The Chameleon Soul Mate

by Evelyn Lederman

  “Great!” Alex replied. “On that note, how about lunch. I am game for anything, other than rodents.”

  Raine laughed and put his arm around Alex and started to guide her toward the zoo’s food court. There were a couple of outdoor stalls selling fast food, and what appeared to be three restaurants. They walked into the restaurant closest to the entrance.

  The place was bright and colorful. There were pictures of animals everywhere the eye could see. They were on the walls, the lighting fixtures, the ceiling. She did not think she could eat meat in this place. Alex loved a rare steak, but not today.

  “Raine, do they have vegetarian items on the menu?” She still needed to be guided related to what to order without giving away the fact she was new to the Troyk universe. Keen was a safe item, but she really would like to try something different.

  “You will be glad to know that everything in this restaurant contains no meat. Since there are no fish tanks, they do however have fish and seafood.” She had loved shrimp her whole life. They did not serve it often at the orphanage, just on special occasions. To this day, whenever she and her friends went out to celebrate, she had shrimp. She was not sure if they were found in the Troyk universe. They were not on last night’s menu.

  “Anything that you are having would be great. How about you order for the both of us.” He appeared to like her request. Some men like to order for women.

  The waiter came and Raine ordered telepathically, as Tarsea did the night before. Almost immediately an iced herbal beverage was delivered to her. He was served what looked like to be some kind of ale.

  Their entrees were served shortly after their drinks. The dish smelled wonderful and it tasted like heaven. It contained a variety of seafood, including shrimp. Naturally, it was served on a bed of keen.

  “Wow,” Alex said, “thank you for ordering and taking me to the zoo. This is perfect.”

  She never believed in eating like a bird, even on the few dates she had. He watched her eat and had the same look of satisfaction that Tarsea had on his face when she ate. She guessed it went back to the Stone Age, when men hunted to feed their women.

  They both finished their meals and drinks in record time. Raine paid the bill and they were back looking at the animals.

  She was having such a good time, she had not noticed they had headed down a walkway isolated from the rest of the park. Alex stopped and tried to see where they were going.

  “Sweetheart,” Raine said, “there is an exhibit back there you have to see.”

  First off, she did not like him calling her sweetheart. Secondly, she did not like being on this unpopulated path. “I do not think so, Raine. On first dates I like to be surrounded by people, no offense. A girl cannot be too careful. Things have been great until now, please do not ruin it.”

  “Alexia, I want to taste you. Ever since I saw you at The Childers’, I have not been able to think about anything but you.”

  He picked her up and started carrying her deeper into the walkway. She started fighting him, but it did no good. It was time to play dirty, she started to claw at his face with her nails. Raine put her down and smacked her face. She was just about to knee him in his jewels, when Koel and Tolfer showed up.

  “I have you, Alex,” Tolfer comforted her. “I am getting you out of here. We should have gotten to you earlier. Somehow we missed him bringing you down this walkway.”

  She walked with Tolfer in a semi daze. He brought her to a bench in the main part of the zoo. Koel had not made it back to join them yet. Alex was wondering if he was really going to kill Raine. She did not want to think if she wanted him dead or not. Thank God they got to her in time.

  It was probably only a couple of minutes, but it felt like an eternity before Koel joined them. He did not say anything, he just patted Tolfer on the back and they were on their way. She did not have the courage to ask Koel what condition he left Raine in. All she wanted was to get home and take a scalding hot shower. The water would wash away his touch and his scent.

  Tarsea paced the common room like a caged animal. Alexandra had been back for an hour and she was still cloistered in their room. His mother and her aunt were with his soul mate. He understood this was a time for women and the presence of a male was not wanted.

  When Tolfer contacted him that Alexandra had been attacked by that low life scum, he wanted to kill the bastard. He understood that Koel had done a pretty good job of messing him up. His first reaction was to meet them on their way back to the house. Tolfer warned him back, that he would only upset Alexandra and make a public scene.

  “How did you both miss him taking her into an isolated area?” Tarsea asked. He kicked himself mentally for not being with them and protecting Alexandra. It was his responsibility.

  “I have asked myself that question over and over again, Tarsea,” Tolfer said. “I still have not figured it out. We were probably fifty feet behind them when we turned the corner and they were gone. Unfortunately, I underestimated the man and what he was capable of doing. I am so sorry.”

  “Tarsea,” Koel spoke up for the first time, “she is too independent. She did not scream or leverage the communal pathway. When we got to them she had scratched his face and was about to kick him in the balls.”

  “Fortunately,” Tolfer added, “he did not hit her too hard. If that even makes any sense. What kind of man hits a woman, anyway? I do not think she will even bruise. When we got to them, he was in worse shape than she was in. If we had been a few seconds slower, she would have had him on his knees. For such a small woman, she is certainly fierce.” The fact that Alexandra had been able to partially defend herself did not lessen the guilt he was feeling. He swore the next time he saw Narmouth, Tarsea was going to kill him. The man had hit his little pixie.

  “Well, this ends her dating and intelligence career.” Tarsea did not think he could go through another afternoon like this one. Hopefully, this experience will have put a damper on the allure of being a spy in her mind.

  “Tarsea,” his mother said, “she is asking for you. I think she will want to stay in your room for the rest of today. In a couple of hours, I will bring you both something to eat.”

  He headed for his room. None of his girlfriends had ever been attacked, he was not quite sure how to act once he was in their room with her. Tarsea was just going to have to follow whatever signs and direction Alexandra gave him. Guilt continued to consume him that he did not properly protect her.

  When he got to his room, he knocked and then entered. She had changed into a cushy robe, all bundled up. She was sitting on the bed and Norri was by her side. She kissed her niece and left the room.

  “Alex,” he softly said, “how are you doing?”

  “He was so nice, Tarsea. I did not see it coming until it was too late.” She looked so vulnerable. He knew she was going over this afternoon over and over again in her head.

  “It sounds like you got the best of him though. Tolfer said he looked a lot worse than you did.” Her cheek was a little red, but other than that, he could not tell she had just been attacked. He knew it took more of a psychological toll on her than a physical one.

  “Candy made sure we took self-defense classes. She tailored moves just for me, due to my size. These are lethal weapons.” Alex raised her hand and showed him her nails. Although it was probably an incorrect thought, he had felt those nails on his back a time or two.

  “Remind me to thank Candy when I finally meet her. She protected you better than I did. No more dating Alex, or at least let me set you up with cover dates with men I trust.”

  “I know I should have listened to you, Tarsea. Even Solfa warned me off him.” Alex looked a little spooked, he guessed she had not meant to mention that little tidbit. He was going to let it rest for now.

  He knew Alexandra well enough to know she was holding back on asking h
im another question. She kept looking at him and then dropped her eyes. “Is there something else you wanted to ask me? You know you can ask me anything.”

  She seemed to be struggling with herself related to either what to ask or how to ask it. “Tarsea, if Raine had been a mind control telepath, could he have forced me to willingly have sex with him this afternoon, if I had not been immune to their compulsions?”

  Tarsea stared at his soul mate. He had not expected that question and had to consider how to answer her. So little was really known about the extent of mind control telepathic ability to manipulate what would ordinarily be considered rape. He owed her an answer, regardless of how awkward his explanation was going to be.

  “A mind control telepath cannot force anyone to do something contrary to their beliefs or how someone is wired. If someone is married or in a committed relationship and would not consider having sex with anyone else, a mind control telepath cannot convince them to have sex. However, if there is just the slightest bit of interest, they can manipulate that grain of interest into a strong sexual desire.”

  Alexandra considered his words for several minutes. “What if there was at one point some interest, but the woman starts fighting before he uses mind control. Can he manipulate the woman then?”

  “Alex, to be perfectly honest, I do not know. Mind control advocates focus on political and economic power. There has been little discussion or court cases related to mind control and rape.”

  Alex’s face contorted in horror as she ingested the information. “Oh God! It is rape of both the mind and the body. How can you live in this world?”

  There was so much of his world he had worked to shelter her from. He wanted her safe and managing the numerous telepathic channels before he shared the true reality of his world with her. A world he worked to change.

  “Alex, we have been secretly working to eliminate mind control from our political and professional lives. What we are talking about is certainly not condoned and near to impossible to prove. Even after we succeed, a small percentage of our population will still try to manipulate others for their own gain. I have to believe that even today people are basically ethical and have some degree of morals. There should be a certain decency related to how a man treats a woman, regardless of his telepathic abilities.”

  What he said must have resonated in Alexandra’s mind, because she smiled and kissed his cheek. “Thank you, Tarsea. I know that was probably not easy for you to explain to me. Even in my world, atrocities occur. Like you, I have to believe that mankind is basically good. Otherwise, I don’t know how any of us could function with all the bad in the world.”

  “I do not want to appear to be bowing out of this discussion. When you are ready, I am sure Solfa or Tarah could give their insight that I do not have on the subject.”

  Alexandra yet again smiled at him, lighting up her face. “That is actually an excellent idea! Violence against women seems to be a problem in both our worlds. I will ultimately have the discussion with them. I am sure when Shirl and Candy are here, they will want to join in. It is another cause to add to my ever growing list of things that need to change in this world. Solfa is high in the government, maybe it’s something we can work on even before we have a leadership change. I could not imagine that even Jeryl Jarlyn condones women being victims of mind control to perform sexual acts.”

  He had been leaning on his dresser as they had their discussion. Alexandra shifted from sitting to lying on the bed. She patted the empty side of the mattress beside her. Tarsea slipped out of his shoes and joined his soul mate. He took her in his arms and held her.

  Alex drifted to sleep soon after. It was not surprising after he kept her up most of the night and the day she just experienced. Guilt once again consumed him. She must have been exhausted when she was with Narmouth, not in full control of all her faculties. Yet again he had considered his own needs, not what had been best for his soul mate. He thought of his reaction to her going into intelligence, not what it would mean to Alexandra. He had failed her on so many levels.

  After about an hour she stirred in his arms. Unlike the morning, Alex woke alert from her nap.

  “Can I get you anything? Some herbal beverage or chocolate? My mom will be preparing a dinner tray for us in about an hour.”

  Her eyes got big as soon as he mentioned chocolate. Alexandra started to laugh, it was music to his ears.

  “No, thank you. I want to talk about tomorrow and my lunch with Charzilla and her friends.”

  “You are not serious, you are still going through with that lunch date?” He had no idea who Charzilla was, but he was certain she was referring to Chartail. Alexandra had been calling her all sorts of colorful names. With everything that happened today, he just assumed she would lay low for a couple of days.

  “I am not going to let Raine impact my life any more than he already has. Besides, it’s only lunch with three women. Even if one of the women is a venomous wraith, who is set on seeking her revenge on you.”

  Tarsea just shook his head. “Alex, where do you get this stuff?”

  “A lot of Friday and Saturday nights at home watching bad movies. Anyway, I need to know about them and you have to tell me.” His little pixie was back. Her chin was raised and she had determination written all over her face.

  Tarsea sighed, giving in to her desire to have this conversation. “Unlike her father, Chartail is not a mind control telepath. None of her friends or my former girlfriends that she will drag along with her are either. They are rather shallow, otherwise they probably would not have dated me.”

  “Wow, remind me not to ask you to describe me.” Alex was just kidding, but she could tell from Tarsea’s expression, he took her seriously.

  “Alex, you are smart, intelligent, and funny. You have committed yourself to making our world better, after having only been in Aster Province for just days.”

  Alex leaned in and kissed his lips. He took his tongue and licked his wet lips, bringing her taste into his mouth.

  “Was that all right, Alex?” He kissed her without taking into account whether the physical contact was welcome after her experience this afternoon.

  “I liked that, I always do. That sorry excuse for a man is not going to mess up what we have together. Although, I would rather not make love tonight. I’d rather have you hold me and we can talk.”

  “That is fine with me, baby. What else do you want to talk about?”

  “We are not done talking about tomorrow and my lunch with the girls. This is important, Tarsea, she used to be your cover. Now she is going to be mine.”

  “Fine, I will walk you over there tomorrow. There is some shopping I want to do while you are having lunch with them.”

  “Shopping?” Tarsea could see this was a topic she was very interested in. He could not wait to shop for more clothes, furniture, dishes, and everything they would ultimately need for their new life together.

  “Yes,” Tarsea said “there are a couple of things I want to pick up. I am not saying anything more.”

  “Not fair,” Alex cried, “don’t I get a hint or anything?”

  He shook his head and that was the end of that.

  “Well, then I want to get back to discussing Chartail and her friends. I want to make sure I have all the ammunition I need for tomorrow to come out the victor. By the way, Tarsea, no more putty or gross colored tunic purchases for me.”

  Tarsea chuckled. That horrible colored tunic was a purchase he made at a thrift shop. He did not like the idea of other men looking at his little pixie. When she had lunch with the girls tomorrow, however, he wanted her to look great. He almost felt sorry for Chartail and her friends. Alexandra was a force to be reckoned with. Those women were not going to know what hit them.

  Chapter 21

  Alex woke up slowly as usual. The bed next to her was col
d. She really wished Tarsea was not an early riser. It would have been wonderful to snuggle with him as she slowly came back to the land of the living. Oh crap! She was having lunch with the evil one and her heinous cohorts today.

  She reluctantly rolled out of the safety of the bed. Memories of Raine Narmouth came back to her. Alex knew she was going to have to leave the house. She was still apprehensive about it, regardless of what she had told Tarsea last night. He held her throughout the night, not attempting anything amorous, other than chaste kisses.

  Somehow she made it to the shower. Alex loved to start the day with the purple floral enhanced shampoo. The shampoo’s essence filled the stall, her nose having its own orgasm as she breathed in the aroma. Slowly, Alex worked the conditioner through her hair. It had the same scent, just not as poignant. Leenea added a bottle of conditioner yesterday morning to her toiletries. Both women laughed over the lack of grooming men did, compared to women.

  Tarsea had left out the lavender and gray tunic she had worn when they had dinner together. That dinner date seemed like a million years ago. She slipped the tunic over her head and put on the leggings.

  Alex stood in front of the mirror, trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her hair. She ended up just clipping back her bangs, keeping them out of her face. Her mind waffled whether to put on make-up. Having seen Chartail, she decided against it. In the end, she just put on some lip gloss. Lip gloss was a requirement in Phoenix because it was so dry. It had become second nature to wear it every morning.

  Satisfied with how she looked, she slipped on her shoes and made her way to the kitchen. She had to leave in an hour to meet Chartail, so she was not going to eat anything. Some of that herbal tea would be a perfect way to start her day. It may reduce some of the anxiety she was having in leaving the house.

  There were voices coming from the common room, so she decided to go there first. Odds were there was a pot of tea on one of the tables.