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28.
Drew
only had to knock once and Brynn was yanking the door
open.
“Oh
thank god!” Brynn threw her arms around her sister, relieved that
she was there and okay.
“Don’t
disappear on me like that, I’ve aged ten years.”
Drew
swallowed the lump in her throat.
“You
called me often enough, I didn’t disappear.”
“Yeah
I called you, but I couldn’t hop in my car and come see you and
that translates to – you disappeared.”
Drew
rolled her eyes and walked over to sink into the couch. “Don’t
yell at me Bry I don’t think I could take any yelling right
now.”
“Well
you’re going to have to, because I’ve been worried sick. I
want to know where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing, and
don’t feed me that line about helping a friend out. I
don’t buy it Drew.”
Drew
sighed. “You wouldn’t believe half of it, and the
other half will freak you out.”
“Try
me.”
“I’m
not human any more.” Drew was trying to shock Brynn, she
was too heartbroken to deal with Brynn’s overly protective side at
the moment and she was getting peeved that Brynn wanted answers
first, when Drew needed comfort.
“What?” Brynn
sat down in the chair opposite Drew, frustrated because Drew was
talking nonsense.
“I’m not
human, I’m a lycos, a lycanthrope, a wereleopard.”
Brynn
gapped at Drew “Oh no. You’ve become one of
those mythos wanna-bes the ones that try their best to find and hang
on to any mythos, so they can become like the mythos. You do know
those people suffer from delusions of immortality and
grandeur?”
“Oh
for god sake Bry, you know me better than that. Why would
I lie about something like this?”
Brynn
just shook her head. Not believing a word coming out of
Drew’s mouth. Her sister was having a mental break down
or something.
Drew
took in a deep breath and expelled it. “Fine, you need proof?”
Drew held out her left hand. “Watch my hand
Brynn.”
Drew
morphed her hand into its clawed shape.
“Oh
My God!” Brynn yelped and jumped back.
Drew
shifted her hand back to human form and watched her sister realize
that Drew was telling the truth.
“How,
when, why, oh my god.” Brynn was more than a little
flustered.
“The
night I drove home from your place.” Drew told Brynn the
whole story. Finishing with the nexus and how she was tied
to a man who she loved but she knew didn’t love her.
“Are
you sure he doesn’t love you Drew?”
“Yeah,
pretty sure.”
“Have
you asked him?”
“No!”
Drew hissed. “It’s bad enough I fell for him, I’m
not going to subject myself to humiliation when he admits he doesn’t
love me.”
“I
think you are making a mistake. I think he probably loves
you too, but you are going to be to pig-headed to ask.”
“So
don’t think. It doesn’t suit you.” Drew spat then
felt like a shit. “I’m sorry Bry, I’m not
pig-headed, I’m allowed to protect myself, it will shatter me when
he admits he doesn’t want me in his life.”
“Fair
enough.”
“Are you
ok? About all this?”
“Yeah,
well, I’m not ready for the rubber room yet, even though this story
is amazing and I should be thinking I’m insane to believe
it.”
Brynn
frowned. “What exactly are you going to do about all of
this?”
“I have to go
back, the nexus is too important for me to stuff it up. Even
if it means I have to be miserable. So I’m going to go
quit my job this afternoon and pack up my apartment if you’ll give
me a hand.”
“Sure,
but I have a condition.”
“Yes?” Drew
dreaded the answer to her question, she was sure Brynn would demand
something ridiculous like Drew telling Seth how she felt about
him.
“I want the
address of this compound, you’re not going to disappear on me
again, I want to be able to come see you.”
Drew
smiled. “That can be arranged.”
“I
still think you should tell Seth you love him Drew. This
is a first for you kiddo, it’s a big deal, you should give it a
chance, don’t you think?”
Yep,
there it was, Drew knew Brynn was itching to say something along
those lines.
Drew
shook her head, “Bry, can we not talk about it right now? I
need to face my boss and tell him I’m quitting then I have to give
up the life I’ve made for myself, I can’t do that if
I’m mourning something that never really was.”
Brynn
nodded, she thought Drew was being stubborn but she wasn’t going to
argue with her right now, she’d bide her time and corner Drew on it
again later.
“Khettah,
damn, that’s the second time I’ve fallen over you, why are you
buzzing round my legs, Drew will be back in a couple of hours.” Seth
scolded the sentin.
Khettah
had been round him like a blue ass fly the whole afternoon. To
make matters worse Khan was MIA so Seth couldn’t even ask his
sentin to find out what was up with Khettah. It was a pain
that du’call couldn’t hear each other sentins only their
own.
It would have
come in handy to hear Khettah now.
Seth
went back to training. He aimed a punch at the bag then
danced back and swiveled on the ball of his foot to kick at it. His
peripheral vision caught Selphie walk past the door of the
gym.
“Hold up
Selph.” He called out.
She
poked her head round the door jam.
“You
calling me?”
“Yeah,
you guys back already? I didn’t feel Drew get
back?”
“Back
from where?” She frowned stepping into the
doorway.
“Shopping.”
“I
haven’t been shopping Seth?” Selphie looked puzzled. “Where
did you get that idea?”
“Ross
told me you and Drew had gone shopping.” Seth was
puzzled now too. Why had Ross told him that if it wasn’t
the case? More importantly where was Drew?
“Have
you seen Drew this afternoon at all?”
“Nope,
last I saw her was just after the nexus test. Her phone
rang and she went out to take the call.”
“Did
you tell Ross you were going shopping?” Seth was
beginning to think something was very weird here.
“No,
not at all.”
Seth
snatched up his towel and headed for the door. “Do you
know where Ross is?”
“Dar
is seriously agitated because Dragon is taking so long to get back
here. So Gabriel suggested that Ross and Darius play Soul
Caliber, and get rid of their aggression that way, my best guess is
that they are in the living room.”
Seth
nodded his head as he passed her and moved as quickly as possible in
the direction of the living room.
“The
shit is about to hit the fan.” Ross warned Darius when he felt
Seth’s wave of power reach him.
“Fuck
it Khettah, get out under my damn feet.” Seth cursed as the leopard
tripped him up again.
He
came round the corner of the living room, his eyes scanning the
interior for Ross.
“It
looks like you want to murder someone.” Darius remarked to
Seth.
“I want
answers.” He spotted Ross “Where is Drew.”
“Don’t go getting all
frothy at the mouth now Seth.”
“Where
is she?” Seth’s voice lowered showing his anger.
“She
needs a little time. She’ll be back.”
“Time
for what?” Seth stiffened. Something clicked into
place. “She ran away because I’m her nexus mate?”
What a fool he had
been. He’d let a woman into his heart and she’d just
ripped it out and fed it to him with a side of french fries. Drew
didn’t want him as her nexus mate. There was no other
reason for her to need time. And Ross had helped
her. What an idiot he was, obviously what happened with
Veronica hadn’t taught him a thing. Well it was just too
damn bad what she wanted, the nexus was probably going to save the
world and she need to be part of this one with him. She
was tied to him, whether she liked it or not. He’d just
have to go fetch her back and she’d have to deal with him in her
life.
“That’s
not…” Ross tried but Seth wasn’t listening.
“Where
did she go Ross? Tell me now or I’m going to rip you
limb from limb.”
Ross
shrugged, he’d tried to help her, but he didn’t agree with what
Drew had done so he wasn’t going to fight Seth on her behalf. They
needed to sort this out themselves.
“She’s
at her sisters place.”
“Do
you have the address?”
“No,
but Darius or Crimson should be able to work some magic on the
computers and find out.”
“Get
the address for me Darius.”
Darius
got up and left.
“It’s
not what you…”
“I’m
not talking to you right now Ross. You helped her leave me
and lied to me about where she was. You are not a friends
ass.”
“That’s
taking it too far Seth,” Ross’s voice went icy. “I’m more of
a friend to you than you realize. But believe what you
want.” Ross left the room his power rolling ahead of him
as his anger bled through.
Drew
felt the prickle across the back of her neck for the third time in a
row. She got up from where she’d been packing books into
a box.
“Do you
keep feeling a chill?” She asked her sister who was
packing up the small kitchen alcove.
“Nope,
no chill.”
Drew
felt something brush against her.
“That’s
it! Khan show yourself.”
The
sentin materialized next to Drew. Brynn let out a little
squeal and dropped the plate she’d been wrapping in
newspaper.
“Relax
Bry, he won’t hurt you.”
“Is
that a wild leopard?”
“Hardly,”
Drew laughed, “Khan here is much bigger firstly and secondly he is
a sentin. Seth’s sentin to be precise.”
She
frowned at the leopard.
“Did
Seth send you to spy on me?”
The
big cat carefully shook his head from side to side to let her know
that Seth hadn’t sent him.
“Did
Khettah send you?”
The
leopard nodded its head slowly.
“Is
that creature actually communicating with you?” Brynn
gawked at the leopard.
“Yes
he is.” She fondly scratched him behind the sentins right ear,
which caused a purr as loud as a car engine to fill the
room.
“So you’re
watching over me for Khettah?”
Khan
nodded again.
“In
that case you can stay, but don’t you dare tell Seth where I
am.”
Khan took
the invitation and went to curl up in a stream of late afternoon
sunshine.
“Is it
really harmless.”
“HE,”
Drew corrected her sister, “is far from harmless, Khan could rip
you to pieces in the time it takes to take a breath, but he wont. So
you can chill out.”
“Who
is Khettah?”
“Khettah
is my sentin.” Drew smiled when she thought of her
leopard.
“Why
isn’t she with you?” Brynn asked already knowing the
answer but wanting confirmation.
“I
asked her to keep an eye on Seth for me.” Drew ducked
her head to avoid her sister’s eyes.
“You
really do love him don’t you?”
Drew
said nothing, she went back to packing up books instead.
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