Adam's Pulse

Part 8

Chapter 8

Adam leaned his head against his palm, feeling his eyelids droop once more.  His elbow slid out from under him, making his head jerk up in response.  Small laugher reached his ears; laughter that he would not have been able to hear if it were not for his heightened senses.  Letting his eyes drift towards where they seemed to want to stay, Adam flashed a wolfish grin at Sloan.  The woman faltered, her smile dropping from her face.  His own smile dropped.  He had almost forgotten that he was meant to be angry with her.  He had almost forgotten that she was the enemy.

She turned, and he was finally able to look away.  He glanced towards the front of the room, watching as Jones still spoke of some ancient culture.  How long would this hour take?  If he were at the cabin, a home that now belonged to him, this hour would have flown by already.  He wouldn’t have to worry about slamming his head against the table as boredom took over, he wouldn’t have to worry about keeping his eyes away from Sloan as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and he wouldn’t have to worry about the way Ally grinned next to him, looking happier than she should.

With a loud sigh, Adam leaned against his palm once more.  It wasn’t that Jones was a boring teacher; even the subject was a good one.  It was just that these were things Adam already knew, things he was expected to know.  There were just minor changes to his knowledge.  Where humans thought all ancient leaders were humans, Adam knew their true identities.  There was a reason why the Egyptians had gods with animal features.

Ally rustled beside him, making him draw back from his own thoughts.  She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and the longer that he watched her, the more uncomfortable he realized she was becoming.  He leaned closer to her, grabbing her hand to catch her attention.  As soon as he made contact with her, images flashed through his mind. 

Leopards surrounded him, but as his hand rose, he realized that it was not him standing there it was Ally.  He saw through her eyes, felt what she felt, but he had no control over her actions.  She lifted her other hand, making the leopards around her halt.  Then, Adam had a chance to study them.  There was something different about these, something more wild in their eyes.  Ally stared at each one of them and as she did, they lowered themselves to the ground.

“I would not have called you if it weren’t for the protection of my people,” she whispered through their minds. 

The leopards tilted their head slightly as if they heard her words but did not fully grasp their meaning. 

Ally eased down, defeat in her body.  “I need you.” She covered her face as tears ran down her cheeks.  “While I’m away, I need you to protect them with your lives.”

The hand beneath his jerked away, breaking the connection he had with her.  Her eyes narrowed at him, her lips curling back as a small snarl escaped her mouth.  Glancing around, he looked to see if any humans noticed her odd behavior.  Much to his relief, everyone seemed to be more focused on leaving the room than watching the odd girl with the glowing green eyes.

“Looks like that hour is finally over,” Ally mumbled as she jerked to her feet.  “Come on, before were late for our next class.”

He stood along with her, but as she attempted to pass him, he refused to budge.  “That wasn’t a vision of the future, Ally.  That was a memory.”

Her eyes snapped to his as anger flashed in them.  “It was a memory that does not pertain to you.  You had no right to look into my mind.”

“Seeing as you are the one who gave me that certain ability, I think I have all the permission that I need,” he hissed while stepping towards her.

He knew he was crowding her space, knew that if he pushed her more, there would be consequences.  Her eyes flashed before mellowing to their normal shade.  “I’m sorry, Adam, but you were not meant to see what you did.  Speak nothing of it to anyone besides me; that is an order.”

A small growl echoed in the back of his throat.  “I thought you did not give orders to your friends.”  He watched as her eyes filled with an unknown emotion.  Turning her gaze away from his, she shrugged.  Adam let out a sigh as her feelings came crashing down on him.  She should know better than to try to hide things from him, she should know that he could feel the pain deep inside her heart.  “Tell me, please, Ally.”

“Not here, Adam.”  She turned towards him, her eyes pleading.  “I will tell you everything, but not here.”

He nodded along with her request, but couldn’t stop one question from leaving his mouth.  “When were you planning on leaving?”

“After the wedding.”

A small, reluctant smile curved the corner of his lips.  “So that’s the big hurry.  You’re trying to get me mated off so you can leave me behind.”  Reaching forward, he pulled her into a tight hug.  “When the time comes to do whatever it is that you have in the insane mind of yours, you will not be alone.”

She hugged him back briefly before pulling away.  With false happiness in her eyes, she motioned to the classroom.  “It looks as if everyone left during our conversation.”  She paused, leaning closer to him.  “Everyone but her.”

He followed where Ally pointed, noting the person that Jones seemed to be blocking from leaving.  The leopard shifter stood in the doorway, his size making it impossible for anyone to ease by.  He watched as Sloan nodded at whatever it was that Jones was telling her.  Even as she smiled, Adam could detect a sense of unease about her.

She was nervous.  Not because of Jones, or the way the large man stood directly in front of her exit, but there was something else.  Almost an urgency to her.

“Hurry up,” Ally mumbled.  “Go talk to her before Jones runs out of useless information to spout at her.”

He turned towards Ally, his eyebrow raised in question.  “And why would I need to speak to her?”

An evil grin flew onto her face, reminding him of the Ally he knew and loved so well.  “To apologize, of course.”

“Of course,” he mumbled while shaking his head.  With one last sigh, he began making his way towards Sloan.  He didn’t know how he was going to apologize for something he could not admit to doing, but somehow, he would get across how shamed he felt for acting so harsh.  And he would do all of that without falling directly into Ally’s crazy plans.