Those Eyes Ch. 06

Happy New Year, all! I'm sorry that it took a while to get this out. I hope you all enjoy. As usual, feed back is welcome and encouraged. I'm sort of starting to regret using first person narrative. But it's too late, I suppose.

SRB

-Santana-

I roused as we pulled into the underground parking garage. I was anxious to get out of the car and stretch. My body was tense and my head ached from the trying day that I had just had. I looked over at Alex as he sighed in relief at being home and couldn't help but once again be mesmerized by how beautiful he was. I wondered if I'd ever get used to it. I smiled to myself when I realized that I had all of eternity to get used to it.

"What are you smiling at?" He asked with a slight grin.

"Oh nothing." I said in a mirthful tone as I stepped out of the small SUV and closed the door behind me. I walked over to my Audi fully aware that he was following me. His eyes were glued to my every movement and I smirked in smugness. I wanted to have a little fun. My newly found confidence briefly surprised me but I liked the feeling of power Alex's attention gave me.

Reaching into my satchel, I pulled out my car keys. I gripped them in my hand as I closed my eyes and went up on my tip toes and stretched my arms to the sky, relieving the tension that the four hour drive had caused in my body. I felt the hem of my shirt slide up slightly and knew that Alex was getting a nice view of my mid drift. His tortured groan made me want to open my eyes and see his reaction. I peeked through my eyelashes and was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze.

I peeped down at my body and realized that not only was lower stomach showing but the hem of my lace boy shorts. My awkward embarrassment seeped back into the moment and I blushed as I pulled down my shirt and pulled up my pants.

"Tease." He said as he advanced towards me. He stopped a foot in front of me and extended his right hand, palm up.

I gave him a perplexed look. What was he reaching for? Confused, I placed my right hand in his. He smiled and shook his head as he pulled me closer to him. My front flush against his.

"Other hand." He said, his tone serious.

The fingers of my right hand tightened slightly and I remembered that I was holding my keys. "My keys?" I asked, extremely confused.

"Yes, your keys, Ana." He leaned down, his lips barely brushed against my right ear. " Where do you think you're going?" His warm breath tickled the sensitive area.

His attention was making it hard to think. He began kissing my jaw line and I shuddered, loving the effect he had on me.

"I....I..hmmm. I have...class...in the mor-...ning." I stammered out as his lips got closer to mine.

"You." Kiss. "Can." Kiss. "Leave." Kiss. "From." Kiss. "Here."

I sighed into his lips and pulled back. His soft, warm lips made thinking much too difficult. I was suddenly aware that that was the point.

"Alex, I need to go home. I get it. We're soul mates. But..." I looked up into those ocean blue eyes and was suddenly afraid of how he'd react to what I was about to say. "Alex, I have my own life. I've been alone for five years now and you can't expect me to just change my life for you."

His eyes became visibly harder. "It's not about that Anna." He said in a serious tone.

Confused, once more and a little disappointed. I tilted my head to the side. "Then what is it about?"

"Have you thought once about what happened at your house or what you found or what your father's letter said?" I realized in that moment that I had in fact not given the situation much thought. Apparently my expression said as much. "I thought so." He said, stepping away from me.

"Alex, it'll be fine." I said, attempting to regain the moment we just had. He stepped back once again. Just like me, he understood that all rational thought was at risk when he and I were touching.

"I just found you. Maybe I haven't been looking nearly as long as some of the others of my kind but, I'm in no rush to lose you. There's some organization out there searching for you for God knows why and you think I'm just going to let you out of my sight?" He said, running a hand though his messy brown locks.

Apart of me was angry that he thought that he could control me and he must of seen the defiance flash in my eyes because his expression seemed to be pleading with me to cooperate. I was angry but the bigger part of me, the 99%, was floored by the intensity of how much he cared about me. Despite being slightly angry, I knew that he was right. I was never one for foresight and I easily casted serious issues aside. Fear, anger, and sadness had always seemed like irrelevant emotions to me and considering that my emotions now triggered my transition, it didn't seem like such a bad thing.

Stepping forward, I tried to show surrender in my eyes. Seeing my intent, he sighed in relief and stepped forward. I placed a hand softly on his cheek and sighed. "I'll stay." Wanting to lighten the mood, I added, "But no funny business, Mister! My goodies are off limits."

He chuckled and pulled me closer. "Let's go. I assure you, as long as you say so, your...'goodies' are perfectly safe. But the moment that you submit, I'm going to be all up in your cookie jar, Santana." I could tell it took a lot of will power to say that with a straight face and he was soon laughing at his own comment. I joined him and we laughed all the way to elevator.

As we waited for the elevator, I felt his eyes on me. Turning to face him, I gave him a curious look. He leaned down, his lips once again brushing my ear. "I bet your goodies taste amazing, Ana." He whispered.

There was no way that I could hide the shiver that ran through my entire body. I held in a moan as I felt my boy shorts become moist. I looked away to hide my cherry colored cheeks. His arm snaked around my waist and my body temperature rose.

-Alex-

I couldn't help but laugh at how cute she was trying to hide her desire the entire way up to my floor. She nervously moved from one foot to the other and stole quick glances towards me through her front bangs. I needed to end her anxiety.

"I just want to wake up near you. Stop being so anxious, Ana. I'll be a perfect gentleman." I said as I led her towards my apartment.

As we neared the door, I froze. I sensed them, all of them. I considered turning around, telling her that I changed my mind and that it'd be best if she went home.

"What is it, Alex?" She said, sensing my hesitation.

I exhaled deeply as we stopped in front of my door. "Brace yourself." I said, sliding my key into the lock.

"What are you-"she started before stopping abruptly, the look of mortification on her face was almost humorous. "Fuck." She whispered when the door was completely open. Staring back at her with expressions of amusement were all six of my siblings.

I made a gesture for her to enter, chuckling at her wide eyed expression. "They won't bite Ana." I said with a smile.

"Unless she'd like us to." Aaron called, letting his fangs elongate slightly.

I hadn't thought it possible but Ana's eyes widened further. "He's joking, sweetheart. They're all harmless. The only thing they're dangerous with is a credit card with no limit. Aislyn could probably decapitate someone with one swipe of hers." They all laughed. I smiled at her, giving her hand an encouraging squeeze. She laughed and walked inside. I followed, closing the door behind us.

"Santana, these are my brothers and sister." I said, making a hand gesture towards them. She waved and flashed a gorgeous, anxious smile. I felt my heart spasm and I stared at her for a moment. A cleared throat broke me out of my trance.

"Don't be rude, baby brother." I heard Aston say with an amused tone.

I briefly wondered if life with Santana would be anything more than moment upon moment of drowning in her beauty. I smiled as my gaze turned from her to the other loves of my life.

"Santana, this is Aston." Aston stepped forward and shook her hand.

She smiled, "HI, Aston."

"Hi, doll." He replied.

"That charmer there is Aaron." I said, nodding my head in Aaron's direction. He stepped forward and took her hand, placing a kiss on the backside. She smiled back at him, blushing. I rolled my eyes at the scene. "Aaron." I warned through clenched teeth. He laughed, stepping back and away from Ana.

"Just showing her how charming I can be, Mistake." He said with a wink.

"Mistake?" I heard Santana say.

"It's what Aaron calls him. Alex is...a lot younger than us. Aaron's convinced that he was a mistake." Aislyn said, openly appraising Santana. She stepped forward, her lithe arm extended. "I'm Aislyn." She said, taking Santana's hand into her own. She tilted her head, her auburn hair tumbling to the side. "You really are quite exquisite. I'm excited to have another girl around. All of this...testosterone has been suffocating." She said, Santana laughed and flashed me another bright smile.

"I like her." She said.

Aislyn stepped back and Anthony moved forward. "I'm Anthony, the more attractive twin." He dodged as Aston threw a throw pillow at him. Santana laughed, catching the pillow.

"It's nice to meet you, Anthony." She shook his hand then peeked over his shoulder. "if you'd excuse me, there are two fine gentlemen that I need to apologize to." She said, stepping around Anthony. She stopped in front of Ash and Adam. She hugged them both and stepped back. "I'm sorry, guys." She said, blushing. I could tell that she was fighting to keep herself from lowering her eyes. Good girl, I thought.

Ash spoke first, "Don't worry about it, gorgeous." He chucked her chin and she blushed further.

"How's your foot?" she asked, looking down at the foot that she had stumped a stiletto heel through the week before.

He slipped off his canvas shoe. "Good as new, see?" He said, wiggling his foot around.

"Good. I'm so so sorry about that. I was..." She stopped, thinking about the best word to use.

"Scared." Adam interjected. "It's fine, princess. We understand. We're happy that you've had a change of heart about us since then." He tilted his head, staring thoughtfully at her. "I knew you were special when I met you. I never suspected you were my little brother's mate."

She laughed nervously and looked back at me, smiling. "I have to get used to that word."

"You better." I said, unable to keep myself from smiling back at her, my mate.

"Anyone else pissed that Alex, the mistake, found his mate before any of us? Here I am, almost 84, and I have yet to even meet someone who I thought could possibly be my mate." Aaron said as he rummaged my fridge for a beer. He pulled out an Amber Woodchuck.

Santana gasped slightly when he mentioned his age but she didn't say anything about it. She looked down at the ground, her perpetual blush deepening. "I'm sorry." she said in a bashful yet remorseful tone.

I rushed to her side and lifted her chin with my right index finger. "Don't apologize for meeting me. Never apologize for us finding each other." she smiled and nodded. I glared at Aaron briefly. Fucking idiot, I thought to myself.

"So, who did Mom call first?" I asked, looking back towards my horde of siblings.

"Mass text." Aston said with a laugh. "I wasn't sure what surprised me more. The nature of the text or the fact that Franny was texting me." We all laughed.

"Yeah, Fran is quite savvy with the tech these days. I'm ok with it as long as she doesn't start tweeting. Then we'll have a problem." Aislyn added.

"Is...Franny your mother?" Santana asked. I could tell she was trying to loosen up. I was comforted by the effort she was making, I fell for her a little bit more in that moment.

"Yep, the Fabulous Francesca Carlisle. You'll probably be meeting her and Al pretty soon." Adam said, smiling at Santana. His statement didn't strike me as strange but I felt Santana tense slightly at my side.

"It's a bit soon for that. We only met a week ago." She said with a nervous laugh.

"Oh, Honey. No." Aislyn said, stepping forward. "Normal human dating rules don't really apply here. You're God's answer to Alex's soul. Not such thing as too soon."

"Hm." She said with a contemplative look on her perfect face. "Do you guys introduce all of your significant others to your parents?" They all laughed and I squeezed her shoulder lightly. "What?" she asked, looking around at the others.

"We don't really date." Anthony answered. "There's no point." Her expression looked more confused.

"From the time that we're old enough to understand, we're told about our mates. Our perfect other halves. We're told that we'll know almost immediately when we find them. Everyone else is...irrelevant." Ash said.

"Isn't that lonely?" She asked. "How long do you have to wait until you find your mate?"

"We've been waiting for 126 years." Anthony said. "You don't know when you'll find him or her."

"I see." She said, I could tell that the idea of waiting that long made her a little sad. I bent down and kissed her forehead, hoping to take away the sadness that she felt.

"That's why we're all excited about you, Princess." Adam said with a grin. She returned his smile with a confused one of her own and I suddenly understood what he meant. I had completely forgot.

"It hasn't been proven but it seems that in families with multiple children, when one siblings finds his or her mate, that person will somehow lead the others to theirs." Aislyn said, moving forward and placing a small hand on Ana's shoulder.

"Oh. How will I do that?" Santana asked, I could almost taste her rising anxiety.

"Well it's not like we're asking you to be the Millionaire Matchmaker. You don't really actively do anything." Ash said with a laugh. We all laughed, even Santana.

"Say, you get a craving for sweets one night and you invite me to go to Crepe Away with you. While there, I realize that the cute Hispanic girl with the great rack and ass behind the register is my mate. It's that simple." Aaron said. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his crassness.

"Or you and I go shopping in Georgetown and you pull me into Urban Outfitters because you see this great dress that is just made for you. I follow you in of course because you want my opinion on the dress. On the way in, I pass by a 6'4 caramel man with a nice fade and a well fitted suit and realize that he's my mate." Ash said with a mischievous glint in his light brown eyes.

"Or you and I are walking down the street, you slip, bust your ass, and the Adonis with a heart of gold who stops to pick you off the ground is my mate." Aislyn said, making us all laugh.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Santana said, holding her hands up in an 'enough' gesture. "No pressure." she said leaning against me. The fact that she was getting along so well with my siblings was perfection but I couldn't help but become worried.

If anything happened to Santana, it wouldn't just ruin my world but it would possibly ruin the world of the people that I loved most. She was an important key to their happiness and her life was in danger even if she refused to realize it. Every horrible scenario passed through my mind and before I knew it, the words were slipping past my lips.

"I need help."

-Santana-

I leaned against Alex's side as he relayed the events of the day to his siblings. We all sat at the huge dining table. I zoned out as he told them of the incident in the meadow five years ago. They all remained quiet until he finished. I stared down at my hands in my lap, feeling six sets of eyes on me.

"So, we need to get her out of here. Find somewhere safe." Adam said, speaking first.

"I have some friends that can help. We can leave in the next hour." Aston said, pulling out his iPhone.

I listened as they discussed me like I wasn't in the room. "No." I said quietly. I looked up to see each of them looking at me with an incredulous look on each face. "I...I'm not hiding. I'm going to class tomorrow, like I would any other day."

"The hell you are!" Aaron all but screamed at me.

I felt my anger building, my vision sharpening. "Excuse me?" I said, fixing Aaron with a glare.

He stood, Alex standing a fraction of a second after. "You're going to get your sweet ass up, keep your pretty little mouth closed, and do whatever it is that we say to keep you safe." He said, anger flashing in his eyes.

"Sit down, Aaron."Alex growled and apart of me relished in my mate's protective stance.

"No! You sit down, Alexander! She has some secret agency after her and what does she want to do? Go to fucking Comm class!"

I stood then, his last comment pissing me off more than his previous ones. "Biology." I said, trying to keep my anger in check.

"What?" He said, looking at me with disbelief.

"I'm a biology major, fucker. Not a communications major."

"I don't believe you. Comm seems much more like something a stupid bitch would take because that's really what you're acting like right now."

I felt the teeth within my mouth start to elongate, the change was underway. I placed my hands on Alex's back, seeking the comfort that only his touch gave me. I felt the muscles beneath his skin, taut and ready for battle. I peeked around Alex's back and made eye contact with his very angry older brother. I immediately realized my mistake. He saw my harmless gesture as a challenge. I cringed at the growl emitted from his chest and braced myself for the impact of his aggression but before Aaron could advance even a millimeter towards me, Alex moved with the swiftness.

I opened my eyes, I hadn't realized that I had closed them. I looked down and saw Alex pinning Aaron to the floor, his fangs barred. "If you ever, EVER, threaten my mate again..." He growled into his brother's face.

"You'll what, Mistake? Kill your brother for that dense bitch?" Aaron roared in response.

"That is the last time you will call her out of her name." Alex said, emphasizing his point by slamming his brother's head into the floor.

I looked up at the other five siblings. None made a move to stop the scene before us. While part of me loved the feeling of my mate protecting me, I wanted it to stop.

"Alex, baby...it's ok. I understand why he got mad. Let him go." When Alex didn't immediately move away, I continued. "Baby, he didn't mean it. He was upset. Let me talk to him. Will you hold me while I talk to him?" I said, reaching forward and running my fingers through his silky chocolate tresses. He sighed and released his hold on Aaron. He stood and helped his brother to his feet.

Alex walked over to me, pulled me close and breathed in my scent. I felt him relax.

I looked up and my olive eyes met Aaron's icy blue pools. "I get it." I whispered. I looked around at all of them. "You all probably think that I'm being flippant with my life and...your happiness. I'm not. I understand that there's someone after me but they haven't found me in five years."

"What about whoever showed up at your house?" Ash interjected.

"We're not even sure who that was. And if it was this organization, there's no way that they could get into that house. It's completely fortified now and we didn't leave anything behind." I said, hoping they understood.

"Are you sure?" Anthony or Aston added, I wasn't paying attention to which and they looked so much alike.

"Yes. When the house is in ultimate lockdown, I can't even get in with my key. It's impenetrable."

"Okay, we'll trust your confidence but we're still not letting you just do what it is that you do, any other day, all alone." Aaron said, appearing to have calmed down significantly.

I thought about what he said. I knew that I couldn't win against their will power so, I relented.

"Fine, if I'm not with Alex, I'll be with one of you. How about that?" I asked, hating that I had to give up my freedom but I knew it was the only way to pacify them. Sensing my feelings about the situation, I felt Alex press his lips against my temple.