At least, she didn’t think they were.
“What about your father? You only mentioned your mother so far.” Lukas felt like the conversation was progressing well, but as soon as he mentioned Cassandra’s father she suddenly donned this crestfallen expression. Maybe he’d probed too much, but he couldn’t take it back now. Watching her fork her shrimp alfredo in the growing silence, he couldn’t help but frown until she opened her mouth.
“My dad died when I was nine. He was a police officer and he tried to stop a robbery without backup.” Creasing his eyebrows, Lukas could tell that it was a sensitive subject so he didn’t push for more, and after a moment Cassandra heaved a breath. Stabbing a shrimp with her fork, she pushed it behind her teeth and he was kind of surprised when she forcibly shirked her somber attitude. To him it looked practiced, as if she did it all the time. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but wonder the last time she had a good cry. Her perpetual happiness suddenly didn’t seem so happy.
“But, anyway… you mentioned a housemate?” Changing the subject, Cassandra trained her eyes on Lukas as his frown smoothened before twirling her fork in her noodles.
“Yeah, my friend Alex. He owns a big oil company so he travels a lot. It’s really just me housesitting because he’s hardly ever home.”
Once dinner was over Lukas drove back to his apartment with Cassandra in the front passenger seat and couldn’t help but feel smug at how satisfied she looked. Now that he’d gotten a chance to know her she was really easy to please. It was a relief because he absolutely despised high maintenance women.
*****
“Thank you for dinner. It was amazing. I feel kinda bad because I walk down that street to get to downtown and I must’ve passed it a dozen times.” Smiling at her as he pulled into the underground parking structure, Lukas didn’t really offer a response as his inner beast began to get excited. The last time Cassandra was in an elevator with him she’d jumped him, latching onto him like a koala and kissed him fervently. It was an acute reminder that she wasn’t exactly all nicey-nicey and innocent. Just as much as he’d excited and explored her she’d done the same to him by doing things that were far from vanilla.
Under her dress Cassandra felt her nipples tighten as soon as the elevator doors closed her in with Lukas. Being alone with him in a box that offered such delicious memories was already making her hot, but she tried her best not to shuffle and reveal her discomfort. She didn’t want him thinking she was a tramp, getting turned on by even being near him.
“You know, I can smell how wet you’re getting, baby. I can hear your heart beating faster and harder, too.” Jumping with a little squeak of surprise when Lukas whispered in her ear, Cassandra’s face turned five shades of red before he grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. His eyes captured hers, and a small gasp flew from her lips at the simple fact that they weren’t brown anymore.
Instead, they were a reptilian green, complete with slits for pupils.
“I have very, very good senses, Cassy. Does this turn you on, baby? Staring into the eyes of a beast that wants to tie you down and fuck you until you can’t walk.” Lukas’ voice was husky, like he was speaking from deep within his throat, and Cassandra whimpered, clenching her legs together as her womb pulsed with force. Opening her mouth, she accidentally blurted out the first thing that came to her mind without thinking or filtering it.
“I don’t like this…!” Watching Cassandra go wide eyed as her squeal bounced around him, Lukas recognized his mistake immediately and just as quickly his beast backed off, turning his eyes back to brown. That small change alone made her sad a little, and he let go of her chin to caress her cheek.
“I’m sorry, baby. I shouldn’t have been so harsh.” Silently berating himself, he spoke gently as he felt the elevator stop and felt a wash of relief when she nodded hastily. Her frazzled expression told him he’d pushed her enough even though he hadn’t meant to.
Frankly his inner animal was like a child, taking a mile when only given an inch.
“What was that, Lukas? Why did your eyes change color? Wh…” Once inside Lukas’s apartment Cassandra started asking questions left and right, and she was only silenced when he thumbed her bottom lip. Gently redirecting her to the couch, he sat her down but continued to stand, simply looking down at her with an unreadable expression. It was kind of nerve wracking because she’d never seen him so serious before. Twiddling her fingers, it seemed like a very long time before he finally spoke up.
“I know this is out of the blue but I wanted you to know something before we go further, Cassy.” Just when Cassandra thought she was in the clear, Lukas started to take off his shirt and she was struck by how masculine he was. In no way was he a professional body builder but he was still extremely muscular. Truly it was something she liked, feeling small and dainty and feminine underneath him. Scanning the toned contours of his chest and shoulders, she licked her lips absently before he cleared his throat with a smirk on his face.
“Don’t think this is it, baby. Just watch.”
Nodding absently, Cassandra shook her head a little to clear the fog in her mind before Lukas turned so she could see his profile. Before she had time to ogle him further things took an entirely unexpected turn when his muscles began to move. Going a little wide eyed, she didn’t even blink as his back began to ripple almost unnaturally until his skin tore open. Something bloody poked out, growing longer and wider, and only faintly she heard the sound of bond cracking and popping.
When Lukas’s leathery wings were fully extended he turned so his back was facing Cassandra but it was more to contemplate the shock on her face. He expected it of course, but being confronted by it was an entirely different matter. It made him wonder if this was the right time to expose himself since they still didn’t know much about each other. As the silence stretched, he felt a wiggle of regret slither through his veins.
“… Yo-… I-… You hav-ve…” Reaching up to rub her jaw at her stutter, he finally turned to face her before nodded firmly.
“Yes. I have wings. I’m a shifter, to put it bluntly. You know what that is, right?” Staring rather dumbly, Cassandra didn’t really offer a response as she tried to wrap her mind around what Lukas was showing her. Of course she’d read books and seen movies, but the fact that it was right in front of her, with no use of CGI at all, was very startling. Furrowing her eyebrows, she hid her frown behind her palm but he saw it anyway before the appendages protruding from his shoulder blades slowly disappeared.
“I know it’s a lot to put on you, Cassy. I just… I really like you and I wanted you to know.”
“I- I’m flattered… I think. I mean… can… can I just not think about it right now?” Cassandra wasn’t trying to be rude, but she wondered what Lukas honestly expected of her. Never had she thought in her wildest dreams that this kind of thing would happen, and it was so outlandish it was hard to believe. Redirecting her eyes to her lap, she felt hot shame flame her cheeks. If he liked her enough to unveil this to her she wasn’t sure what that meant about their relationship. Sure, they’d had sex a few times but did that really warrant such drastic action.
“Hey.” Glancing up at the tender call, she watched him take a seat next to her on the couch to watch her with intense eyes.
“No pressure, okay? I wouldn’t rush you.”
“I think I should go home… please.” Hearing those tiny words come out of Cassandra’s mouth made Lukas sigh, but he had prepared for this outcome, even if it was rather poorly.
“Yeah.”
*****
The drive from his apartment to her house was uncomfortable at best, and all she did was look out the window the whole time. It was probably the most agonizing twenty minutes of his life, and he held the steering wheel tightly as he silently scolded himself. He should’ve waited, but wanting to get this out of the way was pressing on him. If she knew what he was and didn’t want to be with him because of it he would be crushed, but he would understand. Sh
e was only human, after all. On that same note if she wanted to be with him it was a vital piece of information she had to know. He wanted her to accept him and have one of those relationships where secrets were pillow talk.
Maybe it was a lot to reveal in just a week’s acquaintance, but there was no going back now.
“Thank you for dinner.” Speaking up as she opened the passenger side door, Cassandra didn’t wait for a response as she clamored out of the car and rushed up to her house. She felt sick and she wasn’t sure why. Her mind spun with what Lukas had showed her and left little attention for anything else. Pushing open her front door, she accidentally slammed it but her mother’s call flew right over her head as she rushed up the stairs to her bedroom.
Leaning on the inside of the barrier, Cassandra slid to her butt and covered her face with her hands. Complicated things didn’t work well with her, and this was way out of her comfort zone.
“Casey? Honey, are you okay? What happened on your date?” Cassandra sniffled as her mother’s concern floated through the wooden door, and she pushed herself up to open it. She wasn’t sure what she should say, but she told her mom everything and usually got sound advice.
“The date was great, Mom… I just… don’t know. It’s moving a little fast, I guess.”
When Lukas made it back to his apartment, Alex was sitting on the couch, staring intently at the blank, black screen to the TV. He was definitely not in the mood for a conversation, but the slender man seemed dead set on expressing his opinion as he stormed towards the open kitchen.
“You know you didn’t fuck that up as bad as it seems, right Lukas? I mean, I heard the whole thing and it could’ve gone a lot worse. You gotta remember that humans are fragile.” Snorting roughly, Lukas grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and leaned on the counter to heave a breath. If he wanted to be honest with himself his housemate was right. Things could’ve gone a lot worse than they had. He’d just held on to the hope that she’d toss his shifting abilities to the side and accept it instantly. Obviously that was wrong, but sometimes things just didn’t work out that easily.
“Don’t worry, man. Give her a few days and she’ll be okay. You remember when you first showed me I nearly tried to kill you.” At the reminder Lukas let out a groan and Alex chuckled. They’d only just moved in together after a year or so of friendship. It’d been a dark month or so afterwards since Alex was always on guard, trying to find a reason to stab him.
“Yeah, yeah. I remember. This is different, though.” In fact, Lukas couldn’t express how badly he wanted Cassandra in his life. Even if they never spoke about his shifting, if she just ignored it, he wouldn’t even care. Most shifters wanted acceptance from their partners, but if he didn’t have that it wouldn’t matter because at least he had her.
Licking her lips, Cassandra hopped off the city bus at the stop nearest to her house and reached up to scratch her head. It’d only been two days since the episode in Lukas’s apartment, but she still had a hard time thinking about it. Over the past forty-eight hours, she realized it was probably a horrible idea to just leave him hanging like she did, but in hindsight she couldn’t think of doing it any differently. Reciting the scenes over again in her mind for the umpteenth time, she let out a sigh as her sneakers hit concrete.
“If you like him that much I don’t think you have a problem, honey. You know, I married your father after a month of knowing him and we were together for thirteen years before he died.” Cassandra frowned as her mother’s words came into her mind’s eye. Her memory of her father wasn’t all that great, but she knew her parents loved each other. If he were alive they’d probably still love each other, too. They’d always been what she felt a husband and wife should be like.
The problem now was that she had such an opportunity, but she just couldn’t get over what Lukas had showed her.
“Mom! What are you doing?” Shrieking at the top of her lungs, Cassandra ran the last block home when she noticed through her thoughts that her mother was stacking boxes in the driveway. It wouldn’t have been a big deal, but they were filled with her stuff. She knew her mother was pretty eccentric but this was absolutely insane as the older woman smiled at her as she skidded to a halt on the walkway.
“It’s time for you to move out, Casey. I’ve already called Ryce and told her not to let you stay at her place either. You need to stop running from your problems, you hear? I don’t care where you go, but you can’t stay here anymore. You’re twenty-one years old, time to grow up.” Staring with wide eyes, Cassandra’s jaw nearly hit the ground in shock as her mother’s words washed over her.
“You’re kicking me out? But you can’t! I have nowhere to go!”
“Yes you do. Now, I know you think this is sudden, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. Ryce moved out and made something of herself. You should too. You can’t stay here and float through life on a short breeze, Casey.” Blinking slowly, Cassandra felt her face heat up when she realized what this was really about. Sure, her mother might’ve wanted her to move out for a long time, but this was all because she was avoiding Lukas. She wasn’t answering his texts or taking his calls and she did nothing but sulk over the issue with him.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this to me over a guy!” Instead of responding Cassandra’s mother simply shrugged, and she smiled on her way back into the house. It was about time her daughter flew the coop anyway, the circumstance was just perfect. For the past year she wanted Casey out, but not maliciously. The poor girl hadn’t even been out of the city she was born in, and that was just plain sad. Besides, she saw the way Lukas looked at Cassandra, and it was that very same look Paul had given her before they were married.
Pulling out her cell phone with shaking fingers, Cassandra tapped around until she reached her sister’s phone number before initiating the call. When she got an instant hang up she let out a groan tears welled in her eyes. Frustration couldn’t begin to explain what she was feeling, but somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was stupid for not expecting this. Her mother had brought up moving out a few times since the deal with NextGen went through. It shouldn’t surprise her that she would do something so abruptly because that’s just how she was.
“Hey, Cassy, I…” Closing her eyes at the sound of Lukas’s voice through the phone, Cassandra cut him off before she lost her nerve.
“C- can you come get me? My mom… kicked me out.” It was nearly seven in the evening and the sun was setting rather fast, but she didn’t want to be stuck outside at night. Although she’d lived here in this house her entire life things changed in the dark. Slumping as she sat on the stairs in front of the door, she propped her forehead on her palm before Lukas spoke up again.
“She what? Yeah, I’ll be right there.” Just like that Lukas hung up, and Cassandra set her cell phone next to her to wait, wondering why things that happened to her felt so forced.
*****
It only took Lukas ten minutes to make the twenty-minute drive to her house, but Cassandra still felt a spike of nervousness at seeing him again. She didn’t have any friends that she knew well enough to call, but logically she shouldn’t have called him either. Watching him park in front of her boxes still stacked in the driveway, she licked her lips as the moisture suddenly drained from her mouth. This shouldn’t be so hard. Every time they’d seen each other it was nice; when they slept together it was even better. Unlike a normal hook up she didn’t feel horrible about it, or that she had to rush out while he was sleeping to avoid feeling ashamed.
“Hey, are you okay, Cassy?” Lukas acted like he was going to hug her but he paused, and Cassandra held her cheek in her palm as she shook her head. In the end he only sat next to her but even then he didn’t touch her even though she knew he wanted to.
“This is all your fault. My mom kicked me out because of you.” Frowning, Lukas didn’t detect any accusation in Cassandra’s tone, but she was obviously troubled. Rubbing his jaw absently, he let the silence tick on as he
tried to think of something to say. These past three days had been absolute torture, and he shouldn’t have expected their reunion to be explosive because she just wasn’t that kind of person. He thought he’d get screamed at and unloaded upon, but she was keeping everything bottled up.
It was similar to when he’d asked about her father.
“I know you’re not exactly comfortable with me right now, baby, but I never intended to scare you. It’s okay to be afraid, and I won’t take away that right. You just have to understand that it was either tell you in the beginning and suffer through getting over it, or wait and lie to you until you found out and that might’ve not been in such a neutral way. If something happened to you down the road… even if we were just friends, I wouldn’t be able to control myself. I didn’t want to pile that on you. I wanted to tell you on my terms, not when you were scared out of your mind. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t want to be with me knowing what you know.”
Clenching her hands into fists as Lukas talked, Cassandra squeezed her eyelids together as tears threatened to assault her once again. He just sounded so understanding, and it hurt her chest to know it was about her. Taking a few deep breaths through her nose, she tried not to shake from the force of holding in her emotions. She hadn’t cried since her father passed away, but this experience was very similar and she wasn’t comfortable at all.
“I jus-st don’t know what to feel. This is so hard.” Stuttering slightly, Cassandra pursed her lips together as she stared at her knees and Lukas clasped his hands under his legs. Really it was just to keep from touching her, since he knew she probably wouldn’t appreciate even a comforting pat right now. He absolutely despised everything that was going on right now, but he knew he had to at least try. Giving her options didn’t seem like a good idea, though. She needed to be told straight forward instead of getting more confused.
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