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Chapter Ten

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“This place is huge,” I muttered as we went into the lab.

Alice’s home was a mansion; the rooms bigger than any I had ever seen. She had brought me straight here from my house. We had a mission; to create the antidote that would help Natalie.

A part of me had wondered whether it was worth agreeing to Nick’s terms. If I gave up my chance of being with my twin flame, I would be able to save Natalie and the baby. As It was, I didn’t know who my soulmate was, or if I would ever meet her.

“My father had it built for him so he could experiment. He left the house to me, so when my parents died, I decided to use it for my own studies.”

My thoughts flew out of my mind as I focused on her. We were just outside the lab, ready to go inside. The extensive lock reminded me of a film I had seen a few years ago. It was very professional, even better than the one we had at the hospital.

“I’m sorry,” I said, not really knowing what else to say.

Alice had lost her parents at an extremely young age. It must have been such a lonely time for her.

Shaking her head, she pushed her way into the lab, indicating that I should follow. Her eyes stayed averted as I joined her, allowing her to close the door behind me.

“They were on their way to America. My father was going to speak to the President about his work with antidotes to biochemical warfare. He worked closely with several governments. The jet they were travelling in crashed into the sea. My parents were never found.”

Blinking, I tried to get Alice to look at me. She went to spin away, but I grabbed her arm, stalling her.

“Alice, that’s...”

Waving her hand, she tried to wrench me off.

“Wait!” I said, stamping my foot.

The floor vibrated under us, causing Alice’s eyes to widen. “You caused the tremor at the hospital.”

The attention had gone from her to me, just how she liked it, apparently. Releasing her arm, I went over to the biohazard suits that were hanging up.

“Don’t ignore me, Virgo, how do you do that with your foot?”

She stood with her hands on her hips, her blonde hair falling forward over her shoulder. Her cheeks were red as she stared at me, willing me to answer.

There had been a lot of tension between us since the moment we met, why? Why was she so difficult? Yet, so...caring.

“I...I can’t explain,” I muttered, reaching for the suit.

Her hand whipped out, grabbing my brown hair at the scalp. As she tugged it back, I cried out, my hands going to hers where she held me.

“What are you doing?” I yelped as she pulled me so far back, I bent over her knee when she raised it.

A scowl coloured her face, violence in her eyes. Her teeth were gritted together and her lips pulled back. “You’re not telling me the truth! Who are you?”

“Get off me!” I shouted, bringing my foot down on the ground hard enough to make the whole lab vibrate this time.

She released me, stepping back as I straightened up and rubbed my head. The bitch had almost pulled my hair out. What was she playing at?

“You said you had to unite with your soulmate. Well, surely that’s what everyone is here for. But, that...” Alice pointed at my foot. “...that’s freaky.”

Raising my hands, I tried to steady my heavy breath. She had scared me. Adrenaline wriggled its way around my veins, my heart pounding.

“Why...?” A lump rose in my throat. “Why did you just get so aggressive?”

Pressure was a harsh reality in the environment we worked in. Alice’s family had a history of trying to save the world from disaster viruses, so she probably felt it more than most. But, to hit out at me like that? It was uncalled for.

“I...I’m not sure why I did that, I’m sorry. It’s like there’s this anger I feel towards you, and I don’t know why. You blame me for something...”

“I do?” I interrupted.

Alice ran a hand through her hair and faced away from me. “Ignore me, I have no idea where that came from. I don’t know what’s come over me.”

My heartbeat vibrated harder in my chest as I stared at her back. The lab coat she wore blended into an old fashioned long nightgown. Her skin turned dark, the light reflecting how smooth it was.

Closing my eyes to clear the vision, I clenched my hands by my sides. “It can’t be,” I whispered.

“What can’t?” Alice’s harsh tone made me open my eyes.

She was looking over her shoulder, her hip cocked to the side. There was a reason she was so angry at me, and there was an explanation to my own agitation. But, if what I thought was true, she was in for a big shock.

“Nothing, I’m sorry. Shall we get on with it?” I pointed at the biohazard suit.

She looked at the floor, her hair falling forward to cover her face. She was still caught up in the emotion of what had just happened. I didn’t blame her. My diversion tactic was the only way to give me some space to think.

“Your foot, Virgo,” she said.

Okay, apparently she wasn’t going to let me get away with it. Which was fair enough. If I knew someone who could do what I did, but wasn’t given an explanation, I wouldn’t stop asking until I knew how.

Giving up the idea of an immediate release from telling her, I lowered myself onto the nearest stool. We didn’t have time for this, but the longer I let it drag out, the less time Natalie would have.

“Every single one of us has a power. I told you about our mission. In order to fulfil it, we needed something to give us an edge. We’ve been trying to unite with our soulmates, all twelve of us, for many lifetimes. Every time, we’ve failed. So, we’ve been given an ability that coincides with our element to help us get the job done.”

There. I had told her. No matter what she said or did now, she couldn’t claim that I had kept her in the dark. In fact, I had risked everything by telling her. And, yet, I still didn’t know whether she would keep my secret.

“That’s...” She came over and stood in front of me.

Reaching forward, she quickly pulled back as I inhaled a deep breath. We were hovering on the edge of something, anticipation rocking through both of us, but...

“Let’s do this,” Alice suddenly said, deflating the moment.

Releasing my breath, I followed her as she went over to the chemical storage box.

“I managed to sneak out a couple of the antitoxin vials. I also have some of my own here.”

“You do?” I choked, covering my mouth when she smiled.

Shrugging, she went to a little door, opening it to reveal a small room with rows and rows of boxes and drawers.

“My father was paid a lot of money to find cures and antidotes. He was given access to the many meds he needed to get the job done. I’m...carrying on his legacy.” Alice’s cheeks flared red as she glanced at me.

My mouth hung open as I read some of the names on the boxes. Stuff I hadn’t even heard of lined the shelves.

“You’re working for the government?”

She nodded, her tongue coming out to lick her bottom lip. “Yes. I’m working at the hospital to give me some extra ideas. Gary is also a very well respected doctor, as you know. Working with him was the Prime Minister’s idea.”

My high profile boss might just be my twin flame soulmate. That wasn’t a good combination.

Standing back, I nodded, ready to get to work. My hands shook as Alice rummaged in the antitoxin drawer, bringing out a couple of boxes.

“My father was working on something before he passed. It was an antitoxin, but not really for Anthrax. However, I liked his idea of combining two elements to make them stronger. I’ve been testing his theory and it works. We just need to blend the right two elements to get the right dosage for a human being.”

Good, she had moved on from my earthquake ability, her attention drawn to our predicament. It was better that we both focused on curing Natalie and the baby. If Aries’ child was to have problems when it was born, I would blame myself.

“You can test me,” I said, moving to a section labelled Homeopathy. “Now, this is my realm.”

Picking up the oils and salves, I smiled to myself.

Alice came over and stood directly behind me. Her breath hit my neck, sending tingles over my body. She quickly stepped back when I gulped loudly. It wasn’t the time or place to be fighting my attraction for her.

“Help yourself to anything you want.”

She quickly left, taking what she needed with her. I ran my eyes over the treatments, deciding that it wasn’t the right time to be taking her things.

“What about the suits?” I asked as I came out and shut the door behind me.

Dismissing me with a wave, Alice placed what she needed in front of her and proceeded to set up the box. “It’s super secure in here. This little baby was flown over by the US president. It’s the most secure box in the world.”

Going over, I leant over to examine it. The glass was solid, obviously shatterproof.

“I can’t believe you do all this and I didn’t know.”

“Why would you know? I’ve only been working with you for a little while. I’m not prone to airing everything about myself. In fact, you’re the first person I’ve ever brought here, so...you should feel privileged.”

I looked at her quickly to see if she really was that snotty, but the smile on her face showed me that she was jesting. She could be confusing sometimes.

Smiling back, I set about prepping the area. Wiping everything clean, I lined up the boxes and vials, ready to be used. Alice was the doctor, the expert, so I would stand back and let her work.

It was weird how it went silent as we worked together, making sure that everything was safe. Alice proceeded to handle the vials carefully, mixing the antitoxins inside the box with a plastic spatula.

My gaze was drawn to her mouth as she pursed her lips in concentration. Quickly moving my eyes away, I watched what she did, my interest piqued when she mixed the new formula and then shook it vigorously.

“The elements are combined now, so we can test it. Can you pass me the toxin vial?”

Doing as she asked, I stayed silent as she smeared a bit of the toxin on a glass plate inside the box. She hadn’t even used any Anthrax, which meant she must have had a sample of the toxin that was created by the bacteria.

Putting a drop of antitoxin on the toxin, Alice placed the plate under the microscope. She gasped, her eyes coming away as she pointed. “Look!”

I moved in front of her, taking her place. Glancing into the eyepiece, I inhaled sharply. The toxin was shrinking at an unprecedented rate. “How did you do that?”

“You know when you said that you just saw patterns in cells? I’m the same, but I see them in everything. My father did, too. I inherited his gift.” Her eyes dropped as I stared at her.

She had just invented a new antitoxin in the space of a few minutes. How did we not know how truly amazing she was?

“No wonder you got so far in university.”

Waving me out of the way, she blushed as she took more liquid and began to make the same mixture, but on a much higher scale. It would be risky to give it to Natalie, but testing it on my siblings should work. Nick couldn’t kill them, but there was a chance that their death could come about from our assessment going wrong.

“I’m worried about giving it to Natalie,” Alice interrupted my thoughts.

Nodding, I took the first bag from her, sealing it tight and placing it neatly on the side. “I know, me too. I think Aries will be happy to have it first, but...the baby...”

“The alternative is...”

Alice couldn’t finish her sentence. If we didn’t try the antitoxin, Nat would die, it was that simple. Even if we rushed her to a hospital, they wouldn’t be able to save her. This was her last chance. And, if the process killed her, then...

My eyes filled with tears, my gaze becoming vacant. The thought of losing my friend and niece, well, it was unbearable.

“We would’ve tried everything, Virgo. We can’t do anymore. I know that’s hard to believe, because you’re a natural healer, but we have to have hope that this will work.”

Taking my hand, she placed another bag of antitoxin in my palm. The cure. It would be the cure, and I would try my hardest to see if I could heal them with my own energy. At least, it was the only hope I had.

“Thank you so much for helping me,” I muttered, unable to look her in the eye.

She cleared her throat, drawing my attention. Her light eyelashes landed on the top of her cheeks as she closed her eyes. “I’m...I’m sorry about...attacking you...I don’t know...”

Taking her hands in mine, I clenched them. “It’s okay. I understand. Alice, we’ve...known each other before.”

My confession made us both shudder at the same time. Which was a sure sign that she felt it, too. And, after her confirmation that she wasn’t into men, I was pretty sure that I had met my soulmate. The only problem I had was whether or not she would accept what we were to each other. We had only just met, after all.

“I feel that, but I’m so confused.”

Sucking in my bottom lip, I let go of her and stepped back. Scooping the bags off the side, I smiled at her. “I know. I’m going to go and administer these. Thank you so much for your help.”

Saluting me, she straightened, her face turning serious. “You’re welcome. Please, let me know if it works.”

Saying goodbye wasn’t exactly what I wanted to do in that moment, but if I didn’t get my head out of my own head, I would risk the lives of those I loved. All because of a pretty face.