CHAPTER FIVE
“Hello, beautiful! Time to wake up.”
A hand slapped at my face lightly.
Shooting my eyes open, I then closed them instantly.
I groaned and held my head, feeling as if my skull were hammering back and forth. I could barely breathe, my chest constricted, an elephant of weight on top of it.
I hissed, “What did you do to me?”
“Nothing. You were just a casualty of Alaric’s big ass body when he fell.” The voice was Cass’s. He slapped at my face lightly again. “Do you want to get out from under him now? If not, Wolfe and I can leave you two to it.”
Wolfe chuckled on my left.
I peeked with one eye.
My back was smashed against dark hardwood floors, and a muscular and massive body was lying on top of mine. No wonder I couldn’t breathe properly. Alaric’s shoulder was pressed against my cheekbone, my head turned away from him where he was sprawled over me.
I grumbled, “Get him off me.”
“That we can do.” Wolfe stepped forward.
I blinked dumbly up at him. “You’re Wolfe Cooper. Of Cooper Corporation.”
His lips quirked up on one side. “Yes, I am.”
I sighed and closed my eyes. “This isn’t exactly how I would have liked to meet you.” I opened my eyes again and forced a smile through the pain in my skull. “I’m Faith Peyton. It’s nice to meet you.”
He chuckled quietly. “Well, Faith, how about we get this oaf off you, and see how bad you’re hurt?”
“My head. That’s it. But yes, please get him off.”
Wolfe bent down…and picked Alaric up with ease, tossing him over his shoulder like a net full of fish. “Cass will take it from here. I’m going to put this one to bed. He’s going to be out for a while.”
I sucked in a large lungful of air, the pressure of his body gone. I gasped, “Thank you.”
He nodded his head of gray hair and started strolling down the hallway like this was all completely normal. He mumbled over his free shoulder, “You’re welcome.”
I blinked and massaged my forehead, eyeing the man who was still crouched next to me.
Now, he had a coat that would be warm.
I flicked a finger at the silver fur coat. “I like your fur, and I need a new winter jacket. Where did you get it?”
Raising a silver eyebrow, he picked at his jacket with delicate fingers. “Oh, this old thing? Believe me, you don’t want one just like mine. I had to kill a man to make this.”
I kept rubbing my forehead. “Somehow I don’t think you’re lying.” I lifted my hand toward him when he grinned. “Help me up, would you?”
He grabbed my hand with one of his and placed his other one behind my back. “Carefully. I don’t want you fainting.”
Ever so gradually, he lifted me to my feet.
I held onto his hand as I wobbled.
Cass moved behind me and softly examined the side of my head. I only winced once. While his fingers continued to probe my head, he mumbled, “You’re not bleeding, so you don’t need any stitches. Although, if you want this goose egg to disappear easily, then have sex with Alaric. It’ll be gone right after that.”
I massaged my temples and steadied my feet. “I have entered some alternate universe. None of what you’re saying is making any sense.” I pulled my brows together. “Maybe I should go see a doctor.”
Cass stepped back in front of me, his silver eyes full of humor. He shook his head, and his crazy silver hair swayed in an unseen breeze. He snickered. “You’re just fine, Ms. Peyton. You don’t need to see a doctor.”
“Faith,” I corrected. “You can call me Faith.”
He waved a hand in front of himself in a grand affair, even dipping into a regal bow. “And I am Cassander, Faith. But you may call me Cass or Cassander. Whichever you prefer. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
“Hell of a way to meet.” I eyed his hands as he straightened. He had fine hands. Long fingers and strong. “Did something happen to your hand earlier?”
Cass nodded and raised his hand. He spread his fingers wide, palm up. The man whispered, “Watch. It’s magic.”
I snorted, but my breath caught in my throat.
A white ball formed in the palm of his hand, bright and pure. Delicate and small. The one before had been much larger.
My mouth flapped until I mumbled, “You’re serious, aren’t you?” I raised my eyes toward his slowly. I couldn’t hide the wonder gleaming there. “Magic is real?”
He closed his hand into a fist, the light extinguishing. The magician tossed his left arm over my shoulder and started maneuvering us into one of the rooms, a living room full of rustic furniture, like an old hunting lodge.
He asked candidly, “I’ve been waiting some time to ask you this, ever since I first saw you in a vision. Why would you so readily believe in real magic when the rest of the world doesn’t?”
I shrugged under his arm. “I’ve read a lot of fictional stories. I guess I’ve always hoped there was more out there. Humans are so boring and drab.”
He snorted. “I wouldn’t say that, but I understand your meaning.” Cass waved a hand in front of us in a large arc. “Are you ready to learn all about the world that you’ve stumbled upon?”
Narrowing my eyes, I said, “I don’t have to fall down some rabbit hole to hear it, do I?”
His head tipped back, and he roared with laughter. “Faith, you’re one of my favorites. But, shh, don’t tell anyone, okay?”
I merely lifted a brow. “Rabbit hole?”
He continued laughing, his silver eyes beaming at me. “Just a couch to sit on while I talk. I promise.”
“And maybe something for this pain. My head is killing me.”
“I imagine I can find something here.” He side-eyed me. “But, truly, if you just wake up the man sleeping upstairs and have sex with him, it’ll cure all your ills.”
I snorted and sat down carefully on the couch. “I think you better start at the beginning.” I waved a hand. “What are you? Magicians? Because Alaric sure isn’t human and neither are you.”
“We’re not magicians. Although all of my closest friends do have a special added something-something. Like, Alaric can go into berserker mode. When he does that, only our king can stop him normally. Or me, as a last resort. And I sure as hell wouldn’t actually want to fight him when he’s like that.”
I blinked. “I said the beginning. Like, how you knew my name before you even met me.”
“Ah.” He waved his hand up and down his frame. “Welcome to the wonderful world of Shifters 101. I’ll be happy to lecture tonight…once I get you some medicine.”
I lifted a weak fist into the air. “Amen, brother.”