Forbidden

This Changes Everything

Luca

Luca ignored the curious looks from his family as he ushered Hailey and Van into the house. For one moment, hope sparked in his mother's eyes, but he shook his head, refusing to foster false hope. She understood immediately and walked out of the room without speaking.

"Nice house," Hailey said, her hands on her hips as she spun in the center of the living room.

He looked around the room and shrugged. His family had never wanted for anything because of their pack status, but without the people he loved filling the room, it was just a space to exist.

"Nothing compared to Van's digs," he replied.

Van examined photos in a bookshelf, but his comment made her pause. "My father's house is cold. Like a crypt. This place feels like a home. It's nice."

Flopping onto the couch, he waited for the girls to find a seat. Telling Van his secret was unavoidable now, but he wasn't in any rush. There was no telling what lies the Holy Asylum of Light- aka the Holy Asylum of BS- fed her during training, and he wasn't ready to watch the distrust cloud her bright green eyes. Not after he worked so hard to erase it.

"So..." Van sat beside him and put her hands on his knees. "What are you, Luca? A werewolf?"

Luca stiffened and stared at the girl next to him. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Not only had she just asked him if he was a werewolf without a hint of fear in her voice, but she had chosen to sit near him even with those suspicions. The shock freezing his features faded, and he grinned.

"Definitely not a werewolf." She sagged as if disappointed. "I guess you could say I'm a werepanther."

"Holy crap. That's awesome."

"Awesome," Hailey squeaked. "You had a panic attack when I told you there were other supernatural creatures."

Van fluttered her hand in Hailey's direction while rolling her eyes. "No, I freaked out about zombies."

Luca growled. "Zombies? Where?"

Hailey leaned back in her seat and crossed her legs. Her blue eyes bounced with humor. Clearly, she found Van's reaction as amusing as he did.

"I don't know of any around here. She's the one who jumped to zombies."

"They freak me out more than vampires, I think."

"Oh, no babes. Vampires should scare you a million times more than anything else. Zombies are single minded creatures."

"Brains?" Van quipped, sobering up quickly when no one else laughed.

"The Necromancer controls them. They do what he or she wants and only what he or she wants. Not to mention, you can smell them coming."

Luca added, "Vampires are different. They look human but think like predators. The younger ones are driven by hunger, and the eldest among them are driven by boredom. They play with their food before they eat."

He watched Van for a reaction, but beyond a hard swallow, she showed no sign of being afraid. It worried him, and he wondered if he was wrong about her being at peace. Maybe she saw this new world as a more efficient path to self-destruction.

"Where do you fit in all of this?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, my father said that the Asylum is dedicated to ridding the world of unnatural creatures, and he's warned me away from you over and over again. But, you're allowed to live here. Free. Not in cages like the vampire I saw."

"Our cage is just bigger and nicer."

"Luca." Hailey's tone was filled with caution. "Van, shifters work with the Asylum. In exchange, we don't hunt their kind."

"Work with?" Luca demanded. "Is that what they say? We work for them. Not with. There's a big difference."

"I thought you were the reasonable one."

"And I thought you were better than the others, Hailey."

Van's skin paled, and her hand went to her throat. "Hailey, there were collars in the training room. Trixie wouldn't tell me what they were for, but I have a really good idea right now."

His eyes flashed as he waited for Hailey to answer. From the tremble in Van's hands as she glared at the blonde, he didn't think she approved of keeping people on leashes. Perhaps, the Supreme needed to reconsider making Van his heir. She might change everything.

"Trixie probably had a good reason for not telling you, Van. There's so much about this world that you don't know or understand. You think you know everything because Luca is a nice guy? You think that makes all of them good? What about Bane? If he wasn't bound by the Contract, he would have killed us both tonight. Those leashes and collars exist to keep monsters in check. The worst monsters have the prettiest faces."

Hailey stood as she talked, the volume of her voice rising with every word. Each one struck Luca like a bullet. He'd always known what Hailey was, but she'd never treated him like he was less because he was a shifter. To hear her speak like this broke something inside of him and made him wonder if he was as much of a fool as Bane thought he was for thinking things could be different one day.

Then, he looked at Van. Hailey's words weren't stirring up agreement. Van's cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were wild. She rose to her feet, mimicking Hailey's aggressive stance. And that fissure inside of him started to fuse back together.

"And what proof do you have that Luca is a monster?"

"He's a shifter, Van! It's in his nature. If he's not a monster, it's because he fights it, and only because he knows it would cost him his life if he gave in to his baser instincts."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you're judging him based on things someone has brainwashed you with? You've never witnessed anything that supports what you've been told. Well, you know what. I believe in actions, and the only monsters I've seen since I've been in this effing town, are the ones I live with. My father introduced me to this world by showing me a man in a cage. A man they starved-"

"A vampire, Van."

"A man. One that was being tortured, and you can say it was all about studying them. Understanding their weaknesses, but I saw the pleasure in my father's face. He enjoyed it. Those collars hurt, and when I think about it going around the neck of someone like Luca, I want to puke."

Van pulled her hair and started to pace. Luca could barely breathe. All the weariness from earlier disappeared with every step she took. In his wildest dreams, he'd let himself believe Van might not recoil in terror when she learned what he was, but never had he let himself think she would stand up for him.

"You're out of line, and when your father hears about this, he's going to be furious."

"Oh, please do tell him. I enjoy pissing him off."

"Is that why you're standing up for me?" Luca asked the question quietly. "So you can make him angry?"

"What? No," she insisted, unable to hide the flash of guilt. "Not entirely. It's part of it. But, look. I haven't been on board with all of this since day one, but now that I know what you are, there are pieces falling into place that only confirm my gut reaction. Like for instance, when we were leaving the Asylum the first day, Trixie came in with a baby panther. I was like what do you need with a panther-"

Luca grabbed her arm, but snatched his hand back when she winced. "What day was this?"

"It was the day after mini golf."

Luca roared, letting his panther slip through enough that his skin rippled with fur and his nails lengthened. Hailey cursed and tried to get between him and Van, but Van shoved her out of the way. She touched Luca's face.

"Who was it?"

"My baby brother."