“It means we can move forward with our plans,” Sinclair Prime said in a low, almost excited tone.
“We can, indeed,” the Patriarch replied before turning back to Grady Prime. “What is he like, this young man called Hara?”
Although Gina had no idea what this particular strain of DNA meant to her Alvian friends, she could tell by looking at the faces of all those around her that this was something very significant to them. She wondered what the child of an Alvian scientist and a human male would be like. Would he take after his emotionless mother? Or would he be more human? Would he have psychic gifts? The idea was tantalizing.
“Harry was raised for the most part by his human family. Mara 12 was ill equipped to handle the demands of an infant, and brought him to the O’Haras soon after his birth. As I recall from their discussions at the time, the child was already a strong telepath. He communicated his needs in images to Mara 12 even before he could speak.”
“He could communicate telepathically with his mother when she had no psychic ability?” one of the others asked, incredulous.
Grady Prime nodded. “He sent very specific images to her. After some confusion on Mara 12’s part, she finally comprehended what he wanted. As a result, she allowed him to stay with his human family as he requested. That’s why I spent so much time at their home. I provided security for Mara 12 when she visited him for study purposes.”
“Is he still such a strong telepath or was that something unique due to his close relationship with his mother?” Sinclair Prime wanted to know.
“I am unsure exactly how the humans measure such things. From what I understand, his abilities rival and even exceed those of his father and uncles. From all accounts, the three O’Hara brothers have superior psychic abilities. Caleb is a seer with a near perfect record of accuracy, documented by Mara 12 and her staff over the past few years. Justin is primarily telekinetic, and Mick is a powerful telepath.”
“Hara manifested his uncle’s power of telepathy very young,” the Patriarch mused. “Does he share his father’s telekinetic gift as well?”
“I believe so, but I don’t think he’s told his mother everything he can do. Harry is a cagey young man, who I suspect has his own agenda. He feels. He identifies with his human family. He seems to respect his mother, but Mara 12 has never really had an active role in his life other than as a scientist monitoring his progress. Jane O’Hara is the one who mothered him in the fullest sense of the word. He calls her Mama Jane and has always exhibited high levels of care, compassion and protectiveness toward her.”
“I want to meet him,” the Patriarch said suddenly. “This changes things and yet… Things could not be more perfect. Gina,” he snapped out, clearly thinking fast and plotting his next moves. “I want you to prepare for departure. You’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow, as will I. Sinclair Prime, I’ll need you and your squad to run interference when we go in order to avoid Mara Prime. The less he knows of our movements, the better.”
Gina was disconcerted to know that their carefully laid plans had just been accelerated to a considerable degree, but she was ready. She’d spent a lot of time in preparation for her mission since the Patriarch had first approached her with the idea. She wanted to do this. At the same time she felt conflicted. The emotion was a new one that had arrived on the scene at exactly the same moment she first saw Grady Prime.
She recognized him. Or thought she did. She could almost swear he was one of the men from her dreams. She’d never seen his face clearly. She’d felt his emotion and recognized him as Alvian. She’d felt his body, knew his height and size. All those things matched with what she now saw in Grady Prime.
She’d nearly stopped short when she walked into the courtyard and saw him for the first time. An instant of recognition, followed by an hour of careful watching, measuring and digging back into her memory for clues about her dream lover. Even if she hadn’t dreamed of him, this warrior would have intrigued her. He bedeviled her. With a single glance, he piqued her interest. And he was just plain hot.
A more gorgeous specimen of Alvian manhood she had never seen. A golden god with that extra spark of life in his gorgeous blue eyes—that quintessential something that was missing from every other Alvian she’d ever met. He could feel.
Emotions were new to him. There was little doubt he had some trouble interpreting the impulses that must have been so confusing to him at first. Gina admired the fact that he’d taken such a dangerous chance and joined the experiment. Not only that, but he’d overcome what had to be poor odds to succeed in his quest to understand and experience emotion firsthand. She gave him credit for that.
Most warriors she knew—most men of either race, for that matter—didn’t spend a lot of time pondering their existence. To have undertaken such a drastic step, she knew Grady Prime had searched his own soul, long and hard. It was an attractive thought.
Almost as attractive as she found him. The attraction grew with each breath, each word from his mouth, each moment in his presence.
Now she was being sent away.
The mission was one she had eagerly accepted and had looked forward to implementing for some time, but things had changed in the space of mere minutes. Why she found Grady Prime so compelling, she had no idea. She wished things could be different and that she could have just a little more time to discover the answer.
But it was not meant to be. Sooner than she’d expected, she would leave here—leave him—and move on to the next part of her mission, the next part of her life. If she was successful, it would be some time before she could return to the protective fold of the Zxerah Brotherhood. Even then, there was no guarantee she would ever cross paths with Grady Prime again. These few minutes were probably all they would ever have.
Gina felt a pang for what could never be. She knew her duty was not only to the Patriarch, but to her own race. If things went well, all life on this planet could change for the better. It was the goal she had dedicated her life to, and the only thing that should really matter. The only thing she could let matter.
“I’ll start with the Chief Engineer,” the Patriarch continued his fast-paced decision-making. “Grady Prime, would you be kind enough to record an introductory message I could deliver to Davin and his mate? I would take you with me to perform the introductions in person, but your mission here is too high profile in certain quarters and I cannot interfere with it to that extent. Under no circumstances do I want the Council aware of my movements at this critical time.”
Grady Prime answered in the affirmative and Gina’s eyes were drawn once again to his firm jaw, his sparkling eyes and the sheer strength of the man. He was appealing on a visceral level that was hard to resist.
The Patriarch went on with his plans. Gina didn’t really listen. The others were all talking now as he stirred them up. Only Grady Prime and she sat in relative silence and watched. He watched everyone, and she watched him. At least, she thought he’d been watching everyone, but after a while, she realized he was covertly scrutinizing her.
And then he wasn’t being so covert.
They stared into each other’s eyes as the conversation and planning went on around them, each unblinking, unsure what the rapt attention of the other signified. Gina felt it. Her empathic abilities were low key, but Grady Prime was close enough for her to read and he wasn’t adept at hiding his emotions yet. They were still too new.
After a while, the conversation died and the dinner was over. Some of the men had already been dispatched to get the ball rolling on the Patriarch’s plans. The rest followed quickly after. Only Sinclair Prime and the Patriarch remained as she and Grady walked with them toward the exit.