Adam's Pulse

Part 17

“Yes,” he said with a laugh, “although their change will not happen for a while.  Every one you saw once you came to this cabin is a shifter.  You are the only human who has ever been here.”

She sunk down onto the floor, and this time, Adam gave into the urge to be near her.  As slowly as he could, he walked towards her before easing to the ground in front of her.  He would have sat beside her, would have thrown an arm over her shoulders in comfort, but he wanted to see the emotions flash on her face, wanted to know how she was truly taking the news.

“Why me?  Why am I the only human who’s ever been here?”

“Well,” Adam started with a small smile.  “Barron hates them to begin with; another reason is that Ally can’t control them.  She can’t order them not to speak of what they see, and although Zeke can clear their memories, we try to keep from doing that.  It can have side effects.”

“They wanted me to forget.”

“I know.”

She glanced up at him. “But you wouldn’t let them.”

With the trust in her eyes, Adam knew that he had to tell her the rest.  He couldn’t keep her in the dark, not like he had been for so many years.  “There is another reason why you are here.  Ally has certain,” he paused, “abilities that help her out in life. One seems to be the unnatural ability to throw a person right where they need to be at the right time.  When we started school, we did so to find me a mate.”

He let the words sink in, and when something akin to panic flashed in her eyes, he knew that she understood.  “I’m not ready for a relationship,” she denied, her head shaking rapidly.  “I have other responsibilities.  I can’t just pretend they don’t exist and become happily mated.”

Laughing at her choice of words, he shook his head at her.  “I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do.  I just knew that I needed to be completely honest with you before you decided whether or not you wanted to leave.”

A sigh escaped her mouth as she looked at him with a guilty expression.  “I haven’t been completely honest with you,” she mumbled, and his body instantly tensed.  “I had other motives for getting to know you also.”

Adam tried to keep the accusing thoughts from entering his mind, but it was no use.  His eyes narrowed on her. “When you hit us with your truck, was that an accident?”  She shook her head in denial.  “And the knife?”

Her face flushed slightly in guilt.  “It was just a warning.  They promised it wouldn’t harm either of you.”

“You’re lucky it didn’t,” he growled.

“Hey,” she snapped, her guilt fleeing to be replaced by anger.  “Don’t get mad at me. I’m not the only one who was keeping secrets.”

“You’re right,” he agreed, but didn’t keep the glare from his face, “but I didn’t put you in harm’s way.  Tell me, Sloan, what else are you hiding?”

She glanced away, and right then, Adam knew that she wasn’t going to tell him the whole truth.  “My brother got into some trouble a while back with a gang of people.  When he couldn’t pay his debts off, they kidnapped him.  I guess after a couple of days, they realized they couldn’t get anything from my brother.”

“So they began blackmailing you,” Adam interrupted, understanding dawning.  “That is why you hit us.”

“Yes,” she answered before staring at him.  “They wanted to know how the two of you interacted with one another, but they also wanted me to scare you a bit.”

“Did you tell them?  Did you tell them how Ally and I act when we’re around each other?”

She nodded.  “I told them that the two of you were close, but more in a sibling manner than lovers.  They seemed actually pleased by the news, for some reason.  I had to do it, Adam.  They have my brother.”

“Tell me, Sloan.  Would you give them more information if it came to your brother?  Would you tell them about the bound Ally and I share?”

Her eyes filled with tears as she glanced away from him.  “I don’t know.”

Standing to his feet, he shook his head in slight disappointment.  While he couldn’t blame her for wanting to protect her brother, he knew that his trust had been misplaced.  How could he trust her when every word he said could get back to some unknown kidnappers who happened to have a lot of interest in Ally? 

“Adam,” she whispered as he reached the doorway.  He stopped moving, but didn’t turn in her direction.  “I’m sorry.”

“Me too,” he whispered as he left the room.  He was sorry that he brought her into this mess, sorry that she wasn’t the person they thought she was, and he was sorry that he had wanted her to be.

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