Chapter 8

Klark drummed his hands on the island.

He was thrilled. His siblings were going to do something about this whole thing. He wasn't going to go to jail. Leaning forward he re-read Tyler's e-mail.

"Yo, Bro,

Aiden, Mikey and the rest of us have agreed to make ourselves known to the public. Aiden and Mikey will remain out of the public eye for as long as possible. Instead, Cole and Grant will be our spokespersons, people, whatever they're called. Aiden doesn't want you to do anything, including attacking Clausen and Blakemore. Stay hidden until you hear from us.

Peace,

Ty"

He groaned once again. The only thing he hated about his sister's extreme power was that she could read his mind whenever she chose. She didn't do it often but knew him well enough when she should. This was just her way of saying she was paying attention to him even when he was hours away.

He looked at the clock. Emily had been quiet for the last couple of hours. After lunch on the first day, he had abandoned his work to show her around the house. She had claimed the second largest bedroom at the end of the hall. It was right next to his but it had its own bathroom.

He also showed her the gym in the basement, the theatre upstairs and the lake behind the house. He wanted her to get used to the place because they were going to be here for a while.

Scratching his head, he ventured down the hall to her room. Knocking, he waited a moment before opening it. Emily was asleep and he didn't blame her. Since they had gotten here about a week ago, they had been working nonstop to find out all the hits her brother had done in the last two years. She hadn't wanted to snoop into her brother's privacy but she wanted to help him and his family.

Klark sat down in the chair across the room and just watched her. Her skin was glowing slightly because of his proximity. It reminded him of a book series Aiden had forced him to read against his will. It was about dragon shifters and finding their mates by the use of fire. He felt as if he were part of that group, except he wasn't a dragon.

Emily sighed and shifted in her sleep, her dark hair falling in her face. He held himself back so he didn't touch her. After a few moments, he stood and left the room.

One of his backup phones chimed in the other room. He reluctantly left the door and grabbed the phone. The Caller ID was restricted. Sighing he answered.

"Yeah?" he gruffed.

"Took you long enough," his sister quipped.

He snorted as he ran a hand though his hair. "Sorry. I was in the other room."

She hummed on the other end. "Anything interesting?"

"Aiden, why are you calling me?" She got quiet rather quickly and that scared him a little. He sat on the bed. "What is it?"

"We have the names of the people killed."

"Who are they?" He waited for her to answer. After a few minutes of silence, he groaned. "I have no idea how to plan this if I don't know who's coming after me. I can't fight on two fronts and…"

She interrupted him. "One of them was Matthew Parsons."

Klark felt as if his world would crash and burn. Matt had been a good friend of his. They had grown up in the same neighborhood when they were kids. He had been good to Aiden and Mikey when they were adopted into the Jenks family. They had discussed their powers when they had come in at thirteen.

When their Marks had burned into their backs, Matt hadn't put him down when they realized their Marks were different colors. He had been an all around good guy and everyone had loved him.

A horrible thought shook Klark to his core.

"What about Elizabeth?" he demanded.

Aiden sighed heavily. "We have a feeling she's going to Blakemore."

"She can kill us all."

"Not necessarily. We gave Giles a list of the people in Congress who are like us. He's been systematically talking to them. They're all angry and on our side no matter which Faction they are."

That was a good thing. They needed as many people as they could get. And people in the government were the best.

"How many do we have in Congress?"

He heard the shuffling of papers. "There are a hundred senators in the Senate. We have thirty-five in the Senate."

"That's over a third of the Senate."

"I know but I'm not worried about the Senate. I'm more concerned about the House. There are a hell of a lot more reps than there are senators."

He got up and made his way to his office down the hall. He needed to write all this down before he forgot. He picked up a pen and jotted everything down as she continued rifling through her papers.

"How many people are in the house?" he muttered more to himself but she heard him.

"Um…" There were more papers shuffled. "It's based on population of the States. Right now there are 435 members in the House, including Blakemore."

"How many of ours are there?"

"A lot."

"A lot equals…?"

"About half."

Klark rubbed his face and sank into his chair. "What are your plans?" She laughed. "Please tell me you have a plan?"

"I do but it's not finalized and I haven't discussed it with Mikey."

He knew the meaning instantly. She was waiting on something but he didn't know what. If he were talking over video conference, he would have a better chance at discerning what that was. As it was, he was talking over a disposable phone and had no way of telling his sister's mood or thoughts. He was going to have to wing it.

"What are you planning?"

" I can't tell you."

"That just sucks."

"You're the one who went and got shot."

"Like you're an angel."

"Never said I was." She leaned back in her chair. He knew because it squeaked. "I just need you to stay low for a little bit. I'll let you know when you can move against them."

"I think you're being ridiculous."

"You're entitled to your beliefs and I'm entitled to mine. I don't make fun of you."

Klark really wished he could see his sister's face. It would tell everything she was thinking but he would get mad at her then.

"All right. Just keep me in the loop."

"I will. Go punch the sandbag." She hung up him.

Klark stared at the phone in shock then tossed it in the trash. There was no point in keeping it. It would just serve as a means to track him down.

As he was walking out of his office, he looked down the hall. Emily's door was still closed. She would sleep for a few more hours and he was happy to let her. He had to work off the urges he had.

* * *

Emily was awake. She knew she was but she didn't want to get up. The last few days had been hectic. She had been in this hunting lodge with Klark with no one else around them. It would be horrible but she knew he wasn't going to touch her without her consent. And he hadn't, but she knew whatever was going on was getting to him.

Every time she was around him it seemed as if he was striving his hardest to behave. She understood but she wasn't immune to whatever was going on. Every now and then she found herself watching the way he moved. He was very controlled and he had to have everything in a specific place. He wasn't OCD but he was very organized.

She also noticed that when he worked he was very quiet. It was as if he zoned out of this world and went into one of his own. A few days ago he had been trying to hack into the firewalls around Clausen's accounts. Something had gone wrong and he had let loose a string of not so nice words. She had laughed at him. After a few moments of staring at her, he cracked a smile and looked back down at his work.

Rolling over to look at the clock, she groaned at the time. She had slept later than she had intended. Getting up, she stretched her stiff muscles. She had been taking time in the gym to keep fit because Klark's cooking was some of the best she's ever had. If she didn't work out, she was going to get fat and not be able to do her job.

Emily ventured to the closet she had decided to use. If she was going to be here as long as Klark figured they were going to be, she might as well make use of the things around her. The closet was huge and held everything she needed. So she pulled out a pair of gym clothes and slipped into them.

Upon leaving her room, she realized the house was quiet. Looking to her left, she saw that Klark's bedroom and office doors were closed. He could be there but more than likely he wasn't. The light to the stairs leading to the theatre wasn't on so he wasn't up there either. The last place in the house he would be was in the gym or he could be outside.

She headed downstairs and heard the clinking of chains. He was downstairs and ripping into the sandbag. Something was up. He was upset. She could tell by the rapidity of hits to the tarp around the sand. And he was hitting it with bare fists. His knuckles were going to be screaming at him the next day. He favored that left leg, keeping it as far from the swinging bag as possible.

"Klark," she said. He turned around to look at her. Apparently he forgot about the swinging sandbag. It came back and nailed him in the shoulder. He toppled over.

"Son of a…" he muttered as he stood back up. When he looked at her, she was trying to cover a laugh. "It wasn't funny."

"Sorry, but it was. Normally you know where everything is. It's a little comforting to know that you can't always tell what's going to happen."

He punched the bag one more time then walked away from it. "I can't tell what's going to happen. I'm not a Future Watcher."

She frowned a little and tilted her head. "Future Watcher? What's that?"

"It's what we call a seer."

"So it's premonitions?"

"Sometimes. Usually it's the truth. It always comes to pass."

Emily moved into the gym and sat down, her work out completely forgotten. Something was bothering him.

"Klark, what's wrong?" she asked.

He looked at her for a few moments then sighed and moved to her. He sat down heavily across from her. It was amazing that she wasn't having to pull the information out of him as she had when they met.

"Aiden found out who the victims were. You know, the ones you were coming to bring me in for?" he replied.

She nodded. "Yeah. The report said three people had died in a house fire."

"Well, that was a lie. They were strangled before my fire hit them. It turns out one of them was my best friend when I was a kid."

The news hit her almost as hard as it hit him. Looking at him now, she noticed he was still trying to process all of this information. His eyes were dilated and he was sweating from the intense workout.

"How long have you known him?" she asked.

"We've been friends since I was five. He was of the Gold Faction but we didn't care. We grew up knowing what we were. He was good when Aiden and Mikey were adopted. He never raised his voice to anyone except his family. He was just very laid back," he replied.

"Aiden and Mikey were adopted?"

He looked up at her. "I've told you this before."

She thought back on it and waved her hand. "I remember now. Sorry. Does he have any family?"

Klark nodded and ran his arm under his nose. "Yeah. He has a sister. She's on the Golden Council. She's the one we're watching. Since the autopsies haven't come back yet, she can't be certain it was Matt. Rowan says it is and he knows how Matt was killed. He's running the DNA now. We'll know who strangled the others. But Elizabeth will be a pain in our asses. Somehow, someway, she knows Blakemore and she will get in contact with him. We're going to have a two front war on our hands if she does that."

"Won't Mikey and Aiden do something about it?"

"Yeah, but right now they're being passive. Tomorrow the announcement goes out that we're in the world. The Manchestor brothers have already brought their pack out to the world. That's why you don't hear much about the Moon Chosen. It was years ago when they came out and everyone's pretty much accepted them. They'll back our claims."

"How do you know this?" she asked as she stood.

He followed and they ascended the stairs. "Aiden's got good contacts with the Moon Chosen. Berlin and Cologne respect her and she respects them. She ordered Paycen to save Berlin's daughter when his mate was killed."

Emily stopped in the kitchen and looked at him as he walked to the fridge. "Aiden…"

"Is very benevolent unless provoked. This is utter provocation against her and she's biding her time until she can act. That's why she pulled Mikey in on it. If it's a united front, no one will question it."

"I'm not worried about your sister or brother. I'm worried about you. How are you going to handle this?"

He looked at her in shock. She was more concerned about his feelings concerning his friend's death and what will happen to his family. She knew he was trying his hardest to hold it together. He had never had anyone care about him like that. Well, no one except his family but they didn't count. It felt good to have someone care that much for him.

He dropped his drink to the counter and did what instinct demanded.

He gathered her in his arms, reveling in the brightening of the glow, and kissed her.