Chapter Text
Waking up to unfamiliar surroundings sent Lovely’s mind into a familiar panic. Memories of being held by Adam springing to the surface despite their wishes. The strange man holding them close only proceeded to make their fears worse. Their mind raced with a thousand questions, but they tried their best to stay calm. They were more prepared this time than with Adam, now they have their magic and they were damn good with it. So they were going to be damned if they were held captive again, not when they could just electrocute the bastard and escape.
So, just like normal they felt for the threads at their core and pulled their magic forwards. But instead of the familiar tingling of their electric magic…it felt different. Something was off, but it didn’t feel like any magic they had ever used before. And before they could stop the magic flowing from them, the arm holding onto them slipped straight through their body. Landing on the mattress below them with a thud. Lovely couldn’t stop theirself from letting out a gasp of surprise, practically jumping off the bed. Losing all control of the strange magic they had activated.
The movement seemed to wake up the man that had been holding them, his eyes struggling open as he fought off sleep. He quickly sat up, looking over at them with tired eyes.
“You alright Sweetheart?” He muttered, and Lovely was certain they had never met the man now. Neither his voice nor his appearance rang any bells for them. They weren’t sure if that was better or worse.
“D-Don’t call me that,” They ordered, taking a step further away from the bed. Trying to sound braver than they felt in the hopes that they would at least appear in control of the situation. Even with all the unknown variables they were facing.
What they weren’t expecting was their voice…that wasn’t their voice. Which only seemed to further the panicked state that had started to take them over. Their heart pounding in their chest, breathing irregular as their mind slowly brought them more and more things to fear. Memories of Adam, of their torture, rising back to the surface with horrible clarity.
The man on the bed seemed to wake up almost instantly at their words. Confusion etched onto his face as he pushed himself off of the bed, slowly moving towards Lovely as if they were a cowering animal.
“Stay back!” They exclaimed, hands raised in a familiar position as they again tried to call on their magic. The man stopped at their order, eyeing them with intense concern.
The tension in the air was thick as Lovely’s eyes darted around the room, trying to find a way to escape. It wasn’t anything like the room Adam had kept them in. Gentle sun shining through the blinds, decorated just like a normal bedroom, with the faint scent of herbs they couldn’t quite name and…was that cat as well? Either way, it was an extreme difference from the dark, dank hovel they had been trapped in. It felt more like a home than a prison. Which, while it made them feel a bit better about where they were, also concerned them. What if this person was trying to lure them into a false sense of security? What if that was part of their plan?
“Alright Sweet-...Sorry, I need you to breathe for me okay? You’re gonna have a panic attack if you keep this up.” He warned. His voice was filled with a genuine concern, something they hadn’t been expecting. He had even listened to their request about the pet name. It was strange how careful he was being. But he was right. They needed to calm down or they would be in trouble if he decided to attack. They needed to be prepared.
So they did as they were told, taking a few deep breaths in through their nose and out through their mouth. Their eyes flickering to the single door that led out of the room, knowing that they could probably make it to the door before him if they were quick about it. Their eyes snapped back to him as he spoke up once more.
“I need you to talk to me, can you do that? Are you okay? What happened, you were fine when we went to bed last night,” Last night? They knew for certain that they hadn’t been here. In fact, the last thing they remember was…cooking and waiting for Vincent to arrive. The next thing they knew they were here with this stranger’s arm wrapped around them. It was like they just blacked out, and that was a terrifying thought.
Would Vincent return to their apartment and find them gone? Would he be able to find them this time? Or would their luck finally run out?
“I wasn’t here last night,” They declared, which only furthered the confusion on the man’s face. He hesitantly took another step towards them, causing them to take a step towards the door. “I was at my home. I was cooking.”
“Okay…okay that’s something, you did cook dinner last night,” He muttered to himself, as if that was comforting to him all by itself. “Was that the last thing you remember? Do you…not remember who I am?”
“I’ve never met you before. So why the hell am I here? Why did you bring me here?”
“Hey, it’s okay. You’re not in any danger I promise,” The man reassured, taking another step towards them. His hands lifted to show he meant no harm, yet it did little to calm Lovely. Their eyes glaring suspiciously at him, the strange voice they spoke with rising in volume.
“I said, stay back. I’m not afraid to hurt you.”
That did the trick, the man took a single step back. But the look of concern on his face didn’t disappear as they thought it would. In fact it only seemed to get worse. It was strange, the concern didn’t seem to be for himself despite the fact that they had just threatened him. His sole focus seemed to be on them, his worry was all of them. They could feel it. In fact the look he was giving them reminded them of Vincent, how he would look at them whenever they woke up from a nightmare. It was strange how much this stranger seemed to care about them.
“Alright, I won’t come any closer. Promise,” He swore. His arms were still in the air as he tried to calm them down. Much to their displeasure, it was working. He didn’t seem like he wanted to hurt them, it seemed like he genuinely wanted to help them, “Let’s start simple, the name’s Milo. Ring any bells?”
Lovely shook their head. The action brought a frown to Milo’s face that made it seem like they were breaking his heart. So he simply continued, answering any question that Lovely had for him with a patience and kindness they weren’t expecting from a kidnapper.
He explained that they had been living together for almost a year now. They had a cat named Aggro, who apparently loved them. What got their attention though was when he mentioned he was a member of the Shaw Pack of Werewolves.
“I’ve heard of the Shaw pack…Vincent mentioned them to me.” They couldn’t stop the words from escaping them. Regret filling them as they spoke Vincent’s name aloud. “You guys are going to be security for the E&E games…I’m participating in that.”
The confusion once again returned to Milo’s face at their words.
“You…aren’t a student at DAMN anymore, Sweetheart?” There was that name again, but Lovely couldn’t be bothered to chastise him again. The information before took priority, especially as he continued. “You already graduated. Do you…not remember your job? You work for DUMP, you’re an investigator. One of the best they’ve got.”
Lovely shook their head rapidly, they had never worked for DUMP. Hell, they were still getting used to the magical world in general. There would be no way they would try and work for the magic cops.
“No, it’s my first year. I just…I just found my powers!” Everything was so confusing, what was going on. “I’m an Energetic, and electro one.” One that couldn’t use their powers properly right now, but they weren’t about to tell him that.
“Excuse me? Now you’ve lost me,” Milo retorted, his head tilted slightly. He seemed completely baffled by the information they had just given him. “Okay, this might sound like a dumb question. But…what is your name?”
They were hesitant to give him that information, but did so anyway. As they did, a look of shock passed across his features.
“You…You aren’t my mate, are you?” Milo’s whole posture changed. He still seemed worried but now he seemed a bit suspicious of them. “If you aren’t my mate, then why the hell do you look and sound just like them?”
The change of tone caused the feeling of concern to return in full force to Lovely, no longer did they feel the subtle comfort coming from Milo. But it also angered them, he was acting like they were the offender and yet they were the one stuck in an unfamiliar place with a stranger, and apparently in the body of another stranger!
“I don’t know! I told you, I was cooking and then I blinked and then suddenly I was here!” They exclaimed, “and I don’t know why I look like your mate! I just want to go home!”
A silence passed between the two of them, tension thick in the air threatening to suffocate Lovely with its oppression. After another moment, Milo let out a loud sigh and ran a hand through his hair before returning his eyes to them.
“I’m not quite sure what happened, but I think you might have switched bodies with my mate…So they might be in your body,” He began, pausing so that they could have a minute to process the information they were being given. They hated the thought, but it would explain why they didn’t recognize their own voice. It was still just so confusing, they had no idea that such a type of magic could exist to make people swap bodies. No matter what, they hated it.
“Is there a way to change back?” They asked, fiddling with their hands as they watched him return to his side of the bed. Pulling his cell phone off of the charger, unlocking it as he began scrolling through it.
“Honestly, I’ve got no fuckin’ clue. I’m not super good with magic, only know a bit of healing magic. I need to let my Alpha know what’s going on. He might not know what this shit is all about, but he might know someone who could help. He’s got connections like that.” He turned his attention back to Lovely. His heart ached as he watched them.
Sure the appearance matched his Sweetheart, but the mannerisms were all wrong. It was obvious that this wasn’t his mate now. It was someone who was scared and wanted to return home, and he hated knowing that his Sweetheart was probably in the same situation right now.
“I’ll do whatever I can to help you get home, got that? We’re gonna figure this out together alright?”
It wasn’t the best option, but Lovely felt a bit of comfort from his words. So they nodded, hoping that whatever was going on would be resolved quickly.