Jensen’s face pales as he joins the dots in his head, and I have sympathy for the dude. I know exactly how that feels. He roughly pulls his hand from hers, stumbling back a few steps. She turns to face him with a sarcastic sneer. “Figured it out, sweetheart?” Her eyes narrow in disgust. “You’re such a gullible fool. You made it so easy.” She steps into him, tracing a line over his chest with one long fingernail. “Not that it wasn’t fun.” She eyes his crotch and licks her lips. “But you’re not really my type.” Her sharp gaze swings in my direction, and I sense where she’s going with this.
Hell to the no.
She’s in my face before I can react. “But you, pretty boy.” She rests one hand on my chest, and I can see her wrist tattoo clearly from this proximity. It’s the same one we all have, and that gives me chills. “You’re definitely more my type.”
“Get your fucking hands off him.” Alinthia glares at Alandra, yanking her hand off my chest and stepping protectively in front of me. I want to grab my girl and kiss the shit out of her in this moment, but I settle for placing my hand on her lower back and crushing her to me. I glare at Alandra over Alinthia’s shoulder.
“Oh, I’ve had more than my hands on him.” Alandra laughs again, and I’m really beginning to hate that raw, throaty sound. She drills a venomous look at Alinthia. “I’ve had my mouth all over him.” She enunciates the words on purpose so Alinthia is left in no doubt of her meaning.
“She’s a nasty piece of work,” Maddox says, and I don’t disagree. The fact she’s not a dude is only mildly comforting. I still want to rewind the last forty-eight hours and remove all trace of that manipulative ho bag from my mind. Either that or erase the memory completely. It’s tempting, but I’d rather be reminded of my failings so I don’t make the same mistake again.
“Can you tap into her mind, Coop?” Dane asks. “I’d like to shut this down fast.”
“Nope. She’s blocking me, which is one of the reasons why I didn’t doubt it was Alinthia that night.” Having said that, mind blocking isn’t all that unusual with other species. A lot of races in the galaxy have abilities which emanate from the mind, so hearing someone’s thoughts is rare. My gift always works better with the spoken word, although I can hear human thoughts a lot easier, but I don’t tend to use the ability unless I have to. It’s too much of an invasion of privacy. I wasn’t as concerned about that before we arrived in Eaton Lake, but Alinthia’s influence on me has been positive. She made me promise early on not to delve into her friends’ minds and I’ve kept my word. A sudden thought occurs to me. “Hang on. Her aura didn’t look like that the other night. It was Alinthia’s white and red aura. How is that possible?”
Beck shrugs his shoulders, looking troubled because he’s as clueless as the rest of us and that is cause for concern.
“I’m always down for a repeat performance,” Alandra says, flicking her gaze to me and interrupting our silent conversation. “Just call me. Anytime, day or night.” She blows me a kiss, and bile swims up my throat.
“You’re pathetic, and whatever game you think you’re playing ends now.” I move alongside Alinthia, circling my arm around her waist.
Alandra cocks her head to the side, planting a fake innocent expression on her face. It’s so hard to look at the face of the girl I love on someone else. Yet, as I watch Alandra, there are perceptible differences, little clues which tell them apart: The barely there slutty dress, the thick makeup that is plastered on her face, the devious glint in her eye, the transparent scorn simmering underneath the surface, and the most obvious lack of a connection between us. It only makes me hate myself more for not realizing it in time the other night.
“I don’t know what you’re implying.” She opts for an innocent charade. “I came here to find my twin, and I’m so happy to finally meet her.”
Pull the other leg, sweetheart.
Alinthia narrows her eyes at Alandra, and I sense her claws are about to make an appearance. “You think impersonating me, sleeping with my ex, and trying it on with my boyfriend is the way to endear yourself to me?”
“I was just trying to understand your life. To get to know you better.” Alandra smiles sweetly, as if butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth.
Alinthia’s hands curl into balls at her side, and she grinds down on her teeth. “That is fucking bullshit, and we all know it.”
“I think we should move this discussion someplace else,” Dane cuts in, glancing around. “There are too many prying ears here.”
Alandra’s slow perusal of Dane’s body is obvious in the extreme. But I’m guessing that’s the intent. “Fuck, you’re hot.” She thrusts her semi-exposed chest into Dane. “Now, you are one hundred percent my type.”
“Get your skanky ass away from him!” Alinthia shrieks, and a wave of red coats her retinas for a second. Jensen turns a ghastly shade of green, and he doesn’t know where to look. Fuck. Little tremors rock the building, the walls visibly shaking around us. Terrified screams pierce the air as bits of debris rain down on the crowd.
“Fuck. The last thing we need is Alinthia exposing herself.” Dane is wearing a mantle of stress. “Get her out of here, Coop.”
“Control yourself,” Dane murmurs under his breath, sending Alinthia a sharp look.
“Come on.” I steer Alinthia around. “You need to calm down.” I start ushering her away when Jensen calls her name. “Not now,” I tell him when he runs in front of us. The guy is a mess, and on the verge of falling apart.
“Tori, what the hell is going on? Who are you?” He looks around, lowering his tone. “What are you?”
Her head whirls around, her eyes widening in alarm. “I’m still the same girl you knew, Jensen. Deep down, that is still who I am.” Her eyes beg for forgiveness and understanding, and my heart aches for her. This has all happened so suddenly, and it’s a lot to take in.
Her words and her expression seem to reassure him somewhat. “I didn’t know, Tori,” he replies in a strained voice. “I swear I thought she was you.” Pain and regret is etched across his face, and compassion wells in me again. I scrub a hand over my face, wondering what the fuck is going on with me.
I don’t like this dude. Like, at all.
Alinthia’s face softens, and I feel some of her pent-up anger ebbing. “I know, Jensen. I’m sorry she involved you in this. I was trying to stay away to keep you safe.”
“I need to talk to you, Tori. Please. I know what you—”
I put my face right up in his. “Do not utter another word unless you want me to plant my fist in your face.”
Yep. I’m back to my not-liking phase.
All is right in the universe again.
Alinthia shucks out of my arms, planting herself directly in front of her ex. Her expression is serious. “Jensen, I need you to listen to me and listen carefully. I want you to go home and wait for me there. Do not talk to anyone about any of this. Whatever questions you have, I will do my best to answer later. Right now, we need to deal with this girl, and I want you nowhere near her.” She pauses for a moment, and her brow creases. “When I drop by later, ask me to describe the dress I wore to junior prom. She won’t know the answer to anything personal, so use that to ensure it’s me. Got it?”
“I want to stay with you,” he pleads. “I don’t trust her, or any of them.” He looks scathingly at me.
Alinthia sighs, and her regret floods the connection as she touches Jensen’s arm. Even though I know she’s using her supertouch to manipulate him into going home, I still want to wrench her hand away from him. When it comes to Alinthia, my possessiveness knows no bounds. It’s becoming problematic and something I need to face up to. It’s ridiculous to be so envious of the time she spends with my brothers, but I can’t help how I feel.
I’m a selfish prick, and I wish I could keep her all to myself.
Alinthia peers into her ex’s eyes, and a dreamy look appears on his face. He might as well be holding up a placard with “I love you” on front. I want to go
uge his eyes from their sockets so he can’t make googly eyes at her again. “Jensen, you will go home and stay there until I come to you. Go now.”
His eyes glaze over, and he looks momentarily confused before succumbing to the inevitable. He nods. “Okay. I’ll go home and wait for you, but, please, Tori, don’t leave me hanging. I need answers.”
“I know, Jensen, and I’ll visit as soon as I can.”
He walks off, continually looking over his shoulder at her, and I steer her forward again. “I don’t like this at all.”
“Me either.” She stops abruptly, tugging on my arm. “Do you think it’s a ruse, or do you think she could actually be my sister?”
“I don’t know what to think, but Beck can run some tests to determine whether she’s shape shifting or in true form. I guess that will answer that question.” But it won’t explain how she was able to manipulate her aura at will, and it’s that I don’t trust above all else.
We assemble in the parking lot, waiting for Dane to issue instructions. “We can talk at our place,” he says, drilling her with one of his ‘“I don’t give a fuck” expressions. “I believe you already know where it is?”
She looks pointedly at me, her lips curving into an overconfident smile, and I want to punch myself in the nuts. “Sure. I know my way.”
We leave the car, teleporting to the house en masse. Beck goes to his lair to gather the equipment he needs while the rest of us convene in the living room.
“How quaint,” Alandra deadpans, casting a derogatory gaze around the space. Without invitation, she sits down, making a deliberate show of crossing one leg over another, flashing flimsy black lace panties at all of us. Alinthia looks like she wants to rip every strand of hair out of her head, and I don’t blame her. For her sake, I hope this is all part of the con. That this girl isn’t really her blood relative.
Dane whips his tie off, tossing it on the nearest chair. Then he stalks to the couch, standing over our unwanted guest. “Start talking. Who are you really, and why are you here?”
“I’ve already told you that.” Arrogance oozes from every pore, and my loathing for her ratchets up another level.
“Try again,” Dane barks, “because we’re not buying it.”
She stands up, pushing her chest out again, practically shoving her tits in his face.
“Does she actually think that shit is attractive?” Maddox projects into our minds, shaking his head while sending her a derisive look.
“Are you always this prickly, because I really like that in a male.” Alandra ignores Maddox’s ornery stare, curling one leg around Dane’s, practically humping him. “And I really like to fuck. A lot. And I’m damn good at it.” She reaches a hand down between them, but Dane grabs her wrist, stalling her. “I’d really like to fuck you,” she purrs, licking her lips in what I’m sure she considers to be a seductive manner. All it does is reinforce my distaste. “I’ll let you do whatever you want to me,” she continues, as if that’ll seal the deal. “Nothing is off limits.”
“Fucking hell.” Dane is losing his cool, and Alinthia is primed to detonate. She is glaring at her sister with undisguised loathing. “She is relentless,” he adds. “I’m beginning to understand how she managed to take advantage of you, Coop.”
I deliberately don’t respond because no one needs to see me self-destruct again. I have to keep my shit together now. We all do, at least until we know more about the enemy in our midst.
“Stop deflecting.” Dane’s jaw pops in and out as he pries her off him, purposely stepping back out of her reach. “What do you want with Alinthia?”
She pouts, and it’s not a good look for her. “Why should I show my hand? What’s in it for me?”
“How about you get to keep breathing?!” Maddox hisses, coming to stand beside Dane. Alinthia is fidgety at my side, and I squeeze her waist, urging her to keep still. It’s important she shows no sign of weakness.
“I have everything we need to conduct a thorough examination,” Beck says, popping into the room.
Dane pulls a seat into the middle of the room. “Sit there,” he commands Alandra.
“No problem, sexy.” She moves closer to his face. “Will there be a full body search?” She wets her lips, raking her gaze over him again. “Can you volunteer as tribute?”
Alinthia’s growing agitation filters through the connection, and I’m sure if I can sense it then so can the rest of my brothers.
“Sit down and shut up,” Dane snaps. “If you are who you say you are then you should want this clarified as quickly as we do.”
“Whatever you say, gorgeous.” She trails her finger over his mouth before he can stop her.
Alinthia is about two seconds away from going apeshit on her ass, so I kiss her, hoping to distract her and quell her mounting rage.
Don’t let her get to you. I plant the thought in her mind as we kiss. You are stronger than this. We pull away from one another after a minute, and she squeezes my hand in gratitude.
“I see you’re embracing Verronian traditions, sister,” Alandra says while Beck presses a patch to her temple. “Let’s have a heart-to-heart later. I can’t wait to hear which one of them is best in bed.”
Her hungry gaze roams over each one of my brothers in turn, souring my stomach. “I want her out of here. Pronto. Before Alinthia explodes. Can we get this over and done with, Beck?”
“I’ll have her out of here as quick as I can.”
“My private life is none of your business, and the only heart-to-heart we’ll be having is the one where I advise you to hightail it out of town before I kick your ass all over it,” Alinthia retorts.
“I’d love to see you try. From what I’ve seen, you’re lacking considerably in the ass-kicking department.” Alandra sends a smug grin at Alinthia, and I want to tear shreds off her for mentioning the very thing driving Alinthia’s self-doubt.
“You clearly haven’t seen what I’m capable of with the right motivation,” Alinthia retaliates with a hiss. “And believe me when I say I’d need little motivation when it comes to you.”
Alandra presses a hand over her heart. “She wounds me so.” Then she bursts out laughing.
“She’s fucking crazy.” Maddox shares that thought with all of us.
“She may not be as mad as you think.” Beck is holding the medical scanner in his palm, frowning as he reads the results.
“What’s the diagnosis?” Dane silently asks.
“She appears to be telling the truth. I can’t detect any evidence of shape shifting.”
“What about her DNA composition? Does it show any Verronian origins? Does she share any similarities with Alinthia?” Dane inquires.
“I won’t know that for a few days. It takes time to analyze the data. You know that. All I can say now, with confidence, is that she’s in her natural form.”
We all let that sink in.
“Shit.” Dane starts pacing the room. “How is this possible? How can Alinthia have a twin and we know nothing about it? The prophecy says nothing about this.”
“What’s going on?” Alinthia lets go of my hand, crossing to Dane and putting her hands on his chest, forcing him to look her in the eye. “Don’t shut me out.”
Alandra bursts out laughing again, standing to her full height once Beck removes the medical patch from her temple. “You can’t even telepathically communicate with them?”
“Shut. Up.” Alinthia’s nostrils flare up. “Dane?”
“Something is off about this whole setup,” Dane projects to all of us. “I’m not doubting your results, Beck, but my instinct is telling me there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
“And she somehow manipulated her aura. That’s extremely suspicious,” I add.
“Maybe we should appear to go along with this for now. If that’s part of her agenda, let her think we’re falling for it,” Maddox suggests.
Alinthia is growing impatient, anger churning in her eyes the longer Dane takes to answer.
“That’s a smart idea,” Dane concurs. “And it might buy us some time to figure out what she really wants, who she really is, because I’m not accepting this. There has got to be another explanation.”
“She’s telling the truth. She isn’t shape shifting,” Dane finally admits, looking straight at Alinthia. She can’t keep the look of horrified shock off her face, and I’m at her back in a flash, circling an arm around her waist.
“You’re very territorial when it comes to my sister, aren’t you, Cooper?” Alandra asks with a malicious twinkle in her eye. “I’m quiet partial to threesomes. Next time, we can invite Alinthia to join us.”
“Shut your face,” I snap.
Alinthia shucks off my arm, stepping up to her sister. “I don’t believe you, and I don’t trust the results. The prophecy makes no mention of a twin sister.”
“No, it doesn’t,” Alandra concurs. “It only speaks of a Chosen One—the last descendant of the Nantor Dynasty who will assume supreme Godlike abilities and save the galaxy.” Her look is smug in the extreme as she squares up to Alinthia. “Many believe that is you, but I’m also a descendant, and I’m the one who already displays considerable power while you have barely mastered the basic skills.”
She looks over at Dane. “You asked why I’m here? Well, I’m here to tell you you’re backing the wrong horse. Alinthia isn’t the Chosen One. I am.”
CHAPTER 30
Tori/Alinthia
Alandra drops the bombshell, and I want to retort, but no words form on my tongue. My mouth is as dry as the Sahara Desert. What if she’s right? What if she is the rightful heir and I’m the imposter? The destroyer? The Daughter of Darkness? But, if that’s the case, and I’m truly Arantu’s daughter, then isn’t she?
It’s ironic that I used to pray to God at night to give me a sister. Now one has apparently shown up, and I wish she’d evaporate. I don’t know if it’s some alien sixth sense, that I’m just feeling threatened, or I have zero interest in a sister anymore, but when I look at her, I don’t see my twin sister. I see an imposter. Someone who has gotten off on pretending to be me, knowing she was causing a buttload of trouble and confusion.
The Secret Heir (Alinthia Series Book 2) Page 21