Read Aries: Book 2 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series) Online
Authors: Rachel Medhurst
Aries: Book 2 in a Young Adult Paranormal Romance Series (The Zodiac Twin Flame Series)
Aries
A Zodiac Twin Flame Novel
By Rachel Medhurst
Copyright © 2015 by Rachel Medhurst
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About Aries
I had one goal in life: To defeat the Dysfunctionals. My mission to unite with my twin flame soulmate wasn't as important as killing the group of men that were trying to stop my siblings, and I, from doing our job.
The explosion changed my life forever. What good was being able to throw fire, if I wasn't fit enough to use it? With father missing, and the others still trying to find him, I sank into despair. Life was no longer worth living.
My only salvation was Natalie, my ex-girlfriend. She knew that I had a mission, and was determined to get me back on my feet so that I could defeat the Dysfunctionals, and unite with my twin flame.
Chapter One
The air was warm against my skin as I crouched on the ground. My leg muscles screamed at me to move. The burning sensation made me shift as quietly as I could.
‘Aries…?’
I turned my head towards the whisper. The alleyway next to the house was pitch black. I couldn’t make out the owner of the voice. I had told my brothers not to speak under any circumstances.
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I rose from my crouched position and crept towards the back of the alley. The Victorian house was tall beside me. I had no idea if anyone was inside. I didn’t want to draw any attention to us.
‘What is it?’ I hissed into the darkness.
The words flew away from me and rebounded off the stone brick walls. The shadows moved. The shape of a shorter man emerged. I smelt the aftershave before I could make out his face. Gemini.
I had told both him and Taurus to wait up the road. Why hadn’t he bloody listened to me? A cat screeched nearby. We both dropped to the ground. The midnight surveillance wasn’t going to plan.
‘We saw a car drive by the house. It slowed right down but didn’t stop.’
I grabbed Gemini’s arm and squeezed. His voice was too loud. The sound of it carried.
It was the third time we had checked out the house where Pisces had been kept prisoner. Taurus had noticed a small light in the window the last time we were there so we had come back to investigate.
‘Why have you come to tell me?’ I whispered, not moving an inch.
‘Because it’s gone past twice now.’
My head snapped towards the mouth of the alleyway. I heard footsteps pass the entrance. I kept hold of Gemini’s suit sleeve and pulled him up to a stand. We crept forward, stepping lightly on the concrete. I had never understood Gemini. He was a ladies man that loved to look good. He took time with his clothes and appearance. Even now, creeping through an alleyway, he smelt like a perfume shop.
‘Be quiet, we don’t want anyone to hear.’ The voice ahead of us made me freeze.
It came from the steps of the Victorian house. I pushed Gemini against the wall by the entrance to the alleyway. Letting him go, I took a step forward, hoping he would stay.
‘We’ll be fine. Nick has no idea I have the keys to this place.’
A man and woman stood on the top step as she searched through her bag. I kept my back pressed against the wall and took quick glances around the side, doing my best to stay in the shadows.
‘He would kill us if he knew what we were doing,’ the man said, wrapping his arms around the woman from behind.
I tried to stop the grin that came to my face but I couldn’t. Taurus was right. There had been someone in the house. And the best part was, they knew Nick.
Nick was the man that had kidnapped my father. The man that I was going to kill with my own bare hands when I got hold of him.
‘Stop it, come on!’ The woman giggled, opening the front door and leading the man inside.
I reached out to grab Gemini but he wasn’t where I had left him. I glanced round to see his shadow leaning against the wall on the other side of the alley. He didn’t like doing what he was told, especially by me. I stepped forward and took his arm.
‘Let’s go.’
Checking that there was no one in the street, I sprinted away from the house. His footsteps were slow behind me. I fought the urge to leave him behind.
Gemini was a professional gambler. He didn’t have a proper job. He claimed it was his job to gamble in casinos every night. I didn’t like to question my brothers and sisters. There were twelve of us. Everyone was completely different. There was no point in telling Gemini that he shouldn’t do something. It was up to him what he did. Just because I became a fireman to help others, didn’t mean that everyone had to do the same. Although, Gemini was a waste of space and needed to get a proper job.
The Zodiacs, as my father liked to call us, were born in the same year. We weren’t biological siblings. We were raised by two guardians that taught us to treat each other as if we were brothers and sisters. We would all turn twenty one this year. My birthday had just passed. Each one of us was named after the star sign that we were born under. All twelve of us were bought together by our guardians when we were babies.
‘Did you see them?’ Taurus asked when I reached him.
He stepped out from behind our car when I approached, pulling his baseball cap down over his dark eyes.
Nodding, I looked back to see Gemini coming down the road. In the street lights, I could see his perfectly gelled cropped hair. He wore a suit. The top buttons on the shirt were undone. It seemed that our small mission had taken its toll on my brother. I shook my head and climbed into the car.
‘Well…?’ Taurus asked, getting into the driver side.
‘Yes, I saw them. They’re using the house as a shag pad.’
Taurus’ meaty hand wrapped around the steering wheel as the other one smacked it.
Gemini climbed in the back. His puffing filled the car, making the windows steam up.
‘Let’s go,’ I gestured.
Leo and Scorpio were my best friends in the group. However, I needed all of the men to be involved with the hunt for our father. He wasn’t our real father, but along with his wife, he had looked after us until we were old enough to look after ourselves.
‘Are we going to kidnap them?’ Gemini asked, moving forward as he leant his arm on the back of my seat.
Taurus started the car and drove us out of the quiet posh London street.
‘No, not tonight. We’ll be back. Next time we’ll bring the right equipment,’ I said, smiling at the thought of getting justice.
My sister Pisces had been kidnapped by Nick three weeks ago. I had worked my arse off to rescue her after seven days. He had now managed to capture both our father and mother.
Our parents separated five years ago. We hadn’t seen our father until recently. His abandonment had stunned us all but he came back to help Pisces find her twin flame soulmate. He had remarried a nice woman. However, we knew our mother was his twin flame soulmate. Pisces had learnt that Mother now worked with Nick, the man that was on Earth solely to stop us from completing our mission. The man that I would try to kill, even though I had been told it wasn’t possible.
‘I look forward to that.’ Taurus chuckled, pulling a joint out of the glove compartment.
‘Are you really going to smoke that now?’ Gemini asked.
I let my head fall back against the headrest and closed my eyes. The others started to argue over the joint. It was now lit and the smoke wafted around my head. I tried not to inhale. The inside of the car wasn’t open enough so it spiralled up my nose.
‘He’s right, mate,’ I said, opening my window and letting the smoke filter out.
Taurus grumbled as he stubbed the joint out. He had a bit of a habit, and although we didn’t say anything to him when he was in his bedroom, most of us didn’t want it around us. Being a firefighter, I never smoked. I also only drank when I wasn’t due on shift. I did enjoy a good night out, though.
‘How long has it been since Father was taken?’ Gemini asked me.
‘Two weeks. Why?’
The scent of his aftershave mixed with the weed smoke. The sickly smell made my throat burn. I stuck my head out of the open window to take a deep breath of spring air.
‘I think we need to make a move soon. We haven’t—’
‘What did I just say?’ I barked.
Gemini sat back in his chair. He bristled, which reminded me why we didn’t get on. All three of us had short tempers. It was the reason Taurus got stoned every day.
‘Who made you boss?’ Gemini muttered.
‘You didn’t even want to get involved but you haven’t got a choice,’ I said slowly.
‘I offered to do this!’ he snapped.
I wound the window up and tapped the dashboard. ‘Stop the car!’
Taurus slammed the brakes on. I climbed out, ignoring their shouts as I started to run. A girl jogged ahead. I was sure I knew the long legs and dark hair that blew back from her face.
‘Natalie!’ I called.
Her step faltered as she glanced at me over her shoulder. She stopped running as I caught up with her. How the bloody hell had we come to be in the same London street, at the same time, in the middle of the night?
‘Aries, what are you doing here?’ She panted as she stared up at me.
We were by the Thames. I looked out over the river. The lights on the bridge that crossed it, reflected into the water.
‘I was passing when I saw you,’ I replied, not actually sure why I had stopped her.
The car went past. Taurus and Gemini shouted out the window. Her eyebrows rose as I ignored their catcalls.
‘Do you know them?’
I nodded but didn’t elaborate.
‘What do you want?’ Her tone was sharp. I deserved it.
We’d met when we were fifteen. Young love had quickly taken hold and we started to go out with each other. She had been my own little secret. My siblings and parents knew nothing about her. I really liked her at first but she was jealous. I couldn’t handle it when she had a go at me for flirting with other girls so I broke it off. Every time I had seen her since, I wanted to take her to bed. As we got older, I often did.
‘I tried to call you the other day.’
She put her hands on her hips and stepped towards me. She was athletic and had a very sexy smile. I couldn’t see that smile now but I would make it appear.
‘I know you did. I told you, I’m not interested in being your friend with benefits. I’m sure there are plenty of girls that will have you.’
I took a step forward and looked down into her upturned face. She was tall, which made it easier as I was six foot three. Her gaze skipped over my hair. I could tell that she wanted to run her hands through it.
‘I don’t just want to be friends with benefits,’ I argued, reaching out and stroking her cheek with one finger.
‘But you don’t want a relationship with me, do you?’ Her words were tight. Vulnerability flashed over her gaze, before it disappeared. I didn’t usually take much notice when someone felt vulnerable but something about her made me see it.
‘We don’t get on well in a relationship. We’re better off as friends. However, we get on very well—’
‘Stop it!’ She shoved my chest. I caught hold of her hands and held them to me.
‘What are you doing jogging at this time of night?’ I asked, letting her go when she pulled away.
‘I couldn’t sleep,’ she muttered.
I fell into step beside her as she started to cross the bridge. My muscles itched to grab her. I was ready for her to wrap herself around me. The surveillance mission had left me with adrenaline pumping through my veins.
‘I could help you with that.’ I wrapped my arm around her waist.
She sighed gently but didn’t push me away. She couldn’t resist me. Just like I couldn’t resist her. We weren’t destined to be together but there was something between us.
The reason me and my siblings were on Earth was because we had a special mission. We had to unite with our soulmate in this lifetime. It sounded very romantic to me. As much as I tried to deny it, I had been bought up with the belief that I had to find my soulmate. Natalie was an amazing girl but we couldn’t handle being together. That’s why I knew we weren’t soulmates.
‘I hate you when you do this,’ she said sadly, leaning into me as we walked.
A grin spread on my face. I had won. I loved a challenge. I would never give up on anything. I wanted Natalie under me and that’s exactly what was going to happen. I would think about the consequences later.