“You did, but you tend to have memory issues related to anything traumatic.”
Lucas looked at me, a concerned scowl on his face.
“Can you fix her memory?” Walter asked.
She smiled. “Hello, Walter dear. I can, but it’s very taxing. Niece, come see me tomorrow. You can bring your soon-to-be mate with you.” She handed me a card, kissed Walter on the cheek, and waved as she sashayed away.
“She looks like she’s my age,” I whispered.
“Fae genetics,” Walter explained.
“You’re scowling,” I pointed out to Lucas.
“I’m worried what you might have forgotten from the night you were taken,” he said.
I set my hand on the table, and he set his in it. “I’m fine.”
“Ah, young love is so adorable,” Walter said, leaning his chin on his fist with a wide smile.
Love? I wasn’t sure I loved Lucas. At least, not yet.
“You’re scaring her,” Lucas grumbled.
“I’m just wondering what I’ve forgotten about my past,” I said.
He squeezed my hand. “Do you want me to come with you tomorrow?” he asked.
I nodded. “Please. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“I’ll pick you up after work and drive you. Okay?”
I nodded again, squeezed his hand, and sat back as the waiter approached.
Lucas ordered for me, and Walter ordered for Michelle, who was apparently running late since it was her last day working for Jamison.
Right when I was beginning to worry, she came into the restaurant, running her fingers through her hair. She smiled and sat beside Walter. “Sorry, I had a lot more in my desk than I thought I had.”
“That happens when you’ve been in the same office for several years,” Lucas said with a nod.
“Three boxes!” she exclaimed and then sighed.
I chuckled. “You had more stuff than me.”
She glared. “Shush.”
Our food came out, and everyone chatted while we ate. It was just what I needed after the day I had had. Lucas and Walter told us funny stories about their lives that kept us laughing through the end of the night.
We said our goodbyes, then Lucas walked me back to the garage, so I could get my car.
“I was serious about you moving in, Milena,” he whispered as he waited for me to unlock my car.
“Lucas, I appreciate the offer, but what happens if you decide in a week that I’m not the one for you? I’d have to try to find a place to stay and—”
“I wouldn’t just kick you out,” he grumbled.
I took his face in my hands and kissed his lips lightly. “I know you’re worried about me. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared at night, being alone. But, I can’t move in with you. Let’s see where our relationship goes first.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he rumbled, pinning me to the side of my car and claiming my mouth with his.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, savoring his lips on mine.
“Calling the cops on us was really stupid,” the shifter who had held me hostage said from somewhere behind Lucas.
Lucas spun around, blocking my body with his. “How’d you get out?”
“You’re not the only one with friends in high places,” the shifter said, chuckling.
“Now, hand over the girl, and we’ll be on our way.”
We? Who else was there? I couldn’t see anything past Lucas’s broad shoulders.
“Not a chance,” Lucas growled, the muscles beneath his shoulder blades rolled as he tried to hold back his shift.
“I thought you might say that,” the shifter said. “Get them.”
Snarls filled the air, and Lucas shifted right in front of me. I knew not to be scared, especially since he had marked me, I had no reason to worry he’d attack me. However, he had said he was lion-ish. The ish part was definitely true. He did have a lion’s body, but he also had wings, and a scorpion tail.
Manticore!
I had no idea manticores existed!
Lucas roared, and the three werewolves who had moved towards us froze. Lucas’s tail, tipped with a nasty-looking stinger, swayed behind him. His claws dug into the concrete, making a noise that was rough to my ears, and judging by the werewolves, painful to theirs.
He charged forward, his wings folded against his back, and grabbed one wolf with his claws and jaw, and stabbed another with his stinger. Both fell and didn’t get up. He turned towards the last werewolf and the shifter who was still in human form, and took a step forward, teeth bared.
“A fucking manticore,” the shifter whispered. “Screw this.” He leapt out of the opening of the parking garage. The werewolf, now alone, tucked tail and ran away too.
Lucas shifted back, somehow shifting into human form with clothes on, and grabbed me in his arms. “You’re moving in,” he growled.
I didn’t argue. “What about my car?” I asked as we headed to the elevator where two guards had just exited. Their help came much too late, not that Lucas had needed it.
“Take care of the bodies and tell the cops to come find me at my house for their questioning,” Lucas ordered them. He took my keys and tossed them to one of the guards. “And have this car driven to my home. Jamison will pay for it.”
The guards didn’t argue, just nodded and let us pass.
Chapter 8
“Why do they keep coming after me?” I asked Lucas, my head tucked beneath his chin as I sat in his lap on the way to his house.
We’d stopped by my place, grabbed clothes and other essentials, and then headed to Lucas’s. Despite our relationship being in the very early stages, I did not want to refuse to stay at his place while non-humans were coming after me. I knew I couldn’t protect myself, and I would rather stay with Lucas now and end up breaking up, than be stubborn and end up dead.
“I’m not sure,” Lucas grumbled. “We definitely need to have a talk with your aunt, though.”
My aunt, right. Apparently, I wasn’t completely human.
Lucas’s phone rang, and he answered it while keeping me in his lap. “This is Lucas.”
“She’s dangerous,” a deep male voice said through the phone.
“Who is this?” Lucas asked, his lip lifted in a snarl, and he tightened his hold on me.
“A concerned friend,” the voice said. “That girl needs to be eliminated.”
“Over my dead body,” Lucas snapped.
The voice sighed. “That can be arranged, but I’d rather you just give her up freely, and go on about your life. It’s not as if you’re in love with her. You barely know her.”
“Why do you think she’s dangerous?” Lucas asked.
“She’s part fae, but the genes didn’t form correctly on her. I’m sure she hasn’t told you what she was doing ten years ago, since she’s got major memory issues.”
“Who are you?” Lucas asked again.
“That girl is dangerous. She’s already killed one pack. Do you want her killing you? Distance yourself from her and let us take care of her. This is your last warning.”
Killed? I’d killed people? No, I wouldn’t. I didn’t even like killing bugs.
“She’s not dangerous, and I will protect her from everyone who means her harm,” Lucas said, his voice calm and even, despite the rage simmering in his eyes. He hung up and turned me so I was fully facing him instead of watching him out of the corner of my eye. “Don’t listen to whoever that was. They’re just trying to upset us.”
“What if they’re right? I don’t remember some of my past. My aunt even said I have memory issues.”
“Do you think you killed people?” he asked, his eyes roved my face, watching as I answered.
“I don’t think so. I don’t like killing ants, so I can’t see how I’d be able to kill humans or other living creatures,” I answered. “But, maybe I should distance myself from you, just in case.”
What if I was some weird being who had an alternate personal
ity which only came out at certain times? What if I ended up hurting Lucas?
“You won’t hurt me,” he whispered, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “Even if you lose your memory, you can’t hurt the one who has marked you.”
“Can you be marked by more than one person?” I asked, a troubling thought forming in my head.
“Yes, but it’s rare and not usually done. I would have sensed a marking on you, or a mate bond, if there had been one,” he explained.
I exhaled. Okay, that meant I wasn’t marked by someone else and forgot them. Or mated to someone and forgot.
“We should call my aunt early tomorrow,” I said, relaxing against him. “I’ll tell Jamison I need a few days off.”
“Good idea,” he whispered.
“So, a manticore, huh? I didn’t think any existed,” I said.
He shrugged. “There are very few of us. A lot of people get intimidated by my true form, so I usually just turn into a lion. I hadn’t planned to show you my true form yet, but I wanted to keep you safe and I’m most powerful in that form.”
“Well, it didn’t scare me off,” I told him. “Your stinger is pretty scary, though.”
“I would never hurt you with it,” he said, and kissed my cheek.
“Would you show me your true form at your house? When we aren’t being attacked?”
“Sure,” he agreed.
“Can you fly with your wings?” I asked.
“They’re more for gliding or giving my attacks an extra burst of speed than flying.”
“Do you fight often?” I asked. Although I had seen him fight, it didn’t make sense that he would be fighting often, since he was a rich CEO.
“Before I started my business, I was part of a group of hunters,” he said.
Hunters were mercenaries. They were the ones sent out to search for and kill a non-human when one was wreaking havoc and putting people in danger.
I leaned back and looked at Lucas. There was so much I didn’t know about him.
“Really?” I asked.
He nodded. “I was a hunter for about five years, but I quit and started my business. I didn’t like being a killer, even if it was to protect others. That life just wasn’t for me. But, it means that I am a trained fighter, so you’re safer at the house with me than anywhere else.”
“You had to kill those two wolves tonight because of me,” I whispered.
He kissed my lips lightly. “I’d do it again. You’re important to me, and I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
We made it to the house, and inside without incident. Lucas activated an alarm system from a command room in his house. I’d never seen so many screens in a home security system before. He led me to the library, pulled on The Odyssey, and the door slid open, revealing a panic room. “If they manage to break into the house, I want you to run here and lock yourself in the panic room. Understand?”
“What about you?” I asked.
He smiled. “This is my den, Milena. If someone enters, uninvited, they’re going to pay the price.”
That should have scared me. It should have shown that I really didn’t know Lucas, but it made me fall for him even more. I tried to assure myself it was just human nature to want someone who could protect me, but I wasn’t certain.
“Promise me?” he asked, pulling the book to shut the door again.
“Promise,” I said with a nod.
The police came an hour later and took both of our statements. They told Lucas and me not to leave town, which we both agreed to. Then they left.
Once they were gone, Lucas turned to face me. “Do you want to see my form now? Or wait until tomorrow? You look like you’re ready to fall asleep standing.”
“Tomorrow,” I agreed with a nod. I was swaying a bit on my feet, dreaming of resting my head on his cloud-like pillows.
He swept me up into his arms and carried me to his room. “Let’s get some rest. I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a very taxing day for us both.”
“Both?” I asked.
“Well, it’s not everyday that you learn you’re courting someone with half of her memory missing. Who knows what we might learn about you tomorrow.”
“Says the man who revealed he was a hunter,” I muttered.
“I didn’t get my riches from my parents, and I had other jobs before I became a CEO,” he said and chuckled. He set me on the bed and asked, “Do you view me differently now that you know?”
Yes, but not how he thought. “It has changed how I view you, but not in a bad way. I used to view you as a charming, rich CEO, but now I view you as a charming and dangerous, rich CEO.”
He laughed and kissed me before heading to get pajamas. “I’ve always been dangerous, Milena. You just didn’t know it.”
“As a shifter, you’ve always been dangerous, but a hunter is like three steps above that,” I said.
He nodded his head. “True.”
“How’d you become a hunter?” I asked, stripping out of my work clothes and dressing in a borrowed shirt and boxers.
“I was a brash and angry man in my early twenties. A hunter saw me fight in human form against a werebear who was fully shifted and I won by knocking the bear out. He took me away before the cops showed up and put me into training,” he said. “I needed that outlet or I might have ended up doing something that would have landed me in jail.”
He’d knocked out a werebear in bear form? Damn, that was impressive.
“Come on, let’s get some rest. Tomorrow is no doubt going to be a busy day,” he said, climbing into bed, and pulling me into his arms.
Aunt Logan met us at Lucas’s house, walking in without even knocking. “I approve of these living arrangements,” she said, setting her coat on the back of the couch in the living room.
“I’m not living her permanently,” I told her. “It’s just temporary.”
She smirked. “Sure it is, darling.”
Lucas poured a glass of water with lemon and handed it to Logan. “Thank you for meeting us here.”
She accepted the glass and took a sip. “Anything for my favorite niece.”
Lucas sat on the loveseat, draping his arm over the back as he settled. I sat next to him, leaning into his side slightly, for reassurance.
Logan sat on the couch and turned to face me. “You’re a special child. You are a quarter fae, three quarters human, but something happened while you were in your mother’s womb that altered you. You’ve got a bit more magic in you than you should, and it causes issues with your human body. To cope, your brain forgets things it finds useless, or harmful.”
“But, I have memories of being a child,” I said.
She shook her head. “Fake ones.”
“How can I have fake memories?” I asked.
“Because I placed them there,” she said, her eyes downcast. “You came to me five years ago and asked me to give you fake memories. You said you could feel your current memories disappearing and wanted to try to forget permanently. I was against it, but you begged me, and I am nothing if not a loving aunt.”
“What happened five years ago?” I asked softly. “Is it true that I killed a pack of werewolves?”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Who told you that?”
“Someone called me, to try to convince me to hand her over so they could kill her,” Lucas explained.
“Fairy dust,” she hissed. “I didn’t think they’d ever find you here. If they find you…you should leave. Now. Right now.”
She stood, but Lucas wrapped his arm around me and held me in place. “I’m not letting her go. She’ll be vulnerable out there, alone.”
She sat down and sighed. “I thought you might say that. Listen here, manticore. My niece is powerful, but she doesn’t know how to use her powers. When she’s backed into a corner, the power unleashes, and destruction follows.”
“Does this mean it’s possible for me to forget my mate, if I became mated?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “You only for
get things that aren’t important or are too painful. So, unless your mate cheats on you or tries to kill you, you won’t forget them.”
“That’d be one shit mate if they did that,” Lucas grumbled.
Her eyes met mine, and I saw tears brimming. “You’d be surprised.”
“I had a mate before, didn’t I?” I asked, a lump forming in my throat.
She glanced at Lucas and then met my eyes again. “Perhaps it would be better if we talked in private. Then, you can decide what you wish to tell your boyfriend.”
“He said I don’t have a mate bond,” I whispered.
“You don’t. Your mate is dead,” she said, rubbing her arms as if cold. “He lost control after a battle and shifting several times, and tried to kill you, so you protected yourself and killed him. His pack tried to avenge him, and you killed them all and fled. The deaths were reported, but I didn’t see you until a year later. You were barely alive and had been living as a hermit in the woods for that year mourning and cursing your former mate.”
Recognition bloomed, and pain burst in my chest. I clutched at it, a brief image of a memory showing for a moment. One of him stabbing me in the stomach.
“Milena,” Lucas whispered, petting my hair. “It’s okay. That’s all in the past. You’re safe.”
“But are you?” I asked softly.
“Lucas is a hunter, sweetheart. He could be on the verge of death, chained, and shifted hundreds of times, and he wouldn’t lose control. They beat the control into them, quite literally,” Logan explained. “He’s probably the most suitable mate for you. Not that I’m saying you should mate with him. I’m just telling you that you don’t have to worry about him hurting you, and you subsequently having to kill him.”
“What should I do?” I asked her, the pain still coursing through me from my reopened wounds.
“They can’t prove that you killed them, so the cops won’t be involved. Their only recourse is to kill you themselves,” she said.
“Who are they?” Lucas asked.
“Barbanos Pack,” she said.
Lucas’s eyes widened. “She’s the one who killed them?”
Logan nodded.
“There were fifty werewolves killed that night,” he said, as though it might change the answer.
Lion About: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Virgo Page 7
