Chapter 28

Chapter 28

I hated to acknowledge it, but her pheromones were especially strong today. I couldn't make out her scent from those of her potential mates, but she certainly had a tractor-beam-like draw to her while sitting so close.

Perhaps that was part of her Hybrid makeup more than her Shifter make up. There were a number of species that had luring auras that aided in hunting and devouring, particularly in the case of feminine creatures that drew in masculine ones with sexual energy. Where a male Incubus was a predator known to feed on unconscious and vulnerable victims, a female Succubus was a seductress who made an active effort to draw in her meals. There were also Sirens, Hulders, Mermaids, Jorogumo—we had countless possibilities based only on that vague characteristic. Though if she had tail fins or spider legs while in forced transformation, I imagined she would have mentioned it. It was hard to say having never seen it though. I hoped she'd be willing to spend a full moon night at the shop one month.

"How am I going to figure out what I am from this book?" She frowned as she flipped through the pages aimlessly. Every other page was a new species, and I'd have to admit there were a lot of options to thumb through. She flipped around Norse Demonology, then she started on the Japanese Yokai section. She poured over hundreds of monsters of the devil's design with only a brief glance. "Does nationality matter? Or can anyone be anything?"

An excellent question. I much enjoyed the small and insightful ways she navigated our research sessions together. Even on a topic she knew nothing about, she was adept enough to ask the right questions to decode the information.

"Anyone can be anything. Some species are more commonly found in certain regions, often because of preferences for weather or hunting grounds, but in thousands upon thousands of years of migration and development, human race and magic species have little to do with one another. For example, a so called ‘Sasquatch' and a ‘Yeti' and a ‘Yeren' are all the same species, but different humans around the world created different names for them based on local language and the color of their fur. Similarly, Eastern and Western Astrology based shifters are often associated with Greece or China, but you can be a ‘Chinese Zodiac' Shifter and be born in Poland, or you can be a ‘Greek Zodiac' shifter born in Thailand. It's the subtle influence of the constellations that appear over all the world's sky that give us power, not a localized belief system."

"Us?" She latched onto that word, and I was mortified when I realized I'd slipped.

"There's a reason I know so much about Zodiac Shifters in particular." I attempted to save my fuck up with a strained smile. I'd not intended to share that with her. But then again, she would have likely figured it out sooner than later .

"When's your birthday?" She asked next, always so perceptive.

"June." I answered despite myself. "June 13 th ."

She looked up thoughtfully, like she was trying to recall where that fell on the Zodiac cycle.

With a sigh, knowing there was no point in hiding it, I added, "Gemini."

"A Gemini Alpha?" She poked next, and I was regretting having taught her anything.

"Omega." I confessed with a heavy swallow. There was no reason I couldn't be honest with her. It wasn't like she'd start looking at me with nefarious intent because of my classification. She was so far removed from our world that it wouldn't make any difference to her whether I was an Omega or a Pixie. Lila was trusting me to help her navigate this, so I had to trust her. Maybe her pheromones were messing with my head, but I felt confident that I could do so safely. "Enough about me, we're trying to figure out you."

Trust or not, I didn't want to have that conversation.

"Right, right." She returned her attention to the book, and I was happy to dodge that bullet. "So then, how can we figure out what I might be? What kind of things should I look for?"

I scrunched my nose, not sure how to answer that. Maybe the demonology book was too general. I hadn't realized how intense her draw was until I'd sat beside her, and it seemed more productive to start with a book that focused more on species with luring scents. If she was a Beta, she didn't have heats, so it wasn't the shifter in her that was pulling me in.

I snatched the book from her and started flipping through pages. I wished they broke up the sections by appearances rather than culture. I thumbed through to a couple different maybes, but I wasn't satisfied with any of them.

"Can you grab the book on goddesses?" I asked as I flipped past the quick write up on Sirens. She wasn't a singer, and she lacked the natural charisma and extroversion that came with that species. Not to mention she didn't seem terribly drawn to eating human flesh. Even if her hybrid status eliminated the last determinant, it wouldn't remove the first two.

"Sure." Lila scooted out her chair very slowly and awkwardly. She held her skirt as she stood up. She seemed very stiff and nervous for some reason.

I kept flipping through pages. If her hybrid form didn't have wings, she wasn't a succubus. I was sure she would have mentioned if it had. Any creature capable of flight couldn't go three minutes without bragging about it, after all.

"I can't reach it." She called over, and I lifted my attention from my book to see what she was on about. The book on goddesses was on the top shelf, and at her quaint 5'7" that was too high.

"The ladder is broken unfortunately." I tipped my chin towards the rolling ladder that was sitting in halves on the floor. The old wood had given out when a golem had climbed it to get a book on magic treats. It had been months, but it was no wonder that they'd not repaired it yet. The library was painfully underfunded .

I paced over and glanced up at the book that was about a foot out of my reach. I'd admit that at 6'2" I wasn't the tallest shifter to ever live, but I was reasonably tall for an Omega. Between the two of us, we could get it though. "I can give you a lift."

Her whole body, head to toe, flared red, and I had no idea what I'd said that elicited such a reaction.

"You know, I'm not all that worried about it. Maybe we can look at it another day." Lila laughed the most shaky and false laughter I'd ever bore witness to. So odd.

"It's just right there." I shook my head, confused by her stubbornness. I offered a hand as a platform. "You can step on my hand for leverage, or you can get up on my shoulders. I promise I'm not as frail as I look." Had she assumed that because I wasn't as muscular as men like Emery that I couldn't lift a woman? Did she think so little of me?

"No—no, I'm good." She shook her head again, more rapidly and forcefully this time. "I think I need to get to class anyway. So I should go."

"It's only one-o-clock. Your next class isn't for five more hours. We have plenty of time." This was perplexing. What was the issue? Maybe she was afraid of heights? With a shrug, I crouched down and dropped my head to help with easier mounting. "Just hop on my shoulders. I'll lift you up, and you can grab the book."

I lifted my gaze to give her a reassuring smile.

Pink .

I never made it to her face, before my mouth dropped and my body hit a temperature I didn't know it was capable of.

"No, not now!" She squeaked as she grabbed the bottom hem of her skirt and tugged it down as far as it would go, before promptly scurrying out of the library.

I remained stunned in place, staring blankly ahead like I'd been paralyzed by magic. The library door shut loudly behind her.

I couldn't say how long I'd been kneeling before that bookcase before I blinked myself into present awareness. I swallowed, and breathed slowly through my nose, then I rose to my feet.

Well then.

I cleared my throat for no one but myself. I glanced up at the too high book then back at the closed door.

Another time. Definitely another time.