The Chameleon Soul Mate

by Evelyn Lederman

  He tightened his grip on her hand. Alex continued to look at the couples as they passed. She was fascinated watching them, wondering what stories they had to share. How many of them were like Zane and Leenea, hiding their true relationship? Were their choices made for them by mind control telepathic people or were they able to circumvent the compulsions that were attacking their brains as soul mates could?

  “Tarsea,” Alex said, “that is so sad. It is something that should be celebrated, not hidden away in fear. We are going to change this world so soul mates will be able to come out of the closet.”

  “Out of the what?”

  Obviously, that was not a phrase used in this world. Alex did not want to take the time to explain it to Tarsea. “Never mind. Let’s enjoy the beauty of this path and then grab dinner, I’m starving.”

  They started toward the beginning of the trail when she saw Raine Narmouth coming in their direction.

  “Alexia,” Raine called, “another coincidence running into you again.”

  “Another?” Tarsea asked. She did not like the look he was giving her at this point. To be honest with herself, she should have told him about her last contact with him. His reaction to her accepting a date with him was so explosive, she was a little apprehensive to add fuel to the fire.

  “Yes,” Alex responded to Tarsea, “I ran into him at The Palace after my appointment with our Prime Ruler.” She could tell Tarsea was not happy she did not share this information with him sooner. “How was your meeting with your superior?”

  “Thank you for asking,” Raine said. “I found out I was promoted to Captain of the CT Guard.”

  “Congratulations!” Alex replied to Raine. “I am sure it is well deserved.” She had no idea what a CT Guard was, she would have to ask Tarsea after he calmed down. That was assuming he was still talking to her.

  “Narmouth,” Tarsea sneered, “if you will excuse us, we are heading to dinner.”

  “Not a problem,” Raine answered. “Alexia, I will pick you up tomorrow around 11 a.m. It should be a lovely day for the zoo.”

  Raine continued walking, leaving Alex with a very irritated Tarsea. He did not say a word, just grabbed her hand and quickened their pace toward the restaurant. He was no longer the attentive lover, but the scowling man who tried to control her actions.

  She was relieved when they finally arrived at their destination. They were immediately seated and handed menus. The items were not too different from what she could get at home. Only the preparation seemed the major difference.

  Before they left the house, they had talked about how they were going to manage conversations at dinner in the restaurant. Since it was their first date in public, they would speak aloud, as other couples did. If there was critical information that needed to be shared, only then would they leverage the soul mate channel.

  “Tarsea,” Alex said, “I am sorry I did not mention seeing Raine at The Palace this morning. It was a coincidence, he had a meeting with his superior.” She did not feel it was necessary to mention that Solfa said she did not trust the guy.

  “I want to know every time you see him, even if it is in a crowded location and you just catch a glimpse of him. Starc has a history with Narmouth and it is not good.”

  Alex felt like they had spent enough time talking about Raine Narmouth. She needed to re-direct the conversation. Food always seemed to work where Tarsea was concerned.

  “What should I order?” Alex asked. She had looked through the whole menu and was not sure what she should have.

  “Order the keen chicken. It is one of their specialties. I think we should also limit our wine consumption to one glass tonight.” Tarsea bit into a piece of bread that had just been delivered by one of the waiters.

  Alex smiled, it would not be too smart to get sloshed on her first night out. Plus, when people drank, emotions tended to be exaggerated. She figured they had enough drama already for the evening.

  “Are you picking up any thoughts from a channel you have not experienced yet? It will just be one voice and you will have to be looking at the person. You do not have to look at their face, focus on their head.” Tarsea leveraged the soul mate channel this time around.

  Alex concentrated on the people who were walking by, without being too obvious about it. She was only picking up communal chatter. Tarsea had explained earlier, it could take her longer to be able to pick up other’s thoughts, since she had just started leveraging the telepathic channels.

  “Not yet,” she did not want to sound defeated. Maybe after they ate, she would try it again. Her growling stomach may have been too much of a distraction.

  The waiter came by and they both telepathically placed their orders. It was a very weird experience to order along with everyone else through the communal pathway. She could hear others ordering as she and the waiter conversed telepathically.

  The wine came almost immediately, since the wine steward had her order as she was requesting it. She took a big swig from the glass, rather than a delicate sip. It was delicious, but did nothing to calm her nerves. She took a piece of bread from the basket and started nibbling on it. Wine on an empty stomach was also not such a bright idea. Because of her size, she had a very low alcohol tolerance.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bright orange flash and turned in that direction. A lovely blonde came into view, wearing a bright shirt and a very short skirt in the same color. There was no way she could ever be an intelligence agent, that woman stood out like a sore thumb.

  “Oh, shit!” Alex turned to Tarsea after he said those words. He took a bigger swig of his wine than she had earlier.

  She was just about to ask him what the problem was when the woman she had noticed stopped right in front of their table.

  “Well, well, look who we have here. If it is not the dick head himself.” Alex looked at the woman and then back to Tarsea. She had an inkling who this woman was. This evening was just getting better and better.

  “Chartail, how about not making a scene.” Tarsea looked very uncomfortable and Alex could understand why. Her instincts were right, it was the woman he just dumped.

  The woman in question now looked at Alex and gave her the once over. “You are certainly not his type. This relationship will not last long. I would not get too comfortable with him if I were you.”

  “What a bitch! You slept with this she-beast?” The woman was actually raising her nose to Alex and she did not like it. Shirl was more beautiful than this tramp and she would never treat another woman this way.

  “Alex, be smart.” That was all Tarsea had to say. She could already hear the communal pathways full of chatter about the confrontation. It was odd the conversations were focused on Chartail and Tarsea, as if she was not even there. She would have to tell Solfa about that later.

  “Excuse me, I just got into town and am friends of Tarsea and his family. Who are you again?” Alex was actually proud of the self-control she showed. She managed to hold herself back from saying what she really wanted to tell this witch.

  “My name is Chartail and I was Tarsea’s girlfriend until you had your spill on the mountain.”

  Alex could not help herself, she started to laugh. It was the most ridiculous statement she had ever heard. “Honey, there has to be an easier way to meet men than falling, losing consciousness, and being carried through the streets of the city.”

  Chartail had the grace to at least blush at what Alex had said. The gorgeous blonde looked at her in a different light. Her haughty expression changed to a friendlier one.

  “I am sorry. You are new in town. It is not your fault you got duped by the asshole you are having dinner with.” Chartail was now talking to Alex, rather than talking down to her.

  “Chartail, I am not sure how to respond to that. Thanks?” Alex was really loving this conversation. She had
never been the other woman before.

  Tarsea’s former girlfriend got a big smile on her face. It almost appeared to Alex she had come up with a brilliant idea. “Listen, I am having lunch with friends here the day after tomorrow. Why not join us. You can meet some more people and broaden your choices of folks you hang out with and the men you date.” Alex did not miss the look she threw Tarsea when she made that last comment.

  “Absolutely not, Alexandra,” Tarsea growled through the soul mate channel.

  She loved this side of him. The growling, snarling and other sounds he made when he was displeased. It brought out the primal side of him. She was sure they would spar tonight about her accepting yet another invitation he was not happy about.

  “Wow, I would love to! I do not know anyone in the city other than Tarsea, his friends and family. It would be great to meet some other people.” Alex smiled at Chartail. At the same time she communicated to Tarsea, “We are talking about me getting close to Chartail for the same reason you were sleeping with her. Her father is one of the most important men in the city and very close to Jarlyn himself.”

  “Great, should we say noon? I cannot wait to tell the girls who they are going to meet. For some reason I think we are going to be close friends.” Chartail did a fake kiss on both sides of Alex’s face and then sashayed off. She managed to give Tarsea a look that could kill before she left. Alex had really enjoyed the repartee that just occurred.

  “Boy, wasn’t your old girlfriend a breath of fresh air? What was that fake kissing all about? You lasted seven months with Miss Sunshine?”

  “It is all part of the job,” Tarsea said with a smirk on his face. Alex kicked him under the table, just as their entrees arrived.

  Alex dug into her keen chicken, which was outstanding. For some reason, food tasted better in the Troyk Universe. The wine that Tarsea selected was a perfect complement to the dish. She felt much calmer. It was questionable whether it was the wine or the triumphant discussion with Chartail that made her feel better. The communal channels were not creating any unmanageable static in her brain. All in all, it had been a very successful venture out.

  “What exactly do you do for a living, Tarsea?” It was general date talk and she was not really sure what he did for a living.

  “My father runs a business, which I help him with. I am also assisting a number of the Prime Representatives.”

  “What does that entail?” She actually found this discussion very interesting and well over due.

  “I research a number of items that are up for votes or being considered for legislation. Dad and I also leverage the position to get various obstacles that impede our business to be removed with legislation.”

  Not too different from things at home. The man is a fucking lobbyist, for goodness sake. Well, at least he had a side job of trying to bring down the government.

  They finished off their meals and the check arrived. Tarsea got a funny look on his face.

  “We have to go, pixie, there has been a development and I need to be home to coordinate efforts.” He threw some cash on the check and got up.

  “What happened?” Whatever it was, it had distracted him from the mood he had previously been in. He was calling her a pixie again.

  “They think they have found Prime Hosp’s wife and are about to arrest her. We are going to see if we can get to her before they do.”

  Tarsea walked over and pulled her chair back so she could get up.

  “We should head home. I told my parents, we could only be gone for about two hours. We certainly do not want them to worry,” Tarsea said to her for the benefit of those around them, in case their silent departure would draw attention. Alex knew she could learn a lot from this man about appearances and telepathic channels.

  She walked beside him as they left the restaurant. They had planned a quiet night at home, but it appeared their plans had just been hijacked by the Hosp assassination attempt. What more could happen today?

  Chapter 19

  Tarsea knew he was in a foul mood when they got back to his parents’ house. He had not expected Chartail to show up at dinner, for Alexandra to have plans for lunch with her, or for her to have a date with Raine Narmouth. On top of everything else, he also had to deal with the latest in the Hosp fiasco. All he wanted was to get his soul mate into bed and work off his frustrations. The latest closed link communication made that desire impossible for now.

  Starc had called him home to deal with the latest crisis. Grabbing her hand, he led them to the common room where Starc would be waiting. It was a surprise to see the room teeming with people, including Prime Hosp’s wife.

  He knew little about the woman and what he did know, he did not like. She was one of the power hungry wives who basically shopped and did lunch. They spent hours in the communal pathways driving their own agendas. Those women gave nothing back to the community. There were so many Prime spouses who were on different charity boards, earned a living, or found some way to enrich Troyk society. Allaine Hosp was not one of them.

  “Tarsea, Solfa had managed to get to Mrs. Hosp before--” He cut him off before Starc could finish his sentence.

  Tarsea immediately walked over to Solfa. “Are you out of your mind bringing her to my parents’ home?” he yelled and pointed his finger in the direction of the well dressed, shell shocked brunette sitting between his parents.

  Solfa stood and went on the offensive. “We did not have a choice. I got to Allaine before anyone else and evacuated her to a safe location where I could talk to her and decide my next steps. We were just about through when our location was compromised. I contacted Starc for assistance. We barely got away and I did not have anywhere else to take her, so I brought her here. Tarsea, Hosp had told her about his meetings with you.”

  Tarsea looked at Hosp’s wife in shock. Hosp had promised he would not tell a soul about their discussions. He directed his next set of questions to the man’s widow. “What did he tell you? I want to know everything, including who was involved in what happened yesterday morning.”

  His mother was just about to get up, when Tarsea stopped her. “Sit, Mother, this is not a social visit.” She looked a bit shocked at his outburst, but did as he requested. Neither of his parents communicated to him through the familial pathway regarding his behavior.

  It is safe to say Mrs. Hosp looked uncomfortable. “He told me about your discussions, about working toward a peaceful transition. Rance never mentioned any plans for violence to me. He knew I would not have approved, so he met with those people without my knowledge.”

  Tarsea knew he was not going to get what he wanted out of the woman. It appeared that Solfa had come up with a plan, so he might as well hear her out. “What do you suggest we do next?”

  Solfa looked momentary out of sorts, but recovered quickly. “Allaine had several conversations with her husband about other factions interested in peaceful change. I want all their names, so we can investigate who these others are. It may be possible to find people we can leverage going forward. In addition, we may discover who was actually involved in the assassination attempt. If there are any violent conspirators, we will turn them over to The Palace, helping to maintain our covers.” Tarsea could not fault Solfa’s plan at this point, other than having brought the woman here in the first place.

  “We cannot keep her at my parents, we need to find another location to place her until we can get her through the portal.” Tarsea wanted her out of the house as soon as they could manage it.

  “We can get her to the safe house,” Starc suggested. “There was too much activity around the house when I originally met up with Solfa. Things may have quieted down.” They had a house on the outskirts of town, not far from the path that led to the portal. It was utilized if they could not immediately make it to the portal due to the presence of people nearby and the threat of communal chatter
. He would not be surprised if one of the guys used it to entertain a woman if another location was not available.

  “My daughter is at boarding school in a nearby province. I want her with me when I go through the portal.” Allaine Hosp said in a determined tone. She still could not look him in the eye.

  Tarsea looked at Darden, who shook his head. “Allaine, your daughter is no doubt being watched. We need to get you safely through the portal and your daughter will follow after it is safe.”

  “That is unacceptable,” cried the woman. Her appeal was directed to Solfa. The head of intelligence had the good sense not to respond, merely looked in his direction.

  “I am not going to endanger my people for you, Mrs. Hosp. Your daughter is perfectly safe at school. You pull her out, you are endangering her life and the lives of others. If you write her a non-descriptive note, we can make sure she gets it. That is all I can do at this time.” Tarsea did not like when people he was saving made demands of him. If this woman had not known of his dealings with her husband, he would have had Solfa take her to The Palace.

  It appeared that she took in his words and agreed. She was finally able to look directly at him. “I am sorry for being rude. Rance was supposed to be a peaceful man. My world has fallen apart in the last few days.”

  “How did you get her here?” Tarsea asked Solfa. It was time to get her the hell out of their home and away from Alex and his parents.

  “A blond wig and we pretended to have had a little too much to drink,” Starc informed him. He considered what his friend shared. If they faked intoxication to get here, they can leverage that on the way out.

  “Starc, can you move her to the safe house alone? Koel will follow you in case there is any trouble. He will take point if you run into any problems. Solfa and Darden, I want you to both stay behind please.” Tarsea knew he was close to his anger hitting a breaking point. He had carefully managed his voice purposely not to worry Alexandra.