All Chapters of The True Nature Series: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

I RAISED MY HAND as they drew near, and then shaded my eyes as I peered out into the waves, panic beginning to bubble up inside me."Nice ride in, Tru," smiled Isaac, his eyes glinting with appreciation."Where's Ruthie?" asked Phoebe."I don't know," I said, breathing fast. "She was right next to me.""Is that her board out there?" asked Isaac, pointing to a red spot far from shore.A bodyboard bobbed, like it was being pulled down, its end tipping all the way up."Holy crap!" I screamed. "That's her!" It looked like something was pulling her under.We ran into the water. "Maybe she's stuck in a riptide!" I cried, fear for my friend choking me.Isaac and Phoebe swam so fast that they outdistanced me in no time. Then they dove under just as Ruthie's head bobbed up. She sucked in a gulp of air before shrieking in terror, her arms crawling toward us. A dark fin poked out of the choppy water near her. My heart stopped. That is no riptide, I thought before she went under again.

"TRU!" I heard Ruthie's wail, the concern in her voice, and opened my eyes to see her perfect face peering into mine. "Are you all right?" she asked. "You passed out!""Sorry. I'm fine, really. Just mega tired." I sat up feeling sluggish, but I shook off the fatigue and hugged her. "You look perfect! Better than perfect." I pulled away to smile tiredly at her. "I even think your zit is gone."She didn't laugh like I wanted her to, but pulled away. She picked up her compact, pausing before flipping it open to stare at her flawless face, now only marred by dried patches of blood. She soaked one edge of her towel with her water bottle and scrubbed the blood away. As she stared at her healed skin, her face began to crumple and she broke down into sobs. I reached out to hug her."I believed you, Tru," she said, a catch in her voice. "I really did. But hearing you say it is so different than seeing it for myself." She stared at me, her face the picture of humility, a rare look for her

"HOW ARE YOU FEELING? Really. And you know what I mean," I said, squeezing her hand.Her eyes widened. "Oh! You mean that whole business about giving me superpowers?" She smirked. "Nope. Nothing. Figures I wouldn't be that lucky."Relief flooded through me and I pulled her in for another hug. "Tell me if it changes," I insisted."Sure, sure," she said, patting my back. Then she left through the front door. I headed to the kitchen for a soda. The bubbles tickled my nose as I stared out the kitchen window into the backyard. Reality was a funny thing. I shook my head thinking about the strange wolves I'd seen out there. Then I pictured the shark fin in the water and Ruthie getting pulled under. Her face had been a wreck. That had been real, too, and I was glad I'd healed her. The truth was, I would have tried it even if Isaac and Phoebe had seen me. I almost had a heart attack when the doorbell rang. I tiptoed to the peephole. Sapphire blue eyes, wavy auburn hair, perfect mouth. Now

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

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