Lilith

Chapter 3

I looked around my Chicago apartment with a smile. The decorations were simple, yet elegant. That was more than I could say for my life over the past couple days.

That was how long it had taken to sort out my "abandoned" car, though it wasn't that big a deal. Cain had loaned me one of his until I got mine out of impound and fixed. It would have been nice to simply buy a replacement, but I was still in the process of shuffling bank accounts and didn't want to do anything that would attract attention to my new identity.

The next morning, I'd start my new job as a linguist for a software company. The job was simple enough: translate the documentation from English into several popular languages. In this case, French, German, Italian, and Chinese.

The phone interview had secured me the job when I went into a round-table discussion switching between all four languages with each sentence. They hadn't bothered with a face-to-face interview after the fact. They'd been too eager to get me working on the translations.

My mind drifted to Cain's odd behavior when he rescued me. It had been a long time since we lived as husband and wife, yet he'd claimed that relationship, rather than brother and sister, when rescuing me from Jack. With a deep sigh, I picked up my cell and dialed his number.

"Cain?" I asked when he picked up.

"In trouble already?"

"No, but I think you are. Who was it this time?" There was silence on his end. "Cain, I know you. You only think about me romantically after you've been dumped. We're always there for each other, always have been."

Finally, after a long pause, he responded. "She wasn't anyone special. Newly turned, adorable, she reminded me a bit of us when we were young and innocent."

Those never ended well. "What happened?"

"She figured it out, eventually. We're unique, you and I. We can't hide what we are forever. My children like to believe I'm asleep, not that I'm walking among them in plain sight. Your children revere you as a goddess, without ever suspecting the truth."

"She was terrified, huh?"

"Quite. She went a little mad." He paused to sigh. "You realize you're in a spot of trouble, don't you?"

"What? You got me away from that pack. What's the problem?"

"Alpha Jack Winslow has business holdings in Chicago. He's the majority shareholder and CEO of Paragon Software, among a few other businesses." I gulped. "And he believes in visiting the offices of his holding on a regular basis."

"Shit. ¡Hijo de puta! くそ！"

"Yeah, I thought you'd take that well." There was a bit more amusement in his voice than I really cared for.

"So, what? I just don't show up for work tomorrow? Like that won't be suspicious."

"You could wear my ring again. That's been known to help in the past."

"Yeah, and you're already raising questions in his mind. He knows I called you brother, and you called me wife."

"Both are true," he stated simply.

"Yes, yes, I know that. But we've always had an open marriage, and you know that as well. We don't do monogamy well."

He chuckled at that. "Indeed, we don't. We're both rather naughty like that."

"I'd suggest a witch to mask my scent, but their spells don't work very well on me."

Now he laughed outright. "I remember the last one that tried to curse you. She thought she'd made you mute, but you were just so stunned she'd actually cursed you that you couldn't find anything to say for several minutes. She about died of a heart attack when you asked if she was serious."

I smiled, despite myself. This was why we stayed in touch. We understood each other as no one else could. We often stayed apart for decades at a time, but in the end, we were family. "It was pretty funny, wasn't it?" I sighed, getting serious once again. "I don't suppose there are any Nephilim around town?"

"A couple, but that doesn't mean they'll help you."

"They're usually good for a one night stand for a favor."

"Yeah, and nine months later you're a single mother again. We know how this works, Lil."

"I could let the love-struck idiot try to mark me."

"You said that hurt like a bitch the last time one of them did that."

"That's because it hurt like a bitch. Sometimes, I wish I got your curse, Bro."

"No, you really don't. It's useful, don't get me wrong, but it's also very lonely. At least you get to have family once in a while, no matter how odd the husband and child may be."

"True, but getting killed gets really, really old."

"I'm sure it does, Sis, I'm sure it does." We were both silent a bit before he continued. "I think one of your kids may be in town. Let me do a little checking. She likes you, despite how everything went down in Salem."

"Evangeline's still around?"

"Yeah, I caught up with her a while back. She's a powerful old crone. She might be willing to swing you a favor, since you took her place at the stake."

"It can't hurt to talk with her if she's around. Maybe she can locate his real mate and get me out of this jam."

"I'll see what I can do. She usually avoids me, but if it's for Mom... who knows?"

"Thanks, Cain."

"No problem, Lil."

I hung up and went to bed. Time to hope Jack would give it a while before he made an appearance.