Primals (Reverse Harem 1)

There are a lot of things you don’t know. But you’re a scientist. Puzzles like that intrigue you. I can feel you already questioning why so few females remain. You want to know about male/female birth ratios, infant mortality rates...you’re already trying to solve the problem you’ve been presented with.

I stare at him; not sure I get the point. So?

So you have a new puzzle now. But you don’t want the answer? You’re not the least bit interested in finding out who...and more importantly...what you are? He steps in close. His eyes are kind but his words are harsh. You know that the answers you seek are in Africa.

I stand up. “Are you telling me to go to Africa with you? Because if you are, the answer is no. I’m not going there. I’ve sworn never to go there.”

“But you must.” Sebastian doesn’t take his eyes off of me. He’s mesmerizing, and I realize that this is the gaze of the wolf. “Don’t you want to find out what really happened to your parents or who they really are?”

“No!” My chest heaves as I raise my voice. “Can’t you see I’m fine the with the way I am? Don’t you know how much I’ve been trying to put the death of my parents behind me?”

“You can’t run away, Clarissa.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Watch me.”

Looking at the bamboo fence and then around me, I jump over it, landing on my hands and one knee on the other side. Shaking the dust off my palms, I start running down the street, slowing down when I find myself among people, putting the hood of my sweater on so I can shield myself from their curious stares.

I keep walking with my head bowed down, not really knowing where but after a while, I stop as I see something land on my shoe.

A pink petal.

Looking up, I see more of them hanging precariously on the branches. As a strong breeze blows, pushing my hood off my head, it causes the petals to cascade around me like a delicate, pink rain.

Stunning.

A smile on my lips, I reach out to catch some of the soft drops in my hand, nestling them in my palm but involuntarily let them escape as I feel a sharp prickle on the back of my neck, a prick that turns into an unpleasant jolt down my spine.

Someone’s watching me.

I turn around, expecting to see Theo or Sebastian, but it’s not them. Besides, if Sebastian was there, I’d hear his thoughts by now, unless he’s hiding them from me like I was able to hide my thoughts from him when I was concentrating in the woods.

Still, Theo would be impossible to miss.

Ignoring the feeling, I put my hood back on and keep walking but then, it comes again and this time, it causes my heart to clench as I remember Sebastian’s warning.

Some primals might perceive you as a threat and kill you.

Swallowing the lump in my throat and placing a hand on my chest as I force my heart to stop pounding and my lungs to breathe, I walk even faster, past crowds and under cherry blossom rains.

Faster. Faster.

I walk without stopping, crossing a street. Someone mumbles an apology in Japanese as he bumps my shoulder. Still, I go on.

Finally, at what looks like a street lined with shops, the feeling disappears and I stop, leaning on my knees as I let out a sigh of relief and catch my breath.

Just when I’ve caught it, it leaves me in a gasp as fingers tap my shoulder, a voice speaking from behind me soon after.

“Um, are you lost?”

I turn around, seeing a Japanese man in his late twenties wearing a red, hooded jacket, his hair like sunset with streaks of red and purple and hoops hanging from his ears. His eyes, emerald marbles with tints of blue and gold, are the most dazzling I’ve ever seen, though they disappear as he smiles, dimples popping out on his smooth, pale cheeks instead.

“I’m Toshi.” He offers me his hand as he gives a bow. “Nice to meet you.”

Chapter Twelve

~ Toshi

FROM WHERE I’M STANDING, my arm wrapped around the handrail by the door, I watch Clarissa look out the window of the train to Tokyo, her slate eyes glistening and growing wide