by I. T. Lucas
“I was very upset when I heard about your ruined wedding. Then I had a wonderful idea. Since you and Jacqueline have just pledged yourself to each other, and it was not an official ceremony, we can regard it as your engagement party. You can have a proper wedding with me presiding over it.”
Kalugal glanced at Kian, who was shaking his head.
“Thank you. That is a lovely idea, but perhaps we should wait with the ceremony for after Jacki’s transition.”
“Yes, of course. There is no rush. Whenever the two of you are ready, let me know, and I will have Amanda plan a proper wedding for you. Naturally, it is going to be in the village square, with as many clan members as can attend.”
Kian shook his head again.
“Is it all right if I put you on speakerphone? This should be planned together with Kian.”
“My son is probably hovering over you and shaking his head. But that is okay. You can put me on speakerphone.”
Just as Annani imagined it, Kian stood over Kalugal and lit up another cigarillo.
“I can’t allow Kalugal and his men into the village, Mother. You know how important it is to keep the location secret.”
“Of course I do. But not even your people know where it is. You can bring Kalugal and his party into the village in the same way most clan members come and go.”
Kalugal stifled a chuckle. His cousin was paranoid in the extreme. Even his own people didn’t know where they lived? How was that even done?
Seeing the confusion on his face, Kian explained. “We use self-driving cars. They are programmed to take over several miles before reaching the secret entrance to the tunnel that leads to the village, and the windows turn opaque.”
“Clever. But can’t they guess where it is located?”
“They know the general area, but the village is shrouded, and the entrance is hidden. It’s all very sci-fi.” Kian sighed. “We will revisit the issue after Jacki transitions.”
“Very well,” the goddess said. “Good luck, Jacqueline.”
“Thank you,” Jacki croaked and then cleared her throat. “Other than successfully transitioning, I would love nothing more than for Your Highness to preside over our wedding.”
Annani laughed again. “If you wish to use a formal address, I prefer Your Awesomeness, or Your Fabulousness. But for now, you can call me Clan Mother. After we meet and become friends, you shall call me Annani.”
“Yes, Clan Mother.” Jacki bowed to the phone.
“Goodbye, everyone,” Annani chimed.
As the goddess disconnected the call, Kalugal and Kian let out simultaneous relieved breaths.
“Will I be invited to the wedding?” Lokan asked.
Kian shrugged. “No offense, but I’m not looking forward to inviting forty-eight former Doomers into my village. But if I can’t convince Annani to drop it, then one more doesn’t make a difference.”
When Kian’s phone rang again, Kalugal expected it to be Annani again, but it was Bridget.
“Jin is transitioning,” the doctor announced. “She is doing fine, so no need to worry. I just thought that you would want to know.”
“Thank you.”
“Mazel tov,” Anandur said when Kian disconnected the call. “It’s about time.”
“Indeed.” Kalugal nodded. “I’m happy for her.”
“What’s going on?” Jacki asked.
He’d forgotten that she couldn’t hear what was said on the other side of the line unless the speakerphone feature was turned on.
“Jin has entered the transition process.”
“Oh, my goodness.” Jacki’s hand flew to her chest. “I need to be with her.”
37
Jin
When Arwel walked through the door, Jin almost cried with relief. Not because she’d missed him so much, but because he brought pain relief pills.
“Gimme.” She extended her hand.
“Don’t you want to tell Arwel the good news?” Mey asked.
“Painkillers first.”
Arwel looked at Mey. “What good news?”
“You heard the lady. Give her the meds first.” Mey refilled the mug with more warm water.
“Here.” Arwel handed her a container of Motrin. “I also got Advil, Tylenol, DayQuil, NyQuil, Chloraseptic, and Strepsils.”
Jin popped four Motrins and followed with the lukewarm tea. “Give me the Chloraseptic, please.”
He popped one tablet out and handed it to her.
It didn’t help much, but hopefully, when the Motrin kicked in, the combination of the two would do the trick.
“Bridget was here. Do you want the good news first or the bad?”
He frowned. “What bad news?”
“Apparently, my sore throat is not caused by streptococcus. I’m growing venom glands.”
“What?" Arwel sat on the bed next to her. “Venom glands?"
Jin nodded. “Bridget is sure of that. What she is not sure of is whether they will be functional. She says that even though I'm growing them, they might not produce venom.”
“What about fangs? If you have venom, it makes sense that you will also grow fangs that can deliver it.”
Jin grimaced. “It’s a possibility.” She looked at Mey. “The freak sisters never disappoint. We must always be different than everyone else.”
“I should leave you two alone.” Mey rose to her feet.
Jin took her hand. “If I feel better after the Motrin does its thing, I’ll come up to the suite. I’m sick of staying in bed.”
“Good. We can have dinner together.” Mey looked at Arwel. “Except, Bridget said that you two should head home as soon as possible. She wants Jin to be near the clinic in case things take a turn for the worse.”
“They won’t,” Jin said more for Arwel’s sake than Mey’s.
He looked so worried. She only hoped that he was concerned about her going through the transition and not about having a freak for a mate.
When the door closed behind Mey, Arwel kicked his shoes off and lay down next to her. “Cheer up. You are transitioning.” He kissed her temple, probably afraid to touch any place else.
“What if I get fangs like yours? Is it going to weird you out?”
He smiled. “Weird me out? No way. It’ll be kinky.” He waggled his brows. “I’ll also get to experience euphoria and multiple orgasms. Who wouldn’t want that?”
“What if my venom doesn’t work like that? What if it’s only good for fighting? I’ll have to join the Guardian force.”
“That would be a bummer, but let’s not worry about it yet. Bridget said that the glands might not produce venom, right? And then you will not grow big fangs either.”
Resisting the urge to pat her gums with her finger once again, Jin ran her tongue over them. “So far, my gums are not swollen. So maybe I will not get fangs at all.” She chuckled. “Mey and I divided the freakishness between us.”
Arwel wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “I like it that you are not like anyone else. My mate is one of a kind.”
Smiling, she kissed his chin. “I forgot to ask Bridget if we can have sex while I’m transitioning.”
Arwel laughed. “I bet that you are the only Dormant to ever think of asking her that. And it also means that the Motrin is working, and you are feeling better.”
“I am.” She rubbed herself against him. “And I want to shower. Want to help me?”
“You are serious, aren’t you?”
“Hey, it could be our last chance before I’m really out of commission. How long does the transition usually last?”
“To fully transition takes months, but the main event can last between a couple of days to several weeks. Every Dormant is different. But for the males, it usually takes several weeks to grow the venom glands, and six months until their fangs reach full length and are ready to use.”
Collapsing on her back, Jin groaned and threw an arm over her eyes. “Lucky me. I get to transition like a guy, which means frea
king growing pains. God only knows when we will be able to have sex again.”
38
Jacki
Casting an apologetic glance at Kian, Jacki tugged on Kalugal’s hand. “Can I have a word with you?” She looked at Kian again. “I’m only stealing him for a few moments.”
Kian smiled. “No need to steal. He’s all yours.”
Turner was still in the library, so Jacki pulled Kalugal toward his office.
“What is it?” He looked at her with amusement dancing in his blue eyes.
“I want to go see Jin.”
He shook his head. “Kian, Lokan, and I still have a lot of work to do. Besides, I can’t leave the house before we dispose of Simmons’s body, and that is not going to happen until later tonight.”
“Ugh. Don’t remind me.”
“You are not sorry that he’s dead, are you?”
“Not at all. It’s just that talking about disposing of his corpse creeps me out. I really don’t want to be here when that happens.”
Kalugal smiled. “Oh, now I see where you’re going with this. Your excuse is that you don’t want to be in the house when it happens.”
“It didn’t even occur to me until you said it. I just want to visit Jin and see what it's like to transition. And I don’t need you to come with me. If you let me borrow one of your cheaper cars, I can drive myself to the hotel.”
“By yourself?”
The look of panic in Kalugal’s eyes was comical.
Leaning in, she kissed his lips. “I’m not leaving you forever, my love. I’ll be gone for a couple of hours, three at most.”
He put his hands on her waist and drew her closer. “I need you here. The idea of you not being near me upsets me.”
It was sweet that Kalugal was suffering from separation anxiety, but it was important that she set boundaries from the get-go.
Jacki had no intention of living in a gilded cage, especially now that she was no longer a fugitive.
“The hotel is only fifteen minutes away. And since Simmons and Roberts are no longer looking for me, I’m free to come and go as I please.”
“Not yet. Don’t forget that they filed a fake police report, and if you are stopped, you might get detained. You also don’t have documentation.”
“Right. I forgot about that. Didn’t you ask Kian to bring my fake documents to the summit?”
“I didn’t. We decided not to get married using our fake names, so there was no need.” He smiled. “I’ll make us both new documents, and we can share the same last name. You can choose whichever one you like.”
“Awesome. But what do I do until then? I don’t want to be a prisoner in the house.”
“I can have Phinas or Rufsur accompany you to the hotel, and you will have to put the wig and glasses on. Come to think of it, I’ll send two more men to act as your bodyguards.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s overkill, but I can live with it. Can they take me there now?”
Kalugal sighed dramatically. “Every moment without you will be agonizing.”
“Nice try.” She kissed him again. “I love you, but we can be apart for a few hours.”
“A few? You said two.”
“I said two to three. Jin invited me to join them for dinner.”
“Then, it’s probably going to be longer than three.” He sighed, but then a smirk lifted the right corner of his sexy lips. “Since I am being so agreeable about it, I expect to be rewarded later tonight.”
“You are funny.” Jacki wrapped her arms around Kalugal’s neck. “I’m the one who will be rewarded. Regrettably, I can’t give you the same pleasure you give me. I don’t have fangs and venom.”
“Oh, my sweet, beautiful Jacqueline. You give me more pleasure than I could have ever imagined just by being you.”
39
Vlad
“What are you making?” Wendy walked into the kitchen.
His arms covered in flour, Vlad blew a strand of hair away from his eyes. “I’m making dough for bread, and when I’m done with it, I’ll leave it to rise and make chocolate cupcakes.” His bangs flopped down again.
“Yummy.” She lifted on her toes and pushed the strand of hair behind his ear. “Here. Now it’ll stay out of your face.”
“I need a haircut.”
“I can give you one.”
He chuckled. “No, thanks. I look weird enough as it is.”
“I could use one,” Richard said. “If Vlad’s mom decides to show up, I don’t want to scare her off.” He smoothed his hand over his beard. “Or maybe I should keep the rugged look. What do you think, Wendy? Does it make me look sexy?”
She walked over to him and lifted a bunch of messy hair. “You look like a caveman. I’ll give you a haircut and a beard trim.”
“Do it on the porch,” Bowen suggested. “Less cleanup.”
Vlad didn’t like the idea of Richard and Wendy alone outside, and he liked her touching the guy even less.
Except, he couldn’t object without sounding like a possessive asshole. But maybe there was another way to prevent that from happening?
“Do you even have scissors?”
“I found a sewing kit in the bathroom’s medicine cabinet. It has a decent pair of scissors.”
“Let’s do it.” Richard got up, grabbed a chair from the dining table, and carried it out to the porch.
“I’ll get the scissors.” Wendy ducked into her room.
When the two had gone outside, Bowen walked into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. “I have news that I didn’t want to share in front of Wendy. The director is dead.”
“When did it happen?” Vlad washed his hands and dried them on a dishtowel. “And how?”
He hadn’t told anyone that the director was Wendy’s uncle. She’d shared the information in confidence, and since it was irrelevant anyway, he felt that it wasn’t worth betraying her trust over.
"Yesterday, he and Roberts, that’s the other head honcho of the paranormal program, showed up at Jacki and Kalugal’s wedding with a long-range acoustic device. They blasted the party with decibels powerful enough to disable everyone there, including the all-powerful Kalugal, and cause permanent ear damage. If not for Roni shooting the device with a drone, Simmons and Roberts could have walked in and collected everyone in the party like fallen flies. And since they came with several vans and a team of ex-Marines, that’s precisely what they had in mind.”
“So Roni shot Simmons?”
Bowen nodded. “He was the one holding the device.”
“What are they going to do with the others?”
“I don’t know. The chief’s next update will probably have something about that.”
“Do you think they will shut down the program? I mean, with the two heads gone?”
“It’s possible. Ask your girlfriend what she thinks will happen.”
“I thought that you wanted to keep it from her.”
Bowen shrugged. “I just didn’t want to be the one who tells her. It’s better if she hears it from you.”
That was truer than Bowen realized. For better or worse, Simmons was the only family Wendy had other than her abusive father and an absent mother that might be dead.
“Yeah, you’re right. Wendy should hear it from me.”
“Just don’t forget to omit the immortal part from the story. Simmons and Roberts thought that they could capture a large group of paranormally talented people. They didn’t know that they were attacking immortals. The disturbing part is that the device they used worked just as well on immortals as on humans.”
“Are Jacki and Jin okay? They must have been hit the hardest.”
“In fact, they weren’t hit as hard as the immortals because their ears are not as sensitive as ours. But we definitely recuperate faster. They are both doing fine.”
“Good. I can at least tell Wendy that her friends are okay.”
Bowen ran a hand over his chin. “The news is actually better than that. With Simmons and R
oberts gone, no one will be looking for the escaped trainees. Wendy and Richard are free to go if they want to. The question is whether we tell them that or not.”
That was a problem.
If he told Wendy that she was free to go and that no one would come searching for her, she might do it. To keep her from leaving, he would have to tell her about her potential dormancy.
But was she the one?
With no prior experience, Vlad had nothing to compare it with. What if he felt so strongly about Wendy just because she was his first girlfriend?
Until he was sure that she was the one, he couldn’t tell her.
Richard was an even bigger problem. Nothing was keeping him with them. If he was told that he was free to go, he would.
Leaning against the counter, Vlad crossed his arms over his chest. “Right now, we are just assuming that it’s safe for them to go. Until we know it for a fact, it would be irresponsible for us to claim that it is, true?”
Bowen nodded. “I see where you're going with that. As long as we are not absolutely sure that it is safe for them out there, we keep it to ourselves.”
40
Wendy
Wendy took a step back and looked at Richard. “That’s much better.”
It wasn’t a professional haircut, but at least he no longer looked like a hobo.
“Can I take a look?” Richard started to get up.
“Don’t move. I’ll get you a mirror.”
“Okay.” He sat back down.
Opening the door, she had a clear view of the kitchen, where Vlad and Bowen seemed to be deep in conversation, and by the vibe she was picking up, it was something serious.
“What happened?” She closed the door behind her and walked up to them.
Bowen and Vlad exchanged glances.
“Are you done with Richard?” Vlad asked.
“Almost. I came in to get him a mirror, but then I saw the two of you looking somber like something bad has happened. So what gives?”
