Page 220 of Awakened

“We know where aliens probe,” Soren cuts in, speaking over him.

“So then we’re all in agreement.” Vae perks up, and I’m starting to wonder if he’s being serious.

“We are not,” Caelan responds flatly.

Vae nods to himself. “Dax was body-snatched.”

Soren shoots Caelan a frown. “Is he even listening to you?”

“No. He gets like this sometimes. His brain just… processes differently. Sometimes you just have to let him tire himself out.”

After Soren confers with Kane and his Pack, we start making our way back to HQ. After only a few steps, I realize Vae isn’t with us.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I see him turning in a slow circle, one hand shielding his face from the sun as he squints into the sky as if a spaceship might appear at any second.

With a groan, Caelan jogs back, grabs him by the shoulders, and physically steers him back toward HQ. Vae argues the whole time, digging in his heels both literally and figuratively.

Soren and I follow, both of us trying—and failing—not to laugh. At the door, Vae nearly twists out of Caelan’s hold, but Caelan growls and grips the back of his neck like a puppy.

Right before the door shuts behind him, I hear Vae mutter, “They should’ve taken me instead. At least Dax isn’t such a coward; I can’t even work up the courage to apologize. If anyone deserves to be probed, it should be me.”

Soren’s laughter cuts off. I don’t move. I’m stuck there—staring at the now-empty door to the kitchen.

“Did he just⁠—”

I nod. “Pretty sure, yeah.”

I dunno whether to feel bad for the guy, or… Fates.

Chapter 26

Idril

Ican’t seem to turn off the television, and for the first time all day there’s no one here to tell me to stop “doomscrolling,” as Caelan calls it.

To be fair, I still don’t have a phone, so I’m not scrolling anything. I’m flicking through channels.

So… doomflicking?

It started as a way to get my mind off yesterday and Daxen’s bizarre… everything. But new reports keep coming in, piquing my curiosity. I’ve kept an eye on the screen all day, trying to focus on other things so I don’t get “sucked in,” but it’s hard when it seems like something new happens every hour.

With Caelan showering and Soren on patrol with his Pack in the forest, for the first time all day, I’m alone.

I prod at Soren’s Bond, and he sends back a wave of reassurance immediately. I’m trying not to bug him, but after yesterday I can’t stop worrying, knowing he’s out there.

When I explained my fears to Branwen earlier, Daxen pointed out that there’s not a single documented case of a disturbance occurring in the same place twice. So by that logic, Soren and his Pack are probably as safe as any of us can be.

I don’t know who was more shocked at his attempt to ease my fears—him or me.

And that’s the thing. It did ease my anxiety.

Until my brain started reminding me that the laws of nature, man, and every other law don’t seem to apply to me.

“We’re just now getting reports from South America that villagers along the Amazon woke to find the River flowing backward. Scientists are calling it ‘another in a long list of impossibilities.’ No injuries have been reported, but the event did disrupt multiple fishing routes.”

The new story grabs my attention, and I sit up straighter, leaning in so I don’t miss anything. This is a new channel and news anchor, one I haven’t seen before. After days of flipping between all the major news outlets, my Alphas finally gave in and let me take control of the remote.

I asked Branwen if she could See why the disturbances are happening, but she said all she gets are flashes of what'll happen in the future.