"Don't you dare touch me," I said, stepping back from him.
"Careful kitten, we wouldn't want to start things off on the wrong foot. I understand that you're strong-willed, which is exactly what I need in a mate, but you don't want to push me too far." He smiled, but this time there was no warmth to it.
"So, how exactly are you better than Mason?" I asked, frustrated. I had had enough of this toxic masculinity that all the guys in my life seemed to have.
"Well, for one thing, the only reason I'm keeping you here because it's the safest place for you. If I were to let you go home to your family, Mason would be there in an instant to drag you back to his home, leaving a trail of your friends and family bodies in his wake. I am the only one he fears enough to leave you alone at least for the time being," Fitz said cooly.
He sighed, running a hand through his tousled golden hair. "If you would please just come inside, I will explain everything to you."
I followed him inside because I could feel the truth behind his words. I was surprised to see an entirely modern interior that seemed at odds with the classic architecture of the exterior. "You have a lovely home," I said, needing to break the silence.
"Yes, it's been in my family for generations, but when my parents died, I redecorated the interior to something a little more current.
We sat down in a living room where a man set down a tray of finger sandwiches and cookies. "Before we get into this, would you like anything to drink?" Fitz asked.
"No, I'm ok thanks" I smiled shyly at the man.
"Ok then," Fitz said, waving the man away. "Ask me anything, and I will do my best to answer it."
"Ok, well, I guess the first thing is what Mason's deal is? I figured a little bit from Antoinette's diary, but the old french was kind of hard to translate," I said, pulling the diary out of my bag.
"Well, Mason was cursed by Catherine De Medici for killing you. She was a witch and cursed Mason to die a little bit every time the current reincarnation of you rejected him. This is the last chance that he gets before it's all over for him. That's why Mason will do anything to get you back" Fitz said, "And if he were to succeed in making you fall in love with him, he would have absolutely nothing to stop him from taking over the entire supernatural world."
"So, that's why you had Camille kidnap me?" I asked.
"I guess if you want to put it that way then yes, but I promise that as soon as I've found a way to deal with Mason you are free to go" Fitz smiled "Although if you would like to stay when this is all over that would make me very happy."
"If you thought that we were meant to be together, then why didn't you even show up when my father was trying to find a mate for me?" I asked.
"Well, to be honest, I didn't want anything to do with you at that point. My father was the one who was pressuring me to go and meet you, and I rebelled by not going. Then he passed on, and some of my best friends found their mates, and I realized that that was something that I wanted. If there's even a chance that we belong together, I think we owe it to ourselves to explore that" Fitz reached out his hand tentatively. I smiled, reaching the rest of his way to take his hand.
"You promise that after everything is over, I can leave if I want," I asked.
Fitz looked sad but nodded, "If that's what you want when everything is over, I will let you go." I smiled, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Until then though, you should treat this as your home. While it's only me and my beta and a couple of others who live here, members of the pack wander around. Just let them or me know if you need anything. I have a room prepared for you upstairs, and dinner will be served in a couple of hours if your hungry," Fitz said, leading me upstairs to a suite that had a balcony overlooking a lake behind the house.
"I'll let you settle in," Fitz said before leaving, and I was left alone.
I didn't know what it was about this place, but I'd felt more comfortable here than I had anywhere else in a long time. I took a shower and then went to find someone to see if I could find someone who could give me a phone.
I found Alston downstairs, and I timidly cleared my throat "Hi Alston, it's Alston, right?" I asked tentatively.
He smiled, "Yes. Is there anything I can get for you?".
"Yeah, I was wondering if I could use a phone?" I asked, hopefully.
"Of course we can get you a new cell phone, but for now you can use mine" He smiled, handing me his phone.
"Thanks," I grinned, ducking into another room so I could have some privacy.
I punched in my dad's cell phone number eager to hear from my family. "Who is this?" my dad growled on the other end.
"It's Britney dad," I said, unable to keep from my voice from cracking.
There was silence from the other end before my dad spoke. "How do I know that this is really my daughter?" he finally said.
"It's me. You paid for my mother's burial in your family's plot," I said, thinking of something that no one else would know.
I heard my father let out a sob. "Where are you, sweetheart. Just tell me where you are, and I will come and get you".
"I'm with this were called Fitzgerald. He's going to protect me from Mason. I let him trick me into leaving the country with him, but I was able to get away" I babbled, hoping to ease any worries he had.
"So it's started then," my father sighed. "I was hoping to keep you out of all of this by not inviting Fitzgerald Dufort when we were trying to find your mate."
"Wait, you didn't invite him?" I asked, confused.
"No. The Duforts are one of the most brutal groups of Weres who have been locked with a bitter blood feud with our family ever since the original Antoinette was killed" My father sighed.
"So should I try to leave?" I asked quietly.
"No," My father sighed. "Begin with Fitzgerald is probably the safest for now, but you cannot trust them."
"Ok," I whispered. I heard footsteps outside the door and whispered into the phone, "I have to go, but I love you."
"I love you too sweetheart," my dad sniffed, "Be safe."
I quickly hung up as Fitz came into the room. "Who was that?" He smiled easily, but there was a tension in his body at odds with the smile.
"My dad," I said easily. Anger flashed in Fitz's eyes, but it was gone almost as quickly as it had come. "I just need to let him know I was safe," I smiled.
"Did you tell him where you were?" He asked breezily.
"No, I thought it would be safer to keep him out of everything," I lied. I figured it would be easier to feign ignorance of everything my father had just said.
"I'm glad you were able to give him some peace of mind" Fitz smiled, looking relieved. "And of course I'll get you your own phone, so you can keep in contact with your dad and friends back home."
"Really?" I asked, surprised. It seemed strange that someone who was nervous about me talking to my father would give me something that would allow me to speak to him whenever I wanted. "That's really kind of you," I smiled.
"It's the least I can do. You're going to be cooped up in here for a while until we can figure out how to get rid of Mason" Fitz said, " I just want to make you as comfortable as possible."
"Thanks," I said sheepishly.
"Anyway, I just came in here to tell you that dinner was ready," Fitz said, "I invited a couple of people from our pack to join me so you could make some friends."
I stiffened slightly "Would you mind if we had dinner just the two of us. I'd just really like to get to know you better".
Fitz beamed, "Of course. I'll get us some food, and we can go to eat in the den downstairs".
I nodded in relief. I didn't think I could handle being surrounded and judged by a whole new group of strangers. Besides, this would give me a better opportunity to get to learn more about Fitz, which could help me figure out whether or not to trust him. On the one hand, I had already caught Fitz in a lie, but he had also confirmed several things that I had already suspected. I also couldn't ignore the fact that being around Fitz put me at ease more than anything else ever had.
Fitz came back with two plates piled high with bread, cheese, meat, and fruit as well as a bottle of champaign tucked under his arm. "Follow me," he beamed impishly.
We settled in on the floor of a media room, and Fitz popped the champaign pouring it into two flutes. "So tell me," I said, taking a deep swig of champaign trying to loosen up, "What is your favorite color."
Fitz laughed, surprised, "Really favorite color? That's what you're going with?".
I shrugged laughing, "I figured I'd lob you a softball, to begin with."
"Well, I guess I really like the color blue," he shrugged his ears, turning slightly red.
"That's nice. Blues a cool color. I really like the color green." I smiled. "Now, you get to ask me something."
"Hm," Fitz mused dramatically, tapping his chin "I guess I'd like to know what's your favorite book?"
"Well, I guess I used to really like any fantasy book before I got dragged into all of this," I sighed, taking another long sip.
"What do you mean by dragged into all of this?" He asked, looking confused.
"Oh," I straightened up surprised "I just thought you knew. I didn't know about any of this supernatural stuff until a couple of years ago. My mother hid my brother and me from our father so we were raised as humans."
"Oh that must have been quite a shock," Fitz whispered compassionately.
"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged "My whole childhood was kind of a bummer so I guess in hindsight it's really not the worst. Sorry, that was a super heavy answer to what my favorite book was," I laughed awkwardly.
Fitz gently took my hand "I'm honored that you felt comfortable enough to tell me that. I didn't really get along with my father, but my mother was an incredibly amazing woman. She was the only thing that made living with my dad bearable. She died when I turned twelve, but she's the reason I'm the person I am today."
"So did you grow up knowing that you were some other person reincarnated?" I asked now thoroughly buzzed on champaign.
"Yeah. That was part of what made living with my dad unbearable. I was raised knowing that it was my destiny to end the blood feud between our families uniting all the Weres into one glorious pack ushering in a new era of prosperity for our people," Fitz laughed at the incredulity of it. "But I guess the way I see it is that while I may have a recycled soul at least part of what made me is the experiences that I've been through and the people I've grown up around which are different so despite sharing a soul we're different people."
"That's incredibly wise," I smiled leaning against him comforted by the warmth radiating from him "So does that mean that you really don't think that I'm your soulmate?"
He shrugged "I don't know, but I'm willing to find out if you are."
Authors Note: Hey guys thank you so much for your continued support!!!! As always please vote and comment!!!!! :) A huge shout out to @mariale821, @hajar_music, and @GracieTb!!!! Thank you guys so much for voting and commenting I really love hearing what you guys have to say :) As always please vote and comment for your chance at a shout out. Comment with who your favorite love interest has been so far :)