“You told me to apologize to him for you.”
“Ah.”
“Do you know why?”
“Not yet. Wait,” She tried to sit up. “If not Elliott, who is supposed to come help me?”
“Another cat shifter named Levi. I figured it would be more beneficial to you to learn more about similar cats. Although, he’s not even remotely normal.”
She cleared her throat. “How is he different?”
“He’s kind of like you. But his ability is…” the guy licked his lips, “much more dangerous.”
“And you think he should take care of me?”
“I think he will do a much better job than anyone else who can help right now.”
Her mind was telling her that it should be a perfect opportunity to actually talk to someone who might be able to tell her more about cat shifters. The problem was that she didn’t want him taking care of her. “I don’t know this person. I’m not comfortable being with someone unfamiliar to me while I’m in a vulnerable state.”
“Then you shouldn’t want me around either since you don’t remember me.”
“You’ve healed me, and clearly, you took care of me after when I was unconscious.” She pursed her lips. “What happened to the three men at my doorstep?”
“They won’t be bothering you anymore.”
“What did you do?”
“I took care of them.”
“Are they dead or just out of the way?”
He gave her a half smile, and for a second, there was a twinkle in his eye. “They aren’t dead, but I’m pretty sure they wish they were.”
“Oh, no. What did you do?”
“Let’s just say they won’t be getting out of a criminal asylum until they are in pine boxes.”
Wobbling, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. “You drove them insane?”
He shrugged. “I don’t like killing, and they didn’t deserve to be free. So, I made sure they won’t be going after any other women.”
“I… how did you do that?”
He scratched his head, a shy look on his face. “It’s an extension of my ability. Or perhaps a… more extreme use of my ability.” Rubbing a hand over his mouth, he was considering if he should say more.
“Spit it out, shifter. What are you not telling me?”
His tongue flicked out and wrapped around his lower lip before disappearing into his mouth. Finally, he said, “That’s why I was able to tell you that you could control the water in a person’s body. My ability has some similar uses, but for the mind instead of water.”
Her eyes widened, and Astrid leaned forward, her body shaking.
“Whoa,” he said, coming toward her. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
“Is that… I mean, can you…” Astrid was having trouble collecting her thoughts, which seemed to be flowing like a river around a large rock. “Did you do something to my mind?”
He let out a sigh. “No, I didn’t do anything to your mind. The altered or missing memories are because of the injury. Don’t worry, it won’t last.”
She bit her lip and stared at him. “I don’t want someone else taking care of me. I feel that it needs to be you.”