Chapter Two

LILY COULDN’T PIECe this shit together. Things were still happening too fast. That man.. That beautiful man brought her to a glass clad room. She assumed it was a doctor’s office. She was right.

After snooping around, she found all sorts of tools that belonged to a surgeon. At least that was what she thought. Inside the cabinets were sterile needles, and a small vial of clear medicine. Tongue depressors, cotton balls and band aids were lined up in containers on the counter tops. There was a lone operating table in the middle of the room, with a tray of surgery tools beside it.

“Where the hell am I?” She continued to look around. The bright lights of the room stung her eyes, and made her dizzy. It was a reminder of how much she hated hospitals.

There was too much space. There was too much quiet. Too much loneliness. If it weren’t for the heavy medications her psychiatrist had prescribed her, she’d be hearing voices. She’d be having a nervous breakdown. Hell, she might even bang her head into the walls until she bled, or the glass broke.

“Oh, aren’t you the most pitiful thing I’ve ever seen!” A giddy voice sang from behind.

Lily turned around, and she practically fell back onto her ass. The giddy voice belonged to one of the most strange looking women she’d ever seen.

Her hair was chopped short, half pulled up into a knot on the top of her head. The top half of her hair was black as midnight, the bottom half as pale and white as snow. Her skin was based bronze, a warm golden glow peeking underneath. Spots and patches of violet and crimson kissed her skin. Her eyes peaked beneath black lashes, as orange as dying embers. She was breathtaking and mysterious. Yet, the longer Lily stared at her, the more beautiful she found this female.

“I’m sorry. I know my appearance can be a bit unwavering for your kind. I’ll try to make this quick. My name is Isla.” She put her hand out to Lily.

She shook her hand, her gaze captured in Isla’s eyes. “Lily.” She didn’t realize it, but she was trembling.

“You don’t have to be scared. I won’t hurt you. I’m actually here to help you heal. I take it that mean, old phoenix, Lucius didn’t do anything to help you get comfortable.”

Lily shook her head. “Phoenix?” She felt dizzy. She was getting way past her limit of bullshit for the day. How the hell was she supposed to process all of this crap at once.

“Oh! He didn’t tell you. Honey, you’re no longer among humans. You don’t have to hide yourself. You’re with other immortals.” She smiled wide, and Lily saw a small little pair of fangs. They were positively adorable. All at once, Isla’s smile faded away. “Oh, honey. You don’t know a damn thing. Do you? Bless your soul.” She reached out and pulled Lily into her arms.

Out of reflex, Lily pushed her away. She didn’t mean to, but she couldn’t refuse her own instinct.

“Oh, not the touchy feely type of person? It’s okay I get it.” Isla’s voice was so soft. It was welcoming, and understanding. It was something that Lily wasn’t used to.

Over her brief twenty-seven years, Lily had only come in contact with rough, edgy people. People that needed more therapy than what they put her in. People that needed more psych meds than what she was on.

“Sorry.” Lily cowered into herself, her shoulders shrouding her face.

“Look at me again.” Isla forced Lily to look straight at her. She shined a small flashlight in her eyes. “Your pupils are dilated. Your heart is also pounding incredibly loud.” She shook her head.

“You didn’t use your stethoscope. How do you know that?” Lily looked her up and down.

“You’d know how, if you were brought into this world sooner. It seems like you have even come into your abilities yet. A bit of a late bloomer.” Isla caressed her cheek. “I keep telling Lucius about flashing newbies. You may or may not have bumped your head during the trip here. Concussions are normal. I’d suggest staying up for at least twelve hours, maybe twenty-four. We don’t want a seer losing her abilities. Now do we?” Isla smiled.

“Seer?” Lily blinked.

“Oh, sorry I keep forgetting. Seers are people that can speak with the dead, occasionally have psychic abilities and can perform the occasional witchcraft ritual.” Isla shrugged her shoulders.

She turned away from Lily, reaching into a high cabinet. Isla pulled out a box of gloves, and quickly stretched a pair over her petite hand. “Would you mind laying down on the examining table? Lucius mentioned how he found you, and I need to perform a pelvic exam to make sure you didn’t sustain any severe injuries to your cervix or vaginal walls. If you don’t mind.”

Lily remembered the last time she had a pelvic exam done on her. That wasn’t the worst part. Sure, it was briefly uncomfortable. What was worse was the rape kit. She was already self-conscious as it was, but having someone take pictures of the many bruises she had gotten. Of the cuts across her body. Having them swab her, everywhere. Lily shuddered at the memory.

“If you aren’t up for the challenge, that’s okay. I can tell it makes you uncomfortable.” Isla sighed. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to make you a quick cocktail. It’ll heal you up, painlessly.”

Whatever it was, it sounding fucking great to her. Hell, it sounded like the best thing ever. Lily wished she had some the first time around. “Okay.”

BY THE GODS THERE Nothing more aromatic to ever hit his nose, than this female’s scent. Roses and embers. Something so incredibly unique, so incredibly delicious.

Caspius looked at his friends. Some friends they were. A shifter, a vampire and an incubus walk into a bar. Caspius rolled his eyes. Just thinking about their odd pairing sounded like a bad joke.

“She’s a fine specimen,” Ellias commented. His cool tone had Caspius believing he wasn’t so cool on the inside. The veins on his neck, glowing only gave proof to Caspius’s theory.

“Of course she is. You suspect any less from Lucius?” Donte swung his arm across the wide frame of the depressing phoenix.

“I’d rather not be part of your bullshit. You’re going to kill her anyways. Why let Isla waste a good cocktail?” Lucius stepped out of Donte’s grasp.

“Maybe we’ll have a bit of fun with her. She is gorgeous after all,” Ellias shrugged.

Caspius wanted to protest. Something about the idea of using her, then killing her stirred something dark inside him. It made his beast want to rip off the head of anyone who dared to harm the lovely female. Yet, instead of saying or doing something about, he just stood there… Admiring her and all that she was.

She had a mountain of midnight curls, spiraling in all directions. She had a pair of grey-hazel eyes that were ringed with thick lashes. Her skin was dark, and lovely. Hints of bronze and deep golds contoured the gentle hollows in her cheeks. She was tall in her stature, and a bit fuller in figure. At least Caspius knew she wouldn’t break easily.

Watching Isla interact with her, was somewhat nerve racking. Though the chimera was gentle in her attempts to interact with this specimen of a woman, she still flinched at every moment of contact. Gods, what is her name.

Lily. His beast practically purred in contentment. Didn’t you hear her say it.

Of course Caspius heard her say her own name. Gods, her voice was so measly. So soft spoken. There was a lot of pain in her voice, as if she’d been through almost too much. That couldn’t have been though. She was still so young. Too young.

“What happened to her?” Caspius asked. He looked over at Lucius.

“She was raped. I’d rather not go into too much detail about it. She was shaken, still seems to be. I don’t think it’s the first time it happened to her. She didn’t shut down afterwards, she just reacted.” He folded his arms across his chest.

“I guess having some fun with her, is officially out of the picture.” Ellias frowned. There were times that Caspius couldn’t stand the man for what he was.

Incubus were sex driven creatures. It was all they wanted, all that they could possibly think of. If they couldn’t get their fix, they’d turn into raging beasts until they got what they wanted.

Caspius would pity any female that would be their mate. Dealing with Ellias would be more than any immortal could handle.

“Holy shit! What are you three doing here?” Isla shut the infirmary door behind her. “Were you guys spying on my patient?”

“Just observing the food.” Donte was practically licking his chops.

“She’s not food. She’s a friend.” Isla locked her mismatched eyes on Caspius. “She’s a seer. Kind of fresh I might add. I managed to get a sample of her blood without her noticing. It seems like she has some panic disorders, and I need to know if she’s on any meds. The cocktails will wash it out of her system, but we would need to prepare for what would follow suit.” She looked down at her in-hand clipboard. “I’m also going to give her an antibiotic, just in case there’s any type of infection.”

“She’s a seer?” Caspius asked.

“It’s been about a century since the last seer was born. How was her birth missed?”

“She’s been cloaked by mortals her whole life. Human scent is one of the best ways to mask the scent of death,” Isla answered. “Her powers should’ve been activated earlier though. I don’t understand why she’s such a late bloomer.”

“You did mention that she’s possibly on some medications. Maybe they masked her abilities.” Ellias shrugged.