“I know someone like that, she’s young maybe eighteen. I don’t know her real age for sure, but she has a terrifying power. She’s also like a daughter to me. I found her on the street, but I couldn’t let her stay there. She was my only other friend besides Ava.”
“I have a sister named Ava.”
“I don’t hear that name too often, but I know at one time it was popular.”
A song she liked came on, reaching out she turned the volume up and started singing.
“What’s that song about?”
“Naked by Ella Mai. It’s asking the question of how you will feel about me when all the clothes come off. When I take off the eyelash extensions and the makeup. When the push-up bra comes off and the skintight jeans, lay in a puddle at my feet. When the blemishes I’m desperate to hide show through. When my breasts are thirty and forty years old and not a perky sixteen will you still love me? Will you love me when I’m naked when there is nothing between us but what God intended me to be? Will you love me when I’m naked, when I’m not all that happy or downright nasty when I have a bad day and I’m raw and hiding from the world? Will you love me when I’m naked?”
That’s why she wasn’t married or in a serious relationship. She wanted to be loved like that. Most guys couldn’t deal with her gift and they didn’t even know it was real.
“Yes.”
That one-word answer that’s not a question startled her. Her eyes fly to him, she didn’t realize they closed as she was answering him.
“Yes, to all that and more.”
She gave a brief tilt to her head to acknowledge that she heard him. He smiled and focused back on the road not seeming to need any more than that. She was grateful. There was no way she could respond to what he said. Things had changed between them with that one word. It felt strange to say that, but she could feel the very air shifting around her as if the course of her life was knocked off track to roughly bump along the road with no guidance until out of the blue a new track appeared. One that should have stayed hidden but was revealed. Why the new course, the new track? That she didn’t know, but it was there, and her train was happily chugging along.
Keva, on the other hand, was mentally freaking out. Who just said yes to something like that? Maybe it wouldn’t mean anything but for the first time, she realized she wasn’t picking anything up from Kayden. He was a totally clean slate that she couldn’t read. Why hadn’t she realized that yesterday?
The worst part was she liked it. She didn’t want to know what tomorrow might bring. She was in the dark here, some place she hadn’t been in years.
The core of her femininity woke up. She wanted to know everything about Kayden Gayl.
Chapter Six
The lake was beautiful; the water was a calm blue green that seemed to go on forever. Around it was a sandy bank where they could sit. Then there was a nice grassy area that had soft pads in them. The material was one she had never experienced before. It was both soft and waterproof. Kayden brought out blankets, towels, and the picnic basket.
She kicked her shoes off, swinging her feet in the lake while sitting on the bank.
“I forgot to tell you to bring your swimsuit.”
His voice made her shudder. “I’m wearing it.” Her voice was shy and not a bit sexy. He had rocked her world to the core of her foundation by saying yes.
“Do you want to go for a dip?”
Of course, she wanted to go for a dip. The thing was, she was wearing her bikini, not the socially acceptable one piece that the skinny people she had come across felt someone her size should wear. It might be too much for him to handle. Everyone in society didn’t feel that way, including men. She just hadn’t found the one for her.
Forget it, and him. He asked her to come to a picnic. The fact that it was by a lake added to the perfection. That meant he got what he got. She stood up and defiantly started stripping out of her clothes. This was her favorite bikini it was dark blue with white stars on it. When she was done, she stood before him, then jumped into the water. She loved to swim.
She gave a snort and started swimming away when he executed a neat dive into the pool. He was graceful, wearing a pair of white swim trunks. A sudden giggle came from her when he caught her pulling her close before releasing her. Wait… did she just giggle?
“Race you to the other side.” She took off swimming not wanting to give either of them time to think about her purely feminine reaction to him. Self, she said sternly to herself. This male is hot as hell, that is no reason to giggle, bat your eyes, or act like a total lunatic. We see hot men all the time. No, they are not focusing all their attention on us, but we don’t need male attention. The things she told herself when she was trying to come off as the ultimate independent female.
“I won,” she chortled enjoying her victory.
“I let you win.”
“No, you didn’t take that back.” She splashed water at him.
They got into a water battle laughing like crazy as they both held up their side of the argument.
“Are you hungry?”
She was, her nerves wouldn’t let her eat breakfast while she was waiting for him to call. Combine that with the energy it took to play in the water, and she was famished.
“I could eat.”
“Good, I have lots of food in the picnic basket.” He made sure she got out of the lake then followed her.
They sank down on the pads the basket between them. Kayden pulled out sandwiches and chicken kept on ice. There were potato and fruit salads, along with bottles of lemonade and water.
“I don’t know where to start it all looks so good.”
“Eat everything, I have more in the basket in case we run out.”
More? Who did he think he was feeding, a basketball team?
She made her sandwich, picked up a chicken breast and dished out a nice helping of potato salad. She took several bites before licking her lips, not wanting to miss one bit of something this tasty.
“Did you make the potato salad? It’s delicious.” She hated to admit it, but she was a snob when it came to potato salad, most people didn’t make it right.
“Ven made it.”
“That’s the younger brother you were telling me about, right? The brat.”
“That’s him.”
“My hats off to him, he’s an excellent cook.”
“He’ll love hearing that.”
They ate in silence, deciding to wait on the fruit for dessert later. They cleaned up and stretched out on the pads. They were so comfortable.
“I like that swimsuit on you.” His eyes started with her face and trailed down her body until he reached her feet. Then he reversed the process.
She flexed her toes once again happy for her mani/pedi.
“Thank you.” Her smile was bright enough to light up a room. “What do you do for a living?” Her curiosity got the better of her.
“Right now, I’m hunting down the Shadow that came after you in the coffee shop. Before that, I was a warrior.”
“I can see you dressed in your uniform meeting your foe on the battlefield fighting with bravery and honor.”
“Honor on the battlefield only happens in books and movies. In reality, it’s kill or be killed. You may choose to walk away from someone to give them the chance to fight another day, but they may not do the same for you. It is not unheard of being shot in the back by the one you let live. In battle, honor is replaced by a pounding heart and desperation.”
Her hand reached out to cover his. “I never glorified war. I still think there is honor in being willing to fight a war. It’s not in the killing or the fighting; it’s in the willingness to protect those you love. I know you're supposed to be proud to fight for your country, but land is something you can find anywhere. People, on the other hand, are numerous, but you can’t find loved one's anywhere. So that’s where I think the honor comes in. If you fought for me whether you died or came home, I respect you and honor your sacrifice.”
“Forget them, you’re here now and I see it that way.” She squeezed his hand before closing her eyes to let that little bit of sunshine that was creeping through her shaded spot warm her.
They laid like that for a while before a sense of darkness tickled the back of her mind. It was contained, not the fury that came after her in the coffee shop. Still, it was there making her a little worried. She didn’t think much about the coffee shop incident sure that she could take care of herself. Why else was she given this gift?
The encroaching darkness got closer as she slipped into a light slumber. If tickled the recesses of her mind looking for a doorway, an avenue. She was no novice her mind was a place she fortified long ago. She had to it was the only way to keep her gift intact. Her head shook like she was trying to get away from a buzzing fly.
The darkness showed her a path, one it illuminated daring her to be brave enough to seek it out. This was not Hansel and Gretel she couldn’t be enticed with candy. Look what happened to them. Still, her fingers and toes twitched with the effort not to wake up and meet the challenge head-on.
Was this the Shadow that Kayden talked about? She followed that road with her eyes. Whatever this was it wasn’t human, not completely. There was a taste of humanity in it. The human brain was such an amazing piece of biological tech that no two brains were alike if you discounted a thread that ran through every person she ever met. She called it the humanity thread. It was what made mankind human. It wasn’t in animals not even apes, the ones they were supposed to have evolved from. It was a separate and distinct indicator, which is why she thought Kayden was human at first. Being unable to see into his mind she assumed he was simply a highly trained human.
The darkness retreated allowing her to slip back into a dream free sleep. When her shields relaxed the darkness attacked. She woke with a scream as her hands ran over her head trying to protect herself from the Shadows pulling at her.
Strong arms pulled her up into a comforting embrace. Her mind working on nothing, but instinct raised a shield that surrounded her and Kayden forcing the darkness out.
“What the hell was that?”
“That was the Shadows. I think they are targeting you because of my interest.”
“They must be men.” He stared at her. “Men don’t seem to notice how cute you are until someone else gets interested in you.”
He let that go not understanding human males.
“There is something evil on your land.”
“The Shadow traps.”
“The what?”
“The Shadows use something we call Shadow traps. They can trap you if you touch them. They used one of them to transport Ava. She’s Locke’s mate and my sister.”
“She came with you. Is she a warrior too?”
“She’s human like you.”
Human, like me as in you can do the dirty as well as other things with us? Does mate mean they are married? That’s how it was in the books she read. Back on track, she only knew him for a day.
“Why do you think they attacked her?” Now that she was fine, she took a step back missing the comfort of his arms.
“I don’t know.”
She doubted that. His brain was a secret from her, but she could see the outside of it, and it was complex. The thought of spending time in it was exciting. She was excited at the thought of spending more time with him.
“Take me to the Shadow traps.” She gave him ‘her brave I’m not scared of anything look’ even as she glanced down to make sure her knees weren’t knocking.
“Why would you want to do that?”
“This is the second time they have come after me. Each time someone was there, you were there. What if the next time they come for me I’m alone? I’d rather face them when I have backup.” She wasn’t sure what kind of backup he would be. There was the fact that she felt less scatterbrain and more energetic when he was around. The loss of energy was something she struggled with daily, the increase in energy was noticed.
“All right.” They took their time packing the SUV neither of them in a rush to confront the Shadows.
They drove until the outline of the house in the distance was gone.
“Are the Shadow traps on your land?”
“They are, we’ve slowly been buying up all the land around us. It works to give us the privacy we crave.”
“You don’t want anyone to know you’re aliens.” That made sense to her. If she came from the stars, she wouldn’t be advertising it.
“We also don’t want anyone to see us when we shift into our other form.”
She took her time to look him over not that she needed to. His physique was burned into her memory. She would bet every dollar she ever made that he didn’t shift into something cute and furry.
“If you were to shift suddenly would my life be in danger?”
“Never.”
She shook her head, that was good enough for her. Today held too many revelations, they could discuss what he became when he wasn’t a humanoid at some other time.
“You definitely got what you asked for way out here. It’s so quiet. I like it, you can hear yourself think. In the city, at times I think I’m going crazy there are so many mental voices crying out. I surmise that more than ninety-nine percent of the population has the ability to shield their thoughts, they just don’t have a reason to work on doing that.”
“You think all of mankind is psychic?”
“A brain is a brain.”
Chapter Seven
Kayden parked in front of what looked like a one-room cabin. It was large if the outside was anything to go by. Keva didn’t have to ask him if the Shadow traps were in there, she could feel the evil surrounding the place. She shivered before getting out the car. Her defenses went up as Kayden came around the car and took her arm letting her know with the subtle gesture that she was not alone.
There were three steps up then the porch which surprised her by being wide with a slightly homey feel to it. They walked to the door together before he stepped in front of her opening it wide. Instead of letting her go first, he did, placing his finger in front of his mouth and motioning her to stay still. He pointed at the SUV once before walking inside.
He told her with his finger if anything happened to him to run. That made sense she was not cut out to be the dumb chick in Hollywood’s latest horror flick that didn’t run even though the audience was hollering at her. Horror flicks aside, she wished she had a gun. The solid weight of it in her hand would flag her lagging courage. She gave herself a pep talk this wasn’t a movie where everybody died and came back for the sequel. It was real and they would live; I mean there was going to be a sequel sheesh.
Her shoulders sagged when he came back to the door.
“Miss me?”
“More than you know Kayden with no nickname. I had hours to think about Hollywood horror flicks and I haven’t watched one since I was a teen. Ready?”
“Let’s do this.” He led the way inside. There was a short hallway that seemed to separate the entrance from a large room. Inside, she saw several beds the kind they used in hospitals they made her think of triage units. There was also a lab to one side; it looked sophisticated or more so than she was used to seeing on television. Then there was an area that seemed blocked off by plexiglass. Behind it was a plethora of boxes that seemed to be contained in small shiny green containers, the like of which she had never seen before.
“Those are the Shadow traps. The green casing is a film we can mentally project. When it surrounds the trap, it becomes hard keeping it from activating.”
“Fascinating.” She moved closer to the glass to get a better look at the traps.
“This is real? Where did it come from? Did the person in the oval office plan this?” Anger sparked through her system. Someone high up had to be behind this. How did evil walk through their world like this and no one knew? Maybe not the top officials in the government,
but a liaison to those officials. This took funding it wasn’t a basement experiment. The military? Then it could be a foreign power. There were too many suspects to limit it to one.
“We don’t know who’s behind this, and we don’t want to point fingers.”
She nodded to let him know she was listening. One of those traps was reaching out to her, teasing her.
“You had to bring back up.”
She shut that shit down. She was too old to be goaded that way. Anyone who was stupid enough to think she was Wonder Woman and didn’t need help had her respect, but that wasn’t her.
“You called I came.” She risked taking a quick look at Kayden realizing that he couldn’t hear her conversation with the trap. She’d ponder on that later.
“You don’t have anything to do,” her chin tilted toward the glass barrier. “But I do.”
“I want out.” The voice demanded as if she would jump to its command.
Really? No promises of fame and fortune if she helped? No threats to her family of future progeny? It was kind of disappointing.
“When we take over the world, we’ll let you rule at our side. It will be a lesser province of course.”
She perked up, now they were talking. Of course, it would be a lesser province, betraying everyone who believed in you was a trifling thing to those in charge.
“Is that your goal to conquer the earth? What province would I get, I hate the cold, so if it’s like Russia, I’m not interested. I also hate extreme heat, so if you were thinking overseas in like Palestine or Jerusalem I’m not interested.”
“Think Paris.”
“Now you’re talking, but I’d think I’d rather stay stateside I know the area, etc.… you understand.”
“Humans, so limited in vision. I’m sure we can give you a city. How about this one?”
“I like your style. So, in turn for smuggling you out and allowing you to conquer the world starting with the United States, this whole city will be mine?”
“That’s the deal.”
“How do I know you will keep it?”
The Wolf & The Pretender Page 4
