Charlene
Before his fingers brushed my lips, I shied away. "Do you even know what personal space is?"
"Per…sonal… space?"
"Yeah, like this. Hold out your arm." He did, and I did the same, doubling the distance between us. I spun in a circle. "This area is mine… Where I come from, entering someone's space is a form of invasion if the other person does not give permission."
"Maybe… but necessary for mating."
"Was that a joke?"
Romero gave me a saucy smile.
"Don't you have a mating ritual?"
He didn't answer. Very cautious with what to tell me. I felt that I was talking more than I should, but it was nothing new. I suffered from verbal diarrhea. He turned so that there was space for me to pass him and held out his arm. I took the gap. The cell was getting a bit heated. None of the other cubicles had anyone in them.
"Was I your first criminal?"
Romero kept his distance from me, his eyes following my gaze, saying nothing. I tried to stay human. He kept watching me. Vigilant for any sudden movements. Maybe it was necessary. I didn't feel like I would do anything because I was still a little out of it. But I couldn't resist. I jumped in the air and scared him with outstretched arms. Not even one flinch. Great, another Marcus…
Outside, Romero passed me and let me follow him. I was a little distracted with taking in the scenery. It seemed that they didn't have any form of transportation or fish-ridden boats because we only kept walking and walking. I had a hard time moving or keeping up with him. After what felt like half an hour, we moved into a residential area and along a narrow walkway. I could see nothing besides the buildings that covered both sides as far as we traveled. Walking for another hour left me weak and my eyes gauging where to put my next step. Fumbling, I said at last, "I have to take a break."
Hesitantly, he came back to me. "Charlene… Can I pick you up? To carry you."
I didn't protest and nodded. He bent down on one knee and waited so I could get on his back. "A piggyback ride? This is like all Juliet's Korean dramas," I said.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"I know…" I let my head fall on his shoulder.
He was strong and carried me easily. His hands were holding onto my thighs. "Are you okay?" He asked softly.
"I don't know? I feel sleepy."
I closed my eyes and didn't wake up till the following day.
Romero was on the bed next to me, shaking me softly. "Charlene. You have to wake up. We need to see if you are okay."
I felt myself change… Lifted my hand or paw in front of my face. Romero stood up immediately and away from the bed. "What did you give me? It feels like I'm still drugged. Or is it the planet?" My voice was more of a growl… I was a Werewolf and lifted my hand to feel the new features. I didn't like it and pulled my lips up in the one manifestation I could do without. I probably looked like a dog growling at an opponent.
So I tried to relax, watching Romero's eyes widen. "How many forms do you have?"
"Just four…"
"You were rather big… so we might have overdone the dose. I do not think our environment is the problem."
He helped me up. I wasn't as tall as earlier, but I still towered over him. Unlike Marcus's stoic features, Romero's face was rather bold and cocky but still pensive in a way. His low-set brows scowled at my new face staring down at him. It bothered me, and he was not telling me why I unsettled him like that. "I'm trying to change, but can you stomach me like this." My voice sounded deep and scary. It was strange that Werewolves could talk on other planets but not on Earth. "Do you have mirrors here?" Maybe I was that ugly.
"Mirrors?"
"Reflection? I want to see myself."
"Oh! Only water."
The room I had slept in was spacious and modern. They had furniture and linen, curtains, and ornaments everywhere. It didn't seem like another world at all. Our human natures must have, at some point, overlapped.
We left his home... Their star was very close. It was almost scorching outside. I peered up into the sky. They had a massive moon so close to the planet that it seemed almost unreal for the daytime. I turned back to look at the building we exited and gasped. It was beautiful, out of an Arabian fiction. Pillars and dome-shaped roofs. The sand piled around the sides where there was not an entrance. Built from white stone and metals with a lot of windows that arched to the top. I took in the scenery. All over, there were similar buildings. Some were smaller, and others the same size, with a lot of space in between. In the distance, a palace, grand and ostentatious. No roads, nor any plants or walkways. Only soft white sand.
We walked again for some time, entering a building not far from where I had slept. It was stunning. Through the entrance, white-barked trees lined a walkway to somewhere. No leaves. Barren branches grew up until they reached another glass roof. I could hear water running as we slowly made our way through the enormous passage. It was a fountain filling a circle around it. The water overflowed from there to other rooms. "Can I drink from here?"
He was being the perfect host. Romero quickly opened a cabinet on the side of the wall, took out a cup, and filled it. I wanted to drink but couldn't. The cup didn't really want to play along with the lack of my opposable thumbs. He laughed lightly and held out his hand to the water. I bent down like a dog, drinking until I was satisfied. All the while watching my reflection in the water. Being a dog would be my least favorite manifestation. My gut said that it was too good to be true. He was being too nice. The place, too, like Earth… Being a little more alert and the drugs finally out of my system, my cautious side came back into full swing. Charlene was still there somewhere.
"Do you believe that it is accidental when two people meet?" Romero asked.
It was a strange question. I just thought I needed to be more aware of him, and there he was, asking me a very normal person-type question. "Like fate?" I ventured, wondering what was going on.
"Fate?"
"Yes, the universe or gods has it all mapped out?" I suggested. I never believe in any of it. But after being thrusted into a supernatural world, you couldn't stay ignorant anymore.
"It was destined to be… Before we even met." Romero said softly, his eyes on the water.
"Yeah…" Did Romero think that we were destined to meet? "I've come to believe in providence… And time… Everything happens for a reason… Why?"
He shook his head. "Just asking. Trying to figure out what you are. Where you came from. What your reasons are for living."
He was only fishing. I relaxed a little. "That is a lot of questions… Where I come from, you can know someone all your life and then… One day. They decide to… change… For better or for worse, and there isn't anything you can do about it."
His big, bushy, black eyebrows almost touched. "That is a sad way of life."
My heart was not racing anymore, and I felt myself change. It would take me a while to figure out how it worked at all. His shoulders lowered a tad when I was human. Fascination in his eyes. Like he had never seen a white person before. "Did I tell you how beautiful you are?" He said.
I giggled, putting my hands in my back pockets. From talking about fate to telling me I was beautiful. He got game.
We heard voices coming down the walkway. It sounded like women. Two dark-skinned females walked towards us. Intrigued, their eyes drifted up and down my person, speaking to each other about me but not to me.
"She really is light." The one said.
"Is everyone dark here?" I asked. Romero nodded. "We have never seen someone as fair as you. With hair as soft and white."
The one woman's hair was braided and hanging in dreads down her back. The other tied up on her head. Lots of jewelry and paint on their face. One wore a dark dress, and the other was in a creamed color two-piece.
"Mother wants to meet her."
It was his sisters. They were a beautiful family. I knew how Juliet must have felt on Zoreah.
"I will take her as soon as I feed her. It seems she is better when she eats."
Again, they talked about me in the third person. It pissed me off. My emotions bubbled up too quickly. I didn't go through all that for others to still treat me as if I couldn't take care of myself.
"How do you speak the same language as me?" My tone was clipped.
Romero's brow creased again. I wondered if it was a common thing for him to frown. "Books. Learning. School…"
"Books?"
He held out his hand. Reluctantly, I placed mine in his, not wanting to offend him. He led me upstairs into a room so big that it put our libraries to shame. Not even Marcus's room at the compound had so many shelves.
"This is our family's books. We learn here."
"Your family?"
"All the houses you saw in the sand are a village. Our family stays together. Each one has a house, but we are all related… Do you have a family?"
I couldn't remember when I last talked to my parents. At the funeral was the first time I had seen them in years. They didn't even know about Miné or Kubra. Had a million questions about Juliet over dinner. After that, we got drunk.
"Yes… I have a family. Not blood family but people that love me."
"I understand… Not everybody here has blood families. They live in buildings far away from the villages like ours… I will go show you when you are feeling better."
I picked up a book, letting go of his hand. For some reason, I felt a little better. It was all information, history, or science.
***
Juliet
"Michael?" I whispered.
"He's not here, baby," Louis said.
"How long?"
It was quiet around the bed.
"How long?!" I asked louder.
"A few days."
I sat up slowly. "The baby?"
"He's here. They opted to wait until Fahan woke up. Or at least the mother."
I scanned my body. "Get my clothes."
"Everyone out!" Chris ordered in a loud voice. I groaned, my chin lifting to the roof in defeat. He was going to use his authority on me. Keep me there…
The room cleared. "You can't keep doing this, Chris," I said, irritated.
When he didn't answer, I turned around. It was Marcus sitting on the bed. I snorted when our eyes met over my shoulder. He smiled at me. "Using my one weakness… Not fair." Marcus got up and stood behind me, running his hands over my shoulders and down my arms. It did help a little.
"Julie, can you give us a little bit more credit." He bent down and kissed me on my neck. "I don't think you understand how worried we all were."
"Would you die for him? All you care about is the baby." I closed my eyes anyway, enjoying the touch I had not had in a very long time.
"That's unfair… And yes… I would, of course… whether I do it or you… Does it matter? When you die, I die. But our baby doesn't need to… We can at least give him a chance."
I laughed lightly. "You already sure it would be a strapping, bouncing baby boy?"
Marcus walked around the bed and came to stand in front of me. "Can you at least eat before you make any decisions?"
His hands were roaming my face, touching my cheeks, trailing my lips. "You haven't even asked about Charlene?" My eyes came up to meet his. I had forgotten about her. Michael sitting somewhere rotting away… consumed me. It was half of the reason why I slept with Soren. "She disappeared right after… Teleported, and we can't find her."
I slid my arms around him and moved closer to him, happy that Charlene had gotten what she wanted but worried that she might've ended up somewhere dangerous. My head rested on his chest. "I can't leave him there. Not again. I'm not waiting seven months… I'm the only one that can do this safely and bring him back."
Marcus lifted my chin with his thumbs and pressed his lips onto mine. I pulled away. "You don't want to kiss me right now. Trust me." My face was still firmly in his hands. He pushed me up and kissed me again, and one hand slid behind my head. My wounds were almost completely healed. Covered by bandages, but I could feel little pain. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"He's not the only one here… You have to think about us as a whole… You can't treat every relationship as the only one that matters."
I pushed him away and got off the bed. A little dizzy, he held me around my waist. "That's not what you said when you wanted the baby. You didn't care about Michael then, either. We haven't even talked about that comment you made…"
Marcus held me close to his body, whispering into my ear. "It's not the same. He wouldn't want you to go in there alone either."
"You guys can't go. Give them more leverage over us." He turned me so that we were face to face.
"I'm asking you… Not to do this alone." Marcus picked me up and took me to the feeding room. I didn't even have the strength to kill anything. It was one of those creatures we had at the embassy. "Where did you get it?"
"Ira got it for you… They come from Palmyra. They have been going over there. He and Silvanus."
Marcus was irritated and trying hard not to lose his temper. I didn't even react to the smell. There was no way I could help Michael without help. He took out his emotions on the poor thing, killed it, and dragged it over to me.
After, I lay on the floor for a long time. Marcus had joined me and was right next to me. I held up my hand to him. He didn't hesitate to lick my fingers. Eating did help. Marcus talking to me helped. He pulled me up so we sat facing each other. Legs crossed. He handed me a glass plate.
"Read it."
I wiped my hands clean on a rag. Michael had been sending them messages. Michael, who wanted to be another sacrifice, made me want to jump up and run over there. But the rest seemed that they were treating him okay. It wasn't like Rodrigo. I hoped. "He's fine… Let's wait till the mother wakes up from her three-day sleep… We would have exchanged them already, but there seems to be no place. If you weren't pregnant, I would send you in there. I know you're able and capable of so much, Julie. You've proven yourself… Over and over. But you don't have to do it alone. I won't let anything happen to him."
I was pregnant and emotional and didn't want to fight with him. Michael and Chris told me I should stay young, and Marcus and Louis wanted me to grow up. The age gap was getting more complicated to manage than I had thought. "Okay…" I said after thinking it through.
Marcus seemed surprised, and I chuckled. "I thought I was going to have to get Chris in here to deal with you."
I reached out and slid my hands up his thigh, thumbing my way to where I wanted to be. "You're not doing so bad… I love the fact that we're talking… Marcus, I didn't send Soren away just because of Chris… You have to know… I would do almost anything for you. If you had asked…"
He laughed and stood up. "You might just be horny… Come. You need to take a shower and brush your teeth so you will let me kiss you properly."
"And sort me out?"
He shook his head, "Talking… Who would ever have thought?"
***
Michael
The mother wasn't happy at all when she came stomping up to me after her sleep. Dimitrios, trying to calm her. "How could you wait three days. Who knows what they are doing to him. We have to exchange them back."
They had treated me well. I was even fed a few times.
"Where would you want us to have this exchange? They do not trust us and refuse to set foot on our soil."
"You go get him." Her voice was rising.
"How? They will keep both. Fahan would be furious if I lost the Riphath and his son. Do you think if there was any way we could do it without risk, I would not have done it already? They hold all the cards. Knows everything about us."
"Do you want to tell me we will have to wait till Fahan wakes up?"
"I am afraid we have no choice."
Inwardly, I groaned. It gave Juliet two weeks to heal even more. Nothing I said wanted to convince them that we would never go back on our word. I had tried everything. Made plans for them and conjured up scenarios of how to get it done. I wanted out and knew when Fahan woke up. It was going to be a disaster.