Jase snorted. “There are movies and books where that’s caused by some disease? How the hell could anyone think you’d turn into a cross between the two anyway? And, why only wolves?”
“It’s not always wolves,” Lexi said. “That’s just the most common animal in the stories.”
“Do you like those stories,” Zane asked. He was guessing from her blush that she did, and that seemed good for him since she was going to be shocked when he revealed what he really was.
“Yes,” she admitted. “I’ve always enjoyed those stories.”
“Shapeshifters are born the way they are,” Jase explained. “There’s no disease that causes it.”
Lexi nodded. “I’ve also read books like that. Are we going to argue about the origin of fictional creatures?”
There was a long pause because this was not going well, and Zane probably wasn’t the only one who wasn’t sure where to go from here. He’d just marked a female who was probably from a different time—one who didn’t believe shapeshifters existed.
“We exist,” Jase told her. “You should get used to it since my brother just marked you.”
Lexi didn’t freak out, which made Zane’s chest swell with pride for his mate. “The large cat in bed with me this morning was you?” she asked Zane.
“Connor said I had to have clothes or fur to stay with you,” Zane explained as he rubbed her hair between his fingers. “You seemed to relax more when I was close to you in lynx form.”
“You’re handling this pretty well,” Jase remarked.
“I have a lot of experience being crazy,” she explained. “Of course, I’ve never had a full psychotic break like this one, but at least the sex is good in my mind.”
“You aren’t crazy,” Zane assured her. “And the sex was phenomenal.”
“She’s missing more than a hundred years of her memory,” Connor pointed out. “That leads me to believe she may not be sane.” Then he looked at Lexi, and his face softened some. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have been quite that blunt.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she told him with a shaky smile. “I’ve had plenty of people question my sanity, so I won’t be offended if you do.”
“I agree with Zane,” Jase chimed in. “You aren’t crazy, and I don’t think you’re missing any time. I might have believed you were if Zane hadn’t told me you’re Fae. The more powerful Fae can move through time.”
“I’m not Fae,” Lexi argued with a nervous laugh.
“Not completely,” Zane agreed. “You couldn’t have done it on your own. Did you run into anyone strange right before you fell into the creek?”
“I met a man with eyes the same color as mine,” she recalled. “That was strange because I’ve never seen that before. He was beautiful in a very disturbing way, and he said some strange things about my mom, like he knew her.”
“What was his name?” Zane asked.
Her brow furrowed in thought before she shook her head. “I don’t remember him telling me his name.”
“Whoever it was, we can assume he’s very powerful,” Zane said as he rubbed Lexi’s arms. “If you have the same eyes, he was likely a relative. That could explain why he brought you to a different time.”
“Wait! I just remembered something else. Before he pushed me, he called me daughter,” she told them.
“Fuck me,” Jase hissed. “You sure know how to find trouble, Zane. Picking the daughter of a powerful Fae for a mate could end in a huge mess.”
He had to agree with his brother on this one. Having a powerful Fae involved with his mate meant trouble, and it might be even worse since that Fae was her father.
“Okay,” Connor began, “Kyleigh may be able to help us figure this out once she returns. I’m tempted to call them back now, but Ian needs to do this, and they should return in a few days. Until then, Lexi stays at our settlement. I’ll find an empty home for her, and post guards.”
Zane was about to argue when his brother cut him off. “It’ll be closer to what she’s used to,” Jase told Zane.
“I’m not leaving Zane.” Lexi sounded almost panicked at the idea, making Zane grin because it felt damn good to hear his female wanted to be close to him.
“Most people don’t say that after they get to know him better,” Jase said, still sounding annoyed by the situation.
“She’s my mate, and I stay with her,” Zane insisted.
“Okay, we need to stop with the mate stuff,” Lexi told them all. “You’re my fantasy, and I should still be able to come up with better words for you to use. Then again, I’ve never been very good with flowery words, but I should be able to come up with something better than that.”
Zane sighed and rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. “You still don’t believe this is real, do you?” That’s when guilt set in. He’d never been one to take advantage of a female, but that’s exactly what he’d just done with Lexi.
“I’m sorry, Lexi,” he uttered softly. “I shouldn’t have taken things so far while you’re confused about what’s going on.”
Lexi tensed in his arms. “Why are you sorry this happened? Is it because you think I’m crazy?”
“I’ve already told you that you aren’t crazy,” Zane reminded her. “I’m sorry because you don’t believe any of this is real, and I should have waited until you do. What I did wasn’t fair to you.”
“I believe it’s real,” she admitted so softly the others wouldn’t have heard if they were human. “It’s just hard admitting it out loud.”
“I still should have waited,” he said, trying to pretend Connor and Jase weren’t listening. “Your care is my responsibility.”
“If that’s true, then you’re doing a good job of taking care of me,” she assured him, and he heard the smile in her voice. “What I needed most was something to ground me and distract me from my fear. You gave me that, Zane. Maybe I don’t know what’s happening to me, and I might seriously regret the unprotected sex later. I should tell you I’m not on birth control. It’s been a long time since I’ve had sex, so you don’t need to worry about me having a disease. Do shapeshifters even get STDs?”
“What’s an STD?” Zane asked.
“Sexually transmitted disease,” she explained.
“I’ve never heard of any disease we can get from sex, and you aren’t fertile right now,” Zane assured her, hoping to make her feel better. While he’d never understood it, many species were afraid of getting pregnant. He’d personally be thrilled if Lexi was pregnant with his child, but he decided to keep that to himself for the time being.
“Not sure I want to ask how you know I’m not fertile,” Lexi mumbled.
“Why are you shaking?” Zane asked.
“I need to ask a question, and I’m afraid of the answer,” she admitted.
“What do you want to know, angel,” Zane asked.
“What is the date?” she asked. “You said I’m missing time. What is today?”
“It’s the fifteenth of April,” Connor replied. “The year is 2115.”
“And I’m not having a psychotic breakdown?” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
“No,” Zane said, not quite sure he was telling the truth since he had no idea what a psychotic breakdown was.
“Your Fae genetics most likely made you do and see things that caused the humans to think you were crazy,” Jase explained. “The medication you were given must have muted your Fae abilities, whatever those might be.”
“Right,” she said, and Zane was still waiting for her to freak out. “So, what now?”
“Now, I find a place for you to stay and hope giving you shelter isn’t a huge mistake,” Connor replied.
Lexi actually laughed. “Most of the people I’ve known over the years would tell you that having me around is more trouble than it’s worth.”
Jase surprised them all by laughing. “Then you’re perfect for my brother because everyone says that about Zane.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Lexi was back in the jeep with the high-tech dashboard, being driven to a vampire settlement—as in a place where vampires lived. Knowing this wasn’t a delusion, or a dream, made things much harder to deal with, because now, Lexi was forced to accept that everything she’d known was gone. She could only imagine what her shrink would say if she sat down in the office and talked about the vampire she’d met or the shapeshifter she’d had glorious sex with just before he bit the back of her neck. That part hadn’t shocked her nearly as much as it should have. In all honesty, part of her had known Zane the cat was also Zane the man, and it had been more comforting than frightening. Maybe years of insanity had numbed her reactions some, but she suspected it had more to do with how right it felt being with Zane, which made zero sense considering she’d always had trouble connecting with guys. That was one of the big reasons she was still single.
Connecting with Zane didn’t seem to be a problem. He was probably the only thing keeping her somewhat calm when she felt so out of control. Lexi didn’t handle helplessness very well, not after her time in the hospital and group home. She needed to have control over her life, so it was amazing that she was handling her current situation so well. Maybe her years of reading paranormal romance were keeping her from completely losing it. In some of those books, the humans got caught up in the mating instinct with the shifters, so that might be what was happening to her. Lexi decided that she needed a mental slap. This was not a romance novel; it was real life.
“What are you thinking about?” Zane’s concerned voice interrupted her thoughts.
“Just having some crazy musings,” she replied, not at all ready to share her thoughts with Zane. Then she looked at the vampires in the front of the jeep. She hadn’t spoken to them yet because Zane had told them she needed time to process things before introductions were made. He’d probably been afraid she was going to faint again.
“Do you think they’d mind if I asked to see their fangs?” She was trying to keep her voice low so only Zane would hear, which earned her a laugh from him.
“I’m the only one with fangs,” the vampire with the dark red hair clarified from the front seat.
“Sorry,” she mumbled, somewhat embarrassed about him hearing her. “I didn’t want to ask in case that was too forward. I mean, are fangs personal and you don’t want to show others? Since we didn’t have vampires, I don’t know the proper etiquette for this sort of thing. For all I know, asking to see your fangs is like asking you to show me your penis.”
Both Zane and the vampire burst into laughter, and the woman in the passenger seat seemed to be doing her best to keep her laughter under control. Lexi was just glad they weren’t embarrassed by her blunt statement. Some people found her a little hard to take.
“The only thing my fangs have in common with my dick is they’re both big and hard to miss,” the vampire teased. “Since it sounds like you’re ready to talk, I should start with introductions. I’m Danny, and this is Quinn.”
From behind, all Lexi could make out was Quinn’s long, wavy brown hair. When Quinn turned to flash her a brief smile, Lexi thought her eyes looked strikingly similar to Zane’s.
“Lexi,” she said.
“So, you really traveled through time?” Danny asked excitedly.
“I guess, but I’m not even sure how that’s possible,” Lexi admitted. “Did you get bitten by a vampire? Is that how you became one? How does it work?”
“It’s a disease,” Zane told her cheerfully. “That’s just another reason shifters are superior to vampires. We’re born this way.”
“Some vampires are born that way,” Quinn argued.
“But it’s still caused by a disease,” Zane pushed.
“Which disease?” Lexi’s questions served two purposes. First, she was curious about the strange world she’d landed in. Second, learning about vampires kept her mind off worrying about how her own life had suddenly spiraled out of control. “We didn’t have any disease that could turn you into a vampire. Although, I guess we might have, and I just didn’t know about it. In most of the books I’ve read, the vampires were pretty adamant about keeping their identity a secret. In some books, vampires went public about their existence. Is that how it is here? Did you go public and now all the humans know about you?”
“You read a lot of books, don’t you?” Zane asked with an amused grin.
Lexi blushed. “It’s easier than dealing with the real world most days,” she admitted, not sure why she was telling Zane that. Luckily, Danny didn’t give anyone time to push her on the subject.
“The Moon virus was created by some sick bastard to kill a bunch of people,” Danny explained. “It ended up turning them into vampires instead.”
“Now I remember hearing that name. Connor said the last day I remember was the day before the Moon virus was injected into people. That’s a ridiculous name for a virus that makes vampires,” Lexi scoffed. “I still say it sounds more like a werewolf virus.”
“Why is that?” Zane asked, and then he added for Danny and Quinn. “Lexi said they had stories about humans turning into wolves and referred to those creatures as werewolves.”
“Yeah, I saw a really old movie where they used that term,” Danny said. “I get why you’d think the name would be more appropriate for some werewolf disease.”
“I don’t. Someone explain the reason,” Quinn insisted.
“The whole werewolves changing into wolves during the full moon thing,” Lexi explained.
Quinn laughed. “That’s ridiculous. Why would the moon have anything to do with changing? And why wolves? I mean, there are wolves, but why not other animals?”
“They’re just stories.” Lexi shrugged. “Some of the books I’ve read have people change into other animals. So, how did the vampire virus get named the Moon virus?”
“The virus was named after the scientist who created it,” Danny explained. “Then another sick bastard decided to create a new version of it, like the one I have.”
“So, vampires are all normal?” Lexi asked thoughtfully. “You’re all just like humans, but with fangs? I guess the not being able to go out in sunlight thing isn’t true since you’re out now. Can you see your reflection in a mirror? Do you need blood? How about garlic?”
Danny shook his head. “You make my head spin just like Zane does. Yes, I can see my reflection. Yes, I need blood. I can’t eat garlic or any other food anymore, but the born vampires can. That’s what the ones created by the old virus are called—the ones with heartbeats still, I should say. We refer to the ones without heartbeats as turned vampires, along with any who have the new version of the virus.”
“Some have heartbeats and some don’t?” Lexi’s eyes were wide with excitement, and she couldn’t hide her fascination. She wanted to know how the ones without heartbeats even moved around. She knew enough about anatomy to know that should be impossible. Then again, the idea of Zane turning into a lynx seemed just as impossible.
“Not all vampires are alike, and it’s very important to know the difference,” Zane warned. “Some are undead and no longer have a beating heart. They will do anything for blood, and there is no reasoning with them. There are others who are still alive, and those are the ones we’ll be staying with. As you can see from Connor and Danny, they aren’t too bad. They’re stronger and faster than humans, but not anything close to shifters, of course.”
Danny snorted.
“Danny might be an exception because we gave him a lot of shifter and mage blood after his change,” Zane admitted, “obviously proving that shifter blood is also superior.”
“Mage blood?” Lexi wondered what else they were going to throw at her. Was she going to get flown to the North Pole to hang out with Santa and his elves next? “Is a mage like a witch?”
“I’ll explain what that means when I understand it better,” Quinn assured her, and Lexi was actually relieved to hear someone else had trouble with all of this.
It wasn’t a long drive from the hosp
ital to the settlement, and Lexi soon found herself staring at intimidating gates with a guard station. It almost looked like they were entering a military base or a prison. Since she was going to have guards outside the house she was staying at, and no one had given her any say in coming here, she supposed it was going to be more like a prison for her. They were stopped just inside the front gate by Connor, who spoke to Danny through the window of the jeep.
“I was able find them a house that was recently vacated. It’s two doors down from Mark’s, one house from the corner,” Connor explained without looking at Lexi. “Here’s the key, and a phone so we can reach Zane while he’s here.” That’s when Connor finally looked in the backseat and made eye contact with Zane. “All the numbers you need are already programmed into the phone. Do you know how to use it?”
Zane eyed the phone before shrugging. “I’ve seen it done.”
“I’m sure I can figure it out,” Lexi answered, even though she hadn’t been asked. “It looks similar to my smart phone.”
“What makes your phone smart?” Zane asked seriously.
Lexi shrugged. “That’s just what they call it, probably because it does more than the older phones.”
“I’ll be over to check on you later, and I’ll make sure you can use the phone then.” Connor was just about to leave when he stopped and looked at Lexi. “While I don’t think you’re the enemy, we’ve had a lot of issues in this territory in the last year, and we can’t take any chances.”
Lexi wouldn’t say he looked guilty, but he obviously expected her to react poorly to the situation.
“And you don’t know me,” Lexi finished for him. “There’s also the fact that my story sounds pretty damn unbelievable.”
“Exactly,” Connor agreed, giving her a smile.
“Are we confined to the house,” Zane asked with an edge of panic in his voice.
“Not totally confined,” Connor answered hesitantly. “You can roam around with an escort after I meet with the other leadership to decide what sort of restrictions we should put on you. While I trust you, Zane, I don’t believe you’re thinking straight when it comes to Lexi. You’re acting too impulsively. If you weren’t, you never would have marked her as soon as she woke up today.”
Impulsive Destiny Page 12
