Finn sighs, and stands up, still holding me in his arms. He sets me down in the chair, and sits across from me. His unwillingness to hold me while he says this, as well as the somber look on his face, makes my stomach turn over with anxiety.

"I'll start from the beginning," He begins, clasping his hands together and twiddling his thumbs nervously. "I had a dream one night, about four months ago. Immediately, I knew it wasn't unlike any other dream. Despite being asleep, I was fully conscious. And then she appeared to me, in the distorted, dream-like state. The Moon Goddess."

He pauses, gauging my reaction, but I have none besides confusion. Strangely enough, I didn't doubt him. Not only did I strongly believe that Finn wouldn't lie to me, but my Grams had told me that those who were Moon-Blessed could be contacted by her. And if anyone would be Moon-Blessed, it would certainly be Finn.

"At first, I was skeptical. But she knew things, things about me that would be otherwise impossible to know. And so when she made her request, I had no choice but to listen. After all, she is my Goddess, and to refuse her would be blasphemous.

She told me that she had very important information regarding my mate, but that she couldn't stay in my dream for much longer, that she is weakened. She told me that in order to learn the information, I would have to kidnap someone."

I inhale sharply and Finn winces. He was talking about me. The Moon Goddess has requested that he steal me- why?

"Obviously, she was talking about you. She described a girl with pale skin, raven hair, and eyes the color of the ocean. She warned me that you would be hard to kidnap, because the Alpha of Blue Moon believed you to be his mate."

But I am Thane's mate. Nothing makes sense anymore. I'm sure the dubious look on my face shows my confusion.

"And so for a few weeks, I lurked on the outskirts of Blue Moon, looking for the girl. And then one day, I saw you.

You were upset, clearly, and I felt guilty when I had to subdue you. But I had seen your power in the forest while you were attacking Blue Moon guards who tried to stop you from leaving, and the Moon Goddess warned me that you would not come willingly. And so I hit you with a rock to knock you out," Finn winces at this, like the memory caused him pain.

"But you didn't pass out right away. I caught you in my arms, and I felt sparks. I didn't think, at that time, you were my mate, because my wolf didn't recognize you. But then you reached out, like you were in a trance, and stroked my face. You called me pretty," He smiles slightly at the memory, though he looks a little green.

"All I could do was promise you that this next part wouldn't hurt, because I knew that Dean would wipe your memory. And so I carried you here, but the whole time, I couldn't stop staring at your sleeping face, worried about the injury on your head- the one I caused.

But the Moon Goddess assured me that your pain would be temporary, that all of this was for the greater good. And when you woke up, I began the next step that the Moon Goddess commanded.

She told me that you had to summon her, using your Gift. You thought I was crazy, obviously, because I kidnapped you and then wanted you to summon a God. You asked why the hottest guys are always the craziest," He laughs slightly, but I have no idea what he's talking about. This never happened.

"I had to threaten you," He cringes. "To get you to summon her, I said horrible things that I didn't mean because I needed you to use your magic to summon the Moon Goddess so we could talk. And so you did as I said, and I will never forgive myself for the fear in your eyes you had when you looked at me.

But you summoned her, and when she appeared, we were both in shock. I wasn't fully convinced at the time that I wasn't crazy, and you weren't either- rightfully so.

And the Moon Goddess began to tell us everything. She told us that there is an enemy- another God- conspiring against her. That the other God, Helios, she called him, wanted her dead, and planned on using you as a weapon against him. In order to do that, he manipulated your mate bond, and gave it to Thane, an Alpha who doesn't worship the Moon Goddess and would do anything for power.

She told us that we are True Mates, and fated to save her from Helios. And you accused me of somehow tricking you, of showing you a hallucination of some kind. You really believed Thane and you were mates.

But then the Moon Goddess told you stories of your Grams, told you about the bedtime stories she would tell you at night. And then, completely horrified, you believed her.

And so did I.

The Moon Goddess explained that part of a prophecy predicting her death had not happened yet, that we needed to stop it. The only way to do that, she said, was for you to transfer your magic to me."

Nothing about what he's saying makes sense. This never happened. "I-I can't transfer my magic to anyone," I say in confusion. There's much more I could have said, could have questioned, but that's the easiest lie to call him out on.

He shakes his head. "You can- if it is voluntary. The Moon Goddess gave us a ritual to do that would transfer your power to me. She assured that it could always be undone, and that when the time was right, you could undo it.

She told us that for the next part of the prophecy, it was vital that you didn't have your Gift. I could see how much it hurt you, the idea of losing it, but we both knew how important the sacrifice was to ensuring that the Moon Goddess would not fall victim to Helios.

And so you transferred your Gift to me, and the Moon Goddess made the shocking order to make you go back to Blue Moon. She said it was important to her plan that you and Thane continue to go on with your lives, believing that the two of you were mates.

But you didn't want to leave.

I didn't want you to leave.

We had just discovered we were mates, and the Moon Goddess was now instructing us to part from each other. She wouldn't say why, but she promised that all would be figured out in due time, and that we would reunite.

And the worst part: she told us that you couldn't remember any of this.

She needed you to forget, in order to truly convince Thane that the two of you were mates. She was worried that if you remember about this, you would somehow expose the truth. I wanted you to argue, to fight to remember- but you agreed with her. You said that you couldn't be trusted to hide such an important secret, and asked that Dean wipe your memories of this.

The Moon Goddess promised that if we stopped the prophecy of her death, she would grant us a vast land, magically concealed so that only rogues would be able to enter the territory. No need to fear of Alphas or packs attacking. A promise of peace.

As a sign of good faith, she concealed the house- this house- from any person with bad intentions, and gave me the power to control who could see it or not.

She promised that, when the time was right, you and I would find each other again, be together at last. And then she left."

"I-I don't remember any of this," I stammer out. I want to believe him- but this was impossible.

Finn nods. "When she left, I tried to convince you not to forfeit your memory of this. I didn't want you to forget me. But you insisted. You said your Grams would have wanted you to help the Moon Goddess, and that if she believed the best way to help was by giving up your magic and forgetting- you would do it.

Before Dean wiped your memory, you kissed me. You promised to return to me, said that this would be temporary, that you knew in your soul that I was your other half." Finn pauses looking at me to see if I remember- I don't.

"And so Dean wiped your memory, per your request. I gave you a dose of sleeping medication to make you unconscious while I took you back to Thane- the man who my mate would be staying with, for Goddess knew how long.

And I let you go," Finn's voice cracks, and his eyes fill with tears. "I had to give up my mate in order to save the Moon Goddess, in order to grant my family of rogues safety. I had to let her return to a man, who by all intents and purposes, is my enemy. And it was the hardest thing I've ever done."

Tears stream down Finn's face, and I find it hard to believe he would be this emotional over a lie.

"And for the next month, I would use your magic to summon the Moon Goddess, and she would give me various tasks, all of them seemingly useless. Tracking things, people, but she assured me that everything was happening as it was supposed to. She promised me that you were safe- in the arms of my enemy.

And then one day, she told me that is was safe to retrieve you. That the prophecy predicting her death had been avoided, and you could return to me, and we could begin our lives as mates.

And so, once again, I kidnapped you. I planned on telling you everything, on having Dean return your memories. But then you looked at me like I was a monster," He winces. "And in your eyes- I was. I probably am a monster for kidnapping you like some kind of treasure. I wanted you to stay, but you were in love with Thane," His voice cracks, and I too flinch at his name.

"I wanted to be with you, more than anything. Except for your happiness. And so I vowed that if you chose between Thane and I, and picked Thane- I would let you go once more, no matter how much it killed me. I would learn to live without my mate, if it meant she was happier with someone else.

And then you chose Thane. And once again, I had to send you right back into the arms of my enemy." Tears stream down his face, and for some reason, mine too.

"The week you were gone was the longest week of my life. I prayed that you would return, that something inside you would remember me. But I vowed to not force you to be with me. I had already caused enough damage by kidnapping you. And so every night, I looked at the moon and prayed.

But then you returned. And you were nearly dead," He makes a terrible noise in the back of his throat. "All of those prayers I made, answered in the worst possible way. You were broken inside when you came back here, a shell of who you used to be. And I wanted to kill Thane for what he did to you.

You were destroyed. Too fragile for me to tell you all of this. Too broken to have your world shattered even more by learning that the man you were with for the last few months wasn't really your mate at all.

And so I made another vow to not tell you until you were ready. Until you were whole. Even if it meant you thinking I was a lunatic for believing that we were mates. And now here we are, and I can see that you still believe that." He finishes, looking at my doubtful expression with sadness.

Nothing he's saying makes sense. Surely, if his words were true, I would remember. Someone can't just forget. But in a twisted way- it does make sense. All of the doubts I had about Thane, wishing I had a different mate.

The feelings I have for Finn.

"My memories," I say, my voice little more than a whisper. "Can Dean bring them back?"

Finn nods.

"Tell him to give them back," I say, my voice strengthening. I have to know once and for all of his words are true. "I want them now."

Finn hesitates. "Onyx, are you sure you're ready to remember all of this?"

No. "Yes."

Finn gauges my facial expression, which I try to keep flat. He doesn't need to know how deep my inner turmoil goes. Finally, he nods.

"Then I'll go get him," He says, standing up and leaving the library.

My insides are a disaster. This couldn't be true. Thane had to be my mate. Everything I went through- it was for him. Nearly killing Brenna. Staying with him even though he was holding my only friend hostage.

Finn returns a few minutes later with an apologetic Dean. "Onyx, I'm so sorry about this. I really didn't want to wipe your memories, I promise I wouldn't ever do it unless you had asked," Dean swears, his eyes full of remorse.

"Just bring them back," I choke out. If they were even really there.

Dean looks to Finn, who nods curtly. Dean kneels in front of me, and puts his hands on both sides of my face.

For a moment, nothing happens.

And then I remember everything.

I remember how scared I was when Finn was threatening what he would do to me if I didn't summon the Moon Goddess.

I remember how confused I was when the Moon Goddess explained that we were mates.

I remember begging Finn to let Dean wipe my memories.

I remember kissing him softly, promising that we would be together again soon.

I remember everything.

He has not lied. Not about anything. We are mates.

When Dean pulls his hands away, the onslaught of memories stops. I'm sobbing.

"Dean, leave us," Finn commands, and Dean looks at me apologetically one more time before leaving.

Finn crouches down across from me, his eyes full of emotion. "Onyx, I-"

"We're really mates," I whisper, my voice cracking.

Finn nods.

I throw myself into his arms, and we're both crying.

But this is not a time for sadness.

Because we are soulmates.