I got in next to Leo. Why were they letting him drive? He was the worst driver. I checked that Athena was in the back. Scorpio spoke to her in a quiet voice. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. He was probably chatting her up. I would kill him if he even dared to try.
‘Cancer! Get in!’ Aries snapped, opening the door.
Matt pushed her towards the van. She tried to hold on to him but Aries took her arm and pulled. Leo had started the engine. He revved the accelerator.
‘Wait for her!’ I said, slapping his arm when he reached for the handbrake.
Cancer finally got in the back. Aries slammed the door shut. Leo reached down, unclicked the handbrake and sped off. Looking into the side mirror, I gasped as two men in black came out of the park. Matt was grabbed from behind before he realised what had happened.
‘Crap, they got him,’ I said.
Aries glared at me when Cancer cried out. She really was in love with him. The man had worked for our enemy but it didn’t matter to her.
‘What the hell do we do now?’ Leo shouted.
Everyone in the van started to talk at once.
‘I think we should go home. We need to get Athena away from Nick,’ I spoke over them.
Leo glanced at me sideways. A smirk crossed his lips. I ignored it. Glancing behind me, I studied my twin flame. She nibbled on her lip as she looked down at her lap, nodding as Scorpio spoke to her. Whatever he said went in one ear and out the other. Her ponytail hung down the side of her neck, almost falling into her cleavage.
She glanced up. Our eyes met. It was her. There was no doubt in my mind. Annabelle. Her chest rose and fell. Mine matched it. There was no need for words. Just that one look said it all. We were twin flame soulmates. There was only one thing left for us to do. Unite before Nick could tear us apart.
Chapter Seventeen
‘Who are all these people?’ Athena asked me the next morning.
We stood in the kitchen in my home. It felt good to be back. Eleven of my siblings and the three partners huddled in separate parts of the room. The noise was a hum as they chatted amongst themselves.
‘My brothers and sisters,’ I replied, looking down at her.
Her eyes widened as she counted the people in the room. ‘All fourteen of them?’
I laughed at her gaping mouth. The colour had returned to her cheeks after a good night sleep. She had slept in the girls’ bedroom. It was sensible. Probably better to stay away from me for now. I still had a certain cougar to sort out.
Our posture was relaxed but the energy between us vibrated. For once in my life, I didn’t need to communicate with words.
‘We need to talk,’ she said.
‘Gemini, we need you,’ Scorpio called from the other side of the room.
I smiled at Athena, shrugging as I walked away. The group I joined consisted of Scorpio, Pisces, Antony and Leo.
‘I could kiss you,’ I muttered to Scorpio.
Leo burst out laughing. The sound echoed around the room, causing everyone to turn and stare at us. ‘I didn’t know you were gay, mate,’ he said.
‘It’s hardly a surprise, is it? I mean, who wouldn’t want to kiss me?’ Scorpio said. His face was completely straight. He believed every word.
‘Oh, stop it!’ Pisces giggled.
Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes. Antony stood with a grin on his face and an arm around his girl. The ease of contact between them made me hope for a time when Athena and I would be in that place.
‘I wasn’t…never mind,’ I muttered, flicking Leo’s arm when he put it around my shoulders.
We had become undeniably closer since Pisces started our mission with a bang. When she found Antony, it had sparked us to realise that it was serious. What our parents had taught us was real.
‘We have two problems. Firstly, Liam knows where we live. Which means Nick knows where we live. Secondly, we haven’t heard from Matt since we left him yesterday.’ Scorpio ran a hand through his fluffy blond hair. It flopped back into his eyes. He needed a haircut.
‘Does that mean we have to move again?’ I asked, glancing over my shoulder.
Aries chatted to Athena. She smiled up at him when he demonstrated his legs to her. In the past, I might have been jealous. It didn’t matter now. A calm that I had never felt in my neurotic body had settled in. This was it.
Pisces had been open about her union with Antony. Aries had kept it private but we could see the change in him. Taurus blew my mind with the way he now behaved.
‘I think this is a discussion for everyone,’ Scorpio said.
He was right. We had to talk about what would happen going forward. Nick had stepped up his game. His fear was founded. Three of us had already united. Was I on the verge?
‘Can I have everyone’s attention?’ I shouted.
All eyes turned to me. I cleared my throat and nodded at Aries, who came to stand by my side. Athena’s gaze travelled over everyone as they focused, waiting for me to speak. Chairs moved, stools scraped the floor.
‘Things have changed. Firstly, Aquarius, I’m sorry that you got the blame yesterday,’ I started. ‘One of us should have let you know about the meeting.’
He nodded once, running his hand down his purple tie.
Athena watched me. Her gaze trailed over my perfectly gelled hair and down my grey suit. My shirt was immaculate.
‘We’re playing it too cool,’ Aries took over. ‘Nick is going to get even more aggressive. Gemini is almost done with the first part of his mission.’ Aries winked at Athena. She frowned when everyone laughed at her innocence.
‘I’m not sure she wants to stay to find out what Gemini is all about,’ Virgo called.
Athena watched her. Her eyes were huge. She looked like a deer in headlights. It wasn’t an uncommon expression. In fact, it could be associated with anyone that entered our lives. The other three partners had exactly the same expression when their Zodiac had explained.
‘Athena, I apologise for my siblings. I have a lot to tell you. Please bear with me.’
Sucking her lip into her mouth, she nodded. I resisted the urge to go to her. The dark waves of her hair hung over her shoulders. The dress she wore was tight, black and just above the knee. Her makeup wasn’t as thick as it had been. I liked it. Much more subtle.
‘Will we have to move?’ Pisces chimed in.
Antony shuffled on his feet. Aries bounced on his prosthetics. Running. Again. It didn’t matter how much we tried to get away, Nick always found us. Our energy led him to where we were.
‘I don’t want to run anymore,’ I stated.
The others mumbled their agreement. Our partners watched us. It was their fight, too. Even though we had our separate mission, we were in it together. We could only defeat the Dysfunctionals if every one of us found our soulmate.
‘Then we stay. Aquarius, can you set up a tight security system?’ Aries said.
Our resident technical whizz nodded. ‘I can but we’ll have to watch our backs. Be on constant alert. Are you sure we shouldn’t move?’
Gazes clashed as we looked around. Maybe he was right. A fresh start with a better plan. My palms started to sweat when my gaze caught Athena’s. She wasn’t even aware that we were going to live together.
‘How about a bigger place this time?’ a deep voice asked.
We turned in unison to the front door. It hadn’t made a sound when it opened. Father stood with Mother and Bev on either side of him.
‘What are you doing here?’ Taurus blurted.
Father shook his head at my brother’s bluntness. They came into the house. Mother and Bev went over to the kitchen area and started to pull mugs out of the cupboards. It seemed everyone would be getting a cup of tea while we spoke business.
‘I have a property not too far from here. It’s not quite finished but I’m sure you can make something of it. It’s not the luxury you’re used to, however.’ Father gestured for Aries to sit as he came to stand next to me.
‘Is
it big enough?’ Pisces asked.
‘What do you mean not quite finished?’ Virgo spoke up.
The smile that spread my father’s lips was reflected by my mother. She leant against the work surface, studying each one of us. It had been a long time since we had all been in the same room.
‘It’s more like a warehouse than an actual house at the moment.’
Virgo pushed from her seat. ‘Don’t expect me to go and live in a dump!’
We laughed. Our sister liked things just so. However, if it gave us the space we craved and room for each of our partners, surely it would be something we could get used to.
‘I don’t want to live in a dump either,’ I said, interrupting everyone. ‘But we need to start again.’
‘As long as Athena keeps it clean, Gemini will be happy,’ Virgo said.
I glared at her, avoiding Athena’s gaze. She had no idea who these people were. The poor girl had been shoved into a room full of madness.
‘He’s quite clean. If she doesn’t, he will,’ Cancer called.
This was it. My life. My family. Sometimes I wished it wasn’t. Other times, I was happy with them. We gathered for dinner almost every day, yet we couldn’t have a discussion without someone cussing someone else. That was the nature of our family. Twelve twenty odd year olds and three partners made it hard to get along all the time.
‘That’s enough. You lot haven’t changed one bit, have you? Have you not learnt anything?’ Mother’s stern tone made us look to the ground.
It had been years since she had admonished us. Her tone was belied by the smile on her face.
‘It’s Gemini’s fault,’ Aries moaned.
I held my hands to the side. Why had I become the centre of attention? Just because I liked to talk, didn’t mean I had to.
‘This warehouse, Father, does it at least have more than one bathroom?’ Virgo asked.
Father ran his hand over his grey hair. It was styled nicely, back from his face. I probably picked up a bit of his stylish ways. He also wore a grey suit. The resemblance in our appearance gave me pause. I had never noticed how I copied him.
‘You’re like two peas in a pod,’ Leo said, noticing the way I watched our father.
‘He learnt from the best,’ Father said. ‘Yes, Virgo, there are bathrooms. It has two floors. I’m getting a big kitchen finished as we speak. I was going to rent it out. However, you seem to have revealed your whereabouts.’ He looked at me pointedly before winking at the rest of the family. ‘So you may use it until you’ve completed your mission.’
‘Mission?’ Athena had kept quiet the whole time. Her voice was new to us. We paused, waiting for her questions. ‘Who are you?’ She made eye contact with every single one of us. Most of us met her gaze but some avoided it.
‘We’re the Zodiacs,’ was the only answer I could give. How could I explain what we were when it was so messed up?
‘Are you some sort of superheroes or something?’
For the first time since meeting, I had managed to confuse her. She frowned. Her hands wrung together in front of her.
Glancing around, my gaze landed on Father, pleading for the best way to answer. He shrugged his broad shoulders, which really was no help. The others stayed quiet for once. It was down to me to explain our whole existence to a woman that I had some sort of bond with.
‘You believe in fate?’ I asked her directly.
Athena nodded, not looking away from me when the others started to whisper between themselves.
‘Do you believe in destiny? That we have come here to do something important?’
I watched her. The smooth line of her throat moved as she swallowed. The blink of her eyes when she contemplated my question. The shuffle of one foot as our gaze met.
‘Yes, I think I do.’
Her whisper was audible in the silence. My siblings were as mesmerised as I was. It wasn’t anything to do with the way we looked, it was the energy that bounced between us.
‘Everyone has a destiny. The difference between us and everyone else, is that we know what ours is. Father and Mother, they’re not our real parents, as you can probably tell.’ I gestured to Aquarius and Capricorn. Just two of the siblings from a completely different culture to the rest of us.
Athena’s gaze swept over them but came quickly back to mine. She nodded for me to go on.
‘They’re our guardians. When we were born, they brought us together and named us after the Zodiac sign we were born under. We each have a mission. The first part is simple. Fall in love with the right person. The second part isn’t so simple. We have to lead the way for the others.’
‘Others?’
I put my hands in my pocket and took a step towards her. We were attached by a thread of energy. She pulled me without even realising it. Another step forward and she countered it with her own, bringing us closer.
‘There are many couples out there that are true soulmates. They share a unique love. However, they find it hard to stay together once they meet.’
My feet moved me. Everyone in the room had disappeared. All I could see was her. She took another step. What was happening between us?
‘And by getting with your soulmate, you’re going to show them how it’s done? How will you do that?’ she quietly asked.
I smiled. It was a question I hadn’t prepared for. It didn’t stop me from answering, though. ‘By being the best lover in the world. I can do that.’
Someone scoffed, probably Leo. I didn’t let them distract me. Athena was completely focused on me. Just the way I wanted it.
‘As cheesy as it sounds, we show others by loving each other as naturally as possible. No hang ups. No conditions. No co-dependency. You may have noticed that you’ve been changing. Not only when you met me but before that, too. I know I have. Since knowing you, I’ve had to face myself and I still have some work to do.’ The sentiment flowed out of me. Unrehearsed. The charm had gone. It was real. The whole soulmate thing was real.
My last step was slow and deliberate. When I took it, Athena’s head tipped back. Her hair fell away from her shoulders and down to her waist.
‘I have been changing. I started to have dreams and wanted to get away from the life I was in,’ Athena whispered.
We didn’t touch. There was no need to. Our energy mixed together as we stared into each other’s eyes. It was new. It was exciting.
‘It’s never an easy relationship but once you’ve found one another, there’s no going back. It changes you. Forces you to see parts of yourself that you never realised existed. You run from it, time and again, but you’re always drawn back.’ I paused as I glanced at my guardians. ‘Even my parents went through it. They’ve been drawn back together. Although, their relationship is different now.’
‘Sounds familiar.’ She laughed.
The sound made me smile. It was so silent in the room. I wanted to check that everyone was still there but I didn’t break the spell.
‘Do you remember fairy tales?’
She nodded, blinking fast.
‘This is what one is. True love. The stuff of fairy tales. All twelve of us need to find our true love.’ It was better to teach her with something she would understand. Not that I believed in happily ever after. Not just yet, anyway. I wouldn’t tell her that, though. There was no need. Although, it might help her if she knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty rainbows and unicorns. The proof of my death in the past lifetime showed me that.
‘What happens when you’ve found it?’ Athena reached forward. My hand met hers halfway. Our fingers intertwined together in a soft hold.
‘We keep going. There are a group of men, the ones you saw in the park yesterday, that want us to fail. Love on earth is diminishing. People too often sleep around and give up when things don’t go as they expect.’
My lip quirked at the hypocritical words. Since the day I turned sixteen, I had hunted for women to charm. Made them fall for me, only to leave them. It had only been six years since I star
ted my mission for fun. That’s all I wanted. The mission for true love could wait. Sex, money and fun had been my vices. Why was that? Did I rebel against the parents that had tried to show us that true love existed? Even though they couldn’t keep it together themselves?
‘Why do the men want you to fail?’
I stroked her palm with my thumb. The gentle touch made her shiver.
‘They’re evil. They became obsessed with us many lifetimes ago. They-’
‘Lifetimes?’
I grinned at her perception. That was a whole different conversation that would have to wait.
‘Yes. Lifetimes. The Dysfunctionals are group of men created by Nick, Liam’s father. He vowed to hunt us down and stop us. He won’t ever stop. It’s his obsession. He believes that if we succeed, he will no longer exist. We plan to test his theory.’ I squeezed her hand.
Her tongue darted out of her mouth to wet her lips. They were painted red. I wanted to bend forward and kiss her. It would be different somehow. Now that we knew we belonged to one another. I wouldn’t though. Not with everyone staring.
‘Is this it? Have we…’ Her sentence trailed off as I leant forward.
I couldn’t help myself. She stood open in front of me. Listening to me. Hearing me. It’s what I needed in a woman. She was interesting and beautiful. My wandering mind found its way back to her. Even when I went off on a new adventure, she would either come with me, or be waiting when I got back. How I knew that was impossible. We had only known each other for five minutes.
‘We’ve still got a lot to learn but I think we’ve started to-’
Her hand squeezed my bicep. She went up on tiptoes and pressed her lips to mine. My body started to shake as she pulled away.
‘So, that’s what it’s like?’ Virgo said. ‘It’s fascinating.’
Mumbles flared up around the room. Athena smiled at me. I returned it before looking away from her. I hadn’t meant to hold a display in front of everyone. It just happened. Not that I minded. It was good to teach others. It seemed the unusual affection I had for the girl I had rescued caused the others to think.
‘Gemini, I grabbed this when we ran away from Nick,’ Aries said, handing me the bag full of money.
Gemini: Book 4 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) Page 14
