“Have a good day!” he yells, and I hear him running down the stairs a few moments later.
“Don’t worry, bye!” I shout back and keep pulling out books, more clothes, and stuff I didn’t even know I had.
“Bingo!” I say, finding my blue swim cap at the bottom and pulling it out. I pack my cap and swimsuit into my school bag before walking to the full-length mirror to check I look alright for a bus trip. I plait the front of my fringe, clipping it at the back of my head and pulling the plait out a little. I put on a little makeup and stand back, straightening my uniform and deciding I look okay. I sit down on the window seat, picking up my note pad and pencil, staring down at the drawing I did last night before bed. It’s a drawing of Iris, a glow coming off her, and I have filled in where I saw the swirls on her face. I don’t know why I drew her, maybe it’s because I got tired of drawing Maxx and Landon all the time.
I look out the window as the sun rises over the top of the guys’ house, the orange and yellow tones bouncing off the white bricks. It’s a magnificent view. I put my drawing pad down to look more closely out the window as a massive black Jeep pulls up in front of their house. I rub my arms, feeling cold as I watch four men get out of the Jeep. Two of them look younger, whereas the other two are massive bulky men that you would assume are bodyguards. They oddly all have white hair, I notice. The front door opens, and Maxx stands with his arms crossed, legs parted, and he looks ready to attack as he screams tension. My eyes widen as Maxx starts glowing a blue light, a bright blue that spreads across his whole body, leaving swirls on his skin. Swirls and marks that look the same color as mine. My heart beats fast, fast enough I can almost hear it as I stare at Maxx and know he had to have given me these marks. It doesn’t make sense otherwise. What is he? He can’t be human, that’s for sure. The four guys all start to glow white, but as I look closer it almost seems grey instead. What the hell are those guys? One of the white-haired guys turns to look up toward my house, like he could hear my thoughts, and I quickly jump away from the window. I stand still in the room, breathing heavily and trying to calm down. Maybe dad was right to send me to therapy. I mean I just saw my hot, arrogant neighbor glowing like a Christmas tree.
“Fuck…maybe the therapist is right and I’m crazy,” I mutter to myself as I pace by my bed, because if I’m going crazy I might as well talk to myself.
“You aren’t crazy…and we need you to come next door,” Landon says, his voice gentle, but it still makes me jump out of my skin. I stare fearfully as Landon steps into the room. He seems calm and relaxed. The very opposite to how I am currently feeling. He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck as he waits for me to say something.
“How did you get in here?” I demand, taking a step back, my breathing heavy in the quiet room.
“The front door was open, I walked in,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “There is so much you want to know. Like why you have those blue marks on you? Why you survived that accident? Who you are?” he starts off, speaking slowly and placing his hands on his hips.
“And you have those answers?” I ask.
“Nope. You aren’t mine, or my type, as I kinda prefer guys if you didn’t notice. Maxx can give you those answers,” he tells me, and I frown at him. Why come over here if he wasn’t going to explain his glowing brother?
“Why should I trust either of you?” I ask in reply.
“Don’t trust us, just come with me because we need you. Maxx needs you,” he says, like it should mean something to me that Maxx needs me. I try to ignore the instinct to run out the room and across the street to help him. I don’t even know why he affects me like he does. Maxx clearly has a thing going with Iris, and he was a total dick towards me at the party.
“If you haven’t noticed, I don’t like your brother,” I make myself reply after Landon clears his throat.
“You are both stubborn and happen to be drawn to each other because of, well, a reason. It happens,” he shrugs and turns away. “I’m going to help Maxx, and I will wait downstairs for five minutes. If you don’t come down, we will disappear, and you can have a normal life.”
“And if I come downstairs?” I quietly ask.
“You will find out what really makes your soul come alive. What a part of you already knows, but the rest of you fights,” he cryptically tells me, smiling sadly before turning and walking out of my room. I stare at the door for only a minute before sliding my shoes on and running down the stairs. I want the answers and to help Landon. This has nothing to with Maxx.
“Good choice,” Landon says with a grin when he spots me at the bottom of the stairs, and he opens the door. I walk through the front door, and he places his hand on my shoulder to stop me. “Whatever you are about to hear, try not to scream and run. That reaction gets boring after the tenth time.” Somehow, I don’t think Landon is joking, and that is scary enough. What is the secret?
Chapter Thirteen
Landon walks into his house first, and I follow him in, shutting the door behind me and catching a glimpse of the two bodyguard-type men sitting in the Jeep outside. Landon walks into the living room through the now opened door, and I take a deep breath before following him in. Maxx is leaning against the door, and he doesn’t look my way as I walk to Landon’s side and face the two men sitting on the cream sofa that matches the light cream walls and beige carpet. I run my eyes over Maxx, how his arms are crossed tightly, how his whole demeanor is screaming tension. When Maxx still doesn’t look my way, I look back to the new people in the room. They must be twins, with matching white hair, tanned skin and dark grey eyes. Everything feels odd, and cold, about them, from their designer clothing and expensive watches on their wrists, to how they sit upright like they have sticks up their asses. Their eyes run over me, and I feel like I’m getting the same examination as I gave them.
“This is your mate?” the one on the left asks incredulously, leaning closer as he looks me up and down.
“Yes,” Maxx answers tensely, and I flash him a confused look, which of course he ignores. I hope he doesn’t mean mate in the sense of a soulmate, but I’m sure he just means mate like a friend. Which I don’t even know if Maxx and I can be classed as friends.
“I can confirm she is one of ours. A half…though I didn’t know it was possible for a light to have a half-dark mate,” the man muses.
“Dark? Light? Half? What the hell are you going on about?” I rapidly ask, placing my hands on my hips. “And while you’re at it, why don’t you explain how you all look like glowsticks sometimes?”
“You haven’t told her?” the twin on the right asks, chuckling low, and tilts his head to the side as he stares at me. I notice the scar across his right cheek, and how he has a slightly different nose and chin to his brother.
“We are aliens, aliens that are made of light…and some are made of darkness,” Maxx says, and I do the only logical thing that I can think of. I burst into laughter. I keep laughing until Maxx starts glowing again, and then I do the next logical thing. I freak out and go to run out the door. Maxx catches me around the waist just before the door, and I gasp as his arm brushes mine. I stare up at Maxx, feeling how warm he is as he is pressed against me, how his skin is flawless this close and how his blue eyes are more powerful than I ever thought they could be. An intense, pleasurable heat sweeps across my body, and I close my eyes, wanting more of it and having no idea why I can’t seem to think straight. I’m suddenly pulled away from Maxx and the feeling, as a cold one replaces it. I gasp and open my eyes to see one of the twins has me in his arms, glowing a bright grey color which actually makes his eyes seem black as I look up at him. He smirks down at me as the coldness intensifies and makes me uncomfortable.
“Let her go,” I hear Maxx demand, his voice a little breathless yet you can’t miss the downright possessive tone in it.
“That’s no way to thank me,” the man holding me jokes.
“I understand now. That must be difficult,” the other twin says. I stand up shakily and push myself out of his twin’s grip. Maxx looks ready to kill him, standing only a little distance away from us, and his hands are glowing a bright blue. What the hell just happened? The twin walks back to his seat on the sofa, like nothing happened at all, and Maxx seems to relax a little, still staying close to me.
“You understand nothing, Cameron. Now you know why I want this agreement, are you in?” Maxx asks as Landon comes closer to my other side and gently tugs on my arm to try and walk me away.
“We have some terms…but an alliance would keep us all safe. We want to live in this town, hidden, as much as you clearly do,” Cameron smoothly replies and nods at his brother who hasn’t taken his eyes off me since the conversation started. I turn, knocking Landon’s hand away and glaring at the guy.
“What terms?” I ask. “What the hell was that a moment ago?” No one answers me, but the other twin’s lips turn up in a smirk while Maxx just gives me a look that suggests I shut up. Part of me knows I should be scared…I’m in a room full of aliens. Real life aliens. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting to find something to throw at Maxx for being a dick.
“We will train your mate in exchange for my brother and sister moving into your house until we find something suitable in town. I have to deal with the followers we have. We also want a promise from Landon to our sister. Her mate is dead, and she needs protecting,” Cameron states, and Landon seems to choke on thin air at his words.
“What is a promise?” I ask, glancing at Landon who nods once at Maxx, looking glum about it. I remember Iris saying Maxx and she are promised, like an arranged marriage or something. Maybe it’s something the aliens do around here, but it makes me feel uneasy at the thought or reminder of how Maxx is linked to Iris.
“You really need to get her up to speed,” the other twin laughs at my question.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Austin,” Maxx warns the other twin, who is still staring. “We wanted to make sure of what she is before explaining all this to her.”
“Do we have a deal or what? We don’t have time to waste if this is going to turn into a fight,” Cameron effortlessly asks.
“You have a deal,” Maxx says and walks over to Cameron who stands off the sofa. I watch as Maxx’s hand starts to glow blue as he offers it to Cameron. Cameron’s own hand glows the grey color as he slides it into Maxx’s hand, and light bursts out from their hands, so bright that I have to turn away with my eyes slammed shut. When the light is gone, I turn back to see Maxx stepping back, looking tired. Cameron doesn’t look much better as he walks to the door, Austin following closely behind him.
“We will be back tonight,” Austin says, and just before he walks out the door, he winks at me, a big grin on his lips. “I look forward to training you, Ura.”
“I never told you her name,” Maxx bites out.
