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Chapter 75: Special Effects
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The True Nature Series Chapter 76: Photo Bomb
"UM, IGNORE THE MESS," I said, as we reached my room. What was I thinking? Clothes and makeup were scattered across every surface.He chuckled. "Tru, I've seen your messy bedroom before.""Yeah, but it was dark then, and now it's way worse." I grabbed a glass from the bathroom and filled it with the flowers Zander gave me before setting it on my dresser next to the doorway."But, I could see with absolute clarity because I was holding you, remember? It was amazing." A sliver of awe entered his voice. "You were like my own personal flashlight." When we had been imprisoned together in Dante's cellar, we had discovered that he could piggyback on my ability to see in the dark, as long as he was touching me."Oh yeah. Okay, so now you know I'm a slob.""And I still like you." He twirled me around. "A lot." His lips were feather soft as he kissed me. Wow. My heart thumped so loudly, I was afraid he'd hear it. I forced myself to step away."I, uh, that ..." I waved my hand at his
The True Nature Series Chapter 77: Usemi
ZANDER SHRUGGED. "I DON'T know the specifics. But I do know she's on a reward poster back home. So, whatever she did, it's pretty serious." I couldn't quite imagine her face on a reward poster. But why was I surprised after what she'd done to my mom? Zander's eyes narrowed. "You know something, don't you?" He swore. "Did Dante say something about it? How did he even know about her?"I bit my lip. "Maybe the Collector is from the same place you're from?" I suggested, hoping that he might make the leap to his father. If he figured it out himself, I wouldn't have to tell him and risk alienating him. I certainly wouldn't like to hear anything bad about my dad."Could be," nodded Zander. "There are a few Nasaru facilities. He could have worked in one of them and then branched off on his own somewhere ..."I sighed, not sure if this was the right time to tell him about the true identity of the Collector. "Anyway," I said, moving on even though guilt burned through me like acid. "You
The True Nature Series Chapter 78: The Nasaru
"WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO help them," Zander said, interrupting my thoughts. "I mean the Nasaru have.""I thought the Nasaru was your police force.""Some of them are. Others are scientists looking for ways to save the usemi and akharu. The Nasaru is basically our government. They have departments for all kinds of things."That made sense. "And another thing," I said. "Dante said the fixer, aka my aunt, had a child.""Really?" Zander's eyes widened with wonder. "I didn't know that. That would explain why my father wants to find her so badly. She might be the key to helping others with fertility issues." His eyes glowed with excitement.Finally, I asked the question I already knew the answer to, wanting to ease him into the same realization that I'd had. "If I can fix people like she can, like what I did for Bobby, will your father be coming after me, too?" Zander's eyes darkened, and he reached for my hands. "He's not going to take you away from ... your home." From me, his eyes pro
The True Nature Series Chapter 79: Mate
BUT THE PEP TALK I gave myself as I grabbed some drinks didn't seem to help, and when my chest tightened, I paused and gripped the stair railing, trying to calm down. The odds of our relationship working out weren't good. Maybe I was stupid to keep trying, but I wanted to with every cell in my body. It's all you, he'd said. The words triggered an avalanche of emotions and I almost ran up the stairs.Hurrying into my room, my eyes zoomed in on Zander as he ran a hand over the books on my shelf. I sat at the edge of my bed, dropping the sodas to my side without looking away from him. He wheeled around and caught my fiery glance. The air vibrated with energy as we stared at each other and my hands clenched my comforter, barely restraining myself from leaping at him. His eyes sparked and narrowed, watching and waiting for me to respond to this sudden kinetic attraction. I wanted to trace every curve of his face, run my hands through his hair, and feel the energy our colliding skin created
The True Nature Series Chapter 80: Strange Obsession
"SHIELD OF ARAMUSATU!" I yelled. "I have heard it before. In my dream when you were talking to your friend. What was his name? Conrad?"He shoved his hands in his pockets with a sigh. "When I said we needed to talk ... well, there's something you have a right to know."My eyes widened in surprise and anticipation. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He smashed his eyebrows together and began again. "All of this stuff about your aunt is important, but I need to tell you more about me because it ... affects you, too.""Okay." The air shifted, feeling heavier. I settled myself on the bed against the headboard, hugging one of my decorative pillows like a lifeline and staring at him with rapt attention. I wanted to learn everything I could about the mysterious Zander Hughes, whose face was flushing an attractive pink before my eyes. I tried to chill out a little, relaxing my strangling hold on the innocent pillow. He cleared his voice again. "I never exp
The True Nature Series Chapter 81: Soul Magnets
"AND FOR SOME REASON," Zander said, almost too low for me to hear, "I have this involuntary response to ... I mean I know we haven't known each other for long, but it's like I have no control over it.""What do you mean?" He opened his eyes and sighed. "I just need to make sure you're okay. Like all the time." My jaw dropped at the rawness in his voice, the intensity of his deep blue eyes. His words seemed to slow down time, lengthening the moment. "Anyway," he finally said, looking anywhere but at me and continuing like we were discussing our favorite tv shows or something as lame. I decided to follow his lead and pretend he hadn't shared something personal, something pivotal, something that I felt was the absolute truth, and that made my heart stutter hearing it. He deserved a better response, but I moved on, scaredy-cat that I was, and pocketed this new information to pull out later and analyze in private."Everything's messed up now. Conrad said--""The friend who helped
The True Nature Series Chapter 82: Dork Face
WHEN RUTHIE PICKED ME up for school the next morning, dark circles underlined her eyes, despite the layers of makeup she wore. I scooted over to her and leaned my shoulder against her. "Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. Yesterday's shark experience must have kept her up all night."I don't know," she sighed. "I feel a lot better today. Not scared, just tired." I settled into my seat as she stretched her arms above her head and yawned like a cat. "But I dreamed about that stupid shark." She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. "And then I dreamed about the dolphin, only there was a mermaid riding the dolphin, and they fought the shark. Cool, I guess. Probably too much Disney as a kid."I laughed. She must be okay if she was making fun of herself. "I know exactly how you feel, girl," I said.She smiled at me. "I bet you do. All those dreams you have must really suck.""You have no idea," I said, nodding."Well, then let's talk about something else." She pulled away from m
The True Nature Series Chapter 83: Officially
THE MORNING PASSED QUICKLY and soon it was lunch break. As I reached the path leading to the quad, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me around the corner of the building. I twisted away and swung my backpack at my attacker. Zander blocked me."What the heck?" I gasped."Sorry," he said, backing away with his hands up. "I just wanted to talk to you alone before you went to lunch.""All you had to do was ask." I smiled, hoping he wanted to sneak a kiss between classes."I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted to ask about Isaac." He gave me a guarded look. "Did you work things out with him yet?" He cupped my shoulders, his touch gentle, as he pulled me toward him."Why are we hiding?" I whispered, bringing my hands up to his chest. We were tucked between the science building and a hedge that separated the campus from the Redwood forest, and it made me feel sneaky. I giggled."Tru, I saw you and Isaac laughing together this morning. What's going on with you two?""Seriously?" H
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