by V. A. Dold
“I’m a freaking human lie detector. And all of my friends at JARVS have weird abilities. How bad can it be?”
“For a human? Bad,” he mumbled, then stood and paced away from her.
She stared after him, more confused than before. She was impressed that a man who could be such an intimidating security officer had such a soft side. And he moved with the grace of a tiger or lion. She once spent an entire afternoon watching large cats at the zoo. He moved just like one of them. Every muscle rippled beneath his clothing, yet he made no sound at all. Marcus would make one hell of a deadly assassin.
“This is going to sound insane, but I swear it’s the truth.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. “I’m not human as you define the word. I’m a wolf shifter. A being that is human but can shift to a wolf at will.”
Cassidy gave him the side-eye. “Say what? I don’t think I heard you right.”
“You heard, right. I can prove it if you want me to, but I don’t want to send you screaming from the condo.”
“You can prove it? Uh-huh,” she said with a healthy dose of incredulity in her voice.
He ignored her skepticism and forged on. “Yes. My brothers did a partial shift to prove themselves to their mates. I can do the same for you if you’d like.”
Cassidy gave him an exasperated look. “I’m an assassin. I’m not easily frightened. If you’re going to shift”—she did air quotes around the word—“go all the way and show me the entire thing.” Her tone definitely held the overture of a dare.
Marcus’s lips flattened into a straight thin line. “I can do that under one condition.”
“And that is?” she asked, rolling her eyes, still giving him attitude.
He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and twirled them on his finger. “I cuff you to a chair so you can’t run screaming from me until I explain everything.”
“Seriously? You want to cuff me?”
“It’s either the cuffs, or I don’t fully shift.”
Cassidy huffed out a breath and walked to the dining table. She dragged a chair to the center of the room and dropped into it with a scowl. “I don’t let people cuff me. Ever. You better not be a crazy person. Because if you are, the assassination is on again. And just so you know, when your big reveal doesn’t happen, I’m out of here.”
Marcus cuffed her quickly before she could change her mind. She could believe he was off his rocker all she wanted. Hell, if he were in her shoes, he’d feel the same way. But he’d fix her belief issues in a minute. “Okay.” He backed up as far as he could, then said, “When I’m in wolf form, I’m still in complete control and can understand everything you say. Don’t be afraid of my wolf. I won’t attack you or anything. Are you ready?”
She sighed and twisted her cuffed wrists. “Yeah. Just hurry up and do whatever you’re going to do, then get these cuffs off of me.”
In the blink of the eye, A coal-black wolf the size of a Shetland pony stood in the same place Marcus had just been.
“Jesus Christ!” Cassidy yanked at the cuffs, fighting so hard to free herself, she tipped over backward.
The wolf moved around her until it looked her in the eyes, then it laid down and waited. That’s when she realized the wolf had Marcus’s eyes. The beast’s coloring was the same as Marcus’s hair. Was it really possible? Did shifters exist? She narrowed her eyes at the wolf. Was she ready to drink the crazy Kool-Aid and believe what he was saying? Nope, not yet. “Prove this isn’t a magic trick and shift back.”
A heartbeat later, Marcus was before her.
Scowling, she narrowed her eyes again. “That’s a good trick, but I still don’t believe a man can change into a wolf at the snap of a finger. Put your hand on my arm so you can’t move without me knowing it and change into the wolf again.”
Sighing, Marcus placed his right hand on her arm and shifted.
Cassidy froze when the massive black wolf reappeared with its muzzle full of sharp teeth mere inches from her face. Then she felt its right paw on her arm. “Fucking A! You can turn into a wolf.” Crap, it looked like she was drinking the Kool-Aid after all.
The wolf chuffed softly and got to its feet. A blink later, Marcus was back. “Let me get those cuffs off of you. I’m sure it’s uncomfortable laying on the floor attached to a chair.”
He got to his knees and unlocked the cuffs, then held out his hand to help her up. “Let’s go back to the couch for the rest of what I have to say.”
Cassidy’s head jerked up. “There’s more? Isn’t turning into a wolf enough?”
Marcus chuckled again. “So much more.”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “I need a stiff drink.”
He grinned. “I can get that for you. What’s your poison?”
“Rum and coke. Heavy on the rum, please.”
He got busy making her cocktail and brought it back with a little pink umbrella added to the glass.
“Nice touch.” She took a big gulp and grimaced. “Okay, hit me with the rest of it before I change my mind.”
“I’m going to explain shifters first. It’s a bit of a story, so hang in there with me.” He paused as she took another gulp of her drink. “There’s an entity we shifters call the Goddess Luperca. She’s a high dimensional being who is endowed with the ability to co-create. In short, the one true creator, what many call God, made beings like Luperca with the ability to create.”
“Create what?”
Marcus scrubbed his face with his hands. “Well… all kinds of things. From races of sentient beings to entire planets. She’s the one who created the shifters.”
Cassidy frowned. “What do you mean by high dimensional?”
He rubbed his jaw. “Do you follow the posts online about things like spaceships and aliens? They’re all over social media and starting to show up on the news.”
“Yeah. I’ve read some of that stuff. It intrigues me. Being different myself, I thought I might learn something to explain why I’m the way I am.” Then she shrugged. “I’d bet that it won’t be long before aliens openly visit the planet. Did you know they’ve been secretly visiting our planet for like—ever? Who do you think built the pyramids? Personally, I’d like to meet one of them.”
He nodded. “A high dimensional being like Luperca is one of those aliens. But like way up the food chain of extra-terrestrials.”
“I knew aliens were real!” Grinning, she finished off her drink and held out the glass for a refill. Shaking it for good measure.
Marcus laughed but obediently made the drink, adding a purple umbrella this time.
She took a sip, then asked, “So this Luperca person is an alien. Why did she make shifters? What was her angle for doing that?”
“Brace yourself. Apparently, I’m a sixth-density or dimensional, the terms are interchangeable, being from the Sirius star system. Or at least I normally am. This incarnation, I’m just a third-dimensional shifter.”
Cassidy sat forward, obviously interested in the conversation. “So, if you’re third dimensional and can turn into a wolf, what am I? Second dimensional?”
“No, humans are third dimensional, as well, and quickly moving into fourth. But we digress. The shifter community was recently told our true history. There’s an evil race, the Reptilians, that attempted to wipe us out by scattering our mates across several planets. Over time, fewer and fewer soulmates were found. Because of that, our race began to die off from a lack of mates and children.
“Luperca approached us and offered to help us find our displaced mates amongst Earth’s population. She combined the DNA from the beings from the Sirius system and Earth to make the shifters. I’m told I agreed to incarnate on earth as a shifter in the hopes of finding my mate among Earth’s population.”
“What’s a Reptilian, and why do you keep saying that you were told?”
Marcus rubbed his chin again as he visualized the being so he could describe it. “Reptilians are exactly what you’re thinking. An ugly reptile humanoid. I
magine an alligator crossed with a human, with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth and lethal claws.”
Cassidy shivered.
“Exactly. As far as forgetting my past lives, the downside of incarnating as a shifter is total amnesia about our past lives on Maldar. That’s the name of our planet. It orbits Sirius B in the Canis Major system. I hear it’s an incredibly beautiful planet where the beings live in harmony with nature. Honestly, I’d love to be able to remember it. Some of the shifters are starting to get memories back but only tiny bits and pieces. Perhaps, one day soon, we’ll shake off the amnesia.”
She took another sip and cocked her head. “With all of the public interest in aliens, you better hope this information doesn’t get out. It would end badly for you.”
Marcus snorted. “I know.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?”
He cocked one brow and gave her a telling look. “You, Cassidy Ryan, are my mate.”
It was her turn to snort. “And you know that how?”
“There are three signs a shifter and his mate experience when they find each other. His mate has a special scent designed specifically for him. The essence draws him so strongly he can’t deny its pull. And when he hears his mate’s voice, well, all I can say is it’s indescribable. Lastly, he is able to communicate with her telepathically. You would have all of these experiences as well.” He said the last telepathically to make his point.
Cassidy stiffened. “Did you just talk in my head?”
A grin tugged at his lips. “Sure did.” He took a deep breath. “I also smell delicious oranges, grapefruits, and peaches.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I smell like a fruit salad?”
“Hey! Don’t knock it. I love fruit. So, what do I smell like to you?”
Cassidy leaned in and took a good sniff, then gasped. “The fresh, crisp air of a morning after a thunderstorm I’ve been smelling. I couldn’t figure out where it was coming from.”
He gave her a smug smile. “See. You’re my mate.”
She waved him off. “Whatever. You still haven’t told me what a mate is. If I’m one, I should know what it is.”
For this, he took her hand firmly in his. “Shifters have two souls, half of a human soul and a wolf soul. When mates find one another, there is a claiming that knits the two human halves together. The magic of the process links the two mates together, as well. Cassidy, we were created to complete each other. Once we claim each other, we’re mated, which is a shifters version of marriage.”
“Whoa there, big fella. I never agreed to that.” She tugged at the hand he was holding, but he refused to let go.
He chuckled and pulled her closer. “Calm down. I plan on courting you until you agree. Then I’ll tell you all about shifters and claim you as my mate. But for now, I’m just a man courting his woman. That’s half the fun, don’t you think? Speaking of courting, I’d love to take you to dinner.”
Twelve
Cassidy didn’t have fancy clothes to wear, so Antoine’s, with their dress code, was out of the question. Not that they would turn him away, but she would be embarrassed. In the end, he decided on Pierre Maspero’s. The restaurant had great food and a relaxed atmosphere.
He grinned when she ordered the Crescent City Sampler. She was new to the city and wanted to try everything. In the end, she settled on a plate of cajun jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, and chicken with andouille gumbo. He went with shrimp and cheesy grits with an extra spoon, knowing she’d want to try his dinner as well.
Halfway through dinner, his phone pinged with a message. “I better check that.” It was Cade’s response to the family meeting.
C: Tomorrow morning, conference room. Ten a.m. sharp.
M: We’ll be there.
“That was Cade. We have a rescue planning session in the morning.”
“Good. I don’t want my brother with Jones any longer than necessary. The bastard tends not to feed the people he throws into one of those cells.”
He placed his hand over hers. “We’ll have him back by dinner time tomorrow. I promise you.”
“Thank you. I’m not used to having help, but if I want to get Colin out alive, I’m going to need it.”
“What would you like to do after dinner? People watch? Dancing? Karaoke?”
“Karaoke? Yeah, no. I don’t sing. Strolling around the quarter would be nice. I haven’t had the chance to look around.”
“Okay, strolling it is.”
They exited the restaurant onto Saint Louis Street and started toward Bourbon Street but only made it one block up to Royal. “Let’s go right, you’ve already seen everything to the left.” To the left was where the condo and coffee shop were located.
“I love this street. It’s just so pretty and looks exactly like I pictured the French Quarter would.”
“It’s the prettiest street in the city.” They walked hand in hand, just spending time together.
Her gaze ricocheted from one storefront to the next. Up to the rooftops, then over the entire historic building. “This city is amazing.”
He looked around, trying to see things he’d seen all of his very long life through her eyes. She was absolutely right. It was amazing. He’d traveled the world and never found another place quite like New Orleans.
A couple of blocks down, he pointed out the Court of Two Sisters. “That’s another of my favorite places to eat. After we get your brother back, I’ll take you there.”
“I’ve heard of that place. The food is supposed to be fantastic.”
“It is. Come on. I want to show you Touchdown Jesus.”
Cassidy laughed. “What?”
He grinned down at her. “You’ll see.”
Less than two blocks farther on, he pulled her to a stop outside the fenced garden of the cathedral. Cassidy snorted when she slapped a hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter. “Wow. I bet the church didn’t do that intentionally.” The lighting on the statue threw a massive shadow on the back of the church that looked like Jesus had his arms up, signaling a football touchdown.
They wandered around for about an hour before Marcus said, “We never had dessert. Would you like to get something?”
“Sure.”
“What would you like? A dessert cocktail? Beignets?` Or something more decadent?”
She almost said him naked in her bed, but quickly squashed the words before they crossed her lips. “Anything chocolate works for me.”
Marcus smiled. Little laugh lines crinkled the edges of his glittering eyes. “I have just the thing in mind. We need to head back toward Canal Street. Would you like to take a look at one of my favorite antique shops along the way? Well, actually its antiques and interior decorating.”
Cassidy grinned up at him. How had he known that she loved antique stores? “I’d love to.”
“C’mon.” They started walking again. They passed a street performer covered head to toe in gold spray-paint. Every so often, a tourist stood next to him for a photo and dropped money in his donation box. Cassidy shook her head. “The things people will do for a buck.”
About three blocks short of the condo, he pulled her into the most amazing store she’d ever seen. She wasn’t a bling kind of girl, but Fischer-Gambino made her want to buy a chandelier for every room of the house she’d one day buy. Then she spotted a statue of two six-foot-tall giraffes. She had to have them in the home as well. She rounded a corner and fell in love. A rocking pig! It was like a rocking horse, but instead of a horse, it was the cutest pig ever.
“See something you like?” Marcus asked as he chuckled beside her.
“Yeah,” she said, her voice breathy with want.
“I thought you’d like this store. We can come back another time and buy whatever has caught your eye.”
She stretched to gaze over her shoulder at the rocking pig as he took her hand and pulled her toward the exit.
She was still thinking about the things she wanted from the store when the waitress brought their o
rder. She closed her eyes and breathed deep. Triple chocolate bread pudding ala mode. Heaven in a tin cup.
Cassidy pulled the spoon from her lips and licked a drop of chocolate sauce from her lips. She couldn’t help the groan of ecstasy that escaped.
Grinning, Marcus lifted his chin, indicating her dessert. “So? What do you think?”
She held up her hand, directing him to wait as she scooped up another spoonful of the fresh from the oven goodness. She tried not to moan. Really, she did. Licking the back of the spoon clean, she said, “Oh my God. This is by far the best thing I’ve ever put in my mouth. My tongue has never been so happy.”
He cocked one brow, with a suggestive smirk on his face. That’s when she realized she said something that could be taken several ways. Instead of making a comment, he dug into his dessert.
With her third bite, she said, “We need to come here again.”
When her tongue slipped out to lick her lips, his gaze fixed on her mouth. With a voice an octave lower than usual, he growled, “Anytime, baby.”
He kept himself under control for fifteen swipes of that little pink tongue. When her tongue had darted out to lick away a smudge of chocolate for the sixteenth time, he lost it. He couldn’t think of anything but her lips on his. Her tongue sliding along his.
His gaze locked onto the corner of her mouth where her tongue had just been. He was like a dog on point, waiting for his prey to reappear. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “We need to go. Right now.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she twisted in her chair to check the front door and windows. “Did you see something suspicious?”
He tossed a wad of bills on the table, stood, and helped her to her feet. “This has nothing to do with Jones.”
Thankfully, Cassidy got to her feet and allowed him to drag her out of the restaurant without making a fuss.