We fell silent then, which made endless thoughts run through my head. I wanted to ask him about his powers. How strong he was. I also wanted to ask about the Imperative he and Enoch had mentioned, since it sounded important. I also wanted to inquire about Otherborne, Luminar, and all the other terms that had been thrown around in Enoch’s office and I had yet to get the definitions of.
It also made me wonder one thing in particular. “You and Enoch want to expose the supernatural, right?” I clarified, breaking the silence.
If Lucien thought my question was oddly timed, he didn’t show it. “Yes.”
Thoughtfully, I continued. “Then why would it have mattered if you got caught in action back in the hospital parking lot? I mean, that would sure help with the exposure both you and Enoch want.”
He glanced at me briefly, face unreadable, before, to my surprise, a small, somewhat sardonic smile stretched his lips. “Imagine seeing what you’ve just witnessed on the news. Imagine that being humans’ first impression of the supernatural. What do you think would happen?”
I immediately saw where he was going with it and couldn’t help but feel like an idiot. “That was a stupid question.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Lucien countered, making me latch my gaze onto his profile. “If I were you, a human who isn’t aware of supernatural politics and the powers in play, I might’ve thought the same. Alas,” he added with a brief glance in my direction, “the situation is a tad bit more complicated than simply going out and announcing to the world we exist. We might want to expose our existence, but there is a way to go about it too.”
Everything he said made sense. I still felt foolish, but mostly because I’d pretended to know anything about the supernatural world, while I was merely a human. An outsider. Someone who didn’t belong in that world to begin with.
Not that Iwantedto belong to that world. The image of the monstrous being who killed my sisters floated in my mind. The shadow marks appearing in murder crime scenes. The supernatural creatures preying on unsuspecting humans under the guise of mere homicide.
I glanced at Lucien now and, not for the first time, found it almost fantastical to believe he was a werewolf. He was so human, even in his wolf form, that comparing him to the mythological beast was almost laughable. But at the same time, I remembered how his face twisted and contorted into that monstrous inhuman expression. The sight of him disemboweling another person with a sharp wave of his clawed hand was also still very vivid in my mind.
The deep contrast was staggering, so much so that my fascinated fixation on the supernatural, which had been stronger than my fear, was now overtaken by a sense of terror that hadn’t been there before.
It wasn’t just Lucien either. I thought back to Chase. How he pretended to be my friend. How he acted as if I was crazy for writing about the supernatural, pretending he wasn’t one of them. We’d been neighbors for three years now. I even still remembered the way he’d approached me first when he moved in next door. How he brought a chocolate cake he claimed tohave baked as a greeting. How wary I was of him, closed off as I was from the world due to my chosen path.
But Chase hadn’t given up. He came every morning with baked goods, making his way into my life, until at one point, I couldn’t take it anymore and invited him in for coffee.
After that, from time to time, we drank coffee together. I even told him about myself, about my estranged relationship with my family, even the fight I had with Thayer, my older brother, a year ago. I told him about my feelings. My life. And he shared his own story, too, about his abusive family and how he’d escaped their clutches when he was seventeen.
Thinking about all of it now, it suddenly hit me that everything he’d done, all the things he’d said, the stories he’d told, must’ve been lies to get me to like and trust him as a friend. All so he could keep an eye on me, because I was sticking my nose into the supernatural business.
Had any of it been true?
Something wet and salty hit my lips, and I realized tears had escaped my eyes. Up until now, I hadn’t had the leisure to think about it all too deeply. Yet once everything calmed down somewhat, the realization that Chase, the only person in my life I regarded as a friend, was actually manipulating me to get what he needed broke my heart.
The car suddenly came to a stop in an underground parking lot, and before I could ask where we were, a hand suddenly cupped my cheek, a thumb wiping my tears away. “Hey,” Lucien said softly, gently pulling my head to face him. He searched my gaze. “What’s wrong?”
His sincere worry made me cry harder. “He was my friend,” I whispered, the tears falling freely. “Or at least I thought he was. A friend wouldn’t want to erase your memories, memories he knows are extremely important to you, just to protect his own fucking ass.”
Lucien grabbed the back of my head with his free hand and pulled me close, leaning my head against his shoulder. “You couldn’t have known, Drew,” he said quietly. “Secret agents who work for the supernatural global governing body, the Council, are fickle and cunning. People like him are thekind they always hire: magically powerful, heartless, emotional manipulators. Their mission is to keep the supernatural society a secret from humans. That is the only driving force behind any action they take.
“I’m so sorry you had that happen to you,” he said, squeezing me tightly to him. “But please believe me when I say it wasn’t your fault. You’re not stupid for falling for his lies. Anyone in your shoes would have—and a lot already did, and will do too. He’s the one who got you to trust him, and betrayed that very trust.”
I knew he was right. Of course I did. Yet I couldn’t help but mourn the loss of the one friend I had. Mourn my broken trust. Beat myself up over my gullibility.
Distracted by my own overwhelming pain, I barely even registered that his touch brought me only comfort, even though his hands, while clean now, were still covered in blood in my head.
Hotel Reveria was a five-star establishment with the largest lobby known to man. Its posh exterior and interior made me feel as if I’d stepped into a movie scene about high society.
In my faded jeans and baggy band tee, I felt like a fish out of water, but Lucien strolled inside, barefoot and shirtless, as if he owned the place, striding with a confidence and authority that made him, once again, seem like the Alpha I now knew he was.
When two female guests did a literal double take when they saw Lucien approach the front desk, I didn’t blame them. The luster of him in his shirtless glory was a sight to behold. So much so I had to look anywhere but at him, lest I start drooling like the thirsty woman I was.
Now that I was all cried out, especially after him offering me his comfort, I was all too aware of him again.
The man at the front desk welcomed us with a bright smile, his eyes full of awe as he looked at Lucien, to the point he even made a little bowing movement with his head. “Good morning, Mr. Delterre,” the man said.
I glanced at Lucien in confusion, wondering how the man knew him. But Lucien was focused on the man as he said, “Morning to you, too, Finn.”
Finn beamed at him. “Thank you. Would you like the regular?”
