Aries: Book 2 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series)

by Rachel Medhurst

  ‘I can do it!’ I snapped as Natalie went to grab the weight out of my hand.

  She had driven me to hospital for my first session in rehabilitation.

  ‘No need to be arsy,’ she said, taking a step back.

  I reached down and got hold of the metal cylinder. It was light. It wouldn’t feel it when attached to my implant, though. I ignored her and hung it over the end of the attachment. An instant sensation pulsed up the metal and into my bone. I liked the foreign pull. It was uncomfortable, and sore, but it made my heart beat.

  ‘I’m not being arsy, stop mothering me.’

  She shook her head. Her ponytail caught my eye as it flicked. There were a couple of other people in the room. It was kitted out with apparatus that helped amputees to strengthen their limbs.

  ‘How does it feel?’

  She had switched into professional mode, which meant I couldn’t ignore her. I unclipped the weight and put it on the other thigh.

  ‘Strange,’ I replied.

  She bent down in front of me and looked at the protruding metal bolt.

  ‘It looks healthy. You’ve been taking care of it,’ she said.

  I nodded. ‘Of course I have. I want to walk again.’

  She clenched her fists as she bit her lip. The small gesture made me tense up. Most of the time, it felt like she was my carer. However, every now and then, she did something small that made me want to throw her on a bed. Just like biting her lip.

  I couldn’t do anything to her in my current state but when I had my legs, I would—

  ‘How’s your prisoner?’ she asked, breaking my train of thought.

  I took the weight off and switched it back to the other bolt. It was uncomfortable but I didn’t care. I would do anything to get my legs strong again.

  ‘It’s not exactly the place to talk,’ I murmured, glancing at a patient using the bars to practice walking.

  A sharp pinch in my arm made me look down. Natalie squeezed the thick flesh that covered the bone.

  ‘Get out of that horrible mood, will you?’ she hissed.

  I smiled. She could be as fierce as I was. She hadn’t shown it in a while. She played physiotherapist well but I was bored. I had tried not to break down her professional barriers. I wasn’t having much fun. She stuck around but only because it was her duty.

  ‘Why are you bothered?’

  I put my hand over her fingers and squeezed hard enough for her to release me. I looked up. She refused to meet my gaze.

  ‘I don’t like any of my patients being upset.’

  Letting her go, I plastered on a grin. If I wanted to break through the barrier between us, I would have to turn on the charm.

  ‘I’m sorry, baby, I—’

  ‘Don’t call me that!’

  She spun and marched over to the water cooler. It was a good diversion tactic. I took the weight off and let it fall to the floor. The others looked at me. I scowled in their general direction. Why had Natalie scorned me? What was wrong with calling her baby?

  ‘You’re lucky,’ a man said to me as he wheeled his chair over.

  One of his legs was missing from the knee down. I fought the urge to point out the obvious. He was luckier than I was. At least he had one whole leg.

  ‘My physio doesn’t look anything like her.’ He motioned with his head to Natalie, who was now talking to a colleague.

  I tried to see her through his eyes. I had known her for many lifetimes but it felt like I hardly knew her in the current one. If she was my soulmate, and I was pretty sure she was, I would have to make an effort to get to know her.

  ‘Yes, she is amazing,’ I said, not knowing what else to say.

  ‘A man like you must have success with gorgeous women.’

  My gaze studied him. He was half my size and had a crooked nose. There was nothing to suggest that he couldn’t get women the way I had. Although, I had to admit that I always had it easy in that department.

  ‘I’ve had my fair share.’ I nodded, reflecting on some of the memories.

  ‘Do you think those times are over?’

  The look in his eyes mirrored my own thoughts. Could we ever have a normal life? Even if we got fit enough to walk again, would we still be able to do the things we wanted?

  ‘Yes.’ I sighed. ‘But new times are just beginnings. Don’t give up hope, mate.’

  He nodded and moved away as I stared at Natalie. There was a twinkle in her eye as she chatted with her friend. The female was attractive. I would have tried to pull them both in the past.

  The other physio glanced over and caught me looking. Her cheeks heated as she flicked her hair. Natalie noticed her looking over and observed that I was staring at them. Her lips pursed. She said something before coming back over to me.

  ‘You can’t help yourself, can you?’ she snapped as she handed me a plastic cup of water.

  I gulped it down and held out the empty cup. She looked at it with raised eyebrows. I scrunched it in the palm of my hand and threw it on the floor. It was a silly act of rebellion. I thought it would make her laugh, but instead, she bent down to my face.

  ‘You’re such a—’

  I put my finger over her mouth and she stopped talking. Her eyes widened as a smile spread over my lips. I intentionally stared into her gaze without moving my finger. Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. It caught my skin. My own eyes widened as she stepped back quickly.

  ‘I’m such a…?’ I asked.

  She glanced to see if anyone had seen our exchange and crouched on the floor to pick up another weight. She attached it to my implant and instructed me on what to do. I didn’t take anything in. My finger was hot where she had licked it. I wanted to grab her but I couldn’t.

  ‘I could report you, you know that?’ I said.

  She looked up at me from where she was swapping the weight over. I was oblivious to the uncomfortable pull as it hung from the metal bolt.

  ‘What for…?’ she asked with raised eyebrows.

  ‘For being so attractive.’

  She clicked her tongue but didn’t look away from me. ‘You’re so bloody confusing.’

  I didn’t need to agree. I was like a woman with PMS. One minute I was happy, the next I was ready to punch someone’s face in.

  ‘Let me take you to dinner,’ I whispered.

  Her raised eyebrows lowered into a quick frown. She enjoyed the roller-coaster, I was sure. Women liked a bit of variety, didn’t they?

  ‘Are you being serious?’ The snort that followed her sentence wasn’t very feminine but it didn’t put me off.

  ‘Yes, I am. Tonight…let’s go out for dinner.’

  ‘I’m your physiotherapist now. I’m not someone who you can just—’

  I took her hand as she took the final weight off. I pulled her to kneel before me. I had her wrist. I wasn’t going to let go until she agreed. She knew that. I could see it in her eyes and hear it in the resigned sigh that left her plump lips.

  ‘I took you to bed the night before the explosion. You’re not just my carer.’

  ‘Carer…?’ she questioned, scrunching her face.

  ‘Will you please join me for dinner tonight?’

  She nodded and wrenched her arm away, making herself busy by packing away the tools that we had used. My first session was over. I looked around the room. I would see the same four walls a lot over the next five months.

  ‘Great, I’ll pick you up at eight,’ I said, turning my chair.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ she called as I made my way towards the exit.

  I glanced over my shoulder and winked at her. ‘Wear something amazing,’ I shouted back, leaving her to stare after me.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ‘I can’t accept your offer of protection. I need to go back to Nick. I belong with him,’ the man said, eyeing the door behind me.

  He flung himself forward. It was a poor attempt to escape. He landed in a heap on the ground. Leo picked him up and sat him in the living room ch
air.

  The Dysfunctionals were low enough to keep Pisces in a basement but we were doing the same. It defeated the object of our mission. It didn’t rest comfortably with me. Having the man tied up in our attic wasn’t justice, it was stupid.

  ‘Well, we need information. When you give it to us, you’ll be free to leave,’ I said.

  I did a wheelie with my chair. I was bored but getting used to moving around.

  ‘I need to get back to him.’

  Small beads of sweat formed on his top lip. Why was he starting to panic? His arms were tied behind him but I caught the slight shaking of his muscles.

  ‘What’s the rush? I thought you didn’t like him?’ Leo asked.

  He sat on the edge of the chair, his thigh resting on the arm. It was thick enough to cover the whole area. I glanced down at my own. They were thinner than they used to be but were slowly building new muscle.

  ‘I have a mission as much as you do,’ the man said.

  His arm moved suddenly and his hand flashed forward.

  ‘Leo!’ I shouted but it was too late.

  The glint of a blade reflected the light as he thrust it into Leo’s leg. Leo howled and grabbed his thigh, toppling onto the floor. I pushed my wheelchair forward as the prisoner stepped over the side of his chair and made a run for it. I spun and gave chase as he crashed through the living room and into the open kitchen area. When I got to the doorway, he was skidding across the floor.

  ‘Cancer…!’ I shouted when she came through the front door and collided with the escapee.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ the man said to her.

  She looked up at him. He grabbed the top of her arms but didn’t squeeze.

  ‘Please don’t,’ she pleaded.

  I sped towards them. He turned and threw her into me, before making his escape.

  ‘Run after him,’ I shouted at Cancer, pushing her into a stand.

  She rushed out of the door, coming to a stop at the top of the steps. I followed her.

  ‘He’s there! Go after him!’

  She shook her head as a tear dropped down her cheek. I swore and thumped my thigh as he disappeared around the corner of the street. I glanced at her before reversing my chair back into the house. Leo limped into the kitchen. He had taken his shirt off and tied his leg above the knife.

  ‘Are you okay?’ I asked, wheeling to him.

  He sat down at the dining table and nodded. Gritting his teeth, he took hold of the knife handle.

  ‘Wait!’

  I looked behind me as Cancer came to us.

  She gasped as her hand came to her mouth.

  ‘Let Cancer take it out. She can see it better,’ I said.

  Her eyes widened and she slowly shook her head.

  ‘I can do it,’ Leo said.

  ‘Let her do it!’ I commanded.

  Leo let go of the handle and frowned at me. He wasn’t great at taking orders but he seemed to understand that I meant what I said. There was a reason behind everything I did. I wasn’t fooling around.

  ‘I don’t want to, Aries, I—’

  I grabbed her arm and pushed her towards him. She tried to turn away. I held her still. Her blonde fringe fell over her face.

  ‘Why are you…?’ Leo started.

  He stopped talking when I gave him a sharp look.

  ‘Do it!’ I shouted at her.

  She glanced back at me, looking into my eyes. Her brow was low. The crease in her forehead was unattractive. I raised my own eyebrows, daring her to go against me.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she muttered, turning to Leo, grabbing the knife and pulling it out of his thigh in one quick move. She dropped it on the table and ran out of the front door.

  ‘What the hell was that about?’ Leo said.

  His teeth were gritted as he breathed through the pain. The knife had gone deep but it was a clean cut. The gaping wound was seeping blood. Luckily, it had missed the vein.

  I sighed and dug my phone out of my pocket. Leo would need stitches but we couldn’t afford for him to be questioned at the hospital.

  ‘How do you think he got a knife?’ I asked him.

  ‘Well, I don’t…no!’ he said, staring at me.

  I text Virgo and asked her to get home as soon as she could. She was training to be a nurse at the local hospital. She had learnt to stitch us up and soothe our burns when we were growing up.

  ‘Cancer has been looking after him, hasn’t she? Why would we leave her to do that? It looks like he seduced, or manipulated her.’ I clenched my phone in my hand. I was tempted to launch it across the floor. The main link to our father had escaped.

  ‘She wouldn’t give him a knife, surely? How do you know it was definitely her?’

  I wheeled over to the side and grabbed a bottle of alcohol. Going back to Leo, I handed it over. He thanked me as he uncapped the lid and took a swig.

  ‘It’s for your leg.’ I laughed, grabbing it off him as he went to take another mouthful. I poured it through the hole in his jeans and into the wound.

  ‘You…!’ he shouted, almost jumping from his seat.

  The cursing didn’t stop when Virgo walked in. I took a healthy mouthful of vodka and put the bottle on the table.

  ‘That was good timing. I was wondering whether to go to the pub with some friends when I got your text,’ she said.

  I smiled and gestured at the patient. She came over, took one look at Leo’s leg and went to her room.

  ‘I suppose I’d better strip,’ Leo said, unbuttoning his jeans and stepping out of them. He climbed on the dining table and lay flat, ready for Virgo to stitch him up.

  ‘I’m going to leave you to it. I’ve got a date tonight.’ I spun my chair and headed for my room.

  ‘A date…? Yeah, right, who would want to go on a date with you?’ Leo said.

  I laughed and flipped my middle finger without looking back. The insult wouldn’t have bothered me before but it was my first date as a man with no legs. It would also be my first date with Natalie since we were young. We were no longer teenagers, and if I wanted to complete my mission, I had to work things out with her.

  I got ready quickly. Time was getting on. I wanted to be punctual. I often found myself turning up to places just a little bit late.

  ‘I hear you have a date.’

  I turned to see Pisces standing in the doorway of my room. She fiddled with the charm on her bracelet. I looked down at my own. I never took any notice of it. I often saw the others playing with theirs or trying to pull them off.

  ‘I have indeed,’ I replied, opening my wardrobe.

  My brothers had lowered the railing so I could reach my clothes. I was determined to put it back up to its original height when I was walking again.

  ‘I hope it’s with Natalie,’ she said, coming in and taking my jacket from me.

  I leant forward. She held it behind me as I shrugged it on. I wheeled over to the long mirror.

  ‘Yes, it’s with Natalie.’

  I didn’t need to say anymore. I knew my duty and my mission. A part of me wished the date was with someone else. Someone that knew nothing about me. I hated following the rules, but with this one thing, I didn’t have a choice. I had something to do and so I would do it. No matter what it took, I was going to complete my mission.

  ‘It’s exciting.’ Pisces sat on the chair behind me.

  My reflection stared back at me. The wheelchair was bulky in the middle of the room. The grey trousers that I wore were empty from the knee down. It looked odd with the smart suit jacket. I undid the top buttons on my white shirt and ran a hand over my hair. My chin was clean shaven and smelt of cologne. I looked closely at myself for a moment, tempted to throw a fireball at the mirror. I was hideous.

  ‘It doesn’t matter what you look like. You know that don’t you? Your twin flame soulmate won’t be able to resist you.’

  Her words were said lightly but they hit their mark. I looked away from myself and grinned at my sister. ‘What about the other girls?’


  She approached me. I took her offered hand and squeezed it. She hadn’t been touchy feely before. I had always grabbed my siblings for a hug but Pisces hardly ever let anyone near her. Antony had opened her up in ways that I never thought possible.

  ‘You don’t need other girls now. Trust me.’ She let go of my hand and left me to think about her words.

  The idea of being tied down to one woman for the rest of my life was daunting but somewhere deep down, I welcomed it, too. If I didn’t have a mission in this lifetime, I would probably fool around with every woman I could. But when I had a purpose, there was nothing that could stop me. I had been with plenty of women. The explosion had been a wakeup call. I wasn’t on Earth to muck around, I was there to do something. Once I got something into my head, I was going to achieve it, or I would die trying.

  ‘You need a lift?’

  Taurus hovered by the open door.

  ‘I need you to be my chauffeur for the night,’ I said.

  ‘How much are you paying me?’

  I rammed him with my chair, making him hop back. He had a baseball cap on his head and an unshaved jaw. It wasn’t that warm outside but he wore shorts anyway.

  ‘Just do as you’re told.’ I led him out to the kitchen.

  Leo and the others were gathered around the dining table, fighting over the chicken buckets that rested in the middle.

  ‘Look out, ladies, Aries is back!’ Leo sang.

  They watched me as I wheeled across the floor to the front door. I wanted to ignore them. I couldn’t.

  ‘Don’t wait up for me,’ I shouted as I left the taunting and whistling behind.

  The black van waited for me. I had to thank Taurus when he discreetly helped me into the back. I had no idea how the date would go, but for the first time in my life, I wasn’t cocky about it.

  Chapter Sixteen

  ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so tense,’ she said as we waited for pudding.

  We had been speaking nonstop for two hours. The end of the night was drawing near. I had never bothered with treating a lady right in the past. I wanted to try and make an effort for Natalie. She wasn’t just some girl I wanted to shag.

  ‘I’m okay,’ I lied.

  Would she see past my lack of legs enough to go to bed with me? I didn’t necessarily want to do it after the date, although I wouldn’t say no. I wanted her badly but I had to admit I was scared. Was it even possible for me to do it?