“Uh…” I mean, what was I supposed to say to that? “Maybe it wasn’t him. I mean, there’s no other reasonable explanation, right? Except if I secretly learned Japanese in the two months of memory loss time, all the while keeping it exceptionally well-hidden from everyone who knows me.”

I was being sarcastic, but Jaxson didn’t even crack a smile. Lifting his phone, he pressed a few buttons before I heard it start to ring. A familiar voice answered in a gruff “What?” on the other end.

“Something is up with Mera,” Jaxson told Torin. “Get outside and bring Alpha Dai with you.”

After he hung up, I resisted the urge to run before my moron of a mate showed up here. It was only the small part of me curious to see if this was all a misunderstanding or not that had me staying put.

Jaxson and I existed in an awkward silence while we waited, and even though he attempted to break it a few times with small talk, I ignored him, staring toward the pack house.

As soon as Torin and Alpha Dai walked out, I went to them.

“Are you okay?” Torin asked when we were close, a look of concern on his face. “I might just kill Jaxson if he keeps up with these vague cryptic messages about my mate.”

As he wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close, I tried to figure out why his touch was so abhorrent. Torin was giving me everything I’d ever wanted in this world, a true pack and family life… and it felt so damn wrong.

Leaning forward so that his arm would fall off me, I smiled at Alpha Dai. “Did you speak English to me before?”

The alpha tilted his head, and again he wore a super confused look. “You’re speaking Japanese,” he said, in what sounded like perfect English.

Switching gears, I faced Jaxson, whom, despite everything, I still tolerated better than Torin. “Did I speak Japanese?”

Jaxson nodded. “Yeah, sounded like it to me.”

“See,” I said, turning back, only to shake my head and side-eye my oldest friend. “Sorry, what? I spoke Japanese?”

I knew Japanese? Had I actually learned it during my two months of memory loss? As I pressed into that thought, the familiar sharp pain in my head jabbed harder than usual. “How is that possible?” I mumbled through the pain. “I did one semester in school! The extent of my Japanese is Konnichiwa and Ohayou gozaimasu!”

Alpha Dai blinked. “When you said that, you sounded like an American trying to butcher my language, but before, you spoke to me in perfect Japanese. Like it’s your natural language.”

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Nope. I cannot handle this, I’m sorry.”

Before anyone could say another word, I spun on the spot and took off into the trees, desperately craving an escape.