Love Immortal

Chapter Three

Chapter 3

Protection and answers.

They were the most prominent reasons why Lauren was going with this man and the ones that she was going to stick with until everything started making sense. There were other reasons floating around her mind but she ignored those. So what if she felt attracted to Julian? She was only going with him because he could protect her from the monsters that were out to kill her.

Lauren adjusted the straps of her backpack and walked in silence beside Julian through the centre of London. He hadn’t said much since they had left her house other than telling the taxi driver to drop them off at Piccadilly Circus.

They passed through several side streets, heading deeper into the heart of the city, and entered a square with tall Georgian townhouses on all sides. Their pale stone, uniform black iron fences and black doors made them mirror images of each other. A fine layer of frost covered the fancy cars parked on the road outside them. A tall iron fence enclosed a wooded park in the middle of the square, the gates closed. The trees were bare, silhouetted against the sky. Where was Julian taking her, and why couldn’t they have continued in the taxi?

He’d said something back at her house about them going to see some people who were special like her. An organisation called Ghost.

The mention of that name had piqued her interest but Julian had told her to get ready. He’d said it with such insistence that she’d fallen silent and done what he’d asked. She’d changed out of her wet things, mulling over everything he’d told her about her past lives, her apparent mission, their opponent, and himself. She hadn’t said a word since then.

She didn’t have a problem with reincarnation. Belief in that was common enough and it was comforting to think that there was something beyond death.

The thing she found hard to swallow was the fact that ancient Greek gods were involved, and Julian and the werewolf named Lycaon were thousands of years old. Immortal. That was the stuff of movies and fairytales.

But so were monsters, and they were real.

Julian hadn’t told her what would happen if she chose not to ‘awaken’ on her birthday, which left her wondering if she really had a choice at all. Would something bad happen to her or the world if she didn’t? What if one of Illia’s reincarnations said no? Did it all just end?

No. Lauren knew the answer to that. Lycaon was after revenge, something she could empathize with since learning who had ordered her parents’ deaths. If she chose not to carry out Illia’s, her, duty then Lycaon might just get his wish. She wasn’t sure how it worked but Julian had made it sound as though her role was a necessary one and she was important.

She’d never been important before.

It was a nice, if daunting, feeling.

She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to keep warm. The night sky was clear, leaving the world frosty and far colder than her clothing could protect against. Her warmest jacket had been wet so she’d had to dress in her thinner brown combat jacket. Even when combined with the black jumper and camisole it wasn’t warm enough to keep the chill off her skin. She looked up at the heavens. It would be dawn in only a couple of hours. Darkness had already started to give way to a strange kind of twilight that made it easier to see her surroundings but more difficult to make out any detail.

Lauren looked at Julian. He stared straight ahead, eyes intent on the distance and the tall collar of his coat masking the lower half of his face. He didn’t even blink when the wintry wind blew the black strands of his hair across his brow. She kept her gaze fixed on him as much as possible, taking him all in. He moved the black carry case he had borrowed from her to conceal his sword to his right shoulder and straightened. He was much taller than her, enough that she barely reached his shoulders, but she liked it and the fact that he radiated strength and confidence. She wished he would speak more to her though. The sound of his voice soothed her. It was warm and calming, adding to the way she felt when she was around him. She didn’t feel as though she was in danger. She was safe with him. Even though she knew that she shouldn’t feel that way, she did. She couldn’t help it.