Page 38 of Zodiac Monsters

He gave an affirmative tip of his chin but didn’t elaborate. Though whether or not he hit his triggers directly affected me, I was gathering they were a closely held secret. In his defense, I could see why someone might not want that information to be common knowledge.

“Correct. You’re safe so long as you choose to be safe.” Whatever that means. “First, I’d like to get a few things sorted. I’m guessing I don’t have to explain my relationship with Marcus anymore.” Oh.

“No, he cleared that up pretty well.” I spun my straw around my glass, anxiously pushing the ice in circles. The sunlight continued to fade.

“Good, I was hoping we wouldn’t have to talk about him.” He took a slow sip of his old fashioned, then set the drink aside and fixated on me. His gaze was heavy. “The reason we’re here together is partially to protect you from him,” Protect me from him? It’s not like he’d do anything to hurt me. “But it’s mostly about better understanding you.”

The first peek of the full moon lifted over the mountains. I could barely see it, but somehow I could feel it. It was warm on this chilly night.

I was being dramatic. It was the moon. Moons weren’t warm.

I drew in a deep breath, then released it shakily. “Like, you want to be my friend?” I asked purely ironically. I knew he didn’t care about that. Adrian saying he wanted to understand me better was akin to a scientist talking about their interest in molecular fission, and not at all like a well-adjusted person talking about developing a relationship with a new acquaintance.

And yet, despite feeling dry about that statement, my heart was oddly racing in my chest. Not in an excited or flowery way though. It was more like I’d just consumed multiple energy drinks and was rapidly approaching a heart attack. The sudden burst of jitters nearly made me choke, while a new surge of energy pumped through my body. I squeezed my hands together beneath the table, trying to stabilize myself. Maybe it was the alcohol? I’d never been drunk before. This could be the feeling everyone was chasing when they willfully had one too many.

The waitress returned and placed an appetizer of pepper seared tuna on a bed of greens, drizzled with some sort of sauce. It looked and smelled wonderful, but a sense of nausea was now gripping my stomach.

Inhale. Exhale. Keep it together. No more drinks tonight.

Adrian’s eyes bore into me. “No, more like I want to know what makes Lila Denton tick.”

As if I was testing my ability to function, I spoke despite myself. “You want to know about my hobbies and my favorite flavor of ice cream?” I rolled my eyes, playing off the burn in my gut and the uncomfortable tingle prickling along my skin. I felt a cold sweat coming on, and I hoped the perspiration wasn’t visible. “I’m completely lost on your motivations here.”

Adrian’s expression remained as intense as ever. He stared at me from across the table, absolutely unrelenting in his fixation.

Brushing it off best I could, I reached for my fork.

“Lila.” He said my name with a harshness that shook fear down my spine and made my whole body jump. My fork thunked on the tablecloth as it fell from my shaking grip.

The moon was half visible now, but he wasn’t transforming. Though his scent of tobacco and rosemary overpowered the fragrance of our food. He reached across the table, and I froze rigidly as his fingertips brushed along my cheek. His touch was gentle and intimate, and I couldn’t breathe from the shock of it. He threaded his fingers through the curtain of my thick, dark hair, then he pushed it back behind my ear. He didn’t say another word as he lingered there. He stroked my earlobe with his thumb, while the rest of his hand was still tangled up in my loose threads.

My pulse sped faster on each stroke, up and down the shape of my ear, exploring this small detail of my body with unsettling interest.

“W-what are you doing?” I stammered out the question. His eyes were pools of devilish intensity as he drifted his touch back across my face. My breathing was heavy but slow, and I focused intently on keeping it that way. Adrian brushed his smooth nails along the contours of my face, tracing a line beneath each eye, rounding the bridge of my nose, then following my cheek bone to my temple, where he tucked another lock of hair behind my other ear.

“If only you could see yourself right now.” Adrian moistened his lips with his tongue, before the corners upticked in a snide grin. He withdrew his hand, but not a drop of tension receded with it. “My little accountant.”

Though I knew he was mocking me, I also couldn’t help but latch on to his use of ‘my.’ Had he even realized he’d said it? That alone had my heart thumping loud enough for me to hear it. The sense of discomfort had subsided in favor of excitement, and my whole body was now buzzing with some unexplainable electricity. His skin in contact with mine was doing something to me that I would be hard pressed to explain. Upbeat, alive, exhilarated, confident—I’d not felt this good since the night in the hot springs.

“Is there something on my face?” So smooth. I was the queen of flirting.

He shook his head. “No. You’re simply everything I ever imagined.” That small statement had me biting a quivering lip. “More, actually.”

Another heartbeat skipped. What was he talking about?

“It scares you, doesn’t it?” Adrian said as he stood from his seat. “Astrology, I mean. The idea that the month in which you entered this world could make such a significant impact on your life, wants, and needs, and you have no power to change that. The fact that it’s not fantasy, and it’s not some silly flight of fancy.”

“No. I-it’s still just superstition.” I stumbled over my denial. “Just because you exist, doesn’t mean a horoscope written by some psychic has any merit.” I was the mutable virgin, easily impressionable and manipulated, right? I didn’t want that to be me. Something as arbitrary and nonsensical as the stars wouldn’t dictate who I was. It was a system made up by humans. Even if Zodiac Shifters took on monstrous forms to match the legends, that didn’t grant any credibility to nonsense fortune telling. That was what I wanted to believe.

That was what I chose to tell myself.

“With everything you’ve seen, you still think horoscopes are an invention of man?” He chuckled, and I was embarrassed to have argued at all. “To your credit, I wish that was the case as well. But it’s not. The stars dictate every minute of my life, and they always have. What’s fun mythology and superstition to humans is a ball and chain for someone like me.”

“So what?” I did my best to remain defiant. His lot in life had nothing to do with me. “Your kind might be a slave to constellations, moons, and philosophy, but I’m not. Whether it has basis in reality or not, it’s still superstition for me. There’s nothing I need to be afraid of.” My gaze followed his movements as he paced around the table and situated himself behind my chair. It was hard to say how the moon was affecting him now, but while talk of astrology wasn’t rattling me, he definitely was.

“Is that so?” My professor placed a hand on each of my shoulders, and he squeezed harshly. I stifled a yelp, and he continued his speech. “You think you’re free from the influence of the devil’s designs?” He laughed and squeezed harder. I fidgeted in his hold to no avail. His grip was rough enough to hurt. “I suppose it’s fitting that you would be so naïve. You’re so inexperienced, after all.” The harsh reminder only served to burn in my cheeks. I hated that I couldn’t argue that point. His sudden shift in intensity and personality only served to reaffirm what he was saying. “But perhaps I’m not being fair. After all I’m a Cardinal sign, an Alpha, and I have the blood of a monster in me. The Incubus in my blood changes the nature of my constellation-born prison in a way you couldn’t possibly know.” He slid his grip down to my biceps, keeping on the tension. He wasn’t shifting into a Pisces or an incubus, so why was he acting so unhinged? Why was he touching me at all, for that matter? This wasn’t an intimate outing. We were supposed to be professional, and he was supposed to be in control.

I faced forward, too scared to look at him, but I could feel his eyes drilling into me.