The Lost Savior

by Siobhan Davis

  “Why do any of you bother with the charade of cooking anyway? Can’t you just use your superspeed to conjure up dinner in a flash?”

  He grins. “Of course, we could, but I like the process of cooking, and I find it … therapeutic in a way. If I’ve something on my mind, it’s a way of forgetting it.” He shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m weird.”

  “You are weird!” Cooper hollers from the other room, and I roll my eyes.

  “It’s not weird,” I retort. “I like to cook when I’m stressed. It helps me chill out. That and running.”

  The strumming of a guitar starts as we step into the kitchen.

  “Oh boy,” Maddox says, shaking his head with a wry grin.

  Beck is bent over the stove, stirring something in the big pot. I blow him a kiss, and he grins. Dane is missing—in his office, no doubt—and Cooper is sitting at the table, with a guitar on his lap, plucking strings. He jumps up, circling me as he starts singing at the top of his lungs. I recognize the song—5SOS is one of my favorite bands. “She’s kinda hot though,” he croons, winking at me, and I bust out laughing. His natural charisma oozes through his voice as he sings, and he’s not half bad.

  On a whim, I grab Maddox by the arm, forcing him to dance with me while Coop continues to belt out the song. I drag Beck away from the stove—under protest—holding his waist and whooping as we sway to the beat. His cheeks are on fire, but he goes with the flow, sashaying his hips in tune with the music. Maddox pulls me back against him, twirling me around with his arm elevated over his head, and I let go, peals of laughter ringing out as I twirl and twirl until I’m dizzy.

  When the song ends, Coop practically rips the guitar off his body, floating the instrument through the air to rest over against the wall. Then he’s sweeping me into his arms and swinging me around. Throwing back my head, I laugh, as if I haven’t a care in the world, and, in this moment, I don’t. Grabbing the other two guys, I pull us into a circle, and we press our heads together. “You guys have no idea how much I needed that. Thank you.” I squeeze my arms tighter around them, and the ache in my chest lessens a bit.

  Without warning, a wave of hurt and confusion and something darker zips through our connection, causing me to jerk my head up.

  Dane is at the door, standing rigidly still as he watches us. A muscle pops in and out of his jaw and he’s wound as tight as a ball of yarn.

  I break away from the others, moving toward him. “Hey, you missed all the fun, but maybe we can convince the wannabe-Bieber over there to play another song,” I joke.

  “We don’t have time for this,” he snaps, and I flinch at the bitterness in his tone. “In case you’ve all forgotten, we’ve got enemy races gunning for our asses and they’re likely to put in an appearance any day now.” He takes a step back, glaring at all of us. “But, by all means, continue to party and pretend like nothing’s wrong.” He shoots me a scathing look. “I’ll be in my office, strategizing our plan, in case anyone decides to grow some sense and wants to help.”

  He stalks off, slamming the door behind him.

  Chapter 33

  “Who pissed in his cornflakes?” Coop asks, picking his guitar up again and strumming a few idle notes.

  “He’s feeling left out, and now I feel shitty,” I admit.

  “Don’t take it too personally,” Maddox says. “He struggles to open up to anyone. Even us, and we’ve been by his side his entire life.”

  “And he’s way too anal about all this stuff,” Coop adds without looking up from his guitar. “I mean, we all get it. We know the dangers, and when we need to focus, we focus, but everyone’s gotta let off steam every now and then.”

  “You know it’s hard for him to relax,” Beck says from his newly resumed position at the stove. Maddox is dumping some herbs into the pot while Beck attempts to elbow him out of the way. “And cut him some slack. He takes his responsibility seriously. He makes sure everything operates like clockwork and that we consider all the angles.”

  “Beck is right. He’s obviously feeling the pressure, and it’s a lot of responsibility. I’m going to go talk to him,” I say.

  “Not a good idea, princess,” Maddox says. “Let him cool off. Trust me, you’ll thank me for it later.”

  When Dane doesn’t make an appearance thirty minutes later for dinner, I take his plate and mine and head to his office. “Dane, can you open up. My hands are full,” I say outside the closed door.

  The door swings open, and he stands there with his arms folded, wearing his usual impassive expression. “I’m not hungry.”

  I push my way in. “You need to eat, Dane. Otherwise you’ll make yourself sick.”

  “We don’t get sick,” he mumbles, begrudgingly sitting down at the table.

  I place his pasta and silverware in front of him. “Eat!”

  I sit down beside him. “I thought as much.” I wind pasta between my fork and my spoon. “The only time I’ve ever been sick was when that freak attacked me, and that was Tianore poisoning, right?”

  He nods in between shoveling pasta into his mouth.

  Not hungry my ass.

  “Thank you for that by the way. Beck told me you sucked the poison out and that it drained you for two days after.”

  “It’s my job,” he simply says.

  We eat in silence after that, but a flurry of emotions bleeds through the line, and it seems Dane’s in more pain than he’s let on. The boys have confirmed they sense my emotions through our connection, but they don’t appear to be able to pick up on each other’s feelings, which is odd. I wish I understood more about how it worked. I make a mental note to ask Beck at our next session.

  “My mom always says a problem shared is a problem halved,” I say, stacking our plates and silverware. “And I’ve been told I’m a pretty good listener.”

  He rests his forearms on the table, focusing his gaze everywhere but at me. “I don’t need fixing, Alinthia.” He shoves the chair back and stands up. “And I’ve work to get back to.”

  I try a different tack. “What are you working on? Can I help?”

  He snorts. “Doubtful.”

  Walking to his desk, I try not to take his derision too personally. A large holographic-type map, showing what I assume is the solar system, hovers in the space above his desk. “Wow. How is that possible?”

  “Our technology is more advanced than human technology, and while we haven’t been home since the day we were evacuated, our handler ensures we have everything we need.”

  “Handler?” I cock my head to the side. No one has mentioned anything about a handler so far. Every day, it seems I learn more new stuff.

  “A handler is a sort of manager-slash-guardian-slash-liaison. We were assigned the first one the day we left to begin our search for you.”

  “There’s been more than one?”

  He nods. “Zorc is our third handler in five years.”

  “What happened to the others?”

  “The first was reassigned, and the second died in the field.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not. He was an ass.”

  Okay then.

  “Does Zorc ever live with you?” I ask because I’m amazed the guys are getting away with living here on their own. I can’t believe no one has questioned their lack of parents around town.

  Dane shakes his head. “Nope, not unless we need a stand-in for our father, and then he slots into that role. He was here the first day we moved in, and he signed all the paperwork and showed his face around town, spread the story that he’s away on business a lot, so people wouldn’t get too suspicious,” he adds, as if he’s just rummaged through my mind. I frown at the thought he might be able to do that in the future.

  “So, um, what’s the map about?” I point at the floating holo-image.

  “Beckett has been monitoring any unusual activity, and I’m tracking the trajectory of a few unknowns. See, here and here.” He points to two distinct red spots in outer space, and I nod. “Hum
an warning systems have detected them too, and it’s ringing all kinds of alarm bells. There have been a few unexplained objects like this recently, and I’m watching them and trying to trace the pattern, so I can project where they might land.”

  “So, they are definitely alien craft?”

  “Unidentified foreign craft,” he corrects. “Yes.”

  I gulp, running my clammy hands down the front of my jeans. “As in spaceships?”

  He shrugs. “Ships, cruisers, pods. Could be any number of vessels.”

  I harrumph. “I guess I just assumed they’d teleport here like you guys.”

  Dane barks out a laugh, but he doesn’t explain what’s so funny. “Every species is different, and very few can teleport at will like we can.”

  “Well, that’s a bit more reassuring,” I admit. “If we can track the ship’s point of entry, surely that makes it easier to track any approaching enemy?”

  His expression is a cross between amusement, frustration, and resentment. “So, you’re an expert all of a sudden?” His brows nudge up, and I don’t like the way he’s looking at me or the tone of his voice.

  “Of course not,” I snap. “I’m just trying to figure it out.”

  He messes the top of my hair, and wispy strands wander into my eyes, tickling me. “Just leave the serious stuff to the pros and go back to what you do best. Organizing fun days out, dancing, doing your hair, teasing Coop, torturing your boyfriend, etcetera, etcetera.”

  Red heat swamps me, and I angrily brush matted strands of hair back off my face. “Don’t be such an ass! I came in here to see if I can help, but there’s no need to make fun of me.”

  He laughs bitterly. “Help? Are you for real?” He glares at me, but I don’t back down, glaring right back at him. “All you’ve done since we found you is mess everything up. You have my brothers in some kind of awestruck tizzy, half the town is talking about us and wondering who we are and where we’ve come from, you’re fucking with the connection and it’s affecting our gifts, and every enemy bounty hunter in the galaxy is preparing to strike.”

  “Don’t hold back or anything.” I plant my hands on my hips, attempting to dampen the hurt piercing my chest.

  He takes my wrist, flipping it over, running his thumb over the smooth, white skin. “And I don’t even know if you are who you’re supposed to be.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” I try to wrench my arm free, but his fingers curl around my wrist, creeping up my arm. Delicious tremors spread over my skin, like flames from a fire, licking, caressing, and heating every place it touches. Instinctively, I move closer, even though part of me wants to kick him in the nuts right now, but that other part of me—the one that seeks the illusive fifth element of our bond—is stronger, and it wins out.

  Using his free hand, he grips my waist, pulling me in flush to his body. The connection is thrashing about, rejoicing and celebrating prematurely. Dane lowers his head, moving his face over mine until there’s only a teeny, tiny gap between us. He stares into my eyes, and I lose myself, trapped in his hypnotic gaze. His brown eyes flash even darker and his pupils dilate. His tongue darts out, wetting his lips, and my core aches with need. My chest heaves up and down, and I’m sure my desire and confusion are flooding his system, if the new smug look on his face is any indication.

  I’m back to wanting to smack him, but it’s like I’ve lost control of my body as I press into him instead of pulling away.

  His eyes dart to my mouth, and I hold my breath. Heat spears my body from head to toe, and I shiver as intense longing ricochets through me. It’s a maddening feeling, this contradictory urge—I simultaneously want to punch him and kiss him.

  The asshole knows it too.

  “You may have my brothers wrapped around your little finger, but hell will freeze before you trap me with your pretty face and your hot body. Something isn’t right here, sweetheart.” He runs the tip of his finger up and down my arm, and I bite back a moan. I want to swing for him, but I’m a slave to my hormones. Short of someone prying me off him, I can’t move. “My instincts have never let me down before. You’re concealing something, and I intend to find out what.”

  Chapter 34

  I storm out of Dane’s office, torn between rage, hurt, and humiliation. What a total jackass! How the hell could I be concealing anything? I didn’t know any of this stuff even existed a few weeks ago. That guy gets on my last nerve, in contrast to the other brothers who seem to have readily accepted me without question. The three guys watch me as I stride to the couch, grabbing my bag and stuffing my books inside. “Can one of you take me home now.” I’m pleased my voice sounds composed, even if it’s clear I’m rattled.

  “What did that giant bag of dicks say to upset you this time?” Maddox asks.

  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Coop grits his teeth, and a muscle clenches in his jaw. “He basically told her everything’s turned to shit since she arrived and it’s her fault.”

  Should’ve known he’d eavesdrop; he just can’t seem to help himself, but I can’t find it in me to get mad at him. Unlike Dane, Coop goes out of his way to do stuff for me, and he genuinely seems to like having me around.

  Maddox growls, and the sound sends chills racing up my spine. “He what?” His sonorous voice drips with contempt.

  “Forget it. He needs to cool off and so do I,” I say.

  “You’re not the only ones,” Maddox growls, snarling and gnashing his teeth like he wants to bite Dane’s head off. My eyes pop wide as I check him out. His muscles are bunched up, his body tight and alert, his eyes glimmering with anger as he opens and closes his fists. “Screw it.” He disappears.

  “Oh shit,” Beck exclaims, a worried look washing over his face.

  “What’s going on?” My gaze bounces between Coop and Beck.

  Cooper flashes me a wolfish grin, taking my bag off my shoulder and placing it on the ground. He draws me into his arms. “You’re about to find out why he’s earned his Mad Dog nickname.”

  We teleport to the round pen. I remember the previous owners used to use this field for exercising the horses, but now it’s some sort of open-air wrestling arena. Dane and Maddox are charging one another, moving superfast as they swing punches, darting left and right, up and down the grassy stretch quicker than my eye can track. Maddox growls, and it’s an eerie, menacing sound that penetrates bone-deep, sending shivers all over my body even though Cooper has draped himself around me from behind. His arms tighten around me when I shiver, and I reach up, gripping his forearms as I watch the two guys beating the shit out of one another on the field.

  Their movements are fast, precise, intelligent, and definitely otherworldly. My shivers intensify, and I shake in Cooper’s embrace. Such raw, naked power terrifies me, and, in this moment, I’m a little afraid of the guys. Up to this point, what I’ve seen, and what I’ve heard, has been on the spectrum of awesomely cool rather than downright scary, but this display of lethal power is all too real, and it’s as if I’m only truly comprehending what they are.

  What I am.

  And it’s kinda freaking me out.

  Maddox presently has Dane in a solid headlock, and Dane’s face is flushed red.

  “Twenty bucks on Mad Dog,” Coop says to Beck.

  Beck shakes his head. “What kind of idiot do you take me for? Only a fool would bet against Maddox.”

  Dane thrusts his elbow back, jabbing Maddox in the gut, and he loosens his hold. Wriggling out of the headlock, Dane slams his fist in Maddox’s face. His head snaps back, and he dabs at the purplish liquid tricking out of his nose with a savage grin on his face. Baring his teeth, Maddox howls as he lunges at his brother. Dane zips across the field, and Maddox follows. My eyes struggle to keep up as they zigzag up and down the field, distorting the air and leaving lines of cloudy matter in their wake. My hair lifts off my face, streaming behind me, as if I’m standing in front of a hair dryer

  Cooper winces when they crash into one anot
her, and a loud rumbling sound reverberates around us. I jump, covering my ears. “Holy crap. Do they do this often?”

  Cooper sets his chin on my shoulder. “Mad Dog needs to let loose every so often. He’s full of all this pent-up rage, and sometimes it just explodes.”

  “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”

  Coop kisses my cheek, and I’m hugely tempted to turn around and plunder his lips. Anything to ignore dealing with my mixed-up feelings. Cooper chuckles in my ear, and I dread to think what emotion he’s just picked up from me. “This isn’t your fault, beautiful. And this is just what Dane needs. Hopefully, he’ll chill the fuck out now.”

  “Can they hurt each other? Like seriously injure one another? Because that”—I point at the spot where the guys are currently wrestling in the mud, pounding fists into one another with careless abandon—"is messed up and scary, and I don’t think I can look anymore.”

  “Nah.” Beck shakes his head, downplaying it. “It’s more for sport than anything.”

  “Don’t worry. They do this all the time, and neither of them will get hurt. Think of it as a form of foreplay,” Coop murmurs, his seductive tone and warm breath doing all manner of things to my insides. “They’ll be pumped and ready to pound the enemy to the ground by the time they arrive.”

  “Wow. Nice analogy.” My voice drips with sarcasm, and Cooper chuckles. A rush of cold air blasts me, and I shiver all over again.

  “You’re freezing. Come on, I’ll take you home,” Coop says.

  “Can we drive, please? I need to calm down before I face my parents.”

  He kisses my cheek again. “No problem, beautiful. Whatever you need.”

  I’m sullen in the car as Cooper drives me home. I’m wrapped up in my coat, and my knees are pulled in tight to my chest, but I can’t distill the chill that lingers from Dane’s cutting words and the fear that coats my skin at that visual dose of alien reality. The guys going at each other like that has freaked me out more than I’d care to admit, but, it’s also strangely turned me on, and that’s probably freaking me out even more.