All Chapters of The True Nature Series: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

"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 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

"FOR THE LOVE OF puppies!" piped Ruthie as she strolled out to the parking lot with Zander and me. After Mrs. Jackson's very public insinuations, my nerves were already on edge. And, the scene in front of me didn't help ease the spiraling tension in my shoulders. Zander followed my gaze, his face going still. Several cars away stood Phoebe and Peter, talking. No, make that flirting. I still owed Zander's psychotic brother a black eye or a kick in the kidney. But I couldn't do anything about it. If I did, then he might do something worse than give me the mother of all headaches, which is how it felt when he had tried to erase my memories. If I faced off with him, he would find out that I knew about his mind-wiping ability. Peter was still under the impression that he'd erased my memory and knocked me unconscious for hours. Zander knew the truth but didn't want Peter to know I'd heard the conversation, which had revealed to me the existence of usemi and akharu for the first time, and m

THE TRAIL CURVED THROUGH the tall trees for at least a mile. The air smelled alive with the scent of redwoods, eucalyptus, and damp air. Blue jays darted through the trees, chasing smaller birds with loud caws. I soaked in the freshness of the forest, feeling grounded by its simplicity. Exhilarated, I ran faster and Zander and I settled into a comfortable pace that allowed us to still chat. Occasionally, Zander ran backwards. My fast pace was barely a trot for him, but he didn't seem to mind.As we jogged around a corner, the path straightened and Zander took the opportunity to turn around again, grinning. Before he could say anything, I gasped and pulled to a stop to stare at a tree off to my right. I could have sworn that it had moved, that the bark had bulged like something inside of it was trying to break out. Zander halted in confusion. He looked around to see what had caught my attention just as something flew through the air from the opposite side of the trail. It landed in Zan

ZANDER'S EYEBROWS SHOT UP, as if he'd finally realized he had stepped into a minefield. "No! Of course, I don't. I think they're ... great.""But you were taught that idimmu are mutants."He looked down at the ground, kicking a rock across the trail. "My teachers said that sometimes nature screws up and creates things that become detrimental to the rest of us. Sethians, the Nasaru, are just weeding out these mistakes so the rest of us can thrive.""Weeding out?"Zander sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Okay. Listen. Crossbreeding across species creates weaknesses. For instance, in the animal world the environment eradicates undesirable mutations, right? That's nature taking its course. But unfortunately, nature isn't doing what it's supposed to and the weak anomalies are propagating, which puts everyone, human and supernatural, in danger. But why let that happen if we can stop it? That's where the Nasaru comes in.""How?" My stomach felt sick. "How is the Nasaru doing this?"He hesi