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  Without Luke they were harmless, but their presence made Eren nervous regardless. Last October one of them left four deep cuts down the length of her back in the fight that had resulted from Luke’s plotting. They were only fading pink lines now, but Eren would never forget their intent. Those boys had been willing to kill her for Luke. But since she had defeated Luke and shoved his power back down, his minions held little threat over her, she hoped.

  At that moment, part of her wanted to tell Aiden about the letter. But she wanted to be able to take care of herself and she knew the letter would only upset Aiden unnecessarily. Besides, she had disintegrated it. There was no proof it existed anymore. Part of her was afraid he wouldn’t believe her. And Luke was in Romania, Aiden couldn’t do anything about it even if he did believe her.

  Aiden lifted her hand and kissed it. The soft, slightly damp feel of his lips distracted her, as it was probably meant to. Sighing, she relaxed and enjoyed their idle conversation as they walked. She became so lost in their discussion about upcoming movies that it felt like only a minute later when they turned down the gravel drive to Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Alin’s house.

  Though she only moved out a month ago, Eren couldn’t help fell nostalgic as they walked up the tree-lined drive to the little cabin. She loved her grandfather deeply and enjoyed living with him and getting to know him, but she missed her Aunt Sylvia.

  Fane opened the front door and called for his mother. Not loudly, like most kids would. With a family of channelers there was no need. His parents would feel the press of their power as soon as they entered the house. Eren and Aiden stepped in behind Fane and Caitlin and closed the door. The delicious smell of a slow-cooking pot roast drew them into the kitchen.

  Bent over the open oven basting a huge hunk of meat was Alin, Fane’s father. He slid the rack back inside, closed the oven, and stood. The blues music he loved so much poured from the radio on the counter. He turned around, looking like he was expecting to see them. Even in a chef’s apron he managed to look debonair and handsome.

  Eren glanced at Caitlin and almost laughed when she grinned and mouthed ‘wow.’ Shaking her head, Eren dropped her books and backpack next to Fane’s on the coffee table.

  “Hey kids, it will be a few hours before dinner is ready,” Alin said.

  His gaze flicked over Caitlin and Fane’s clasped hands and he looked at his son expectantly. Fane impressed Eren by not letting go of Caitlin’s hand.

  “Father, this is Caitlin McGrath, Caitlin this is my father, Alin Moldovan,” Fane introduced them.

  “I’m very pleased to meet you, Sir,” Caitlin said.

  Eyes widening, Eren shot her a look. Caitlin was always kind of dark and sarcastic, Eren hadn’t realized she could be so proper. Apparently, neither did Aiden because he had to disguise a laugh as a cough.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Would you like to stay for dinner? I know Sylvia would love to meet you as well,” Alin asked with a smile that was nearly impossible to say no to.

  “I really wish I could, but I’ve got a history paper due and my parents won’t let me stay out too late,” Caitlin said. The disappointed look she gave Fane made it clear that it wasn’t an excuse.

  “Perhaps another time then,” Alin suggested.

  “Absolutely,” Caitlin agreed.

  Fane turned and led them back to the front door. “We’ll be back in a few hours,” he called back as he opened it and stepped out, pulling Caitlin with him.

  “Have fun,” Alin called after them.

  They went through the backyard and straight into the forest on a well worn path. The sweet smell of sun-warmed spruce needles made Eren sigh. Much of the ground around the tree trunks was still covered with snow, but patches of earth dotted the forest floor where rays of sunlight seeped through. All the scents of the forest made her want to run through it with her energy raised so she could feel every bit of the life around her. When she turned and looked at Aiden, she saw the same longing in his eyes. The desire became so strong that no less than a half mile down the path she couldn’t take it anymore.

  “You guys want to go for a run?” she asked.

  Before her channeler power had awakened Eren had enjoyed running but now she loved it. It made her feel closer to the earth, cleansed her body and soul.

  “Sure,” Caitlin said.

  Tension pulled Eren’s shoulders tight as she watched Caitlin slip her shoes off. It occurred to Eren that maybe she should have thought that suggestion out a little more. What if she lost control of her power in front of them and ruined her clothes? The thought of them seeing her inexperience and thinking she was weak, made her start to shake. Hard as she tried to stop, she couldn’t. She cared too much what they thought and she sort of hated that. Getting close to people again scared the living hell out of her.

  Without hesitation, Fane pulled his jacket off and kicked out of his shoes. Eren’s heart raced, pulling her power along through her blood stream, making her dizzy. Fane looked up to her so much, what if she blew it?

  Wide-eyed, Eren turned to Aiden, but he’d already taken his jacket off too. Her eyes were drawn involuntarily down the muscles of his chest outlined by his t-shirt. She couldn’t look at him long because the impulse to touch him was too great. Her energy practically compelled her to, threatening to move her hands by its sheer will alone. Right now, her mind and body didn’t agree on that, so she closed her eyes. Focusing on the sounds and scents of the forest, she pretended she was alone and concentrated on controlling her power.

  Strangely, she didn’t have to look to know when Fane and Caitlin had raised their power; she felt it. It was like she was tuned in to them. Lately she’d been starting to notice this, almost like she was picking up on their frequency or something. But it felt more like a vibration than a sound—like something solid she could reach out and touch. Aiden’s frequency was the most intense. There was a magnetic pull to it. It was only in the three of them that she could feel it so intensely, other channelers, not so much.

  Fingers on the zipper of her jacket, she paused. She could almost feel Aiden’s smile as he watched her. His expectation weighed heavy upon her. After piling her jacket and shoes with everyone else’s beneath a tree, she raised her energy as easily as flipping a switch.

  The damp ground was cool beneath her bare feet and her toes sank into the pine needles. A breeze ruffled her hair and she lifted her face into it, enjoying the tingle of energy upon it. Fane and Caitlin stood to her left. Fane glowed with orange energy that felt like home and family. Caitlin’s earthy blue-green energy had a wild abandon to it that was invigorating to be near.

  Aiden walked up and ran his hand down Eren’s arm, shifting her focus. Knowing what the mischievous look in his hazel eyes meant, she gave him a hard glare. He had a habit of pouring his energy over her which always made her shudder, but in a very good way. Just not the kind of way she wanted to do in front of Fane and Caitlin. He hung his head and managed to look reprimanded, but the gleam remained.

  Before he could do anything to embarrass her in front of Fane and Caitlin, she gave in to the instinct to run. She held back a bit so the others would be able to keep up. Aiden jogged beside her, a big grin on his face. Caitlin ran slightly behind Eren on her left side, while Fane fell into the same position next to Aiden.

  The feeling of running with them was amazing. There was a sense of unity, a feeling of rightness. Eren didn’t have to wonder if Caitlin was still on her flank or if Fane was still on Aiden’s, she could feel them. It was the most amazing thing she had ever experienced.

  They ran until they couldn’t run anymore. A brief stop for a rest and a drink at the river was all they needed to reenergize before running back. Eren realized she could feed Caitlin and Fane’s energy when they got tired and it re-energized them. It was one of the strangest, but coolest feelings ever. With her adrenaline still pumping, she found she wasn’t nearly as shy about the others seeing her with her energy raised. At first, the blue mist that poured
from her body had been embarrassing, but it was starting to feel as natural as breathing.

  They collapsed into a pile in the middle of a grassy area illuminated by a sunbeam. Eren curled up onto Aiden’s chest, not bothering to pull her legs from beneath Fane. Though they had drawn their energy back in, she could still feel it around her like the comforting heat of a warm fire. Being in the middle of that feeling was so calming that it melted her worries away.

  “That was so cool. Eren you’re so fast,” Caitlin said. Her voice was weary but euphoric.

  Eren wondered if her comment meant that Caitlin had felt the unusual sense of oneness too, or if she had felt her feed power to her and Fane.

  “Definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced. It was like I could feel all of you, as if we were in tune,” Fane sighed.

  “You guys felt that too?” Aiden asked.

  Both Fane and Caitlin said they had.

  “That is so awesome. That book your father gave me talks about how a Society works so closely it’s like they’re of one mind and can feel each others’ energy. I think that’s what that was,” Aiden explained.

  “Wow,” Fane said, at a rare loss for words.

  It occurred to Eren that it was odd that they all enjoyed running. Most of the kids she used to hang out with in L.A. didn’t like to run.

  “So, is the desire to run a channeler thing?” she asked.

  Pushing himself up onto an elbow, Aiden gave her a thoughtful look. “Kind of I guess. Running and fighting are the two basic instincts in all animals. Because we’re closer to the Earth, we’re closer to our instincts.”

  Caitlin nodded. “Perfect history book answer. But really, who wouldn’t love the ability to run faster than anything on the planet? Running with our energy raised is like flying.”

  That’s exactly what it was like. Eren smiled. “So true.”

  A comfortable silence fell as they relaxed and caught their breath. Aiden’s heart beat so loud against Eren’s ear that it drowned everything else out. She laid her hand atop his belly button, fingers idly playing with the hairline just below it. It was embarrassingly close to the top of his jeans but she didn’t want to move her hand up. His heartbeat never slowed and she was pretty sure it had nothing to do with his recovery time from running.

  Something wet and cold fell on her cheek. She opened her eyes and realized the sun had disappeared. More drops fell from the sky.

  “Oh no,” Fane groaned as he and Caitlin sat up.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got to get home before my parents send out the troops,” Caitlin said.

  Fane stood and helped her to her feet. The way the two of them stared at each other made Eren smile.

  “Thanks for the run. It works wonders to clear the chaos from my head. I’ll call you tomorrow, Eren,” Caitlin said.

  They turned to leave and Fane glanced back as he said, “I’ll meet you guys back at my place.”

  Giving in to that magnetic pull that was ever-present with Aiden, Eren turned her attention back to him. Even with no shirt on, stretched out on his back with his hands behind his head, he seemed oblivious of the cold, wet grass. Eyes traveling across his hard abs, the cool grass no longer felt cool enough.

  “So we’re a Society are we?” she asked.

  “It feels that way,” he said.

  Eren hadn’t realized she’d been tracing lines along the muscles of Aiden’s chest until he made a slightly strangled sound. Her finger halted atop his abdominals. His thin t-shirt couldn’t keep their energy from mingling.

  “It’s so hard to be good when you do that, E,” he whispered.

  “Well, we can be a little bad, can’t we?”

  Aiden answered by pulling her down for a kiss. His mouth tasted like river water and his tongue had the most wonderful, familiar texture to it. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her against his chest. One of his hands worked its way into her hair while the other slid beneath her shirt to touch the bare skin on the small of her back.

  Caught up in the feel of his body beneath her hands and the taste of him upon her tongue, she let things go farther than she ever had before. It didn’t matter that the rain was falling steadily upon them and dripping down from her bangs onto his forehead. The part of her that wanted him to stop seemed to be getting smaller all the time.

  Finally, she decided where to draw the new line and breathlessly pushed back. It wasn’t easy. He put his hands under his head and smiled as he closed his eyes. He was always like this, never pushing her farther than she was willing to go, and never upset about it. She was pretty sure he may be the last guy on earth who was so patient and understanding.

  After a few deep breaths, Aiden stood, and shook the water from his hair. Laughing and holding her hands up to block what she could of it, Eren jumped to her feet. Not that it did much good considering how hard it was raining now. Had she really not noticed that before?

  “If we don’t get back by the time Fane does, your uncle might kill me,” he said.

  Knowing Alin would do no such thing, Eren laughed. Her uncle trusted Aiden and treated him like a second son. And as long as they got their power back under control, no one would know they’d gotten carried away. It hadn’t taken Eren long to figure that out after kissing him her energy was harder to suppress. The basic concept had been taught by a Tibetan monk in health class, one of the many strange things about Spruce Knoll High.

  Aiden bent and reached for his jacket, but Eren shot forward and grabbed it first. Laughing, she held it behind her back and dodged him as he tried to grab it. He soon gave up and took her face in his hands, planting a very long, distracting kiss on her. The game forgotten, she melted against him. His hands worked their way around her waist. When he took the jacket from her, she didn’t resist.

  Eren sighed as he pulled away and slipped it on. Her own blouse now clung to her like a second skin. She looked up to see that Aiden hadn’t missed that detail. His eyes were fixated on her as he chewed on his bottom lip.

  “Maybe it would help if we ran back,” he suggested.

  “Let’s, but not with our energy raised.”

  “Of course,” Aiden said with that mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

  Eren took off at a pace that would soon have her eyes watering. She had to. That’s what it was going to take to get her mind off Aiden.

  The forest flew by in a green and white blur, the scents of spruce and earth clearing her head as they flowed down her throat. By the time they reached her aunt and uncle’s backyard, she was able to think about things other than putting her hands on Aiden, which was good because Fane was leaning against a tree waiting for them. There was a grin on his face so huge that the corners of it seemed to disappear into his black curls.

  “You kissed her didn’t you?” Eren asked.

  Fane’s smile got bigger.

  “Way to go, Bro,” Aiden exclaimed as he reached out to clasp hands with him. “So. Do tell,” Aiden prodded.

  “A gentleman does not speak of such things,” Fane insisted.

  “You don’t have to. She’ll tell me all about it tomorrow. If she can wait that long,” Eren teased.

  Fane groaned and pushed away from the tree, shaking his head as he led them to the house. Eren and Aiden laughed and followed him inside. They stopped teasing him as Alin, Sylvia, and Zolin turned to look their way. The adults were sitting in the living room hovered around a book that was open on the coffee table. On one of the pages, Eren could see a channeler glowing with power that flowed into him from dozens of other channelers around him. It didn’t look like any page from the book grandfather had given them.

  “For heaven’s sake. It can’t be thirty degrees out there and you three are soaking wet,” Sylvia exclaimed.

  Pulling her wet, freezing blouse away from her body, Eren realized her aunt was right. How could they not have noticed how cold it was? Oh yeah, their body temperatures had been a bit elevated. She dropped her head to try and hide a blush with her hair but it
was stuck in wet clumps that wouldn’t cooperate.

  “Boys, upstairs, get into something dry. Eren, come with me,” Sylvia said as she stood.

  Throwing Aiden a smile, Eren fell into step behind her aunt. She followed her past the wonderful smelling kitchen, up a flight of stairs, and into her and Alin’s huge bedroom. Sylvia disappeared into the closet and came back out with a dark blue sundress that matched Eren’s eyes.

  “There’s a towel hanging in the bathroom, get dried off before you put this on,” she instructed, pointing to the attached bathroom.

  Not wanting to drip on the hardwood floors, Eren took the dress and hurried into the equally spacious bathroom. Sylvia leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. There was an intense look on her face, like she wanted to say something and was trying to figure out how to word it. Eren was pretty sure she knew what it was about.

  Rather than help, she let her aunt work it out while she toweled off and put the dress on. It was a little tight across the bust. Aside from that, it fit pretty well. Eren blushed as she realized how much she’d filled out over the last year. She’d have to go shopping soon.

  “So you and Aiden are getting pretty serious,” Sylvia said.

  Eren froze with the brush halfway through her hair. Oh, so that’s what it was about. She had no idea what to say to that. Everything she thought of would probably lead to the sex talk, so she said nothing.

  “It wasn’t really a question. I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. Don’t worry I’m not going to lecture you. I like Aiden. We all do,” Sylvia said.

  Finished with her hair, Eren put the brush down and sat on the expansive marble-top vanity. This might be a long conversation.