“What does the man look like? Tell me exactly.”
“I don’t know sir.”
“You said that you’d met her, have you been lying to me?” Vincent hissed angrily.
As soon as he asked the question, the seemingly harmless man began to look dangerous. There was nothing overtly different about him, but the sudden change in his demeanour certainly inspired fear in him. “No sir,” Dominic assured hurriedly. “I know better than to come here and do that.”
“Then explain yourself.”
“I’ve met the woman in person. I didn’t recognise her at first, but the woman I saw is definitely the one that you’re looking for.”
“And the man?”
“There’s definitely a man with her, but I haven’t actually seen him.”
“Well that certainly isn’t helpful, I would have liked to see if the man that’s with her is one of the men that came to retrieve her from our care.”
“I may not have seen him, but I can still give you a decent description of what he looks like.”
“And just how accurate would this description be if you have not even laid eyes on the man?”
“All the people that I’ve spoken to have been very consistent in describing him, I’d say that the description is fairly accurate.”
“Give it to me then.”
“His name is Sebastian and he’s supposedly very tall. He has a lean build, not overly muscular. Short cut red hair and brown eyes.”
Vincent nodded pleased. Though the description was vague, it matched to what he had seen of the man in the surveillance footage. “You’ve done well to bring this to my attention Dominic.”
“Thank you sir, we all have to do what we can to wipe these monsters out. I believe that you’re a man who will know what to do with such information. Not many branches can claim to have actually captured a werewolf, for this branch to have done so only demonstrates your ability to lead,” Dominic praised.
“You wish to transfer to this branch?” Vincent mused aloud, smiling at the eager look that had appeared on Dominic’s face.
“Yes sir, nothing would please me more.”
“Fine, I’ll arrange for you to be moved to here.” We’re low on members anyway; eager new blood is exactly what I need. “I’m not the easiest leader to serve under, are you sure that this is what you want?”
“Yes sir.”
“Once you’re a member of my branch, I won’t allow you to leave. Even trying to do so is seen as the ultimate betrayal in my mind and you don’t want to know what I do to traitors. So I’ll ask you one last time, are you sure that this is what you want?”
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my life sir. This is what I want, I won’t change my mind and I won’t try to leave this branch. If you ask for complete dedication, then you have it.”
“Good, we won’t talk of the matter again. You are now, as far as I’m concerned, a full fledged member of this branch.”
“Thank you sir.”
“Now let’s get back to the more important matter of my escaped wolf. I want to know everything so tell me.”
“Of course sir. The wolf goes by the name of Erica and she moved into my town not too long ago. I was away on a training exercise when she her and the male first moved in, otherwise I might have been able to discover her true identity far sooner.”
“It couldn’t be helped,” Vincent sighed.
“I only met her by chance. I was restocking my house with the essentials that I needed after being away from it for so long and saw her. As I said, I didn’t recognise her at first, she looked familiar but I couldn’t place where I had seen her face. It was only when she said something about having seen my tattoo before that the wheels in my mind started to turn, joining the dots until I recognised her as the woman that you were searching for.”
“She said something to you about your tattoo?”
“Yes sir.”
“That’s odd,” Vincent mumbled under his breath, confused by her actions. After the talk that he’d had with Robert, he had conceded, albeit reluctantly that his superior officer had been right in some of the things he had said. He didn’t know as much about the history of their organisation as a commanding officer should. He hadn’t risen through the ranks in the traditional way and as a result he hadn’t acquired the same knowledge as the other branch leaders. That fact had been made glaringly obvious by Robert’s words and he had taken measures to remedy the situation. His wide reading had told him that it was often the tattoo that all hunters bore upon their skin that told the werewolf what they were up against. The mark served as a sign of identification for their members and though it made them easily identifiable by the enemy, they were in the right; they had no need to hide what they were. They weren’t the monsters, the wolves were.
Erica's actions were therefore a conundrum. She had only commented about the mark and not displayed any signs of aggression towards a member of a group that had inflicted so much pain upon her. It simply didn’t make sense.
“What exactly did she say?”
“She only said that she recognised it.”
“No signs of aggression? No evidence of anger?”
“No sir.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes sir. She asked about my tattoo. I didn’t tell her where it was likely she could have seen it and then she continued with her shopping.”
“She carried on shopping?” Vincent demanded, his tone incredulous. “After she saw the tattoo?”
“Yes sir.”
“What exactly is going on? She was calm after seeing the mark that told her who you were. She would have known that you were one of us and she didn’t try to do anything? Something isn’t right.”
“About that sir,” Dominic hedged, realising that his news wasn’t likely to be appreciated by his new commanding officer.
“What is it man? Speak up. Now isn’t the time to be acting shy,” he shouted, slamming his hands against the desk.
“There is a slight complication.”
“What sort of complication?”
“The woman seems to have had an accident of some sort and apparently she can’t remember anything about her life before it.”
“Nothing?”
“I think so sir.”
“How can you be so sure? She could simply be pretending.”
“Judging from your reaction to her lack of reaction upon seeing my tattoo, you also realise that something is wrong. She saw my tattoo sir and she didn’t get angry, she didn’t flinch in fear. All she said was that it was interesting. She told me that she thought that she might have seen it before but she didn’t demonstrate the typical reaction of a werewolf when they see one of our tattoos. I think that she might have actually forgotten the monster she really is.”
“That’s impossible. You can’t simply forget what you are.”
“I know sir, but I think that she might have. According to what I’ve heard, her and the male have only moved to the town in order to help her recovery. It doesn’t make any sense for them to concoct such an elaborate story without a reason behind it. From what I understand, they live their entire lives among others of their kind, there has never been a case of a wolf being exiled and forced to live away from the others. They have no reason to be living in a town full of humans unless what I’ve heard is true,” Dominic explained, defending his position.
“I want you to take me to her. There’s one way to find out if she really has forgotten or not. I doubt that she could fake being calm around me. If my presence doesn’t draw a reaction from her then it is possible that what you say is true.” And I’m sure I can find a way to make her memory loss work in our favour.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Erica! Erica!” The loud screaming of her name was the only warning that Erica received before she was almost bowled over by two small bodies colliding with her. Little arms were wrapped around her legs and waist so tightly that Erica was convinced that if they had been a
little taller their embrace would seriously have impaired her ability to breath. Their young limbs were far stronger than she would have thought possible and their hold refused to slacken. She tried to bend down to return their hug but they held tight and she found that she couldn’t bend her legs to reach them.
“We missed you Erica.” They smiled.
As gently as possible, she pried herself from their grip before crouching down so that she was at eye level with them. “I missed you too,” she said without the slightest hint of guilt.
The first memory about her siblings seemed to have triggered a landslide and new memories about them had flooded her mind since last night and with each new one that surfaced, she found that she did indeed miss the troublesome duo. Though she didn’t yet possess all of her memories, she felt as though there was a distinct something missing without them around. It felt good to have her family around her once again and as they rushed into her spread arms, the sensation only got better.
Despite the fact that she now recalled more than she had since her accident, she wasn’t content. All the memories she had regained related to the two small children within her arms, no new memories had surfaced about the man that consumed her waking thoughts. She wasn’t sure exactly how he managed to stay so calm at all times. If the situation was reversed and her fiancé seemed to be remembering everyone but her, she wouldn’t be pleased. The idea that she was disappointing him nagged at her, but when she told Sebastian of her concerns, he had simply smiled and told her not to worry. As was fast becoming tradition, when it concerned her he allowed almost anything to pass, putting his own needs and concerns second to her own. The man should apply for sainthood. Was the thought that constantly came to mind as the recipient of his selfless behaviour.
Disregarding all of his warning to the contrary, she had sat up most of the night awake in her bed, determined to remember something about him from before the accident. Being a disappointment to him was no longer an option and she was determined to do everything in her power to stop being a burden to him. For all her hard work, she hadn’t managed to learn anything new and had fallen asleep after the headache from trying to force memories to surface had become too much for her to handle. Despite the knowledge that the previous night was a spectacular failure, she knew that she would try again tonight, and the night after that until she had accomplished her mission. Even if the memory she recovered was small, it would be a step in the right direction and that was all that mattered.
From her position on the floor, she watched as Sebastian entered the house with two large bags in his hands. She presumed that the bags were the filled with her sibling’s belongings though she was unsure of how two small children managed to amass such a large amount of stuff. The bags looked heavy; the muscles in Sebastian's arms straining as he walked, a bag in each hand, into the living room.
“Sebastian? You want some help?” she asked from above her brother and sister’s heads.
“I’m fine sweetheart. You just spend time with your brother and sister. Don’t worry about this.”
“Are you sure?” she pressed. The bags appeared very heavy and she didn’t want him doing everything alone, that wasn’t what a relationship was meant to be about.
“Yes.” He smiled, walking down the hall and disappearing into one of the bedrooms.
“Dylan, Wyatt, do you mind letting me go? I have to close the door.”
“No,” Wyatt stated emphatically, his grip on her waist tightening.
“Come on now, we can’t just leave the door open, the cold air will get in and that isn’t good for your health.”
“Don’t care.” Dylan pouted apparently taking on the same line of thought as her brother.
Erica sighed heavily, feeling the beginnings of a long uphill battle of wills emerging. “Come on you two, I’m not going far.”
“No.”
“If you don’t let me go, how am I meant to make your cake?” Erica reasoned, resorting to quasi-bribery in an attempt to have the children release her.
“The special birthday cake?” Dylan questioned.
“Yes, that’s the one. I told you I would try and make it for you but I’m not going to be able to do that if you won’t let me go.”
“She has a good point,” Wyatt conceded. “I want cake, don’t you?” His small arms finally released her and he took a step back.
Dylan's gaze wandered between her brother and her sister before she decided that Wyatt was right. If they wanted cake then Erica had to be free to move about.
“Thank you.” Erica grinned, standing up and moving towards the door.
Her attempt to shut it was stopped by a small hand coming in between the door and the frame. Erica's brow furrowed in confusion as her gaze wandered over the body that was attached to the arm. The woman in front of her was short and would have been so even had Erica not been so tall. Her skin was a warm caramel and bright green eyes sat in a smiling face with curling brown hair falling haphazardly around her face. The woman’s bright smile reminded Erica of the one thing she hated most about suffering from amnesia. It was impossible to tell if people were smiling at you because they thought it was the polite thing to do or if they were doing it because they actually knew you and were awaiting recognition.
Deciding to be direct, Erica asked calmly, “Do I know you?”
The woman’s smile didn’t falter. “ Nope,” she chuckled. “Well, not personally. You and I’ve never met before but I know of you.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know you and I have other things to be doing right now, so if you’ll excuse me.” Erica's hand moved as if to close the door but the hand stopped her once again.
“I’m sorry, I know this is sudden, but I just wanted to check on you and Sebastian to see how you two were doing.”
“You know Sebastian? Or do you just know of him?”
“Now Sebastian I definitely know.” As if to prove her point, the woman slipped under her arm and entered the house, rushing to embrace Sebastian as he walked back into the living room.
Sebastian didn’t fall when the small body collided with his own. The only movement he made was a very small step back as though the woman’s weight was inconsequential. An unreasonable surge of jealousy coursed through Erica as her eyes narrowed in on the woman’s arms around Sebastian. She hadn’t thought she was a jealous person, but this one encounter proved that she had been wrong. The feeling was very much alive within her, alive and dangerous. The urge to inflict bodily harm on the unknown woman was beginning to seem more and more reasonable the longer she was against Sebastian.
Why they hell are you letting that hussy drape herself all over him? The increasingly familiar voice within her mind hissed. He’s ours! Get her away from him or God help her, I’ll do it myself.
I was wondering where you’d gone, Erica mused, eliciting an angry growl from her mental counterpart.
What does it matter where I was? Get rid of her!
So you did go somewhere?
I’ve been dormant, it howled. Think of it like hibernation, there’s practically no point in me being out about when you can’t even chang – Oh for crying out loud! I should have known better than to leave you alone, because apparently this is what happens. I come up to check on you and you’re just letting some random woman touch our Sebastian. Kick her out! Throw her out of our home. Kill the bitch if you have to.
I have no idea who she is. I can’t just throw her out. She might be a friend of his, Erica reasoned, trying to remain calm despite the fact that she was seriously contemplating acting on the voice’s suggestion.
I don’t care! The only people that have any excuse for being that close to him are his mother and his sister. She’s too young to be his mother and there’s no way that she’s his sister, just look at her. Get rid of her.
The woman was saved from harm as Sebastian pushed her away from him, holding her at arms length. “Alex, what are you doing here?” he demanded.
“I came to see you sill
y,” she laughed, the joyous sound only serving to increase Erica's anger.
“Why?”
“That’s a silly question. You vanished without a word and then I hear all about what happened from Ryan. Who wouldn’t make a trip up here to see you?”
“You. After what happened with you and Elijah, I’m surprised Tobias even let you out of his sight for a second. I know that I wouldn’t if I were in his position.” His brows drew together as a thought occurred to him. “Tobias does know that you’re here right?”
“Of course he does.” She laughed and Sebastian sighed deeply with relief. His relief however was short lived as Alex continued to further explain herself. “I left him a note. He should have read it by now.”
“A note? You left him a note and just up and disappeared from the estate?”
“Yes.”
“What is it with you women and your notes? They aren’t helpful and we males don’t like them. In fact, I for one can say without a shadow of a doubt that I hate them with a passion.”
“You talk as though you’re speaking from experience. Did Erica leave you a note and go somewhere?” She laughed, pulling away from Sebastian's grip to face her. “I like your style. These guys worry too much sometimes. I think if they had their way then we’d be wrapped up in cotton in a tower somewhere, or at least I think Tobias would.”
“Tobias?” Erica asked confused.
“I never did introduce myself did I?” Erica shook her head. “I’m Alex.” She held out her hand in greeting and Erica gripped it firmly as she shook it. “Tobias is Sebastian's cousin and Tobias is my ma…husband,” Alex corrected hurriedly, hoping Sebastian wouldn’t be too upset with her slip of tongue.
“Oh.” Well that explains why she was so friendly with Sebastian. They are family in a way.
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