by Rachel Jonas
I remembered the story. Liam’s mother was the victim of an epidemic spreading throughout Egypt centuries ago. Human women were ravished by these shifters, and then, because their bodies weren’t made to handle birthing super-human children into the world, they died after delivering, thus creating an explosion of feral dragons.
It was my father’s duty to put a stop to it, and during that journey, he found and spared Liam, making him a part of our family.
“Yes, you told me that part,” I said softly, eager to hear what he’d share next.
A surge of air filled his lungs and his shoulder moved with it, shifting my body because my weight mostly rested on him.
“The part I hadn’t shared yet was how that stayed with me, how it lingered in my head that I didn’t belong with your mother and father.”
My brow tensed as I thought about that. He’d never shared that he felt displaced, and I guess I didn’t consider it because, to me, he was always so focused. I can admit it was sometimes hard to see past my own hurt to grasp the bigger picture, but Liam always seemed so … together. It never even crossed my mind that we had so much in common. That he, too, had dealt with the emotional stirring of being adopted.
Heat pulsed through my palm when I held his hand tighter.
“It hit me out of nowhere right after my first shift at twenty—this unshakable feeling of being a fish out of water,” he explained. “Most of your brothers were like you, favored the gifts of their dragon more than those of the wolf, but it was never far from my mind that we were different, that I didn’t quite belong.”
A long breadth of silence passed between us and I couldn’t believe I missed it, couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen that same distant look in his eyes I sometimes saw in my own.
“It was Elise who suggested I go to Egypt, to find myself,” he shared. “Of course, being overprotective, she made me take one of your brothers,” he added with a smile. “So, with her and your father’s blessing, Ivan and I left. Didn’t come back for six months.”
“And did you find yourself while you were away?”
He shrugged and one corner of his mouth turned upward. “That voyage made me aware of many things.”
I turned, letting my eyes settle on his face, shimmering silver beneath moonlight.
“You gonna keep me guessing?” I pressed, smiling a bit.
A hint of nostalgia softened the stern lines of his expression as his gaze landed on our matching bracelets.
“It made me painfully aware of where home truly was,” he breathed. “I enjoyed learning about my people, enjoyed learning their ways, but more than anything, I wanted to get back to you.”
He always said exactly the right thing at exactly the right time.
My heart fluttered.
“Were we … together that early on? Right after you first shifted?” I asked.
Liam shook his head.
“No, far from it,” he laughed. “I was willing to own my feelings long before your stubbornness would allow you to admit you needed anyone other than yourself.”
I had to laugh. I didn’t think of myself as being that way now, but if I had to guess, I wasn’t as cold as I may have seemed back then either. There was a small part of me that naturally preferred to conceal my emotions, but it was my mom, Rebecka, who taught me it was okay to feel.
So, I guess I was different in some ways.
“How’d you do it?” I asked with a grin, leaning into his side again.
“Do what?”
“How’d you knock down The Great Wall of Evangeline,” I teased.
A soft chuckle wrapped in a deep, velvety voice warmed my soul when it left his mouth. “Lots and lots of hard work,” he joked. “But it was well worth it.”
I was glad to hear he felt that way.
“Tell me about the day I finally came to my senses.” Those were the perfect words. A girl had to be senseless not to see Liam for what he is. Myself included. In both lifetimes.
He laughed again before sharing. “Well … I wish I could tell you we had a fairytale beginning, but it wasn’t anything like that. In fact, I distinctly remember you once referring to me as ‘the most pompous, insufferable bastard you ever had the pleasure of slapping’.”
He laughed, but I didn’t. Actually, I was kind of mortified.
“Was I really that terrible?”
When he caught his breath, he answered. “Nah, you were no more snobbish and entitled than any other princess.”
I cringed at the thought of speaking to him that way.
“But I always saw through it, saw your big heart through all the ice.” His chest vibrated with another deep chuckle. “Even when you were telling me how much you hated me, or how overprotective I was, I saw it.”
“Saw…?”
“This,” he clarified. “Our future.”
I had to laugh. “So, even through the rudeness, and the insults … you knew we were meant to be.”
He nodded as if he saw nothing wrong with anything I said. “Absolutely. I’ve never wanted anything unless it was a challenge.”
And I guess I gave him that and then some.
“I’m pretty sure my immunity to your callousness was why your father assigned me to you, to serve as your warrior,” he went on to explain. “You went through five in one year and, eventually, he got sick of searching for new, trustworthy shifters to fill the role. Next thing I know, he came to me with the proposition. And because I knew you were mine from the beginning, I didn’t hesitate to accept.” His smile grew. “You, on the other hand, weren’t quite as easily convinced.”
“We couldn’t have always been at each other’s throats,” I commented, feeling confused. If I was close to my brothers, I had to have been somewhat close to him as well, seeing as how we were raised together.
“We definitely had our good days,” he explained. “But … I can own that I was at fault for some of the bad ones.”
Curiosity was eating me up inside. “Meaning?”
“I hold on too tight,” he admitted. When I didn’t dismiss the claim, he looked at me and laughed. “Stating the obvious, I know. Let’s just say not much has changed there. And let’s also say you’re much more gracious about it now than you were then.”
I smiled against his shoulder. “You still haven’t said how you changed my mind.”
I didn’t care that it wasn’t some fairytale, didn’t care that the story seemed to involve at least some measure of me cursing him out, I only cared that we ended up here.
“I was supposed to escort you on … an outing,” he said vaguely, leaving me to guess what he could mean. But then, he made things crystal clear. “Your father arranged for you to court the son of a Duke. They were lycans, but only other supernaturals were aware.”
I choked out a laugh, thinking of how many social cues I miss on the regular. Thinking how, once, my summer goal had been to learn how to burp the alphabet. Thinking how I had a reputation around my house as being a ‘snorter’ if I laughed too hard. So, me? Courting the son of a Duke?
“True story,” Liam smiled. “You two weren’t allowed to leave your family’s property, so he took you for a walk through one of the gardens. I had to stick close by, of course.”
I tried to imagine it, Liam sitting idly by while I walked hand-in-hand with someone else. It reminded me of his first meeting with Nick. Who would’ve thought we lived through that twice?
“The guy spent the whole time trying to outsmart me, trying to lose me so he could be alone with you, but he had no idea how persistent I can be.”
Those lips of his spread with a devilish grin after he spoke. Those lips I wanted against mine even now as he shared long-forgotten memories locked somewhere within me.
“Eventually, he gave up and settled for sitting beside you on a stone bench near the castle wall. And I held my post despite the hatred and jealousy eating me alive from the inside out.”
“What’d you do? Rip his throat out?” I teased, knowing that was his
kill of choice.
He grinned again. “If doing so wouldn’t have sentenced me to death, I’m sure I would have.”
“What happened next?”
He thought back. “Well, he played it cool for a bit, but then got the bright idea that this was a good time to kiss you … and I guess we could consider that my breaking point.”
I was almost afraid to ask.
“Or … maybe we’ll say that was his jaw’s breaking point,” he corrected. “Thus, earning me the title of the most pompous, insufferable bastard you ever had the pleasure of slapping.”
Holding a hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. “I really slapped you?”
He nodded. “Yup, and it was a good one. My cheek stung for hours.”
It was so hard to imagine us as anything but loving and affectionate toward one another. No wonder the indifference I first showed toward him wasn’t a deterrent. He’d dealt with much worse from me.
“Did you get in trouble for hurting him?” I asked.
He shook his head casually. “Not much. Your father lied to the Duke, told him he’d deal with me that evening. Basically, it just earned me an hour long lecture.”
My teeth dragged along my bottom lip as I zoned out, picturing it all like a movie playing inside my head.
“And all this led to me finally accepting my feelings for you?” I asked a bit skeptically, failing to see how it all came together.
I glanced up when Liam didn’t answer right away. Scrubbing a hand down his face, grazing his low-shaven beard as a smile ghosted on his lips. I was dying for a response.
“It did,” he went on. “I went to you later, hoping to apologize.”
“And … did you?”
His lips quirked a bit and I felt my heart flutter.
“I did,” he teased, being cryptic again. Maybe on purpose. “And you forgave me.” I blinked at him when he added, “Actually, if memory of that night serves me well … you forgave me three times.”
Heat spread across my cheeks and I breathed a deep, quivering, “Oh …” as realization set in.
There was no need to guess what he meant.
An electric pulse vibrated from my core, through my limbs just at the thought of … forgiving him.
“From that point, your father no longer had an issue finding a warrior who could put up with you, because I was permanently on the job.” White teeth flashed when he added, “You might say I was the best you ever had.”
That heat in my cheeks spread down my neck as I deciphered yet another double-meaning.
As if taking things slowly with him wasn’t already difficult enough …
My house went pitch black and I focused there again, on thoughts of a life that seemed so distant now. Liam’s arm moved to my shoulders and he held me close. Having him here, talking me through this moment, was exactly what I needed. As I guessed, my parents made their way upstairs for the evening, I stood. My eyes lingered there for a moment, on those dark windows, and I decided to find a positive takeaway from all this.
They were alive.
They were safe.
They were happy.
Liam’s story stuck with me, namely the part where he traveled home to find himself. He returned to Bahir Dar with a sense of closure that went beyond seeing himself mirrored in his people. He had closure because he realized the word “home” was relative.
My parents’ memories would never be restored, and I had to accept that. But, thanks to Liam, I still had family.
I still had love.
—Chapter Thirteen—
Nick
I remembered the first time I wandered down to this chamber, the night our clan stood up to the Elders, demanding answers. Tonight, my visit served a very different purpose.
Tonight, the only question I sought an answer to was whether I’d again see the light of day.
I came alone, wanting to spare my family the pain of seeing me being taken away. It was no secret the Council had a zero-tolerance rule when it came to jeopardizing the safety of the clan, risking exposure. I later discovered it was also against the rules to fraternize with clan witches without the consent from the Elders.
I’d done all three, and to add fuel to the fire, I inadvertently endangered Evangeline’s life, whom the Council regarded as their queen.
In short, I jacked this up about as much as anyone could possibly do. If there was an award for royal screw-up, I’d win gold, silver, and bronze.
My arms ached where two giants gripped them. They showed up at the door of my grandfather’s estate to escort me to the trial. I suppose lycans in my position typically tried to run, but they wouldn’t have any trouble out of me. I’d done enough running, and at the end of the day, the Council knew exactly how to make me come out of hiding. All it took was endangering the life of someone I cared about. This time, it was Roz. Next time, it could be any one of my friends or family and I wouldn’t risk it. They were all-seeing and all-powerful, so the best chance any of us had to exist in peace was if we submitted.
So, I submitted.
Heavy chains were clamped to my wrists when we came to a stop at the foot of the long, descending staircase. Like always, the only source of light came from torches placed intermittently in holders along the stone walls and pillars. This place always held a sinister air to it, but now, as I awaited the Council’s decision, it seemed darker still.
“The Chancellor will be out in a moment. Don’t move,” one of the giant lycans ordered as he attached my chains to a pillar. The chains were spelled, bound with magic, making it impossible to break free.
There were others here. Three. All in chains, all with the same frightened, desperate looks on their faces. When I tried to imagine what this experience would be like, I never even considered anyone else being stupid enough to piss off our supernatural government.
Clearly, I was wrong.
Then again, it was likely they’d only committed minor offenses, small things deemed criminal by the Council.
More rattling chains dragged across the stone floor behind me. The four of us who waited suddenly turned, taking in the site of another figure, a weak man; one who could barely stand on his own. More of the giant lycan guards brought him closer, into the light of a nearby torch, and it was then that I took in the sight of him.
Naked, shaking, covered in dirt and deep, bloody gashes. It was impossible to tell what caused the wounds—his own actions or the guards as they rounded him up—but deciding why he was so groggy took little thought.
A witch.
I’d never seen this one before, but guessed she was among the Elders’ replacements, seeing as how I watched the others lose their heads and burn to death.
Courtesy of Evangeline.
She appeared to be young, no older than her mid-twenties, but I guessed that was nothing more than illusion. As the man stood and the guards held him upright at either side, she kept a hand to the chained lycan’s back, using her magic to subdue him. They continued forward, and so close, I recognized his face. His name escaped me, but I knew he was a senior my freshman year, a member of Kyle’s graduating class.
I watched as they bypassed the pillar beside me. Instead of linking him to it like the rest of us had been, they proceeded on toward the long table where the Council would soon be seated. As soon as I thought of them, the sound of screeching, metal hinges filled the hollow room.
Shuffling feet and dark robes.
Each of the twenty or more seats were filled and the already silent room became even quieter.
It was the sound of uncertainty.
The sound of fear.
My heart raced and my wolf tried to burst free. However, but the magic spelled around my wrists made shifting impossible, leaving me in physiological limbo. The bones that broke and repaired themselves as I shifted, cracked one by one, sending searing jolts shooting through every muscle, every limb, and then stayed that way, ready to shift.
But magic forbid it.
I wanted to cry out
in pain, but knew it’d be in my best interest to show some semblance of control. I needed to reverse this, needed to send the beast within me a signal to calm him.
Closing my eyes, I breathed deep and searched for a thought to take my mind off the threat I sensed all around me now that the Council was among us. Perhaps it’d just become real that, on this day, my life could end, sending my beast into survival mode.
Think, Nick. Think.
These lycans needed to know I wasn’t just some uncontrollable freak of nature. In fact, I hadn’t had a single blackout since leaving the facility. I’d gone over the possible reasons for this about a million times. And each of those million times, I was forced to admit that only one new factor had been introduced.
Roz.
We were together around the clock, and any other incident in which I’d lost time, I was alone-either in my room at the facility, or at my grandfather’s estate. But once she was with me, it stopped.
Revisiting a theory I’d come up with late one night, I focused on her. Maybe she was the key to subduing me.
She called several times since we arrived home roughly twenty-four hours ago. I didn’t answer, but did text to let her know I was okay. She didn’t know about tonight, though. I kept telling myself that was because I didn’t want her to worry, but … being honest, I didn’t tell her because I was afraid she’d show up, putting herself in harm’s way once again.
For me.
We were beginning to evolve. Thinking back, I believe the change started a while ago—before I was ready to accept it—but it was directly in my face now. Yes, she was a friend, but … if I was being honest, she’d been more than that for quite some time. I felt things for her a guy doesn’t really feel for a friend.
Back when we still felt like normal teenage kids, Lucas and Chris suggested she was into me, but all I saw was the smart-mouthed sophomore who could never leave well enough alone. When I looked at her lately, I saw so much more.
A beautiful girl with a beautiful soul to match.
Slowly, gently, my fractured bones mended themselves and the pain evaporated like it never existed. I could focus again, blinking my eyes as a surge of air filled my lungs.
