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Lucas wasn't sure if he was grateful or upset that his brother and best friend weren't currently in his apartment. Standing there in the doorway, staring at the familiar fall of red hair that appeared without a sound, he really didn't want to be alone. Not with her. Not again.

He was dressed to go to the gym, which included his running prosthetic leg and an older model of the arm, all bars and gears and not the same shape as his good arm.

"You could just call. You have my number." The words were dry, clipped, and just slightly frayed.

He squint at her, lips slightly parted, his face completely writ with are you serious, why is this happening?

Lucas opened his mouth to answer, paused, and then crossed his arms over his chest. His brows furrowed, deciding to not be just so...well. Himself.

"I'll answer, but first - are you Tatya?"

A brow raised, brief but non-judgmental. "I wont. You're Lady. But I wanted to know if you were really his sister, fitting bits and pieces together. That's all."

Wait. Her?

"If -- if you mean Aleksy, I'm not going to hurt...her. He--She was the most helpful person to me in this place." Lucas paused. "You should stop by and say hi. They could use your presence, I think."

He made his way around her to the cupboard, grabbing a mug and sliding it in place beneath the coffee maker. "It's two-thousand sixteen. I saw you about six days ago, last."

Lucas watched her, quiet, not interrupting or adding to her trying to figure things out. He would have shown her his cell phone, to prove the date, but it was gone - finished - and he let it be.

His pale eyes turned over the tattoo on her arm, his stomach tight at the sight of it. It had all started with the sight of her, that tattoo glowing ominously in the night, and even there in the day, it didn't feel any better. Not even her sheer top could really distract him, impressive as it was.

"Aleksy," he confirmed. "He owns a flower shop. And he's terrified of me."

He swallowed audibly, pulling the mug out now that it was full of a dark roast and sliding it in front of her. "This is how he likes the coffee. There's creamer in the fridge if you want, sugar in the cupboard to your left." Lucas didn't look at her then, just staring at the machine, processing. Unfurling what he'd held so tight in his chest.

"I'm not so great. I've had images of eating a man's throat and felt an arm I haven't had for over five years." Another pause. "You doing okay with all this? Whatever this is?"

A snort was his dignified response, moving around her again to retrieve the creamer - hazelnut - and the sugar, putting them out for her. "Old habits die hard, no matter what I am."

Lucas shrugged. "I'm not in a hurry. I like my routine but I like answers better." He watched her, wary, but at least he wasn't prone and in bed this time. "Can you tell me what's happening, too? Your -- brother," he made sure to use the proper gender, "said I look like an upright wolf. I met Eve, who you supposedly sent, but I have no damn answers what is going on and what to do about it."

He didn't like this. Not one bit. But he had been stripped of a choice. "If you can give answers, I'll stay. If not, I have to go run out this energy so I don't explode."

"I -- yeah. In a word." He glanced idly towards the wall, wishing Thorne was home. He'd been a part of it, once --

Lucas blinked and looked at Lady, really looked at her. She was a pretty woman, and it was of no wonder at all why Aleksy had struck him as familiar, then. She seemed decent enough but what type of decent person appeared on your bed just to transfigure your hand?

But she'd said it.

A werewolf.

Leaning his hands against the counter, he lowered his head and stared at the floor (and, coincidentally, her shoes), clicking his jaw back and forth. "Silver bullets," he finally said, "and full moons. Is there a -- a loss of control?" He remembered Zac's words. "Am I going to need to handcuff myself to the toilet or something?"

Lucas felt his throat close, his heart leaping high in his chest and neck, his dark skin seeming to pale a bit as his eyes turned back to her face. "So I -- I have to go to -- the Otherworld?"

Holy ******** christ on a pogostick.

The world spun, making him grip the counter again. He -- he had to warn Eve. The others. They had to find some way to get to the Otherworld if Lady mussed up her time. The thoughts tumbled over each other, each careening into the next.

"If you're not -- if you -- " Oh god. Oh god. What are words? "Can someone else show us? If not you? Like -- like Leila?" He almost said Autumn, but...