Please enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Four:
A surge of magma swelters through Bella's entire body as she stares at Yellow in shock.
The distance from her mate, though only a few feet away, feels like miles, and her bones ache in response, pleading with her to reach back for his hand to ease their fiery connection. But she's frozen as Yellow's features slowly take on a more sinister appearance. His ashy skin becomes darker and darker, light grey eventually shifting into a deep navy blue. He taps the finger against her shoulder twice and then drags it down to her elbow to grasp the bone jutting out there. Her skin crawls at the contact.
She swallows back the sudden need to throw up. If he gets any closer, she may just aim the omelet she ate this morning straight at his face.
"You were always such a small thing... even as you grew out of your late teens. You've blossomed into a beautiful young woman, Isabella," he murmurs, side-eyeing her clothed curves. She had never felt so exposed, despite being fully dressed, and she lets out a breath she didn't even know she was holding when he continues on. "It was many months before Phil died that I was ordered home to my planet. He somehow convinced Charles you were old enough to watch out for yourself while he was away and there was no need for me to be there any longer. I should have taken you then before I left, but I didn't know any better," he says, almost like he was berating himself. "It wasn't until I returned to Xon and met with an Anuka who had just recently been exiled from Creo, that I realized the potential you had for salvaging my race."
His quick words fly through one ear and out the other, all of it blending together and swirling in snippets through her mind. She gathered Xon was the planet he came from but salvaging his race? Bella did not like the sound of that one bit. She throws a nervous look behind her, wishing Edward and Emmett would freaking snap out of it already, and wondering how Yellow was keeping both of them still for this long. The device that was in his hand seemed to be doing the trick, but how? Could she somehow distract him enough to figure it out and snatch it away? Then it dawns on her in that moment that the thing Edward put on her leg, the in'va, was still there. She had almost forgotten about it because it was so well hidden.
What do I do? God, what do I do?
Yellow drones on despite her inner turmoil and she can hardly fathom the next words that come out of his mouth. "She enlightened me of the many... possibilities having you by my side would offer. There has been a solid line dividing Dreg and Anuka for millennia - but if I were to join you on the throne..." -her breath catches as her eyes widen- "...the two would be forced to mix until that line was null. Especially once an heir is born." He purrs out the ending of his sentence, but then stops short, ripping his eyes from hers to glare over her shoulder.
"Your mate will complicate things, surely, but I didn't come this far to fail." He transfers his glare to her when she nervously opens her mouth to speak.
"Y-you're trying to..."
"...create a new race? Well done, Isabella, and here I thought you were as dense as a blackhole," he snaps before clearing his throat and patting her arm. She swears she hears a noise from downstairs, like nails softly clicking on metal, but it's drowned out by Yellow's voice when he starts talking again. "I think I've proven what I'm willing to do to get what I want, so I suggest you go along with what I say. You are going to be part of a revolution, princess. The creator of it, in fact. You already have hundreds of followers."
Both of her ears ring loudly through her skull upon understanding his true intent here and she shakes her head back and forth in denial. This can't be happening. This was too much. Her vision was starting to go spotty and she knew it's only a matter of time before she passed out. Don't do it Bella! Her heavy breaths turn into pants and she digs her nails into her palms, breaking through skin and effectively forcing herself to snap out of it. Stay awake dammit!
Yellow turns his head to the side to gaze down at Rose and his thin lips part into a deranged smile, teeth stretching wide and setting off a chill through Bella's burning body. "And since it's obvious this one is DNA compatible, we might as well take her with us for breeding purpo-"
He was too busy staring down at her friend's crumpled body to catch the flash of red coming up on her left. Her jaw hangs open in disbelief when her giant, russet-colored dog comes out of nowhere and lunges in the direction of Yellow's hand, snarling teeth easily ripping into his wrist and cutting him off in the middle of his psychotic sentence. Yellow shouts in pain and Bella hears a thud of the device he had been gripping in his hand being dropped to the ground.
Everything started moving really fast after that.
A/N: I'm gracing you with three short chapters in two days because I'm nice like that. I was cracking up writing that blackhole comment because... you know... blackholes have an infinite density... lol shoot me, I saw the chance and took it. I was actually pleasantly surprised someone guessed Red would save the day! Dream dog right there; a halfling's best friend! Any theories how he managed to get out of a locked car and through a closed door? I would love to hear them. Thanks for reading! -sondor
Annunaki Lang. Help:
in'va (een-vah): Anuka technology/portable force field
Xon (zahn): Dreg home planet
Creo (Cer-ee-oh): Anuka home planet