Page 73 of Mystique of the Fallen
“Excuse me?” Grant asked, shocked that the man knew his name. He didn’t recognize the human. In fact, in Grant’s few short months alive, he hadn’t encountered any humans. His job was to serve the fallen knights and the Council, and the humans hated his entire government. Grant’s normally sharp intellect was completely scattered, but he had one important question rattling through his stunned gray matter. “How do you know my name?”
The man’s mouth moved, but he continued to stare without saying a word.
“How do you know me?” Grant repeated the question more belligerently this time.
“Oh, fucking shit, they made you into a zombie.”
Grant’s top lip flared in disgust. “I assure you, I amnota zombie. Who the hell are you? Why do you know my name?”
“Did they just…do they…is your memory gone?”
Grant swallowed thickly. The pieces lined up in his head, and an icy chill flooded him. “You knew me. You knew me before.”
“I can’t believe they made you into a zombie. How did this happen? What do you remember?”
“I’d appreciate it if you stopped calling me that,” Grant growled. His mind was reeling as he tried to cope with this unexpected window into his past, but he sure as fuck would not tolerate being demeaned by a human. Being a fallen knight was everything to him, and he was no less than a human because he’d once died. “How did you know me?”
“How did I…how did I know you? I loved you. You were my everything. We were together since we were teenagers.”
Grant blinked heavily, and everything in him went still. “What?”
“It’s true. You were thirteen when we met. I was it for you. You never even looked at another man.”
It was odd to meet someone from his past and immediately mistrust his words, but something didn’t gel for Grant. And his scattered senses were clicking into place. The lawyer was speaking as if it had been one-sided. Grant didn’t detect a lie, but he wasn’t a sentinel. If this person believed his words, then to him they were the truth. But if this man was his one true love, why had Fate paired Grant with Roman? Grant could not for the life of him imagine another person fitting him as beautifully as his mate.
“What’s your name?”
The man frowned severely, but his gaze was intensely curious. “You seriously remember nothing? Nothing at all?”
“My resurrection spell wiped my memory. Answer the question.”
“I don’t think I like your tone, Grant,” the man bit out.
“If you want me to continue to play nice, then you’ll answer my question,” Grant replied. He needed to know more about this man and what had separated them.
“It’s Reginald,” he answered tightly. “Reginald Bradley. Are you sure you remember nothing?”
“As I said, I have no memory from before my resurrection. Will you tell me about my previous life?”
“You can hardly expect me to sit here in the dead of night conversing with a zombie who refuses to acknowledge his feelings for me,” Reginald stated. “You still love me. Even without a memory, our souls recognize each other. Are you confident you lack memory?”
Grant didn’t want to lie to the man—because he sure as hell didn’t love him—so he ignored Reginald’s statement. The only person who held Grant’s heart was Roman. “I have no memory of my human life. Perhaps you could give me your number so we can discuss things.”
“When you’ve come to your senses, I’ll speak with you, Grant,” Reginald retorted as he turned on his vehicle.
“In the meantime, maybe you could leave Raney alone? Her ex-husband needs to pay for what he did.”
Without a word, Reginald whipped his car into reverse and backed out. Before Grant’s heartbeat had leveled out from this unexpected and unwelcome glimpse into his past, Reginald had peeled out of the small parking lot. A mountain of emotions swirled through Grant, and he needed a moment to sort things out.
Now that he’d at least momentarily contained the situation plaguing Mikhail and Raney, Grant needed a chance to think so he could figure out what the fuck had just happened and how he was supposed to feel about it.
Chapter 26
It’d been an odd day, and Roman was relieved to finally be shutting off his laptop to head home. He’d spent the morning downstairs aiding Council leaders. Later, he’d barely managed to change out of his formal uniform, and one issue after another bombarded him. Although he usually shared lunch with Grant, Roman had scarfed down a sandwich in between two meetings.
The worst part was Roman hadn’t seen or heard from Grant since he’d disappeared in the wee hours of the morning to handle whatever had yanked him out of bed. It was unusual for Roman and Grant not to find at least a minute or two to share a kiss or talk at some point during work hours, but they were both busy men.
Since Grant wasn’t at his desk—nor were the other Venerable Knights—Roman hoped to find his other half at home. Eager to relax for a bit and have dinner, Roman slid his laptop into his messenger bag and zipped it closed. He’d squeeze in more time for work later, as would Grant, but Roman needed some cuddles and to hear about his mate’s day.
