Chapter 6 #2
Dante nodded reassuringly, as though that was as close to making sense as the explanation would ever get. “At this moment, Natalia is the one consciously with us.”
My gaze shifted to him briefly, finding the way he’d phrased it particularly curious. I was “consciously” with them; did that mean Natasha was unconscious inside me? That was not how it felt for me before, when Natasha was steering the ship.
I was always here, present, alert, I just felt trapped somehow, unable to reach her or Star… until she got drunk, sort of. It was the reason I went crazy with André once I finally got a chance to get free.
Wherever Natasha was right now, I hoped she didn’t feel trapped. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
“I know you’ve technically already met me, but it’s a pleasure to meet you, Friedrich.”
The man returned my smile, though questions still colored his expression—most likely because he finally noticed the change in my gaze. With a swift bow of his head, he opened the doors to the dining room, motioning for us to enter.
As soon as we walked inside it, the chatter stopped, and everyone stood from their seats.
“Natasha!” Isis rushed to my side, her arms swiftly embracing me before I could say anything.
I knew Isis. I’ve felt her hugs and love through Natasha many, many times, so I didn’t tense in her hold, but that uncomfortable feeling returned, wanting me to hug her fiercely. Awkward.
“I’m sorry, Isis. I’m not her. I’m Natalia,” I whispered in her ear, not wanting to make her feel bad for her reaction.
Pulling back, she cradled my face and looked at me, finally noticing the red eyes. I expected her to gasp in horror, to glance at my mates, or demand an explanation like the one that had confounded Friedrich.
After assessing me for a few seconds Isis smiled appreciatively. “You may look different, be different now, but you are still and will always be my sweet baby girl. You are just growing into the woman you are meant to be. No more, no less.”
The soft stroke of her thumb on my cheek accompanied her reassuring words, and she pulled me in again. My arms wrapped around her this time, returning the hug as warmth coursed through me, making us feel safe.
“I love Isis, Bitch.”
“Yeah. I know.”
“Hello, dearie. You scared us for a second there.”
I turned towards the voice to see Bj?rn step next to me to pull me into his arms too.
Damn, he was freaking beautiful, in a definitely-not-from-anywhere-near-this-world kind of way.
He squeezed me, and his love for Natasha rolled over me like a gentle wave.
Knowing how much he also meant to Natasha, I returned the hug.
He was almost like a father to her.
“Damn, lucky Isis…”
“I know, Bitch. I’d like to be banging that too each night. And morning. And after—”
“Starlight…” Dante chastised through the link, clearly not amused.
“On the bed. On the sofa. On the kitchen count—"
The clearing of my throat ended her sex rant, and I offered a small smile to the sexy Fae Viking once we ended the hug. “I’m fine. Sorry that I scared you all.”
“As I knew you would be.” He winked at me fetchingly, and Star swooned inside me.
It was so surreal seeing them all face to face now, touching them, feeling them after being trapped inside for so long.
“That Viking can ravage and plunder my virgin lands whenever he wants.”
Laughter escaped Hannes, but he swiftly covered it with a cough.
“Really? Out of the three guys, the Wolf Shifter is the one who finds it funny?” I wondered.
“I like a confident man, Bitch. I mean, Beast. I mean, Wolf Shifter.”
“Wait. Why is he in our mates’ shadow link too?” My brows furrowed. “Is he…?”
“He is our mate too! I remember now. Three mates. We have three extra hot mates, Bitch.”
“Huh, the sexy Wolf Shifter is ours too?” My appreciative gaze roamed over him for a moment, remembering the deliciously hunky lumberjack who greeted me before he transformed.
Hannes’s beast narrowed his eyes at me playfully, apparently enjoying our discovery.
Didn’t it bother him that we had only now recognized him as our mate? That was confidence. I guess he knew Natasha was his no matter what Star and I remembered.
His gaze softened, a gentle smile stretching over his muzzle.
“Damn, Bitch. That smile of his is dangerous even as the Beast…”
“Agreed.”
“Is that why you were so fast to claim him? Instincts?”
“Sure.”
“I wonder if he’ll be naked once he transforms back into a man.”
“I’d be willing to pay for that. Also, he didn’t just ‘transform’. You forced him into the Beast when you touched him. Goddess only knows what it was you did to him at the boathouse…”
I internally grunted. “Fine, but there’s no need for you to be a bitch.”
“Right, that role is reserved for you.”
“Enough, Starlight.” André’s growl echoed through our minds, and she became quiet.
Not that I needed him to defend me…
Rolling my eyes, I chose to ignore her, but her jab had already found its mark. Concern rolled through me. What had I done to Hannes at the boathouse?
The moment Bj?rn stepped away, two beautiful women walked to my side, and I instantly recognized them as Vanessa and her girlfriend, Alyce—who we know remembered was Hannes’s twin.
They looked at us expectantly.
“Sorry. Star is yapping away in my head. It makes it hard to focus.”
“Star?” Vanessa frowned.
“Starlight,” I corrected, but only for her sake.
“Oh! I like the nickname.”
“She loves it too.”
“Bitch, I swear…”
I smirked.
Unlike the others, Alyce and Vanessa didn’t rush to hug me, they just smiled at me, sincerely relieved to see me well. I appreciated them giving me space, though it was obvious the guys had filled them in on my situation already.
Strangely, I couldn’t find Natasha’s parents in the room. Maybe they were taking care of other important things before joining us.
“How are you feeling, Natalia?” Countess Dariah asked, standing from the table too.
“That’s actually why we are here,” Dante began.
“I feel perfectly fine,” I interrupted, wanting to stop the concern that began to enter everyone’s gazes. “I just… don’t seem to remember.”
“Don’t remember what?” Isis asked, eyebrows quickly furrowing with worry despite my attempt.
The guys and I exchanged a dreaded glance because I knew Isis and the others would for sure freakout. “Anything from the past day… Maybe less, maybe more. I’m not entirely sure. It’s kind of confusing right now with three people in here.” I gestured to my head.
Isis’s alarmed gaze snapped to Hannes, who slowly transformed back into a man.
The clothes he previously wore mysteriously returned to his body.
“What a shame…” Star sighed disappointedly.
“She doesn’t remember anything?” Isis pressed, seeming anxious.
Hannes shook his head, sadness entering his ocean-blue eyes. “As far as we know, not anything that happened last night.”
“I remember all of our life,” I interjected. “Is not quite a fluent flow of memories, though. More like information I can access if I try, but whatever happened that made me in charge instead of her, is not accessible to me.”
What felt like sorrow descended over the entire space, coming even from the guards standing by the door. Everyone’s expressions fell, making the air feel thick with trepidation.
“Bitch, what just happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“What is it we can’t remember?”
“I don’t know.”
“It can’t be that bad, can it?”
“I don’t know…”
“I mean—”
“Star…”
“Sorry.”
“Not accessible?” Bj?rn questioned, calling my attention to him.
“No. It’s like part of my mind, of my being, is shrouded in a dense fog or darkness that keeps it and Natasha from me.”
“Can you call to that darkness with your own?”
“Can you remove it?”
Hannes and André asked Dante, their thoughts immediately aligned.
“No,” Our Vampir Mother answered before Dante could even open his mouth. “He can’t remove it because it is not the same darkness he wields.”
She walked around the table, making her way to me in an emerald-green outfit that made her pale skin and red hair seem magical and otherworldly.
The others moved away when she approached, giving her space, and I couldn’t help but find it surreal that to unknowing eyes, she simply looked like a beautiful young woman.
Nothing else. Only, for me, it took one look into the unending wisdom swirling in her stormy grey eyes to see that she had lived thousands of lives.
Countess Dariah was eternally nineteen, but even as she stopped before me and I kept a tight hold on my senses, the waves of her power brushed my skin, making the little hairs on my arms stand on end.
Nonetheless, her power extended far beyond her nature.
“I know that darkness,” she confessed, her Romanian accent flaring with each word. “I know it because it once clouded my memories too.” Taking a deep breath, she turned towards the door. “Savino, you know where Georgette is, yah?” she addressed one of her private guards.
“Yes, Countess. She is finishing a voluntary examination.”
“She hasn’t taken any rest yet?”
“Not yet.”
Genuine concern captured her face, but she reluctantly nodded. “Go find her and tell her that is enough for today. To freshen up and meet us here in the dining room. Thank you.”
“Gratitude is not needed. It is my pleasure to serve you.” The man’s words echoed with reverence before he left the room, eager to complete his task.
“They say that every time. It’s so annoying.” Humor flashed in her eyes briefly but never reached her lips. Taking my hand, she guided me to the table, motioning for me to sit beside her. “We’ll need to wait for Georgette to arrive before we can find out. For now, we eat. You need sustenance too.”
“Bitch… Maybe it is that bad.”
Taking a hardening breath, I did as my Vampir Mother asked and sat beside her while the smell of roasted meat and potatoes danced in my nose. Unfortunately for me, all hunger left me while I wondered what exactly I needed to remember that had everyone so distressed, but I still took the first bite.
Hopefully, whoever Georgette was, would be able to help.