“That’s impossible.”
“Is it, kitten? You watched a man’s nails turn into claws.”
“Fear, Niko. My eyes were playing tricks with me.”
“No, they weren’t. You have already had Rowl. Dante gave you some to try at Aran’s house. It’s a rough green substance.” Nicolas answered her.
“I remember that it was tasty. It reminded me of dehydrated greens.”
“That’s the stuff. You were getting it at Aran’s house, until you left.”
“Why was he feeding it to me? What does it do and why did you call it sanity?”
“Dante knew you would need it in your blood stream to combat what was to happen?”
“Are you saying he’s a psychic?”
“No. He’s different. Let’s leave it at that. Without that in your blood, circulating through your brain, you would not have made it.”
Nicolas turned to face Niko. “You need to be honest with her now. If her fear becomes rooted any deeper, you lose her.”
Nicolas walked over to Dee and gave her a hug. “You’re family Dee. We never hurt family.”
He walked out of the room.
“That was weird.”
“Not really. You’re family, both through Rena and myself.”
“Come with me. I want to tell you a story.”
He took her to a windowless room in the back of his house. It was black. When they entered, no light followed them in.
“Stand still.” She heard him move. Then the room was flooded with brilliant light. Every exposed place was painted into a beautiful mural of another world.
“It’s beautiful. It reminds me a little of the VR game we were playing.”
“This room, that game, are all based on the planet we were created on.”
“You were created on another planet? Does Nicolas need to check you out also?”
“Have a seat.”
Where was she supposed to sit? The room was devoid of furniture. She moved to where he gestured and a chair appeared. She sat, expecting to fall to the floor, but didn’t. It was comfortable.
“I ask two things of you. First, let me finish my story before you label me crazy. Second, remember Rena knows all about this and she loves Aran anyway.”
She nodded her head yes.
“My brothers and I are not from earth. We are not human.”
She looked around at the colorful, detailed pictures on the walls and ceiling. She turned back to him, still saying nothing.
“We originate in a galaxy on a planet your scientists have yet to discover. We have no real name. A science experiment may be the best way to classify us. We were created to fight a war for a people who could not defend themselves. We fulfilled our purpose. Our people, or rather the genetic material we were created from, came from a race with a long life span. We enjoy that same life span. They hadn’t counted on that. We have outlived the original scientist by several centuries. In that span, all we did was fight, until one day there was nothing else to fight. Our services were no longer needed.”
He went to a painting of a tall proud humanoid. She had tan skin and long multicolored hair. His finger went up and caressed her cheek. Dee found herself feeling jealous of a painting.
“Our mother. None of us ever met her, but we have all dreamed of her. They killed her for her genetic material. She is the only female they used in the making of us. If they had known how special she was, they would have burned everything she ever touched.
They used male animal genetics also. They made sure we were all born male. They wanted killers.”
Chapter Twelve
“You’re not a killer.”
“Yes, I am. I am exactly what they made me to be. I, we, took out every threat that came against them. Not that we believed the scientists or their people to be totally innocent, but we were created to protect them and we did, until they didn’t need us anymore.”
He walked up to another picture on the wall. This one was an animal that stood on all fours with lethal looking claws.
“He is one of the male animals who donated his genetic material, not that they asked him. Because of him I have claws when needed. He walked to another picture. Because of him. I can stand on two feet. All of the others you see here, each contributed to who I am somehow.”
He walked back to the picture of the woman. “She was a shape shifter. She had the ability to become anything she saw. Because of her, every strand of DNA I have works. I am a monster, kitten, right out of your nightmares. Only I am the monster that will never hurt you.”
“Let me see.”
“Kitten.”
“Let me see!” she was screaming now. She had to know. This wasn’t a game.
He took his shirt off looking at her with sad eyes. “I am still the same male, kitten. I would never hurt you.”
She just stared at him and waited.
He began to change. His body grew taller, his nails sharpened and became claws. His teeth became pointed. He became the monster from her nightmares. She looked into his eyes and screamed.
She was racing from the room and up the stairs. She grabbed her purse and ran into the bathroom, locking the door and hiding in the too big closet.
She listened for him. Listened to hear him in the room, pounding on the door. Listened for his claws to rake across the door in anticipation of killing her. She heard nothing. Silence.
She sat rocking back and forth waiting for the door to be destroyed as that monster came for her. When nothing happened she crept out and placed her ear against the door. Fear had her ducking back into her closet. She sat there for what felt like hours rocking back and forth clutching her head and reassuring herself she was not insane.
What should she do? She reached into her bag and called Rena. What were besties for anyway?
“Rena.”
“That male is corrupting you.” She gave a weak laugh.
“I know and it’s wonderful. Where are you, Dee?”
“I am at Nikos.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Bad. It’s real bad.”
“What happened?”
“He turned into a killer and tried to eat me!”
“Did you hit your head?”
“No, Rena I am serious. He’s a monster. You have to get away. We have to get away. Save yourself. Niko will never let me escape.”
A silent fat tear slid down her face. She had always known she would not make it.
“Dee, where are you exactly?”
“In the bathroom, hiding in the closet.”
“Can I come get you?”
“Would you?”
“What are best friends for? Hang tight. I will be there in a few.”
Dee made herself comfortable on the floor and prepared to wait. It would take time for Rena to get here. Then she would have to fight her way past Niko. Poor Rena. She didn’t understand.
She heard the scratching on the door and tightened into a ball. The scratching sounded more like pounding.
“Dee? Unlock the door” That was Rena’s voice screaming into the bathroom.
“Rena?”
“Who else? I told you I was coming.”
What if it was a trick? Niko forcing her to come to the door?
“What’s the name of the boy that kissed you in the third grade?”
“Eww Jimmy Pepper. I am kicking your butt for forcing me to relive that memory.”
Yep, that was Rena. She ran to the door and opened it. She immediately hugged her.
“Dee is your hiding spot big enough for two?”
“Yes.”
“Good lets go.”
They crawled in and sat cross legged on the floor.
“Eat this.”
“What is it?”
“Just eat it and then we can talk. Remember, I am the older one. Don’t make me hold you down and force feed you. You know I will.”
Dee had to laugh. She had been sick once and hated the medicine the doctor had given her. Everyd
ay Rena had come to her place, held her down and made her take the medicine. According to the doctor, she saved her life. There was no stopping their friendship after that.
She reached out and took the food. She started chewing. It was tasty.
“Now let’s talk about Niko and the fact that he is a monster, a huge killing machine.” Rena said it all with a smile.
Dee nodded her head, not at all comfortable with what she was hearing. She reached over and grabbed more of the greens. They really were tasty.
“Tell me again. How did he try and kill you?”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Niko, remember? You told me on the phone that he was trying to kill you.”
“Girl don’t you think you’re over-doing it? I don’t think he tried to kill me. Do you think he was trying to kill me?”
“Eat a little more.”
She nodded and grabbed a handful.
“Didn’t he turn into a man eating monster?”
“Monster? Please, he was kind of cute looking after you get past the fangs and claws.”
“Rena?”
“Yep, Aran and all the brothers are ‘monsters’.”
“So you have known all along?
“Not all along, and believe me I sought escape when I found out also. I ran into the bathroom!”
They stopped and laughed relieving some of the tension in the room.
“Why didn’t Niko come for me?”
“He was concerned that he may push you over the edge.”
Dee stopped chewing and pegged Rena with a stare. “Explain to me what happened?”
“Near as I can figure, Niko showed you his beast and the Rowl in your system stopped working. Most likely you had none left. Because of that, every fear that was implanted in you came to life.”
“So I ran and locked myself in the bathroom.” Her voice dripped with disgust at her actions.
“Self-preservation. I, for one, am happy to know you have some.”
“The Rowl helped me?”
Rena nodded, “Don’t ask me how. All I know is that it combats the poison used on you. I am so sorry, Dee, that you got caught up in my drama.”
“Hey stop that. If I hadn’t gotten caught up, we both know I would have just sashayed into it anyway. How dare you have fun without me?”
They smiled at each other and then broke into laughter.
“How did you get here so fast?”
“The bathroom really isn’t that far away from the game room.” She gave her a sneaky smile.
“You were already here?”
She nodded her head. “We have been here for a while. Niko wanted to make sure you saw a friendly face when you came out of the closet.”
Dee stared at Rena, watching her bite her lips and trying to control herself.
“Stop staring at me. I want a present for letting all of my closet comments pass.”
“You may have learned some restraint from Aran. I think I owe him a thank you.”
Rena mocked her with a smile. “You ready to go down?”
“Who’s down there?”
“All of them, of course. You don’t get to live this one down anytime soon.”
“Let’s go.”
Dee walked towards the game room, wanting to blend in with the walls. Instead, she held her head up high.
The room quieted when they came in.
“Kitten?”
“Niko. I ran.”
“I scared you. I should have handled that better.”
“It was a bit much. So all of you are different?”
Such a nice way of saying aliens and monsters. She grabbed more Rowl. She was going to need it.
Either she believed what she had seen with her own eyes or she had herself committed. It was so much easier to believe than to give into the thought of insanity.
“Can I O.D. on this stuff?”
“No.” Dante spoke up. “You also can’t get addicted, I added a health benefit in it for you too. You should eat as much as possible.”
He gave her a smile, the kind she always thought a big brother might give her. She wondered if it was the Rowl making her weepy.
“What now?” She hesitantly made her way to the other side of the room relying on that inner voice that said Niko would never hurt her. Taking a deep breath she sat down next to him.
She put her hand out on the material between them and slowly slid her fingers across until the pads were laying against his thigh.
She took a deep breath and looked up under her lashes to see if he was changing.
Niko spoke, looking at Aran as his hand slid towards Dee’s. “I think we have to figure out who followed us here.”
His hand stroked the top of her hand with light touches.
“Any one of the groups could have come here. One person from a group may be acting on their own, even though the probability is low.” Dante spoke looking around the room.
“Can anyone think of a reason one of the created would want to do us any harm?”
The Created, such a nice, simple, sad name for a people who have held up their end of the plan.
“There are more of you?” Dee asked Niko.
“We were created in groups. Each group contained what you call siblings. They created hundreds of such groups.”
Chapter Thirteen
They had spent several hours going over a long list of possible subjects. None of them met the profile of their kidnapper.
“We have to wait for his next move.” Every head nodded when Aran spoke. They would not catch the perp with the limited knowledge they had.
Rena stood and walked over to Dee. She leaned over to hug her and whispered in her ear. Dee got up and followed her out of the room.
“Do you want to come home with me?” Rena asked.
Dee smiled and hugged her close. “You would fight them all for me.”
“Duh! You would do the same for me.” Rena nodded her head.
“I am going to stay here.” Dee replied.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to. You’re always welcome to stay with me.” Rena smiled re-extending the invitation.
“Bestie, I think there is something I should tell you.”
“What?”
“You like to scream, girl, the louder the better. That’s not really conducive to a good night’s sleep. Not for me anyway.” Dee had actually blushed when she realized her best friend and her man were getting it on. She was happy for her, but hearing someone else enjoying what you couldn’t was uncomfortable.
“Best sleep ever for me.” Rena smiled like the cat who got all of the cream.
“Too much girl. I think I will stay right here.”
“I know you’re not staying because his eyes are dreamy or because you can bounce a quarter off of his ass. You are only thinking about a good night’s sleep.”
“Eyes up. You have a man. That one is off limits until I say otherwise.”
Rena raised her hands. “I understand.”
All jokes aside, Dee asked a question in a low voice. “Do you think I am crazy?”
“No, Dee. I think you’re sane. Aran and his brothers came to earth looking for someone to love. They believe there is someone special for them. From what I have seen once committed they don’t cheat or even look at other women. Once they find the one who is their mate, there is no straying.
I know it’s a lot to take in, but believe me Dee it’s worth it. Let me repeat, you’re not crazy. I want you to think of the Rowl as medicine it will calm you down and allow you to see and judge what is happening without your emotions clouding your judgement. Here is what it won’t do, it won’t make you accept what you see or even except Niko. That is up to you.” Rena reached over and hugged Dee tight.
Aran and the rest of his brothers walked out, cutting off any response Dee might have said. They all said goodbye and she was left standing in the foyer with Niko.
“I guess we should do something.” Talk about awkward. She hated moments
like these.
“Would you like another try at the VR game?”
“Yes.”
She followed him back into the game room. She had been curious about the game and now that she understood it was based on where he had come from, she was even more excited.
The set up was easier this time. Before she knew it, she was back in the game, flexing her avatar and feeling on top of the world.
“Where are you?”
He was there, but she couldn’t see him, no matter how hard she looked.
“I am here. I blended in with the surroundings, making you incapable of seeing me.”
“Stop it. I want to see what you look like.”
“You asked for it.”
She saw him appear to her right. He was tall, much taller than she had given him credit for earlier.
“This is your beast?”
He nodded his head and waited. He had two long fangs on either side of his mouth, reminding her of a picture she had seen of a saber toothed tiger. His skin was covered, in a light dusting of hair.
He stood on two feet. He was an animal. Everything in her screamed to get away. She might have run, even in this world of the unreal, if it had not been for his eyes.
These were the same eyes that had made her choose a closet as opposed to throwing herself out of a glass window. They were intelligent eyes. They were Niko’s eyes.
“Do you know who you are, even when you turn?”
“I am totally aware of who I am and what I am doing. I simply have the senses of my other form to back me up. I understand the beast and he understands the man. We work together to eliminate any threat to us. He also knows we live here on this planet. If he wants to be free and find a mate he must do it through me.”
Who had said anything about a mate? He must be speaking in general terms.
“What are we going to do in the game?”
“Identify and destroy the enemy.”
Even though he was an alien he reminded her of a red blooded man with incredible eyes and a killer smile. Hell, he was hot and she was tired of denying it. What’s worse, he was in beast form and the beast reminded her of the male.
Niko: Love me Harder - Alien Paranormal Romance Page 6
