Shifters (The Neturu Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Carter

  Ariel eyes him up even more in silence. Finally, she asks, “How many girls?”

  “Do you really think it’s a good idea for me to tell you?” He asks.

  “I want to know.”

  He sighs. “Seven.”

  “Seven!” Ariel yells.

  Claire snorts. “Seven? Pfff. That’s like no big deal. He hasn’t even had sex.” Claire starts to moves the chair around and spins in circles. “Guess how many girls Damien’s had sex with? Just guess. This is just sex. I have no idea on other stuff. Go ahead. Guess.”

  “Twelve,” Ariel says.

  “Nope.”

  “Nineteen?”

  She shakes her head. “Nope.”

  “More than twenty!” Ariel gasps.

  “Twenty-six girls before me,” Claire states, stopping the chair in front of Ariel.

  “Twenty-six,” Ariel exhales.

  “That’s just sex. Twenty-six girls in three years.”

  Ariel’s jaw is still down. “And you’re okay with that?”

  “It’s his past. Just because he was a slut doesn’t mean he’s going to cheat. I slept with my friend and Damien had to deal with that. I’m still super close to Alex. He’s my fighting partner.”

  “Good for you, but seven still bothers me,” Ariel states, crossing her arms.

  “Honestly, if I thought we’d ever get here, I wouldn’t have done anything, but there’s a four year age difference.”

  She looks at him skeptically. “I don’t know.”

  “Would you be attracted to a fourteen year old right now?”

  “No, of course not,” Ariel scoffs. Mason gives her a look. “Okay, point well made.”

  He leans against the force field as close as he can to her. “None of it meant anything. Plus, I’ve never gone as far as to have sex. That I wanted to wait for the right person.”

  Ariel scuffs her foot against the ground. “It’s just a lot to take.”

  “I understand that, but I love you. I love that you don’t take my shit. I love your sense of very sarcastic humor. I love how into science you are.”

  She smirks. “That’s sweet.”

  Mason stands up straight and smiles. “This is where you come back and tell me all the wonderful things you love about me!”

  “You don’t ask someone to tell you that.”

  “Why not?” He asks.

  Rolling her eyes, Ariel says, “It’s not very romantic.”

  He grins. “I still want to hear it.”

  “No. One day. At the right time.”

  His shoulders slump. “Come on. Not fair!”

  Ariel replies, “Life isn’t fair.”

  Claire laughs and says, “Ooo, she got you there.”

  Mason puts one arm up on the force field and looks at Ariel. “Is it my looks?”

  “No. Stop it,” she hisses.

  With a jolt, he stands up straight. “You’re not attracted to the way I look? What the hell!” He puts his hands on his chest. “I’ve been told I’m hot.”

  “Well, I was attracted to you until that comment.”

  “Seriously?” Mason draws out.

  Bursting out into giggles, Ariel snorts, “I was giving you crap.”

  He playfully pouts. “That’s not very nice.”

  “Would we really be us if I was suddenly super nice to you?” She asks.

  “It’s what girlfriends do.”

  She steps back. “It’s what?”

  “Girlfriends. I figured that’s what the next step was for us…”

  “Aren’t you supposed to ask me?”

  He throws his hands up. “How in the hell should I know? It’s not like we’ve had an example of proper courtship. We all know what would happen if we expressed emotion.”

  Ariel sighs. “What if it’s because we’ve only been around each other?”

  “I’ve been in the real world for years. I always come back to you. You’re it for me. So yeah. I want you to be my girlfriend.”

  “What if I want to experience more?” Ariel whispers.

  Mason looks incredibly sad. “I thought you loved me.”

  She steps as close as she can. Ariel looks deep into his eyes and then smiles. “I do. I’m teasing again. I want to be nice to you. I want to show affection finally. I also want to be your girlfriend.”

  He puts his hand up near her face. “I wish I could touch you right now. I want to pull you close in my arms and kiss you gently.”

  “And then shove your tongue down my throat.”

  Busting out laughing, Mason asks, “Where did you hear that from?”

  Ariel turns around and points to Claire. “Her.” Claire waves.

  The corner of Mason’s mouth twitches and he says, “The reply to that is yes. I’d like to shove my tongue down your throat. Amongst other things I’d like to do with you.”

  “I was joking Mason,” Ariel replies, rolling her eyes to the heavens.

  Mason leans forward and whispers, “I’m not.” And then winks.

  “Lord,” Claire exclaims. “You two need a room.”

  “You’ll let us be by each other!” Ariel yells.

  “Not yet and it’s not my decision,” Claire replies.

  “When we get back from the institute. You and I will disappear for a day…or two,” Mason murmurs, giving Ariel a very heated look.

  “Mason,” Ariel hisses, as she turns red.

  “What?” He snorts in return. Nudging his head, he says, “Those three aren’t going to say anything.”

  “Still. I don’t think you are supposed to be saying that stuff in front of people.”

  He leans forward. “I haven’t seen you in months. I can finally express my feelings. I don’t care if the entire Neturu population is watching, I’m going to say how I feel. I love you. I love everything about you. I wouldn’t change a thing. All I ask is for you to love me back.”

  She puts her hand up by his. “I do love you back.”

  “That’s all I have ever wanted. Other than taking down the institute.”

  Ariel shifts on her feet and looks scared. “I really am nervous about you doing that.”

  “I promise I come out fine. Actually, I come out free. Damien finally trusts me. He never really likes me but he trusts me.”

  Claire wheels back over. “So, we become friends?”

  “Dude. From what Little Bit told me, we are ridiculously close.”

  She studies him for a minute and then says, “I could totally see that. Partners in crime.”

  “Totally.”

  “Would you join the guard if they let you?” Claire asks.

  Mason shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m not very good at taking orders.”

  “Neither am I, at all, but missions are different. It’s about kicking ass and saving people.”

  “I could do that,” he replies, nodding.

  “We totally need to spar once you’re let out of there. I want to see if I can sense you by your energy.”

  With a cocky smirk, Mason says, “No one has yet to date.”

  Claire taps her chin with her finger. “Maybe Damien could. He’s really trained on energy.”

  “Can he fight?”

  “Yes. He could when we met and I’ve been training him even more. He’s learning pressure points right now.”

  Slamming his hands against the force field, Mason exclaims, “You know all of them!”

  A smirk twitches on Claire’s face, “Yeah. Don’t you?”

  “That was something I wasn’t allowed to learn.”

  “Ooo,” Claire draws out, leaning forward. “I get to teach you something. That means I am by far a better fighter.”

  “But you’ll teach me?” Mason responds, sounding hopeful.

  “After I know I can truly trust you…maybe.”

  He thrusts out his hands with a look of shock. “Maybe!”

  “Yeah. You can kill or do a lot of damage with these points. You just don’t hand over that knowledge to anyone.”


  “Fine. I’m not worried. I don’t doubt you’ll teach me. We’re like besties. Little Bit said so.”

  Claire smiles broadly. “Do we get friendship necklaces?”

  “Umm, no.”

  She leans back and crosses her arms. “Then I don’t want you to be my bestie.”

  Suddenly, they hear, “Claire!”

  Spinning the chair towards the door, she yells, “Pops!”

  With some effort she stands up. Claire’s grandfather immediately comes over and crushes her in a hug. “Thank god you’re alive.”

  “It was scary, but Lexi saved me,” Claire murmurs, hugging him back.

  He lets go and says, “Who?”

  “It’s a long story. We need to debrief you immediately,” Damien declares.

  “What about my mom?” Claire asks.

  Damien shakes his head. “She’ll have to wait. We need to apprehend Mr. Grandin.”

  “He’s gone, isn’t he?” Mason says. They all turn and look at him.

  “Who are you?” Claire’s grandfather asks.

  “Mason and you’re Kaleb Hardrick.”

  “You’re a prisoner,” Claire’s grandfather says, narrowing his gaze.

  With a roll of his eyes, Mason replies, “Obviously. Only for a little while though. Then I get let out.”

  “Huh?”

  “Kaleb, come with me. There’s a lot to explain.”

  “Let’s go then.”

  Claire spins around. “See you in a while guys.”

  “Bye,” they all say in unison.

  She turns back and follows Damien and her grandfather out of the room. They meander silently through a few halls and then come to a meeting room. Damien gestures in and then shuts the door. “We have a serious problem,” Damien says.

  “Okay,” Claire’s grandfather replies.

  “Mr. Grandin has gone rogue and there’s much more than that.”

  “Tell me.”

  Damien sits down and says, “This all started with a mission.”

  A half an hour later, the room is in silence and Claire’s grandfather is staring at Damien. “Holy shit,” is the only thing he says.

  “Pops,” Claire exclaims.

  “This is a lot to take in,” he counters. “So Mr. Grandin disappeared. How?”

  “He must have had an emergency escape plan. He took one of runner ships to the closest town. From there, we have no idea where he went.”

  Claire asks, “Can anyone see the ship?”

  “No, he left it cloaked and we immediately retrieved it,” Damien replies.

  “That’s good.”

  Claire’s grandfather asks, “Have you looked into his communications?”

  “There are large gaps in the logs. He must have somehow come up with a way to erase them.”

  “We’re an advanced race. Can’t our computer analysis get it back?” Claire responds.

  “We haven’t been able to yet,” Damien says. “But, we have our best people working on it.”

  Turning to her, Claire’s grandfather asks Claire, “And you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m getting really tired. I need to get my strength back, so I can go get Lexi.”

  “Claire…” Damien groans.

  “Damien, even if you doubt me, shut up.”

  Interjecting, Claire’s grandfather says, “I believe her.”

  “But you’re so rational,” Damien groans even more.

  “But I trust Claire. She doesn’t make things up. She never has.”

  “It’s so farfetched!”

  Claire glares at him. “It’s true Damien. Can’t you just trust me on this?”

  “One of us has to keep a clear head.”

  She sighs. “You know what, I’m going to go visit my family and then I’m going to bed.”

  “Do you want me to come with?” Damien asks, standing up. Her grandfather does the same.

  “You have more important things to deal with right now,” Claire replies.

  He comes over and kneels down in front of her. Grasping her hands, Damien whispers, “You’ll always be more important.”

  “There are lives at stake. Maybe the entire Neturu race. You need to concentrate on that.”

  “We’re going to closely monitor you,” Damien says. “Just to make sure you’re okay. I would say stay in the medical wing but I know that’s not going to happen.”

  Claire shakes her head. “Actually I’m going to. I almost died. I want to be careful.”

  “I’ll come check on you throughout the night.”

  “Damien…” she sighs.

  “Claire, that’s not up for debate.”

  “Alright, I love you,” she laughs.

  “I love you too baby. Now go rest.” He gives her a gentle kiss on the lips.

  She smiles and then nods. “Now, wish me luck.”

  “For what?” Her grandfather asks.

  “I have to go see my family.”

  Everyone grimaces. “I wish you luck,” her grandfather says. “Don’t let them make you anxious. You need to rest.”

  “Super mutant isn’t so super,” Claire snorts.

  “Go, get some rest. Contact me if you need anything baby,” Damien states.

  “I have to go change my clothes first,” Claire says. “I can’t go looking like this.”

  “Then get some rest,” Damien instructs.

  “Okay, bye.”

  “Bye,” Damien and her grandfather reply.

  Chapter 15

  Xander

  They all stand there silently, staring at the door. “So, I wonder what’s going on,” Aurora says.

  “They just…left…us in here.”

  There is more silence for a moment before Mason says, “I kind of have to pee.”

  Xander turns to him. “I don’t know if they’d let you out of there. Not with what’s going on.”

  “Fine,” Mason says, grabbing at his pants. “Let’s see what happens when you pee on a force field.”

  “It may be like peeing on an electric fence. Are you willing to risk that?” Xander asks.

  “I’ve always been the daring type and I have to pee,” Mason replies, unbuttoning his pants.

  Ariel crosses her arms. “Mason. I don’t want you to blow your penis off.”

  He stops what he’s doing and smiles. “That’s because you want to use it.”

  She covers her face. “Oh my god.”

  “What?” He counters. “You don’t want to?”

  “We’re not having this discussion in front of people,” she hisses, as she turns red.

  “That means you do. We can definitely talk in private.”

  Rolling her eyes, Ariel says, “Mason, you pounced on me out of nowhere and kissed me. Not very romantic for my first kiss.”

  “No, it is romantic. We’ve been apart for months. I’ve loved you for years and have never been able to tell you. The moment I saw you all that emotion burst forth. The only thing I could do was kiss you. I had to feel the press of your lips on mine.”

  There is a heavy pause and then Ariel exhales, “Wow.”

  “It was romantic. I could have stopped and whispered sweet nothings to you but every fiber of my being had to kiss you,” Mason whispers, staring at Ariel with a soft look.

  She steps up to him. “I’m glad you did.”

  “See. So am I.”

  “I do love you. I never admitted that to anyone and barely did to myself.”

  “There were times that I thought you didn’t, but there was this look you gave me. The cutest smirk.”

  Xander laughs. “I told you you smirked.”

  “I did not,” Ariel bashfully mumbles, looking down at the ground as her cheeks turn pink.

  “You did. I promise. The right corner of your mouth would turn up and you’d press your lips together. Trust me. You smirked. It drove me nuts. I loved it. I loved every time you did it. You’d be such a bitch but then look me in the eyes and smirk. You said so much through those look
s,” Mason says.

  Shaking her head, Ariel replies, “I honestly didn’t know how you felt. Aurora teased but I didn’t even know what side you were on. I wasn’t sure if you’d find me and take me back to The Collector.”

  “I was trying to find you before The Collector. Trying to find you and the Neturu. It was an adventure. Little Bit said she couldn’t tell me anything the whole time. Time shift.” He pauses and then laughs. “Not up until she said go on youtube. I asked her how she knew what youtube was. She said she didn’t. All she saw was me on a computer saying, ‘They are on youtube’. So, I immediately went to a computer.”

  Ariel says, “This little girl is real.”

  “Yup, Lexi. Little Bit. She’s really little, with purple hair. Creepy smart for a two-year-old.”

  “She can see the future?”

  “I don’t know if she sees it or just knows it. She knows who everyone is. How everything happens. She sees it all. The thing is she is so childlike. Playing with her dolls, talking about the fate of the world,” Mason laughs.

  “Sounds incredible,” Ariel says, with small smile. She puts her hand up and Mason meets it on the other side.

  “It is incredible. When you meet her she will blow your mind.”

  “You said she had purple hair and bright green eyes.”

  He nods. “Brighter than yours. Humans would be totally freaked out by her. Most Neturu, too.”

  “She must be part Kenga,” Xander suggests.

  “I assume she is. She won’t tell me. But where would her features come from?”

  “You’re close to her,” Aurora finally says, walking up to them.

  Mason smiles broadly. “She calls me Uncle for a reason. She feels like family. She instantly did. I saw her and had this feeling deep inside of me. Much like Claire. You just know. Lexi is a powerful girl. She is only two and could probably rule the world…with her Barbie by her side.”

  Aurora laughs, “She likes her Barbie?”

  “It’s a Little Mermaid Barbie. If we rescue her we need to rescue her Barbie, too,” Mason states. “She told me that.”

  “Priorities,” Xander laughs.

  Laughing with him, Mason replies, “Exactly.”

  “Xander?” He hears behind him.

  He spins around. “Trinity. Oh my god. How are you? What’s going on?”

  “I’m okay. We are on full lock down. We are all stuck in our rooms. We get out to eat. That’s it. Everyone is scared,” Trinity says.