by Isobael Liu
Matthias released her hand as the plates were set down. He smiled at Peggy, thanked her, and picked up the ketchup to add to his fries.
Once Peggy had refilled their drinks and left them alone, Lilian continued.
“I said the CS was a branch of the Knights Templar. Actually, I’m not entirely sure the Knights Templar is aware of them. They came from the original Templar, so while they shared their roots, I doubt they’re affiliated with one another now. Anyway, Project Knight, spelled with a K, is a branch of the CS specifically for the training of agents and knights, specialized for the retrieval of either rogue agents or the acquisition of new members.”
Matthias paused in eating a fry, a brow arched in question.
“Yes, acquisition, as in willing or not.” She sipped her drink as she watched him eat.
The man was a veritable bottomless pit, or starving, from the way he scarfed down his burger and fries. Was he even chewing his food? She slid her plate over to him, not hungry. Matthias glanced at her in question, but she shook her head in amusement.
“Anyway, I escaped with a few others. I think I was eighteen or close to it. Once we were off the compound property, we scattered and I have no idea if any of them made it. I lived on the streets for a while before I decided I wanted a life, like those I had read about in books. I looked for work, but no one was willing to hire me. I had no identification, no proof of citizenship, no address, nothing.”
Matthias slid the plate back toward her. “Eat.”
Lilian shook her head and picked up a fry, using it to wave at him as she spoke. “You are not my father, so you can’t tell me what to do.” She nibbled on the fry, taking her time before speaking again. “And then I met Stephan.”
Matthias studied her with the mention of Stephan’s name.
“Tell me about him,” he said.
Chapter 3
Lilian explained how she had been harassed by a few of the local street punks. Stephan stepped in to rescue her and after finding out she had no place to go, no job, nothing, he took her in. He helped her find a place to live, and a job as a waitress in a small bar. It wasn’t much, but she earned the money which supported her. It had given her a sense of accomplishment.
Stephan also helped her access her inheritance and the money went into a bank account, which collected interest. It was a sizeable amount left to her from her mother’s estate and Lilian had used some of her inheritance to have her name changed. Little good it did.
“He was someone I trusted,” she said.
“But?”
“He was the first person I trusted, and he took something from me I’m not sure I know how to get back.”
Lilian couldn’t tell him. Not everything. Just saying his name brought back the ugly memories of the pain, and fear of being hurt again. Trust was something she couldn’t easily give anyone, not after Stephan. Their relationship might not have been sexual, despite Stephan’s desire otherwise, but he had still hurt her, physically and mentally.
“The message on the wall,” Matthias said, “reminding you to remember the pain. Did he abuse you?”
Lilian refused to look at Matthias. She didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes.
“I found a printed email from the CS giving him instructions about how to get me to a meeting place. Somehow, he had found out about me and was going to help them. They were going to pay him a reward. I ran away. Everything I had, which wasn’t much anyway, I left behind, and just ran. I went to a lawyer, had my name changed, had my bank account transferred to my new name, and eventually came here, fell in love with the town and never left.”
“Why didn’t you use your abilities to stop him?”
“Because…I was afraid to.” Lilian sighed and continued. “If I did use my abilities, anyone associated with the CS could locate me easily. If I had used my gift, I might have known what Stephan had planned. I could have escaped him, but the agents were another story.”
“But he’s tracked you down, as well as the CS agents.”
Lilian looked at him and nodded.
Matthias gestured to her uneaten burger and gave her a pointed look. She shook her head and pushed it back to him. He was silent as he ate her burger.
In three bites, no less.
How did he do it? Lilian picked at a fry.
Matthias finished eating and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “You can’t keep running. It’s too late now anyway.”
Lilian blinked. She’d told him she was a trained soldier, had special abilities, was wanted by a secret organization, and he comes up with that?
“I know,” she replied in a near whisper, “I just don’t know what else to do.”
“Fight back. You have abilities and you must have some friends here.”
It was said in a calm manner, without accusation or derision, but she flinched anyway.
“It’s not so easy. No one here knows and I kept it that way on purpose.”
Matthias sipped his iced tea, and then set the glass down. “You’ve lived here for how many years and haven’t allowed yourself to trust anyone?” He picked up a fry and took a bite, only to make a face and pick up the saltshaker.
Lilian bristled. Tension shot up another notch and she hated that his words made her feel defensive. “I don’t appreciate the attitude, Matthias. You have no idea what I’ve been through and you have no right to judge me.”
He gave her a conciliatory smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound judgmental. I just don’t understand why, when everyone here seems to know and like you, you don’t trust them.” He sprinkled salt onto the fries.
“I’m not even sure I trust you,” she said.
“Yes, you do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have told me anything.”
Lilian glared at him. “I’ve been known to make grand mistakes of epic proportions.”
He grinned. “I can help you.”
“Make epic mistakes?”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, with your problems.”
She leaned back in her seat and eyed him. “Why would you want to?”
He eased back with a smile and she narrowed her eyes at him as she studied his expression. He was up to something. She could see the glint of amusement and mischief behind his eyes.
“I don’t need your help.” Lilian started to slide out of the booth.
Matthias was in front of her before she realized it. When she stood up, they were almost nose-to-nose. Well, her nose to his chest since he had a few inches on her.
She tensed. How did he move so fast? She hadn’t even seen it coming; his body language hadn’t revealed anything to her.
She froze in place when he leaned down to whisper near her ear. “You need my help.”
Lilian shoved him back a couple of steps. “What I need is for you to move away from me. You’re crowding me and I don’t like it.”
It was mostly true. He was crowding her, but for some reason, rather than dislike it, warmth spread in her body.
He chuckled, just loud enough for her to hear, and moved back. Peggy took that moment to arrive.
“All done?” she asked.
Lilian nodded and gave Peggy a weak smile. “Yes, we’re done. Just put it on my tab, all right?”
“I’ll pay for dinner,” Matthias said.
“No, you won’t.”
Peggy looked between the two of them. “Umm. Okay. No problem, Lil. I’ll make note of it.” She hurried away.
Matthias made a soft rumbling noise, beneath his breath.
Lilian lifted a brow, then turned and headed for the exit. She knew he followed, and closely, because she could feel his body heat emanating from him against her back, and her skin prickled with awareness of just how close he was. As she reached for the door, one of his hands shot out and held the handle before she did. She stopped so he could open the door, but when he didn’t, she glanced back over her shoulder at him.
“We have more to discuss,” he whispered.
“No, we don’t. I’
m tired. I want—no, I need a hot shower and then some sleep. I have a house to clean tomorrow.”
“If the police release the scene and let you go back,” he said.
“They better. It’s my house. I need clothes.”
Matthias opened the door, pushing it wide enough to let her pass. He used his body to herd her out of the diner and into the night air.
“It might take another day or two for them to finish investigating,” he reminded her.
Lilian sighed. Of course, they would. It wasn’t like on TV where they came in with high tech gadgets and finish so the victim could get on with her life. No, they had to make it hard for her.
“I’m sure they’ll give you permission to grab some stuff,” he said.
She shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I’ll pick something up. If worse comes to worse, I’ll get a ride into Enumclaw or Bonney Lake.”
“If you want, I can take you.”
“Not on that motorcycle of yours.”
He chuckled and walked with her back toward the motel. “I have a truck.”
“Where do you live anyway?”
There was a hesitation on his part. Matthias looked unsure, as if he didn’t know whether to tell her or not. Anger hit her, hot and hard.
“I caved and told you about me, but you can’t even answer one simple question of mine in regards to your life?”
Matthias started to speak, but she shook her head. “Forget it.” She stormed down the street, toward the motel. She just wanted to lock herself away and collapse.
“Lilian, wait.”
By the time he caught up to her and had grabbed her by the arm, a loud, piercing whistle split the night. Matthias pulled her to him as he turned his head toward the sound. Lilian’s temper flared and she started to pull from his grasp as she found herself manhandled yet again by Matthias.
He called out in another language. It sounded like Latin to her, but not exactly the same. His call was replied to in the same language. She tried to peer around Matthias to see, but he kept her against him with one arm, and adjusted his movements to hers.
Three of Matthias’s friends approached. She recognized their faces from the diner and the rumble in the alley with the CS agents. They smiled at her, but when Matthias growled, they looked away from her and at him instead.
They continued to speak in their language, and it sounded rather serious. She tried to put some space between her and Matthias, but he wouldn’t let her move very far from him.
Lilian had had enough. She stomped on one of his feet and with a shift of her body, kicked a foot out, catching his legs. She swept them from under him. Matthias lost his balance and went down to the pavement. Unfortunately, he didn’t release her so when he went down, she did too, and landed on top of him with a soft oomph. The others burst into laughter as Matthias lifted a brow at her. She thumped him hard on the chest.
“You were supposed to let me go!”
He gave her a crooked smile. “I rather like how we ended up.”
Lilian blinked and scrambled to her feet as the blood rushed to her face, heating it. The guys continued to laugh with relish.
“I’m so glad you found it hilarious.” She glared at them.
“Can’t remember the last time the Alph–oomph!” one said, interrupted when another elbowed him.
She looked between the two of them.
Matthias stood up and she turned to him. “What’s going on?”
He sighed and gave her a shrug. “I suppose I should tell you.”
Lilian started to back away. “So, you are hiding something. I knew it. I should have known better.”
“Wait, let me explain.”
The guys sobered and watched the two of them carefully.
She lifted her branded hand, as if to ward him off.
“No, stay back, Matthias. I mean it. I don’t want to hurt you.”
He held out his hands, palms upward. “Lilian.”
One of his friends moved in a quick motion and she took her eyes off Matthias to look at him. It gave Matthias the chance to dart in and grab her. She reacted as she was trained, to strike at a vulnerable spot on his body, and in this case, a punch at his throat.
Matthias snarled and grabbed her wrist before the blow could connect. He turned his body and carrying on with the momentum, spun her around. With a jerk, she found herself back against his firm, muscular chest with her wrist in one of his hands and his free arm around her throat in a sleeper hold.
Lilian hissed in anger and gave a struggle, but he merely tightened his arm in warning. “Enough.”
Since he had her arm already extended, he forced her to turn her hand over, palm up, to show the brand.
“Look at this,” he told his friends. “I want this mark traced.”
One of the men came forward and studied her palm. She tried to jerk her hand away, and turn her palm down, but Matthias wasn’t having it. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“It looks familiar,” the man said.
“I thought so too,” Matthias replied. “What do you know of it?”
The man shook his head and she could see he was trying to remember, but nothing came to mind, it seemed.
“All right. Tiberius, you look into it. Lukas and Augustus, I want you two to look into Custodes Secreti. Check the archives. Also, check for offshoots of the Knights Templar. I want everything we can find on them.”
The three men gave a nod, a salute of some form by the formality of the movement, and hurried off.
Lilian was still tense in his hold, but she didn’t fight him. “Are you going to let me go now?”
“Are you going to remain calm and not attack me?”
“I warned you, but you pushed it!”
He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “I want you to read my thoughts.”
Oh, hell, no!
“I don’t think so.” Lilian shook her head. “No way.”
“Scared?” he asked as he nibbled along the line of her neck.
She tried not to tilt her head for him, but it proved difficult.
“Hell, yes.” She shivered. “Matthias, stop it.”
“Read my mind,” he urged.
“No.” She tried to struggle out of his hold, but failed and fell still again.
“What do you know about shape shifters?” he asked.
Lilian frowned. “Like werewolves?”
“There are others besides werewolves, but yes.”
She remained silent for a few long moments. Should she? He did invite her to. If she kept it light, only surface thoughts, it shouldn’t cause any ripples.
“Let me see your face.”
Matthias hesitated before he loosened his hold so she could turn and look up at him. He stared at her with a serious expression. She reached up with her free hand as he hadn’t let go of her right wrist, and placed it against his cheek. She narrowed her eyes on him, and with a light touch, brushed his mind with hers.
On principle, Lilian was careful not to use her telepathy. She didn’t want to know what others were thinking. Most of the time, though, it was just a pain to read minds. Most people didn’t think in an organized manner. Their thoughts were jumbled and went in all different directions, at different speeds. If she wasn’t careful, she’d suffer migraines. Not only from pushing her abilities, but also having to deal with the confusion.
However, as she touched Matthias’s mind, she gasped in astonishment. His mind was nothing like a normal human’s. He didn’t even have the typical thought patterns for a human. He thought in pictures and emotions, and oh God, those pictures and emotions were a bit…explicit, with a capital E.
Lilian’s nerves tingled and her heart stuttered, but pushed on. Beneath those rather hormonally driven emotions were images, memories in pictures. Sometimes scenes, but usually flashes of remembered things like a wolf pack, moonlit nights, the forest, and hunting prey.
She jerked her hand from his face, wide eyed as she stared at him. Was she feeling confusion or awe
?
He still held her, but she could see the expectant look on his face, in his eyes.
“You’re…a werewolf?” she asked.
He nodded. “Yes.”
“The Alpha. He was trying to say Alpha when he was interrupted.”
Matthias gave a weak grin. “Yeah.”
“And you can change into a wolf?”
Okay, that's a stupid question.
“Yes,” he said. “Want me to prove it?”
“No! I mean, no, I believe you.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” He watched her carefully.
“Not particularly. The whole thing’s a bit daunting.”
“It’s no different than you and your abilities.”
“I don’t turn into a wolf. Can you do anything else?”
“I have three forms. Human, wolf, and a hybrid form, or war form. It’s the typical wolf man form you see in the movies, except, we’re a little bigger.”
“How big?”
“About eight feet or so.”
Okay, that’s one hell of a big wolf .
Lilian tried to pull her wrist from his grip. “Let go, please.”
Matthias released her in a slow, languid manner. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Not so much, no.” She shook her head and started for her motel room. “I think I need to be alone. Too much going on.”
He didn’t follow. “Let me give you my number in case you need anything.”
Lilian waved him off. “Good night, Matthias.”
* * * *
She lay in a field of grass. The sun warm on her skin and bright, even with her eyes closed. She could smell the sun-kissed, earthy scent of grass and soil.
A howl pierced the peace and she opened her eyes. In the distance, a pack of wolves took their leisure near the forest edge and she stood up to watch.
They were playing with one another, mock battles and games of tag and tug of war with a stick of some sort.
A black wolf paused and looked over at her, its golden eyes bright, and its ears perked toward her. The others paused and looked over as well.
The dream changed. Daylight turned to night . Shadows stretched over the landscape, but the wolves were there. She could see their shadowy forms as they melted amongst the trees. Her right palm began to hurt and she brought her hand up to look. The brand glowed a dull pink and burned with the scorching heat of molten metal. She rubbed at it , but the pain didn’t subside.