Adam's Pulse

Part 25

Chapter 25

Sloan rolled over on the couch, but wanted nothing more than to snuggle into the cushions.  For something so old looking, her temporary bed was one of the most comfortable places she had ever slept.  Maybe it was because of the fact that it was well worn in that she found it comfortable or maybe it was her determination not to deal with what had happened the night before.  She didn’t want to have to feel her brother’s cold shoulder, or think about all of the things Adam had told her.  For once, she didn’t want to confront the complicating things in her life; she wanted to sleep through them, but at that moment, with the yelling nearby, she knew she had no chance of sleeping through anything.

Opening one eye, she didn’t make a move as she stared at the woman tossing things in her brother’s direction.  Slator had a large smile on his face as he dodged each thing faster than Sloan could keep track of.  How had he hidden what he was from her for so long when it was obvious in his every movement? Even the small smile on his face reminded her of Ally, of that slightly predatory look all shifters seemed to have.

He wasn’t just a shifter though.  He was her brother, and she owed him an apology.  How could she make him understand how she had felt when he told her he wasn’t really her brother?  Throughout her life, it had been him and her against the world.  What would he do when he no longer had ties to her, when he was with the people he truly belonged to?  She was the outsider, the only one who didn’t fit in with this tight fit group of shifters.  What would happen when they finally realized that?  What would happen when her brother realized that he had more in common with them than he did with her?

She closed the eye she had been watching them with.  Maybe, if she lay there silently, they would think she was sleeping.  Maybe, she could put off her apology for a little while longer.

Her hopes were crushed as something fluffy smacked her in the face.  Jerking up on the couch, she glared in the direction of the woman, but when Slator laughed, she knew who her attacker really was.  “I was sleeping,” Sloan grumbled as she tossed the stuffed leopard back at him.

Slator caught it easily in his hands while still laughing at her.  “Don’t lie to me, Sloan.  Even if I couldn’t smell a lie, I heard your breathing change when you woke up.”

“Creepy,” she mumbled under her breath, while the woman with the white hair frowned.

“What do you mean, smell a lie?” the woman asked as she tilted her head to the side like a curious cat.

The laughter stopped as Slator turned his attention towards the woman and away from Sloan.  “Isn’t that something we can all do?  You know, they have this smell to them.  Kinda like when you get mad at me.”

“Creepy,” the woman echoed, making Sloan laugh.  Shaking her head, the woman turned towards Sloan with a smile, and for the first time, Sloan saw that it wasn’t just her hair that was white; it was her eyes too.  “I don’t think anyone has introduced us.  I’m Amaya.”

Standing from her seat, she walked towards Amaya with her hand outstretched.  “I’m Sloan, Slator’s sister.”