by Sarah Carter
“Seriously, Olive?” Xander laughs.
“Yes, Damien wants Phinn.”
Xander nods. “Phinn and Olive. Okay, no judging.”
“Lexi said we were having twins, so I am preparing. I guess I have four of them,” Claire sighs.
“Coming from the woman that was hesitant to have any,” Xander laughs.
Claire puts her hand on her chest. “Lexi is wonderful and now I want more. Damien has always wanted a lot of kids. So, I’m preparing myself. Lexi hasn’t been wrong yet.”
“I would get started soon,” Xander suggests, nudging her with his hand.
She smiles and narrows her eyes. “Yes, I know. I want to wait a few more years until Lexi is a little older. I don’t think I could handle a newborn and Lexi at the same time. Not until she gets her powers under control. I also have to work with her on not to go running around making people pregnant.”
Trinity puts her hand on her stomach. “This baby is going to be something Lexi Walker.”
“What made you pick Walker as a last name?” Claire asks.
“We’re aliens. We are kind of explorers on this planet. Walkers amongst the humans,” Xander replies. “I just liked it. Trinity said it was up to me, so that’s what I chose.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” Claire replies.
“Just like Mrs. Blakely,” Xander teases.
She narrows her eyes. “Calling me Mrs. Blakely makes me sound like an old person. I’m Claire Livingston Blakely. Call me Ms. Blakely if you need to call me something.”
“It’s actually Mistress Blakely,” Trinity giggles.
“Stop it, it makes me sound like a dominatrix,” Claire laughs. “Mistress Blakely at your service.”
“Is that what you say to Damien?” Xander asks.
“Only on Sundays,” Claire teases. They all laugh. Claire stops and looks at Trinity. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
Trinity smiles. “Yes, it’s a lot to take but I’m ecstatic. We’re having a baby. We’re going to have a family!” Xander beams down at her.
Claire crosses her arms. “Well, we have a lot of planning to do.”
“We?” Trinity replies, with a smirk.
“Ugh,” Claire starts. “I have to have some input.”
“Well, you will be the godmother,” Trinity states.
Claire’s jaw drops. “Really?”
“Of course.”
“Mommy!” They hear yelled from the doorway. Lexi comes running in and jumps on her mom. Claire lifts her up.
“What did you do Lexi?” Claire scolds.
Looking at her with her bright green eyes, Lexi smiles. “Auntie Trinity wanted a baby.”
“I understand that, but you don’t just make people pregnant. Ask first.”
“It was supposed to happen,” Lexi draws out, in an exasperated tone.
“It’s alright. Thank you,” Trinity whispers. She gets off the table and grabs Lexi into a big hug. “Thank you so much.”
“Love you Auntie Trinity,” Lexi giggles.
Trinity smiles. “I love you so much, too.”
“Is that it for you?” Claire asks her daughter.
There is a pause as Lexi looks up at her. “I don’t know Mommy. I don’t know my future.” A sly grin crosses her face. Claire’s head falls forward and she sighs.
11 years later…
“Mom,” Lexi snaps. “This has to be the stupidest idea you have come across.”
“It’s not stupid,” her mom replies. “It will be good for you.”
“Tell me one reason it will be good for me,” Lexi demands.
Her mom crosses her arms. “Lexi, you need to get out and make friends.”
“They’re human!” Lexi shouts. “Who gives a shit if I have human friends?”
“Lexi Rose Blakely, do not swear,” her mom replies. “What would your father say?”
“Stop being like your mom,” Lexi answers.
Laughing, her mom sighs, “That’s a good point. Lexi, I gave the same argument to my mother.”
“That was going to a thing with Neturu. These are humans. What do you want me to do? I could never let my powers slip. I mean, we can’t let being shapeshifters slip. What about me?”
“No powers Lexi.”
“Yeah mom, no powers…”
*****
“Wait!” Connor yells. Lexi keeps her eyes down and continues down the hall. “Hey,” she hears, before a hand grabs her and turns her around.
“Leave me alone,” Lexi mumbles, not meeting his gaze.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Connor says. “I just need to talk to you.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
He leans in and forces her to look at him. His eyes are so crystal blue and they always seem to haunt her. “Explain to me what happened.”
“No.”
“Explain to me about the other night.”
Lexi shakes her head. “Nothing happened. The guy’s crazy.”
“What did you do to him?” Connor asks.
“I didn’t do anything to him,” Lexi snaps. “What could you possibly mean by that?”
“Where did you learn to fight like that?”
She shuffles her foot. “My mother.”
“Your mom taught you that?” Connor gasps. Lexi nods. “Tell me what happened with that guy,” he whispers. “I won’t tell anyone.”
“I can’t tell you Connor,” she says. “I wish I could, but I can’t. Nothing happened and I didn’t do anything.” With that, she turns and walks away.
What if a human found out?
Shifting Fate
The next generation in the
Neturu Chronicles
Snippet from
Shifting Fate
Chapter 1
The house is silent. Suddenly, a hand comes out from the covers and holds itself over the alarm. Counting down with its fingers, it goes five, four, three, two, one. The alarm starts to go off. The hand gives it the finger, and the alarm goes flying across the room.
A voice says, “Lexi Rose Blakely, that better have not been your alarm clock!” through the door.
She groans. Lexi sits up and sighs. Looking at the pieces on the floor, she rolls her eyes. The pieces start to come together again. When it’s whole, the alarm clock places itself back on the nightstand.
“Are you up honey?” her mom calls out.
“Yes, Mom,” Lexi sarcastically drawls out. “I can sleep through the screaming.”
The door opens, and her mom walks in. “You need to get up. Seriously, you can’t be late for your first day of school.”
“Mom,” Lexi whines. “I know everything. Why in the hell do I have to go to school? I don’t want to wear contacts.”
Her mom presses her lips together. “Lexi, the purple hair could be a punk rock thing. The eyes. You know we can’t explain the eyes.”
Lexi frowns and looks at the floor. “I know, Mom.”
“Oh, honey,” her mom sighs, sitting down on the bed. “Don’t be that way.”
“What, Mom?” Lexi snaps. “Admit that I am the only one in this universe that’s like me.”
“There are have been a lot of guys interested in you.”
She looks up. “Mom, they’re interested in our line. I get called a freak. We all do. All of us kids. You don’t even understand.”
“Who calls you a freak?” her mom gasps.
“It doesn’t matter,” Lexi mutters. “I just think putting me amongst a bunch of humans is a bad idea.”
“Just don’t use your powers,” her mom instructs. “You will be fine.”
“Don’t do the one thing that makes me me,” Lexi snaps again. “Thanks.”
Her mom takes her hand. “Listen, I gave the same argument to your grandmother before she sent me to the rendezvous.”
“Mom,” Lexi groans. “It’s not the same.”
“It is. I thought I was a freak, but she made me go. And look, I met your father!”
<
br /> Making a gagging face, Lexi says, “I don’t need to think of you guys hooking up. Barf.”
“What? We met. Who says we hooked up?”
“Thank God in heaven, that I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard you talk to Dad. Barf. Gag. Vomit.” She gestures puking on the floor.
“You know, honey, we aren’t that old. You don’t have to act like we’re dinosaurs.”
Lexi raises an eyebrow. “Thirty-three is old.”
“It is not!” her mom yells. “What? How is that old?”
Bursting out laughing, Lexi falls over onto her mom’s shoulder. “The look on your face...oh my god...priceless.”
“Funny, Lexi,” her mom says, a smirk twitching on her face.
“Mom, you’re not old, but I don’t want to ever hear you talk about sex again.”
“Well, I hope you talk to me about it before you have sex,” her mom whispers, nudging her.
She sits up. Lexi says, “What guy...in their right mind...would want to have sex with me?”
“You’re a bombshell!”
“Mom. Oh my god. I’m an alien to the aliens! How bigger of a freak can you be?”
“You’re not a freak.”
Lexi raises an eyebrow. “Mom, you’re the one who started the freak club.”
Her mom looks at her and says, “Oh god, I am old. I’m my mother.”
That makes Lexi laugh. “No, you’re just being a mom. I’m a freak. I’m the president of the freak club.”
“But, think of it, you’re not alone. There’s Kayla, Ariel, Aurora, Mason, Xander, Trinity, Jennifer, Ashe, Lana, and the most awesome, me.”
“Mom, none of you can top me. I see the everything. Future, past, now. Next Tuesday, last Wednesday. Right now. Olive just woke up.”
With falling shoulders, her mom sighs. “She was up until two this morning. I’m going to die.”
“Aren’t you the hard core fighter that can go on a little sleep?” Lexi teases.
“I’m the hard core fighter that has five kids,” her mom groans. “Ugh, twins are a work out.”
“Go. Go drink a cup of coffee. I will get her back to sleep.”
Her mom smiles. “I still say you have an ability.”
“An ability to do what?” Lexi replies.
“To calm people. To make people attach to you. I think it’s when you want them to.”
Rolling her eyes, Lexi says, “I doubt that. I’d actually have friends.”
“You have the other kids,” her mom states. “You are ridiculously close.”
“They live all around the world. They’re not here. They’re not going to go to school with me. I’m going to be alone. In a sea of humans, nonetheless. No powers. At all.”
“You better not,” her mom sternly demands.
With a smirk, Lexi says, “Not even a little bit?”
“No, Lexi.”
“It’s so much fun to screw with people!” she exclaims. “Why have powers, if you can’t mess with people’s heads?”
“Lexi. Rose. Blakely. You will do no such thing.”
She smiles. “You wouldn’t know either way.”
Now, her mom looks pissed. “Lexi. Don’t do anything. Could you imagine if you were outed? The ramifications?”
Her eyes widen, and then she rolls them and laughs. “I know, Mom.”
“I will know. I’m a mom. It’s a super power. You better behave.”
Lexi frowns. “Yeah, don’t worry I will. School is going to suck.”
“It’s not going to suck,” her mom replies, patting her hand. “You will make some new friends and maybe...you may even meet a boy.”
“I’m an alien, Mom,” Lexi snorts. “An alien to the aliens. There’s no one for me to be with. Neturu families don’t want me because who would want to tarnish their blood lines? I can’t be with a human. I could never share who I really am. I could never share who we really are. So, I’m stuck being alone for the rest of my life. ALONE.”
“Don’t say that,” her mom groans, putting her arm around her. “I said the same thing.”
She turns on her mom. “Mom, you’re at least fully Neturu. I’m not. I’m a freak. The freakiest of the freaks. No one will want me.” Lexi pauses. “Olive is going to start crying in thirty seconds.”
“Ugh,” her mom grunts. “I’m going to die from sleep deprivation. Super fighter or not.”
“I will go put her back to sleep,” Lexi says. “Go drink some coffee or catch a few more minutes of rest. I can get ready on my own. Phinn will be up soon if Olive is up.”
“If she wakes up her brother, I will scream. Plain and simple. I’m going to wake up the whole house. Just scream.”
Lexi stands up and kisses her mom’s head. “Go, take some mom time. I will take care of them.”
“Thanks. You do have an ability.”
“I guess.” Suddenly, there is high-pitched crying. “Gotta go. I’m being paged.” Her mom laughs, and Lexi closes her eyes. With an electrical current sweeping over her, she opens her eyes back up. She is in a room. The room is bright yellow, with splashes of color everywhere. A nine-month old baby is standing up in the crib, crying. “Olive,” Lexi whispers. “Shhhh.”
Olive stops, but her lip is still quivering. Lexi walks over and picks her up. “Hey, you are supposed to be sleeping.” Olive rubs her eyes. Lexi leans her on her shoulder and starts to walk around, bopping her as she goes. “Go back to sleep, little one,” Lexi whispers. Olive immediately goes limp and quiets down. “I think mom’s right,” Lexi whispers. “I do have an ability.” A few seconds later, Olive is asleep. Lexi lays her down in the crib. “Sleep,” she whispers, running her hand over Olive’s head. Taking a deep breath, she goes to get ready for school.
A while later, she is staring at the clock in her car. It says 7:45. She was supposed to be in the office fifteen minutes ago. Lexi seriously doesn’t want to go in there. She doesn’t need this. She doesn’t need an education. Slamming her head against the headrest, she decides she needs to go in.
One last look in the rearview mirror. Lexi sees her emerald eyes are now blue. It was the only thing that completely blocked the natural color of her eyes. Her hair is up in a messy bun, but it’s still bright purple, which she knows will make everyone stare at her. “I hate you guys,” Lexi whispers to her parents, who can’t even hear her. Finally, with a big sigh, Lexi gets out of the car.
Everyone in the parking lot stops and stares at her. She pulls her backpack close and starts to walk. Literally every person that she passes, stops and stares. Lexi has her mother’s body from all her training, and she knows she’s pretty, but she’s still a freak, and a freak outweighs everything else. When she gets to the school doors, she goes to open one. It suddenly opens in front of her, and she runs into a guy. He grabs her to keep her steady and says, “I’m so sorry.”
She looks up into his eyes. They are crystal blue and the most beautiful eyes Lexi has ever seen. His blonde hair is long. It’s slicked back with the sides shaved. Lexi can’t even say anything. She is just slack-jawed.
“You okay?” the guy asks.
Lexi finally shakes her head. “Yeah, sorry.”
“Conner,” she can hear from behind him. “What are you doing? Go.”
“Yeah, sorry,” Connor says, stepping all the way through.
A short blonde girl comes walking out. She takes one look at Lexi and starts laughing. “Wow, that must have taken a long time to do.”
Like a reflex, Lexi reaches up for her hair. “It wasn’t that hard.”
The girl snorts and says, “Trying to go for the punk look?”
“I have had it this way for a while,” Lexi mumbles, her cheeks lighting on fire.
The vibe Lexi is getting from this girl isn’t good. “Well, it’s going to be a bitch when you want to put it back.”
“I plan to keep it this way,” Lexi sighs.
“Yeah, okay.”
“I like it,” Connor says. “It’s a very pretty purple, and you
pull it off well.”
The girl narrows her eyes at Connor and then looks at Lexi. “Well, good luck fitting in here. Don’t let people get to you.”
Lexi’s heart falls, and she can’t even speak because that comment was not meant as a nice one. “Yeah,” Lexi whispers. “I...I have to go.” She turns around and starts heading back towards the parking lot.
“Dude, Jackie. Don’t be such a bitch. Wait!” Connor yells.
Lexi ignores him and keeps walking. She gets to her car and gets in. “Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.”
With a sigh, she thinks, Dad?
He responds. Yes, honey?
I can’t do this. I can’t. I didn’t even make it inside of the building before people were making fun of me.
Lexi...
No “Lexi”, Dad. I didn’t even make it through the front door. Why do I have to do this? I can just do some top secret work for the Neturu. Live in seclusion.
You need to get an education.
Why? I know more than you!
Yes, I know, honey. This will be good for you. You’ve spent most of your life in seclusion. You have to learn to get out more.
Dad. You’re supposed to be my best friend. Please, don’t do this to me.
I am your best friend. Lexi, I love you. I would never do anything that would harm you. They’re just teenagers. You are way more mature than them. Just look at them for being as stupid as they are because they’re teenagers. You are wise beyond your years.
Lexi laughs. Nice dad. I’m a teenager. I’m stupid, too. Remember, I rear-ended someone in your sports car.
Yes. I know. Please, let’s not remind me of that.
Daddy, PLEASE. Don’t make me do this.
Daddy? Oooooo. You pulled out the secret weapon. Pulled out the Daddy card.
You know what. I’m not talking to you anymore.