by Sarah Carter
Damien nods. “Yeah, I’ll start cooking dinner. When you’re done with your conversation, come outside your door. The guard will escort you to where I am. Please don’t beat him up this time.”
“I’ll try.” Claire folds her arms.
“See you in a few.” With that he walks away, but right before he shuts the door, Damien turns around. “Don’t touch her, Alex. I mean it. That’s not a request. It’s an order.”
Alex glares at him and nods.
Damien shuts the door, and Claire turns to Alex. “How are you feeling?”
“I feel fine,” Alex replies. “Honestly, it’s like nothing happened. Do you know why I had no energy?”
“Yes, we have our suspicions, but I can’t say what they are. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“And you’re okay? What happened to you? Why are you here?”
Claire bites her lip. “Something happened and I passed out, too. I finally shifted though…a little too much…but I shifted.”
“That’s good news, isn’t it?” Alex asks.
“I guess,” Claire mumbles. “I’m more of a freak than I thought.”
“You aren’t a freak,” Alex groans. “Don’t say that.”
With a smirk, Claire declares, “You sound like Damien.”
“Or he sounds like me because I’ve been saying that for a long time. I really wish I could touch you right now. I just want to hold you and make sure you’re alright.”
“I’m fine. I promise. You just can’t touch me until the doctors say so.”
“Are you sick?”
She shakes her head. “No, just…I really can’t say anything Alex. I’m sorry.”
Alex thrusts his hands up. “It’s me, Claire. I know everything there is to know about you and I’ve never told a soul.”
“I know. This isn’t my choice. I have to listen to Damien. He’s still a council member, even though he and I are so close now.”
“How close you are? What do you mean by that?” Alex whispers harshly.
Her stomach tightens. “You know…we’re such good friends now. But good friends or not, I still have to listen to him. I may not have to call him Master Damien, but he still rules over us.”
Looking at her through slit eyes, Alex says, “Yes, well, maybe you’ll keep that in mind when he hits on you.”
“Stop it.” Her cheeks light on fire.
“Why are you blushing?”
“You’re making me feel scrutinized. What goes on with Damien is none of your business.”
He looks at her apprehensively. “Is there something going on with Damien?”
“No,” Claire retorts quickly, almost too quickly. “We’re just friends, really good friends.”
“Well, that makes me happy. So, we can proceed with each other.”
Claire looks up at Alex. “Alex, about us…”
His expression darkens. “What about us?”
“There’s so much going on right now. Things are totally out of control for me. I was terrified that I hurt you.”
“I’m fine,” he emphasizes. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
She exhales and looks down. “I just don’t know.”
“You don’t have feelings for me, do you?”
“It’s not that,” Claire sighs. “There’s just so much on my plate right now.”
“If you need more time, take it,” Alex assures her. “I’ll wait. Trust me.”
Nodding, Claire says, “Okay.”
She can’t hurt him, not after everything. The thought that she can keep Damien a secret repeats in her head.
“Are you hungry?”
“Yeah. Are you sure you can’t tell me what happened?”
Claire rolls her eyes. “No, I can’t tell you. That’s from Master Drake Blakely himself.”
“Oh,” Alex exhales. “Okay.”
“It’s not about Damien anymore. There are bigger people involved.”
“I really wish I could know what was going on,” Alex mutters.
“I think in due time, but for now, it’s top-secret. Come on, I’m really hungry and thirsty.”
Alex waves his hand to the door. “Lead the way.”
They make their way out into the hallway. One of the guard members she took down is standing there. He backs off quickly and puts his hand on the gun at his belt.
“That wouldn’t be wise,” Claire declares, staring him straight in the eyes.
“Ma’am,” the guard member retorts. “We need to take extra precautions with you.”
“Take it up with my grandfather or Damien, but until then, take us to the kitchen.”
The guard member nods, but keeps a close eye on her.
Alex leans close to her. “Exactly what did you do?”
“I didn’t really hurt anyone…seriously.”
Groaning, Alex says, “Claire…can’t I leave you alone for one day?”
“Pffff, no,” she scoffs. “I think I can tell you this. I may be able to join the guard.”
A little wide-eyed, Alex says, “Seriously?”
“Mmmhmmm.” Claire grins. “It’ll be decided by Master Blakely himself.”
“What? How? Why?” Alex gasps.
She presses her index finger against her lips. “Shhh. Secret stuff.”
“Oh, this is ridiculous. You can’t say something like that and not tell me the rest.”
Pulling him farther away from the guard member, Claire whispers, “I’m going up against his personal guard.”
“Claire?” Alex gasps. “Are you insane?”
“Alex,” she retorts with as much attitude. “I can do this.”
“They’re trained killers,” Alex snaps.
With a smirk, Claire says, “So am I. Deep down, you know I can do this. You just have to get past your protective side.”
Alex rubs his face. “You’re crazy.”
“My grandfather thinks I can do it. He wouldn’t set me up for failure.”
“I can’t be there for that. I’ll have a heart attack.”
“Oh, come on. You have to be there. They won’t actually hurt me.”
With a bewildered look, Alex says, “What, are you going to play patty cake?”
“Yes,” Claire giggles. “Just with our fists.”
He moans and covers his face.
Claire bumps him with her hip. “Relax. I’ll be fine.”
“You aren’t supposed to touch me,” Alex states, jumping back. “You have no idea how much trouble I’ll get in.”
“Oh,” Claire squeaks. “Sorry.”
A heavy exhale comes from Alex. “I’m a guard member now. It would be treason to go against what Damien orders.”
“He didn’t order me to not touch you, just heavily suggested,” Claire slowly mutters.
“You need to take him seriously, friend or not.”
Clicking her tongue, Claire says, “Yeah. I think he and I will be fine. I’m free to make snarky comments.”
“Just be careful,” Alex demands. “I don’t want you to get into trouble.”
“It’s okay,” Claire replies.
The guard member quickly comes to a stop and gestures to a large doorway. They walk over and peek into the room.
It’s a massive kitchen. Damien is at the counter cutting up some vegetables. “Look at you,” Claire laughs. “Little Betty Crocker.”
“Ha, ha,” Damien retorts, with a big smile. He takes out another cutting board and knife. “Come put that killer body to some use.”
“Killer body,” Alex hisses.
“He can admire me. Relax.” Claire snips under her breath. She walks over to Damien. “What am I cutting?”
“The peppers would be fine,” Damien replies. “You do know how to cut peppers, right?”
Claire glares at him. “Yes, I’m very skilled with a knife.”
“Of course you are,” Damien quips, bopping her on the nose with his finger. “I shouldn’t have doubted that, but we aren’t trying to kill the peppe
r.”
With a flip of her wrist, Claire spins the knife around and slams it down into the pepper. “Oops. I think I maimed it.”
Damien bursts out laughing. Leaning over he kisses her on the forehead. “You crack me up.”
Claire smiles.
Someone clears their throat. Alex stands there glaring at them.
“Sorry,” Damien chirps. “I kiss my female friends like that. I still do it to Kayla.”
“Whatever. I can’t tell you what to do,” Alex grumbles, sitting down on a stool on the other side of the counter.
When he looks down, Claire shoots a glare at Damien, who shrugs. Exhaling, Claire starts to chop the peppers.
“Oh!” Damien exclaims. Pulling something out of his pocket, he hands Claire her phone. “You may want to call your brother.”
“How do you know?” Claire snips, looking at him with a smirk.
Shrugging, Damien says, “I have a sneaking suspicion that you have about twenty texts from him.”
“You figured out the password to my phone didn’t you?” Claire laughs.
“Nah, never.” Damien drops some vegetables in the wok.
“You’ve been in her phone?” Alex gawks.
With a smile, Damien replies, “Her email too. I had to.”
“That’s wrong,” Alex snaps.
“It’s fine, Alex. I can’t tell my family that I’m here. He was just smoothing things over. I’m not sure about my phone though,” she turns her attention to Damien. “Anything else on there?”
“Some chick named Libby sent you a text saying that Phil got engaged to someone named Sunshine,” Damien says, looking up at her.
“Oh, hell,” Alex exclaims.
“What?” Claire screams. She opens the screen on her cell phone.
Alex stands up. “Claire, calm down.”
“Are you kidding me?”
Damien stops what he’s doing. “What’s wrong?”
“Claire,” Alex states, walking over to her. “Take a deep breath.”
“I…can…not…believe…this,” Claire seethes.
“What’s going on?” Damien asks, sounding concerned.
Exhaling, Alex says, “Phillip is her ex-boyfriend.”
“And you’re upset that he got engaged?” Damien says. “He’s human.”
“It’s not that.” Claire says. “Sunshine is the chick he dumped me for…at my prom.”
“Oh,” Damien exhales.
Alex puts his hands on her arms. “Claire, you need to calm down. Remember what happens when you get pissed?”
“Don’t touch her,” Damien says.
Alex quickly removes his hands.
“I don’t know if I want to punch something or cry.” Claire shakes her head.
A voice comes over the intercom. “Master Damien, is Claire alright? Her levels just shot through the roof.”
“She’s very angry right now,” Damien states.
“We’ll be right there,” Dr. Galliger says.
“I don’t want to be around people.” Claire whines. “Oh, that stupid jerk.”
Damien walks over and places his hands on her face. “Claire, baby. Do you really want to be with him?”
“Hell no,” Claire gasps. “I’d rather shoot myself in the foot.”
“Then why get so upset? You’ll find someone much better than Phil.”
She takes a quick breath in. “You’re right.”
“Yes, I am,” Damien replies softly. “Do you want me to make his life a living hell? I can. I have the power.”
“No,” Claire shakes her head. “He’s just a jerk.”
“He treated you like crap,” Alex growls. “I wanted to beat him to a pulp the entire time you dated. I’m surprised that you didn’t.”
Laughing, Claire says, “I almost did, at prom, but I’m considered a lethal weapon.”
“I would’ve bailed you out. I would’ve sold the Ducati for your defense. I wish you had.”
“She’s the most annoying person ever. Who names their kid Sunshine?”
“Hippies,” Damien answers.
Claire huffs and puts her phone down. “I don’t care. He’s human and a jerk anyway.”
“You’re a hundred times hotter than Sunshine,” Alex reassures her. “He’s a fool.”
“I have to agree with Alex. Your beauty is out of this world,” Damien agrees.
“She’s kind of a troll. The cheerleader troll,” Claire grumbles.
Damien laughs. “A cheerleader?”
“Cheer captain,” Claire quips.
“And she’s a troll?” Damien retorts.
“Yup. here I’ll go to her Facebook page.” Claire hands Damien her phone.
Damien arches his eyebrow. “She’s not very attractive.”
“A troll,” Claire emphasizes.
“It’s not like Phillip was that attractive,” Alex notes.
“Yeah, I know. I just thought he and I clicked. We both loved and rode bikes.”
Alex chuckles. “Claire, that’s all that you had in common.”
“We dated for a year. I guess in the end, I wasn’t girly enough,” Claire exhales.
“You’re perfectly feminine and you kick ass,” Damien says. “That’s sexy as hell. He must be an idiot.”
“Thanks.” Claire smirks at Damien, and he smiles back.
Dr. Galliger and Mr. Paulson walk in. “Young lady, are you alright?”
“Yeah, I just momentarily got mad,” Claire replies, “Really mad.”
“Alarms went off. Your energy levels sky rocketed, more so than normal Neturu.”
“Normal Neturu?” Alex says. “How is she not normal?”
“Oh, Mr. Lennox,” Dr. Galliger mumbles. “I didn’t realize you were here. What’s going on with Claire is confidential.”
“I’m a guinea pig,” Claire declares. “They’re studying me.”
“Yes, well, we may need to do more studies on your anger,” Mr. Paulson says. “Your energy levels fluctuate rapidly and drastically.”
“What did you get angry about?” Dr. Galliger inquires.
Claire bites her lip. “Well, that’s kind of private. It has something to do with an ex-boyfriend.”
“A Neturu? I would love to do studies on him,” Dr. Galliger states.
“No, he’s human. All my exes are human,” Claire replies. “There’s no need to study him, unless it’s some sort of painful study, with probes. We are aliens, after all.”
A hearty laugh comes from Damien. “We don’t probe people, Claire.”
“Too bad,” Claire sighs. “That would be great vengeance.”
He snorts and shakes his head. Dr. Galliger looks at Alex. “We need to speak to Claire privately.”
“Oh, okay.” Alex stands up. “I guess I’ll go wait out in the hallway.”
“Please shut the door on your way out,” Damien instructs. Alex narrows his eyes, and Damien gives him a cold stone stare.
Exhaling, Alex leaves the room and shuts the door behind him.
Claire turns to Damien. “Can’t you be nice to him?”
“I’m being very cordial around him. He wants what I want, or have, I guess. I’m not a fan of hiding this, but for now, it’s important,” Damien replies. “I’m going to have a real hard time not showing you affection, because that’s all I want to do.”
“You should keep your touching her to a minimum,” Dr. Galliger says.
“Am I not being monitored?”
Dr. Galliger nods. “Of course you are.”
“Then you’ll know if something is up. If my energy bounces, you can contact me. Every room in this ship has intercoms.”
“True, Master Blakely,” Dr. Galliger responds. “Then proceed as you wish.”
“I would have anyway. Though, with Mr. Lennox around, I’ll curb my behavior, which is slightly annoying.”
Claire rolls her eyes. “Do you really think it would be good if he knew? That anyone knew?”
“I’m not the one who c
ares what he thinks,” Damien replies. “That’s all on you.”
“I just…don’t want to hurt him,” Claire mumbles, fidgeting with the knife.
“Then we’ll keep it a secret…for now,” Damien declares. “But there will be a time where we’ll have to come clean about it.”
She smiles, “Because we’re going to be dating each other that long?”
“I sure hope so,” Damien replies, with a smirk.
“We’re going to have to get you angry again and do some more tests,” Dr. Galliger declares.
“How does one get angry on purpose?” Claire quips.
Dr. Galliger looks deep in thought. “We’ll figure something out.”
“Well, it’s just…I know you’ll be trying to get me angry, so I probably won’t get angry,” Claire states. “That may prove to be difficult.”
“I have an idea,” Damien says. “Leave it to me.”
Apprehensively, Claire looks at him. “Should I be worried?”
“Nope. Just trust me.”
“Okay,” Claire exhales, a little concerned.
“So, we’ve decided the course of testing that we’re going to do,” Mr. Paulson says. “We’re going to start with physical activities.”
“Tonight?” Claire gasps, hopeful.
Mr. Paulson raises an eyebrow. “You’re up for that? You just woke up.”
“You don’t understand. I train every day unless I’m laid-up in bed. It’s what I do. I’ll go nuts if I don’t do something,” Claire replies.
Mr. Paulson looks at Dr. Galliger. “I don’t see why we couldn’t start, then. If you think there isn’t anything wrong with her.”
Shaking his head, Dr. Galliger says, “No. Her readings are all normal. I can’t find anything physically wrong with her.”
Claire starts to clap her hands. “I’ll go to the training gym after dinner.”
“Okay. Just let us know when. We want to watch and monitor.”
“Excellent,” Claire giggles. Ecstatic, she takes a pepper and starts to chop it.
Damien laughs. “You really are good with a knife.”
She grins at him. “You have no idea. I’m trained in weaponry, too. Not our guns though.”
“That’s only for guard members,” Damien responds. “You have to be cleared to use them.”
“Yeah. That’s what grandpa said.”
“Okay,” Dr. Galliger interjects. “We’re going to go. Eat, and then let us know when you’re going to the gym.”