Shadows

Chapter 12

The ride home was a blur to Dawson. He didn’t even remember parking the car and heading upstairs. Lying in bed, he stared at the ceiling, his thoughts racing and spilling atop one another.

He’d flipped into his true form. Holy crap on a cracker. He actually changed in front of her. There were no words.

Never in his life had that happened.

But she hadn’t freaked. God, no, she’d actually accepted him. Other than UFO fanatics, Dawson didn’t expect that from any human.

Pulling his cell out of his pocket, he sent her a quick text, asking if she was okay. Her response came back immediately. Then his phone beeped again.

See each other tmrw?

The grin that spread across his face probably made him look like a dumb SOB, but he didn’t care. Responding back, he told her yes and then dropped the cell on his nightstand. Not a second later, his bedroom door opened, and Dee popped her head in.

“Hey,” she said. “Can I come in?”

“Sure.” Dawson sat up. “What’s up?”

Dee sat in the chair by his desk, folding her slender arms. “Daemon went after the Arum today. He was close to the diner.”

Dawson’s chest clenched. Bethany. She may have accepted him, but damn, how could he forget about that trace? “Is Daemon okay?”

“A little banged up, but he’ll be fine.” There was a pause and then a sigh. “He’ll always be okay. You know how he is.”

Yeah, Daemon was a freaking machine. “Let me guess — he’s out there hunting the Arum again right now.”

She nodded. “Were you with Bethany?”

“I hung out at her house, met her parents.”

“Sounds serious,” she whispered.

Serious as an alien invasion, he thought. Crossing his ankles, he narrowed his eyes. “Are you okay?”

Dee blinked out of the chair and appeared on the foot of the bed, her knees tucked against her chest. “I’m fine. I just miss you. Daemon’s a bore.”

He chuckled. “Daemon is more exciting than I am.”

She scrunched up her nose. “Whatever. So, Bethany — it is serious, right? Meeting parents? You’ve never done that before.”

They had a close relationship, he and Dee. Although a lot of the details about his hookups were absent, Dee knew everything about him. And he trusted her implicitly.

“I really do like her,” he said finally, closing his eyes. “She’s amazing.”

Dee didn’t respond immediately, and he knew what she was thinking. Bethany could be amazing, perfect even, and it wouldn’t matter. Aliens and humans didn’t mix. “Dawson—”

“She knows.”

He’d said it quietly, but the two words were like a nuclear bomb.

“What?” Dee shrieked.

Dawson winced. When he opened his eyes, she was standing straight up on the bed, eyes wide and hands shaking. He sat up. “Dee, it’s okay.”

“How can it be okay? Humans can’t know about us! And what about the DOD and—”

“Dee, sit and get a grip. Okay?” He waited until she settled back down. Her whole body was vibrating. It happened whenever she got excited or upset. “I didn’t tell her on purpose.”

Her head cocked to the side. “How did you accidentally let it slip? ‘Oh, by the way, I’m an alien. Let’s kiss’?”

Huh, she had it backward.

“What happened?” she demanded.

“I’m not sure you want to know the details.”

“Did you guys have sex? Because that’s pretty much the only thing you won’t tell me, which I do appreciate, and on second thought, don’t answer that question. It was gross.”

“No. We didn’t have sex.” He choked on his laugh. “Geez, Dee…”

She rolled her eyes. “Then what happened?”

Rubbing his temples, he glanced at the door. “Bethany and I were making out and something happened that’s never happened before.”

Dee leaned back. A look of supreme disgust clouded her pretty face. “Uh, yuck if this is about any kind of premat—”

“Oh my God, shut up and listen, okay?” He dragged a hand through his hair. “We were making out, and I lost my hold on my human form. I lit up like a freaking Christmas tree.”

His sister’s mouth dropped open. “No shit…”

“Yeah, and she saw me. I had to tell her, because it’s not like I could hide after that.”

Dee blinked several times. “Wait. Rewind. You lost hold because you were kissing?”

“Yep.”

“Wow.” Another emotion washed away the disgust. Something he couldn’t place and probably didn’t want to. “You must really, really like her.”

“I do.” Dawson smiled then, unable to help himself. He was such a dork.

“I’ve never been kissed like that.”

There went his smile. “You better not be kissed like that. And I don’t want to hear about it if you do.”

“Hey, it’s caring and sharing time, right?”

“No.”

She waved her hand, dismissing him. “What did she do?”

Dawson explained how well Bethany handled it once she got over her expected shock. Respect filled his sister’s eyes. Any Luxen could appreciate a human’s understanding of keeping this on the down low, and if he believed that Bethany would, Dee seemed to trust that.

“Wait. Is she glowing?” She whispered the last bit, as if saying it out loud was some sort of sin.

Dawson nodded. “A little bit.”

“Oh, man. Daemon is going to kill you.”

“Thanks. That helps, Dee.”

“Sorry.” She lifted her hands. “But once he sees her, yeah, not good.”

Dawson leaned against the headboard, running his hands down his face. Dammit, it wasn’t good. Not by a long shot. Who cared about Daemon killing him? Bethany was glowing. He’d left his proverbial mark on her.

And that would draw an Arum right to her doorstep.

…

Staring at a blank stretch of canvas on Sunday, Bethany held a paintbrush in one hand and her other was busy feeling her lips — lips that had touched Dawson’s. Gosh, he’d kissed her as if he’d been starving, leaving her dizzy and breathless.

He’d left a little while ago, just before supper. They hadn’t kissed again. Explaining that he wanted to wait until the trace faded before he attempted it, their time together had been Disney Channel — approved. But they had cuddled a lot, and that had been just as good as kissing, in her book. Just being next to him, with his arms around her, made her heart race, her nerve endings firing left and right.

Amazingly, the entire time she’d been with him, she really hadn’t thought about what he was. Sure, now that he was gone, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Dawson was an alien.

The whole town was populated with them, apparently. It was all so…out of this world.

Bethany smirked.

She placed the brush back on the little table butted up against her dresser and stood. Moving to the window, she brushed the thick curtain aside. Dusk had turned the bare trees gray. Leaning her flushed forehead against the cool windowpane, she closed her eyes.

The room — everything — felt cold without him there. It had to be the heat he threw off. Or it was just him and how he made her feel. Girly melodrama, but it was true.

Pushing away from the window, she resisted the urge to text or call him. But she was worried for him. Tonight he was telling Daemon that she knew. If he didn’t, Daemon would apparently see this trace around her tomorrow. Better to have his brother spaz out in the privacy of their home instead of in the middle of English class.

She seriously hoped Daemon didn’t kill Dawson. She’d grown fond of the boy.

Trying not to obsess over it, she forced herself out of the room, away from the phone. Downstairs, her mom was in the kitchen. Big surprise there. Dad sat at the table, looking over documents while Phillip turned his mac ’n’ cheese into finger food. She steered clear of him and went into the living room.

Her dad highlighted a portion of the document. “Look who finally came out of her room to join the living.”

Bethany made a face. “Ha. Ha.”

At the stove, her mom turned around, a baking sheet full of cookies in hand. “Honey, can you check on your uncle and see if he wants something to eat or drink?”

“Sure.” She turned around and headed into the living room.

Uncle Will was sitting on the couch stiffly, looking exhausted. The days leading up to his treatment were always the worst. From what Bethany gathered, the steroids given along with his medicine wore off fast.

“I heard your mother,” he said before she could utter a word. His voice was weak and raspy. “If I’m thirsty, I know where the fridge is.”

Bethany focused on the TV. One of the Godfather movies was on. “I can get you—”

“I’m fine.” He waved his hand. It looked paper-thin and white. “Sit down. I never really get to talk to you.”

Chatting with her uncle was the last thing she wanted to do, and she felt terrible for that. But she never knew what to say. Uncle Will liked to pretend he wasn’t knocking on death’s door, and Bethany sucked at making small talk. Avoiding his sickness was like ignoring a giant ape climbing the walls and throwing bananas.

She sat in the recliner, tucking her legs under her as she frantically searched for something to say. Luckily, Uncle Will started off the conversation.

“So, how long have you been seeing that boy?”

Her mouth dropped open. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t that lucky. After Dawson had left, her parents had interrogated her about him. Again. “We’re…just friends.”

“Is that so? I haven’t…” His words ended in a body-racking cough. Impossible as it seemed, he was even whiter. When the episode ended, he closed his eyes and cleared his throat. “I haven’t really seen him with any other girls. His…his family sticks together.”

Oh, boy, Uncle Will had no idea. “Yeah, they seem really close.”

“Good kids, I guess. Never really get in trouble.” He fiddled with the patchwork quilt draped over his legs. Their outline was thin. “Can’t tell them apart, though. Which one was here?”

It was funny to her — how no one could tell Dawson and Daemon apart. “It was Dawson.”

He nodded. “Ah, Dawson…good choice.”

She frowned. “Do you know him?”

He shook his head. “Not really, but he seems the friendlier of the two…whenever I’ve seen them in town. Have you been to his house? Met his parents?”

Her frown deepened as she stared at the screen. Of course, her uncle was pulling the protective role, but it made her uncomfortable to be questioned about Dawson. An immediate, almost irrational urge to protect him and their secret rushed to the surface.

“They work a lot out of town, but I hear them on the phone sometimes.”

“Hmm.” Will picked up the remote, signaling the end of the conversation. Thank God.

Blessed silence ensued, and when she couldn’t sit there any longer, she excused herself and went back upstairs.

And, of course, went straight to her phone.

She wasn’t the praying type, and praying that one brother didn’t murder the other seemed wrong on a lot of levels, but she may have said a teeny prayer.

…

Dawson felt like he was preparing to go in front of a firing squad. And he kind of was.

He backed away from the farmhouse, shoving his hands into his pockets. Unbeknownst to Bethany, he hadn’t really left yet. Just parked the car at his house and came back. A light flipped on in Bethany’s bedroom. He wanted to wait to see if he caught a glimpse of her, but that turned him from just keeping an eye on her into a complete stalker.

Bethany was safe in her house right now. There were no Arum lurking in the shadows and the glow was so faint that they may not even sense it. So there was no reason for him to camp outside her house.

And he needed to go home and talk to Daemon.

Turning around, he moved deeper into the forest, and when he was sure no one could see his light, he switched into his true form and took off, dreading what was about to go down.

Two minutes later, he was pulling up in his driveway, letting his light fade until he looked like any other human. Dragging his feet, he opened the front door.

The foyer was dark, and as he stopped, he frowned. Music thumped through the house. The lyrics Whoomp, there it is! blasted from the speakers. He knew before he entered the living room that Daemon was listening to one of those TV channels that played nothing but music.

Sprawled across the couch, with his arms behind his head, Daemon moved his bare feet in perfect sync with the song.

Dawson’s brows arched up. “‘Whoomp There It Is’?”

“What?” He tilted his head toward Dawson, grinning. “I like the song.”

“You have such questionable musical taste.”

“Don’t hate.” He sat up in one fluid motion, dropping his feet onto the floor. “Where have you been all day?”

“Where’s Dee?” he asked instead of answering the question.

Daemon waved his hand, and the channels flipped rapidly. “In her bedroom.”

“Oh.” The likelihood of Daemon killing him with their sister home was slim. Good news.

“Yeah.”

Sighing, he sat on the arm of the chair. “I need to tell you something, but you have to promise me that you won’t flip out.”

Daemon slowly turned his head to him, eyes narrowing. The TV stopped on a golden oldies station. “Chantilly Lace” started playing. “Whenever anyone starts a conversation off like that, I’m pretty sure I am going to flip out.”

Ah, good point. “It has to do with Beth.”

His brother’s face went blank.

“I went to see her yesterday, at her house,” he continued. “And something happened.”

There was still no response from his brother. A quiet Daemon was a Daemon about to explode. “I don’t know how it happened or why, but it did. We were kissing…and I lost hold on my human form.”

Daemon sucked in a sharp breath and started to stand but stopped. “Jesus…”

“It left a faint trace on her.” And here comes the bad part. “And she knows the truth.”

Like a switch being thrown, Daemon was up and in his face in a split second. “Are you serious?”

Dawson met his brother’s hard stare. “I don’t think I’d joke about something like this.”

“And I didn’t think you’d be so damn careless, Dawson!” Daemon flickered out and reappeared on the other side of the room, his spine rigid and shoulders tense. “Dammit!”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen.” Dawson took total ownership for his mistake, but there was always something about Daemon that made him feel like a kid standing before an angry parent. “Lighting her up with a trace was the last thing I wanted to do, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t tell her afterward. She completely understands that no one can know. She won’t say—”

“And you believe her?”

“Yes. I do.”

Daemon’s eyes flared. “And just because you believe her, the rest of us are supposed to be okay with this?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but Bethany would never tell anyone.”

Daemon barked out a cold laugh. “God, you’re stupid, bro, really stupid.”

A red-hot wave traveled up his spine. “I’m not stupid.”

“I beg to differ,” his brother growled.

Dawson’s hands opened and closed at his sides. “I get that you’re disappointed with me marking Bethany, and her knowing the truth is a gross atrocity to you, but it wasn’t like I meant to do this.”

“I know you didn’t mean to, but that doesn’t change the fact that it did happen.” Daemon leaned against the wall, tilting his chin up. Tension radiated from him, and Dawson knew that he was trying to come up with a way to fix this. That’s what Daemon did. He fixed things.

Daemon made a low sound in the back of his throat. “So, you kissed her and this happened?”

“Yeah, awkward, I know.”

One side of his lips twitched. “And the trace is faint?” When Dawson assured him, Daemon lowered his chin. “Okay. You need to stay away from her.”

“What?”

“Maybe you didn’t understand the English I was just speaking.” Daemon’s eyes flared with anger. “You need to stay away from her.”

That was the smartest thing to do — what he should do. Leave Bethany alone. But a sour taste filled his mouth. Imagining himself never talking to her again or touching her made his skin feel like it was too tight.

“What if I can’t?” he asked, looking away when Daemon scowled.

His brother swore. “Are you kidding me? It’s not hard. You. Stay. Away. From. Her.”

As if it were that easy. Daemon didn’t get it. “But she’s glowing right now. Nothing serious, but there’s an Arum around, and she’s not safe.”

“You probably should have thought about that before you Lite-Brited her ass.”

Dawson swung toward his brother, eyes narrowing. Anger caused his body heat to rocket. “So? Is that it? You just don’t care if she gets hurt?”

“I care if you get hurt.” Daemon took a step forward, hands balling into fists. “I care if Dee get hurts. This girl, as ignorant as this sounds, means nothing to me.”

Dawson looked his brother over, taking in the sharp eyes and features identical to his own. Funny how at times Daemon appeared like a perfect stranger to him. “You sound just as bad as Andrew.”

“Whatever, man.” Daemon stalked across the room, grabbing a throw pillow. “I’m not human-hating here. I’m stating a fact.” He fluffed the pillow before tossing it against the back cushion. “Obviously, you got a thing for her. Something more than what you’ve felt before.”

Well, no doubt. He’d never lost his form around a human girl before. And when he thought of Beth, yeah, he’d never felt this way.

“And because of that, you need to stay away from her,” Daemon said, as if his word was law. He stopped in front of Dawson, folding his arms. “I’ll go to Matthew and explain what’s happened.”

Dawson’s back straightened. “No.”

Daemon drew in a sharp breath. “Matthew needs to know what you’ve done.”

“If you go to Matthew, he will go to the DOD, and they will take Bethany away.” When Daemon opened his mouth, Dawson stepped forward. “And don’t you dare say you don’t care.”

“You ask too much!” Daemon exploded. “I have to warn the others just in case your girlfriend decides to go National Enquirer on us.”

“She won’t.” Dee’s quiet voice intruded from the top of the stairs. The brothers turned to her. “If Dawson believes that Bethany will remain quiet, then I believe him.”

“You’re not helping here,” Daemon snapped.

She ignored him. “We still have to tell the others, Dawson, because they have a right to be prepared. They should know, especially when they see her trace, but Daemon can convince Matthew not to go to the DOD or the Elders.”

“This isn’t Daemon’s problem,” he argued. “It’s mine. I should be—”

“If it involves you, it’s my problem.” Impatience etched into Daemon’s features.

Shame rose inside Dawson, like an ugly wisp of smoke. “I am not a child, dammit. You are only older by a few minutes! That doesn’t give you—”

“I know.” Daemon rubbed his brow as if his head ached. “I don’t mean to treat you like a kid, but dammit, Dawson, you know what you have to do here.”

Dee appeared between them, her hands on her hips as she twisted toward Daemon. “You have to trust Dawson on this.”

The look on Daemon’s face said he’d rather stick his head in a meat grinder. “This is insane.”

Daemon stepped back, putting the heels of his hands on his forehead. “Okay. I get your…need to make sure she is safe while she has the trace, and yeah, maybe she won’t say crap, but afterward, you cannot run the risk of something like this happening again.”

“I can control myself,” Dawson said.

“Oh, what the fuc—”

“Don’t ask me to give her up before I even really get to know her.” Once the words left his mouth, his will was forged with cement and a bunker of nuclear bombs. “Because you’re not going to like my response.”

Daemon blinked as if he were stunned. And it struck Dawson then, that even though he did his own thing most of the time, he never really stood up to his brother. Even Dee looked surprised.

“You can’t mean that,” Daemon said, voice tight.

“I do.”

“Oh, for the love of baby humans everywhere, you’re an idiot.” Daemon shot across the room, going toe-to-toe with him. “So, you ‘get to know her’ and you fall in love.” He spat the last word out as if he’d swallowed nails. “Then what? You’re going to try to stay with her? Get married? Have the little house with a white picket fence plus the two-point-five kids?”

God, he hadn’t thought that far ahead. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“Yeah, let me know how that works out with the DOD.”

There was a good chance that Dawson was going to crack the banister. “It’s not impossible. Nothing is.”

Again, shock shot across Daemon’s face, and then his expression hardened. “You risk being an outcast! Worse yet, you risk your sister if this happens again.”

“Daemon,” Dee protested, eyes glittering with unshed tears. “Don’t put that on him.”

Anger turned Daemon’s skin dark. His eyes started to glow. “No. He needs to understand what he’s done. Bethany could lead an Arum right here. And God knows what the DOD will do if they find out she knows. So tell me, is Bethany worth that?”

Dawson hated what he was about to say next, and man, it made him a selfish piece of crap, but it was the truth. “Yes, she’s worth it.”