Page 15 of Tempest

What a troubling thought that had been.

She’d given him a sympathetic grimace and added, “It was probably the magic though.”

“What was the point in stealing my memory if the spell would kill me anyway?” he’d asked.

“It might not have been meant to kill you. Or it was an unintended side effect.”

As far as he could figure, they didn’t really know anything. And since he couldn’t remember where he’d been or who had done it, he had no leads to figure anything out. He could have flown in from anywhere. There was no telling how long he’d been traveling either.

Until he started getting his memories back—assuming he did—they were at a bit of a standstill. He knew that was the main reason Alpha Amato was questioning him for so long. He was trying to determine if it would be safe to let him stay until he was fully back to himself or if he posed too big of a risk. Considering Pops had told him the pack was pretty isolated and wary of strangers, he wouldn’t be surprised if he was given a genericsorry we can’t helpand shown to the edge of the territory.

Just driving to the Alpha House, he’d gotten the very distinct impression he wouldn’t exactly be welcome with open arms. The town the pack had created was tiny, not much more than a main street with some necessary businesses. Going down the street in the front of Cash’s pickup, half a dozen people had paused to stare. Some had just seemed surprised, but a few had looked angry. He’d been so distracted by the eerie feeling of being watched that he’d barely noticed any of the businesses they’d passed.

The Alpha House was located at the end of a street just off the main road. The whole thing was lined with nice-looking houses, yards meticulously maintained, and a playground next to the Alpha House that looked brand-new. Several kids had been playing, their adults standing or stepping in front of them as soon as Ore had jumped out of Cash’s truck.

Cash had ushered him inside quickly, pointing to something on the other side of the street like he hadn’t wanted Ore to notice. It hurt his heart that his mere presence caused so much stress, but he couldn’t really blame them. The pack wasn’t used to outsiders, and he couldn’t tell themanythingabout himself.

That level of unknown could cause issues for the pack or maybe even bring trouble to their door. If he was on the run, someone could be following him. If he had been sent there, he could hand over information unintentionally.

He knew, without knowing how he knew, that there were some packs out there who wouldn’t have bothered to save him. So despite everything, he was grateful that he had been taken care of, but he was still worried about what would come next.

Finally, Alpha Amato relaxed in his chair and shook his head. “As far as I can tell, you really don’t remember anything.”

Ore forced a smile. Based on the way Amato chuckled at him, it probably came off more as a wince.

“I had to be sure.”

“I understand, sir,” he said, and he did. That didn’t mean he had to like or enjoy the process.

“But just because you don’t remember?—”

“—doesn’t mean I’m not still a potential threat,” Ore finished for him, twisting his borrowed T-shirt around his fingers. The material over his thighs was severely wrinkled from his nonstop fidgeting. “What does that mean for me?”

“I can’t just let you have free rein around the pack,” he said slowly, studying Ore. He glanced at his Enforcers. “Are we in agreement on that?”

The vampire just nodded. Ore still couldn’t look directly at him, his eagle getting too agitated just from quick glances. It was almost a pity. The man wasdevastatinglyhandsome, his whiskey eyes hypnotizing in their appeal. His animal instincts knew who the bigger predator was though.

The beautiful Black woman—a leopard, he was pretty sure—shifted in her seat, leaning forward with a frown. “We can’t just kick him out, Liam. He’s helpless like this.”

Ore frowned at his lap. Helpless seemed a bit harsh. Sure, he wasn’t a large cat shifter, and he didn’t remember things, but he wasn’t some weak little hatchling.

“Agreed,” said the Enforcer sitting next to her. His serious face had melted away now that questioning was over, his mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth once more. A few times in the last hour, he’d glanced back at Cash, making Ore wonder if the two of them were close.

“I understand the need to protect the pack,” the woman continued fiercely, “but if we remove him from the territory in this state, that’ll make us as bad as whoever nearly killed him.”

He forgave her for the helpless comment. Shuddering, he tried not to think about the fact that someone—or multiple someones—could be looking for him right at that moment, wanting to finish the job. Even if whatever magic they’d dosed him with hadn’t been intended to end his life, hehighlydoubted he’d voluntarily signed up to get injected with whatever kind of crazy cocktail they’d come up with.

The vampire, who hadn’t said a word the entire time he’d been in the room, finally spoke, startling the hell out of Ore with his smooth voice. “We could put him downstairs until he gets his memories back.”

He wasn’t sure what that meant. Were they going to lock him in the basement or a cellar of some sort? He glanced around the room, trying to gauge everyone’s reaction to the suggestion.

Liam sighed unhappily, running a hand through his long hair and looking back at the vampire. Ore’s lips parted as he stared at the scars visible above the neckline of the lion’s shirt. Those were claw marks. Slashes from a canine or feline shifter, he’d guess. How had a wound like that ended up leaving a permanent mark? As far as he knew—though with his memory all messed up, he could be wrong—the only way for a wound to leave a scar on ashifter was if wolfsbane was used or if it was somehow exposed to it before it fully healed.

A pang of empathy filled him as he snapped his mouth shut and looked away, not wanting to get caught staring. He wondered if Alpha Amato kept his hair longer to try and hide the scars. Was he embarrassed by them? Had someone tried to overthrow him as alpha? How long ago had it happened?

He had so many questions, but he doubted he’d get any answers.

“I don’t like it, but it might be the best option.” Amato turned back to Ore, fingers drumming on his desk. “We’ll make you as comfortable as we can.”

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