After I Lost My Memory, I Stopped Loving My Alpha

The name Grace echoed in my mind like a stone dropped into still water, sending ripples of recognition I couldn't quite grasp. Sterling Ashford stood before me with those impossible violet eyes—the same shade I saw in my own reflection every morning—and I felt the world tilt on its axis.

"Grace," I repeated, my voice barely above a whisper. "Who was Grace?"

Sterling's expression softened with something that looked like grief mixed with hope. "Grace was my wife. My beautiful, brilliant wife who disappeared twenty-three years ago along with our six-month-old daughter."

The room seemed to shrink around us. I was vaguely aware of Ryker moving closer, his Alpha presence flaring protectively, but all my attention was focused on the man whose eyes mirrored my own.

"That's impossible," I said, but even as the words left my mouth, they felt hollow. "I grew up with my parents. The Chens. They—"

"Did they ever tell you that you were adopted?" Sterling's voice was gentle but insistent. "Did they ever explain why you looked nothing like them? Why your eyes are this unusual color?"

Memories I couldn't quite reach danced at the edges of my consciousness. Fragments of conversations, hushed whispers when they thought I wasn't listening. The way my mother—Mrs. Chen—would sometimes look at me with sadness in her eyes.

"This is ridiculous," Ryker interjected, his voice sharp with authority. "Sterling, whatever game you're playing—"

"This isn't a game," Sterling cut him off, never taking his eyes from my face. "My daughter would be twenty-three now. The same age as Ivy. She would have these eyes, this bone structure." His voice cracked slightly. "She would be beautiful, just like her mother."

I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to ward off the headache that was building behind my eyes. "Why are you telling me this? What do you want?"

"I want the truth," Sterling said simply. "And I think you do too. There's a simple way to find out for certain."

"A DNA test," I said, the words falling from my lips before I could stop them.

Sterling nodded. "One test. One answer to a question that's haunted me for over two decades."

Before I could respond, the office door burst open. Vanessa Sterling—because of course she would be a Sterling—swept into the room like a force of nature. She was everything Mila had described: tall, elegant, with platinum blonde hair and the kind of effortless beauty that graced magazine covers.

But it was the panic in her green eyes that caught my attention.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Her voice was higher than it should have been, strained with barely concealed fear. "I thought you were in meetings all afternoon."

"Vanessa." Sterling's tone cooled noticeably. "I was just having a fascinating conversation with Ivy."

Vanessa's gaze darted between her father and me, and I could practically see the calculations running behind her eyes. "About what?"

"About family," Sterling said quietly. "About lost daughters and impossible coincidences."

The color drained from Vanessa's face. "Daddy, you can't be serious. This is... this is that omega who's been stalking Ryker. She's nobody."

"Is she?" Sterling's voice carried a dangerous edge. "Because she has Grace's eyes. Grace's bone structure. Grace's way of holding her head when she's thinking."

"Lots of people have similar features," Vanessa said quickly, moving to place herself between her father and me. "It doesn't mean anything."

But her panic was palpable now, filling the room like smoke. Through my mate bond, I could feel Ryker's confusion and growing alarm. Something was very wrong here, and we all knew it.

"Then you won't mind if we do a simple DNA test," Sterling said calmly. "Just to put the matter to rest."

Vanessa's laugh was too bright, too forced. "Of course not. It's just... unnecessary. A waste of time and money."

"I'll pay for it," Sterling said, pulling out his phone. "I know a lab that can have results back in twenty-four hours."

"No!" The word exploded from Vanessa with such force that we all stared at her. She seemed to realize her mistake immediately, forcing her expression back to something resembling calm. "I mean, why rush? If you're so certain, what's the harm in waiting a few days?"

But Sterling was already dialing. "Dr. Morrison? It's Sterling Ashford. I need an emergency DNA test... Yes, I'll bring both samples within the hour."

Vanessa looked like she might be sick. Her hands were shaking, and she kept glancing toward the door as if calculating her escape route.

"This is insane," she whispered. "Daddy, please. Think about what you're doing."

"I'm thinking about what I should have done twenty-three years ago," Sterling replied, his voice hard as granite. "I'm thinking about all the leads I didn't follow, all the stones I left unturned."

He turned back to me, and the hope in his eyes was almost painful to witness. "Will you do this, Ivy? Will you help me find out if my daughter is finally coming home?"

I looked around the room—at Sterling with his desperate hope, at Vanessa with her barely concealed terror, at Ryker whose confusion was bleeding through our bond like an open wound.

Twenty-four hours. In twenty-four hours, I might discover that everything I thought I knew about my identity was a lie. That the parents who raised me weren't my parents at all. That I was the missing daughter of one of the most powerful men in the supernatural world.

And judging by Vanessa's reaction, she already knew the answer.

"Yes," I said quietly. "Let's find out the truth."

The next twenty-four hours passed in a blur of anxious waiting and careful avoidance. Sterling had insisted on having the test done at the most reputable lab in the city, with multiple technicians to ensure accuracy. Vanessa had disappeared shortly after we left for the lab, claiming she had urgent business to attend to.

Ryker had stayed close, his protective instincts in overdrive despite the tension between us. Through our bond, I could feel his worry—not just for me, but for what this revelation might mean for our already complicated situation.

When Sterling's call came, we were all gathered in his private study. The afternoon light filtered through tall windows, casting long shadows across antique furniture and family portraits that suddenly seemed to take on new significance.

"Dr. Morrison," Sterling answered, his voice steady despite the tension radiating from his frame. "Yes, I'm here with her now."

The silence stretched as he listened to the results. His face went through a series of expressions—shock, joy, and something that looked like vindication.

"Are you certain?" he asked quietly. "Ninety-nine point nine nine percent... I see. Thank you, Doctor."

He set the phone down with careful precision, his hands trembling slightly. When he looked up at me, his eyes were bright with unshed tears.

"Ivy," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "My dear girl. You're my daughter. After twenty-three years... you're finally home."

The words hit me like a physical blow. Ninety-nine point nine nine percent. There was no room for doubt, no margin for error.

I wasn't Ivy Chen, the forgettable omega who'd spent her life believing she wasn't good enough.

I was Ivy Ashford. Daughter of one of the most powerful supernatural families in the country. And judging by the way Vanessa had reacted, she'd known all along.

Which meant someone had been lying to me for my entire life.