No right to be Overprotective

Devon lifted from my neck to turn his head and face my older brother Leon with furrowed eyebrows and an annoyance flare in the eyes that matched mine.

"Makes sense, just my luck," I sighed, sliding my legs from Devon's waist and stepping to the side to cross my arms.

His face was lighter skinned and bright red, but he'd been drinking in that club for a while and judging by the way he was swaying and his jaw was slack, he was drunk.

"Who the hell is this guy?" he slurred, gesturing to Devon with the point of a finger and a quick blow of one of his outgrowing dark brown curls.

"This guy is Devon," Devon quipped back, turning to me with a 'wtf' look.

I blew a hard breath close to sounding like a laugh and smacked him lightly on the upper arm.

"Don't tease him. He's as drunk as a skunk," I muttered, stepping around him and taking my brother's lower sleeve of his jacket to drag him towards the van.

"Answer my question. What are you doing HERE?" Leon demanded, his bright blue eyes narrowing on me.

"Picking up a friend, now get in," I evaded, pulling the door open, gesturing to Devon to get in and pulling Leon in with me.

"I have my own car," he grumbled, trying to escape the van.

I snorted and put his set bet on, "In this state, you'll kill someone, you fool."

I shook my head and did my belt, avoiding glancing or turning to the back so he wouldn't see the dead Ferona.

Devon glanced at me with wide eyes before he started the car and drove to my mom's hotel. It was technically northwest of my house, and three gangs lived in the houses around it because of how much money they made from those in the hotel. The students are at a maximum of fifteen minutes in the car, too, which is lucrative for them.

At least it was too late at night for my mom to be near the lower floors. The neon blue sign and lights lit up the darker streets they passed. I pointed to the underground car park entrance, and we settled close to the employee service entrance.

"Where is Rain?" he slurred indignantly, grabbing my hand and squeezing it painfully.

"I'm right here," he replied with a smirk while I tried to shake his hand off and used my other hand to flap away the stench of whiskey.

Leon jumped in his seat and turned his head a fraction to see Rain. Hopefully, he didn't decide to jump in the back to be surprised by the soon-to-awaken corpse.

"Why are you letting her near that place?" he sneered, moving his eyes to glare at Devon.

"She does what she wants," Rain replied, his eyes holding a dangerous glint as he watched my brother's face screw up in rage.

"You know she's not responsible! It sounds like you are manipulating her into becoming a prostitute," he roared, catching the attention of customers heading towards the underground entrance.

Surprised, I jerked back into Devon and flung my hand into his mouth with a decisive pop. Leon's head snapped further towards Rain, his eye bulged out of his sockets, and his mouth split with a trickle of blood. Devon jumped in surprise and laughed, his attempt at covering it with a cough sounding pointless. I had to repress the smile, and the way his body's warmth made me calmer.

"I'm capable of making my own decisions, and I am not a prostitute, so keep the shit you dream up out of your mouth," I hissed angrily, reaching over to open the door, click his seat belt free and push his shocked body out.

He rolled onto the floor and snapped his head up to stare at me with burning rage as he wiped at his mouth. I gave him the middle finger and slammed the door, using the window winder to put the window down halfway as he stood up with steam shooting out of his annoyingly straight nose.

"You're not qualified to be the overprotective brother. Acting like you fucking care," I barked a laugh and sneered at him, "Do you even know where I live?"

I sat back with a huff on his surprised expression. My teeth nearly grinding together as Devon started the van, and we peeled out of the hotel without a second glance.

"The way Molly talks about your brother, I was expecting someone a little more…" he trailed off, his eyes shifting away from me as his words died in his mouth.

"Refined?" I asked, sighing my grievances and leaning on Devon's shoulder.

I wanted to go straight to bed and starfish across it while buried under my oversized covers. I sighed as Rain carried Ferona and dropped her onto the sofa in the study, and I sank into my chair with the same lack of care and lay my head on the desk to sleep.

Devon rubbed my back in slow circles, and Orion put a cup of tea in front of me and slid a plate of custard creams and bourbon biscuits over. I groaned, dipped a biscuit, and shoved it into my mouth.

"Are the children sleeping?" I asked, pulling the cup before me.

"Yes, they are well-behaved. They've listened and avoided holding hands," he said, pulling a chair to sit opposite me.

"Good! It's wild how one produces gas, and the other sparks it, haha," I shouldn't have laughed, but it was ironically comical, and I was exhausted.

I jumped out of my skin, and some tea spilt on the table and burnt my fingers. Ferona had shot up and stared at me with a furrowed eyebrow. I blinked at her and turned to stare at Devon with a raised eyebrow.

"Her neck isn't even twisted. Should we become a part of your horde?" Devon asked with too much curiosity.

"The fuck? No!" I cried in horror, shooting him a cold glare, "It's for people who are untrustworthy, dangerous, and…" I looked over at her with disgust on my face.

'Unstable? Malignant?'

Yes, both of those. Filthy bitch!

"You did this to Rain too?" Orion asked, his head tilted to the side and his eyes squinting on her with a calculated expression.

Ah, that's his brainwave face, so hot.

'Congratulations, you are now at Level Three.'

'The Level Two human: Ferona, Current state: Awakened – Ability Extreme Charm has been added to your horde. She can no longer harm you, will follow all commands and will protect you from anything you see as a threat. Ten extra spaces have been added to your inventory. You have four spaces left for your horde. The next ten spaces are unlocked at every tenth level,' Adam chimed, his tone holding a hint of annoyance.

"Extreme charm?" Devon snorted, and I felt the same way.

"Must be how she lures her girls," I grumbled, rubbing my temples.

I wonder how long she's had her power to build an empire, although she might still be using old tactics. Her power does the rest of the work.

Is a human level two when they awaken?

'No.'

Interestingly, she has used her power enough for it to level her up. Without a system or knowledge of powers, it could take six months to a year to level up naturally. I focused from my mind and jolted back a little as I watched Orion watching me with the same look he was watching Ferona with.

"Don't fucking look at me like that," I snapped, the look not feeling too sexy when it's directly on you, and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, I was just thinking-"

"Don't worry, I know what you were thinking about," I glowered, and my body went cold and started to shake a bit.

"He was wondering whether he should make a list of people he doesn't trust but is useful for you to add to the horde," Devon explained, rubbing his fingers into my hair and against my scalp.

"Oh…" I looked at Orion with surprise and wished I had a better grasp on the powers I had copied instead of blindly assuming the worst, "I'm sorry about that," I said sheepishly, lifting the cup to my mouth and drinking to hide my face.

"Understandable. I was going to ask you if you could feel their pain so I can do some tests on her," he chuckles with his angelic face and bright red cheeks.

Charming as fuck; how isn't that his ability? 

"Luckily, I can't feel anything, and I have a tab in my portal where I can check their health," I explained, my bristling disappearing, "Now, you're going to answer a couple of questions for me," I directed at Ferona.

"Okay," she answered, nodding her red-haired head.

Fantastic.

"Where is Nexus?"

"He's in my house at the edge of town," she grumbled with a frown.

"Details, Ferona," I pressed.

"The key to the house is in my safe in my bedroom. It's Thirteen Bolderway Avenue, and the code is 22.03.96," she murmured, her eyes watering.

God, she is a bit desperate to keep him locked up. I wonder how she ended up sending him to the Institute. 

'Well, she can't have him,' Adam hissed around my brain.

Woah! Bit possessive, Ad.