gage’s smile grew wider, though his eyes were empty and distant. “Maybe the bloodline is changing. Maybe it doesn’t want just one heir anymore. Maybe it wants two.”
Before anyone could react, the mark on his neck began to glow—the same color as mine.
Asher took a cautious step forward, his voice low and warning. “Gage… don’t.”
But Gage laughed softly, his voice echoing as if from another realm. “You can’t stop what’s already begun.”
Then, in a sudden flash of light and smoke, he vanished—leaving only silence in his wake.
I stood frozen, staring at the empty space where he had been. The mark on my chest flared again, burning hotter than before, as if reaching out for him.
Asher grasped my hand tightly, fear etched across his face. “Trinity… what just happened?”
—
I swallowed hard, heart pounding painfully in my chest. “I think… the guardian didn’t just use him.”
Arlo’s voice trembled. “Then what did it do?”
I looked down at the faint glow still lingering on the ground where Gage had disappeared.
“It chose him.”
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
SUMMARY (~1000 Words in English)
