Villain (Starlight Book 2)

by D. N. Hoxa

  I turned slowly to face Aaron who sat on the floor while Jack wiped his sweaty face with his already wet towel. “What?” I asked, not really getting what he meant.

  “Where’d you go just now? You had that look on your face.”

  How on Earth he’d seen me when I was sure that my rendezvous with the past had lasted only a couple of seconds, I didn’t know. But having too much attention on me was proving to be…interesting.

  “Nowhere.” I turned to Naomi and Joshua again. It wasn’t like I could’ve said, yeah, I was just reliving the moment when I witnessed one of you guys being ripped apart because I needed to be taught a lesson. Nobody needed to know what I’d been through. And thankfully, Aaron didn’t push it. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head, but he didn’t say anything else.

  “By the way,” Jack said, coming toward me, “Edison is pissed, and he wants to meet you.” He said it matter-of-factly.

  Edison was the head-shifter, a “supervisor” of the RR shifters, their leader in a way, since he was Arlion’s second-in-command. And he was one huge man from what I’d seen in some pictures back when I worked with the Council.

  I rolled my eyes. “And you thought to tell me just now?” He was such an ass sometimes.

  “Yeah,” he said, grinning. “I didn’t want to interrupt your training. But, yeah, he wants to meet as soon as possible.”

  The fucker. Didn’t he realize what a huge deal this was? I hadn’t wanted to ask for help because I always did everything on my own. It was how I was taught, and really, who would want to cooperate with me?

  Still, that didn’t mean that I didn’t know how big what was coming was—too big for me to handle it alone. And if the head-shifter wanted to talk to me, I was going to go ahead and assume he wanted to help.

  “You can’t really blame me. You looked like you were in a bad place, and you need to be completely relaxed for when you meet him. He has got some anger issues, girl. Twice as much as you. I met him only once, and he freaked me out—and that’s saying something,” Jack explained when he saw the murderous look on my face.

  What he didn’t realize was that I was in an even worse place than I had been half an hour ago. Remembering things from my past tended to bring me down lately. It reminded me of all the things I’d done, everything I’d become without even realizing it. Or ignoring it when it was right in front of my face.

  With a sigh, I let it go. “When do we meet?”

  “Tonight,” Jack said as he sat on the floor beside Aaron. “He’s expecting word for the exact hour.”

  “You’re out of your fucking mind!” I hissed. It was impossible to not be mad at him. How stupid did he have to be to make the head-shifter wait? “Where?”

  “A bar. It’s a fifteen-minute car ride from here,” Jack said calmly, avoiding my eyes.

  “Send word immediately.” I needed a little time to prepare myself. This was the first time that I would be talking directly to a head-supernatural—aside from the Elders, which were a different story. I was already preparing in my mind for the meeting.

  “When?” The vampire asked.

  “Nine would be fine,” Aaron said, looking at the time on his phone. “It’s six-fifteen now.”

  “No, it has to be now. I need to talk to him as soon as possible.” Just thinking about the information he could provide excited me.

  Aaron raised his brows in question. “You have an appointment at seven, remember?”

  I mentally punched myself in the face. Ella. I was going to start training her at seven.

  “I know but—” Ella will understand, I wanted to say, but he cut me off.

  “No, Star. You don’t have to rush it. One thing at a time. Edison is in town, and he’ll be there at nine.”

  It’s like Aaron was becoming my voice of reason. I had no idea what to feel about that, other than confusion. Con-fucking-fusion.

  “Tell him to be there at nine sharp. I’ll wait for him,” I said to Jack reluctantly.

  “Did something happen while I was gone? Like, I don’t know, an earthquake, where you fell and hit your head real hard?” Jack said, waving his arms around as usual, squinting his eyes. “Since when do you agree with Aaron?” Oh, that.

  “Nothing’s impossible,” I mumbled and turned back to the group to find them still fighting.

  Shaking his head, Jack made for the door. “I thought we had a deal, but whatever,” he called back, and I couldn’t help but smile. I was ready to bet my life that Aaron was smiling, too.

  “They’ve improved,” Aaron said after a while as he stood beside me. And he was right. Mike, Joshua, Naomi and Carlos were faster, more focused, and they actually took the time to think about their moves before they acted. I couldn’t seem to stop the sense of pride that was building in me.

  “In only two days,” Aaron continued, whispering.

  “Imagine how good they’ll be in two months.” But seven was still a very small number.

  We kept watching them in silence as they fell and got up and fell and got up, over and over again. I saved my comments for after the training because I didn't want to distract them.

  “You’re doing good,” Aaron said after a while and knocked the breath out of me. I seriously needed to get used to people saying stuff like that to me. Or just being nice to me. But when I turned to face Aaron, he was already gone.

  8

  ——————————

  I told Ella I’d give her one hour. She wasn’t happy about it, but she said it was better than not showing up at all. She even smiled a little. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of it, and I mentally thanked Aaron again. I could say it out loud since he was standing right behind us, sitting in my wooden chair and watching us. But two thank you’s in one day? Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

  Ella was standing in front of me in the training room. Lately, the room was all I was seeing of the world, and I was starting to think it’d be better if I just moved there permanently.

  “You need to focus your whole weight on your feet,” I said to my sister after a deep breath. This was going to suck. “When you get hit, you cannot fall or lose your balance. That is the most important thing. Whatever you do, do not lose your balance.”

  Ella nodded, her hazel eyes shining.

  “You need your full attention on your opponent. Half a second of distraction could cost you your life.” I showed her how to keep her arms and hands, and she did without hesitation. “Now, when you’re in front of the enemy, you will not have time to overthink. What you need to do is learn how to read a person’s body language. Muscles tell you what the brain is thinking before they react. Right now, I need you to watch me and try to determine and react to my moves.”

  I planned to try and hit her slowly on her left side and reluctantly moved my left arm slightly so she could see. I told myself that this was it. Only the first one was going to be hard. I prepared physically and mentally, took a deep breath, concentrated...but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even pretend-hit her. So fucking pathetic, I could strangle myself.

  With a sigh, I stepped back. “Wait right here.”

  Aaron was still sitting behind us, and I made my way toward him fast. Anger was slowly crawling up my veins, thinking about how I couldn’t seem to do anything by myself anymore. I was always asking for favors, and it was killing me because “alone” was the only way I knew how to exist.

  Aaron was already standing when I stopped a feet away from him. I took in a deep breath as he waited for me to speak. “I can’t—” I started to say and it was costing me much more than I thought it would. “I can’t” weren’t words often used in my dictionary.

  Once again, Aaron surprised me by nodding, his clear, ocean eyes telling me that he already knew what I could and couldn’t do. I’d been surprised when he entered the training room right behind Ella, but I just thought he had nothing better to do. Now I was sure he knew that I wouldn’t be able to go through with it. How the hell did he know things abo
ut me before even I did?

  “Go easy on her,” I whispered as he passed me by.

  But he shook his head once and, with a sorry look in his eyes, said: “I won’t.”

  I stepped in front of them, watching Ella hold her hands in front of her. I reminded her to read Aaron’s body language, the one I already knew by memory, before I nodded at him.

  He looked at Ella and waited a few seconds before he swung his fist toward her. My eyes squeezed shut, and my hands curled up in fists before I could see the outcome. Hot rage burned in me, and I fought for control. I had no idea how hard it was going to be. No idea that I’d want to rip Aaron’s hand from his arm when he tried to hit Ella. But I swallowed and forced my lids open. They were both watching me.

  “Again,” I said, my voice stronger than I expected it to be, and they took their positions again without another word.

  By the time the hour was over and I was back in my room, I wanted nothing more than to sit, cry and fall asleep for a good twenty-four hours. Instead, I undressed quickly and walked into the shower, turning the cold water on, on my face. I couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to kill Aaron for putting his hands on Ella. Good thing it was Aaron. I didn’t think I could’ve resisted if it had been anyone else.

  She was a fast learner, but she ended up going back to her room with a split lip and a round, big bruise on her left arm. Other damage I was sure was hidden underneath her shirt, but I was glad I couldn’t see it. Aaron assured me that he didn’t hit her hard, but it was like he hit me every time his skin touched hers.

  “It was her first time and the first hour,” he’d said to me once Ella went back to her room. “What did you expect?”

  Frankly, I expected her to be crazy good right from the get-go. I just thought of her that highly. But of course, I knew she’d have to be knocked down before she got up to stand strong on her feet. That still didn’t make it any easier.

  “Just do not hit her tomorrow night. At all,” I said before I stormed out of the training room.

  The cold water felt mighty good on my skin. I needed to be as calm as I could when meeting with Edison. That man was one angry motherfucker. Or so I’d heard. I sighed, letting go of the stress residing inside me. To hell with it, I said in my mind. So what if it won’t go well? I worked better alone anyway, so there really wasn't any need for panic.

  And that’s what got me through getting ready.

  Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in fresh black clothes, and I was combing my long, tangled hair when someone knocked on my door. A second later, Ella’s face peeked inside, and I couldn’t help but smile despite the tension. She smiled, too, which surprised me more than seeing her in my room.

  Her hair was still wet from the shower, and her face was clean. Her cut lip was barely noticeable without blood, and thankfully, she’d chosen a long-sleeved, blue shirt to wear. The less I saw of her bruises, the better.

  “What’s up?” I asked her, inviting her to sit on the bed next to me. To my surprise, she did.

  “Nothing. Just bored,” she said, as she watched me try to brush the tangles. “Need help with that?”

  Surprise made my stomach turn. “If you don’t mind.”

  Ella took the comb out of my hand, walked around the bed and stopped behind me. She slowly started to gather my hair in her hands, and I felt like I wanted to fly. Which was stupid. And childish. And downright pathetic. But I couldn’t help it or the smile on my lips.

  “You like him,” she said after a minute.

  It took me a moment to realize the meaning of those words, and when I did, I wished I didn’t. Or that I’d been less obvious. Or anything else.

  “Who?” I said, feigning confusion and surprise. Suddenly, I felt like I had four years ago when she’d come to my room to interrogate me about that boy I’d caught cheating on me. I couldn’t even remember his name anymore, but at the time, it had seemed like the end of the world.

  “Yeah,” Ella said sarcastically, “like that’s gonna work. I know you, Star.”

  I almost giggled. “I know you do.” She did. Except for my mother, she was the only one who knew everything about me. And Aaron was getting pretty convincing, too.

  “He seems decent,” Ella continued, looking down at the floor. A part of me wanted to deny it, to just change the topic or whatever. But the other, bigger part of me knew that if there was one person I couldn’t and didn’t want to fool, it was Ella.

  “He just…gets under my skin like nothing else,” I said. It was the best way I knew how to describe the feelings in my gut. “I want to strangle him most of the time. And when I don’t want to strangle him, I want to punch him in the face hard enough to break his teeth, possibly his nose.” A smile played on my lips on its own accord.

  Ella laughed. She actually laughed out loud, and that was enough to calm me down to my bones.

  “Yeah, that’s pretty messed up. But it’s good to have a crush on someone. It can make your days a lot more interesting” Ella said.

  I shrugged. “I guess.” It felt so good to talk to her like that. So normal. And I hadn’t done normal in a very long time.

  “He likes you, too, I think.”

  That wiped the smile on my face completely. I shook my head.

  “No, he doesn’t.”

  “I’m pretty sure he does.” She offered me a tight-lipped smile.

  I sighed loudly. “Trust me, what you think you saw is just pure physical attraction. He hates me, actually. He wanted to kill me on more than one occasion. He even told me so.” No matter what I wanted to believe, this was the truth.

  But Ella shook her head. “I know pure physical attraction when I see it.” When she saw my brow rise at her statement, she said: “I’m not a little girl anymore, Star. I’m almost a woman now.” I wanted to laugh with delight that at least that part of her hadn’t changed. She’d always wanted to be an adult, even when she was just ten years old. “The way he looks at you when you’re not looking, or even when you are, goes beyond pure physical attraction.”

  Those words made me sad above all else because I knew they weren’t true. “Yeah, well, it doesn’t matter anyway. We don’t have time for romances.” I got up to dry my hair before I went to meet with Edison.

  “Of course there’s time for romance! There’s always time for romance. Think about all the books you’ve read. A story isn’t a story without romance in it.”

  Her excitement made me laugh. I took the small blow dryer from the drawer and made my way to the small bathroom. Ella followed me.

  “This isn’t one of those stories, Ella. We really, literally, don’t have time for that. And even if we did, tell me, would you want to have anything to do with me?”

  “Hell, yeah!” Ella said with a grin. I grinned back.

  “Of course you do. You’re my sister. But I’m talking about if you were in one of the other’s shoes. In Aaron’s shoes. I am everything he hates and despises. I’m sure he has that in mind, and it is stronger than his pure physical attraction for me.” The conversation was so easy and so relaxing, it almost felt like the last four years of my life had never happened.

  “You were everything he hates and despises. You’re not that anymore. You’re trying, Star, and everybody can see that. They see it and they appreciate it. It takes time for trust to build for some people, but I can bet my life on it that Aaron would not think twice about being with you. And you know I’m right because I’m always right.”

  No matter how much I wanted to believe her, I couldn’t allow myself to fall into that trap. I couldn’t afford to hope. Like I said, false hope equals absolute destruction. That way, no matter what happened, it would hurt less.

  But I laughed with Ella because seeing her like that made my heart swell with joy, and I wasn’t going to let anything ruin that moment. So I let myself forget about the training, the Council, the traitor and my meeting with Edison, and I just enjoyed those precious moments with my sister.

  9

 
——————————

  “Ready?” Jack asked when I stepped into the kitchen.

  “Yeah.” I was eager and ready to just get the car keys and the instructions to find the place. “Just tell me where I need to go.”

  He grinned. I immediately knew that I wouldn't like whatever he had to say next.

  “Aaron’s coming with you.”

  Instead of cursing out loud, I made myself smile. No need for panic, I told myself. “He doesn't have to. I want to go alone.” I was hoping to intimidate Jack with the cold smile and cold voice, but unfortunately, it didn’t work.

  “You don't know this place. And trust me, you need a shifter to get inside that bar. The place’s packed with them.”

  “Ready?” Aaron’s voice came from behind us. He didn't even have to look at me to know that I was pissed. “Told you she’d want to go alone,” he said to Jack, grinning.

  God, how I hated it when they left me no choice. I would’ve even tried to run away if the thing wasn't so damn important. I took a deep breath, ignored Jack’s grin, put aside my personal issues and followed Aaron out of the kitchen.

  The hallways were empty, even though it wasn't that late. We were the only ones there. I kept a good distance between us because I needed to calm down before I actually talked to Aaron. But his figure, the way he moved, was very distracting. His wide shoulders turned in perfect symmetry with his hips. His strong arms moved carefully at his sides, and his steps were slow, yet fast and determined at the same time. It was like he was calculating every step he took with precision. The deep blue shirt and jeans he wore hung perfectly on his body. I shook my head as if that would clear my thoughts and pinned my eyes to the floor before I fell into step with him.

  I followed him to a part of the Base I had no idea even existed. Which just showed how far behind and careless I was being. We stopped in front of a double door made of iron, and Aaron pressed a four-digit code on the brand new-looking panel. The doors opened with a scratch, and we stepped into an empty hallway. As I walked through, I saw that the doors had at least twenty inches of pure iron on both sides and another ten of ironwood in the middle. At least the doors were going to hold well against attacks. But the fact that there were no guards around us concerned me.