Chapter Eighteen
“For the last time, shine her. She doesn’t need to remember this.”
Lillian wrinkled her nose. The neighbors were arguing again it seemed.
“I’m telling you, it won’t take. She remembers. There’s something special about this woman. Don’t tell me you managed to not notice what happened in the alley?”
“I saw, but that doesn’t change it. Shine her.”
Lillian blinked a few times as she listened. This wasn’t her home, and those weren’t her neighbors. The voices sounded familiar, very familiar.
Once again, Lillian was waking up in a place that she didn't know. Only this time, it wasn't like waking up from a foggy dream where everything was unclear. Everything she'd seen this time was still clear in her head, not some distant dreamlike memory that she couldn't be sure of.
Her hand instantly went to her neck to feel the spot where the monster was intent on sinking his fangs.
"You weren't bit."
She glanced over to the source of the voice and wasn’t as surprised as she should have been to find Erik sitting in a chair next to her. He was likely watching her as she slept.
"That thing came after me," Lillian said as she thought about the man. “That… monster.”
Erik nodded but didn't move from his spot. Instead he watched her from where he sat.
"Vampire," he said. "That monster was a vampire."
"Now, now. Monster is a bit harsh, wouldn't you say?"
Lillian watched as Corso stepped into the room carrying a tray with several tea cups.
"You aren't like them," Erik said the Corso.
Corso raised a brow. “Really? You’re really going with that line?” He held up his hands and made air quotes. “You’re one of the good ones.”
Erik rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”
Corso cleared his throat. “Yes, I suppose I do.”
Lillian was still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that he'd said those monsters were vampires when she realized what Erik had just said.
She watched the beautiful olive-skinned man as he set the tray down on the table. The pallor of his skin was not quite so bold as when she'd seen it before. Maybe fighting had drained some of the color.
"Then… you’re a vampire?" Lillian asked, doing her best to keep her voice from shaking.
Corso looked over to where she sat on the couch and gave a small smile as she attempted to move farther away from him.
"I am, but no need to worry," he said smoothly. "I prefer my women willing, and they usually prefer it that way as well." The wink he gave suggested that the women he spoke of intended to enjoy it just as much as he did.
A low rumble filled the room, and Lillian glanced over to where Erik sat in his chair watching the two of them exchange words.
Corso snorted, picked up a steaming cup, and held it out to her. "Besides," he said. "It seems you're spoken for."
Lillian reached up and took the cup from his hand, surprised when the sweet scent hit her nose. "Cocoa?"
Corso picked up another cup for himself and sat down in the chair opposite Erik. He raised a brow and stared at Lillian. "Well, you didn't think I would serve you blood. Did you?"
Lillian wasn't entirely certain what she thought, but blood did seem like a reasonable guess considering.
She watched as Corso took a drink from his cup. “You can eat human food… I mean, you know, regular food and drinks?”
Corso smirked. "I enjoy a nice cup of tea from time to time and even the occasional meal," he said as he took another sip. "The blood is a necessity, but not necessarily the only necessity." He nodded over to where Erik sat quietly in his chair. "I was told that you’re partial to cocoa rather than tea.”
Lillian stared openly at Erik. He hadn't said much since Corso stepped in the room. In fact, his silence was downright eerie, considering everything that had happened. He had changed into a wolf right in front of her. And the fact she was certain that wasn't the first time was beyond strange.
She’d thought it was all a dream, but the garage memories were real, every part. His naked form, him shifting to protect her.
"So why don't you start by telling us what you are,” Corso said.
His words hung in the air. For a moment, Lillian wasn't even certain he was talking to her until Erik turned to stare directly at her.
She frowned as she looked between the two men. "What do you mean what am I?"
Corso raised a brow and looked over to Erik. This was starting to piss her off now. She had been the one to find out the man she'd made out with was a werewolf and the other man she danced with was a vampire. Yet she was the one being asked who she was?
"What you did in the alleyway," Corso said as he leaned forward, "I've never seen that in all my three hundred years."
Lillian frowned. What she'd done in the alleyway? That didn't make sense. She hadn't done anything in the alleyway aside from passing out.
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said. "I'm just a normal-ass person. I came from a small town and lived there all of my life. I only moved here six months ago."
It was Erik who spoke finally. "But what about the light?"
Lillian shook her head.
"I don't know where that light came from," she said. "I remember a vampire coming after me. I remember praying that he would just leave. That someone would save me. And then, that's it." She looked around the room and nodded to the couch. "Next thing I know I'm lying on the couch."
Erik frowned as she spoke. "Could be that she doesn't know," Corso said to Erik. "Maybe her nature was hidden from her, or maybe she was adopted."
Anger filled her. She’d heard that shit her whole life. How her sister had dark hair and she had light hair. But their parents were her parents. And she sure as hell wasn't going to let two people who didn't know anything talk about her as if she wasn't even there.
Lillian placed her near empty cup on the table and stood. Both men stopped talking and stared at her.
"Look, I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I get the feeling I’m being accused of something," she said. "I am exactly who I say I am. If anyone should be pointing their finger around here, it’s me. Now cut the crap and take me home. I’m done."
Corso was by her side within a moment. His gentle hand touched her shoulder in a guiding sort of way. "You're right," he said. "You've been tossed into this whole thing, but I'm afraid it's not as simple as just going back to your apartment. You checked your coat with the front at the club?" Lillian frowned but nodded. "Likely the elders and the Council are going through any coats that were left," he said. "With your connections at work, it wouldn't take much for them to piece things together. And although you may not remember what happened, you are special. And those talents are things that the Council will either prize or hate. I can assure you, either way, it is not a situation you would want to be in."
The way he spoke sent a shiver down her spine. As if just being herself was a danger.
This time Corso turned to Erik as he spoke. "You need to get her out of here," he said. "I'll see if I can get her coat back without anyone noticing, but just to be certain, you need to make sure that you have an alibi for this weekend. The Council will want answers, and I don't think you want to be on the receiving end of this."
Erik nodded. The way they spoke made her afraid. Whoever this Council was, they had a vampire and werewolf concerned.
"My cat," she said.
Corso held out his hand. "Give me your key, and I'll leave your coat at your apartment and feed your cat while I'm there."
Lillian got her keys out of the small purse she managed to keep a hold of. She frowned briefly as she placed the key into his hand.
"Won't you have trouble getting into the place if I don't invite you?" she said. She tried to think if there was a church or running water nearby.
Corso laughed loudly. "The PR department certainly has done a wonderful job convincing humans of all the fake ways they might protect themselves."
Lillian’s cheeks heated.
This time it was Erik who snorted. "Too bad for you all they couldn't totally clear out the things that were true like silver and wooden stakes."
Instead of being annoyed, as she suspected he would be, Corso grinned at Erik.
"But they did do an excellent job on the full moon bit," he laughed. "The boys in the office had a field day with wrecking the perfect hunting night."
Erik rolled his eyes.
Lillian looked between the two men and burst into laughter.
The absurdity of the whole situation finally cracked her. She just found out that werewolves and vampires were real things, and now the two were complaining about how their public relations people had screwed with the other side. It was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard.
The clock on the wall chimed loudly, and Erik nodded toward the door.
"We need to leave now if we’re going to make it there before any questions are asked," he said. "I'll get in touch with you tomorrow."
Corso nodded and walked the two of them toward the front of the house. Lillian was surprised to see how very normal the whole place seemed. Sure, he had the occasional antique on the wall, but on the whole, the house looked like a regular house. One where a person might live on a normal day-to-day basis, and not some sort of crypt guarded by ghoulish servants.
When she’d first woken, it hadn’t even occurred to her to look around.
Lillian glanced over to the windows and wondered if he used the place during the day at all. Maybe he had some sort of secret lair in the basement. That was assuming that sunlight still worked.
Corso tapped on the darkened glass. "Bulletproof," he said. "Not vampire-proof, but pretty darn close. And tinted to shade out ninety-nine percent of the rays from the sun. Although I'm not nearly as susceptible as others, I'm still not particularly fond of the feeling it gives."
That answered that. Lillian nodded. It seemed she had so many things still to learn. She supposed it wasn't going to happen in one night.
When they opened the door, she was not that surprised to find Leif sitting outside in the Hummer. Erik stepped out onto the porch and then down onto the sidewalk. Lillian turned back to Corso and smiled.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Corso smiled back at her. "You really are something special," he said. "Don't let anyone else tell you anything different."
Lillian nodded and made her way down the steps to where Erik stood with the door open. She slid into the back seat and was surprised when he slid in next to her. It was only then that she realized she was still wearing his sweater from the alleyway. He wore a black T-shirt with his jeans.
"Would you like your sweater back?" she asked softly.
Erik glanced over at her and shook his head. “Wear it," he said. "No reason for you to be cold."
Leif pulled away from the sidewalk and out to the street. When she turned back, Corso had already stepped back into the house to close the door.
It was an unassuming vampire den in the most non-vampire house she could imagine. The irony of the situation was not lost on her.