by Kyla Logan
Before he could question his brother any further, a mental knock brought the voices of Aislin and Eilish into his mind. We just wanted to double check that we would be welcome now, Jordan. We don’t want to interrupt anything.
Jordan grinned at Cayden; he knew the playful side of the twins as well as he did. Come and join us. You will not interrupt anything. In fact, we could use your insight into new information.
Before he had quite finished his comment, the air popped as the two women joined them in the living room. The first thing they did was to rush over to Cayden and Marda and give both a hug and kiss.
Jordan saw that Marda’s eyes glazed over with a sheen of tears when she saw the impact the welcome had on Cayden. A lump was in his own throat.
“If we are having an unofficial meeting of the Scottish Ainen community, we should invite Rohan to join us,” said Jordan before turning to Aislin. “Was he still at the lab when you left?”
“Yes, he wanted to finish off going through the applicants for the other vacancies. I hired Dr. Annan, by the way.”
Jordan was stunned that Aislin had made this decision without mind-linking with him to confirm it was okay to proceed.
“Oh, she’s perfect, Jordan. If you had done the interviewing you would have done the same thing. Anyway, you were busy at the time.” The last was said with a teasing grin that made Jordan shake his head.
Women!
“Oh, don’t give Aislin that look, Jordan. I was in contact with her the whole time and I agreed with her decision, one hundred percent,” Eilish said.
The last was said with a laugh and a grin to her sister and a wink at Marda. Jordan really didn’t know what to make of their teasing, but he intended to find out.
Marda said, “You’ll have to tell me about this woman. You’ve intrigued me.”
“Believe me, you will like her, Marda.”
Jordan glanced at Cayden, knowing he was missing something from this conversation. He just didn’t know what it was, and from the blank look on his brother’s face, neither did he. “While I am fascinated by the topic, I think we should call Rohan here for the meeting,” said Jordan. “In fact, do you want everyone to join us?”
Marda shook her head at the same time Cayden answered, “No, this problem is for everyone here to deal with; the others will have much to do in the coming years. They are busy getting their own labs set up. Leave them to their work for the present.”
Jordan put out a call to Rohan, who answered that he was on his way by car. That was taking a bit of getting used to… for the sake of appearance they had to use normal means of transport at times.
“Rohan will be along shortly.”
The roar of the sports car outside the mansion brought the conversations to an end. The pop as Rohan teleported into the lounge caused another round of welcome and good wishes.
“Every time we come and visit you, I can see such a difference in you all. It is so wonderful,” Marda whispered.
Cayden drew her into his embrace, looking over at Jordan before saying, “It’s true. I have noticed it too. You all look wonderful and healthy.”
Nodding his head, Jordan mused, “I think it is because we now have a purpose in our lives. Before, we just existed. We made no plans except where our next blood and fuck would come from. Now… well, now thanks to your wonderful blood, Marda, we can accomplish things we never imagined before.”
Rohan spoke for the first time. “It is not just that, at least not in my case. I felt alone when I thought Aine had deserted us. Knowing she really didn’t know where we ended up after exiting the wormhole, well, it’s comforted me in some weird way.”
Aislin and Eilish stood and moved over to sit on each arm of the chair Rohan sat on. Wrapping their arms around him, they gave him a kiss, before nodding in agreement.
“We feel the same way. You nailed the main reason, but for us I think it is knowing that although we are working to go home, we are also helping the natives of Earth work toward healing their planet. All the research that is going on now and what will be made in the coming twenty or thirty years, will be for this purpose. We recognize that, and it feels good to know that we will leave something other than rumours of vampires in the world.”
Jordan and the others laughed at Aislin’s comment. To their consternation, somehow a few humans had found out about the Ainen. Radek and the other central European group had partied hard and long, in the past. It was no wonder that their presence was discovered. But at least the humans put it down to good storytelling when Bram Stoker wrote about Dracula… and not fact.
Sighing to himself, Jordan settled down for a lengthy discussion on what was needed at the Scotland lab and most importantly, how to go about finding their mates.
Chapter Five
Micaela took the security badge and other important documents from the personnel officer; at least she thought that’s what he was. He was yummy in his tailored grey suit which fitted his body perfectly. His -- what had he said his name was? Oh yes, Rohan O’Connor -- well, his deep blue eyes sparkled as he talked to her. She felt an attraction to him that seemed to be right, but on the other hand so wrong. The muscled body his clothes hid was broad, his height just emphasising that. And his soft Irish accent sounded dreamy.
One thing that pissed her off was that he seemed to find something amusing and she wasn’t sure if it was her or something else. Oh to hell with it! “What is it you find so funny?” she said, glowering. His husky laugh was not what she expected at all.
“Sorry, Dr. Annan. Wait, can I call you, Micaela? It seems silly to be formal when we are going to be working together.”
Caela didn’t know how to take this man’s behaviour. Thankfully before she put her foot in her mouth and told him off, Aislin walked into the room.
Hand outstretched and a friendly smile on her face, she said, “Welcome, Micaela. I hope you did not have too many problems with your old employer?”
“It went over quite well actually. I had a hard time keeping the grin off my face at the expression on their faces though. They couldn’t believe that I was using my special clause, and that I have got the job of my dreams.”
Caela would have continued but the expression on Rohan’s face stopped her. “What is your problem?” she growled at him. “You have been laughing at me since I arrived. What gives?”
Holding up his hand he said, “No, please, it is not you I am amused at. Do not think that at all.” He broke off and made eye contact with Aislin before continuing, “I apologise, Micaela, I did not mean to insult you in any way. Believe me, you are most welcome here. In fact, you are welcomed by us all in a way you do not understand yet.”
Caela frowned at his cryptic statement, but she decided to let it go. It wouldn’t do to get into an argument on her first day, not with someone as high up as he appeared to be. Before she could say any more, a mirror image of Aislin walked in the room.
“This is my sister, Eilish, Micaela. She will show you around your lab and will be the coordinator for anything you might need.”
Caela felt overwhelmed. She was standing among Irish giants. The women were at least five inches taller than her and Rohan was easily six feet six inches.
“Pleased to meet you, Eilish; I am looking forward to seeing where I will be working.” Caela hoped she took the hint to show her to her workspace. This was turning into a sort of gathering that she could do without.
“Please follow me and I will show you around the facility. I think you will enjoy working here. Everything is state of the art; we spared no expense to get the latest equipment.”
As Eilish talked, she mentioned which scientist worked in the labs they passed. Micaela knew that if it hadn’t been for her excellent memory she would have been lost by now. The place was enormous!
“Now we come to the section that really interests you,” Eilish said. She swiped her card in the security lock, and opened the door, standing back to let Caela through first.
The gleaming whi
te room with the instruments of research waiting for her gave Caela a thrill. She wanted nothing more than to explore the cupboards to find out what she was going to be allowed to play with. She was dragged back from her thoughts to find that Eilish was waiting for an answer.
Oops! “Sorry Eilish, my mind was wandering, thinking of what I could do with these apparatus.”
“It is okay; we had the same reaction from some of the others.” Eilish smiled as she walked over to the desk sitting on one side of the large room. Pointing to the pile of folders she said, “We made a short list of candidates who are sympathetic to your ideas. All we need is for you to choose a few so they can be interviewed.”
“I get to choose my assistant?” Caela broke in, surprised. She thought that the decision would have been made already.
“Because of the research you will be performing, it did not make sense for us to pick someone you might not be able to work with. So Jordan decided to let you be the one to do the interviewing. That way you know who you will be working with from the start.
“We are here to make sure that all the projects are able to proceed with the least amount of tension. If we choose someone who might not be so open to your ideas, that would make you unhappy, and the project would suffer. This way you will be working with someone you personally chose.”
Micaela nodded her head in agreement. “Thank you, Eilish. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
Eilish laid a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “Oh, I think I have a good idea.”
Turning her head so that the gleam of moisture wasn’t visible to Eilish, Micaela blinked until she had herself under control once again.
“I take it that until I choose my assistant I can’t play?” she said laughing.
Eilish walked toward the door grinning. “There is a coffeemaker through the door beside your desk. Take your time deciding on the three for the shortlist. Let me know when you make your choice. My number is on the pad beside the phone.”
* * *
Eilish walked into Jordan’s office knowing her sister and Rohan were waiting for her. Both turned away from the viewing window when she entered.
“Well, what do you think?” Aislin demanded.
Smiling, Eilish said, “I think that we hit the jackpot with Micaela. As you both already know.”
“She got a bit stroppy with me,” grumbled Rohan.
“You were laughing at her; what did you expect? I thought I was going to have to play referee with the two of you.”
“Thanks for coming so quickly, Aislin. I did not realise I was so open to her.” Breaking off, he looked out the window toward the object of their discussion.
“She is not totally human. But what is she?” he asked.
Aislin said, “I knew at the interview there was something different about her, but until I scanned Janet’s memories of Micaela I did not know what she could be.”
“And we know what you discovered,” Eilish said with a grin.
“Micaela had a very unusual reaction when she passed Jordan’s room on the way to mine. She stopped and sniffed the air, and on the way back she did the same. Then there was her reaction to Rohan. You must have caught that little growl she gave, brother.” At Rohan’s nod, she continued, “I think we are looking at some sort of shifter, probably a wolf.”
Eilish sat down on the nearest chair, before turning back to watch Micaela. “Are you sure, Aislin? We took the stories of shifters as just that, bedtime stories.”
“If we have been spotted and had rumours told of our existence, why cannot the ones about shifters be true too?”
Rohan turned to Aislin as she said that. “We really have kept to ourselves for far too long. But I would have thought that we would have picked up some signs about other supernatural species inhabiting Earth.”
“We kept our heads in the sand. You know that, as well as I do. We have discovered much in these past five years, now that we have shaken off our apathy. Maybe our potential mates were not part of the world before now, so we did not need the knowledge of shifters before now.”
Eilish said, “That could be it, Aislin. But who is going to tell Jordan that we hired someone we cannot read because we were sure she was his mate?”
Chapter Six
Jordan laughed at Cayden’s comment as the three of them entered the lab complex. Making their way through security and along the corridor to his office, they enjoyed the banter that was part of their long relationship. Marda put in a little dig of her own now and then, to keep them on their toes.
Walking past Janet’s desk, he wondered where she was. Normally nothing took her away from her post. Shrugging, he opened the door and let Marda and Cayden walk through first, and then followed them. Jordan noticed that Rohan blanked the viewing window as he shut the door.
“It’s okay; it’s just us. You didn’t have to blank the window. Janet wasn’t at her desk, so she will not be disturbing us.”
Aislin glanced at Rohan and Eilish before clearing her throat. “We asked her to go take a survey for us, Jordan. We wanted to talk to you without being overheard.”
Jordan walked over and sat down in his chair behind the desk, leaning his elbows on it and resting his chin on his interlinked hands. “I see. Well, no, I don’t actually. What survey? And you know that she would not hear us if we did not talk loudly.” He watched the guilty looks that Rohan shared with Eilish and Aislin.
“Micaela started work today. She is going over the shortlist candidates and will let us know when she chooses three of them for interviewing,” said Aislin. Clearing her throat she continued, “We need to tell you something.”
Jordan waited as she stopped talking. He had known that something was on her mind but didn’t know what was bothering her. He watched Aislin take a deep breath before talking once more. “We cannot read Micaela,” she said quickly, before studying her hands.
Jordan couldn’t believe what he had just heard. First they employed her without consultation, now he found out that they couldn’t even influence Micaela’s mind if they needed to.
Slamming his hands on the desk Jordan stood up. “What do you mean you cannot read her?”
Without waiting for her reply he turned to face a guilty-looking Eilish and Rohan. “What do you have to say for yourselves? You told me that you fully supported Aislin’s decision to hire the human. Did it not occur to any of you that this could be dangerous to us? What if she discovers what we are? We will not be able to block her memories of us.”
Turning away from the three of them in disgust, Jordan moved around his desk toward the viewing window. Before he could reach it, Cayden stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Wait, Jordan, listen to them. There has to be a reason why they took this action,” said Cayden.
“You knew about this? Why did you not tell me?”
“No, I did not know about this any more than you did. But you should know by now that our brother and sisters would never put any of us in danger unless there was a damn good reason.”
Jordan felt the tension dissolving from his body. Scrubbing his hands over his face, he straightened his shoulders and turned back toward Aislin, holding out his arms to her. She rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Sorry, Jordan. I did not know how to tell you, but we needed her here. I hope after you listen to our reasons you will understand,” she whispered into his chest.
Jordan felt all kinds of a fool for blowing up like that. He couldn’t understand why he’d done so. But something was buzzing in his head and had been since he entered the complex. It was irritating him, making him irrational.
Still keeping his arms around his sister he said to Rohan, “Tell me.”
As he listened to Rohan’s explanation about Micaela’s reactions when she had come for her interview, then the ones this morning, he knew that he couldn’t fault any of them for their actions. “You think she could be a shifter?” Jordan asked.
Shrugging his shoulders, Rohan said, “It is
the only thing we could think of.”
Jordan felt the noise in his mind grow stronger, enough for him to rub his forehead in discomfort.
“Do you have a headache, Jordan?” asked Marda.
Jordan looked at his brother and his mate; he knew that they knew something. “What do you know, Marda? And don’t tell me nothing.”
Marda glanced at Cayden before talking. “Sit down everyone; you may as well be comfortable.” She waited till everyone had found a seat or in Jordan’s case leaned against his desk. “I -- we -- were ordered not to say anything to you about the shifters living on Earth.” She held up her hand to stop any questions. “I was only told after Cayden and I mated, and I was not even allowed to tell Cayden anything until we returned for this visit.”
Cayden jumped in. “Marda was only following Dana’s directives, Jordan. There was a reason, a good one why we have never stumbled across this race in our time on Earth.”
Jordan tried to follow what Marda was telling them all, but the irritating hum in his mind was getting louder and louder, so much that it drowned out Marda’s voice.
This had to mean something. But what?
What is wrong, brother? I can tell you are not listening to my mate’s explanation.
Jordan glanced over at Cayden. Ever since I arrived here I have been getting this buzzing, for lack of a better word, in my mind. It is getting damn irksome.
Let me see, Jordan.
Jordan heard Cayden’s mental gasp at the same time as he finally recognised what he was feeling. The mate call! I am feeling the presence of my mate.
Jordan stood up and strode quickly to the viewing window. He heard Cayden answering the questions that were asked about his actions. But he ignored them as he waved his hand and the wall became clear.
His attention zoomed in on the beautiful woman who took up a good part of the window. He brought her further into focus so that he could study her.
She was about five feet five inches, with short blonde hair cut so it feathered onto her face. He couldn’t make out much about her body, with it clad in a lab coat. But her oval face was a work of art with her high cheekbones and creamy complexion.