The Zeuorian Awakening Read online

  “A lot.” Everett sat up in his seat. “Don’t be fooled by the charming exterior he puts on. Tyler is an entirely different person when you turn your back on him. He’s mean and manipulative. He started the rumor I had been stalking you.”

  So Tyler had been stalking her and that meant—she glanced over at Everett—Everett had to be her Watcher.

  She listened to his mind and just as she expected, she heard nothing. For that matter, she couldn’t remember ever having heard his thoughts. He had to be blocking her. Only her Watcher would know he needed to keep her from listening to his thoughts. He definitely had to be him.

  She raised her phone and stared at the picture of the boy and then at Everett. He did resemble him and—

  “Watch out.” Everett grabbed the steering wheel and they barely missed a pine tree.

  She slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a stop on the side of the road. “You’re him? You’re the boy I met in Colorado and have been watching me since my birthday?”

  Everett gently wrapped his hand around her phone and slid it out from her fingers. He traced his thumb over the picture and said, “Yes, I’m him, but we shouldn’t be talking alone like this. If anyone sees us, we’re dead.”

  “Why did you come with me then?”

  “I only came along so I can make sure you didn’t think Tyler was your Watcher and get into another situation where he made you cause another incident.”

  “I wouldn’t have ever considered him my Watcher if you told me truth about yourself the first day we met in the hall.”

  “I wanted to tell you, but when you couldn’t remember me. I thought you would freak out after Tyler made you believe a psycho tried to carry you away. I couldn’t risk the half-breed seeing you run from me. He would’ve known right away you were the one.”

  “You couldn’t have found another way to tell me?”

  “It was never safe.” He shifted in his seat. “Someone was always close by and could hear us talking. I couldn’t tell you telepathically either or risk the half-breed hearing.”

  “What about when you were over my house?”

  He sighed. “I was going to, but my father called. I had to go.”

  “But now it’s safe for you to tell me in my car. I don’t believe you. I think if it hadn’t been for Tyler saying you were my Stalker, you would’ve waited until I figured it out on my own you were the boy. That’s why you left the photo on my bed and didn’t bother to leave me a note or wait around to talk to me.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched as he struggled to keep from grinning. “Yeah, I did.” He took her hand in his. ”I couldn’t help it. I felt like a part of me died after I realized you forgot the summer we spent together. But when you saw the photo of us and remembered me, I had to see if you could figure out if I was the boy you dated.”

  She felt a dull ache in her chest. “But I only remember a few brief moments.”

  “I know. You could’ve remembered anything that had happened during the summer, but you remembered me and,” he winked at her, “the mole on my butt and, of course, my awesome kiss.”

  Her face warmed. “It-it was a good kiss.”

  “I can do better,” he muttered and bent over the stick shift to show her.

  Her breath caught as his face moved closer to hers. She couldn’t believe it—Everett was her Watcher. She hoped all day he could be him and now that she knew he was, she could barely contain herself and wanted to take him into her arms and . . .

  “Uh, wait a second.” She pressed her hand to his shoulder and kept him from moving closer. “I think you need to answer a few questions before we do anything else, like can you control my mind?” She remembered how the man had made her mother kill herself.

  “You don’t have to be afraid.” He removed her hand from his shoulder and kissed it. “I can’t touch your mind. None of my kind can now you’ve gone through your transformation or rather what we call the ‘awakening’. We only have a fraction of your abilities, depending on what generation we are. I’m third generation. I have two abilities: mental telepathy and a form of mind control, or more like altering memories, where I can think up anything and push it into others’ minds.”

  “And your father, what powers does he have?”

  “He’s second generation and has the same abilities as me, plus premonitions.”

  “Hmm, premonitions.” She relaxed in her bucket seat. “Are they like mine?”

  “No, what you get are more emotional, gut feelings, whereas he receives visions or precognition. He can conjure them up on demand, but most of the time he waits until the visions comes to him, since they’re stronger and more vivid.”

  “So, is he watching our future now?”

  “Not really.” He stared out the passenger window. “He watches our people to determine what they’re planning to do and if they know about you, but he can’t see your future. Actually, no one can. That’s why no one has been able to track you down all these years.” He paused when several birds on the road flew into the sky. He rolled down the window and listened for a minute before turning toward her. “I know you have more questions to ask me, but we should go.”

  “You think the half-breed following you maybe close?”

  “No. He left town. I made him believe you were somewhere else with a little video editing and YouTube.” He shot her a devious look. “But I’d feel better if we discussed this in private where no one could overhear us. And one other thing,” he turned the key in the ignition and started the engine, “don’t drive like a maniac this time. I like to avoid having a heart attack.”

  21 THE COMMUNITY

  Lexi stood outside a chipped off-white door along the side of the house across from hers. She must’ve stared at the old run-down house more than ten times a day, but not once did she suspect someone lived there, least of all Everett. But apparently he’d somehow bought it and moved in after her birthday.

  She lifted her hand to knock, when the door flew open and Everett yanked her inside. “Ouch.” She rubbed her aching arm. “Why were you so rough?”

  “Tyler just parked in front of your house.” Everett motioned toward the living room. “And I didn’t want him seeing you over here.”

  Tyler again. She sighed. When would he get the hint and realize she didn’t want anything to do with him?

  She walked through the kitchen into the living room and peeked out the window. Just as she suspected, Tyler had parked his Hummer next to the sidewalk where she couldn’t sneak past him. Clearly, she wouldn’t be going home any time soon.

  “Don’t worry about him.” Everett leaned against the doorjamb. “You can stay here as long as you need to.”

  She looked around the living room with its drab white walls and dirty brown carpet. The room had no furniture same as the kitchen. “So, where am I supposed to sit?”

  “In my room,” Everett said, walking into the kitchen as she followed him. He took a quick left and proceeded up a narrow staircase to a long hallway. Outlines where old family photos had once hung riddled the walls as he continued down the hall to the first door on his left.

  Lexi waited by his side as he unlocked his bedroom door, the only room in his house worth protecting from intruders she assumed. “I’m afraid to ask what type of furniture you have in your room. Is it solid or inflatable?”

  “Definitely solid.” Everett opened his door and pointed to his new cedar bedroom set with matching computer desk. “I had an air mattress when I first moved in, but after a day I had enough and broke down and bought this.”

  “Nice,” she said, entering his room after him.

  “Don’t mind the mess.” Everett kicked dirty clothes under his bed. “I haven’t had a lot of time to clean up.”

  “I gather.” She motioned toward three empty pizza boxes stacked next to his computer desk and several empty soda cans scattered on the floor. “Well at least you kept your desk clean.”

  “I’m normally not this messy, but I’ve been dis
tracted,” he said, hinting he’d been busy watching after her.

  Lexi noticed several video screens open on his computer monitor and motioned toward it. “Do you have video surveillance?”

  “Ah, yeah.” Everett rushed over to his desk before Lexi could get a better view of what he had on the screen and turned it off. “I wanted to make sure no one could sneak up on me.”

  Why did she have a hard time believing his excuse. He was hiding something from her. Lexi eyed the monitor before continuing to check out his room.

  “I see you also bought new carpet and a weight set.” She walked over to it. “Why do you have your weight bench next to the window? It would fit better along the wall next to your bathroom door.”

  A sheepish expression swept over Everett’s face. “I like the view.”

  “What view?” She stared across the street at her bedroom window. So he liked watching her while working out. “What exactly have you seen in my bedroom while you lift weights for hours on end?”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I don’t work out for hours on end.”

  Yeah, right, he doesn’t work out for hours on end. She ran her hand along the worn-out weight gloves and scanned every inch of his rock-hard body.

  “I guess I do spend a couple of hours a day lifting weights while you’re at home.”

  “But you’re avoiding my question. What have you seen in my room?”

  “Hardly anything.”

  She glanced across the street and saw everything in her room, from her desk to the closet door, except for her bed. Her mind raced over what he may have seen on any given day in the past week, from the time she got dressed in the morning to the time she walked around in her underwear before going to bed.

  “So, what exactly did you see while watching me from your window?” she demanded.

  “Nothing.” Everett plopped onto his bed and acted as if it was no big deal. “I closed my eyes when you took off your clothes, but there was this one time you had on these pink lace underwear and—”

  She threw a weight glove at him and he ducked out of the way. “Oh, you’re so full of it. I don’t even own anything pink.”

  “I swore it was pink, but I could’ve been wrong,” he said with a playful tone.

  Lexi opened her mouth and closed it before saying anything else. She wasn’t going to get suckered into another gag at her expense. She decided to ask him the questions that had been burning in her mind for the past couple of hours instead.

  “So why are the half-breeds hunting me and want me dead?”

  He took his time before answering her. “’Cause they fear your power will go to your head like the other Zeuorians and you’ll try to kill them.”

  “They’re trying to kill me on the pretense I may turn evil. That’s extreme.”

  “Not really. If you understand what they went through.” He blew out his breath. “See, for many centuries, half-breeds and Zeuorians lived in harmony until the Zeuorians changed. Each new generation of Zeuorian grew more powerful than the one before. Some might say they grew too powerful for their own good.”

  “Like how I made all those accidents with my powers,” she asked, taking a seat beside him on the mattress.

  “That’s not what they were referring to. A war broke out among the half-breeds and the Zeuorians. Some surmised it started when Zeuorian’s power went to their heads, but no one knows how it really began only how it ended.

  A Zeuorian woman with a unique gift to control armies used it to her advantage and wiped out all the Zeuorians weakened during the war. She made herself the queen of our world, but she quickly learned several half-breeds weren’t influenced by her gift.”

  “Oh, I think I know where this story is going,” Lexi said, recalling a movie with a similar plot she watched not that long ago. “She became scared the half-breeds would try to overpower her. So she decided to kill them before they did anything to her.”

  Everett nodded. “The half-breeds she couldn’t control went into hiding. They relocated to Earth and hid amongst the humans, but that didn’t stop her from chasing after them. She sent her guards to hunt them down. My grandfather and a few others banded all the half-breeds on Earth together and created a secret society called The Community.”

  “The Community.” Lexi’s face puckered. “What a terrible name.”

  “Yeah, I know.” Everett raked his fingers through his hair. “Everyone thought it would be safer if we called ourselves The Community instead of half-breeds so none of the humans would catch on to what we really were.”

  “But still, they could’ve come up with something better than The Community.”

  Everett rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we fought back and many of us were lost while fighting her guards. Mostly we lost female half-breeds since they’re more powerful and a bigger threat to the queen than the men. After several months of fighting, we managed to kill the queen’s guards and shut the portals to Earth.”

  “I don’t understand. If all Zeuorians were killed, except the queen and the portals were closed, how did I end up on Earth?”

  “We don’t know, but apparently not all the Zeuorians had died for you to be alive. We suspect either your mother opened the portal or she used a first-generation half-breed to open one.”

  Lexi thought about what her mother said in her memory. “It had to be my birth mother who opened the portal, since she closed it right after killing the queen to prevent anyone else from attacking her.”

  “Your mother killed the queen? Damn, this changes everything.” Everett stood and paced the room several times before turning back to Lexi. “You’re in more danger than I realized.”

  She sat up straight. “Why? I figured the half-breeds would be excited knowing the queen is dead and no longer hunting them.”

  Everett knelt in front of her and cupped her hands in his. “Your powers will be far greater than the queen’s since your mother had to be born the same time as her making you the next generation Zeuorian. With the queen still alive, some of our people were willing to let you live despite their fears so you could protect us from the queen, but if they learned the queen is no longer a threat to us . . .” He dropped his head and let his words dangle in the air.

  She didn’t have to hear the rest to know what he’d left out. Everyone in The Community would want her dead, especially since she was the last Zeuorian. Then they’d never have to worry about being threatened by her kind ever again.

  She lifted Everett’s face and stared directly into his eyes. “But don’t they realize I’m not some super villain out to take over the world and kill them?”

  “They aren’t willing to risk finding out.”

  “Can’t your father tell them to leave me alone? I mean, he must have some pull since your grandfather was one of their co-founders.”

  “Actually, my father is their leader.” Everett diverted his eyes from Lexi’s. “But he can’t force The Community to accept you. He’s not that type of leader. He needs the majority decision from The Community before he can pass any laws. Right now The Community is divided over killing you. They’ve only managed to pass a couple of laws preventing anyone from hunting or helping you.”

  “I can tell how much they care about those laws.”

  She thought about the half-breed who killed her parents even when they were no threat to him. He could’ve used his mind control and made them watch as he killed her. Instead, he had her parents kill themselves in front of her. If they could be cruel to the humans raising her, what would they do to the son of their leader when they learned he’d been protecting her?

  “They’ll either kill me or turn me in to The Community for committing treason,” Everett said, answering her thoughts. “Hopefully, it won’t come to that.”

  She took his hand in hers and stared into his eyes. “Tell me the truth is there any way possible I can convince the half-breeds to trust me?”

  “My father believes there’s a chance he could convince The Community you’re not a dange
r to them, but it may take time. Until then, you’ll have to stay hidden and avoid causing any more accidents.”

  “What if I can’t stop causing more accidents?”

  “Shh. Everything will be okay.” Everett ran his thumb along the cut on her wrist. “You’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to face the half-breeds by yourself. I promise you. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you alive. You mean everything to me.”

  “Is that the reason you came here?”

  “Yes.” He lifted her hand to his face and pressed his lips to her skin. “And protect you from the half-breeds after your awakening.”

  “Why didn’t you come sooner?”

  “I tried.” He drew in a deep breath as he stood up. “I went to your parents’ house right after you left Colorado, but when I got there, you were gone and I didn’t know if you were dead or alive.”

  “Obviously that didn’t stop you from looking for me.”

  “I wasn’t going to stop searching for you until I had absolute proof you were dead.” He let out a heavy sigh of relief. “When I did finally track you down, I wanted to hop on a plane and go to you that second.”

  “So you just figured out where I lived?”

  He shook his head. “I discovered you were living in Brookings when you were sixteen.”

  “I don’t understand.” She rubbed her temple. “Why did you wait a year to come see me?”

  “I would’ve come earlier if I could.” He gave her a sad look. “Someone started a rumor after you left Colorado that my father had been protecting you and knew where you were. They’ve been following us ever since, hoping we’d lead them to you. I had to wait until I went to college so none of the half-breeds would suspect I was going to see you. I didn’t even tell my father what I planned to do.”

  Lexi stood next to Everett with a desperate look on her face. “But the half-breed following you figured it out, right?”