Page 56 of Monster

Chapter Eleven

Starry, starry night…

Luca stared up at the high, barred windows of his cage. Windows might be overstating what they were.Two slits that allowed for a little ventilation, at best. But they also gave him a peek at the sky outside. Stars twinkled through those slits and it gave him a view he hadn’t seen in so very long.

The first few hours after he’d been left to stew in his cell, he’d been disoriented, his mind a flood of memories. Those memories had served to be too much, so he’d searched every crack and every crevice—searching for a way out. And gave his mind something else to focus on other than the past. Whoever had designed the jail was good. There was no way out he could find.

So he’d paused, exhausted through and through.

That night, he’d lain in his cot, just like he was now, and the memories had swamped him. Ruby red lips. A swollen belly. A life left far, far behind that it no longer felt real to him.

He heard the purring of the panther in his mind. When Zed had taken him, he was sure he’d been a wererhino. The memories had reminded him of the experiments… the additions Harding and then Lore had cut into his very soul.

Images of a panther protector… of a panther coming into his very body… assaulted him. The animal had given him the strength he’d needed, when he was at his weakest.

And there were other memories… of a man… a beautiful man.Whenever he thought of this man, he felt a surge of need unlike any he’d ever felt racing through him. The panther apparently approved, too. His purrs grew louder each time he envisioned that handsome face in his mind.

Luca had been with a woman. A wife. He’d created a child with her…

He’d never felt an attraction to a man. But all he could think of was this one… and holding that man in his arms for the rest of his life.

Luca stiffened as he heard the creak of the metal door. It was late into the night—an odd time for a visitor.

A sliver of moonlight through the vents above washed over the man.

Umberto.

She hated that name. He chuckled. I wonder what she named our son?

He eyed the man before the bars and knew bone deep this was his blood.

“Hello,” the man said. “How are you holding up in here?”

“It’s a cage—so I can’t exactly say fine,” he said, sitting up on the cot.

“Do you remember who you are?”

Luca nodded.“For the most part, I believe.I have holes the size of Texas in my memory, but… I think I know who I am.”

“Luca,” the man said.“My name’s Bull.”

“Bull?” Luca laughed.“She hated the name I chose but named you that?”

A half-smile crossed the rhino’s lips. “Bull is my nickname.”

“What did she name you?”

“Umberto.”

Luca felt his chest ache for a moment. “I’d suggested that as a joke… just to rile her up. She told me you’d hate me for it one day.”

“Maybe a little.” Bull smiled and looked away for a second.When he lifted his gaze again, his eyes were glowing bright with emotion.“So you remember your life before? My mother?”His face twisted with pain. “Me?”

“I remember her full with child,” Luca smiled wistfully.“We were so excited to see you come into the world.You were born of love. I know that possibly means little, considering what your life must’ve been—but I hope it brings some solace to you.”

Bull was quiet a moment. “My mother always made sure I knew that—and she loved me with her whole heart. I understood why you couldn’t be with us.”

“As an adult, sure. But as a child?”

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