Chapter Eight (Luka)

I avoided Noah completely the next day.

I knew he wanted to talk to me and he kept trying to follow me, but I'd come up with some excuse or, thank goodness, Gavin would jump in and order me to do something to keep myself busy as we waited for my medication to come in.

I wasn't even sure it'd work. I hadn't taken any medication, except magic and magic wasn't working on the nightmares. Maybe the human approach would? I could only hope.

I kept myself as busy as possible and took on half of the pack's chores, cleaning and doing laundry as i rushed about the house, ignoring pretty much everyone who spoke to me, except Trisha and Thalia. I couldn't resist the attention they showered me with.

It reminded me so much of Kira's and it made my chest ache, but the pleasure of being paid attention to by them made me feel too comfortable.

"Luka, you're amazing." Thalia exclaimed, watching me with wide eyes as I stood outside, cleaning off the swing for her and Trisha, who was blushing as she wrapped herself tightly in a wool jacket and matching scarf. I smiled warmly.

"It's nothing, really. Is there anything else I could do? I've prepared lunch and it should be finished cooking within the next half hour. I've washed all the laundry and done all the dishes. I've also taken the liberty of cleaning everyone's shoes. If there's anything you'd like me to do, please do not hesitate." I explained gently. Trisha swooned, cupping her cheeks as her breath came out in clouds.

"Uh, w-well... If you don't mind, maybe... Cleaning the floors? Wooden floors are so hard to clean for me because I can never get the corners." She added. I smiled brightly and bowed.

"I'd be happy to. I'll get to work on it as soon as everyone goes in for lunch. I don't want to inconvenience anyone." I tacked one. Trisha nodded eagerly, then winced as she heard someone calling her from inside. She ducked into the house, leaving Thalia and I to sit on the swing.

"You're amazing," Thalia sighed, glancing at me as I smiled, "And you're so polite about things. It's almost as if you can't say no." I paused to think about that before nodding slowly, smiling again.

"I suppose I can't say no." I responded. Thalia studied me for a moment, then smiled back at me before she caught me off guard. She reached out, taking my face in her hands, pulling me toward her and kissing me smack on the lips. My eyes widened and I went to pull away, but she breathed against my lips.

"You said you couldn't say no." She murmured hotly against my mouth. I winced as she easily pushed me back on the swing, almost knocking me off, but putting her arm down to steady us. Her teeth nipped at my lips, her hands starting to move up my shirt when I heard a low growl and Thalia reeled away from me and let me fall off the swing.

I flinched as I hit the wooden deck on my side, putting my arm up to stop the swing before it hit my head. My eyes lifted to see Noah standing in the doorway, staring at us. I narrowed my eyes, then grimaced as Thalia hopped off the swing, heading into the house and none-too-kindly elbowing Noah in the process.

I sat up, then frowned as Noah held his hand out to me. I slapped his hand away and rose to my feet on my own, brushing myself off.

"You always were wonderful with women. She'll be disappointed to know you're gay." He told me. I glared at him, taking a good step away from him as I straightened my jacket.

"I'm not gay, and I do not want you speaking to me." I responded coldly, heading for the house, only to have Noah grab my elbow and whip me back into the swing. I winced, using my feet to stop the swing. I glared up at Noah hatefully as he frowned at me.

"Ruruka--"

"Do not call me that or I'll rip your tongue out."

"Fine. Luka. Please. I'm not who I was before. Only my memories are. I'm a different person now. I was reincarnated for a reason. The Goddess--"

"No longer exists." I seethed, pushing myself up and standing in front of him. This time, I didn't run away as I stepped up to him, my face right up in his. Noah twitched, frowning at me.

"What happened to you? You used to tell me to honor the Goddess and Her teachings, and yet--"

"That was before She brought back the person who killed me. The person I spent almost twenty years trying to find and kill myself. Of course, I just sort of pulled a you and had Genghis do it for me and, boy," I paused to laugh bitterly, "He did a wonderful job of it. Tell me, if you can remember me, can you remember the way he slit your throat and your head came off? Because for me... It was like watching America's Funniest Home Video."

I shoved past him, heading into the house and leaving him to stand there.

My chest ached as I walked away, slamming the front door shut behind me. My heart had stopped beating again. I pressed my palm to my chest again, squeezing my eyes shut before peering up at the ceiling.

"Are you testing me?" I asked no one in particular before I cringed as my heart started up again, pounding violently against the prison that was my ribcage. I waited until everyone had vanished into the dining room for lunch before I stood out in the main foyer. I got down on the floor, placing my hands flat against the smooth wooden surface.

I closed my eyes, concentrating as magic flew from my fingers in a sparkling film across the floor. It shot across the wood in every angle all the way to the walls where it spread up toward the ceiling, encasing the insides of the house in a blanket of sparkling magic before it sank into the floors, walls, and ceiling.

Instantly, everything was clean as the magic faded, giving the house a warm new shine. I sighed in relief, rising to my feet when my knees buckled and I hit the floor. I gasped as pain radiated from my gut to every limb and finger in my body, making me curl up. I seethed past clenched teeth, squeezing my eyes shut as my heart stopped again. My lungs quit sucking in oxygen and my throat closed up.

I choked, rolling onto my hands and knees, struggling to get up. I had to get out of here. My magic was wearing off and it wasn't just the fact that all my organs were shutting down. I watched as my skin grew pale and became translucent on my hands, revealing the skeletal form beneath it. My eyes flashed and I managed to stand on my feet, stumbling over and latching onto the banister of the stairs.

I closed my eyes tightly, willing my body to cooperate. I managed to get my skin back to normal and I had only taken a few steps up the stairs when my world tilted to the left, to the right, forwards, then backwards. My hands left the banister and I fell backwards, expecting to hit my head, cracking it open on the wooden floor, but I fell into someone's muscular arms.

I panted hard for breath, cringing as I looked up to see Noah holding me, lowering me to the floor as Gavin and Kasper rushed out at once. I couldn't hear their voices, however. Everything was muffled like I was trying to hear through earmuffs. I tried to suck some air into my failing lungs, but nothing was happening.

I looked up as Gavin quickly rushed over, dropping to his knees beside me, patting my cheek frankly and calling my name. At least, I think it was my name from the way his lips were moving. I parted my lips, trying to suck in air. It took a moment, but my lungs finally filled and I exhaled. The more oxygen I took in, the more I could hear again as Gavin's voice came into focus.

"Luka? Luka, keep breathing. That's good... You're all right." Gavin soothed, reaching out to push the hair back from my face as he helped me sit up. I leaned forward as he put his hand on my back, my lungs filling up with oxygen before exhaling out. I sighed in relief.

"Are you all right?" Kasper asked me nervously. I nodded slowly, looking up with a tired smile.

"I honestly don't know how that happened... Maybe asthma." I added under my breath as a lie. Dead people couldn't suffer from asthma. I heard a muffled cry that made me look up to see tears in Trisha's eyes as she stepped forward.

"I-I'm so sorry. This is all my fault." She managed. I blinked, confused as Gavin snapped his head to look at her, surprising me with how angry he looked. Zaid, the leader of Blood Rain, looked at her with a frown.

"What're you talking about? You were in the dining room with us." He stated. Trisha shook her head and Thalia frowned, folding her arms over her chest and looking a bit disgusted by the omega.

"I-L-Luka is so good at everything and he doesn't mind doing it and I just thought things would go more quickly if I just... let him do all the chores and I kept asking and I'm so sorry! I didn't think it'd make you sick! I forgot you were only human!" She exclaimed, her face guilt stricken. I stared at her while Gavin scowled.

"You ought to accept your position as omega and quit trying to push your responsibilites on others. We came here as guests, and yes, I said Luka could help not do everything." He snapped angrily, making Trisha flinch.

"Gavin." Kasper said quietly, touching his shoulder to calm him down. Zaid frowned and glanced at his mate, Scythe, who folded his arms over his chest.

"We apologize for this turn of events. Trisha has apologized and she'll continue with the regular chores on her own. Luka, please get some rest in the meantime." Scythe explained calmly, reaching up to rub his temple. Zaid touched his hand, looking at him gently to calm him down. Gavin looked at me as the others began to file back into the dining room.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Gavin asked seriously. I nodded and heaved myself with Gavin's help. I felt another hand touch my shoulder and snapped my head to glare at Noah, who held his hands up in an instant.

"I didn't mean any harm." Noah replied. I glared at him, then looked away at Gavin, who glared daggers at Noah. Kasper stood beside us, obviously confused, which meant Gavin hadn't said a word to him. I'd have to thank him for that later.

"I think I'm just going to be blunt with you," Gavin started, making Noah look at him in a none-too-friendly manner that made my blood boil, "Stay away from Luka or I'll rip your throat open and bathe in your blood. Or was that too intelligent for your mongrol brain to understand?" I stared at him, surprised before looking at Noah, who narrowed his eyes.

"You're not only threatening the wrong person, but you're ruining the plans the Goddess set into place." Noah muttered. Gavin glared at him and opened his mouth to speak when the sound of tires crunched across the gravel outside and Kasper's eyes widened.

"I didn't know he was coming." He managed, looking nervous. Noah cocked his head, then turned to look out the window, wincing.

"Oh God."

"Someone you're afraid of," I exclaimed, turning to him, "I must meet him. Maybe he can get you off my ass." I brushed past everyone, just barely keeping my balance as I headed out the door, leaving it open as I heard everyone hurry after me. I got down the steps just as the truck stopped and the driver got out first.

A tall guy with dark curly hair and vivid green eyes, wearing a beat up leather jacket over an AC/DC concert t-shirt and ratty old jeans. The passenger got out next and my eyes widened.

I wasn't normally one to toss out compliments, but this was one of those acceptions.

The creature that stepped out of the passenger's seat was beautiful. Platinum blonde hair layered precisely so it hung in straight locks to just above his shoulders, sideswept bangs over perfect silver eyes. Not blue, not gray, but silver like coins. He wore snug black jeans and a matching shirt with the collar layered down a few inches. Over top was an expensive looking Calvin Klein wool jacket that may have very well costed more than Gavin's.

But that wasn't what struck me so hard that I almost fell.

It was his voice.

"Oh, look, the welcome wagon arrived and just my luck that it's Tucan Sam and his nephews." Kyler Mercy smirked, folding his arms over his chest and doing a model-like post with his hip stuck out in sassy manner.

I recognized his voice instantly and it gave me a headache as everything around me vanished for a second. Darkness covered my eyes, leather wrapped around my hands, keeping them strung behind me. The ball gag pierced to my tongue and the blood oozing past my lips and down my chin.

"Quit crying," Kyler's voice panted from the darkness, "It's not gonna do anything, but make them wannt hurt you more. Just suck it... up..." His voice broke into a scream as something snapped, like a whip cracking behind him.

Goose bumps fled over my skin as I snapped back to reality to see Kasper walking up to Kyler with a shy little smile that a little brother might give his big brother. Gavin didn't seem very amused with Kyler's humor and just folded his arms over his chest, pursing his lips. Noah stayed back near me, which I really didn't want him to do, but I felt like I tried to take a step toward Kyler, I'd fall down.

"You didn't tell me you were coming." Kasper said, looking surprised as Kyler beamed, lowering his hands onto his hips.

"No one knows, not even the 101 Dalmations. It's a surprise. Ssh." He put a finger to his lips, giving Kasper a playful wink. Kasper blushed lightly, smiling before gesturing to Gavin and I as he took Kyler's sleeve.

"You said you wanted to meet my mate, right? This is Gavin and my friend, Luka." He introduced, looking like an eager child. Kyler glanced up at us, his eyes switching between us before he locked on Gavin first.

"So, you're the pompous ass who hung up on me back in New York." He stated. Gavin held his hand out, hardly looking regretful as he smiled toothily, showing off his fangs.

"And you're the arrogant cat that picks on my mate. Nice to meet you." He greeted brightly. Kyler smirked, taking his hand and giving it a shake.

"Pleasure's all mine, leech," He replied with the nod of his head, then dropped his hand and looked at me curiously, "And you. We've met before." I blinked, trying to think back to a time that I had met Kyler that wasn't through Kasper's dreams, but I'd honestly never met this man before. Surely I'd remember someone who looked like this.

For once in my life, I was extremely envious.

"I'm sure I'd remember meeting you." I responded politely, giving a short bow. Kyler raised an eyebrow, studying me a little more as he stepped up to me.

"I know your voice... Weird, huh? Maybe we knew each other in a past life or something," He shrugged, stepping back now and looking over at the man in the leather jacket, "Forget the luggage, Remi, we'll just get it later."

"What about the pres--"

"President's in Washington, D.C., darling." Kyler interrupted sharply past clenched teeth, straining the last word enough to make his mate blink before smiling nervously, coming over to give Kyler a kiss on the head. Kyler averted his eyes, then smiled down at Kasper, who was looking at him curiously.

"All right, pigeon, time to make a grand entrance. I haven't seen these mutts in ages. You have to watch the look on Zaid's face when I walk in there. I have surprise for him." He grinned, making Kasper laugh. Gavin looked a little more comfortable now as he followed Kasper and Kyler, leaving Noah, Remi, and I to stand in the yard. I turned to Remi with a polite smile.

"I'm Gavin's butler, Luka. I can take your luggage up to your room." I said. Remi blinked, looking at me in surprise.

"A butler? Really?"

"Indeed."

"Oh," Remi looked a little uncomfortable before smiling, "Well, I guess that's your job. Do you want me to pay--"

"No, of course not. I'm a butler by choice, sir." I assured. Remi smiled in relief, giving me a nod before heading for the house after tossing me the keys. I went around to the back of the truck, popping the door open and reaching inside for the suitcase. A hand reached in from behind me to help steady the rocking suitcase in my hands. My eyes narrowed and I gritted my teeth, jerking the suitcase down and setting it at my feet, turning to glare at Noah, who was frowning at me.

"I do not need, nor want, your help. Get away from me." I ordered, then whirled around to grab another suitcase, bringing it down. I was thankful that these two had brought less than Gavin and Kasper, who acted like they were moving in, not staying for a couple weeks.

"Luka, please. We need to discuss this. I was brought back for a reason. Please, listen to me." Noah pleaded, watching me as I shut the door, stepping back and picking up the suitcases, glancing at him sourly.

"I did try to discuss it with you. Almost a thousand years ago and I'm hardly exaggerating, but you ended our discussion by calling my death sentence." I responded bitterly, then started toward the house, concentrating on the weight of the suitcases in my hands and the way my feet crunched the frost coated leaves on the ground. The way the stairs creaked as I came up onto the porch and the door whined as I pushed it open with my foot.

I ignored Noah's footsteps moving after me, thumping heavily on the wood.

"At least let me help you carry those," Noah begged as I approached the stairs inside, "You were never servant material. You were always a natural leader." I dropped the suitcases to laugh out loud, my voice echoing loudly in the foyer as I turned in time to see him wince and back up.

"Not servant material? A natural leader? Hm, that explains why you were so scared of our people voting for me and not you. I'll be a leader now and say... Back. The fuck. Off." I ordered and with each word prounounced with emphasis, Noah took a step back as my magic blasted him in the face, making his hair flutter.

I didn't say anything more, whirling around and snatching up the suitcases again, heading upstairs to the only guest room left on our floor. I set the suitcases inside and started to let go of one of them when suddenly, my mind went blank.

The world became black and it took me a moment to realize I was dreaming again. How was this possible? Dreaming while I was awake, while I was moving around?

Thinking about it didn't make it go away, though, as I heard the clinking of chains and the cursing of voices outside my cell. My bare feet pushed across the cement floor, scraping a little as I managed to get to my feet, the chain connecting my throat to the wall furthest from Kyler's cell jingling. I tried to lick my lips past the bit in my mouth, but it failed. My sore tongue felt numb as I tried to feel around with my feet. My voice was muffled as I tried to ask for Kyler, but I could only hear his harsh, desperate panting.

I couldn't tell if Ash was with him or if he was alone.

"Kuh-wuh." I managed past the leather bit, pausing to listen for Kyler's response. I only heard a low, pathetic whimper. I couldn't see what was happening. I wanted to see. I had never seen the inside of my cell before, or Kyler's. I didn't even remember what Kyler looked like.

I stepped back until my back hit the wall. I shifted so the belt buckle of my blindfold was against the cement wall. I squeezed my eyes shut and dragged myself down the wall towards the floor, fumbling to get the blindfold off. I slowly felt it squeezing my head as it began to slide off. I panted hard, dragging myself until my butt hit the floor painfully and the blindfold popped off, pulling my hair in the process as it clattered to the floor.

I blinked several times, assaulting by a blinding white light over head. I turned my face away, falling onto my knees as I stared at the floor. It slowly came into focus, as did the rest of my cell and I felt my gut clench.

Three of the walls were made up of cement while the one between my cell and Kyler's was made of bars. I had no idea what the intention was for that, and I didn't want to think about it as I inched as far as my chain would let me, staring into Kyler's cell in horror.

A metal cage encased his arms at a painful angle behind his back that led to some chains connecting to the head piece that covered his eyes, belting down either side of his nose to the pecker gag choking his gasps and whimpers. His ankles were chained to the furthest wall and he was struggling against something I couldn't see.

And maybe I didn't want to see.

"Kuh-wuh." I tried again. Kyler dipped his head low to the floor, choking and drooling a mix of blood and saliva to the cement floor. I cringed and started toward him again when the door to my cell flew open and I whirled around to see a tall, monsterously huge vampire come in with jet black hair and icy blue eyes. He smirked as I shrank back from him.

"Uh oh... Someone's been naughty. You saw what happened to Kyler when he disobeyed me. Obviously you want attention to, don't you?" He sneered, taking a step toward me. I reeled back against the wall, snapping my head quickly to look at Kyler, who was blindly looking around to figure out what was happening.

I looked back at Ash as he came toward me, reaching out to grab my throat.

"Hey! Alfred Pennyworth!" My eyes flashed and I blinked several times. Each time, a new scene displayed itself. From Ash to Kyler, then back again a couple more times until I found myself staring up at Kyler, who was looking down at me, his eyes narrowed just like a cat's.

No, a leopard's.

A snow leopard.

"Huh?" I asked stupidly. Kyler scowled, then reached out and took me by my tie, jerking me up into a sitting position and ignoring the fact that I had choked.

"You know, if you can't carry ten pounds of luggage, you really should't offer. Remi could've done it just fine. The guy can lift three times his weight." He added, cocking a brow at me. I reached up, touching my mouth, then my eyes before looking at Kyler.

He wasn't choking or tied up or caged or anything. He was just looking at me suspiciously. I feel like his eyes had always been like that... All this time I had wondered what was under Kyler's blindfold and now I was staring at it.

A sparkling pair of suspicious silver eyes, always watching, always alert.

"I know what happened to you." I blurted. Kyler stared at me now and withdrew slowly, almost as if I had slapped him. He rose to his feet, staring down at me.

"I don't know how or where we met... But I don't want you to talk to me anymore." He stated, his silver eyes growing sharp and almost threatening. I stared up at him, blinking a few times before I nodded slowly, rising to my feet. I stumbled for a second, but Kyler caught my elbow, then instantly stepped back as if he touched fire. He stared at me.

"You weren't there," He managed, making me frown, "You weren't... I mean, you were, but you weren't. You were inside Kasper. In his head. You were watching everything from inside his head."

"What're you talking about?" I asked uneasily. Kyler glared at me now.

"You're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, asshole. Get out of Kasper's head and get the fuck out of mine too. It's enough that I can't use my true form and think whatever I want. At least as a human, my mind is mostly protected. Zaid told me you were a human, but that's a load of bullshit. I know a sorcerer when I see it." He accused. My eyes widened as Kyler smirked, folding his arms over his chest.

"That's right. I know. I know about your little witchy powers. I may not know how you got into Kasper's head to watch everything going on, but I know it has something to do with you being a witch." He stated, pointing an accusing finger at me. I stared at him.

"I... didn't... I mean. I didn't do anything. It's not my choice," I started angrily now, watching Kyler scowl at me, "Kasper is a were, just like you. Weres have a life span of two-hundred years. My master, Gavin, is a vampire and can live for eternity, so long as he keeps drinking blood. Kasper would die before him and neither of them wanted that, so I had to cast a spell to bind them together. To do that, I had to receive something from Kasper. The Fates chose his memories. That's why you know me. You knew I was hiding in Kasper's body in the visions. You have the same nightmares, same memories as Kasper."

Kyler stiffened, dropping his arms to his sides and stared at me for the longest time before he glared at me.

"Tch. You must have done something really sick to make the Fates hate you." He retorted, coming up to me to give me a dirty look. I couldn't resist smirking, making Kyler blink and look at me in a surprisingly uneasy manner.

"That's right. It's only fair to punish someone for killing their mate." I replied. Kyler's eyes widened and he immediately stepped away from me until he hit the bed, plopping down. He didn't say anything, just stared at me. I dropped my smirk and gave a low bow.

"I apologize for disturbing you. Please rest well." I stood back up and left the room, shutting the door behind me. I grimaced as soon as I did.

Of course he'd be angry. It wasn't just the fact that he knew my secret. Kyler knew I was a lich, a witch... a human. I was a human dabbling in their world without even realizing it. It was also the fact that I knew Kyler's past.

He was an open book to me.

How would it feel if no matter how hard you tried to hide and forget, you were always exposed to the world?

It was like walking naked in New York City. Exposed to all these strangers.

No wonder Kyler hated Kasper.

Kasper was the only one who knew Kyler the best.