The image abruptly ended as Andrew let go of Devin's mind.

Arianna was back on the couch and her first lesson was done. She could now enter people's minds and look for secrets. She could find the one hurting her, but would she be happy with what else she found?

EIGHTEEN.

Arianna sat on her bed and concentrated. It was easy to get into Turner's mind. He was an open book and didn't keep any secrets from her. She had a hard time finding anything that was a different color in his thoughts. He actually had to think of something to make one appear. Turner truly kept nothing from her. Andrew would be easy also, but Arianna was nervous to go into his mind. Everything was always more powerful with Andrew. He kept the majority of his emotions in check, but she was too in tune with him to not feel the ones that leaked out occasionally. She fiddled with the bedcover more as the boys talked in the other room. Somehow, they were now all friends when it hadn't been like that a week ago.

"I'm not getting any younger," Andrew called to the bedroom, trying to inspire her to try. She hadn't yet, and he knew. He had once put down the barrier and let his uncle into his mind. He could remember the foggy feeling that something wasn't quite right. Beyond the haze, no one could tell what or why the other person saw.

"I know, I know," she yelled back. She took a deep breath and tried to push the b.u.t.terflies flying around in her stomach away. Focusing on Andrew's eyes in her mind, she easily found her way into his thoughts. She entered and found no resistance; it was as easy as he told her it would be. She stopped as she waited for his thoughts to bubble up.

"Any day now," Andrew called from the living room breaking her concentration.

"Hey," she yelled back, stomping over to the closed door. "I was just doing it, and you broke my attention. Can't you three just be quiet for a few minutes?" She marched back over to her bed and sat back down rather noisily to make her point.

'Were you really in?' Andrew asked, amazed at how different it felt from when his uncle entered his mind.

'Yes,' she replied. 'Didn't you feel anything?' Turner and Devin had both felt her enter their minds.

'Not at all. Interesting side effect.' Arianna waited for him to explain more. He did not.

'Why?' she finally asked.

'Try again; we can talk later. When we get a free moment after everyone is back, I can explain it more.' Andrew brushed off her curiosity. Blowing her hair out of her face in frustration, Arianna wanted to keep talking now. She was going to yell at him mentally, but he spoke first.

'Later, I promise,' Andrew coaxed. The conversation was done.

Arianna closed her eyes and began to focus again. It was even easier the second time, to melt right into Andrew's mind. Arianna waited for the bubbles to appear, but they were almost instantly there as soon as she entered Andrew's mind. The room filled up, and she took her time looking around. If he wasn't going to tell her when she wanted, she wasn't going to hurry up and get this over with like they wanted. Like Turner's mind, there wasn't much hidden from her. She moved through the bubbles and glanced at the surface of one. She saw a tiny scenes playing before her. All around her were times they spent together. Andrew seemed to be thinking of her as much as she was of him. Moving through the memories and thoughts, she finally found one that was different. Willing her hands to appear, she reached over and grabbed it gently. Arianna felt her hands around the bubble but was being careful not to break it. Holding it up, she viewed the tiny scene. It was an older memory. Arianna hesitated. She didn't want people running around in her mind, and yet here she was in Andrew's. He didn't seem to mind as the room was filled with more memories and thoughts than Turner and Devin combined. Arianna gently touched the small bubble and entered into Andrew's memory.

Green shrubs and white clothed tables began to form from the messy haze of the memory. Focus slowly brought the scene in around her. Arianna recognized the yard as her uncle's yard and the same set-up that had been used for her when she turned into a baku the previous year. She watched the scene unfold from Andrew's perspective.

He gazed over the crowd of waiting people from the raised platform. A girl lay asleep in the bed, waiting to be food. Arianna felt his hand move around pretending to fake the pain that was supposed to be going through his body as he looked at the girl, Elisabeth. Elisabeth was only two years younger than him. Andrew knew her. They had secretly met several times. She was his half-sister. The child his father produced to be Andrew's meal on this very night. Andrew scanned back through the crowd of faces. His uncle stood toward the back, smiling. At that instant, Andrew knew too. It hadn't been in secret. His uncle knew who the girl was. No one else knew, but Edward Lucan did. Edward Lucan was enjoying his nephew's horror at realizing he would kill his only remaining immediate relative.

Andrew walked over to the sleeping girl. She actually smelled delicious. Andrew reached down and bit into her. He would drink enough to convince everyone and then stop and pretend to pa.s.s out. It was the only way to convince his uncle that he had just turned. Andrew bit down and began to drink. The blood was better than what he had been using for the last year to quench his thirst. His world began to fade, and he was, for the first time since his family's death, happy. He would not have to fake pa.s.sing out after all. The world turned dark, and he closed his eyes to dreamless sleep.

When he finally opened his eyes again, he gazed up at the ceiling of the room. His uncle was in the next room arguing with Gabriel. They always argued. Andrew sat up and snuck over to the window. He saw the stage, but not Elisabeth. Her scent was coming from inside the house now. Andrew stood up finding himself completely energized. He snuck out into the hallway and down the hall to the room where Elisabeth was. His uncle didn't hear through his argument. Andrew opened the door, wanting to check on his half-sister and only family Andrew had left. She was lying on the bed. He crept closer silently and suddenly stopped. Elisabeth was dead.

Arianna felt herself jerked back through the memory to her room in the cabin where Andrew had his arms around her. Tears were dripping down her face. Arianna felt the tears that he never shed. Fourteen-year-old Andrew never was allowed to shed tears for the last of his family. He would have to live the rest of his life knowing he killed her, intentional or not. Andrew rubbed her back to soothe her as the tears kept falling.

"They fed you your sister?" she whispered.

"Gabriel didn't know. I found out later. That what he was yelling about. Shhh," Andrew replied, patting her back as more tears came down. "Don't cry. That's all in the past. No one can change it now." Arianna buried her face in his chest and tried to stop the tears, but they wouldn't. She hadn't just seen the scene from Andrew's eyes, but felt the agony that went with it when he found he had killed his sister. Arianna searched for words to comfort him.

"That's the only type of memory I will ever try to keep from you," Andrew said into her hair as he kissed the top of her head. "I don't want you to feel the sadness that has been my life. I only plan to have happy memories from here on out, if you let me stay by your side." Andrew kept his strong arms around her as her sobs died down.

Turner stood in the doorway, watching as Arianna composed herself. He didn't know what the memory was, but could understand from the conversation that Arianna had seen something horrific. Devin stayed on the couch, not moving. Both boys understood; it was now Andrew's time to take care of her.

"Gabriel will be back in an hour with Jackson first, and then he'll go back and get Nixon," Devin informed Arianna from the living room. "Mica and Nelson will come tomorrow. You will need to check them as soon as you can. Whoever did this will try to hide it; hence, we need to know."

"Mmm hmm," Arianna said though the leftover sniffles.

"Is that my cue to hide?" Andrew asked Devin, and Devin nodded. Andrew stood to shut the door. "I think she needs a nap after all that," he said to Devin and Turner before the door closed. Neither objected. Andrew returned to Arianna's side and laid her across his chest. Her eyes fluttered shut at the sound of his heartbeat. She was exhausted, physically and mentally.

"Sleep, my love," Andrew said quietly. Arianna lifted her head and smiled at him. She wanted to rea.s.sure him she was all right after what she had seen. He kissed her forehead in return. Andrew wiped away the last of her tears as she lay back down and instantly fell asleep.

Arianna's mind came awake before her body as she lay there sleeping on Andrew. He lifted a piece of her hair and twirled it around his finger. She felt a tingle begin in her hands as they awoke and the feeling of his skin beneath her began to send a different kind of tingle down her arms. Andrew's arms were comfort to her. Noticing she was awake, he easily picked her up and slid her on top of himself. He smiled as they were now face to face. Arianna was about to talk, but he put a finger on her lips to indicate to be silent. Confused, she looked around the room and then finally heard the new voice in the mix in the living room.

'Jackson is here?' Arianna tried to push herself up and off his bare chest. Andrew clamped down and smiled wickedly. His skin always brought tingles to her, but now he was pushing more feelings her way than normal. The skin contact made it hard to concentrate on anything but Andrew. She couldn't make much of a sound without being embarra.s.sed when she finally left her room alone.

'And Nixon. Nelson should be here in an hour,' Andrew replied and smiled back at her. He slid her up so that they were now nose to nose; the movement causing her to pout more at him. Then his statement sunk in.

'What?' Arianna's head snapped up as she listened for the second new heart beating in the room. She found him in the kitchen. Both her human guards had arrived. Andrew leaned up and kissed her. Arianna wanted to respond better to his kiss, but she was distracted. Arianna thought that after a short nap, she would at least get a little time to accept what she would have to do: infiltrate the minds of her friends that trusted her. Arianna had always respected Jackson from the first day she met him. For over a year, she had thought he was a businessman who rode the same Friday night city bus with her. He was always dressed in a suit and tie. She had spoken to him many times before she knew the truth. He was part of her personal protection team. He would be the first test of this new power, and it saddened her to use him like that.

'I hate this.' Arianna complained. She really thought she had more time to prepare. Falling asleep wasn't part of her plan.

'What? I'm pretty sure I'm not a bad kisser. At least you didn't think so last night,' he teased. Andrew was doing his best to lighten the mood. He didn't blame Arianna for her hesitation. Diving into anyone's mind without their express permission wasn't a nice thing to do.

'Not this.' She trailed her hand down his bare chest. She could never hate being alone with him or his loving teasing. 'The part where I fell asleep again for hours. I'm not that weak girl. That just isn't me.' Arianna was frustrated. Away from the poison, she should have been getting better.

'Oh I know that,' Andrew replied. 'You've been rejecting my advances for over a year now.'

'What?' Arianna was surprised. While he had often times kidded about running away with her just to p.i.s.s off Devin, she really didn't take it as more than teasing. There was the one time she was truly alone with him for twenty seconds where he asked her to fall in love with him, but she figured that was just him hitting on her because she was the first female baku he'd ever seen.

'I've been making it quite clear that I'm interested in you, but you've been denying it.' Andrew slid a finger across her cheek and made her shiver as her focus returned to him and her body pressed against him. His hands slid beneath her shirt and wrapped around her back. The skin-to-skin contact sent more shivers through her and made Arianna try to pull herself closer to him.

More shuffling outside their room brought her attention back to the people in the living room. Immediately, Arianna turned red and gracefully maneuvered off of Andrew. Devin was just outside the door and even though he didn't have super hearing, Turner did. Arianna felt a twinge of guilt sneak through her. She'd spent three days with Andrew and easily moved back into the warm feeling of his arms when she woke, but she couldn't do that now. Not with Devin around. Not without making a choice. She had to remain neutral, or at least try, until she decided.

Reading the rush of emotion from her, Andrew backed up and gave her s.p.a.ce even though he wanted to chase her across the room. There was no reason for her to hesitate. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. He was sure of that. Then he heard the cough in the kitchen from Devin.

'He really doesn't mind,' Andrew added as Arianna moved closer to the door. The only reason she would be away from him now, with the need to be together so great, was Devin.

'Not jealous at all?' Arianna asked, disappointed. Part of her wanted Devin to care. It would make things ten times harder, but she still wanted it.

'No, he's jealous. How could he not be? But he doesn't mind you being with me,' Andrew replied. 'And you can't leave yet. You need to check Jackson and Nixon to see if either is the one poisoning you.' Andrew patted the bed beside him. 'I'll be good,' he promised. Arianna moved over and sat beside Andrew, making sure there was no skin-to-skin contact to drive her crazy. True to his word, he sat nicely as she closed her eyes.

"Did you find out anything else after we left about the poison," Devin asked Nixon. Arianna jumped into Nixon's mind easily. There were no secrets there as he continued to talk with Devin. Nixon was still the hoops-shooting human half of the duo that also rode her bus.

Turner began talking in the kitchen to Jackson with the same type of questioning. They must have had it planned. Once she knew that Nixon wasn't the one, Arianna jumped out of Nixon's mind and into Jackson's, looking for his response. He wasn't as much of an open book to her as she pressed into his subconscious. He was keeping several secrets, but upon examining each of them, he wasn't involved in poisoning her. His secrets involved Molina, and their secret relationship. Even now, he was worrying about her back at the Randolph estate. Arianna was thankful. She could never really see Jackson as anything other than the straight-laced, suit and tie wearing, business man she had gotten to know.

'Clean?' Andrew asked curiously as Arianna brought her focus back to him in the room.

'Yes,' Arianna replied as she stood. Andrew reached over and grabbed her hand before she could move too far away. He gently kissed the tips of each of her fingers. He didn't want to let her out of his sight, but he had to.

'Both of them?' he asked, delaying her for at least a moment longer.

'Yes. Jackson is hiding his relationship with Molina, but neither knows anything about the poison. They don't even know what it looks like from what Mori showed us,' Arianna replied. She couldn't take her hand from his. She was pulled in two directions at once. Part of her wanted to climb back into bed and cuddle with Andrew, and the other part wanted to go back out and see Devin, even if he wasn't going to reciprocate her emotions.

'Then you should go tell Devin. And stop by and test your blood counts again just to be sure you're getting better.' Arianna felt the twinge of worry behind his comment. Even she knew that she shouldn't still be falling asleep all the time.

NINETEEN.

Neither Nelson nor Mica had knowledge of the poison, or of the small, clear plastic disks distributing it. Arianna's entire team, minus her most trusted team member, Molina, and keeper Thomas, were all crammed into the four bedroom cabin. Molina and Thomas were expected to arrive before the morning sun, which was too bright for Molina to travel in. Andrew kept to himself in her room the whole time, and her four guards were unaware of him, but Arianna was hyper-aware of him. Every movement he made caught her attention. She had never been so aware of anyone in her life. While she wanted to blow it off as a crush, she couldn't let go of the feeling that it was more than that. As night ended, and everyone was finally going off to their rooms to sleep, Arianna continued to sit on the couch, watching TV.

"Ari," Devin interrupted her, though it wasn't actually interrupting since all she was doing was sitting in front of the TV. She wasn't really even watching it; her eyes were already closed. "You need to get some sleep. Your numbers are getting better, but not by much. You need sleep."

Devin offered his hand to her to help her stand. Arianna hesitantly took it. Faintly she felt something behind his touch. Worry or jealously, she couldn't tell which as it may have been flickering between the two emotions. Devin led her over to her room. Andrew was sitting at the window watching the sun rise. For night humans, sunrise meant time to go to bed. Devin gave her hand to Andrew and walked away to the shared bathroom and into the room he was sharing with Turner.

Arianna couldn't stop the tears that were building up from falling as she heard the bathroom door shut. Just like that, Devin had given her away. Arianna stared at the bathroom door Devin had just left from as the waterworks began. She wasn't afraid to cry in front of Andrew because he felt what she was feeling inside and therefore already knew. There was no real hiding of her emotions from him anyway. Andrew slowly placed his arms around her, pulling her close. He turned her around and hugged her to hide her tears on his chest. He felt the hurt in her and slowly took the pain away.

Sadness was quickly replaced by anger, and Arianna mentally went into the room Devin and Turner were in. Andrew didn't stop her; he knew completely what she was doing. While she didn't want to hurt anyone, she needed to see the truth. Turner was already asleep, and Devin was lying in bed reading as always. Arianna entered his mind and was shocked to find the s.p.a.ce almost empty. Less than a half dozen thoughts floated about and none were a different color. Devin wasn't hiding anything from her in that moment, but he wasn't really thinking about much either. Arianna looked around his mind and found several doors. Andrew already knew about the doors. It was Devin's way to keep track of everything. She looked at the locks, but didn't even find door handles. Frustrated, she pulled out of his mind and continued to cry. Devin's mind was a solid fortress that held his emotions and thoughts locked away.

Andrew pulled her over to the bed. She wouldn't find what she was looking for. Devin had spent years learning how to keep his emotions at bay in order to be the best baku hunter. Baku could sense emotion of any kind, especially in a person who was awake. Devin was a silent force, able to lock everything in his mind. Arianna sat down obediently at Andrew's touch. She was still in shock and filled with sadness that immediately returned as his touch faded.

"Ari," Andrew said, crouching between her legs as he removed her shoes. She was making no effort to go to bed, so he was doing so for her. He slid his hand on top of hers as he sat down beside her. Some of the sadness faded, and she looked over at him finally.

"I can feel everything you feel. He just broke your heart." Unwillingly, Andrew started to feel the rage build in him. He didn't want Arianna in the hands of another man, but he also couldn't help the protective feeling that was creeping over him. Andrew was conflicted, but it wasn't wrong to feel anger at anyone that hurt her. Devin was hurting her even if he thought he was protecting her. Andrew's anger brought Arianna's attention back to Andrew. She reached over and touched his face, her way of calming him.

"Since I've been getting sick on and off for over six months now, Devin has never left my side. He used to let Turner help me sleep at night when I first turned a year ago, but not in six months." The tears began again. Andrew more than filled the emptiness that Devin left, but it still hurt. "Was it all in my head? I thought he loved me. I've slept with only him for months. I thought that meant something. I thought that was his own way of telling me how much he loved me, that he wouldn't let anyone else protect me." The room blurred as the tears picked up, flowing. Andrew didn't try to sooth the tears out of her but allowed her to keep crying. "I thought he loved me," she repeated.

"Was he your first love?" Andrew asked quietly. Arianna gave a tearful nod. Andrew pulled her to him and began taking away the hurt. Baku couldn't just feel the emotions around them, but they could actually feed off of the energy. It was another way for baku to feed without taking any blood. By feeding on her hurt, Andrew could remove a large part of the pain she felt. Arianna felt her heart lighten as he finally laid her down in bed.

"I really," Andrew began before his anger took over again. "To take advantage of you and then throw you away," he couldn't finish. Andrew thought Devin was better than most teenage boys.

"It was me," Arianna tried to calm Andrew down as his baku form flickered. They didn't need an angry baku running around the house, especially since he wasn't actually supposed to be in the home yet. Everyone on her team thought Andrew was arriving last. "I read too much into it. Turner said that he couldn't keep trying for my affection because of how Devin was with me. I thought that meant that, at some point while I was unconscious, Devin really did show the world he was in love with me. I a.s.sumed too much."

"Still, that's no reason for him to use you and throw you away," Andrew replied, his form still flickering. The idea that someone else had put their hands on Arianna was hard enough to deal with, but then to find that Devin had slept with her and then thrown her away was getting too much for Andrew to keep under control. Andrew stood to pace the room to wear off the energy building.

"Use me?" Arianna asked, wiping the last of her tears away.

"If a guy is going to sleep with you, he should have the decency to treat you right," Andrew replied with a sigh as he rubbed his temples trying to calm his own anger. Arianna's own sadness was subsiding which made it easier for Andrew to focus. He plopped down beside her.

A blush ran up Arianna's face, and she grabbed the pillow behind her head to cover her face as she mumbled her reply.

"What?" Andrew asked. His hearing was as good as hers. He heard her, but was making Arianna repeat herself. Arianna repeated what she had said into the pillow a second embarra.s.sing time. Andrew didn't reply, but just stared at the pillow in shock and embarra.s.sment of his own. She lifted the pillow slightly but kept it covering her face to repeat what she had said more clearly.

"Ugh, you're just like Aunt Lilly. He slept with me; as in sleep, not slept with me. I'm a virgin," Arianna said quietly, mortified of saying it out loud to Andrew. Andrew, though embarra.s.sed, was relieved and didn't say anything more to add to either of their embarra.s.sment.

Once her awkwardness subsided, Arianna drifted off peacefully to sleep in Andrew's arms. She was content there. Arianna was certain Andrew could never be as cold to her as Devin. He would always be the warm, loving spot in her heart.

Arianna had only enjoyed her cozy slumber for a few hours when she was woken. The cry echoed in her head as Arianna sat up. Someone was calling for help. They weren't calling for her, but someone was calling. She heard their desperate pleas. Again, she knew that she was listening to someone that had to be familiar to her, but she didn't know who. They were in trouble.

'Father,' the male voiced called. 'I'm stuck in the woods. Please. You have to send someone. It's nearing high sun. I don't know if I can find enough shade. Father.' His plea rung loud and clear for Arianna. It had to be a night human, and a dearg-dul at that who would burn in the high noonday sun. While Arianna was completely immune to the sunlight due to her baku genes, the dearg-dul were not. Any exposure to high, daytime sun rays could instantly burn the flesh of dearg-dul to the point of killing them.

'You made your mess, now deal with it,' a second male voice replied. 'No son of mine fails at anything.'

Arianna concentrated to see if she could hear more. Nothing came. The voice stopped its pleading for now. She rubbed her arms to try to get rid of the goose b.u.mps forming as she realized someone was in trouble again, and she was the only one that could help. Somehow, her new senses were kicking in more now that she was feeling better. Andrew lazily opened his eyes and pulled her back down into the bed and into his arms.

"It's cold out there," he complained, throwing the covers back up over Arianna. He had seen her rubbing her arms. She slid out of bed and pulled a sweatshirt on over her pajamas.

"What time is it even?" Andrew rubbed his eyes, looking around the room for a clock.

Arianna looked at the clock. "Ten thirty." She slipped her socks and shoes on and walked over to the door before Andrew could respond.

"Wait a second," Andrew gracefully left the bed and stood shirtless in front of her. Arianna caught her breath a second. It was a nice sight to wake up to, but for now she had to ignore it. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Someone is out there and needs help. I'm going to help." Arianna pulled her hair up into a ponytail and reached for the door.

"You're not going anywhere. Remember, we're in hiding," Andrew replied, grabbing her hand before she could make it to the door handle. Even right out of bed he was quick on his feet.

"Not anymore, Molina arrived an hour ago, and Thomas is almost here." Arianna placed her hands on his tight abs and leaned up to kiss him. He loosened his grip, and she quickly ended the kiss to slip out the door. Andrew moved to follow her.

'You have to stay hidden until I have time to test both Molina and Thomas.' She reminded him. Andrew wanted to pound on the door in frustration, as she was right.

Arianna felt his frustration leak out of the room as she smiled to herself. She would be able to find the person and get them back before anyone would know but Andrew. The rest of the house was asleep, and Andrew couldn't risk being seen. It would be easy. The voice wasn't far off. She would jog out there and bring the person back in no time. Her plan was short-lived as soon as she opened the front door of the house; Gabriel stood in front of her.

"Seems you think you get to go running around without any protection," Gabriel commented. "Andrew said you're leaving, and thankfully, I was already here." Arianna huffed, knowing she would have to argue with Andrew later. Whoever it was trapped in the woods needed her help now.

"There's a dearg-dul trapped in the woods. I was going to go get him and come back. They're harmless in the sunlight; you know that," she replied before Gabriel could object to it being a trap.

"And that's not just an excuse?" Gabriel wasn't persuaded.

"No, really. I heard someone calling out." Arianna explained. "There really is someone out there." Arianna wasn't simply trying to get out of the house. She hadn't felt trapped until now that she was told she couldn't go outside.

"To you?" Gabriel asked.

"No, to their father to rescue them. And their father isn't coming."

Gabriel sighed. It would be impossible to talk her out of it. She was the head of the clan, and it was her job to protect everyone. He couldn't argue if it were true that someone was out there.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you. Where is he at?" Gabriel needed to be sure.

Arianna closed her eyes and looked around. She first found all the night humans in her cabin. Molina was asleep with the boys. Andrew was pacing, and Devin and Turner were also asleep. She spread her mind out and continued to look around the woods. Easily, she found a night human crouched behind some trees. She felt the anxiety drip off him as he silently waited. The sun was close to being too much to bear.

'Father, please,' the voice came again from a different direction.