by Sarah Carter
“You can’t tell anyone,” Claire whimpers.
Huffing, Damien says, “Are you afraid of everyone finding out or someone specific?”
“I don’t know,” Claire mumbles. “I just don’t want to be made fun of.”
“These are doctors not high-schoolers. How about we tell our two top physicians and everyone will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement?”
“You could do that?” Claire asks.
With a smirk, Damien says, “I can do anything. Do you know who I am?”
“A really powerful friend.” Claire sniffles.
He leans into her. “A very powerful friend who has the council in his back pocket.”
“You’re seriously going to help me?”
“Of course,” Damien replies. “I won’t leave your side until you tell me to.”
“Thank you.”
Damien leans in. “Can I kiss you now?”
“No, sorry.”
“Please?” Damien pleads.
“Nooooo, I’ll suck you dry and get thrown in jail or executed.”
Winking at her, Damien laughs, “You can just tell them I passed out in your bed from you using me so much.”
“Weirdo.”
“Alright, what do you want right now?”
“For you to take a shower and a nap,” Claire replies. “You look horrible.”
A smirk passes over his face. “I haven’t been told that in a really long time.”
“Well, you smell a little funky, too.” Claire puts her fingers under her nose.
With a bewildered look, Damien smells his shirt, “Really?”
“No, wait. Let me smell you.” Claire bends over and takes a whiff. “Oh my god, you smell so good. Give me your shirt.”
He chuckles. “Why?”
“So I can sit here and smell it,” Claire mumbles into his chest, smelling him again.
“Are you telling me not to shower then?” Damien inquires, kissing her head.
“Well, I don’t mind, but you should get cleaned up and get some rest. I’m awake now and I have this cool little computer thingy.”
Damien shakes his head. “That’s security-protected. It’s not like an iPad where it has games on it, but we do have your phone if you want to be entertained.”
“Oh my gosh!” Claire exclaims. “What did you tell my family?”
“Nothing. They know nothing. They don’t even know you’re here.”
“How could you not tell them?” Claire gasps.
Getting a very serious look, Damien replies, “We don’t know what’s going on. So, honestly, I’d rather keep them out of the loop until we know what we’re dealing with. It’s kind of a security thing.”
“So, I’m not allowed to talk to my parents? My brother? Ben is my best friend. He’s going to know something is up. Alex hasn’t called him and I haven’t contacted him.”
“Well…you kind of did,” Damien mutters, looking to the side.
“What do you mean, I kind of did?”
Damien pauses, then says, “We hacked into your email and sent him a message.”
“That’s an invasion of my privacy.” Claire gawks at him. “Did you read my other emails?”
“No, of course not,” Damien retorts. “Well, I had to read the last few to gain perspective of what I should write about.”
Claire moans, covering her face. “That’s so embarrassing.”
Tilting his head, Damien says, “You truly believed I’d have nothing to do with you?”
“Of course,” Claire mumbles. “Look at it from my point of view.”
“I guess…” Damien sighs. “It was a little humorous to know your brother has the worst opinion of me possible, but said I was attractive. Even though I wouldn’t be his type if he were gay.”
Claire smacks him. “Those were private emails.”
“We had to do something. We take medical mysteries seriously. We don’t want anyone to know right now.”
“Fine. What did you even say to him?”
“Let me get on, here.” Damien takes the tablet from her. He pulls up the email and reads, “Dear Ben, I’m having a good time, making new friends, if you can believe that. Alex and I are kicking everyone’s butts in the classes. The pool is pretty cool. Damien is still being a gentleman, so you don’t have to worry there. He’s staying in his own bed.”
Claire giggles, and Damien smiles.
“Overall, I’m actually having a good time, surprisingly enough. I’ll email you again soon. Love, your little sister Claire.”
With raised eyebrows, Claire says, “That actually sounds like it would come from me.”
“I’ve gotten to know you really well in a few days,” Damien replies, smirking. “I’ve been paying close attention to you, the way you speak, your mannerisms. It wasn’t hard to write it.”
“Hmmm.”
“So, for right now, we’ll keep you here and pretend nothing is going on.” Damien suggests. “We won’t experiment on you or anything, but we need to find out what’s going on if you’re a succubus.”
Snorting, Claire replies, “Seriously, I’ll never get a date again. Don’t kiss me. I might kill you.”
“I don’t think you could actually kill someone,” Damien says. “You drained Alex of his energy which cuts off his shifting abilities, but you didn’t cause organ failure. He just passed out.”
“Does anyone else know of your theory?”
Damien shakes his head. “No. Not a soul. I wanted to talk to you first. Our two top physicians are here, plus our best scientist. I think, right now, those are the only people I want to know.”
“What about security and everything? What are we going to do about them?”
“Non-disclosure agreement. They’re bound by it all the time and the punishment is pretty severe.”
“Okay,” Claire exhales. “This is serious. Welcome to the freak show.”
Damien puts up his finger. “If you say that one more time, so help me God. You’re not a freak.”
“What else would you call a succubus?”
“Different…”
“F-R-E-A-K,” Claire enunciates.
Damien pounces on her and kisses her. Claire gives in for a second, because she can’t help herself. They press up against each other hard. Finally, Damien pulls away. “See? It’s alright.”
She pushes him farther away. “I told you not to do that!”
“Yeah, well, I don’t listen very well.”
“I’m dangerous. You could have gotten hurt. No more touching me.”
“I’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to me. You can’t hurt me.”
Glaring at him, Claire snaps, “You don’t know that.”
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
“You’re the son of the Merjyet line. We can’t risk it.”
“Whatever, Claire. I make my own decisions.”
Claire narrows her eyes. “I’ll make this decision for you then. Don’t touch me.”
He takes his finger and puts it against her arm. “Touch.”
“Stop it.” She knocks his hand away.
“Relax,” Damien sighs. “I’m not going to push my energy into you.”
“I mean it, Damien,” Claire growls.
Damien rolls his eyes. “How am I supposed to show affection if I can’t touch you?”
Claire shuts up for a second. “Why would you show affection?”
Giving her a quizzical look, Damien replies, “Because I like you. I’ve thought I’d made that obvious?”
“Like…you’re really interested in me?”
“Only if you send me more naughty texts.” Damien wiggles his eyebrows.
“Saying what? Instead of sucking your blood, I’m going to suck your soul out of you? Yeah, that’s hot.”
He bursts out laughing and falls over onto her lap. Damien laughs so hard that tears well up in his eyes. “Yes! That’s a turn on.”
“It’s not funny,” Claire snaps.
�
��Oh, baby,” Damien sighs, sitting up. “I’m not laughing at you. Just at what you said. I’m not scared to be around you and I don’t think you’re going to suck my soul out.”
“We don’t know for sure,” Claire replies.
With a heavy sigh, Damien says, “We aren’t even sure you’re a succubus. It’s a theory. I only came across it through research. The doctors haven’t even investigated it. Maybe I’m wrong.”
“It fits perfectly.”
“It kind of does,” Damien agrees. “We’ll talk to them today.”
“Question for you—”
“Answer!” Damien exclaims.
She glares at him. “Funny. Anyway, if you’re interested…what are we doing then?”
“I don’t know. That’s up to you.”
Claire bites her lip. “I like you, too…a lot.”
“Well, that’s good. Then we can see each other.”
“I don’t know,” Claire exhales. “We can’t touch each other.”
“Are we still stuck on that? Hello—you’ve been touching and sparring with Neturu all your life and nothing ever happened. As long as we don’t push our energy into each other we’ll be fine. Even then, I bet you can get control of it.”
Claire frowns and then her eyes get wide. “This isn’t going to work.”
“Why?” Damien recoils.
“Alex.”
Damien’s jaw tightens. “You want to date him or both of us at once?”
“No,” Claire snaps. “I just almost killed him. He’s interested in me and wants to be my boyfriend. The last thing I need to do is have him wake up and realize I started seeing someone else while he was unconscious.”
Putting his hand to his chest, Damien states, “I don’t see a problem with that.”
As she narrows her eyes, Claire says, “Of course you don’t. You like to pick on him.”
“He was making accusations when I wasn’t even doing anything,” Damien replies. “If he thought I was hitting on you before, he has no idea what he’s in store for now.”
“No, he can’t know,” Claire pleads.
“So, we don’t date?”
Claire sighs. “No, I want to.”
“Then…”
Grimacing, Claire whispers, “We keep it a secret?”
Damien rolls his eyes and then finally says, “Fine.”
“Thank you.”
He leans in closer to her. “I expect one thing, though.”
“What?” Claire asks apprehensively.
“You kiss me, or I’ll sit by Alex’s bed and tell him the minute he wakes up.”
“That’s blackmail.”
With a laugh, Damien states, “Not when it’s something you want.”
“Who says I want to kiss you?” Claire inquires with a playful grin.
“I do.” Damien pushes her down on the bed. He leans over and whispers, “Kiss me.”
“Please, be careful,” Claire murmurs back. Damien nods and then kisses her. They only do for a little while before Claire pushes him away. “Okay, enough. I’m worried.”
Damien exhales a heavy sigh. “Fine, but…” There is a knock on the door. “Yeah?”
The door opens and a grey haired man walks in. “Master Damien, I heard she was awake.”
“Oh, yes. Claire, this is Dr. Galliger. He’s been monitoring you.”
“Hi,” Claire whispers, waving. She slowly pushes Damien up into a sitting position. “So…I feel alright.”
“Yes, I wanted to talk to you. Do you feel any different than you normally do?” Dr. Galliger asks.
She shakes her head, “No, I feel fine. I’m hungry and thirsty, but overall fine.”
Damien gasps. “Oh, crap. I didn’t even think about that. You need to eat. I’ve been babbling this whole time.”
“It’s okay.”
“What are you hungry for? I’ll get you anything you want.”
Claire taps her chin. “I want mac-n-cheese and chicken fingers.”
“Done. I’ll be right back.” He gets up and walks to the door.
Claire quickly exclaims, “With ranch dressing!”
Damien laughs, “Okay. Oh—wait on saying anything about what we were talking about. Answer his questions first.”
“Okay,” Claire agrees.
Damien smiles and leaves.
Dr. Galliger walks over to her. “May I examine you?”
“How?” Claire asks.
“Just a general exam. We’ll use the electrodes to check your vitals.”
“Electrodes?”
He reaches over and pulls the sleeve up on her shirt. There are circular patches across her arm. “These.”
Claire stares at her clothes. “What am I wearing?”
“Hospital pajamas,” Dr. Galliger explains.
“Who changed me?” Claire screams.
“A female nurse,” the doctor answers. “Don’t worry.”
Claire pauses and then glares at the doctor. “Please tell me Damien wasn’t in here.”
“No. Master Damien left and cleaned himself up. He’s been sitting with you the whole time otherwise. I think he needs to take some time to rest himself. Sleeping in a chair isn’t good for anyone.”
“I’ll be fine now. He can sleep in a bed tonight,” Claire declares. “Okay, what do you want to examine?”
“It’ll be quick and simple.”
Claire replies, “Okay.”
Doctor Galliger checks her vitals on the tablet that Damien had. Finally, he sighs, “Everything is back to normal. Your energy levels are within a natural range.”
“Okay. What does that mean?”
“That you’re a mystery, Miss Livingston.”
“So, how’s Alex?” Claire asks.
Sighing, the doctor shakes his head. “He’s still not awake.”
As he says it, the door opens and Damien walks in. “Your food should be here shortly.”
“Thanks,” Claire replies. “Can I go see Alex? I promise not to touch him.”
“No, we have him in seclusion right now,” the doctor states. “But—why couldn’t you touch him?”
Claire’s eyes dart to Damien and she clamps her mouth shut.
Damien takes a deep breath and then says, “I have a theory about what happened.”
“What’s that, Master Damien?” the doctor inquires.
“Well, it’s a legend, but it makes sense,” Damien starts. “I think Claire is…a succubus.”
The doctor stares at him for a second, blinks and then says, “Excuse me?”
“A succubus,” Damien repeats. “The legends say that a succubus drains other shifter’s energy through sexual energy-melding.”
“You were having sex when this happened?” the doctor chirps, looking at Claire. “That changes things.”
“No,” Claire asserts. “We were only kissing.”
Frowning, the doctor says, “I need to know what happened that night, Miss Livingston, and any other information you can provide me with.”
She takes in a deep breath and then explains everything to him: about her shifting problems, about being able to shut down her energy, about what happened with Alex, and lastly, how Alex and she’d had sex with no energy passing between them. She barely whispered that part, her cheeks heating up as she explains it.
“Well, that leaves a whole lot of questions,” the doctor says. “I think we need to get Dr. Rollins in on this conversation.”
“I also want Mr. Paulson in here, too,” Damien states.
“Who?” Claire asks.
Damien pats her hand. “The scientist I was telling you about.”
“Is this necessary?”
“I would suggest you not touch anyone until we figure out what’s causing the problem,” Doctor Galliger says.
Claire’s eyes drift to Damien and she gives him a look. “Don’t look at me like that. No one’s going to tell me if I can touch you or not.”
“Master Damien—” The doctor sighs. “—we need to think
about your safety.”
“I make the decisions,” Damien growls. “Don’t make me start throwing my power around here. I will, trust me.”
Exhaling, Dr. Galliger says, “Very well. I urge you to be careful. Whatever you do, don’t push your energy into her at all. We don’t know if Alex is going to wake up or not.”
There is a knock at the door. Doctor Galliger walks over and opens it up. “Yes?”
A lady is standing there. “Doctor, Mr. Lennox is awake.”
“Alex?” Claire shouts. “I have to see him!”
“You need to stay here,” Doctor Galliger instructs. “We need to examine him and figure out what’s going on.”
With a glare, Claire seethes, “I want to see him. Now.”
“Claire,” Damien murmurs, grabbing her hand. “I’ll go check on him and come back right away. Okay?”
Clenching her teeth and fists, Claire retorts, “I need to see him.”
“We don’t know what happened for sure,” Damien exhales. “Please, just stay here.”
“Fine,” Claire grumbles, crossing her arms.
“I’ll be right back.” Damien bends over and kisses her on the forehead.
Claire still glares at him.
“Let’s go, Doctor.” They turn and leave the room, shutting the door behind them.
Claire sits there for a while, fiddling with the blanket. “This is ridiculous. They can’t tell me what to do.”
Jumping up, she goes over to the door. When she opens it, there’s a guard standing there. He’s a good six inches taller than Claire.
“Oh, hey,” she chirps.
“Can I help you?” The guard says.
“Yeah. Going for a short walk,” Claire retorts, moving past him.
The guard quickly grabs her arm. “No Miss, you aren’t allowed to leave the room.”
“Excuse me,” Claire growls. “Kindly remove your hand from me, or I’ll remove it for you.”
She tries to yank her arm away, but the guard holds onto it.
“I warned you,” she sighs. In three moves, Claire slams the guard’s face into the wall and he slumps to the floor, unconscious. “Told you not to touch me.”
She turns and starts to run down the hallway looking through doors. Not finding anything, Claire continues on her way. When she rounds a corner, two guard members are walking toward her.
“Hey, you! You need to stop!”
Claire freezes and the guys walk toward her. Scared, she kicks the one in the face. With tremendous force they guy flies down the hall. Next, Claire punches the other guy twice, faster than he has time to react. The guard member falls to the floor.
