Nina understood at once. "Alright."

Her gaze lowered to the large hand clasping hers so tightly. A strange, unnameable feeling stirred in her chest.

Although Idir had lost control of himself, he hadn’t hurt her during this time. On the contrary, he had treated her well—aside from the occasional overbearing insistence on holding her close, stealing kisses, refusing to let her go.

Perhaps bringing him into the array like this was... unfair. But Odian had assured her the formation wouldn’t harm him. If it could help him recover, then surely that was for the best.

And with the growing concern—and quiet resentment—of her other mates weighing on her mind, she knew she couldn’t delay any longer. Idir had to return to himself.

Holding his hand, Nina followed Odian.

They arrived at an open stretch of grass.

The moon hung high and luminous, its pale glow washing over the earth. A cool night breeze drifted across the field, rustling softly through the blades of grass.

Nina and Idir stood at the center.

"Idir... do you trust me?" she asked, looking at him.

A flicker of unease passed through his heart, sharp and inexplicable—but he still nodded firmly. "I do."

No matter what she said, he would believe her.

"Then stay here and wait for me," Nina said softly. "I... I want to help you recover your memories."

A surge of resistance rose instinctively within him. "I don’t want to recover them."

Something about the way things were now felt better—safer. At least this way, he could remain by her side at all times.

A foreboding sense crept into his chest. If he regained his memories... it felt as though he might lose her.

His grip on her hand tightened. "Nina... can I... can I not recover?"

Her expression grew complicated, tinged with something unspoken. "Idir, only when you regain your memories... will you truly be yourself."

He searched her face, a trace of fear surfacing in his eyes. "Do you want me to recover?"

Nina nodded. "Yes. I do."

He looked at her for a long moment, then suddenly pulled her into his arms. He pressed a gentle kiss to her lips before whispering, "Alright."

Suppressing the reluctance clawing at his chest, he slowly let go of her hand. "Come back quickly."

It sounded like a request—but also like something he was telling himself.

Nina gave a faint nod. Odian took her hand and led her out of the array’s boundary.

Idir fought down the urge to chase after her, remaining alone within the formation.

Once they reached a safe distance, Odian activated it.

A silvery-white light flared to life around Idir, encircling him, bathing him in a cold, radiant glow.

Suddenly, his body felt unbearably heavy, as if weighed down by a thousand pounds. An immense force pressed in on him from all sides.

Then the pain came.

His head throbbed violently, as though it might split apart. His thoughts fractured, spiraling into chaos as countless voices surged through his mind.

He clutched his head, a low groan tearing from his throat.

Nina watched him, her heart tightening with worry. "Odian... will he really be alright?"

"Don’t worry," Odian said gently. "The array only suppresses the curse. It won’t truly harm him."

"Nina... Nina..."

Idir dropped to one knee, trembling, calling her name again and again—as though it alone gave him the strength to endure the overwhelming agony.

His face drained of color, veins standing out sharply at his temples.

Dark mist churned within his eyes, growing thicker, swallowing him whole.

Then, slowly, the searing pain began to ebb.

Idir lifted his head.

What filled his gaze now was no longer confusion—but something savage, feral. Brutal.

His eyes locked onto Nina—then flicked to Odian at her side. A cold, cutting killing intent flashed across them.

With a violent surge, he broke free of the array’s restraints and lunged toward Nina.

A chill shot through her. Something was wrong—he seemed even more out of control than before.

Without hesitation, she shoved Odian aside and rushed forward to intercept him.

Idir stopped in front of Nina, his gaze cold as ice.

He stared at her face—so familiar, yet strangely distant. His eyes flickered, uncertainty and pain clashing within them. A sharp ache throbbed in his mind as two voices rose, battling for dominance.

Kill her.

Don’t.

He clutched his head, his knuckles whitening as he fought to suppress the violent tide surging inside him.

Nina steadied herself, forcing down the panic clawing at her chest. "Idir, wake up. It’s me—Nina."

He looked at her, something struggling to surface in his eyes.

Nina...? Who was Nina?

"Nina, get away from him!" Odian called urgently. "Idir has completely lost control."

He couldn’t understand how this had happened.

Regret crashed over him. He had acted too hastily—he must not have fully understood the array. And now, it had failed.

The others rushed forward as well. "Nina, come back!"

As they tried to approach, Nina immediately stopped them. "Don’t come any closer!"

If they did, Idir would kill them—of that she was certain. Right now, he might not even recognize her.

Among them, she alone still had the strength to face him. But even she didn’t know how such a fight would end.

Idir’s gaze shifted toward Odian and the others, killing intent surging like a dark tide in his eyes.

Seeing it, Nina acted on instinct, grabbing his hand. "Idir, don’t hurt them!"

He lowered his gaze to their joined hands.

For a fleeting moment, a gentle face flashed through his mind.

His eyes flickered.

Then, with a sharp lift of his hand, a massive surge of black energy roared outward, sweeping toward Odian and the others.

They reacted instantly, raising their defenses.

But Idir no longer spared them another glance.

Instead, he pulled Nina into his arms—and in the next instant, he shot into the sky, vanishing into the night.

By the time Odian and the others shattered the oncoming wave of dark energy, Idir and Nina were already gone.

"Nina!"

They scanned the surroundings—empty.

No trace of either of them remained.

"Idir took her," Sal said, panic tightening his voice.

"Odian, how did this happen?" Finch demanded, confusion and alarm etched across his face. "Wasn’t the array supposed to suppress the curse? Why did it trigger it instead?"

"I... I don’t know."

Odian’s chest felt heavy with guilt and regret.

This was his fault.

They all knew how dangerous Idir was in this state—how deadly.

"Now’s not the time for this," Aviel cut in sharply. "Finding Nina is what matters."

"Yes—finding her comes first."

Forcing himself to stay calm, Odian scanned the ground. "There are no tracks. He must have taken her into the air."

He began issuing orders quickly. "Aviel and I will search from above. Sal, Kith, you search on the ground. He may land at any moment. Try contacting Nina with the locator." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Understood." They nodded.

Odian turned to Finch. "Finch, go back and gather more beastmen to help search. Have Mino and the others stay behind to take care of the cubs."

Finch hesitated for a brief moment, then nodded. "Alright."

He wanted nothing more than to search for Nina himself—but more hands were needed.

Without another word, the mates sprang into action, scattering in different directions to begin the search.

Not far behind them, Yanai and Setan—who had been secretly following—also moved.

They would find her.

No matter what.