151. Not Again

Michael

I felt myself being pulled away, just like that night with all three of them, being dragged across the universe with no way to stop it. When I stood on my own two feet, the red circle around me glowed brightly in the night. Massive warriors surrounded me. The cut stabbed into my skin before I could do anything. Juliet’s net shot over my body from what I could only describe as a dragon, confining me on the ground. A woman was lying face down next to a fire, and beside her, a man was out cold. I shook my head at our stupidity. We thought of kidnapping. Avrio chose to divulge a secret the Vampires had tried to eradicate for centuries. Fahan had chosen a branding, and it worked. Someone else in the galaxy had tried it. The supernatural bond that gave two souls power over others… Creating unity, which we didn’t even understand. I rolled around to see if Charlene was also there. But it was only me. I tried to change but couldn’t. Stuck in my Riphath form, unable to use my abilities.

They dragged me away. I didn’t understand what the universe had against me and was rather sick and tired of getting pushed around. The cut was deep in my side and bleeding. Being all three didn’t give me the vamp’s blood supply that needed to be replenished. An alien came strutting into the building. I hated being tied up, and if I ever got out of there… I was going to find and kill every last vamp that knew about the brandings and was against Juliet in any way. Immediately, I had my purpose in all of this… I would sort out all conflict even before it began.

“The baby was taken.” He said.

“What do you mean? Fahan’s child?” A bigger one asked.

He nodded. “An invisible Vampire came and took the child. He’s gone.”

Their eyes drifted to me. “He must be important. It wasn’t even a few minutes later. What do they want us to do? Should we start the extraction?”

My head fell to my chest. Juliet had already come and had done something stupid. In her state, she had walked around and exerted herself and put the baby at risk. There were so many reasons I didn’t want her to get pregnant again… And I hated that I was the one being held again. It would drive her, and that time, she wasn’t going to sit by. I would have to do something. Other men came into the cave.

“Untie him, but don’t let that wound heal.” He turned to me, and the others tried to get the net loose. They didn’t know what they were doing, and I had to tell them how to get it off. “You won’t be going anywhere for the next two weeks. Might as well get comfortable.” The biggest one said. Seemed like the leader.

“I don’t think Fahan will be happy to know that his child is in the hands of a vamp for two weeks, and you did nothing.”

The giant grey alien peered down at me. His black hair extended out from behind his small ears. They had tiny horns on their heads, pointing outward. Every muscle was defined. Their skin color changed over different areas of their bodies. Together with their dragon-like skin, it was golden in some areas. Patterns running over specific body parts. Fangs protruded out from the top and the bottom. It was something to behold. They were warriors in all senses. Wide, deep-set, beady eyes and flat noses. Large jaws. He was carrying an activated sword, careful not to take any chances. I was their only bargaining chip. His enormous hand and black nails were turning the hilt over in his hand, mulling my words over. He was Jessy to Juliet… Waiting two weeks would be the wrong thing to do… “If my second didn’t do all they needed to do for my child, I would kill them. It’s a simple prisoner exchange… You can always try again later… But taking a chance with your leader's child… Contemplating not doing everything in your power. It’s a risk.”

His growl rumbled low in his throat. They might be warriors, but politics didn’t seem to be their strong suit. The planet was a hole that anyone would want to climb out of. No one there was contending to take over the land. They were all together and desperate. One of the scientists came over and held out the glass plate to him. That was quick. It meant she was okay… If anything happened to her… I would never forgive myself. Irritated that I was the weak link in the family.

“You were right. They want to exchange.” Fahan’s second said.

My shoulders dropped. “Who are you that they want you back so bad?”

“Seems that Fahan didn’t give you all the information… I’m her husband. The invisible girl.”

“She’s fearless… Coming in here like that… All alone.”

My shoulders shook. “That she is. Puts us men… to shame.”

“How do you do it. Letting your woman save you.”

“Easy. It makes her feel good.”

He made a noise. Whether it was a laugh or a snort… I couldn’t say. Their faces carried no emotion, and I had no idea how far he was from caving. As we were talking, he was typing. It wasn’t long before we were joined by none other than Raas and Avrio. The two vamps didn’t hide the disdain on their faces.

“A vamp girl came and stole Fahan’s child.”

“What?”

“That is the queen on En-gannim,” Raas said to the man. His mouth opened to say something.

“And that is the man that killed Ahasuerus. You can be glad that he can’t move.” Avrio said.

“Can you please tell me your name…” I asked.

“My name is Dimitrios.” The alien said. “And it seems that you are more than just the husband….”

I shrugged.

“You could rule the galaxy if you wanted,” Avrio added.

My gaze traveled to Avrio. “I should have killed you when we sent that scum off En-gannim… I do rule… And it’s as good as us kidnapping Fahan. You have made an enemy.” Dimitrios didn’t like my words. I stared him down… “You chose the wrong side….”

“We had no choice… You would not have even known about us.” Dimitrios said.

“You can’t give him back. If you do… We will never get another chance.” Avrio said.

“Their queen will never kill a child. It is her one weakness. She will probably treat Aries better than her own children.” Raas sneered.

“Juliet might never kill a child… but the boy is surrounded by men that would… And the last time when we killed a thousand Werewolf women that were pregnant… They didn’t ask permission either.” I said for effect.

If I could get Dimitrios and Avrio to break their alliance, it would be best for all concerned. My words seemed to make Dimitrios pause for thought. “How can I take that chance? Is there no way of waking up Fahan or even Jade? If he is that important, they will soon invade and kill us all just to make an example of us.”

“Invade? Take on the mighty Chadari? They wouldn’t dare. What did the fire do to Jade’s skin?” Avrio asked.

“Nothing… We even stuck our hands in the flames and… nothing.”

The two vamps were too happy.

“You should have never made a deal with Ahasuerus. Juliet is more than willing to help other races. We are already in control of four worlds, and you choose the side that has nothing to offer you.”

“Enough. I am not the one making the decisions. Come, let us see if we can wake them up. Nothing is going to happen for the next three days. I need to sleep… Lock him up in a cell.”

I wanted to struggle and kick my feet into the ground like a child being dragged towards a scary place. Instinctively, I tried to teleport, but it was in vain. The cell was small and nothing more than a hollowed-out cave with bars. Dimitrios pushed his sword through and cut my leg for good measure.

Another message came through. He didn’t seem pleased. All I could think was that Juliet wanted to do a prisoner exchange.

“Can I send a message?”

Raas and Avrio protested, but Dimitrios pushed the plate through the bars. He wasn’t entirely under their thumb.

Me { There will be consequences… How could you be so reckless? But I’ll do anything… Even be a sacrifice }

Louis { Juliet is out. Hold on… I’ll have to come for you. Or she will get up and do it herself }

I smiled and handed him the glass plate back. “You don’t have much time.”

He read the messages and growled. All of them left the room.

***

Marcus

I stood right next to Kubra when he stuck Charlene with the poker. I had always seen him as my second in command. Someone I could trust. At that moment, he had become a true brother. Although we had no chance to talk and figure out the new dynamics of our relationship, our family was growing, and I wanted to make more of an effort. Charlene didn’t fall down to the ground. Kubra did. In an instant, I knew it worked. We all did and stood at attention. Even a shocked Beatrice gripped the side of the couch, seeing Charlene convulse and change into all three. Out of control and raging. I didn’t think provoking her would help, so we stood clear, but she teleported and was gone. We had no idea what to do. I looked up to see Juliet’s reaction, but she had also disappeared. So did Michael and Louis. We didn’t know if Charlene would challenge everyone, but we still had to find Brylee’s husband, and the fear that she would end up in front of him or their next ruler was a possibility. Juliet was pregnant, and if Charlene hurt her… I shook my head. No one ever took in all the consequences.

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Jessy came running through the door. “Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Michael got pulled out or something… I don’t know what happened, but Juliet went after him, and Louis went after her.”

“Carl, get Kubra to a room… What a freaking mess. Jessy, you better go find her. If something happens to her. I’ll have your head.”

Beatrice was enjoying the show. “I told you! You, young people, have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Not to be rude, but old people seem to know just as little…” She smiled. “And did Ira not learn the hard way that telling young people what to do is usually the catalyst… Urgh… I’ll listen to you later. Are you okay here? I need to go find this new creature we created… Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

Beatrice just laughed, shaking her head. “Juliet said I might not like you.”

“Urgh!” I stomped out. “Carl!”

Carl came back from the bedrooms. “Yeah! I’m here.”

“Let’s go see if she is still on Earth.”

“Kind of cool, isn’t it,” Carl said as we walked down the road. “Charlene is going to be stoked.”

“Yeah, sure. Super Cool. If your girlfriend kills my wife… You’re next, and then we will really see what it all means. Human on human.”

Carl didn’t say anything. We could always talk, and the same was true with Kubra; there was no time to bond with everyone. I realized that there were other relationships I would have to work on. Carl was one of those people in Juliet’s life more important than me. Didn’t she say they were higher on the pecking order? He sat down at the computers and typed in a few things. The GPS chip we had planted into her neck was loading on the screen, but nothing came up.

“She’s not on Earth. F-,” Carl said with a boom. “We should have had that sword ready.”

“Or a net.” I picked up a glass plate and sent Chris a message.

Me { Any sign of Charlene? }

Chris { Take it she is all three? But no. }

Me { Yes, and she’s not on Earth }

Chris { Not good. If she dies at the hands of the werewolves. Kubra dies }

I also swore loudly, and Carl stood to read over my shoulder and gripped my arm.

Me { Will you come help. Juliet disappeared as well. Don’t go traveling to find her }

Chris { We’re coming. Stopping in En-gannim to check in at the command center }

Me { See you soon }

“I have no idea what to do?” I said to Jessy.

He was more nervous than anyone and sat with his head in his hands. “I’m going to En-gannim. We can’t do anything from here.” Jessy said and jumped up.

“Fine. Let’s all leave.”

***

By the time Carl and I settled everything in France and Kubra in his room on En-gannim, Jessy gave us an update on everything that had happened and that Juliet was unconscious and in the med bay. Anger jumped up in my breast. Louis, Chris, and Ira were standing over a bed. There was a baby on it… Nothing I had ever seen… I passed them to check in on Juliet. “Is the baby okay?” I asked the doctor who was hovering.

“Yes, they are both fine. She is only tired.”

“I think we should lock her up,” I whispered.

“For seven months?” Louis asked. “Come, we need to get Michael back, and they said tomorrow. We need to start planning how we will exchange the baby for Michael.”

“She did it for him… And here we do not even like the guy.”

Louis took a deep breath. Chris and Ira were playing with the baby. “They aren’t much different from us… Should I go get a wet nurse from Zoreah?” Chris asked.

Louis nodded. Ira and Chris left again with Beatrice in tow. She turned before leaving, “Thanks for the show, boys. And the eyes. And that you came to get me.”

“Any time,” Louis said, smiling. He held open his arms for a hug.

She shooed him away. “Juliet said I would like you.”

I snorted and sat down on a chair. “Any ideas?” I asked Louis when he joined me. Jessy and Carl had taken Chris’s place at the baby. Everyone seemed fascinated by yet another race.

“We can’t do it on their planet,” Louis said.

“No…” My gaze traveled to the girl on the bed. Her color was gone, and the wounds were bleeding a little. My breath became shallow, and I didn’t know if I could do it. Juliet had put Michael’s life before our child.

Another thing I wouldn’t be able to do, not yet. He had not proven himself and was a constant uncertainty. Louis reached out and took my hand. The constant touching and reassurance from Juliet, her parents, and Louis had made me a little more used to it. But Juliet was not proving to me that I meant anything. Louis squeezed my hand.

***

Charlene

Well, I got what I wanted. Out of control and utterly lucid like everyone told me I would be. A hunger that I couldn’t explain. Feelings I had no idea what to do with. Glad that I couldn’t see myself in a mirror just yet. Did I turn to all three like Michael? I lifted up my hand, holding up a paw instead of my tiny human hands. I wanted to flip out… Jump up and down, so I did with a big smile spread across my mouth… Glad that I wasn’t only human anymore… What was I? I sat up. There were carcasses all around me, rotting flesh, and the smell didn’t even overpower me. My legs stretched out underneath me... I was so high off the ground, not on all fours... Riphath. Not bad. Instant guts. My cowardly feelings of not being able to protect myself were out the window. How useless I felt on the boat... It reminded me of how scared I was at the cages that night seeing a full-moon Werewolf for the first time. How pathetic I was… I shook my head, fighting the fog. It should be over… Why wasn’t it going away if I had eaten… I couldn’t remember much… Unless the planet I was on had other effects on us… All the worlds were different. I didn’t recognize anything around me. I wasn’t on Earth, that was for sure.

It was all glass around me, framed with a sea blue color of stone. Soft, white sandy floor. Did I teleport to another freaking planet? Was it Zoreah? Their sand was red... Kubra crossed my mind… It had worked. Inwardly, my chest tightened at the thought. The fear was there that he didn’t really know what love was. That Qadir had broken him, and he had no heart left but the need for a family. But he had done it. Whatever he and Juliet had talked about had changed his mind… And… The branding had worked. He really did love me… And I loved him. Another smile that felt off with all the teeth and the strange skin I would have to get used to. I reached out to touch the weird ears, and my tail brushed my side. I jolted, laughing at myself, thinking it was a bug. “You will not feel good for some time.” My body spun around and rammed the glass with a force I was acutely aware of.

I braced for shattering… Not even a dent or sound. All I created was a thud, and my creature shook its head after the impact. It felt like I was in a severe hangover. I chastised myself that I didn’t teleport… Why could I not teleport? Creature-proof prisons were all of a sudden a thing with Juliet and her nets, and I glanced around, trying to find the voice. It was dark all around me. All I saw was the outline of a figure on the other side of my jail cell. A jolt flowed through my body. My flat paws on the glass changed to hands with long black nails, trying to dig into the glass. It worked, and I scratched heavy dents into the glass. Vampire. Fully grown and powerful.

“What are you? Why do you change?” The voice said from the shadows.

I turned and pulled down my pants. It was hard to see, but the gold was on my skin. The figure came closer to see what I was looking at. I peeked at my butt under my shoulder, turning to show him. Kubra had chosen something without telling me. I smiled, rubbing my fingers over the tattoo. It was a clock with Roman numerals. A beautiful geometrical sun behind them. The whole picture was framed in two lateral shapes. Lots of frills all around… It was beautiful. The arms on the clock kept moving. Emotions bubbled up again. I was on one hell of a roller coaster.

The man came slowly forward out of the dark so I could see his face. The roof was also glass, and he was dimly lit in a sliver of moonlight. “Are there humans all over the universe?” I whispered more to myself.

He had dark skin... Bushy, frizzy hair that rested on his shoulders. An afro thick around his face. The hair was soft and almost brown, not black.

“Where am I? How long have I been here?”

“In there… Only a night. You appeared next to my bed. In a rage, wanting to kill me. But you aren’t a fighter… You have basic skills, but you lack skill.”

I knew that… I shouldn’t have gone to med school… I should’ve stayed with Juliet and learned from Marcus and Kubra. But he was right… I wasn’t a fighter. That was all, Juliet. “I’m sorry about that. Didn’t really have control… Don’t worry. As soon as I can figure out how I work… I’ll probably leave.”

“Why are you here?”

“I have no freaking clue.”

“If I let you out, will you try and eat me again.”

I laughed lightly. “Probably… Maybe safe to keep me in here for a few more days.”

Even though his brows were upwards and scowling, the corner of his mouth turned up. His skin was so silky and clean. It was weird. I didn’t feel like killing him. He didn’t seem hostile. No little voice warning me… He had to be the planet’s ruler if I came out in front of him… But why? I was just glad that I didn’t go to the next Werewolf ruler. Who would have killed me already.

He stepped even closer and unlocked the door. I was hesitant to leave the cell. Felt a little safer away from a stranger who could do… who knows what to me. He smiled at my reluctance. I took one step and stopped. My eyes widened… The ugliest, tallest alien creature walked past the cell. My feet stepped back by themselves when the thing glared at me. Its tread was heavy and loud even in the sand.

The man smiled again, nodding at the alien. “You are not going to turn into that, are you?” He frowned and shook his head. “You’re not going to sacrifice me to some god? Throw me down into a volcano?”

He dropped his head and chuckled.

“You’re not going to rape me or give me to your men as a snack?”

“What is rape?”

“Take me by force.”

“Take you where?” He leaned on the door frame. Arms crossed over his chest, waiting for me to decide if I would come out.

I had to laugh. The slight stiffness up my back left me. I was going back to human form. He lifted himself up, peering down at me. I was small and short. He was tall and well-built. “You haven’t seen me like this yet, have you.”

“Beautiful…” He whispered.

My eyebrows cocked. “Don’t you have a female of your own?”

His deep-set eyes were transfixed… I waved my hand in front of his face. “You’re not so bad yourself… But really, have you never seen a girl before? Staring is rude.”

He closed the small distance between us. Turned me this way and that way. “You could at least tell me your name before you touch me.” My words didn’t seem to have any effect on him. He was feeling my hair, running it through his fingers. His hand hovered over my face.

“High cheekbones…” He said as his finger started tracing my features. “Small pointy nose… Expressive eyes.” His gaze landed on my lips. “Full and a small grove here…. My name is Romero.” He said in a low whisper.

“My name is Charlene.”