Leah sat down on the sand. Why wasn’t the memory changing? “No, my father’s twin brother.”
Az’s foot started tapping on the sand and she looked up at his face. His expression was guarded however she could tell that inside his head he worked out a problem.
“Tell me about your uncle, she-wolf.”
“He was an artist, a local guy, never became big time but really talented. My mother used to bring me over there every day when I was young. He taught me to paint. My dad hated it, thought the whole thing was a waste of time.”
Az knelt down in front of her. “Of course I can’t know for sure, but my bet is that your uncle is your father.”
“What?” Leah leapt to her feet standing over Azriel. “Oh hell.” She chewed on her fingernail as she paced around. Some of it made sense, she supposed. Her uncle was artistic—so was she. She looked like her father but her uncle was her father’s twin brother, it was a familial resemblance. Her mother had always gazed lovingly at her uncle. Once she’d caught her crying…
“Why would she do that?” Leah grabbed onto Az’s shirt. “Why pretend Nathan St. James is my father?”
“I can’t answer that question.” Az ran a hand through his hair. “I guess maybe she thought she could keep you safer as the daughter of a United States senator. St. James is a strong, powerful man. I don’t know who your mother was—if I see a picture maybe I can identify her—but assuming she fled for her life in the middle of the night to get away from Kendrick’s plan to kill all the women, then perhaps her goal was to set you up as strongly as possible to be safe.”
Leah shook her head. The idea was horrifying to her. “When she used to talk to me about being a shifter—she never hid it, which is funny because if I had told anyone she would have been in big trouble.”
“Only you didn’t, obviously.”
“Maybe I knew inherently it was important to be quiet about it. Anyhow, she told me about finding a mate.”
Azriel looked down at the ground. “What did she say?”
“That it would make me know myself like I never had before.”
“Everyone is so tightlipped about the mating. I don’t even really understand what happens.” He blushed and she wanted to giggle. “I mean, I do understand a lot of what happens. I think there must be more to it than anyone talks about otherwise what triggers the change in everyone? Cullen practically became a puppy after he mated with Summer. Theo came back from the brink of madness and Tristan stepped up to finally become Alpha.”
She couldn’t help but tease him. “Maybe the sex is just that good.”
He smiled and looked at her again. “Now if that isn’t pressure, I don’t know what is.”
The scene shifted around them and Az grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. She knew she wasn’t at risk, these were only memories, they couldn’t physically hurt her but she loved that he wanted to protect her so she snuggled close and let him act macho.
Leah saw herself strapped to a table. Four hooded women stood over her. She knew they were women because their long hair fell down over their shoulders. Leah pulled out of Az’s arms.
“I want to see their faces.”
Walking fast, she stood next to her remembered self and stared at the people who would, she knew, change her into something out of a horror movie. Funny, they didn’t look horrible, just like four regular women she might see walking down the street.
Az, they look so…regular.
My father looks like a nice guy when you first meet him The first lady, the one who seemed to be conducting the spell, had long blonde hair.
Her locks fell almost to the floor. Her face was long and horse-like with a strange looking nose that she’d either been unfortunate enough to be born with or butchered by a plastic surgeon to receive. It didn’t fit on her face.
Next to her was a set of twins, gorgeous women with curly black hair and grey eyes.
Leah actually shivered as she looked at them. They scared her. Blondie with the bad nose might be leading the ceremony but those two were the power behind it. The other woman looked mousy with dirty brown hair and sad eyes. All in all, it was an odd bunch of people to be performing such monstrous acts of destruction.
The blonde looked down at remembered Leah on the table. As she watched, Leah could see sweat forming on her forehead. She didn’t need to remember this part and wished they could move on.
“Az, do we have to watch?”
“From a pure scientific perspective, I would like to see what they do. However, if it’s going to cause you pain, then no, we do not have to. I can pull us out.”
He was right. There was knowledge to be gained here. “Alright, let’s witness it.”
The women started to sing. Not words exactly, it was more like high-pitched vowel sounds. Their voices were not what anyone would call beautiful. Leah closed her eyes and covered her ears, trying to tune out the onslaught of pain listening to them caused to her. All at once, the ladies raised their arms towards the ceiling and Leah heard herself—
even through her covered ears—scream on the table. The change was coming.
She couldn’t watch, turning her back to the scene so that should she even accidently open her eyes she wouldn’t have to see it.
“Alright enough, I’ve seen enough.”
Az’s voice cut through the agony of sound in the room and the next thing she knew she landed on her behind again. Looking up, she uncovered her eyes, and saw sky scrapers above her. Snow fell lightly to the ground.
“What the hell? I tried to send us home.” Az sounded annoyed so Leah stood to get a better look around.
“This is New York City.” She’d been there enough to know. Pointing in the distance, she indicated the Empire State Building ahead. “See.”
“I haven’t been here in ten years.” Az scratched his head. “We should be back in the ‘now’ and out of your memory.”
“Look, there I am.” Leah watched herself walking fast out of a drugstore. Behind her a man was yelling. In her arms, she carried…hair dye.
“Stop, that woman is shoplifting.”
Leah’s former self took off running down the street and before she could stop herself, Leah ran after with Az behind her. After a few minutes, she followed herself into a McDonald’s bathroom.
“You were already a wolf by now. What are you doing?” Az sounded confused.
Leah laughed. She couldn’t help it. She knew exactly what she was doing. “I’m dying my hair, Azriel. It’s a small act of rebellion. I can’t remember any of this—my mind was warped by the forced wolf change—except I know myself now. I’m going to paint my hair like this.” She grabbed her damaged locks. “Somewhere inside of me, I still existed enough to cry for help. This was the only way I knew how.”
Just like that, the world went black. Moments later she opened her eyes to the warmth of Az’s bedroom.
She knew who she was: Leah St. James—wolf shifter and survivor. Now the question was what should they do next?
Az stood. “Shift with me, Leah. I need to run.”
The bright light filled the room and the body of her mate became a glorious dark wolf. Not needing another invitation, she followed suit. As far as she could remember, she’d never run just for the fun of it on four feet before.
Chapter Eight
The wolf loved to run. His feet hit the ground hard but oh it felt so nice to be free, to run, to not be contained not only in his human body but also by the years of misunderstandings and self-doubt that plagued Az’s life. Like this, like the animal he tried not to hate, he felt free and relaxed.
The female who he’d waited for since his birth eighty years earlier moved too far to his left. That wasn’t acceptable. He wouldn’t have her move too far away from him. She might get hurt. He was male. It was his job to protect her.