by I. T. Lucas
For a moment she was shocked that he knew it, but then remembered that she had a name tag pinned to her shirt.
Apparently, the electric shock had fried some brain cells as well.
She was acting like an idiot, and it was totally unacceptable for a twenty-four-year-old woman with six years of higher education, not to mention for a member of the Safe Haven community who had been supposed to get over her sexual inhibitions a long time ago.
Letting out a breath, she put the vacuum cleaner down and turned around. “Just deliver the message, Samuel.”
15
Leon
“Just deliver the message, Samuel.” Anastasia looked at him warily.
She hadn’t responded to his thrall, but Leon didn’t know whether it was because he’d frightened her and she was suspicious of his motives, or whether she was immune.
If that was the case, they were majorly screwed.
Usually, humans who were immune to thralling were also immune to compulsion, which meant that mind tricks were not going to work on Anastasia, and they would have to convince her to come with them by appealing to her logic.
Good luck with that.
If she was as brainwashed as the other members of the Safe Haven community, then they might as well just quit and go home now.
There was also a third possibility, though. It could be that Anastasia was attracted to him, and for some reason, she was fighting it with everything she had. Perhaps the walls she was trying to erect to protect herself from the unwanted attraction were interfering with his thralling.
“Are you happy here, Anastasia?”
“That’s not a message. That’s a question.”
“Answer it, and I’ll tell you why I was looking for you.”
“Yes, I’m happy here. Now talk.”
“I’m not sure that you are. You need to convince me.”
She let out a breath. “Just forget it.”
Turning around, she grabbed the vacuum and tried to circle around him toward the door.
When he blocked her way, she glared at him. “Please move out of my way.”
“Why are you being so hostile?”
“I don’t know. I’m usually not like this, but then guys don’t usually pester me either.”
“I’m not pestering you.” He moved aside and followed her out of the room. “I just want to talk to you.”
She locked the door and used her keycard to open the next one. “Why? Because you have a message for me?”
“Yes.” He followed her into the room.
“I doubt it. But I’ll humor you one last time. What’s the message?”
“Your father is worried about you. He sent me to get you out of here.”
She didn’t look as surprised as he’d thought she would be. “If he’s so worried about me, he could have come to visit me.”
She had a point. “Is family allowed to visit?”
“Of course. This is not a prison camp.”
“Are you allowed to visit him?”
Anastasia hesitated for a moment. “Sure, but I don’t want to, and neither does he.” She started making the bed. “I bet he’s more worried about his money than he is about me.”
“I have no doubt that money is a big part of it. You are donating your sizable allowance to the community, and he’s not happy about it.”
She straightened and leveled her blue eyes at him. “Why does he care how I spend it? He’s never cared before. It’s paying for my expenses like it always did.”
Leon pushed his hands into his jeans pockets. “I don’t know. I’ve never even met your father. He hired a friend of mine to get you out of here, and that friend asked me to do him a favor.”
Anastasia rolled her eyes. “Your friend must have a very low opinion of women. He sends a handsome guy to bait me and assumes that I will melt on the spot and follow him like a groupie. I’m not that kind of girl.”
She turned back to the bed and attacked the pillows, fluffing them so vigorously that Leon expected at least one to split open and spill its feathers all over the place.
He debated what to do next. So far, he’d managed to botch things up pretty badly, and he had no idea how to fix them.
Perhaps he should let Eleanor deal with Anastasia. It seemed that the girl was mistrustful of men, and maybe she would be less guarded with a woman.
Except, he didn’t want it to be the end. Anastasia intrigued him, and he wanted to get to know her better and find out whether the issues she’d mentioned were the voices she heard in her head or something else.
But that wasn’t all.
He wanted her to melt for him. He wanted to taste those lips of hers, to have his hands all over her sexy little body, and to find out what made her tick. But she was off-limits.
This was work, and he didn’t mix business with pleasure.
Instead of letting his libido do the thinking for him, he had to find a way to gain her confidence. But how was he going to achieve that when the woman was skittish like a frightened kitten and had the claws of a tigress?
What could he offer her that she couldn’t refuse?
“I understand that you are training to become a counselor, true?”
She looked up at him. “I am.”
“How would you like to make me your project? Convince me that the Safe Haven philosophy is the true path to happiness?”
“I’m not a counselor yet. Besides, you just want an excuse to talk to me.”
“Is that bad?”
She shrugged. “Depends on your motives. I should warn you, though. You are not going to convince me that the world outside of Safe Haven is a better place for me.” She let out a breath. “Look, I’m not brainwashed, and I know that this place has its shortcomings, but I feel safe here. I’m part of a community, I found friendship and acceptance here, and I’m not willing to give it up.”
“I’m not asking you to. I just want us to talk, openly and freely, and see who manages to convince whom. Think of it as an intellectual challenge. You were a law student, so I’m sure you can present an argument much better than I can.”
A spark of interest ignited in her expressive eyes. “I don’t have a lot of free time. In fact, I will have to give up sleep to talk to you. I can meet you in the common room at eleven-thirty tonight.”
“It’s a date.”
She waved a dismissive hand. “It’s not a date. We are only going to talk, so don’t get any ideas. Now, would you please leave? I’m falling behind schedule, and that will cost me a reprimand.”
Feeling like he had won a major victory, Leon shot Anastasia his most charming grin and saluted her with two fingers. “Until later tonight.”
16
Kian
“I love welcoming new members to our community.” Syssi wrapped her arm around Kian’s waist.
“So do I.” He surprised himself with the admission.
At first, Syssi’s insistence on meeting newcomers in the parking structure had seemed silly to him, and he’d done that only to oblige her, but he’d learned to enjoy it.
It was a good excuse to get out of the office and spend more time with his wife. Today was Saturday though, so that wasn’t the reason. The truth was that he’d taken a liking to David’s mother and sister.
“You do?” Syssi looked up at him. “You are usually reluctant to let people in.”
“I’m concerned with security. That’s the only reason. But things are different now that we have Kalugal to compel new arrivals’ silence. Besides, I enjoy Ronja and Lisa’s company.”
He was looking forward to them making a home in the village. For one, it would mean more visits from Sari and David. Secondly, he had a feeling that his mother and Ronja would become good friends.
It was a shame that David’s mother was too old to transition. It had occurred to him that Annani’s blood might potentially help her survive, but even with that, her chances weren’t good. His mother’s blood was potent, but there was a limit to what it could do
.
If Ronja were his mother, he would have advised against her trying to attempt it. Besides, she’d made it quite clear that she wasn’t interested.
“Parker is pretending that he couldn’t care less about Lisa’s arrival.” Syssi chuckled. “But Vivian told me that he’s been cleaning his room since yesterday.”
“He’s still too young to induce her. Even in Annani’s time, the boys who were chosen to facilitate a Dormant girl’s transition were usually sixteen.”
“Still, they could become friends. Parker doesn’t have anyone his age to hang out with.”
“Lisa is more than a year older than him. At this age, that’s a huge difference.”
Syssi shrugged. “Parker is mature. If Lisa gives him a chance, she will realize that.”
“Here is the bus,” Kian said a moment before it pulled into the parking lot.
As it came to a full stop, and the door opened, Bowen stepped down first, nodded at Kian and Syssi, and then turned around to give Ronja a hand.
She didn’t need it, but she took it and rewarded him with a bright smile, nonetheless.
“Do you think something is going on between those two?” Syssi whispered in his ear.
Shaking his head, he whispered back, “She’s just lost her husband.”
Bowen was a shoulder to lean on, and the two had probably become friends, but to think that there was something romantic between them was a stretch.
Then again, what did he know?
Perhaps different people handled grief in different ways.
Kian walked toward the bus. “Hello, Ronja.” He offered her his hand. “Let me welcome you officially to your new home.”
“Thank you.” She shook it. “I’m excited to be here.” She looked up at the Guardian and smiled brightly. “Thank you for loaning Bowen to us. Without him, it would have taken us much longer to pack and finalize things with the house. He even helped us rent it out.”
Kian arched a brow at the Guardian.
Had he used more than his charm to persuade the new renters to sign the contract?
Shrugging, the guy neither confirmed nor denied his suspicion, and Kian decided to let it go.
Lisa came down the stairs carrying two large duffle bags. “Hi.” She glanced around, looking disappointed that only the two of them had come to greet her and Ronja. “We will need a lot of help carrying boxes to the house.”
Ronja smiled sheepishly. “I know that it comes fully equipped, but I just couldn’t part with so many things.”
“That’s fine. Okidu will load everything on the golf cart and bring it over.”
“One trip won’t do it.” Lisa walked up to them. “I can stay behind and help him.”
“You can’t.” Kian reached for the duffle bags. “It’s supposed to be a surprise, but we have a small welcome party waiting for you at your new home.”
Syssi glared at him. “Now, it’s no longer a surprise.”
He shrugged. “I hate surprises, so naturally, I assume that everyone else does.”
“I don’t,” Ronja said.
“But I do.” Lisa fell in step with Kian and Syssi. “I like parties, I just want to know about them in advance so I can get ready. Who is going to be there?”
“Today, it’s just your new neighbors and Amanda.” Syssi threaded her arm through Lisa’s.
“Who are our neighbors?”
“Magnus and his wife Vivian, their son Parker, their daughter Ella and her mate Julian, and lastly Merlin. Vivian and her family organized this little welcoming party for you, and tomorrow, we are having a barbecue over at our house. I invited a few more people to meet you.”
“Who is Merlin?” Ronja asked. “Is he named after the famous sorcerer?”
“He’s your other neighbor and our fertility doctor.” Syssi smiled. “And he is not only named after the famous Merlin, but he also pretends to be him. He’s a character. You are going to like him.”
“He sounds interesting.” Ronja glanced at Bowen. “Are you going to join us?”
“Of course. I promised to help you unpack.”
Ronja sighed. “I don’t know what I would have done without you. I’m so grateful for your help.”
The Guardian put a hand on her shoulder. “It was my pleasure, Ronja.”
17
Parker
Ella lifted the curtain and peeked outside. “They should be here any moment now. Everyone get ready to shout welcome when they come in, but not before.”
The knot in Parker’s stomach twisted so tight that he could barely breathe. He felt like rushing to the bathroom, but then everyone would think he was hiding from Lisa.
They wouldn’t be wrong.
Parker wanted to meet her, but at the same time, he didn’t. He used to be a popular guy in middle school, but it had been a long time since he’d hung out with anyone his age. Would he even know what to say to Lisa? Or would he sound like an adult because that was who he’d been surrounded by?
The one exception was Anandur, who despite being a really old immortal still liked to goof around like a kid.
But maybe that would work to his advantage?
If Parker sounded all grown up, maybe Lisa wouldn’t see him as a kid.
She was fifteen, and although Amanda and his parents had insisted that the age difference didn’t matter, he knew better. She would never think of him as boyfriend material.
Yeah, right. Boyfriend.
Given the nonexistent selection, he had the advantage of being the only one available, but Lisa could choose to wait with her transition until she was older and could have her pick of potential inducers.
He was willing to bet that this was what she would choose to do, and it was a relief. He would have loved having a girlfriend, maybe even share a kiss with her, and not the sisterly kind, but he didn’t want to bite her. That was almost like having sex, and he wasn’t ready for that.
Amanda and his parents were crazy to think that he could induce Lisa’s transition. According to Bridget his venom glands were fully developed, but since he hadn’t bitten anyone yet, he didn’t know whether he could even produce venom. In fact, he was sure that he couldn’t, but that wasn’t the kind of information Parker wanted to share with anyone.
Maybe he was a defective immortal?
His fangs were fully operational, which was more of a problem than an advantage because the damn things elongated whenever he was aroused, and that was almost constantly. And yet, his venom glands hadn’t swelled in response even once.
The thing was, Parker hadn’t been worried about that until Amanda had come up with the idea of him inducing Lisa, and he realized that everyone assumed he could produce venom.
They’d probably gotten a glimpse of his huge fangs and had reached the wrong conclusion.
Stifling a sigh, Parker rubbed a hand over his smooth chin. So far, only a few tiny hairs grew there, proving that despite the monster fangs, he was still a kid.
The damn things were the reason he’d stopped studying with Wonder. He still had a stupid crush on her, and he couldn’t keep pretending as if something had made him angry to explain the fangs.
And it wasn’t only that. Wonder was an immortal, so she could probably smell the scent of his attraction. At least Lisa wouldn’t be able to do that.
“They are here. Everyone be quiet.” Ella threw the front door open.
Moving behind the couch, Parker schooled his expression and waited for his first glimpse of Lisa.
First to enter was the mother, who looked much younger than he’d expected, and everyone jumped to their feet and yelled out, “Welcome!”
Then Syssi walked in with the girl.
Parker swallowed.
Amanda had said that Lisa was tall and lanky, but she hadn’t mentioned how beautiful she was. Her hair was stick-straight and so blond that it was almost white, and it was gathered in a ponytail. Her lashes and brows were a little darker, but not by much. She didn’t look washed out, though. Her huge blue ey
es and pink lips provided splashes of color to her otherwise pale face.
Wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, and red Converse shoes, she looked a little tomboyish, but that made him like her even more.
As her eyes scanned the room, he knew that she was looking for him and squared his shoulders.
When she found him, a small smile tugged her lips, and then she looked away and joined her mother next to Amanda and his parents.
That hadn’t been too bad.
She hadn’t cringed or winced or looked down her nose at him.
“Parker.” Amanda waved him over. “Come say hi to Ronja and Lisa.”
Reluctantly, he left his spot behind the couch and walked over.
“Welcome to your new home.” He offered his hand to Lisa’s mother. “I hope you don’t mind the home invasion.”
Smiling, Ronja took his hand and clasped it between hers. “Mind? I love it. It was so kind of your mother and sister to organize this. Lisa and I truly feel welcome.” She turned to her daughter. “Am I right, dear?”
Lisa nodded and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Parker. I heard a lot about you.”
He cast Magnus a pretend glare. “What did you tell Lisa about me?”
Thankfully, he managed to sound much more confident than he felt.
“Nothing.” The guy shrugged as if he didn’t know what Lisa had been talking about. “Just that you are about the same age.”
They weren’t, but Fate had been kind to Parker. Despite the lack of facial hair, he looked a little older, and Lisa looked a little younger, so the difference in ages wasn’t as obvious.
Lisa was tall, but she was still flat-chested and had no curves to speak of. And thanks to the growth spurt Parker had experienced over the last few months, he was about the same height as her or even a little taller. His voice had changed as well, and he sounded like a man, especially when he dropped it on purpose.
Once the introductions were over, Lisa’s mother glanced around the room. “I thought Merlin would be here.”