The Unveiling (D'Shar Men 2)

"I can't tell you what I don't know, can I?" Rivka downed the rest of her drink and set down the glass. "However, I can tell you if we don't get out of here in the next few minutes we'll be taking a trip to the bathroom. My body has waited a long time to experience this and it seems to be kicking the mating process into hyperdrive." She furrowed her brow, and he could see the strain around her violet-colored eyes.

"Then let's go." He stood, tossed money on the table, and offered her his hand. He held his breath as she eyed it like a snake. Then she took it and relief flooded through his system like an adrenaline shot. In time this could be fixed. Her hand fit into his perfectly. It was a graceful hand, with long fingers, and short rounded fingernails but they possessed a strength hidden by her beauty. Her skin was soft and delicate. It was a tiny show of trust, but it gave him hope for the future.

Chapter Thirteen

"How've you been, Charlie?" Tavel asked as he sipped on his water. He'd told Lou Ann, Charlie's mother, he was taking the boy out for some long overdue male bonding. He’d planted the memory of Charlie's "father" having a rare genetic disorder that didn't show up until later in life. Charlie was twenty-three now, a senior at Chattanooga state majoring in mathematics. He'd known when the boy had showed signs of brilliance at a young age the Shar D.N.A. was not only compatible, it was thriving.

"All right, some strange things have been happening." He grimaced. They were seated at a back booth, in the far corner of the quiet restaurant, nursing drinks since they'd finished dinner.

"I thought it might be.” Tavel schooled his face into a concerned expression. "This is about the time," he paused to find the correct word, "complications begin to arise.”

"I don't know, Uncle Ted." Charlie shook his head, brow furrowed as he stared down into the Cola he stirred with his straw.

"Try me."

"As long as you promise not to send me to a loony bin," Charlie said. He stopped stirring and looked up to meet his gaze. "I'm getting stronger, and I don't mean I can bench press my weight kind of strength. I-I can lift cars." His eyes grew wide as words flowed out of his

mouth like water from a broken dam. "I'm breaking door handles, bending the metal on pipes. How is that even possible?" His eyes darted back and forth rapidly.

Tavel could practically hear the wheels in his brain spin furiously as he tried to come up with some rational explanation. "When the logical no longer implies we must look toward another possibility."

"Why are you so calm about this?"

"Because I thought this might happen. It's time I told you who you really are."

"What do you mean, who I really am?"

"When your Father passed I kept quiet about a lot of things. I wasn't sure if you'd gain any of his traits and it would be dangerous knowledge to have if you didn't need to."

"Uncle Ted, I don’t get your meaning."

"I think you do and you're afraid to admit it, even to yourself." He released a sigh. Humans and their melodrama and self-denial. The boy was a genius! Why hadn't he worked out his father wasn't human?

"Let's just say, Brian was really … out of this world."

"My dad was an ... a-al … no." He shook his head. "No way."

"How else do you explain everything you just told me?" Tavel asked.

Charlie grew quiet. "Okay, say I believe you. Wouldn’t that make you one too?"

"Now you're asking the right questions."

"What do I do? I can't live like this. My God, if anyone found out about this, they'd dissect me."

Tavel nodded, playing the concerned Uncle. "I know. That's why I've been working on a cure if you will to suppress the Shar tendencies. You'll be able to live a normal life and no one will be the wiser. It's what your father would've wanted."

A look of complete and utter relief crossed Charlie's face. "When can we get started? I want to take care of this before people start to notice something's off."

This was too easy.

"Now if you like. I've mixed together some things from our place of birth and put them in a pill form. I promised Brian I'd take care of you before he passed, so I've been anticipating this." He stood. Charlie followed suit, and they headed out of the restaurant to his truck waiting outside. Once they were inside the cab, Charlie spoke.

"I have so many questions. I don't understand how no one could tell me this until now."

"Don’t be angry at your mother. She didn’t know. I hoped to spare you the truth, honestly. We've never seen a human hybrid. I figured you'd be better of not knowing unless it became necessary. When you were small, all of your tests came back normal, so I thought you'd been spared."

"Sparred? Is it so horrible to be an … alien?"