Book 1: Awakening (The VIth Element Series)

Chapter 3: Alex

"Alexandra Raven, I presume?" he abruptly asked in a rich, deep voice and holding out his hand, displaying long, rough fingers. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

At first, my brain seemed to shut down, as my senses were overloaded by a flood of emotions. Once I had noted what he had said, I ignored his gesture, despite the fact that he was gorgeous, before leaping sharply to my feet. Although he was undeniably handsome, at the end of the day he was still some random stranger, who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wanted to talk to me and who knew my name. The term 'Stranger Danger' flashed before my eyes. Therefore, no matter how hot he was, I wasn't going to let my guard down...yet.

Make a run for it! A voice in my head commanded me. Make a run for it, before it's too late.

This voice was clearly sensible. However, sometimes I wasn't sensible, especially when intrigue was involved.

Despite my pounding heart, I heard my cautious reply.

"W...who are you?" I asked him, suspicious. "And how do you know who I am?"

The stranger must had seen the mistrustful gleam in my eyes because he set about correcting the situation, returning his hand to his coat pocket. He looked at me in interest, his blue eyes glinting.

"Please forgive me for disturbing you? I mean no harm." He answered, smiling warmly.

Bizarrely, from his tone and features, I relaxed a little.

Damn him and all his sexiness.

"My name is Jack Carter and I'm one of the many scouts who has been sent by the incredible Vladimir Alcaeus to seek out new teenagers, such as yourself Miss Raven, who've just 'awoken'."

When he had finished, Jack saw the stunned look that past over my features. I tried so hard to digest all this information. Jack also noticed my subsequent expression and must have heard the screams of 'Psycho Alert', alarm bells and all, that reverberated around my brain. His face changed instantly. Even so, his face expressed an emotion I was least expecting. Rather surprisingly, his reaction was to chuckle.

"Look," he said kindly, gesturing to the bench beside us. "Sit down. Clearly, I've got a lot of explaining to do."

For a moment, I paused, unsure of how to proceed.

There was still time to make a quick get-away.

After a few seconds, I nodded, complying too his offer. This was mainly because I was suddenly overcome with dizziness, as a result of the jumble of emotions and thoughts that were causing throughout my body.

I collapsed onto the bench in a heap.

That's the natural response of someone who's just 'awoken'. Jack's voice sounded in my head and I jumped, my mind becoming instantly clear and eyes wild.

"Y...you spoke in my mind." I stammered, frantically trying to register this fact and looking at him in blind panic.

Despite my shaken reaction, Jack merely smiled.

"That's my talent, along with reading people's thoughts," he answered normally, gazing at me and smiling kindly. "Much like elemental control is yours."

I threw him a surprised but puzzled look and my heart started doing a million beats per second.

"W...what?" I answered back, still battling an internal war, after listening to what he was saying.

Jack simply grinned.

"Surely you must know about elemental control?" he asked me.

I shook my head, trying to regain control over my body. Deep down, I had an idea, but my stomach seemed to have consumed all the butterflies on the planet. I also wasn't sure I wanted to hear my suspicions confirmed.