Jess’s jaw dropped. Shane was immediately silenced. Jerika looked back and forth between the two of them, wondering what had just happened. “Didn’t you tell her?”
It should have occurred to him that Jess would recognize Jerika’s lack of maturity. Though Jerika appeared to be the same age as Eric, she had fought like she had been doing it a lot longer and would naturally make Jess curious.
“Of course I did,” Shane defended himself not taking his eyes from a self-composing Jess. “Just not all the details.” He prayed the resilience Jess had displayed last night would serve her now.
“So you’re Elven too?” He couldn’t detect a tremor in Jess’s voice. He knew she was still shaken. He removed the half-empty mug from her trembling hand, silently wishing Jerika would leave.
“Yup. I can fly like the wind.” Jerika defused the discomfort effortlessly. “So you gonna answer me about the Buffalo wings or what?”
“It’s just what they call chicken wings cooked in a type of BBQ sauce.” Jess answered her distractedly, her mind clearly no longer in the conversation.
“Really?” Jerika turned to walk into the living room, rolling her eyes. “For such a smart species, that seems pretty stupid to me.”
“Should I be offended on behalf of the human race?” Shane could tell Jess was trying for a joke. He winced and waited for the inevitable.
Jerika cocked her head at Jess. “I guess you could if you were
human
.”
Son of a bitch. That was not how he’d hoped this conversation would go down. Shane interceded, herding Jerika toward the door. “Good use of youthful slang this morning,” Shane complimented. “Now get out.”
“Didn’t get enough last night. Fine, I’m going already. Oh, by the way, Jess. Your brother tttooottalllyy wants me.” Jerika vanished just before she reached the door.
Shane turned back to Jess, who again was gaping, this time at the spot Jerika had just occupied.
“I think I’m going to be sick.” She turned to Shane. The look on her face caused his chest to tighten in fear. Too many emotions were battling for supremacy on her beautiful face.
“You want to sit down?” Shane took a seat on the sofa, patting the spot next to him.
She took one of the chairs opposite him instead. How badly had he fucked this up? She wouldn’t even sit next to him. He could see her rising terror.
“She vanished, Shane. Poof. Gone. How did she do that?” Her voice had risen in pitch.
Shane determined the only way through this was going to be brutal honesty. “She didn’t vanish, Jess. She ported. The same way you have been doing for years in your dreams.” He paused to let his words sink in.
“Okay, then explain to me how she could be fifty-two years old.” She was steeling herself. Shane was grateful.
“Elven mature slower than you did. They mature slower than humans too. There are two different races in the Volaticus species. Elven, like me, and Hulven, which is what you are, Beauty.”
“Jesus. How much weird shit is out there?” she half-joked, a deflection mechanism Shane was quickly becoming familiar with. He could see her heart pounding in the vein in her neck. Her shield was unstable. She was shaken. She hadn’t attempted to run … yet.
Giving her an encouraging smile, he continued. “You are a hybrid between Elven and human. Have you ever heard of a liger—half tiger, half lion?” She nodded hesitantly. “One of your parents was full Elven, and the other would have to be either a Hulven, like you,” adding emphasis so she could get used to the term, “or one of the rare human females who has the genetics to be able to breed with an Elven male. We call them Heredity.”
“Holy shit, I really am a freak of nature.” Tears sprung into her eyes.
“You are prefect, damn it. You ever say anything like that again and I will put you over my knee and spank your sweet little ass till you like it. You understand me?” Shane’s dentes had erupted. How could she even think such a thing? She was the greatest gift ever created.
Jess swallowed audibly, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders. He sat in awe, watching her fortify herself. Freak of nature she’d called herself. Never. She was a force of nature.
“That Hulven thing is not possible. I knew both of my parents. My mother was like me. She and I could telepathically communicate for as long as I can remember. My father, no way.” She was shaking her head, trying to dismiss the idea.
Shane glanced at her hands, which were wringing in her lap, the only outward sign of her agitation. He’d known this argument would come up. “I have been thinking on that. I don’t think the man you know is your biological father.” Using the vulnerability of her shield, he tried to hedge the probability into her mind.
“Stop that!” she snapped, responding to his mental prod and not liking it. Her shield solidified, shutting him out. “God, just give me a minute.” She stood and marched to the stone entry. “Open it,” she demanded.
He emphasized the pulse of kinetic energy, letting her feel the sensation of the surge. The stone slid forward and to the side slightly.
“Just send a mental command, it opens.” Shane said.
She looked back at the door and it moved slightly at her wordless command. She gave a soft intake of breath. “Holy shit,” she muttered under her breath. She started to walk out and then turned back. “I’m sorry. This isn’t about you. I can call you later if you want me to, but I gotta go.” Her eyes were tormented.
Shane longed to pull her into his arms. To rage against the emotional distance that formed between them. She wasn’t a prisoner. He had to let her leave. Still he hesitated, silently pleading with her to stay. She turned to walk out.
She shouldn’t have learned of her racial heritage that way. I am such an asshole,
he thought, dying inside. Every cell screamed to possess, to protect, and to make her accept him. The stone softly closed behind her, under her command this time. He merely let out the breath he had been holding, finally doing what he should have done before now: He ported himself to the residence of his mentor.
Chapter Nine
The two operators, Peter and Lucy, who had made the initial contact with the Elusive, were given the honor of accompanying Frank and his assistant Michael to meet Fualth and Sofia’s plane. Once the introductions were complete, Fualth bestowed the sufficient atta-boy’s to the operators. The group filed into a waiting limousine. Surrounded by four black SUVs loaded with armed guards, the group headed to the dock to be transferred by boat to the unmapped Haitian Island, where the Haitian nest lived and worked.
“We have kept the knowledge of your visit to those present and the other six operators who make up Peter and Lucy’s team,” Frank informed him. Each of the ten computer data teams consisted of eight personnel rotating through twenty-four-hour shifts. They generally became close-knit groups, as was desired. This particular group had three females and five males, all Hulven. It was expected that the group would be apprised of the situation as a unit, rather than trying to divide loyalties.
It was already evident that Lucy was one of Frank’s candidates for the interview from the competitive sneer she kept sending Sofia. Always the consummate professional, Sofia behaved perfectly, seeming oblivious to the other woman’s disdain.
“I should like to meet them all, of course.” As was proper. He was all about proper. Grinning, Fualth watched the sun rise through the tinted windows. “A potential interviewer must be prepared to establish a blood bond to me. If we obtain a location to port to, I much prefer following the blood signature of a trusted bond than a geographic.” Feigning oblivion to the look traded between Lucy and Peter at his announcement, he continued to stare out the window.
****
Shane manifested at the top of the knoll overlooking the very obstacle course he had been ran over the coals as a youth. He found the tyrant bullhorning in the center of a bunch of young Elven and a few Hulven tiredly lifting huge slabs of concrete. A fond smile crept across his lips.
“
Ya gonna stand there gawkin’ or ya gonna get ya ass down here and show these younguns a thing or two?”
Even from the distance that would have gone unnoticed by most, Gilgamesh had been aware of Shane’s arrival. He was one of the most powerful Elven Shane knew. “
Ya know I recommended ya ta mentor Jerika. Knew ya wouldn’t be able ta say no to her. Heard she’s doing real well. Ya should know ya’ll probably get a couple of these newbies too.”
“
I served my time in ‘Meshy-Hell,’ so I guess I’ll just watch this time.”
He referred to the play on Gilgamesh’s name and adopted moniker for the advanced training and human integration campus. Attending human integration was required for Volaticus youth growing up in the Symbiosis of Species Council. Gil was commandant of the campus. The training taught the youths to control their innate impulses. The majority of first-time integrators went into the Red Cross. Some would elect Peace Corp, paramedic, fire fighting, or police, like Jerika. Regardless, they would need to be comfortable in extreme situations, oftentimes exposed to blood, all the while working side by side with humans without giving away their true natures. The course was self-paced, with an average time for completion of three to four years. Some finished in as few as two or as many as five.
Shane ported to stand directly behind Gil, taking note of how long it took the different newbies to realize his presence. The fastest was a young female who’d been looking at the exact spot he’d manifested. The longest time was a heavily muscled male who was in the process of lifting a nine-hundred-pound block of concrete. He had been behind the fifteen-second curve by three additional seconds.
“So ya come ta spar?” Gil sounded hopeful. He loved to spar against a competent opponent.
“No, wish I was. I need some help. I think I have met my … mate … she may even be my bloodmate, and she’s Hulven,” he blurted out. Gil held his hand up to stop him.
“Wait.” Gil looked at the group around them. “Ev‘ryone get outta here. Ya get an unscheduled break. Say: ‘Thank Ya Shane.’”
Together the group said, “Thank you, Shane,” with all sorts of enthusiasm.
Within seconds the group had skidaddled, probably afraid Gil would call them back, telling them they were suckers to think that he was really going to give them a break. Followed by hours of hell.
“Talk ta me.” By mutual unspoken agreement, they both turned to wander toward the swimming ponds, a natural sound barrier.
Shane relayed the gist of what had transpired over the past day, omitting intimate details and protecting Jess’s confidences. He did admit to giving Jerika a direct order to not include anything in her report about Jess, except that she was the self-defense instructor. Gil chuckled and nodded.
“Bloodmatin’s were always rich in rule breakin’ and drama, back when they were common,” Gil mumbled, shaking his head. “Ya do realize a true bloodmating hasna been documented in centuries, right? A Hulven and an Elven? Never. I think my parent wouda told me.” Since both of Gil’s parents were involved heavily in the SOSC, Shane was sure Gil would know.
“I don’t know what to say, Gil. I can’t explain how I feel.” Shane shrugged.
“Ya actually let her leave, huh.” Gil asked. Shane nodded, feeling miserable. “Ya are a tough bastard.” He shook his head with a smirk. “First thing first, lemme get a look at the pistol that has whooped your ass. See if we canna convince her ta take ya ta her aunt.”
“I don’t think she wants to see me. I really fucked this up, Gil. She’s exceptionally resilient, amazingly intelligent. Determined in a way I’ve only ever dreamed of being. The way she looked at me when she left … I think she may fear me now. Fear us.” He’d never felt so defeated in his life.
“If that gal’s your bloodmate, trust me, she’ll be wantin’ ta see ya.” Gil clasped his hand to Shane’s shoulder, infusing him with confidence. “Just lemme get the giant ov’r there ta take ov’r the class.”
When Gil returned, Shane sent his energy seeking her blood signature, using only the small drop of blood he’d gotten while kissing her. Once he found her, he felt an instant sense of relief and a burst of joy just because she was in the universe. Berating himself as the sap he was, he held her blood signature and then tagged Gil’s, carrying them both to her location, hoping he didn’t land them in a wall.
****
Jess sat in the parking lot of the Ryu, leaning her forehead against the steering wheel, dreading going in. She knew she needed to. If the thirty missed calls on her phone, which had been forgotten on the floorboard, gave any indication, she had some ’splainin’ to do to Eric and Aymee. “Shitshitshitshitshit!” she shouted. Jumping out of the Jeep and slamming the door, she trotted across the lot to the employee entrance.
“I have called them all … Yes, and the police … She has to be gone twenty-four hours for them to take a report, but they don’t have her Jeep involved in any accidents. … I have a class waiting to start right now, but if I don’t hear from her in—” Aymee turned when the door shut. Jess entered their combined offices and set her purse on her desk. It was obvious she was talking to Ellen. Good thing Jess walked in when she did or her foster mother would have called in the National Guard.