Chapter 32

River was taken aback by his words. This is the first time Apha has willingly talked about his memories. "Are you sure that you definitely know that they removed them and you didn't lose them in an accident or something?"

Alpha looked at him as he recalled the few memories he had left. And all of them are while he is being trained. He remembered how he was always told to take the drug during training to become strong. But he wasn't allowed near the labs where it was made. When he took the drug, he felt strange sensations in his body, like his arteries being twisted. It made him wonder about the drug's effects and if it was safe, but he wasn't allowed to ask any questions.

"What if I'm just a lab rat?" Alpha pondered aloud, his mind consumed by dark thoughts. "I know they're drugging me to use me, but I want to know why they have to remove my memories. What is hidden in those memories that they had to take them away from me?"

"Are you sure of that?" River frowned in confusion. "And even if it is true, do you think you can get them back?"

"It's just a suspicion, I'm not sure either. But these nightmares and the name Lia that I suddenly remembered out of nowhere can't be just a mere coincidence. Those appeared too real to not be true," Alpha explained, his eyes filled with a sense of loss. "I just... feel like I can get them back."

River stared at him, looking at his best friend he made three years ago, the only person who understood Alpha. To whom Alpha could always come and ask for advice, knowing River would help him in his every crime with a smile on his face without any question. Still, sometimes River also gets intimidated by Alpha whenever he's under the influence of the drug.

Speaking of drugs, Alpha pulled out two small bottles from his pocket. He showed River the first one. "This one is called Black Rose. I'm taking it from training days. It's really a dangerous drug that can transform people into uncontrollable beasts. I was told it is meant to turn me into a powerful weapon. It's supposed to make me really strong and good at fighting. They told me that in order to take over the family business, I must be formidable. They told me when the elders feel like I'm ready and complete my final stage of the training here in Sunford, they'll call me back, but for three years they haven't told me when I can go back."

River listened closely, he felt sick to the stomach the longer he was listening. "Sounds fishy, could it be that they're deliberately keeping you away from the family?"

"That's why I need to find out the truth." Alpha nodded, closing his hand around the bottle. "I need to uncover the truth. If my memories were intentionally erased, I want them back. I want to know who this person Lia is," he stated firmly.

"Lia? Sounds like a typical girl's name. How are you sure it's not a drug's name as well?" River said.

"No, Lia is a human. I'm certain of that. She could be anyone—my mother, aunt, grandma, or even a...lover. I don't care who she is, but I can't sit still until I discover the truth," Alpha asserted with determination, he stared at nothing yet there was so much going on in his silver-brown eyes.

"But what if it turns out to be true that they really experimented on you? Are you strong enough to fight against them?" River asked curiously, because what Alpha had told him so far, that family sounds like a true horror show.

"I'm not, and maybe I'm putting my life at risk by going against them. Still I want back what's taken from me," He stated, his voice filled with a vicious determination.

River contemplated Alpha's words for a moment before raising another question. "Why would they do that? They're your family after all."

"Families..." Alpha dragged out the word, his tone stained with darkness, a wicked smirk spreading across his lips. "You know what they teach me the first lesson in training: never fully trust anyone, not your family, and not even your own shadow. Because in the dark, even your shadow abandons you."

River sucked in a breath and could only listen and felt chills. He glanced at the other bottle in Alpha's hand. "Isn't it the drug you got a few days ago and fed Luna, he forgets his memories after that."

Alpha looked down, fidgeting with the bottle between his fingers. "This drug is the real mystery, the guy who parcels it said that it makes you forget things for a while. He said to use it on the students and report to them if it actually works. I used it on fat cheeks and it actually worked, but what is surprising is that Nick, who visits me from time to time, didn't ask anything about it this drug. It's as if he didn't even know that I have this drug. Which made me suspicious if the lab is the one to send it or if it is someone else. The guy who sent it was also different, and not the one who usually parcels me those drugs."

"Nick?" River inquired.

Alpha turned to him. "He's my brother, two years younger than me. You'll meet him soon, he's staying in the Sunford for a while to keep an eye on me," he rolled his eyes.

"Oh, can't wait to meet another psychopath from your family," River laughed, oblivious that he has already met and offended that psychopath. He asked next. "So, Luna, why did you decide to help him?"

"Because he's suspicious," Alpha replied simply, eyes more serious than ever. "It was just an act to catch him off guard and see how he'd react."

River almost fell off the bed after hearing him. "What? Don't tell me you're doubting him. He's the most innocent and weak kid here," River protested, unable to fathom Eve as anything but a danger. "That kid can't hurt a fly."

Alpha revealed a cut on his hand, saying, "Do you see this cut? Your innocent kid has the same and in the same place as me. Nick told me that only kids from underworld families got them. So, he's not just some kid, he's probably the heir of a family that handles crime organisations. And they suddenly set him as my roommate? Don't you find it suspicious?"

River's eyes widened in shock. "What?"

"Yes," Alpha nodded. He suddenly recalled how Eve had reacted furiously when Alpha asked him about his family. At that time, Alpha clearly noticed that there was no fear in Eve's eyes, despite how intimidating Alpha's gaze usually was to others in Sunford. "If he's my roommate, do you think he's really as innocent as he seems? There's more to him and his roots."

River thought about Eve's puppy eyes that always seemed teary and the innocent yet scared expression he constantly wore, but he still couldn't bring himself to agree with Alpha.

Alpha suddenly remembered the way Eve's eyes were sparkling in the moonlight last night. His own heart skipped a beat and fluttered without him trying. "My eyes have witnessed enough tragedies to recognize the pain hidden in someone's gaze. And when I look at him, I see countless dark secrets concealed within those crystal eyes of his," Looking at River, he raised a playful brow, as if he was about to do something brutal. "And I want to find them. Every...single...one... of...them."

"Whoa, don't tell me you've got a crush on our Luna," River teased.

Alpha stared at his pathetically mischievous smile, he was too stunned to speak at River's words.

Because they weren't completely wrong.