Manipulating Mikey (First Wave Book 8) (13 page)

“He sounds like a good man,” Lauren
said.

“He was the best,” Mikey agreed.
“He never raised a hand to me and rarely ever yelled. He encouraged me to
follow my dreams of being in the military.”

“And your mom?”

Mikey smiled broadly at Lauren’s
question.

“She was . . . indomitable. Mom was
tougher than my dad in a lot of ways. But she was unfailingly in my corner at
all times, and there was never a time when I didn’t know that she loved me
fiercely. Unless she thought I was in the wrong, then she’d be all over me to
do the right thing even if it meant getting into trouble for it. Having the
courage to do the right thing meant more to her than being a perfect kid. I was
more afraid of disappointing her than of getting into trouble. I think she’d be
pretty disappointed in the way I’ve handled things,” Mikey said with a heavy
sigh.

“I doubt that,” Lauren said gently.
“I think she’d be pretty proud of the courage you’ve shown through pretty
extraordinary circumstances.”

Mikey really hoped that Lauren was
right. He hated to think of his mom looking down on him and shaking her head at
the things he’d said and done since he’d been freed from military
interrogation.

“Thanks, I hope you’re right,”
Mikey said as they made their way around the lake into a wooded area.

They walked in silence until a few
minutes later the woods opened up and a beautiful home appeared in front of
them. Built in the same style as the city they’d just left, Mikey had no doubt
this house was built by the same people.

“Wow . . . this the king’s
residence or something?”

Lauren laughed and motioned to the
beautiful home.

“We’re not sure. And I don’t think
anyone has thought to ask Indrid. Right now there’s a few people who are
allowed to stay in what we call the summer homes, even though it’s perpetually
spring-like here. They are usually given to mated couples that stay here, which
doesn’t happen often. Everyone else usually bunks in the castle,” Lauren
explained.

They lapsed into a comfortable
silence again as they passed the other homes and headed back to the city on the
other side of the lake. Things seemed to be going a lot better between them
than it had for days, and Mikey realized he didn’t want it to end.

“I hate to ask . . . but Grai wants
me to take a look at that footage from the forest the day his brother crashed.
To be honest, I haven’t really figured out the whole comm thing. Could you help
me get it set up so I can look at?” he asked, hoping she’d say yes.

Lauren looked away to hide her
smile of pleasure. She knew he was looking for an excuse for them to spend more
time together, and she was thrilled that he wanted to. She felt a rush of hope
run through her.

“Of course I’ll help. It would mean
a lot to all of us to get Koda back,” she replied, trying to keep her
excitement under control so he wouldn’t feel it through her energy.

“What was going on in the forest
that day? Shockingly enough, I still have no idea why I ended up with Koda’s
craft on top of me,” he said with a teasing grin.

Lauren grimaced and gave him a weak
smile.

“Actually, that’s a long story and
not one of the shining moments of our people. We were kind of fighting each
other when the military unit hunting us got wind of where we were,” Lauren
said. When she saw Mikey’s startled look she rushed to explain.

“Fiorn was a little hesitant to
work with Grai . . . at first. It was all a horrible misunderstanding that was
thankfully corrected, and now we’re functioning a lot better as a people than
we did before. I believe it was more like growing pains than an actual
altercation,” she said.

“I haven’t met Fiorn yet, but I
have met Grai, and I can’t imagine that there are many who could stand against
him. Not for long anyway. He’s a really . . . imposing guy,” Mikey admitted
without shame.

He didn’t think for one moment that
he was the only male around here who felt the same way. It was hard not to
notice the respect and immediate obedience to Grai’s orders. Mikey had been in
the military long enough to know that men and women didn’t afford any leader
that kind of respect unless they’d earned it.

He had no doubt Grai had done
something—more than a few somethings—to earn it. The guy exuded power and
leadership, and Mikey had to admit he’d be jealous if he didn’t know that kind
of power and respect came a lot of responsibility.

Lauren laughed at Mikey’s
assessment of Grai.

“He can be intimidating, but wait
until you meet his son. The baby son anyway—Grai has two dozen adopted
children. Little Tristan is an angel. He’s probably the most talented and
amazing of all of us.”

Mikey saw the adoration shining in
Lauren’s eyes when she spoke of the boy, and he was a little jealous until he
realized how stupid it would be. She was speaking of a child, not a grown man,
but the information did surprise him.

“Two dozen adopted children? His
wife must be a saint,” Mikey said, wondering what holiday dinners were like at
Grai’s house.

Do they even celebrate the
holidays?
he wondered.

“Trust me, she is. I was lucky
enough to help deliver their daughter, Grace. They are an amazing family, and
family means a lot to Grai. Koda being gone has left a terrible impact on him
and Traze. Traze is the youngest brother. Anything you can do to help find Koda
would be appreciated,” Lauren said, honestly hoping that Mikey could find
something that would lead them to Koda.

Mikey chuckled.

“No pressure right?” he teased.

Lauren smiled at his teasing tone,
glad that he seemed to be dealing with everything better than he had before.
Although she wondered at the change in his attitude, she was glad to see it and
loathed to ruin it by asking.

“No, no pressure. I’m sure Grai
knows it’s a long shot, but he has to try,” Lauren explained.

“I know. To be honest, I really
hope I can find something for him. He’s done a lot for me, and I’d like to
repay him,” Mikey admitted, sending up a quick prayer that he could find
something in the videos.

They had reached the path that led
to the city and moved from the grass to the smooth stones.

“We’ll set you up in one of the
conference rooms on the bottom floor of the castle that way there’s a lot of
wall to project the vids on. While you start looking, I’ll grab us some
breakfast and coffee. I’m starving,” Lauren offered, hoping he wouldn’t mind if
she shared breakfast with him.

Mikey was having a hard time
calming himself. He couldn’t be more thrilled that she was offering to spend
more time with him.

“I’m starving, and some coffee
would be worth more than gold to me right now. How about I help you get our
breakfast, and then you can show me how to work the comm and set up the vids
while we eat?” Mikey suggested, thinking it would give him even more time with
her.

“That sounds like a good plan to
me,” Lauren agreed, hiding her bright smile so he wouldn’t know how happy it
made her. She didn’t want to push him away by seeming too eager.

They made their way into the kitchen,
and Lauren grabbed a tray to carry everything on while Mikey took two plates
and handed one to her. They picked their way through the food laid out, and
Lauren filled a stone carafe with fresh coffee and put it on the tray.

They stood over the tray for a
moment, wondering if they forgot something. When they nodded at each other,
Mikey carried the tray and followed Lauren through the large hallways until she
opened a door and led him inside.

He set the tray down on the huge
table in the center of the room and looked around.

This place is just full of
surprises
, he thought as he looked around.

The stone table in the center of
the room was at least 20 feet long and five wide and looked like it’d been
carved from a single piece of dark granite.

“How the hell did they get it in
here?” he wondered aloud as he looked underneath it at the solid granite legs
the top rested on.

Lauren laughed as she pulled
everything off of the tray and onto the table and poured them both a cup of
coffee before sitting down at the side of the table.

“That is another one of those
mysteries of this place that I’ll have to ask Indrid about sometime,” she
admitted as she handed him a cup of coffee.

Mikey took the cup, his fingers
lingering on hers as he grasped the stone mug. He finally pulled away and took
a sip of the delicious brew. He’d never known coffee could taste as good as it
did at Base Beta.

“This is so good. What do you do to
the beans?” he asked as he downed the cup and poured more before sitting beside
her at the table.

“Honestly,” Lauren said with a
chuckle. “these are store bought beans. But I know what you mean about the
taste. We have the same coffee at almost all of our bases, and it never tastes
as good as it does here. We figured out that it’s not the coffee, it’s the
water here that makes the difference,” Lauren admitted, glad she could answer
one mystery for him.

“The water? You’re kidding.”

Lauren shook her head and took a
sip of her own coffee.

“Nope, it’s the water. It’s the
purest on the planet and full of ancient vitamins and minerals that your body
had no idea it’s been missing until you drink it. We started sending it to our
other bases years ago because of its purity and health benefits,” she
explained.

Mikey looked at his cup of coffee,
the questions running through his mind.

“Why is it only found here?” he
finally asked.

“Companies. All those companies
from the 60s to recently that have polluted the waters with chemicals and other
nasty things,” Lauren said.

“Ah, you mean the same companies
that the politicians received campaign donations from to keep the pollution
quiet, and now they’re trying to make laws that require our taxes to pay for
the cleanup?” he asked sarcastically. 

Lauren laughed. Most people had no
clue that their taxes paid for those companies to pollute their water and now
were going to have to pay again to clean up the mess. It was a win-win for the
companies, and the politicians would retire with a high profile position in the
companies they helped while the people continued to pay through the damage to
their health and their taxes.

“Yeah, most people don’t know all
that though,” Lauren admitted.

Mikey popped a grape in his mouth
and chewed before responding.

“My dad used to say that the
politicians stopped working for the people when the lobbyists were allowed to
buy the votes away from the people. He said that it wouldn’t take long before
the only party that existed was the one out only for themselves and their bank
accounts. He was right; there is no longer any party for the people—only people
out for themselves,” Mikey said ruefully.

They lapsed into silence again,
each wrapped in their own thoughts while they ate. Usually, Mikey felt the need
to fill the silence with idle chatter, but this time he felt comfortable and
more at ease than he’d felt in a long time. He didn’t know if it was Lauren and
the supposed mating bond they shared, but he liked it.

He felt a coolness in his mind and
wondered at the feeling for a moment before asking Lauren.

“Why does my head feel really cold
sometimes?”

“That’s your beast,” she replied,
before explaining further. “It reflects his activity in your brain. He’s not
harming you in any way; he could be using his energy to expand your abilities
or talking with other beasts through the Shengari’.”

Mikey thought about it a minute.

“Isn’t that how a bond is formed?
Him using his abilities more and expanding mine?” he asked, less afraid of the
answer than he’d been the day before.

Chapter
Thirteen

Lauren briefly thought about lying
to him or sugar coating her answer, but she knew keeping the truth from him had
only driven him away from her, and she wasn’t going to make the same mistake
again.

“Yes, it means that your actions
are allowing him to deepen your bond. The more accepting you become of the
bond, the beast senses it and responds by embedding himself further into your
brain. The deeper the bond, the more attuned and focused your energy becomes,
making it easier for the beast to expand your abilities,” she explained, hoping
he’d take the news better than he had taken similar information previously.

Mikey thought about it, surprised
he didn’t feel the panic he’d felt when they talked about it before.

In my defense, a lot has happened
since then
, he thought.

Still, he wondered what the whole
bonding process entailed and what it would mean for him and his beast. It was
time he asked some questions.

“So, what’s it like? Being fully
bonded?”

Lauren was thrilled that he wasn’t
only asking about it, but he seemed to be taking it pretty well, and she hoped
that continuing to speak honestly would help him through this.

“It’s very different for the males
and females,” Lauren said with a small smile. “And I’m probably not the best
one to ask since I’ve never had to use my abilities the way others have. I’ve
never killed anyone with my ability and never needed to use my extra senses to
save my life until recently, and even then Grai had me protected. But, from an
everyday standpoint, it’s really nice.”

“How so?” he asked curiously.

Lauren shrugged her shoulders and
took a sip of coffee.

“Like I said, it’s different for
everyone, but for me it’s like having a best friend with you all the time. I
never feel lonely; there’s always someone to talk to that talks back and has an
intelligent response,” she admitted.

Mikey remembered when he was
trapped in the military facility. Every time he faced torture, the voice in his
head encouraged him to remain strong, to fight in his head until he could fight
with his fists. He remembered how the voice comforted him at his lowest moments
and tried to cheer him up. Through his darkest moments, it was the beast in his
head that had been there for him unfailingly, even when he tried to push it
away.

The sentient creature had been
everything for him that Lauren described, and Mikey realized he wouldn’t have
made it through that madness without the friend in his head.

“I am truly sorry for not seeing
you for what you are, my friend. I hope one day you will forgive me for being
an idiot,”
Mikey said in his mind and smiled as his head grew cooler in
response.

It may not have been the voice
response he was hoping for, but it beat no response at all, and he was more
than thrilled with it.

Figuring he needed to get started
on the vids for Grai, Mikey changed the subject.

“OK, so how do I do this vid
thing?” he asked as he pulled the comm from his side pocket and laid it on the
table.

Lauren reached across the table for
the comm and pulled it closer until she could start tapping on the screen.

“OK, we’ll start here with this
icon,” Lauren said as she leaned closer so he could see which one she was
talking about.

Mikey breathed deeply of her unique
scent as she spoke and it took a few minutes for him to realize that she was done
speaking and looking at him for a response.

“Uh . . . sorry. My mind kind of
wandered for a minute there, and I didn’t hear you. Computers have never been
my thing,” Mikey said, trying to cover his embarrassment.

Lauren smiled patiently, wondering
what he’d been thinking about but not brave enough to ask. Instead, she began
her explanation again.

This time Mikey paid attention and
followed her instructions. He was more than a little surprised at how easy it
was to use the compact device. It was like having an entire computer in one
hand. Not only could it access the internet, it could access the powerful
systems used by Grai and Fiorn’s people.

“We’re still integrating
everything, so there won’t be two separate points of access in the near future,
but for right now we still have to access both systems from different computer
portals,” Lauren explained.  

“Is the information different on
each system?” Mikey asked, curious why they hadn’t combined the systems yet.

“Actually, some of it is. Each one
of our groups specialized in one particular area. Grai’s group are a highly
trained and skilled fighting force. They are the ones who run the missions, not
only for our people, but the humans as well. When you get a chance, you’ll have
to look at some of the vids. They really are incredibly good at what they do,”
Lauren admitted as she thought of how they brought her back from the jungle
unharmed.

Mikey nodded. He’d seen the group
in action and had no doubts of their unique abilities and skill.

“What of the other group? Fiorn’s?”
he asked.

“That’s the one I came from. Fiorn
was more interested in keeping us alive and hidden from the world. We learned
computers, hacking, and intimidation. You probably heard of us as the men in
black,” Lauren said with a blush, more than a little embarrassed when Mikey’s
mouth dropped open in shock.

“No way . . .” Mikey breathed out.
“No freaking way! You’re the men in black? Seriously? No way . . . Prove it!”
Mikey said, not really doubting her. He was more in shock that he hadn’t put it
together until now.

Lauren giggled at the awe in his
voice.

“Here, I’ll show you a funny
montage that Traze put together for us after our little incident in the forest
that day,” Lauren said as she pulled up the well know vid and played it for
Mikey.

There were dozens of short clips
put together into a format that had been hilarious for all of them to watch.
Even Fiorn had roared with laughter when he saw the spliced vid of Leif and
True in the forest that day intimidating the campers and hikers, along with
other vids Traze had found when he’d gone through their systems.

“Oh my God!” Mikey said before he
started laughing at the funny little clip.

When it was over, Mikey had to play
it several more times before he’d finally seen enough of it. For now. He knew
he’d be watching it again later. It was hilarious and a less intimidating view
of what he’d always thought the men in black would be if they existed.

“OK, so you’ve combined your
forces. Do Fiorn’s people still do intel and Grai’s missions?” he asked,
wondering if Lauren ever had to go on dangerous missions.

Lauren shook her head and smiled at
him.

“No, a lot of our people shifted to
different teams and duties depending on what they wanted to do. Blade is a good
example,” Lauren said, at Mikey’s doubtful look she continued. “Seriously, his
talents work incredibly well on the humans, and he helped get the information
that helped to find you. He is much better suited to field work than the
computer work he’d been doing. And he’s happier.”

Mikey didn’t say that he thought Blade
enjoyed his work a little too much. But he was surprised by what Lauren had
said.

“So you let your people do whatever
they want? What if they aren’t good at it?”

Lauren laughed at the question.

“We’re pretty level headed as a
whole and a little more realistic about our abilities and limits. But that
doesn’t mean you can’t try. We have several people who’ve failed out of mission
training, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have tried or that they
shouldn’t try again,” she explained.

Mikey considered it for a moment
while he convinced himself he was going to ask the next question purely out of
curiosity and not because he really wanted to know.

“So anyone can join a mission team
as long as they qualify?”

“Yes. With your skills, you could
easily qualify,” Lauren said as a spark of hope flashed through her. She was
hoping he was considering staying with them.

“What kind of missions do they do?”
Mikey asked, really curious now.

“Well, they rescue our own, as you
know. We intervene when the Relians do something to the humans . . .” Lauren
explained before Mikey interrupted her.

“Wait. What do you mean when the
Relians do something to the humans?” he asked.

“They have infiltrated the world
governments and militaries; we try to help the humans whenever we can. There
are mission vids on there that you can look at and get a feel for what they do.
You can also talk to any of the mission teams if you have questions,” Lauren
offered, trying to tamp down her excitement at what she hoped was his interest
in staying.

“I’d be real interested in seeing
some of them. Later though. I told Grai I’d look at the forest vids,” Mikey
said honestly.

He wasn’t just curious about what
the Relians looked like; he wanted to know just what it was that these guys did
on the planet. Lauren was right, they had saved his life on one of their
missions. He wouldn’t mind helping others—like him—who had been clueless about
why they were suddenly cast as an enemy when they had no idea who they were.

If the other missions were compatible
with his own beliefs and code of honor, he wouldn’t mind staying awhile and
seeing how well he could fit in. He had to admit, they had some of the most
kick ass gadgets he’d ever seen and after spending time in a hidden, ancient
city after porting to Nassau, their travel methods were the best around.

Mikey did his best not to think
about the fact that staying meant he’d probably be spending more time with
Lauren. And he definitely didn’t want to consider that the more time they were
together the deeper the bond would form between them.

Nope, that’s not why I want to
stay,
he thought, trying unsuccessfully to convince himself.

“I moved the icon for the footage
to the first screen on your comm so you can find it easier,” Lauren said as she
held up the device and showed him the icon. “I also put a file next to it with
mission vids in case you want to look at it later. Now, I’ll show you how to
control the vids.”

Mikey paid enough attention to what
she said to be able to stop, rewind, and fast forward the footage, but beyond
that he’d have to figure it out on his own because he wasn’t about to admit
he’d been staring at her creamy skin and wondering what it would be like to
kiss her.

When she stood to leave, he
launched himself to his feet and then stood there feeling a little awkward.

“Thanks . . . um . . . for
everything. Especially the chance to try to start all over again. I really
appreciate it,” Mikey stammered, mentally kicking himself for sounding like an
idiot.

Lauren smiled at him, she could
feel how awkward he felt through his energy and was pretty sure it was a good
sign.

“You’re very welcome, Mikey. If you
need help with anything, just call me through the path in your mind,” Lauren
offered, trying not to think of how excited she’d be if he did.

Mikey walked with her to the
doorway and watched her walk halfway down the hallway before she turned,
blushed, sent him a short wave, and then sped the rest of the way down the hall
until she turned out of sight. He couldn’t wipe the smile off of his face at
her interest. 

It had to be interest. Right? What
else could it be? Nope, it was interest,
he thought, his grin broadening.

He headed back into the room and
sat in one of the comfortable leather-like chairs closest to the wall he was
going to project the vids on. Feeling much happier and content than he had in a
long while, Mikey pulled his plate and what was left of Lauren’s closer to him.

He looked at comm, found the icon, and
began watching the footage as he relaxed back in the chair and put a plate in
his lap, his eyes glued to the scene unfolding on the wall.

*****

Lauren was glad her back was turned
and Mikey couldn’t see the huge grin on her face. It took everything she had
not to stumble in the hall when she turned and saw him staring at her. It had
sent a rush of pleasant energy through her so fast it had shocked her.

Even now, several hallways away
from him, she could still feel the threads of energy forming its bond between
them. They were able to be separated by a much greater distance than even the
day before. That told her how much deeper the bond had become in such a short
period of time.

It was a little scary to think
about it, but it was exciting and thrilling at the same time. They may have
gotten off to a really rocky start, but Lauren truly liked Mikey and felt that
they stood a chance of making things work. She was going to have to give a
little, and he probably would as well, but she was much more optimistic about a
future with him than she’d been up to that point.

“Lauren?”