by Avery Duncan
Quadruplets were always, in some way, different, he thought with bemusement.
“You called, brother?” Stuart sauntered over to him, brow raised.
“Indeed I did.” The murmur was barely heard as his brother sat down, the plush white chair giving out under his arse.
“Whatever for?”
Kevin shrugged his shoulders, sitting next to his brother. Around them, the whiteness was dimming along with the time. While he might like everything the same, he actually enjoyed the way the shades and hues came alive at certain points, how everything changed at one point.
“I believe I made a mistake.”
The six words were enough to have Stuart freezing any movement. Kevin waited for the man to slowly finish sitting back, and then took a breath. “Might I have failed?” he asked, voice close to cracking.
“Kevin. It is utterly impossible for you to fail. Why would you ask that?” Stuart sounded. . .appalled, but that did nothing to appease Kevin. Everything was falling, destroying itself. And Mary. . . God, Mary.
“My people. . . They are fighting, don’t you see? Even Raffaele was smart enough to avoid this. What did I do wrong with my Chosen?”
Stuart fixed his blue robbing as he thought that over, eyes avoiding Kevin’s.
“Brother, I don’t believe it was you who did wrong. I don’t believe it was anyone, actually. Fate, as you know, has a will of its own. Maybe Mary has not hit the peak yet, maybe she will not hit it at all and someone else shall replace her.”
“By replacing her, you mean. . .” Kevin trailed off, staring at his brother with his mouth to the floor, horrified.
His blue head nodded, eyes coming to meet Kevin’s. “I do. The only way the Chosen could be replaced is by being killed, and you know that.”
“You would not have my Chosen. . .!”
“Verily, I would. If one race fails, as do all else. Please see the light in the words with which I am saying. Life is not easy. We may not have one, because to have a life you have to die, but we have seen the lives of others, we have guided them and nurtured them. Are we not within our rights to take them, also?”
“Stuart. Brother. Please. . .” Finally, his voice cracked. To lose Mary was to lose his life. She had been his soul project from the beginning, ever since it had been declared that she would lead the race and unite them. Had the foretelling of separation been in there at all? No, it hadn’t.
The blue man stood, legs stiff as his backbone. “I. . .beg you to think of what will happen. The time of meeting has come. The time of change has come. Do you think she will be strong enough to do all of this, one mere woman?
“Take a look at my Chosen. Strong, capable, a leader. What has Mary done to suggest that she is a proper leader? She hides behind her family, lets them decide her life for her.”
His words were hissed, taking Kevin back a step. Not everyone was perfect, he defended her mentally, wishing that he was strong enough to stand up to his blood.
“Is she strong enough? Or will she be the one to fail,” he said, voice as hard as his eyes. The pure, navy blue eyes bore into Kevin and he realized that he might have been the one to kill his Mary, before even knowing what was happening.
Stuart left silently, leaving Kevin to think over his brothers words.
His head fell into his hands in despair.
Chapter 6
Mary pulled into her driveway, unaware of the conversation that was going on between Kevin and Stuart. Her head was hurting, her feet were killing her, and she felt as if her arm was still on fire.
Honest to god, it felt like someone was holding a lighter to her arm and the sensation was in no way close to leaving. She sighed, running a hand through her hair before snatching her keys out of the ignition and opening the door of her car.
She looked at her yard, grimacing. Mary hated mowing, she really did. She also hated the erratic weather, the coldness and the closed-off feeling that she got from living there. Maybe she could get her friend’s son to mow again, she thought as her heels clicked along the pavement.
Mary hadn’t even bothered to lock her door. What would have been the point? Iowa was so run down and country that the neighbors around her had been her best friends growing up.
Flipping on the switch and getting out of her heels, she was walking into the living room when a cupboard shutting in the kitchen made her jump.
“Mary?” the voice of her mother asked from inside the kitchen.
With a frown on her face, she walked her way into the kitchen. “Oh god, you scared me. Leave me a message or text or something before you come over, would ya?” Mary let out a breath and dropped her keys onto the counter.
“I’m sorry, dear,” Alicia Waters said, distraught. She came around the counter to wrap her daughter up in a bear hug.
Mary hugged her back. “What are you doing here?” She frowned. “Are you okay? Want me to make you a salad or something?”
“Oh, no,” she said, waving a hand dismissively. “I just wanted to check on my eldest daughter.”
“Mom.” Mary gave her mother a look. “I’m your only daughter.”
“What does that have to do anything?” Her mother gave a snort and left her standing there to go out into the living room.
Mary rolled her eyes. “That’s great, Mom. Just great.”
“Well? Ulrich is my only son and you don’t see him complaining!”
“I’m sorry for mentioning anything,” she said drolly.
“Good, now let's watch some TV, shall we? I wanted to talk to you about some things.”
She could only imagine what her mother wanted to talk to her about. It felt like her tail was being stepped on, and as in that situation? She couldn’t get out of this one either.
“I’ll just have a seat then. . .”
Alicia made the flapping hand motion again. She sat down with a sigh, across from her mother.
“Your father and I. . .”
Mary groaned. Great. . .
“Are getting old. You and your brother have not married at all, and we want. . .”
She held up a hand, silencing her mother. Mary knew her face was pale. She knew that her mother was insane. She must be, right?
“I think that you and Dad need therapy. You are certifiably insane.”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I’m just trying to hint at the fact that we want grand babies!”
Her face flushed. “Oh. . . Mom, oh my god. Get out!” Mary stood up, laughing.
Alicia followed her, frowning. “What? I’m serious, Mary! Your father and I suspect Ulrich of being gay, so it’s up to you to carry on the Waters line.”
She shook her head, chuckling. “I think you need a reality check. As Ulrich what he was up to last weekend and then go to him for grandchildren.”
Her mother’s eyes lit up. “Okay!” She waved a hand back at Mary as she walked out. “This is awesome! I have to talk to Sam about this. Gosh, why didn’t he mention anything?”
Alicia’s voice trailed off at the end, tinted with confusion. Mary closed the door, laughing.
Of course her mother would react that way after finding out that Ulrich was sexually active. Her family, she swore, was a wackjob. She was clueless as to how they weren’t thrown up, instead of running a race.
As she walked throughout her house and into the kitchen, light pouring in from the open windows, she thought about how crazy her mother’s suggestion had been.
Kids? How was she going to have kids when she didn’t even have a boyfriend, or husband, to have them with?
Mary snorted.
Men were too put off by her to hold an actual conversation. She had always wondered what it was about her that did it, but hadn’t really taken anything to heart. Her mother had always said that when the time was right, things would happen and screw the other assholes that turned her down.
Of course, that had been after a rejection to Prom, but who was counting the times that she had heard “no” and not cared enough
to feel anything about it?
Not her, she thought mockingly.
Mary opened the fridge, grabbing for the lettuce and a bottle of ranch.
She had enough on her plate as it was. It wasn’t like she needed a male attached at her very hip, growling at every business acquaintance that came by at irregular intervals. The organization, the processing, and the people who worked within it were too important to her.
Meaning her pacchetto members.
Mary got to making the salad, mind preoccupied while her feet and hands went on auto.
She prayed that when it all came down to it, the people would realize that the change was for the better. Mary had been studying the past, the present, and even trying to predict the future. As it had been, Acutos and Archaeos had been separated from the beginning, and death to the leader that tries to bring them together.
Although Mary hadn’t been the one to do so, bring them together—more like force them together—she knew that once they were no longer forced to converse and live together, life would be better for everyone.
For the longest time she had felt that life had kicked the races in the ass. Courts who had knowledge of the race had forced marriages, bonds, couples-everything. The past couple of years, officials had been noticing strange things near her pacchetto, things that even worried the humans who unknowingly were surrounded by animals.
Mary has been searching, trying to find pieces to fix this, and every time she had come up empty, it had tore her to bits and then some. Missing persons, missing things, missing lives. . . The killing had come as a shock to her more than anything else. Yeah, her people were aggressive and dangerous, but only when it came right down to it. If one was murdered, the murderer was either put down or exiled.
All she wanted to do at that moment was go down to her room and black out for the next decade.
Unfortunately, though, her phone was set on keeping her busy. The ringing only made her groan internally.
She answered the call. “It’s Waters.”
“Hey, mind coming into the station at like three? It’s Romero,” he said in clarification.
“Sure,” she said, sighing. “Might I ask why?” Mary moved to the couch and took a seat, forgetting about her salad.
“Questioning. We have an out-of-town officer who wants to have a word with you. About Jared, I think. Did you hear about the accident?” The deep Mexican drawl that came through the line made her grimace.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Ah, well I hope you know that in a couple of days, he’ll be out again. . .” There was a warning in his voice, and it made her scowl more pronounced.
“I think it’s obvious that you don’t need to keep an eye on him, Romero. He risked his life for another woman, none of the crimes have been connected to him, and he is as clean as my tail. I really don’t think. . .”
“Hun, you know why we have to. Stop playing hero with the bad guys, alright? Remember what happened last time? You were out of it for weeks, all because you had misjudged the man that you had thought to be as innocent as an angel.”
Mary could have hissed. “Romero,” she warned.
“You know I’m right.”
“I don’t care—”
“Well you should! It’s your life at stake—and you know how your brother gets. I don’t need him coming over to my house and bitching about his sister getting her panties in a bunch over a convict.”
“Oh, my god, are we still on that?” she asked, incredulous. She would never hear the end of it, would she? One time, just one time, her brother had complained to Romero about everything, drunk off his ass.
Ulrich and Romero had been best friends since grade school. The relationship had been stoic—each knew the meaning of survival and trust, so they rarely shared deep secrets or complained about anything.
The one time that Mary really gets into trouble, Romero is brought in and things only got worse. She could still remember the loud curses that had come right before the pain. . .
Mary heard a frustrated sigh on the other line, then the sound of rustling paper. “I’ll make sure to have the men waiting at the door when you get here. I hear that this guy is. . .ruthless, and I don’t need no brother getting his jock strap in a twist.”
Her eyes crossed. “Fine, whatever. Meet you in thirty. I have a lunch appointment that I have to get to.”
“Just be there on time, gringa.” The line dropped.
Chapter 7
Acutos.
Strong fierce, and scary. Mainly feline, although you occasionally had the stray bear or wolf. Their powers rooted from the moon, stronger and more keen at night than in day. Acutos were known to be nightly, sleeping during the day and hunting throughout the night.
All of the Acutos that Mary knew worked at the club downtown, and she rarely walked into a grocery store to find the scent of the animals. The intake on their life? Easy to the point of stupid, which they thought everyone generally was. Arrogant, rude, cocky—you name it. Mary didn’t know much about them except that, and she had no real desire to gain any more knowledge.
Most of the time, Mary stayed away from them.
She had her reasons.
Kind of.
Pushing open the door of “Catch-a-Cup”, she breathed in the scent of assortments of cakes, soups, and breads. Her dark-haired friend was sitting in one of the booths near the register.
Mary walked over and sat down with a smile, plopping her purse on the table between them.
“I thought you would be late—again.” The greeting was nothing that Mary wouldn’t have expected from her long time friend. Black-haired, short, and Asian, Melany was her dearest and closest friend, and knew almost everything that there was to know about Mary.
Sometimes, it amazed her at how they had become friends. Melany had shared a psychology class with her in collage, and after a strong. . .okay, maybe violent debate about how a panda would react to a stalk of bamboo being thrown at it.
How it had turned into a fight, they would never know—especially the professor, who had been the one to break his pinky in the middle of separating them. Whenever she thought about it, she chuckled.
Was it bad to say that she hadn’t even made her feel the slightest guilty that he had broken his finger over her?
Melany hadn’t thought so.
“Life has been. . .busy,” she said to her friend, sighing.
“I see. Ulrich called me a bit ago.” Melany looked at her from the corner of her eye, looking much like the mother she soon would be. Archaeos and married to the man of her dreams, Melany had a lot going for her in life. Mary just hoped that when the time came and the Separation—as she was starting to call it—was starting, it didn’t affect Melany and her new-found happiness.
Mary raised a brow. “Oh? Great, what about?”
“Just that I should keep an eye on you when I see you. Wanna let me know what that’s about?” Melany leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest, foot tapping along the floor.
She looked at her friend innocently. “I have no. . .idea.”
A rolling of the eyes. Then a snort.
The waitress, dressed in a green shirt with the logo on her breast, walked over to them and sat down a plate of pumpkin cake with some kind of white cream on top. “I’ll be back shortly with your receipt, but until then, enjoy!” She walked back to the counter with a forced skip in her step.
Mary grabbed for a fork just as Melany did, and they dug in. She practically moaned when the delicious taste hit her full force. “My god,” she said, eyes closing.
“Oh, I know!” Melany sounded just as orgasmic as Mary did.
The next couple of minutes was spent eating the cake with small chatter on the side. They normally didn’t talk as much as other old-time friends, but they still had the closeness that everyone needed.
“Any word on the latest murder?” Melany asked nonchalantly, looking up with the fork in her mouth.
“Not really. I have to be in
the station at three,” she said, rolling her eyes and taking another bite.
“Shouldn’t you have gone in by now?”
Mary swallowed. “Yeah, I have already. But now we have someone else who wants to question me. About Jared.”
Melony’s lips tightened. “That poor guy. I hate how everyone is targeting him. Truthfully, I don’t believe he has done a thing wrong besides mind his own business and save a lady from getting killed.”
“Apparently something is up with that ‘lady” though,” she said quietly, frustrated. She hated not knowing things, and this “lady” was an anomaly that she didn’t need.
“What do you mean?” her friend asked, confused. Her small hand lifted to brush the hair out of her face and as she sat up straighter. Mary could see the faint rise of her stomach.
“Just. . .not normal. Jared, when I went in to talk to him, said that there was something “different” about her. The way he said it. . .Melany, I could honestly feel my flesh crawling afterwards. It was not pleasant, in the slightest.”
Melany stared at her, her hand moving to wrap around her belly protectively. Mary regretted mentioning anything, as she saw her friend start to pale.
“Hey, don’t worry about anything, okay? You have a hot, strong male who would do anything for you. Don’t worry about a thing, I’m pretty sure she is long gone by now anyways.”
She gave Melany a forced smile, knowing that it wasn’t working in the slightest but still trying.
“Yeah. . .” Her gaze dropped to her stomach, where the precious baby was growing. Safe and warm, she prayed it stayed that way.
Mary looked at her phone, noticing that it was almost two. She took one last bite and stood up. “I better go, the meeting will be soon and it takes a bit to get down there.” She hugged her friend as she stood also, giving an uneasy smile.
“Call me when you’re done, I want to know how everything goes, okay?”
