As for Alexander, I still hadn't heard from him. Pix would sometimes disappear during work or when I stayed over at Brian's flat with Liam when traffic was hectic. He lived closer to my place, and it was a perfect distance for Pix to come and go.
I was worried about Alexander, but I'd put it in the back of my mind. I couldn't focus on him right now because it would only distract me. I felt like a coward for not confronting the situation, but again, I reminded myself that it took two to tango, and I'd have to let Alexander figure out his business before approaching him.
When he was ready, I was sure he'd message me or call. That's what I continued to hope for anyway.
"I'll try to take three days off, and at least have the remaining four to space out anything we miss while we're away."
Brian turned his chair to give me a disapproving look. "You need a break. An actual break, Sia."
"I don't need one. I get lots of breaks," I argued.
"All last week you slept either here or at Liam's. You need a full week off to rest your body," he stressed.
"I'll think about it."
"Anastasia."
I pouted my lip, knowing he wasn't going to budge, especially when he used my full name. "You're acting like Liam."
"We're twins, we act alike, and he agrees with me." Brian winked as a small grin formed on his lips.
"Are you doing that weird telepathic twin power?" I huffed.
"Pretty useful when I don't know something in regards to his company," Brian pointed out.
"That's cheating."
"Not when you're not caught," he added and rose from his chair, placing the reports on his desk. He walked over to where I stood, and he moved close enough for our bodies to press lightly against one another.
I met his hazelnut eyes that began to shift to a golden color. "Please," he whispered.
"What happened to my boss? I think he forgot it’s still work hours," I teased.
I thought he'd get upset with my comment, but he smirked and lifted his hand to brush along my cheek.
"I don't know. Maybe he's exhausted from working and tired of wanting to get a chance to formally ask you out." He spoke softly d as he moved closer and closer, his eyes alternating from my eyes to my lips.
My heart was beating wildly against my chest, and I almost had to remind myself to breathe as my eyelids began to lower.
Brian closed the distance, his soft lips gently brushing mine in a simple kiss. There wasn't any movement and I could feel his hesitation, but it was a kiss and that was enough to make me extremely happy.
Brian made it rather easy to fall for him, and it felt like it wasn't much of a dilemma to let my heart open up to him, thanks to Liam’s support. I knew shifters didn't care much about how quickly one fell in love with another, especially with certain races like a succubus or incubus who could have multiple lovers from different shifter races, but it didn't feel as fast as it appeared to be.
I took every day one day at a time and tried my best to enjoy every moment I had with them, and it felt like we'd been together for months. He pulled back slightly, and I opened my eyes to meet his now golden ones.
We stared at each other for a few seconds before we kissed again. It was deeper, but the pace of the kiss was so controlled yet dominating, making me want to enjoy the feeling of his flesh beneath my hands.
I couldn't stop myself from pressing my hands on his chest, needing some type of contact. He pulled me closer, and my hands roamed across his chest, the silky material of his dress shirt giving me the urge to rip it open and remove it from my path of enjoying Brian's warm flesh.
We kissed and kissed until we couldn't anymore, both of us pulling back to catch our breath. "Does kissing run in the family genes?" I joked.
Brian grinned and gave me a peck on the nose. "Who knows. I just know Liam used to kiss a pillow to practice." He winked, and I snickered, trying to hold back my laughter.
"He's going to kill you when he finds out you told me that," I pointed out through giggles.
"Probably, but I'm the stronger one," Brian said proudly.
I smirked and shook my head. "Of course you are," I commented. My eyes caught on a small red dot on his neck. Huh?
It took me a second to realize what the dot was, and I pushed Brian away right when the glass shattered and the sound of bullets ran through the office. FUCK!
I dropped to the ground that was covered with glass shards, waiting for the gunfire to end. It kept going until the fire alarm went off. You have got to be kidding me!
My eyes shot open as I lifted my gaze to see where the bullets were coming from. I immediately noticed the people on the patio who weren't there before, five individuals all in black, including face masks with black shades.
They were slowly approaching us, and I turned to see Brian crouched on the floor in the corner. Panic flashed across his face as he saw where I was. I was right in the line of crossfire, and if I tried to get up, I'd be the best live target for them to practice their aim.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment, remembering what I was when I was younger. C'mon gravity. Do your thing.
I opened my eyes again with a different focus, my mind changing from average secretary to what my mom loved to praise me as a trained assassin.
"Stop," I whispered, deciding to test out if they were resistant to my power. Two of them stopped in their tracks, but the three in front continued, not noticing their colleagues were frozen in place. Alright then.
"Shoot the front row," I ordered, directing my power to the two individuals who were influenced by my power. In seconds, they changed the direction of their guns and pointed them toward the three figured in front of them.
"AGH!" The middle guy cried out as bullets barreled through him with ease. The other two swiftly looked back and didn't hesitate to fire at their comrades. I took that moment to dart forward, running straight at the guy on my right. I tackled him, pushing him to the ground as the other two shifters who'd been in my control fell to the ground with bullets in their chests and heads.
The last guy aimed his gun at me. I rolled over and used his friend as a shield, the bullets going straight into him.
"FREEZE!" I snapped before I immediately switched gears and allowed my power to morph gravity to make my surroundings a lot heavier.
The man cursed, dropping to his knees as his gun fell to the ground. I immediately got up and took the gun that laid at my feet from the guard I'd used as a shield.
I aimed it at our final guy who was struggling against my gravitational hold. Brian came out, but he didn't take two steps when more gunshots went off.
I turned to see two other agents climbing over the rail and shooting aimlessly in an effort to distract us. I bit my lip and aimed the gun at the one on my right, shooting him exactly between his eyes. He cried out, lost his hold, and fell to his imminent death.
The other person tried to aim his gun and shoot at me, but the bullets seemed to miss, and I shot him in the neck, the impact sending him down as well. I ran to the rail, looking down to make sure no one else was climbing up to give us a surprise attack. I peered out to the opposite building to scan for anyone else.
"SIA!"
I turned around just in time to duck but felt something slash at my arm. Shit!
The guy laid his body on top of me, making it hard for me to get back up from my ducked position. I gritted my teeth, trying to get out of his hold, but I was struggling. His body weight was his advantage, and I felt his arms wrap around my waist. He desperately tried to lift me up. Fuck fuck fuck!
His weight suddenly vanished, and I fell to the ground. Brian lifted the man over his head like he was nothing and threw him off the patio. He scanned the area before he bent down to help me up.
"You okay?"
"Oh ya. Random shootout at work. Perfectly normal!" I huffed, trying to catch my breath. We heard the door slam open and turned to see Liam and Jaiyana run in.
"Are you guys okay?!" Jaiyana asked.
"Just fine. When did you guys get here?" Brian asked.
"Right before the fucking fire alarm. We had to take the secret entrance, or we wouldn't be able to get up here." Liam’s eyes landed on me, and he sniffed the air, his angered expression morphing to worry.
"You're hurt, Sia.," Liam declared. I blinked, unsure what he meant.
"Um..." I lowered my gaze to scan my body, noticing the large blood spot on the left side of my waist. "It's just a graze."
Jaiyana move toward me and Brian lowered me back to the ground. She closed her eyes and I watched a red magic blade materialize in her hand making me gasp.
"Magic?"
"I'm an old vampire. Just don't look it. Sadly, Mr. Silver is older." She sighed but began to cut the area of my dress that was drenched in the dark metallic liquid. Liam and Brian were both quiet, but I could tell just from a quick glance that neither of them were happy.
Jaiyana removed the cut piece of fabric and hissed when her hand touched the wound. "Graze my ass. You got hit, Sia. Just looks like a normal bullet, though. You'll live."
"Totally reassuring. Not like I have gotten shot before," I mumbled. All three looked at me with confusion, and I rolled my eyes.
"Don't worry about it. My body will heal from a little bullet. Who the hell were those guys?!' I asked.
Brian grimaced. "People who clearly aren't happy with me."
"Seeing as they came directly to your office, pretty much," Liam grumbled.
"They smelled like werewolves. You guys having a pack war or some shit?" Jaiyana snapped.
"No. I don't know what the fuck that was, and it's totally against our laws. Mom isn't going to be impressed." Brian groaned and quickly pulled out his phone.
"I'll call Pixel to come over," Jaiyana announced.
"Who's Pixel? Wait, where's Pix? Like my cat, Pix. Well...he's not really my cat...ugh, you know what I mean!" My body felt hot which only made it hard to think straight.
"I dropped Pix at your place. Remember? I said I was going to go by and bring Saturn and Rin to stay there because they're going to renovate Brian's office."
"Well, now they have no choice but to renovate." I rolled my eyes and tried to keep my breath steady. Why is my body so fucking hot? Bullets shouldn't affect me. It never did after Mother's years of target practice.
I bit my lip, trying to concentrate on where the heat could have been coming from as I glanced my waist and legs.
"Sia?"
No, something has to be wrong. Bullets, bullets, I tackled the guy, the other guy tried to tackle me...shit, my arm!
I looked at my arm and spotted the slash mark in my black and white dress. My eyes assessed the area and noticed the large discoloration around the wound. Oh fuck.
"Sia?!"
I flinched at the sound, whipping my head to see the twins and Jaiyana looking at me,
"What?"
"What? We've called you like ten times. Are yo...kay?"
I had to blink a few times, not catching the last part of her sentence. "Um...Jaiyana you cut off?" I asked, feeling confused.
"Something’s wrong. She's hurt elsewhere," Liam declared. He moved towards me, but it was in slow motion. I bit my lip and tried to remain calm as my inhales increased. Poison? A drug? What the fuck is going on? I'm fine. I've dealt with things like this...it's just a test. Mother always says these things are just a test. I can't die, right?
"Sia, baby. Look at me." Liam's voice sounded far away, and I began to panic as everything looked far brighter than it was supposed to be.
"Liam...something’s wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong." I panicked, and Brian was at my side while Jaiyana seemed to be on the phone with someone, but I couldn't hear anything.
"Sia...okay? It...be..." Liam's voice trailed off as if my hearing was turned off. His hands were cradling my face and his lips were moving, but I couldn't hear a single word.
"Can't hear...can't hear you," I whispered, as my body trembled. Liam glanced at Brian who looked extremely angry. Liam focused his gaze back on me and mouthed something.
"You'll be okay. We're getting help. Just breathe, Sia. I'm right here."
I slowly nodded, but my head felt like a weight was on it and my eyes were growing heavy. I tried to ignore Brian's and Liam's expressions, their worried looks only increasing when I leaned over to the side as my eyes closed.
I could hear muffled sounds, and I could feel the slight movement of my body being shaken, but everything was numb, and my thought process was so sluggish I gave up trying to think.
I'm fine...yes, fine. I didn't train for all those years to die from this. Mother didn't inject me with those liquids and shoot me with bullets for me to not survive this. It's just a test. Test of power. I won't lose. I never lose. I won't let the enemy win.
Those were the last thoughts before I blacked out
~LIAM~
"What the- fuck, Sia?! What the hell happened to her?!"
I ignored him, walking past Alexander as Jaiyana, Brian, and Nick rushed past me.
"Lay her on the floor. Nick get a pillow for her head and Brian, get as much ice from the convenient store down the street."
"Got it!" Nick rushed over to grab a pillow from the sofa while Brian didn't answer, his body already out the door that a shocked Alexander held open.
I lowered Sia to the floor, her body trembling as sweat rolled down her face. She was burning up and her teeth were chattering like she'd been out in the peak of winter.
Jaiyana knelt next to Sia's head, lifting it up for Nick to slide the pillow beneath.
"What was she cut with?"
I glanced up at the unfamiliar individual standing next to the kitchen island. He was 6'7 with long silver hair and sported a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants. His bright blue eyes were locked on Sia, and on closer inspection, the rim of his iris was outlined in gold.
"I don't know. She and Brian were shot, and Brian said one of them tackled her, but Brian picked him up and disposed of him. She has a bullet wound, but I already took the bullet out in the car and it's healing, but she's still responding like this," Jaiyana explained.
He grimaced, his eyes catching on Sia's arm. "Something slashed her arm."
"We don't know. We thought it was a scratch from the glass," I noted.
Alexander closed the door and walked over to us. "Aren't you guys going to do something?"
"Trying to think here, buddy," Nick grumbled, rolling his eyes. He was patient with me and my brother, but he didn't have much tolerance for anyone else, especially werewolves.
"Whatever sliced her is what’s making her body like an oven?" Jaiyana asked.
"No," the new person replied. "That's her body's response to trying to get rid of it."
"How do you know?" I asked. "And who are you?"
The person gave me a small grin. "I like bacon."
"I don't think he asked that," Nick pointed out.
It took me a few seconds to figure it out. "Fuck, PIX? Sia's cat?" I asked.
"I'm technically not hers yet, but sure." The man shrugged. "Pixel Knight. Now that I'm introduced, Alexander?" Pixel glanced at Alexander who looked irritated and confused.
"What?"
"Has Sia experienced some type of experimentation on her?"
We all focused on Alexander who appeared uncomfortable with the question. "That's not my story to tell," he grumbled.
"I didn't ask you to tell it. Simple yes or no."
"...Yes," Alexander replied.
"Experimentation? You mean like what they use to torture shifters in third world countries and try to make them immune to everything for the sake of being powerful?" Jaiyana revealed. Fuck...
"Yes. That," Pixel replied and looked back to Alexander. "How long?"
"Pixel."
"How long, Alexander? I really don't have time to waste. I can't help her if I don't know how bad this will get, especially if she wakes up which won't be long from now."
"What happens when she wakes up?!" Jaiyana
asked, eyes darting between us. I was just as confused as she was, unsure what this experimentation stuff was all about.
"Alexander," Pixel pressed, an annoyed expression crossing his face as he tapped his pale hand on his arm.
"From the time she could crawl to eighteen," Alexander revealed.
Pixel frowned and looked back to Sia. "All three of you move," he ordered
"Wait, why?"
"Do you want to lose an arm?" Pixel asked.
"No, thank you!" Jaiyana shrieked and quickly got out of the way. Nick followed suit, but I remained.
"What's experimentation and why would anyone lose a-" I began, but I was cut short as my instincts kicked in, my body leaning back in time to avoid the wave of silver energy that zoomed past my head. Alexander fell to the floor, missing the attack by seconds. The door opened to reveal Brian who immediately moved to the side to avoid the attack.
I heard a snap of fingers and a gold portal seemed to appear right in front of the wave of energy, disappearing into the void that was a second away from hitting the neighbor’s door.
"What the...Sia?" Brian’s gaze locked on Sia. We all looked back to her and noticed she wasn't lying down but was now sitting cross-legged against the wall, her eyes bright silver in some dazed state. Her hands still shook, and her cold sweat continued to run down her body, but her eyes kept darting left and right as if she were trying to make sure no one came near her.
"That's why." Pixel moved towards her at a calculated pace. Sia's silver eyes stopped their side to side movement, landing on Pixel who remained calm.
"Sia. Do you know who I am?" Pixel asked.
Sia was silent, staring at him as she continued to try and catch her breath. Pixel took another cautious step, followed by another one until he lowered in front of her.
I could see how visibly scared she was, and she bit her lip, her eyes displaying her confliction.
"Sia. I'm not an enemy. I won't hurt you. You know that because you know who I am," Pixel said in a soothing voice. Sia remained still, and he leaned in to press his nose against hers, something Pix would do.
The action seemed to register in her mind and she whispered. "Pix?"
"Good, Sia. Yes. I'm Pix."
SEDUCE MY HEART Page 9