His smile returns as he looks back up to meet my eyes. "So you're considering eternity?"
I grin again, rolling my eyes at my own self. "I think we need to focus on the fact that I'm a secret monster in training first. Then we'll discuss eternity. You should be worried about what I could become."
He shakes his head, resuming his task of running his fingers through my hair.
"I'm not afraid, Alyssa. I'll bring you back every time you need me to. I'm tougher than you think," he says with a wink. "Besides, if you're like Freya, then you will be a leader, not a destroyer."
"Freya wasn't the only one of these unnamed creatures," I grumble, shifting out from under him finally when I find it hard to breathe.
He lets me, and he falls to my side.
"No, but the others were mindless, even savage. You're not. Dramatic, sure—but not mindless," he jokes, making light of the situation.
I laugh again, a genuine one this time. I don't know how he does it, but he makes any obstacle seem like a blip as opposed to a disaster.
His seriousness resumes as he continues, "Freya was revered as a goddess to some. Not unnamed like the monsters the others were. They couldn't control themselves. They didn't have anyone helping them because everyone was too scared. I'll help you."
My saving grace is a night stalker. If you had told me this a few months ago, I would have died from laughter. I've spent my whole life with a blindfold on, judging so many of the fey. Now, here I am, stuck in the dark place I don't want to be, and those I've judged are my allies as well as my jury. I just pray they never become my executioners.
"Can we just eat and sleep?" I ask.
"Definitely."
He hops up, quickly scrambling through the mounds of food he acquired, and returns with a few options. Eating with my boyfriend—a normal moment—I need more of these.
"I've got to change out of this hideous outfit at some point," I snarl as I motion to the skimpy ensemble I've yet to get rid of.
He chokes on his food when he tries to laugh, and I scowl at him as he forces the wad of food down.
"Sorry," he says when he sees my expression, still chuckling. "But I wouldn't dare call it hideous. In fact, I'm thinking about buying you more things like that."
I just shake my head, unable to stifle the grin he so easily provokes.
"So, a lycan attack?" I ask, shifting the topic when his scandalous eyes try to pull me in.
He frowns as if that upsets him. "Yeah. When we were on our way to Drackus's for the Were meeting, I got a call. Some locals stumbled upon a body in the woods. All I knew was that there was a dead cop. And..."
His voice trails off, seeming uncertain about continuing. Then realization strikes me, and my hunger dissipates.
"And you were worried that blood matched the blood in my back seat," I say while gripping my head and leaning forward.
"The blood did match," he says softly, making my stomach tense. "But the body was almost unrecognizable. I think you might have been trying to save him, and it's possible he died in your car. The humans destroyed the scene by tromping around through the woods, but there was a trail of blood. You probably drug him out there when he died. I'm sure you were trying to do damage control. A lycan shredded him. The last I checked, you're not a lycan."
I sigh in relief—as sick as that is. I can't believe I'd just dump a body like that, but I wasn't myself last night. I don't know who I was. I wish I could remember something.
"Care if we get drunk tonight?" I ask, prompting him to laugh.
"You can. It's a little hard for me. I'll gladly take care of you."
My smile returns, but the pounding on the door kills the moment. Kane swears under his breath as he goes to inspect our unwanted visitor. He swings open the door without so much as checking to see who it is.
I scramble around on the bed, knocking a Styrofoam plate of food onto the floor, when I see it's Gage. I don't even acknowledge the mess.
"Why are you here?" Kane groans, blocking Gage's view of me.
"Sorry to interrupt the honeymoon, but we've got a problem. It's about Castine."
Chapter 6