Shadows (16 page)

“She’s really good,” Dawson threw in. His lunch was half devoured. “My girl has skills.”

Andrew leaned forward and said in a low voice, “
Your
girl is going to turn into one huge, mother—”

“Finish that sentence and I will stab you in the eye with the spork Bethany’s about to pull out of her bag for her apple sauce.” He smiled gamely. “And she’d be very upset if I got her spork all messed up. She’s rather fond of the thing.”

Yeah, she would be upset over that…for many reasons.

Andrew sat back, his jaw tightening. On the other side, Daemon did the strangest thing. He laughed—really loudly. It was a nice sound, deeper than Dawson’s.

“A spork,” Dee said, grabbing her bag. “What is a spork?”

Bethany’s mouth dropped open. “You’ve never seen one?”

“Dee doesn’t get out much,” Dawson replied, grinning.

“Shut up.” Dee pulled out the fork and spoon in one and smiled. “I’ve never seen one of these! Ha. This is so handy.” She looked over at Daemon, eyes dancing. “We could get rid of over half of our silverware and get like ten of these and we’d be set for life.”

Daemon shook his head, but the look on his face was one of utter fondness. And Bethany got it then. That no matter how much the three of them were pissed off with one another, there was a deep, loving bond among them. Seeing that caused her to relax. As much as Daemon was upset with Dawson or Dee was worried, they would always stick together. It made her want to run home, hug Phillip, and be a better sister.

Lunch wasn’t that bad afterward. The only downside was Andrew, but he left after a while, and she was so grateful that Ash was a no-show. They left with a few minutes before class to spare.

Outside of the cafeteria, Bethany grinned up at Dawson, motivated by the experience. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

The smile he wore warmed her. “Yeah, it was okay. I think we should do it again.”

She laughed, and then he reached over and took her hand. He pulled her into an empty classroom full of computers. Without saying a word, he slipped the strap of her bag off her shoulder and placed it on the floor. Bethany shivered, unsure if it was because of the frigid air circulating or the determined look on his face.

She took a step back, wetting her lower lip nervously. His green eyes flared. “What…are you doing?”

“I’m going to kiss you again.”

Anticipation rose quickly, leaving her dizzy. “Uh, do you think this is a great place to test that out again?”

“I don’t know, but I can’t wait any longer.” He looked determined as he took a step toward her. So determined that she inched back and kept going until she was against the wall.

Reaching out slowly with both hands, he cupped her cheeks and tilted her chin up. On their own accord, her lashes fluttered closed. Like the first time they’d kissed, his lips were soft as a breath. There was a pause, as if he were waiting for something to happen, and then he kissed her more deeply.

Oh…oh, God, she melted into that kiss, into him, and her chest expanded, filled with air until she felt like she’d float right up to the ceiling. Sliding her arms around his neck, her fingers got tangled in the soft waves at the nape of his neck. His hands, well, they were on the move, too, slipping down her waist, over her hip to her thigh. Dawson made a sound in the back of his throat, a growl-like noise that sent her blood pressure into heart-attack territory. And there was this heat blowing off, strong enough to melt ice cream. It left her in a heady, pleasant fog as his hand moved back to gripping her hip.

Dawson pulled back slightly and his lips spread into a lazy grin against hers. “That…that was good. Great. Perfect.”

“Yeah,” she admitted, breathless. “All of those things and more.”

His thumbs moved over her cheeks, his hands strong yet tender as he held her right there, dipping his head to hers again. He kissed her deeply, holding her against him. When they broke apart the second time, his eyes were luminous and full of an emotion that sent her heart thundering against her ribs. Because she was sure she saw in his eyes what she felt.

Love.

Dawson recognized one of them—he’d been coming to them since they’d moved to West Virginia, but the other was new.

Dee looked up from where she was perched on the edge of her chair. Relief flickered in her shining eyes. Usually that meant things were not going well between Daemon and the DOD, and Dawson would play peacemaker.

Crossing his arms, Dawson said, “Well, this looks like a happy meeting of the minds.”

Daemon’s pointed gaze slid toward him. “Sounds about right.”

Officer Lane cleared his throat. “How have you been, Dawson?” A wave of revulsion and distrust accompanied his greeting. Lane pretended—barely—to like the Luxen. All of them knew better.

“Good,” Dawson said. “You?”

“Officer Vaughn and I are doing great.” Lane clapped his hands together, while the other left his hanging by his hips, near the gun Dawson knew they carried. Funny. Like a bullet would be faster than them. “We’ve been talking to Daemon here, and he’s been…very helpful.”

Dawson almost laughed. Not likely, and if Daemon’s stance was anything to go by, whatever questions he’d been asked didn’t sit well with him. Unease trickled through Dawson’s veins. Had they found out about Bethany and her faint trace? That couldn’t be the case. The DOD didn’t know it could be left on humans, and no one, not even Andrew, would relay that kind of information.

Vaughn glanced at his partner before he spoke. “There has been some unusual activity over the last month or so—an increase in EM fields in this area. Your brother appears to have no knowledge of how this could be happening.”

Since the government thought Arum were just psycho Luxen, it wasn’t like they could tell them they’d been hunting or fighting. If the DOD ever discovered that the Arum hunted the Luxen for their abilities, then it was game over. Back to New Mexico, back to living in underground housing, treated like freaks and lab rats.

Dawson shrugged. “Well, we’ve been doing a lot of running in our true forms. Maybe that’s it?”

Vaughn’s lips twisted. “As far as our records indicate, being in your alien form would not cause such a disruption.” The man said
alien
as if he’d swallowed something nasty. “We find that hard to believe, after looking over the last six months of field reports from around here.”

The DOD needed a hobby, something other than monitoring them.

Dee crossed her legs. “Officers, my brothers do like their physical activity. Sometimes they get a little out of hand. See, they like to play a Luxen form of football.”

“And what would that be?” Lane smiled, because everyone smiled at Dee.

She grinned. “Imagine the football being more of a ball of pure energy. They like to toss that at each other. Maybe that’s what’s registering.”

“Really?” Lane shook his head, eyes widening. “That would be interesting to see.”

“You’re always welcome to join in,” Daemon said with a smirk. “Although I doubt you’d enjoy it.”

Vaughn’s face flushed. “You have a smart mouth, Daemon.”

“Better than a dumb one,” Dawson replied. “At least, that’s what I like to say.”

Daemon chuckled softly. “Well, boys, this has been fun, but if there isn’t anything else, you know where the door is.”

Used to Daemon, Officer Lane stood, but Vaughn remained seated and said, “Why has your…
family
chosen to stay outside the colony?”

“We enjoy taking part in the human world,” Dee said cheerfully, quick to answer. God only knew how Daemon would’ve responded. “You know, being contributing members of society and whatnot. It’s the same reason why any Luxen chooses to branch out.”

Dawson had trouble keeping his expression straight. For real. The truth was that living in the colony was no better than living in one of the DOD’s facilities they used to “prepare” the Luxen for assimilation. If not worse, even.

Vaughn looked doubtful, but Officer Lane managed to get him up and toward the door. Before they left, though, they reminded the three of them they needed to check in by the end of April for mandatory registration. The DOD kept count religiously of how many lived inside and out of the colony.

Dee slumped in her chair as Dawson closed the door. “I hate when they come by,” she said, scrunching up her face. “They act as if we’ve done something wrong.”

“That new one really is a fan favorite, isn’t he?” Dawson sat on the arm of his sister’s chair. “God, what a dick.”

“He hasn’t been the worst,” Daemon said. And God, wasn’t that the truth. At least Vaughn tried to hide his animosity. “Good save, Dee. Football?” He laughed. “Almost makes me want to try that out.”

Dawson winced. “Yeah, you talk Andrew into doing that with you. I pass.”

“Do you think they’ll ever find out about the Arum?” Dee sat up, dropping her elbows on her knees. “Realize that we aren’t the same?” Fear roughened her voice.

Dawson leaned down, wrapping his arm around his sister’s slender shoulders, and winked. “Nah, they’re not as bright as we are.”

“It’s not ignorance,” Daemon said, eyes trained on the window. “They’re too prideful to consider they don’t know everything there is to know about us. As long as humans believe they’re the most intelligent and strongest life-form on this planet, the better it is for us.”

…

Bethany wanted to kick herself for agreeing to do the groceries as a part of her chores. Washing dishes by hand would’ve been better than searching down every last item on Mom’s list, especially the ones she couldn’t even pronounce from the organic section.

Pushing the overloaded cart to the mile-long checkout lanes, she wondered how Dawson’s meeting went. A trickle of unease slithered through her veins. She hated the idea of the DOD checking in on them like that, the intrusive questions they had to be answering and the unfairness of how they were monitored.

To her, the Luxen weren’t any different. And she seriously doubted most humans would be afraid of them. The Luxen were just like them.

Once done with checking out and
bugging
out at how much the food cost, she wheeled her load to the parking lot.

When she’d first arrived, the lot had been crowded, so she’d gotten stuck in the nosebleed section at the back. Heavy, thick trees crowded over the parking lot, and she kept waiting for a deer to dart out and tackle her as she loaded the groceries.

“Bethany.”

She whipped around, and her heart tumbled unsteadily. One of the Thompson twins stood behind her, so close she caught the scent of his citrus aftershave.

Taking a step back, she knocked into the bumper. “I…I didn’t know you were there.”

The twin’s expression was blank as he cocked his head. “We can be very quiet when we want.”

No shit. Reaching behind her, she pulled the trunk down, still unsure which one stood before her. Usually, she knew by the way they acted. But now…she had no idea.

“Are you shopping?” she asked, clenching her car keys. The sky was already darkening and so close to the woods, very little light got through. She felt cut off.

“Ah, I’m not really shopping.”

Her eyes darted around the parking lot. “I really—”

One second he was there, and then he was right in her face, towering over her. In an instant, she knew which one stood before her.

Andrew smiled coldly. “But I do have a list. And you’re on it.”

No joke, her heart was pounding. Fear coated her mouth, forming a knot in her throat, making it hard for her to breathe. But she refused to shrink away, to run or scream. Inherently, she knew that’s what he wanted. To scare her.

His smile tipped higher. “You know, my sister and I can’t understand what Dawson sees in you. You’re just a silly little human.” His arm shot out so fast it was a blur, picked up a strand of her hair. “And you’re really not even that pretty.”

Oh…oh, that stung more than it should have. Tears burned her eyes as she fought to keep her voice level. “I guess it’s a good thing, then. A relationship between us would never work.”

His eyes narrowed. “And why is that?”

“Because I’m allergic to assholes.”

Andrew did a cough/laugh as he looked to the side. “You think you’re funny. Want to know what’s funny?”