"No"

She sat in the armchair, arms folded and scowling at the man opposite her, looking for all the world like a petulant child trying to argue with an adult. And maybe she was being a little childish but she couldn't have cared much less. It was a stupid idea.

"Brangiausias, You will not know if you do not try... Trust me"

Hannibal could feel a vein beginning to throb within his right temple at her behaviour. Why did she continue to be so difficult with him when he had been nothing but caring after she had awoken from the nightmare of her flashback? He sighed, re-crossing his legs and looking at her with as little irritation as he could manage. It was times like this he wished she was not as stubborn as an Alpha.

The thought made him want to laugh, remembering that in the first weeks of knowing her, he had genuinely believed her to be a low level Alpha. Such a notion was amusing now, the memory of the night he had discovered her true gender still clear in his mind, the night they had first become mated in the exhilaration of her ill-timed heat.

"You sound just like Sera used to when I had shitty dreams. 'Let's discuss the dreams Fliss, it'll be therapeutic'. Well I don't want too! It's bad enough that these dreams are ruining my sleep, what makes you think I'd want to discuss them in my waking hours in the hopes they'll bring up more memories?"

Her posture was rigid, defensive as she looked him square in the eye with all the defiance she had. She knew he had a point, by talking about it and getting it all out in the open, it would help to settle her mind and ease the torment that the dreams were having upon her. But there would be a downside, she would feel vulnerable and every bit like the small Omega she truly was. Felicia had always hated her gender, how it made others treat her like a fragile doll that needed an Alpha to care for her. She needed know one, only Sera.

"Because I wish to help you. You are my mate, as much as the idea of being mated irritates you, and the idea that you are unhappy is unsettling for me"

But since this morning, after waking up to find Hannibal by her bedside and caring for her as she came down from the heights of her fear, she was beginning to think that maybe she needed him too.

His scent was like heaven to her senses, the feel of his strong body against her own as he held her made her feel nothing could ever harm her again. And maybe it couldn't anymore? He was a killer, although she wouldn't admit to knowing yet, a pure predator that would happily take down any threat he perceived.

'Monsters usually attract monsters. We just managed to find the purest monster to be our shield'

There was that voice again, the shadow within her mind that screamed to Felicia of her true self. There was something about this being that seemed dark, something to be afraid of. But she couldn't find it within herself to be scared. They were one entity separated by amnesia and slowly reuniting with each fragment she regained.

"I know you do Hannibal... But this is something I would rather do alone and in my own time. The memories are painful in some part, that much I know, and as much as it may hurt you to see me like this, trying to rush it all may cause more damage than either of us can determine. You forget that I was a psychiatrist myself, from what little I remember, so you have to trust me too."

For the briefest of moments, Felicia thought she saw a forlorn look within his sanguine eyes, her heart constricting against its will at the idea that she had hurt him. Something within her own heart hated the idea of causing him anymore sadness. He was suffering too but, on this matter, he just needed to understand that it was her choice to make.

The glimpse vanished as quickly as it had appeared as he moved to stand, offering his hand to help her up, making her smile slightly. Such a gentleman for someone who ate the rude.

"Then time is what I shall give you. For now, we shall get to know each other once more and prepare for tonight"

She stared at him in confusion, following towards the kitchen and watching as he began to pull ingredients out of their separate storing areas and place them upon the island in the centre.

"Care to share? What are we prepping up for?"

"I have invited a dear friend of us both for dinner tonight. Frederick has been quite eager to see you after your discharge from the hospital, I could not hold him off for much longer"

Hannibal attempted to cover the annoyance within his own voice, hide the dangerous gleam that came to his eye at the mention of the other Alpha. It had been thanks to Chilton that Hannibal had been first introduced to Felicia at the conference, but the other Alpha had always shown more than a passing interest in the young Omega and that was something that Hannibal did not like. Felicia was his, but with her current condition of amnesia, Chilton may take advantage and try to steal her affections from their rightful place. And if he did make such an attempt? Well, dear Frederick would soon find himself the centre piece of Hannibal's next dinner party.

"Oh. Well a little more notice would have been nice but I guess it'll be good to see a new face. Anything I can help with?"

Felicia had to cover her chuckles as Hannibal openly scowled at the idea she wanted to see any other face but his own. She wasn't about to mention that Chilton, in her opinion, couldn't hold a candle to Hannibal in either the looks or the brain department. But something about making him feel even the slightest bit jealous sent a rush of giddiness through her system, as deadly as it could prove for whoever she was using to achieve the reaction.

He gave a slight sniff of irritation as he continued to survey his cluster of ingredients, picking up meat that looked suspiciously like a heart, whose heart it was Felicia really didn't want to know, before giving an answer to her question.

"I would appreciate it if you made the dessert for our meal, it will be your choice. You were always skilled in the art of baking and patisseries"

Her face nearly split in half with a grin as she began to dart around the kitchen, pulling out her own ingredients before stationing herself opposite Hannibal at the island, pretending to look concerned as she looked at each of her own items.

"Excellent! I choose to make coffee cake. Only one problem, where's the coffee?"

"With the exception of coffee cake, you may make anything that you desire"

Felicia scowled darkly as she picked up the closest tool she could lay her hands upon, brain not registering that it was a fairly unthreatening spatula as her voice growled with all the danger that the spatula didn't possess, a danger that seemed to suit her better than it should have done.

"You said that I could choose whatever dessert I desired, and I desire coffee cake. So where'd you hide the fucking coffee!"

Her scent spiked through the air and hit Hannibal like a freight train as his own growl rumbled through his chest. Pure heaven. The beautiful scent of phlox and winter jasmine, magnified by the growing presence of her impending heat, bombarding his sensitive nostrils and caused his own instincts to begin to emerge. As much as he adored the Omega before him, treasured the scent that was completely her own, there was a threatening undertone too it. She may not have realised she was doing it, but he would not tolerate being threatened by his mate of all people.

He pushed his own scent towards her, dominant and enticing as he moved around the counter and towered above her, eyes hungry as her own blue orbs began to dilate and her breathing became more shallow. He could see the threat leave her eyes as it was replaced with need that was not truly of her own choice. Her heat was still a good two weeks away if his senses did not fool him, but that did not mean that it would not be coaxed by the right amount of pressure.

"We have spoken about this Felicia. Until you restore my I-pad to its former condition, there shall be no coffee present within this house. Understood?"

The pressure of his scent as he moved closer made her head spin as images began to surface within her mind. Memories of heated arguments resolved over a hard surface as she called his name like a heavenly mantra made her blood run hot through her veins as she felt a surge of arousal spike through her and a strange tingling begin to dance across her skin.

She knew that it was not her own will that was making this happen, a vague reminder of his mention of her upcoming heat skirting across her mind before fading into the abyss of the sensations she was feeling. Nothing seemed to matter as her subconscious began to push her scent towards him in thicker waves, drawing him away from his own control as his body moved to press against her own and his hands gripped her hips with enough force to bruise. It felt so much better than she knew it should have done.

Her hands moved upward as she felt herself sway, her head abuzz with all the sensations she was feeling, desperate to gain balance as his face drew closer to her own and his hot breath ghosted across her face.

"Gražus"

His body pressed closer as she was trapped firmly between him and the counter, his lips finding her own as they melded together and dissolved the last of her clear thought or anger over the coffee cake. She pushed back against him, lips moving in perfect sync, moaning as the hands upon her hips lifted her up to sit upon the counter top and a skilled tongue darted across her lower lip to gain entry.

'Too soon... Stop... Not right'

The thought flashed through her mind, clear as a fire siren as her clarity came back like a hammer to her sensibility. What was she doing? What had caused her to be pulled into such actions? She pushed him away with a groan as she regained herself, shame evident within her eyes as she turned her gaze away from his own confused expression. Hormones caused by an impending heat. Nothing more and nothing less. And that would never be a good reason in her mind to sleep with the man before her.

"I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me. Can you let me down please?"

Hannibal frowned as he took a step back, breathing heavy as he fought to bring his own arousal and nature back under control. She was not ready, she wouldn't be for some time, and he should not have allowed himself to be pulled into her haze with knowledge that she was not in control of herself. He watched as she slid down from the surface and turned her back to him, delicate hands tightening slightly as she took a shaky breath and spoke in a carefully measured, slightly cold tone.

"I've changed my mind. I think I'll make Devil's food cake instead"


"So Felicia, how have you been since being released from the hospital? I hope that Hannibal has been treating you well"

'If you stopped staring at me I'd be fucking great!'

The words shot through her mind as she gave a cordial smile and bit the inside of her cheek to restrain herself from snapping. Dinner had gone as well as could be expected, the two Alpha's exchanging small talk between Chilton's almost constant attempts of conversation with the young Omega, his compliments of Hannibal's cooking nothing in comparison to the gush of praise he had given for Felicia's homemade dessert.

He was grating on her last nerve now as they sat within the den and, if the look within his eye was anything to go by, Hannibal was beginning to feel the same way. The air between both she and her 'mate' was already tense after what had happened in the kitchen that afternoon, but Chilton seemed to be making the atmosphere feel even worse. Not that the Alpha seemed to notice.

"I'm still getting adjusted to a lot of things, but I'm feeling much better. Hannibal has been wonderful over the past few weeks. I don't think my recovery would be going so well if not for him"

She sent a quick glance towards the man in question, noticing the brief glimmer of smug pride cross his face as he watched for Chilton's own reaction. She could have scoffed at his peacock behaviour, she'd only said it to keep up appearances and put the other man in his place. If anything, Hannibal had been a giant pain in her ass for the most part of her recovery.

"I'm glad to hear it... Now if you don't mind, I'm afraid I must leave. A busy morning, you understand"

Oh she understood all right. He was looking for a quick route out now that he knew that, between himself and Hannibal, he stood even less of a chance. Hannibal stood to show Chilton to the door, helping Felicia to her feet and linking his arm around her back in a demonstration of their 'unity' to Chilton as they bid farewell and closed the door.

"That man is a dick"

Hannibal chuckled at her blunt words as they began to return to the den once more, both seeming to forget about the arm that wrapped snugly around her form until she came to a halt, eyes glancing down and then back up with an unimpressed gleam within her eye.

"Do you mind letting go of my waist? That facade is over now"

Hannibal dropped his hand reluctantly, perturbed by the harshness of her voice as she moved back to her seat and glared into the fire in the heath. He wanted to reach out, to feel her against him again, but chose against it. That would only make her more hostile.

He returned to his own seat, contemplating what he could say to defuse the tension between them, finding himself at a loss for a rare moment in his life as a low buzzing began to sound from the landline phone beside his chair and a voicemail began to record, causing Felicia's heart to skip a beat in horror as Sera's voice filled the room, venom dripping from her voice, seething and dangerous, as the words were spat through the recording.

'Hannibal! You're a dead man walking. I know where you live and you had better sleep with one eye open. You may think your some scary ass motherfucker but this time YOU messed with the wrong person. My sugar is gone and I swear to god SOMEBODY is going to pay. Namely YOU!'

Felicia stared at the device in disbelief, at a loss for words as she registered what had just happened. What had he done? Why had he done it? If she was grouchy without coffee, then Sera could only be described as hell on two legs without sugar. If he knew as much about either of them as he claimed, then what on this earth had possessed him to do this?

"I really hope you're prepared for hell. Because you just bypassed shit creek all together and dived straight into shit ocean with no canoe in tow"


Translations: Lithuanian to English

Brangiausias

Meaning: Dearest

Gražus

Meaning: Beautiful