“Thanks for walking me up. I told you I would be safe.”
“After what happened in the coffee shop, I had to know for myself.”
She nodded feeling thankful that he was concerned about her. There was still too much to process about what happened earlier. The fear she felt was being pushed down to her feet until she could freak out when she was alone.
“I’ve never been the focus of an attack like that before. It was unnerving.” It was so much more than that. Is that how others felt when they knew there was a bullseye on their backs? The thought that someone was gunning for her was enough to make her want to disappear. The only reason she wasn’t running was she knew that mental abilities could be ruthless when hunting someone down.
“I have, you don’t get used to the thought of someone wanting to hurt you for what you have.”
“I think you’re right. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that people hate me for the color of my skin.” That was all supposed to be in the past, but her encounter with the waitress was just another reminder that prejudice in all its forms was alive and well.
“I should be leaving.” He moved to the door before stopping. “I wanted to give you my number, call me if you need help.”
“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.” She should probably turn him down, but that wasn’t happening. Her fingers flew across the small screen as she added him to contacts. Before he could get to the door, his message alert went off.
Kayden turned to look at her.
“That’s my contact info. Maybe you can call me one day.”
“How long?”
“What?”
“How long do I have to wait to call you?”
“Umm you could call tomorrow, hopefully after eleven I was planning on sleeping in.”
“I’ll call tomorrow. Goodbye for now, Keva.”
“Goodnight Kayden, I will talk to you tomorrow.”
“You will.” He opened the door and walked through making sure it was shut behind him. He didn’t move until he heard her lock the door.
She waited until she was sure he had time to get on the elevator before she let out a small rebel yell. He was going to call her tomorrow, like a date. Wait, not a date but a male who seemed interested in her. Was he interested in her? She was interested in him. There was no way she was going to spend the night twisting and turning like she was in a teen drama or another remake of Grease. She loved Grease with Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta.
She put the movie on and skipped to the end singing ‘I’ve got chills they're multiplying’ as she bounced all over the room. Calm down, she told herself, you know better than to skip to the end of the book. It’s what comes between the beginning and the end that makes the ending so gratifying. That was love. It was what happened on the way to the love you that was important. She knew that in her head, like knowing that billions of dollars meant you could buy anything. But she had no practical experience with it.
She had never been in love. There were a few times she was in lust. Most of her life was spent getting control of her gift and getting to a place where she felt safe. That was something most middle-class people didn’t seem to know anything about unless they were one of the abused.
Now she was aware that abuse happened to everyone even the smiling rich. She shivered; the feeling of being unsafe was what she felt when she left the coffee shop. Inside, she knew that everyone there would fight for her. Outside she felt like she was on her own, if that thing, that Shadow found her, he would kill her.
Turning off the television, she got ready for bed. Then she sat on the bed, closing her eyes and began to visualize. There was no way she could go out into public or even do her show without having total control over her mind. The problem was her gift was growing, changing, molding itself into something else and she didn’t know what. It was scaring her.
There was something different, something she had never seen before. Usually after being in public and after having been frightened, her energy level would be low. This time it wasn’t. It looked like someone had not only restocked her with her original energy but given her more. How was that possible? She checked every defense she had; no one had tampered with her mind.
Shrugging her shoulders, there was nothing she could do about it now. She made sure everything was tightened up before crawling into bed. Tomorrow Kayden would call, she wanted to be awake for that.
*~*~*~*
“You’ve been gone all day,” Ven greeted Kayden when he walked into the living room.
“First you kick me out of the house, now you question where I was.”
“First, I made you take a shower, you’re welcome.”
Kayden growled, not because he was upset. Ven needed to be growled at more. Ven laughed and Kayden rolled his eyes. He’d spent too much time around human women.
“You missed dinner.”
He had, the time in the coffee shop had stretched on forever a smile touched his lips. Then the time they spent outside and even in her apartment. He probably needed to eat. Kur’iks were carnivores and without a steady influx of red meat, they got angry. He assumed that was why they were always starved, it made them fight harder.
“Come on,” Ven walked to the kitchen.
“Why are you always serving?” He could get his own food, but Ven was already taking it out the refrigerator and heating it up.
“Time with my dad and Declyn taught me a few things.”
“Oh?”
“One, you can’t hope to lead if you don’t know what it’s like to serve.”
That was one of the things he liked about Ven, but it also scared him. Ven had reasons for doing things that most didn’t think of. He had never seen the young man follow anyone blindly except for Enzo and Declyn when he was younger.
“They both taught you well.”
“Thank you. They also taught you well.”
“What are you talking about?”
Ven brought his plate to the table then sat with him. “Enigma one was supposed to be cold-blooded killers. You were males with only one goal in life, to take out the enemy.”
“That was us. It’s who we still are.”
“Is it? Do you remember the time when our battalion was outgunned? There was no doubt that we were all going to meet our end that day.”
Kayden could feel the laser blasts around him heating up the night and giving them a chance to see as part of their troops were gunned down without a thought. A shiver went up his back as he rubbed his arms the heat of his memory searing his skin.
“The five of you were our only hope. Declyn told you to penetrate the enemy lines and do whatever it took to make sure we got home.”
His fork dropped as he remembered Declyn talking to them. He was a proud warrior who never wanted to admit defeat. This time to admit it would mean everyone under him would face death. The Thalians weren’t known for letting a prisoner live. He gave the order, every thalian was to be killed.
Enigma One penetrated the enemy line it was what they were made to do. Then they fanned out taking out key Thalians before they knew anyone was there.
Kayden was told to kill the one in charge. Sitting on his lap was a child maybe fourteen earth years. He knew when he killed one, he would have to kill the other. Never had he failed in his mission. All orders were to be carried out, the failsafe they placed within him insisted that he kill what he was sure was a father and son.
The father looked him in his eyes over the head of his child. He saw the realization that they would die in his eyes. He tried, or he told himself he tried. In the end, he blended back into his surroundings and let them live.
That was the day his mind shattered. He was broken, but he’d rather be broken than have that child’s blood on his hands. The father was the general, he called all the troops back. They packed up taking the fight somewhere else. That was a perk he hadn’t expected.
“I remember that day.”
“Do you remember the party after?”
&
nbsp; There was a party? He cast his mind back. He did remember it. It happened about a week later when Declyn was sure they were safe. A slight smile curved his lips. So many on both sides could have died.
“I remember.”
“The party was for all of Enigma One, but Declyn, my dad, Tristan, and a couple of others all celebrated you.”
“Why?”
“Because you made the decision to spare two lives and without knowing it you bought us all our freedom with one selfless act. I know how much it cost you to go against them. You learned that from your captain and first in command. All of us have been touched by them. You showed that you’re not a cold-blooded killer and neither are your teammates. Remember that, you showed compassion for something you couldn’t fathom, love.” Ven got up and cleaned up the kitchen leaving Kayden with nothing to do except wash his plate when he was done.
How could he have forgotten that? It seemed so long ago, but it was the place he first felt his mind crack. What would Ven say if he told him about that? Knowing Ven he’d say it was a small piece of the puzzle and one day he would understand. He took care of his plate.
His feet led him outside and into the thicket of trees at the end of their property. Finding a nice tall tree with a solid rounded base he climbed it. One of the differences between him and an earth wolf. When he reached the top, he settled down to look at the stars. Somewhere out there was a planet he used to fight for. One who seemed to own his soul at the time. Now his soul belonged to himself, not that he knew what to do with it.
Were there aliens out there that bonded with humans making them turn on their own kind? Or were they from this planet an evolutionary misstep? Would Keva be fine until he called her tomorrow? There were so many questions. There was one that trumped all the others. Was he more than a cold-blooded monster? Was it possible he could take part in the love he witnessed between the others? Would his mind allow him to even take a mate?
Was Keva interested in him?
Chapter Five
The phone rings and Keva jumps, it’s not eleven yet only ten, but it doesn’t matter she almost breaks her neck getting the thing. She blew out her breath when she saw it was only her mom. Only she shook her head and answered it.
“Mom, how are you?”
“I’m good baby girl. I wanted to check in on you and see if you're ready to change locations to be closer to me.”
Her mom lived in a condo in Florida. It had always been her dream and Keva was determined her mom’s dreams would come true.
“I don’t know how you stand all that heat, mom.” She did understand, but she liked teasing her mother. There was a time they went through a winter without gas because they couldn’t afford to pay the bill and they were just a little over the income guidelines for assistance. It took every bit of her mother’s ingenuity to make sure they didn’t freeze that year.
“What can I say, baby I’m just a heat bunny.”
“Which is better than being a snow bunny.” They both laughed. Neither could understand why people seem to like going down snow-covered hills.
“Mom I probably should come to visit you, but no moving. I like heat but I prefer spring and fall. Like you, I hate winter and well summer doesn’t really do it for me, way too hot.”
“I know, I just thought… I met some nice men down here. They all think you’re hot.”
“How do they know what I look like?”
“I may have had my phone out, and they asked me what I was looking at. How could I not tell them? I said my really hot, single daughter.”
Keva fell on the bed laughing, she had to place the pillow over her face to help muffle the sound.
“Are you trying to marry me off mom?”
“All I’m saying is grandchildren. I’d even move back there for some.”
That shut her up. Her mom wanted grandkids badly. It was just the two of them her father disappearing before she turned three years old. That was okay though because together they made it through.
“I met someone, mom.” She shouldn’t get her mother’s hopes up he was an alien. She also couldn’t let her mother think there was no hope. “It’s nothing but a budding friendship right now, but my friend is hot as hell. I think I saw some interest in his eyes. If he’s interested in me, then I’m interested in him. If he’s not interested, then I’m not.”
Her mother made a rather large and dramatic sigh into the phone. “Kid’s today, you play too many games. That’s why half of you are single. In my day we saw what we wanted and went after it.”
Neither of them said her father ended up leaving, maybe she should have let that one go. She asked her mom once if she was sorry, she got involved with him. Her answer was shocking. ‘Without him, there wouldn’t be you. I thank God every day for his worthless ass.’
Keva thanked God every day for her mother.
“What about you, mom? You’re not too old to find someone.”
“Well, now that you mentioned it.”
She sat up in stunned silence. Her mother was dating? Was it snowing outside, was hell rising? Were the angels and the demons fighting? Had the earth shifted its axis?
“Mom, really?”
“Yes really.”
“I want all the deets and pictures of this guy. He better be good enough for you if not I’ll float him away to someplace where he’ll never be found.” Her mom knew all about her mental abilities. Without her, Keva wouldn’t have made it through school.
“I sent pictures to your phone. Sit back baby girl and let me tell you how it’s done.” God, she loved her mom. She told her all about how she met her man as well as throwing in several motherly tips on how to rope and reel in Kayden.
She was lying on the bed laughing when the phone started ringing a second time. It was noon, Kayden was calling.
“Hi,” her voice was husky. She was not using one of her mother’s tricks, sound seductive.
“Hi, I wanted to make sure you were up.”
“I’m up.” His nervousness came through. It made her feel better to know she wasn’t the only one feeling that way.
“I don’t know what you have planned today, I thought, it’s probably too soon. I don’t know the ways men interact with females. I thought you might want to go out, get to know each other as friends. If it’s too soon—”
“It’s not too soon, and I’d like to go. We can go wherever you want, even back to Charlies to visit our favorite waitress.” That got a laugh out of him and the mood seemed to get lighter.
“How about a picnic?”
“That would be nice.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour?”
“I’ll be ready.” She made sure the call ended checking the phone three times before she flopped on the bed and kicked her legs up in the air screaming. She was going on a picnic with the hot alien. Take that, all the other women of the world who were not invited to their picnic. Jumping up, she ran to the bathroom. She needed to shower, brush her teeth, put on the good smelling deodorant, not the everyday one. What was she going to wear? What about her hair? She had what others called the good hair, that saying just made her snort. It was easier than some others that’s all she was willing to concede.
She finished as fast as she could in the bathroom and set about looking for a casual but cute outfit that said I want to be friends, but I’m open to more, but only if you want more. Okay, clothes talked too much. With a laugh, she decided on capris because sitting in the grass with ants trying to attack her legs wasn’t a pleasant thought.
She grabbed a pair of sandals because flip-flops said she wasn’t trying and would put him in the friend zone. Whoever said clothes speak, she wished they had kept that article to themselves. Just enough makeup to say your worth it but I have nothing to hide. So, this is what it’s like when you haven’t been on a date forever. Not date, friendship outing. She stopped to laugh at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were shining, her mouth was curved wide into a smile. A small prayer escaped her lips thanking the Lor
d for encouraging her to eat lunch alone. Well, she needed to thank Troy too.
Grabbing her purse after checking for her keys and wallet she was out the door. She wanted to be there when he pulled up.
Kayden pulled up in the blue SUV from yesterday. She gave a quick wave as he pulled up to the curb.
“Hey.” She gave him the full force of her smile. He looked so good sitting there. His eyes were bright and that green Henley he was wearing was making his eyes shine like emeralds in the night sky. Her heart was beating fast. If she wasn’t careful, she’d swoon and need smelling salts. Yep, she read historical’s growing up although hers always had just a pinch of fantasy or the paranormal in them.
“Hey, back to you.” His hands shifted gears seamlessly.
In the back seat was a large picnic basket and a couple of covers for the ground.
“Where are we going?”
“There’s a lake close to where I live. I know no one will be there, I thought it might be a good place for a picnic.”
“Sounds perfect, but how do you know it will be deserted?”
“It’s on the property that we own, and I made sure to let everyone know I will be using it today alone.”
Her cheeks flushed. He told his family about her.
“What did they say?”
“I didn’t stick around to hear. They would have teased me, especially Ven.”
She listened to the cadence and timbre of his voice. He loved his family; she wasn’t sure if he even realized it from the way he sounded.
“Are you close?”
“We are. Only Locke and Key are brothers but really, we all are. We’ve been together since creation. Tristan is our healer and Ven is the younger brother always starting mischief.”
“He sounds a bit like a brat.”
Kayden’s lips tilted in a smile. “He is a brat. I’d call him that, but he’s a scary brat.”
“He likes to hurt or intimidate people?”
“No, not our Ven. He has more power than I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t abuse it most days he doesn’t acknowledge it, but it’s there.”
The Wolf & The Pretender Page 3