Chapter Eighteen

“What’s happening?” Tristan was up and putting on clothes. His teeth were lengthening. She was scared, but not of him. Something was triggering him.

“Someone is on the property.” It took her a minute to decipher the words around his long canine teeth. “Don’t leave.”

She was blinking at his ass as he left the room. Did he just tell her to stay like a dog? “Nobody puts Baby in a corner!” she screamed and would have laughed if this wasn’t a serious situation. She made a note to re-watch that movie as she got dressed.

This was when she wished for a gun. Since the intruders would probably snatch it and use it on her, she was safer without one.

She sent her senses out. Being a fully functional empath had its perks. She knew the hallway was clear before she went out. The only one able to hide from her was Ven, and she wasn’t worried about him.

She widened her search. It left her thin with not as much protection, but she needed to know who was in the house. It was empty. She crept to the back. The land here was expansive. They owned enough to start their own national park.

The first thing that hit her when she opened the door was the distinct smell of fear. She didn’t know how to put it, but every emotion had a smell. Fear was dark and sour. It was coming in waves. Someone was afraid for their life.

The next thing she felt was predators. She could feel the Kur’iks and Tristan’s voice was in her head telling her to be careful. Those were emotions and smells she was used to. The other smells were from the predator's hunting whoever was scared as well as the Kur’iks.

Their mistake was coming on their land. There was a movement to her left. It was barely visible; she might have missed it if not for the fear that was suffocating.

“I won’t hurt you.” Please, don’t be one of those creatures who wants to crack me open and eat my gooey center. “Come out.”

“How do I know I can trust you?” The voice belonged to a male. She caught a glimpse of one hand with lean, tapered fingers.

“Because Meghan told you about me. She trusted me, and you can too.” It was a shot in the dark, but she bet he was Meghan’s brother. “I’ve been looking for you. Isn’t that why you came here?”

She had been looking for him. If Meghan disappeared, she was sure he would be next on the hit list.

“Yeah.”

“What’s your name?”

“Andre, but they call me Dre.”

“Come out Dre. We should go in the house while my male and our friends defeat whoever chased you here.”

He stepped out, and she wanted to cry. He was young maybe sixteen. His clothes were dirty, ripped and torn. His dark skin was darker from the dirt he was covered in. He took a step towards the porch. She waited not wanting to scare him.

“I was looking for my sister.” The resignation in his voice was awful.

“I’m looking for her too. We’ll get to her in time.”

“You don’t think…” He was standing at the bottom of the steps. His brown eyes swept up to meet hers wanting to believe.

“I believe she’s still alive. When we get her, she’s going to need her brother to hold her tight.”

“I can do that. I miss her.” He walked up the steps. Mira placed an arm around him holding him tight as he shuddered.

“How about a shower, a change of clothes, and a hot meal? Then you can tell me what happened.”

He looked over his shoulder still shaking.

“You have nothing to worry about now; you're safe.” They would have to kill the Kur’iks more than once if they thought they were getting into the house.

She took him to one of the rooms that wasn’t being used.

“This place is bigger than my parent's house. They’d be so jealous if they could see it. They don’t take in strangers though.”

“Most people don’t. Just call me different. The bathroom is through the door. There are clothes on the bed that I think will fit you. I’ll be in the sitting room waiting for you.”

“Thank you, Ms.?”

“Call me Mira sweetie all the kittens do.”

He frowned, then nodded before he walked into the bathroom.

Mira curled up on the couch before she sent her senses out. She wanted to know what was happening outside. There was silence. It felt dead to a person who relied on her emotions. Then she felt Tristan reach for her.

“What’s happening?”

“I’m in the house with Meghan’s brother Dre. He’s taking a shower. Who was after him?”

“Our friendly neighborhood spooks. I wonder how he got away from them?”

“He’s different like Meghan.”

“Ven mentioned that.”

“Did you catch any of them?”

“They disappeared just like the other two times. This time there was a strong smell before they were gone. I don’t know if it was associated with them leaving or not.”

“So, we’re no closer to an answer?”

“Not true, we know for a fact that they are targeting certain individuals. What ties their victims together is the ability to tap into their inner mentality in some form. You can tap into and use the emotions you were born with. I suspect that everyone they took can do the same. We’ll be home soon.”

“I’ll be waiting.” She sent a picture of a kiss through their link before he broke it.

She suspected that everyone they took could tap into their emotions, psych, or something else deeper than most people bothered with. The question was why? Where did they come from? Were they like the Kur’iks stranded on earth for hundreds of years, or were they some new breed of human?

She could think about it forever, but until they got new Intel, she wasn’t going to figure it out.

“Thank you.” Dre walked into the sitting room looking scared and alone. He was also clean and dressed nicely. “Everything fit, including the shoes.” He lifted one large foot to show her.

“You have Ven to thank for that. They believe in making sure newcomers have clothes where he comes from.” Ven had walked in two days ago saying loudly, but addressing no one, that the new clothes for their male visitor would be in this room.

They stared at him, but not one of them dared to ask what he was talking about. Not that he would have answered them. They didn’t ask because if they were ignorant, they didn’t have to speculate on who Ven was.

“I’ll remember to thank him.”

“Come get some food. Anything you can’t eat?”

“String beans.”

She laughed. “That sounds more like personal preference to me.”

“Maybe, I don’t do liver either.”

Mira shuddered. “Smart young man.”

He grinned at her, then followed her to the kitchen.

“Wow, this is a great kitchen. I love your house it feels safe.” He took a seat at the table and watched her putter around.

It did feel safe here. It was probably one of the reasons she didn’t want to leave in the beginning, combine that with the fact that Tristan was sexy as hell. Well was it any wonder she was mated to her male?

“Dre, we have breakfast food and lasagna that Ven made. Ven can cook.”

“Lasagna?”

“I see you’re a teen after my own heart.” She pulled out a pan and cut a large slice. “I think we’ll settle for the microwave tonight.”

When his food was in front of him along with a glass of cold soda, she sat and watched him devour it. He hadn’t eaten in a while.

“Can you tell me what happened?” She asked after he ate seconds.

“Yeah. My sister Meghan was missing. Usually, she would call me once a week to tell me that when I was eighteen, she was coming for me. She missed one week, then another. I got scared and went to our parents, but they didn’t care. They said she was acting like a spoiled brat and eventually she’d come back. I knew better. So, I got a bus ticket and came to look for her.”

Mira stayed quiet as Dre worked through his thoughts.

“I thought she was living a good life, but she wasn’t. I realized I didn’t care. I’d rather be with her struggling than lying in a rich bed with people that didn’t want me. I was walking the streets asking people if they had seen her when finally, one person told me that he knew the last person she had seen. They were willing to talk to me all I had to do was meet with them. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. I stole a car, hot-wired it.”

He stopped talking, probably waiting for her to ask him how a rich kid had the skills to hot-wire a car. She didn’t ask. In her life, she had been involved with too many teens to ask a question like that.

“They wanted to meet away from the city proper. Last night, I got your address. I already knew your name, and that you were looking for me. When I googled the address, I found it was close to where the person wanted to meet. When I got there one man was waiting. He was all teeth and black shadows. He offered to take me to my sister, said I was just like her, and he wanted me to join the frenzy.”

He stood up knocking his chair over as his hands rubbed against his jeans.

“Dre?”

“I need a minute.” He twisted his body scratching at it like bugs were crawling over him.

“You’re safe.” Mira wrapped him in her arms. “No one can touch you here Dre.”

“I ran,” he whispered. “I wanted to go with him to find Meghan, but I couldn’t. All I could do was leave, and I didn’t know where to go. So, I came here.”

“You did the right thing.” They looked up to find Ven standing in the doorway.

Dre moved back toughening up.

“Only cowards run.”

“I’ve run before,” Tristan said walking through the door.

“So, have I,” Cade echoed. “Because you ran we know that their victims can be both male and female. We also know your sister is alive. Because you ran, we had another shot at them. They pulled their disappearing trick again, but now we have a better idea of who they are not and what they can do in a fight. All of that is valuable information that you provided us with.”

“If you had, you would be trapped and no help to us.”

Mira watched as a small smile played on his lips before it disappeared.

“How old are you Dre?”

“Seventeen.”

“Won’t your parents be looking for you?”

He shook his head. “I graduated a year early. They promoted me in the fifth grade said I was ahead of the other students. Although I’m only seventeen, my parents consider me an adult since I graduated high school.”

“Are you going to college?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“Where ever Meghan is.”

She could see the strong bond he had with his sister. That would help in her rehabilitation. She wanted to ask about his parents, but he didn’t want to talk about it. That made sense to her.

“When we find Meghan, we’re going to help her, and you.”

He nodded his head trying to hide his tired eyes.

“That room where the clothes are is going to be your bedroom until we find your sister. Why don’t you go get some sleep?”

He looked up alarmed.

“No one will bother you here. Do you need me to lead the way back?”

“No, I remember.”

“Sleep well, we’ll see you in the morning.”