THEO
I slowly took off my shirt, wincing at the sting coming from the deep lacerations on my back. "You didn't tell me who was with Barza" I said to Devon who let out a sigh.
"His birthmark was similar to yours.... except..his was diamond-shaped. He wasn't as tall as you are, but he definitely looked strong. He wanted to kill me by himself but, Barza insisted that she would do it herself" Devon said. I stared out the window. The only person who fit the whole description was Matthias.
He was the one with white blond hair and he was quite short. He also had a diamond shaped birthmark on his temple. How could it be possible that he's still alive? And why would he go after me especially since I didn't offend him in anyway.
"Do you know him?" Devon asked as she used a damp towel to clean the injuries on my back.
"I don't know what to think, Dev. There's only one person who fits the description. He was supposed to come with Luke and I to earth. I saw him die..... I just don't understand what's happening" I said.
"We'll figure it out, Theo" she said and I nodded.
The door opened and Devon scowled as Melvin walked in.
"Haven't you heard of knocking?" She said, glaring at him.
Melvin rolled his eyes and walked up to me.
"What if we were-"
"Come on, lil sister. You wouldn't be in bed with him, especially since my room is practically next to yours" Melvin said and she frowned.
"We need to talk" he said to me, tossing my shirt at me.
Devon narrowed her eyes.
"What's going on?" She asked. "Nothing, really. Theo and I need to talk, that's all"
"It's okay. Just stay here" I said to Devon, pressing a kiss to her forehead. She huffed impatiently, her fingers idly fiddling with my pendant around her neck. I left her room with Melvin.
"You know there's a chance that Barza might try again" Melvin said when we got to the sitting room.
"Your point?"
"I'm saying there's a way we can prevent Barza from getting into my sister's head again" he said.
We held eye contact briefly. I knew what he was talking about. "The claiming" I said and he nodded.
"Wait, let me get this straight. You're okay with me claiming your sister?" I asked and he scoffed.
"Yeah, I'm completely okay with you two carrying out the bonding part of the claiming.... the other part will have to wait until you're both married" he said.
I laughed, folding my arms across my chest.
"You're really funny, Melvin" I said.
He rolled his eyes, bringing a glass of lemonade to his lips. "Well, we can't have little golden eyed babies running around the house while Devon is still so young, can we?" He said, glaring at me. "Fine. I get your point" I said and he narrowed his eyes. "I hope this is not a joke to you" He said and it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"Devon is my soulmate. She's not a joke" I said.
"Good, good. That's all I wanted to hear" he said and walked away.
"Is he always like that?" Luke said as he walked in.
I shrugged.
"He cares about his sister" I said. "Well, he has a funny way of showing it"
My Hexagon bracelet began to glow neon green.
"Seriously? A meeting? I didn't get to have my beauty sleep, it's not fair!" Luke whined and I chuckled.
"You, my friend are just being totally ridiculous"
...
"Theodore. It's a pleasure to meet you again" Thane said to me as I stepped into his office. I took a deep breath and sat down on the chair opposite him.
"Concerning my proposition, I presume you have given it a lot of thought" he said, rocking his chair slightly.
I cleared my throat, brushing the stray strand of hair away from my face.
"I have"
"Good. Are you accepting the job or...... declining it?" He said, his eyes boring into mine. "And if I don't accept it?" I asked, raising a brow.
"Let's hope it does not get to that" he said.
I had a sick feeling in my stomach. He had a particular motive about this. If I said yes, I might be playing right into a trap. If I said no, I might be putting the ones I love, in danger. I could see it in his eyes. He hoped that I would refuse. I straightened up in my seat and gave him the sweetest smile I could muster. "I accept to be your assistant, Mr Ryder" I said. Shock exploded over his hard features for a split second. "That's great, Theodore. I'm honored" he said, picking up a silver ring with the hexagon logo on it, from his desk.
"There. You're to resume in two days" he said, handing the ring over to me. I hesitantly slipped it on and rose to my feet. Luke was waiting for me outside Thane's office.
"What did he say to you?" He asked. I simply showed him my ring. "No freaking way" Luke gasped.
"I had to accept" I said.
He sighed.
"I understand. But, you do know that this means we have to be even more careful than before, right? We're practically walking on broken glass" he said.
"I know"
He clasped a hand on my shoulder firmly, before walking into Thane's office.
**************
LUKE
"Lucian, you look great today. Let me guess, you've found your mate?" Thane asked and I clenched my fist, resisting the urge to slam his head on the table.
"I don't see why my mate is your business" I said.
"Touchy, touchy. I'm sorry if I offended you. I just wanted to congratulate you if you have actually found your mate. Don't take this personal" he said, gazing at me steadily.
I stiffened, my muscles tensing up.
"Why? You're tense, My dear Luke. I don't bite. Please sit"
I dropped down on the chair, stiffly. "Why am I here?" I asked, thickly.
He grinned, rocking his chair back and forth.
"Don't be silly, Luke. I'm not here to scold you or anything. I just want to talk" he said, his eyes glinting mischievously.
This can't be good.
My unease was growing.
"Let's get this over with, then" I said, clearing my throat. He smiled.
"I need you to carry out a job for me" he said.
I relaxed a bit.
Maybe, this isn't so bad.
"I'm listening" I said and he leaned back on his chair, stroking his beard.
"I want you to spy on Theodore" he said and my muscles recoiled.
"What?!" I said, rising to my feet. "You should think about it..... I will reward you" he said and I felt my fists clench hard. "How can you ask me to spy on my bestfriend?! That's absurd!" I said, my blood boiling.
"Luke-"
"You know what? Fuck you!" I spat and started to leave his office. "Then, you wouldn't mind having Rachel's head in a silver platter"
Those words made my blood run cold.
"You won't. Murdering innocent mundanes is a crime" I said.
Thane chuckled.
"Who makes the law now? Me" he said.
"What do you say?"he asked and I slowly turned to face him. "And?" He drawled, his face twisted into a mocking smirk. "Fine"
"What was that you said again? I didn't quite hear you" he said.
"I-I agree"
The look on his face literally sickened me.
By the time, I stepped out of his office, I found Theo with a male daywalker and a female nightwalker. They were laughing because of something Theo had said. The smile on Theo's face vanished as soon as he saw me. "What's wrong?" He asked when the nightwalker and the daywalker had left.
"It's nothing you should worry about. Thane was just being a jerk" I said.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why don't I believe you?" He asked. Gosh, why is it so hard to hide things from him. He basically sees right through every facade I put on.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?" He asked.
"I know. He's just a jerk. There's nothing to worry about right now" I said.
"Right.....if you say so" he said, still not looking convinced.
"I'm going out on a date with Amyra tonight" I said and he grinned.
"That's awesome, Luke" he said, a genuine smile lighting up his features. I suddenly felt so guilty. I couldn't do that to Theo. I just couldn't see myself betraying him. He's my bestfriend.... he's my brother. I couldn't just ruin our friendship because of Thane. I decided that I would have to come up with something. A heavy sigh left my lips when I thought of Amyra.
"Penny for your thoughts" he said, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"It's nothing. I just... I'm thinking about Amyra. I don't know if-"
"Luke you don't have to be perfectly perfect. You're perfect just the way you are. Amyra is clearly very interested in you. You won't ruin anything" he said and somehow, that made me feel a lot better. And I knew exactly what I had to do.
**********
DEVON
"Pillow fight!" Karla yelled and I grabbed my pillow and threw it at Amyra who squealed. Karla threw her pillow at me, giggling when Amyra threw a pillow at her. We stuck out our tongues at each other and threw pillow at each other. I haven't had such fun for some time now and it felt really good to be hanging out with them.
We all laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Are you and Chris back together?" I asked Karla who blushed hard. She wiggled her ring- clad finger.
"Yeah. He gave me a promise ring too" she said and we all squealed.
"That's so sweet!" Amyra said. "Yeah" Karla said.
"Guess what?" Amyra asked.
"You're getting married?" Karla and I both said, shrugging.
She groaned.
"God, no! I'm not ready to get married yet! I'm actually going on a date with Luke tonight" she said, blushing
"Awwn! That's great! I'm sure you're excited" I said.
"I am. But, I'm also nervous. I don't know what to wear" she sighed.
Karla and I sat up immediately.
"Oh, honey. You should've told us. You don't have to worry, we'll help you with that" I said.
"Yeah. By the time we're done, Luke will be drooling at the sight of you" Karla grinned.
Amyra blushed.
"Well, I can't wait"
★★★★★★
Karla and I helped Amyra to look really nice for her date with Luke. Karla went home shortly after Amyra left. Theo knocked on the front door and I hurried downstairs to get it. I was quite lucky my dad hadn't been home for sometime now. He would be coming back from Atlanta in two weeks.
"Hey" I said as he walked in. He pulled me close to himself and kissed my forehead.
"Oh, it's you" we pulled away just as my mum was coming downstairs.
"Hello, Brielle" he said, giving her a smile.
She chuckled and walked up to him. "I heard about what you did. You saved my daughter's life and I want to thank you for that" she said, embracing him. He smiled.
"She's my responsibility, Brielle. I had to keep her safe" he said.
My mum nodded and started to go back upstairs.
"Whatever you two are doing, please use protection" she said and left.
My cheeks went pink and I buried my head against his chest. He laughed, wrapping his arms around my waist.
"Don't be shy, love" he whispered and it only made me blush harder. We both went to my room and sat down on my bed.
"You and I are soulmates, right?" He said and I nodded, gazing into his eyes.
"We haven't quite done something crucial..." His voice trailed off and I felt heat rise up my neck.
What was he talking about?
I might be a cheerleader but I was still a virgin and I didn't.... I didn't know if I was ready for that. He laughed, his cheeks turning pink. I gasped, my eyes widening.
He's blushing?
Theo was actually blushing?!
Ha!!!
"No, that's not what I'm talking about" he said.
"Oh"
"It's called the claiming....but...we only have to do the bonding part for now" he said.
"How do we do that?" I asked, relaxing in his arms.
"Normally, we verbally accept the fact that we're mates. Then, a bonding rune magically appears on our skin. The bonding is done during the full moon" he said.
"Really? A rune? It'll be like my first tattoo. I'm in" I said and he grinned.
"When would you like us to do it?" He asked.
"How about, right now?" I suggested and his eyes lit up.
"Your wish is my command" he said, taking my hands in his. Our gazes met and it felt so right.