Paradox (Unearthly Paradox) (22 page)

I threw the covers off and turned on the bedside light, hoping the brightness would wash away the dark images my mind wouldn’t let go of. But that was only good in theory. In reality, it didn’t do a thing to erase the haunting memory.

The mattress dipped as Jett sat beside me. He put his hand on my knee. “I thought you would be asleep by now.”

“I can’t sleep. Hang on. Why would you think I would be asleep?”

A sheepish grin crept over his lips.

“Was that a sleeping pill you gave me?”

“Calm down. I wasn’t trying to knock you out or anything. I was just giving you something to relax.”

Did I really need something to subdue me?

Jett’s eyebrows drew together. “What’s wrong?”

I bit my lip. “Am I dangerous? I mean, am I safe to be around Lilly? Will I hurt her?”

“Come here.” Jett wrapped his arms around me. “You’re not an unstable psychopathic killer who can’t be trusted around anyone. You only killed those guys because of what they were doing to your friend. Sure, you may not have reacted as badly had you been used to what you can do, but they still deserved what they got. I mean, that last time they attacked you, you didn’t rip them apart. And you’ve never done anything like that before, have you?”

I shook my head. “Why is all this only happening now? Does it have something to do with me coming of age or something?”

He grinned then quickly tried to look serious. “No, it’s not like that. It’s believed that a half-breed needs to go through a traumatic event where they experience a strong fight-or-flight reaction, where the consequences are usually death. And that’s when your alien side surfaces. You were being held underwater. They could have easily killed you, even if that wasn’t their intention. When I got to you that day, you had changed. Your alien side had taken over. And from that moment on, people responded to you differently.”

I pulled my eyebrows together. “How do you know?”

Jett scratched his forehead. “I saw how those girls reacted to you in the classroom the next day.”

My eyes widened in surprise. “You were there that day?”

He nodded.

What I was about to ask him would sound really stupid if it wasn’t true, but I had to ask. “Can you change your appearance? Like morph or something?”

“You saw me?” He laughed. “Most people think we’re just vapour.”

That wasn’t the only time I’d seen his other form. “You’re the one who saved me when I got shot.”

“Yep. You have your very own knight in shining armour here.”

“Or my very first stalker.”

He laughed. “Just admit it, you wanted me from the moment you laid eyes on me.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far.”

“Really?” He gave me a flirty smile.

Yep, I was completely and utterly hooked on Jett, but I wasn’t about to admit that to him. “Tell me, what parts of the rumours about your family are true?”

A devilish grin spread across his face. “Everything and more.”

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