Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Lake

"What's your father's name?" Tucker asks as he lets me go, taking a step back.

I open my mouth to protest his movement rather than to answer him. The sudden loss of his heat leaves me chilled. It takes me a moment to think about his question, and there's no way I'm answering it. I don't know this man, this shifter. I can't trust him with the answer he's looking for. It's bad enough I told him my last name.

"That's none of your business," I finally manage to say. Pushing away from the counter he backed me into, I ignored the need for him to be close and focused on the fact he was a stranger to me.

But he called me his mate, which scares me even more because I do know what it means. I know it means I'm fated for him as only no other can be. Still, I don't understand.

"Lake, what was your father's name? I won't ask you again." He growls, teeth bared, eyes narrowed to gold little slits, hands planting themselves on his hips.

I don't know how he does it, but the very stance makes him seem bigger and far more powerful than he already is.

"Or what? You're going to torture me until I give you answers? Sorry, bucko, that isn't going to happen. What I can do is give you a can of Spam and send you on your way." Why did I say that?

"Spam?" He looks surprised and maybe even a little confused by my remark. "Why the fuck would I want you to give me that shit?"

"Supposedly, it has the same texture as human flesh." I shrug. "You know it could curb the appetite for wanting to find the next victim you decide to hunt down when you shift."

Tucker jerks back like I'd caught him by surprise. Though only for a second. The next, he's throwing his head back and laughing.

"I don't see what's so funny," I mutter out, huffing and taking on the same stance as him, hands on hips, glaring at him.

It takes him another moment or two to stop laughing and brings his gaze to mine, the gold in his eyes gone, replaced with a beautiful hazel color. I didn't even think hazel could be pretty, but his eyes proved me wrong.

Instead of looking at his eyes, I should have been paying attention, putting even more distance between the two of us. I should've just turned and run because, in the next second, I find Tucker back in my space, edging me back against the counter once again. His arms cage me in, and he leans in, getting nose-to-nose with me.

"If I want to take a bite out of someone, it would be when I have my mouth between those pretty legs of yours. And when I do that, little Fae, that's when I'll torture you. But it wouldn't be to harm you in any way. I'd torture you with so much pleasure you would be begging me to take it further." Tucker inhales, and as he does so, he sighs. Freaking sighs. He runs his nose along my cheek until he whispers in my ear, "Trust me, little Fae, when I'm done with you, you'll never be the same again."

"Why do you say that?" I more or less breathe. My voice seeming gone, trailing on the air in a barely there whisper.

"Because you'll never want me to stop. You'll be begging me to take you at every turn. To keep you next to me. Which I'll tell you now, little Fae, you don't have to plead for."

Tucker jerks away, and I'm left there leaning against the counter once again, reeling by his effect on me.

"Now, mate, tell me who the fuck your father is? Callum, Rohan, Jair, Walker, or Trace?"

It's my turn to be shocked as he names my dad and each of my uncles."How do you know their names?"

"Because they're tiger shifter royalty, little Fae, everyone in the shifter world knew of the Wildthorn family. And the family was allies to mine. That is before they were all killed by blood witches."

I stare up at him in total disbelief. I knew the story of blood witches killing the female my uncle Jair was to marry long ago. She and her family were decimated by evil. I didn't know there was anyone who survived. They didn't tell me that part.

There's a lot my dad and uncle didn't tell me.

The one thing I wish they had was why I was in such danger and why I was constantly running for my life.

"So which one, little Fae?" Tucker's gruff tone draws me out of my thoughts before I can allow them to go any further.

"My dad's name is Callum," I answer. He already knows who they all are, I might as well let the cat out of the bag. "Before you ask, I know he's a shifter, and I'm not. My mom was his mate, she was already pregnant with me before they met. And she died when I was born."

"That explains that. But now I want to know why they're not protecting you. If your mom was Callum's mate, then he's got to know you're a Fae," he says, surprising me.

"Excuse me?" Is that why he keeps calling me little Fae?

"Your dad had to have known you were a fairy, Lake. You can't deny it, you're half Fae. The scent is all over you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I admit, releasing a ragged breath. "I'm not a fairy."

Tucker keeps his gaze laser-focused on me, head cocked slightly. "You don't know, do you." I shake my head to answer him, and he mutters a curse. "They kept that from you. Didn't tell you, why?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Fairies aren't real . . ."

Tucker laughs darkly and shakes his head. "You believe in shifters. Seen it with your own eyes. You know about us. I'm sure they told you about blood witches, but you don't think fairies are real."

"Well . . ."

Maybe they are, but I'm not one. I'm normal. I'm just a human. My mom was human.

"Trust me, little Fae, you are what you deny. A Fae. There's no shielding your scent from me." Tucker's nostrils flare, and he's looking more than just a little pissed. "You not knowing the truth of what you are is dangerous. They had to know that."

"I'm not a flipping fairy," I shout, stomp my foot, and feel like a child for doing so. But I'm not going to put up with him talking about me being something I'm not or about my family. They protected me all my life. They raised me with love and shielded me from all the bad they could.

Tucker cocks a brow, not saying a word.

"There's no way I'm a fairy," I state once more. "My mom was human."

"And what of your biological father?" he asks.

That has me freezing up. Anytime I ever asked, Dad would change the subject. He never told me about him. I just thought he didn't know and didn't want to tell me. What if he did, though, and he was hiding it from me?

"You don't know anything about him, do you?"

Slowly, I shake my head, not answering him verbally.

"Well, Lake, it's best you start believing. The truth is there in your scent, little Fae, you are just that, a Fae. And knowing this, it explains why you're in danger."

"How do you know that?" I blurt out, only to slap my hand over my mouth.

"I know," he states, stepping into my space. "Because I was told my mate was on her way here and that she has danger right on her ass."

Oh my God.

He can't know. I don't even know who is after me. I hope he doesn't ask me who it is because then I have to tell him, and that's not what I feel like doing. How do you explain you're running from an unknown?

A cold shiver courses down my spine, and I know what that means. He's right, that danger is right on my ass.

Thankfully, Tucker doesn't ask any more questions, nor does he say anything right off. Instead, he stares at me, sensing something. When he finally speaks again, he grabs my wrist at the same time. "We're leaving," he states, starting toward the door.

"What?" I balk at the very idea of him taking me anywhere. "I'm not going with you." I attempt to pry his grip from my wrist, but he's too strong.

Tucker narrows his gaze and tugs me to his front. "Mate, you aren't fighting me on this. I saw with my own eyes the chill go down your spine. I felt the shift in the air. You can't lie to me. You're in danger. It's after you, and I'm getting you to the one place you will be safe. The one place my brothers and I can keep you safe no matter what comes at us. Now, you can come willingly, or you can fight me. I will throw you over my shoulder, still taking you out of here. You have three seconds to make your decision."

I feel my throat tightening, and I glance to the side. It's a view of the bedroom and where my night-light sits. I swallow and lick my bottom lip as I bring my gaze back to his. "Can I bring my night-light, please?"