My Amnesiac Wolf Won't Let Go

"Let's find a time to get divorced." Kieran, an Sclass shifter, lost his memory and forgot I was his wife. He refused to let me visit him in the hospital.

And once he'd recovered, the first thing he did was contact me to end the marriage. I stared at the message and let out a slow breath. A shifter husband is great and all.

He's just too rough every single night, and I couldn't quite take it. After the divorce, if I go looking for another husband… I want one who isn't so rough.

Chapter 1 "Sure." I looked at the divorce message and replied without hesitating. Kieran seemed to relax on the other end. "That's wonderful, Ms. Wray." "Thank you for cooperating.

All marital property will go to you. If anything comes up later, you can always contact my assistant for help." Me: "Okay." "Thank you for agreeing to the divorce.

Someone will be in touch shortly." Me: "Okie." I closed the chat and flopped onto the bed, grinning to myself.

I dug out the card Kieran's paychecks went into and pulled up the balance. I counted the digits one by one. One comma. Two commas. A full nine figures.

A delighted smile spread across my face. "Heh heh heh heh…" I was rich. I was rich. No matter how I looked at it, I was rich. Kieran was the Alliance's topranked Sclass shifter.

Not long after graduating he'd made general, the youngest in the Empire, and his pay was in the highest bracket there was. Three years of marriage.

He'd bought me a big house and a whole houseful of handbags, and there was still this much left. I rolled back and forth on the bed, already working out how to spend it.

First, sell the house and the bags.

Then take the money to some little planet, find a sweet, gentle, goodlooking rabbit shifter or a goodlooking cat shifter, and live out the rest of my life in comfort.

Just thinking about it made me happy. I was in the middle of browsing for a pretty little planet going cheap when my phone rang. On the other end, Brad sounded miserable. "…Mrs.

Valcourt." "Kier's brain is broken. You're not actually going to divorce him, are you?" Brad was Kieran's assistant. He was a traditional shifter.

He believed shifters belonged with shifters, and that a toptier Sclass shifter like Kieran ought to marry into a family with a perfect bloodline.

When Kieran fell for me at first sight, he had a breakdown. When we got married, he had another one. Now Kieran and I were getting divorced.

And for some reason, he sounded like he was about to have a third.

I picked at my fingers and pointed out quietly, "I'm not the one who wants the divorce. "Kieran is the one who asked for it." Brad sounded like he was falling apart. "But Mrs.

Valcourt, Kier's brain is broken. "…His brain is broken! "Before the wedding I picked out the flowers, the car, the handbags.

For the wedding I stood up to that whole crowd of stuffy old diehards and put together a perfect ceremony for you two.

After the wedding I spent every single day talking with Kier about everything under the stars, about how to make you happy… I've turned into the number one shipper for you two, and now you're telling me you're getting divorced???" "Then what were all those years of my life for!!!" "What were they for!!!!" Me: "…" Even I felt a twinge of guilt at that.

Chapter 2 My conscience ached. I rubbed my belly and stammered. "Well, maybe…" Brad perked up. "Mrs. Valcourt, you really do love Kier too, right?

You don't want to leave him, right?" "It's fine, just leave everything to me. I promise, in less than a month I can get Kier to remember everything!" Me: "…" A month.

Wasn't that a little short? He'd been unconscious all that time, and the marks on my body had only just faded. My inner thighs still ached a little when I walked.

Brad kept working on me. "One month and you two will be as sweet as you ever were. Mrs. Valcourt, just hold out a little longer." "Think about how sweet it was before.

Can you really bear to leave Kier like this?" I rubbed my belly. And suddenly remembered Kieran gripping my waist, his big hand stroking right there.

He'd laughed low, his voice very soft. [Such a good baby.] I shivered. Sat bolt upright and said, flat and final, "Forget it, Mr.

Purcell." "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. If Kieran wants a divorce, it must be something he thought long and hard about.

Set up a time as soon as you can and I'll go take care of the paperwork!" Brad: "…?" Then, without waiting to hear whatever Brad said next, I resolutely hung up.

Kieran and I met because someone introduced us. Supposedly he used to hate the whole idea of marriage.

But his genetic rating was too good, and the Data Center hounded him about it day after day.

After being nagged one too many times, he finally got fed up, sat down and wrote out a long, serious list of requirements, and threw it at them.

And said that if nobody met them, he'd tear the place down. So the Data Center nervously uploaded those requirements to the Starnet. And it matched me in one second.

The day we met, Kieran's face was sour. But the first second he laid eyes on me. Kieran: "Hey, wifey." Me: "?" And that was how I got married.

At first I thought I'd hit the jackpot. Then, not even two days in, I regretted it. …Because Kieran was really, really rough. And really mean.

On the nights he came home, even if I cried and crawled away, I'd get dragged back. And held in his arms while he teased me, mean about it.

It didn't stop until I passed out. … I bit my lip. And started going through the divorce arrangements. Brad sent a string of sobbing GIFs first. Then went quiet.

Honestly, I had complete faith in Brad's competence. I'd heard his true form was a yellow mutt. Cute. Handsome. Loyal.

When Kieran wanted to be with me, Brad had a breakdown and handled every last detail at the same time. Now Kieran wanted to divorce me. No doubt he'd handle all of it perfectly too.

Sure enough, after a stretch of silence, Brad dutifully sent me the time and place for the divorce. Three days from now, afternoon, the courthouse.

Me: "Got it." With everything settled, I felt a little steadier. Then I thought about Kieran, with no memory. And couldn't help worrying. The details of his injury were classified.

The Alliance had it locked down tight, and I hadn't seen a single report in the media. And he hadn't let me visit while he was in the hospital.

So right up until he was discharged, I had no idea what had happened to him or how bad it was.

After hesitating a moment, I couldn't help asking. "Is Kieran… okay now?" Chapter 3 Brad answered in a second: "Waaaaah!" "Mrs. Valcourt!!!" "Mrs.

Valcourt, I knew it, you still love Kier, don't you (sobbing GIF)" That was a little awkward. Love or no love, we were about to be divorced.

What was the point of saying any of that now. But my coolness clearly didn't slow Brad down. He eagerly fired back a pile of messages. Including a recent photo of Kieran.

In the photo, his expression was cold and his face was a little pale. Brad: "Mrs. Valcourt, Kier really was hurt badly this time.

Otherwise he'd never have forgotten you." "His external injuries are mostly healed now, but he's still weak. "The doctors told him to rest for a few months, but Kier wouldn't listen.

He insisted on checking out and going back on duty. "Mrs. Valcourt, when you see him, please talk some sense into him. (puppy tailwagging GIF)" I opened the photo.

Looked at that familiar face, at the sickly cast to it. And couldn't name what I felt. I didn't know what standing I had to talk sense into him.

But I agreed to Brad's request anyway. …Setting aside the part where he was my husband. Kieran was still a hero of the Alliance.

Publicly and privately, I ought to be telling him to take better care of himself. The three days went by fast.

Thinking this might be the last time I saw him, I did a full face of makeup and put on a formal skirt suit. I wanted to treat the divorce with the seriousness it deserved.

But right before I left, I looked at myself in the mirror. And some unpleasant memories jumped into my head. Him pressing me up against a mirror.

His voice hoarse. [Wifey, all dressed up like this. Who are you going to see?] [Oh. You're going to see me.] [Why are you so good, wifey…] I shuddered hard.

Turned right around, took off the makeup, and threw on a plain little white dress. Gave myself a onceover in the mirror.

Barefaced, like I'd grabbed the first thing in the closet and come as I was. Not serious at all. Perfect. I nodded, satisfied, picked up the finished divorce agreement, and left.

Because of all the fuss before I got out the door, I was a little late getting to the meeting place.

Since we needed to go over the agreement first, Brad had set us up at the coffee shop across from the courthouse. The moment I walked in, a chill went through me.

Even suppressed, the pressure of an Sclass shifter was terrifying. Like… being watched by some horrible beast. The kind of fear that raises every hair on your body.

Customers all over the shop were trembling.

A few of the more timid shifters had even been forced into their true forms, long snowwhite ears drooping, huddled shaking in the corner.

Shifters at Kieran's level almost never appeared in public. His pressure was too heavy. Even doing nothing at all, it bore down on lowerranked shifters.

Like a puppy meeting a lion: even with the lion locked in a cage, the puppy's legs go out from under it. And he still wasn't fully healed… that scent of blood on him made it worse.

I hurried my steps. Crossed to the corner and spoke softly to the man sitting by the window. "Mr. Valcourt." Kieran sat by the window.

In a plain shirt, his uniform jacket tossed loosely over the couch beside him. He was slouched back in his chair, idly playing with his smart band.

At the sound of my voice, he lifted his eyes, cold. "Ms. Wray, being late isn't a good habit…" And the instant he saw me. Chapter 4 His body seemed to jolt.

He slowly sat up straight. "…Wwifey?" I ducked my head, guilty. Tucked the loose hair by my face behind my ear.

And apologized quietly. "Sorry I'm late." Kieran's breathing stopped for a moment.

His gaze went unfocused. "…Iit's fine." "I came too early." I sat down across from him and took the drafted divorce agreement out of my bag.

Pushed it in front of him. "Hubby— MMr. Valcourt." "This is the agreement my lawyer drew up. Take a look.

Is there anything you want changed?" Then I shut my eyes for a second, mortified.

Under the table my toes were clawing at the floor hard enough to dig out a basement. …So embarrassing. Hubby? Seriously?

The man has amnesia, he doesn't want to see you, the first thing he does when he does see you is divorce you, and you call him hubby.

After a fierce internal struggle, I belatedly noticed the silence in the air. I raised my eyes slowly and stole a look at Kieran. He seemed busy.

Lips slightly pressed, fingers flying across the screen, apparently talking business. Every so often the corner of his eye flicked to the divorce agreement on the table. Me: "…Mr.

Valcourt?" Half a beat later, Kieran looked slowly up at me, pupils unfocused. "…Ms. Wray." I smiled awkwardly and ventured, "Um, are you a little busy?

Then let's go take care of the paperwork as quickly as we can. "Also, are you unhappy with the terms? "It's fine, splitting the marital property down the middle works too." Kieran: "…" The color drained out of his face bit by bit.

His knuckles stood out sharply as his hands clenched and unclenched for no clear reason. "I…" Kieran said through his teeth. "Actually…" I blinked at him, puzzled.

Something seemed off with him. Maybe because his body hadn't fully recovered. Remembering Brad's request, I hesitated, then said gently, "Mr.

Valcourt, no matter how busy work gets, you have to take care of yourself." "Otherwise the people who care about you will worry." His eyes lit up, little by little. "Really… there are people who'd worry about me?" Listen to him