Authors: Kerri Nelson
He’d chosen this job here because it gave him
insight into closely studying the human body without seeming like either a
pervert or a psycho. Curing illnesses and lifting curses was the way of his
people, so it was a fitting form of employment for him while on land. Faking
the paperwork had required more than a little help from Kuu. But the moon
goddess always came through for him in a pinch. For a moment he foolishly
wondered if she’d consider delaying the moonrise tonight, but he knew that was
merely wishful thinking.
He’d spent his weekdays interacting with young,
nubile human bodies of both sexes, and he’d learned a lot in these past couple
of years on land. Being a human who could live on land had been his dream since
childhood. Only now his dream was going to end – and end badly.
When he had first seen Nadia, arms draped around
the shoulders of two other cheerleaders, limping into the clinic, he’d been
jolted with a sense of ownership. It was almost like one of the ancient mating
calls he’d learned about all his life. In his real world, you were destined to
be with only one other, and there was no freedom in your choice of mate. His
mother had once told him that when he saw her, he’d know.
That was what he’d felt when he had seen Nadia
that day. She belonged to him.
The heart feels what the heart feels, but his
heart was currently breaking into a million pieces as he watched Nadia now. Long,
lean torso scrubbing the bug-covered windshield of the neon blue hatchback. He
forced his eyes away from her lest he be driven to scoop her into his arms and
cart her back to bed yet again.
He’d opted to work the money table rather than
do the hands on work with the suds and hoses. It was better if he stay away
from water this close to his flux.
“I saw that kiss.”
A male voice taunted him from nearby. He looked
up to see a young male looming above him sporting a toothy grin and a cowboy
hat. A small warning tinged at the base of his spine putting Byron on
semi-alert, but scanning the man’s face revealed no trace of recognition.
Quickly brushing off the man’s taunt and moving
on with business, Byron asked, “Here for a car wash?”
The cowboy emitted a throaty chuckle and then
leaned in so close to Byron’s face he got an unpleasant whiff of bitter
coffee-laced breath.
“I’ll bet you’re a little more than just
friends, huh?”
Byron had the sudden urge to knock the little
fiend square in the nose, whipping that sneer out into oblivion with his
stronger than human might. But he managed to regain composure by slowly
releasing his pent-up breath through his mouth.
“There’s a short wait, but if you’d like to get
your car in line, now’s the time to do it.”
Again, he attempted to refocus the annoying
cowboy.
The hat-wearing-doofus didn’t take the hint and
continued standing there, shifting back on his heels and bobbing up and down, his
grin widening.
“What, say, do you reckon my chances are of
having a little
alone
time with that
fine piece of ass?”
Snickering commenced behind the cowboy. Byron’s
fist clenched beneath the table. He doubted this little shit would even know
what to do with any woman, much less a woman the caliber of his Nadia.
And he’d had enough of the chorus of giggling
males. Clearly, he’d attracted his own little fan section now.
“How about in the neighborhood of never?” Byron
crossed his arms over his chest and pinned him with a death stare.
The cowboy’s smile fell from his face, and his
fans now gave whoops of laughter at his rejection. He looked like he might lose
his cool. His eyes seemed to darken a shade, and Byron leaned forward a notch
but by then the cowboy had managed to regain his composure. He smiled again and
waved off the hostility, but as he turned to leave he mumbled beneath his
breath. “I know who you are. I know what you are, and she doesn’t belong to
you.”
“Screw you,” Byron said in a deadpan voice he
hoped didn’t reveal the fear shooting through his soul at the cowboy’s pointed
words.
The cowboy shrugged again and then straightened
his hat before shuffling off with a knowing grin just below ice-cold eyes that
had changed color yet again.
Byron watched as he disappeared into the crowd
and then pushed away from the table and motioned for one of the other
volunteers to take over. He stepped over to his car and looked at his own
reflection in the door window.
He was tall and slender. His legs were tanned
despite his typically fair complexion. He loved the sunlight and the land. The
air in his lungs and the way it felt to run and jump and stretch.
He knew his time was running out, and he’d have
to find a way to tell her the truth. He owed her that much. Nadia would
probably think he was insane, but he needed to try to explain. But there was
another complication now. That cowboy was no student. He wanted to think he’d
simply imagined it, but because he was so close to his flux he’d felt the
innate supernatural pull from that cowboy.
Byron didn’t know exactly
what
the cowboy was yet, but he knew he was trouble.
****
Nadia accepted the tip from the shy boy who’d
kept his eyes averted from her face as he’d handed her a five-dollar bill and
then turned beet red as she thanked him. During her four years of college,
she’d had her fair share of college guys. The fumbling and inexperienced, the
rude and boozy, and the shy but perverted types that came in all shapes and
sizes.
Thankfully, she’d found Byron, and his maturity,
sensitivity and wisdom had thrilled her beyond belief. It didn’t hurt that he
had the looks of a Greek god and a sexual stamina unlike any she’d ever
experienced.
She wanted to spend the rest of her life with
him, but whenever she broached the subject of a future together, he seemed to
change the topic. He was a master at evading the discussion, and his diversions
typically ended with them naked, leaving her to wonder if he really felt the
same.
Sure, he told her he loved her, and she believed
him fully. But still, there was something left unsaid between them. While she’d
told him all about her painful childhood, he’d been indifferent on any topic
concerning his past. She didn’t want to worry about the unknown, but she
thought of it more and more lately as her graduation drew closer by the day.
Nadia reached up to touch the shell necklace at
the base of her neck. Byron had given it to her a few months ago, and she
rarely took it off. It didn’t make logical sense, but whenever she wore it, she
swore she could feel him touching her. She smiled at her own overactive
imagination and turned to see him at the payment table.
He wasn’t there.
Her eyes scanned the crowd and the long line of
students and cars still waiting to be serviced. The fundraiser was looking to
be quite successful, but she wondered where Byron had wandered off to.
Just then, she caught sight of someone running
by on the other side of the parking lot. She turned and saw the back of Byron’s
dark hair as he sprinted through the doors of the
was running for his life.
Chapter Three
Byron hadn’t seen the ice-cold water as much as
felt it drench his shorts-clad legs. After examining himself in the car
window’s reflection, he’d been suddenly inspired to find Nadia and spill the
beans but had been waylaid by a full frontal assault. Even as the water struck
him, intense pressure built inside him. His skin was crawling as his body
threatened to force a flux right there in the parking lot.
Without so much as another thought, he’d taken
off in a full run. Gasping with pain, he’d headed for the nearby locker rooms
with only one thought in mind.
Hide.
But even as he high-tailed it away from the
crowded parking lot, he’d heard the words vibrate behind his eardrums.
“How do you like that, Doc?”
It was the cowboy, and he knew, now, this guy
was definitely not just an average student playing a prank.
Byron would have loved nothing better than to
smash the punk-ass with all the might he possessed, but for the moment he
didn’t have time to argue or play immature games. He had to get the hell out of
here and fast.
****
Out of breath, he crouched down in the locker
room. The smell of body spray and wet linens wafted up his nostrils as he
fought the powerful nature of his true being. Earlier today he’d had only a few
shapes appear on one leg. This time both his thighs were covered in them. His
skin had thinned out over them, and he could almost make out the greenish tint
beneath.
Dammit.
As the noonday sun turned the black,
sizzling surface, he knew within twelve hours, the call of the sea would be
unbearable. He scratched at the surface of his legs. Maybe he could give
himself a cortisone injection to ease the pain. He wasn’t sure it would even
work, but if he could make it to the medical center, he could try.
As it was, he wanted to rip the
through the skin and extract the slick scales.
“Baby?”
Nadia’s voice
drew his attention away from his panic as he heard the soft patter of her shoes
on the cement floor. He edged back into the shadows.
Nadia rounded
the corner. He could just make out the silhouette of her lithe figure before
the metal door clanged shut behind her blocking the outside light.
“Byron? Are
you in here?”
His breathing
shallow, the pain nearly crippling him, he saw a soiled towel draped over a
nearby wooden bench. He reached for it with his fingertips. His hand trembled
with the effort.
To fight a
water-induced flux was akin to suffering through a second-degree burn with no
anesthetic. It was excruciating and beyond torturous. But giving into to his
natural-born transformation was simply not possible right now. So he fought it.
“Byron! Answer
me!”
Nadia’s voice
was a cross between worry and anger. She was of Russian descent, and her temper
was never far beneath the surface. He heard her take a few steps in his
direction, and then the room was flooded with the garish overhead fluorescent
lights.
Luckily, he’d
been able to pull the towel across his lap, and, even more fortunate for him, it
had been dry instead of damp.
She stared
down at him from only a few feet away, her face concerned, her eyes curious.
“Are you
okay?”
He feigned a
smile but knew it wasn’t convincing when she moved rapidly toward him and
crouched down.
“Let me see. Are
you hurt or something?”
Byron tried to
turn away. He wasn’t sure what to say. So he said nothing.
“Are you
burned? What happened to your legs, baby?”
Byron shook
his head.
Nadia tore her
gaze away from Byron’s legs and made eye contact with him, taking him by the
shoulders she searched his eyes.
“You’re in
pain. In shock. Let’s get you to the hospital.”
Nadia stood
and leaned down to help Byron to his feet, but he didn’t budge.
“No.”
Nadia’s voice
grew louder, more insistent.
“I know you
don’t like other doctors, but we have to go. Whatever this is, you can’t treat
it yourself. Sometimes you have to ask others for help. I’ll be with you. Don’t
worry.”
His chest
ached at the tender, caring words. He wished his reluctance to visit medical
personnel was all about a simple fear or dislike of other doctors. Instead it
was about the ugly truth they’d discover if he were to ever be examined closely
by a real medical professional.
That was
exactly why he’d chosen to present himself here as a physician in the first
place. It was the perfect cover.
“I can’t go. You
don’t understand.” Byron pled with Nadia. He wanted her to understand. He had
to tell her the truth.
Nadia raised
her hand to her mouth and began to nervously nibble at her nails. It was her
own precious way of dealing with stress, and he loved every little thing about
her.
But he knew
she was waiting for something he couldn’t give her. Didn’t know how to give
her. She watched his face for answers.
The words
surprised Byron. Nadia had hit home with her random question. The fear of
abandonment was something Nadia struggled with already. Having been a foster
child in
by a loving American family, but the fears and insecurities of her childhood
remained.