He didn’t need the roads for travel, but he took some comfort in knowing that whomever had done this to the woman would not be back that night.
Inside the front room of his house, he started a fire, regardless of the warm temperatures. They were both soaked to their very core, and Tav was reluctant to undress the stranger while she was still out. But as the minutes turned to an hour, Tav worried that she might get sick.
Haltingly, he fumbled at her buttons, his face flushing as he looked away.
“Sorry about this,” he muttered to her, knowing that she could not hear him. “I just don’t want you to freeze. I’m not looking, I swear.”
Slowly, he peeled off her filthy jeans and tattered blouse, noting that the brands were not going to help identify her in any way. The items weren’t custom made, and while they weren’t cheap exactly, they were hardly expensive labels. They could be found in any of a thousand department stores in America.
Tav reminded himself not to get impatient, that she would wake up any minute and tell him everything he needed to know. But as he wrapped her in one of his oversized tracksuits and a blanket, she remained in her nightmare, and his nerves grew more fraught with tension. He had been very careful not to take in the slender curves of her body, the sweet lines of her smooth skin, difficult as it had been. His feelings toward her were rife with concern, not romance, and if he had been a religious man, he would have prayed.
Instead, Tav merely waited.
Night fell and the fire crackled on, leaving Tav to pace around the house again, silently willing her to wake up.
Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I do need to take her to the hospital, he thought as the night grew darker. Surely she shouldn’t be unconscious for this long. Maybe something’s really wrong with her.
Lightning cracked outside, illuminating the woman’s pale cheekbones. But as Tav stared at her, he realized that the color was returning to her face. Hope lit inside him.
If her color is returning, she must be getting better…right?
He looked at her neck and exhaled with relief to see that the bite marks had all but vanished.
She’s healing. Hopefully, she’ll be awake—
“Who the hell are you?”
The sound of her choked, terrified question caused Tav to drop her neck and gape at her, her hair falling to cover the remnants of the marks on her tender throat. Tav’s surprise had stolen his breath. They looked at one another unspeaking for a moment, Tav overcome by the intense chocolate of her long-lashed eyes. He was captivated by their innocence.
“Who are you?” she demanded again, inching away from him, and Tav snapped to his senses.
“You’re awake!” he managed to sputter, falling back on his haunches to give her a tentative smile. Slowly, she moved the comforter away from her body and stared at herself, confusion overtaking her face. Dread caused her newfound color to wan, and she gawked at him in disbelief.
“Did you…are these your clothes?” she cried, alarm coloring her cheeks. “Am I wearing your clothes?”
Embarrassment flooded through Tav as he realized her dismay, but he tried to explain himself.
“Yes, but it’s not what you think!” Tav told her hastily, watching as she curled away from him, terror overtaking her face.
“What do I think?” she gasped.
“You were drenched from the rain, and I didn’t want you to get sick,” he said in rush of nervous breath.
This doesn’t look good from her perspective, he thought grimly, composing himself.
“I—who are you? How did I get here?” she insisted, eyes darting about like a caged animal, looking for an escape.
Her eyes were hypnotic, so dark, Tav was almost lost in them as he struggled to answer her questions to the best of his ability. Tav recognized her immediate dismay and accepted it, but he had similar questions for her. He inhaled and offered her a reassuring smile, giving her more space as she crumpled herself into a ball at the far end of the sofa.
“My name is Octavius Kur,” he offered genially. “My friends call me Tav.”
Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
“How did I get here, Octavius?” she said, clearly not considering them friends yet. “Did you bring me here?”
“Yes,” Tav said slowly.
“Why? What do you want from me?” Panic mounted in her tone, and Tav inhaled sharply.
“I found you in the mountain woods,” he explained quickly. “You were unconscious and apparently hurt. I just wanted to bring you to safety. There’s nothing nefarious about you being here, I assure you.”
Confusion overcame her face, and she eyed him warily.
“I was?” she murmured. Alarm shot through Tav as he realized that she didn’t remember how she had come to be there.
“Do you remember how you got there?” he asked gently. “Or what happened before?”
Like who turned you into a wolf? He added silently.
She shook her dark hair slowly, more anxiousness flowing onto her face, but Tav shook his head and automatically reached to steady her. She withdrew instantly, and he was immediately contrite.
“I don’t mean you any harm,” he said quickly. “Honestly, I can take you anywhere you want to go. I just thought it was better to bring you here until you woke up.”
A rumble of thunder caused her to jump, and her head turned toward one of the bay windows, her gaze widening in wonder.
“It’s pouring out there!” she breathed. Tav shrugged and nodded.
“The roads are washed out for now, but if you wait a bit, I can take you into town.”
He didn’t add that he could still fly. Tav had a feeling that introducing himself as a dragon would not go well in that moment.
“What town?”
Tav frowned as he considered her question.
“The closest would be Alamosa, but we’re also not far from Fort Garland if you prefer.”
More perplexity touched her face.
“I…” she hesitated, and he could almost see the wheels turning in her head. “Are we in Colorado?”
More worry shot through Tav.
“Yes…” he paused.
She really has no idea where she is.
“What’s your name?” he asked instead, hoping to start small.
She turned her head back to look at him, lips pressed together.
“Lora…Young?”
She sounded unsure, and Tav gritted his teeth.
“Lora, do you know where you live?” he asked quietly. “Where you’re from?”
She shook her head slowly, wrapping the blanket tightly around her as she peered at Tav through her peripheral vision.
“No…” she mumbled. “I don’t remember any of that.”
Tears of frustration filled her eyes, but Tav did not let her succumb to her inner panic. Instead, he rose to his feet and nodded.
“That happens when people have traumatic experiences,” he told her with confidence he had no business feeling.
And it happens when someone is turned too, doesn’t it? Eventually she’ll remember everything if this amnesia is related to shifting.
“How do you know?” she shot back. “Are you a doctor?”
This time, Tav’s grin was genuine.
“Hardly,” he chuckled. “But I’ve been around long enough to know.”