Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

1102 Chapter 87- Luka – Like Any Other Day Part 2 (VOLUME 6)

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Luka

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Levi and I were the first ones to get here to the campus today. Even though I didn’t have a class this early today, I was going to be studying with Reagan. There was a massive research project that we needed to prepare for. One that was worth like a million percent of our grade. And, smart as I am most of the time, I still felt like an idiot when it came to getting ready for a massive project like this. I always felt like a chicken with my head cut off. I was just waiting to drop dead because I was out of my league. Or at least, that was how I felt when I got started on these things.

I had been brooding over my topic while we waited for the others to get there. Reagan and Rika, who had to drop off their younger siblings, arrived just before our sisters, who had also needed to drop the others off. Reagan and Rika, with all their siblings, only totaled eight, and they drove in one of those hybrid SUVs with a third row seat. It wasn’t like the ones that our parents used for major operations, but it was big enough for them all.

On the contrary, Levi, Lyssa, Alexa and I just didn’t want to all ride together as one group most of the time. So, we took turns driving our younger siblings to school in the morning. And next year, we could make Luther and Fauna, our younger brother and sister, drive them to school for us. They will be in their freshmen year here at the university with us, and they would have to deal with all the scut work. That’s how it went, right?

While I thought about a million things at the same time, I tried to keep an eye out for the others. I always had an easy time of keeping my mind in a million different places. It was like my mind worked differently. And even though my sister Alexa was a hybrid like me, she didn’t seem to have the same thought process as I did. I knew that to the humans, I often looked as if I had ADHD or something. It was always spacing out and things like that. However, I wasn’t really spacing out, it wasn’t like that.

In truth, it was like I was looking at and seeing things in a dozen different ways at the same time. I would just look tuned out at times because I was trying to process it all at the same time. I knew that I was still technically young and that I was still trying to learn how to manage to be me. Not even the humans knew how to be the best versions of themselves when they were only eighteen. Yeah, OK, I would be nineteen next month, along with Levi, Lyssa, and Alexa, but I was still only eighteen, and I was often still trying to figure things out.

When Reagan and Rika got to the university, I talked to them, but it was also like I was still processing the other thoughts in my mind. Still, I was able to sense what was happening with Reagan. He always joked that I could read his mind, but it wasn’t really like that. I just knew things based on the energy that people gave off. It was like I could sense things about them, things that others weren’t attuned to. Alexa had this ability a little, but not as strong as I did.

.....

I knew instantly that Reagan and Rika had had a bad morning, or at least a strange one. They were both giving off such a strange vibe.

“Hey. What’s up? How was your morning?” There was a strained sound in Reagan’s voice that I was sure even he wasn’t aware of.

“Making small talk this morning? Man, you must have had a messed up start to your day.” I joked back with him, because I didn’t want to alert him to the aura or energy that he was emanating. I just gave him a one armed hug and went back to where I had been before.

“Yeah, it was a little awkward, but nothing too bad. Are you ready to get moving?” He started to answer, but that was all. He also didn’t seem to be thinking clearly either.

“Not yet, the trips aren’t here yet.” Levi reminded him.

“Yeah, and Elias isn’t here either. We need to wait for all of the others.” I said as I scooted back to sit on the hood of my car.

“Yeah, better to wait.” Reagan nodded as he sat opposite of me, sliding on his hood as well.

What followed was a funny conversation about butt prints and cars. We were all laughing when the trips arrived with Elias. They had ridden in together and we were now able to get going. We were heading to our usual spot, which had never been encroached upon, even before people found out that we weren’t human. That was pretty cool in my opinion.

While we were walking toward the fountain and the benches around it that we always used, I noticed that there was a weird energy that was following us. I didn’t know what it was at first, but then I realized that it was a man that was following behind us at a distance. He was following us ever since we had passed him a few moments ago.

Why was he following us? Was he a fan of one of the twins? Or one of the rest of us maybe? No. He didn’t seem like a fan. His energy was too wrong for that. He was filled with anger and resentment. The energy that was coming off of him was bitter and disgusting. It made me want to sneeze, even though it wasn’t something that I was physically smelling.

Deciding that I needed to get a scent on this man, just to be on the safe side, I inhaled deeply. I knew that even with this distance, I would be able to get a read on him. I wasn’t as good as the wolves and felines when it came to somethings, but being a hybrid I was better at smelling than most people. And this man’s scent hit me like a ton of bricks.

The power of that smell was strong, but it was also wrong. There was something about it that shouldn’t be there. Something that wasn’t natural. And for someone that was all too clearly a human, there shouldn’t be oddities about his smell.

The hair on my neck and arms instantly bristled and stood on end. I was on edge, and I didn’t know why. This man, whoever he was, he shouldn’t be a threat to us, but somehow, I felt like he was. I felt like everyone around us needed to get out of here, and that something really bad was going to happen. And it would all be this man’s fault.

“Luka?” Reagan called to me in a soft voice just as the man turned away from me. “What is it? Is there something wrong?” He turned to look in the direction that I had been staring. The others had apparently noticed that I had stopped following them and was staring at something or someone in the distance.

“That guy there. The one with the duffle bag. He smells funny. And he feels weird.”

“Feels weird?” Levi asked me with a tone that had spoken more than the words did.

“Yes. His energy is strange. But the smell as well, that wasn’t normal. Not for a guy like that.”

“What did he smell like?” Rika asked me with a soft tone. The man, looking over his shoulders, kept stopping to see if we were following him.

“He is a human, that was clear, but he smelled dangerous. And oddly enough, he is clean and well put together, but he smells like tar and motor oil. And almonds too. Those smells don’t go together. Tar is used in construction. Motor oil obviously with cars. And almonds with cooks. They shouldn’t be with him at the same time.”

“Wait a minute.” Reagan looked up, worry on his face. “Remember that lesson last week. The one from Torin, the FBI agent they brought in to teach us. It was about bombs and detecting them. Nobels 808 smells like almonds. And C4 smells like tar and motor oil.” There was an intense look in Reagan’s eyes now. He was ready to make a move if he needed to.

“You’re right.” I said as I smacked myself in the head. “I knew that there was something about those smells. Torin even brought them in for us to smell. She wanted us to be able to detect them if the situation ever arose.”

“Yeah, and it’s a good thing too.” Rika said as she looked after the man. “That man has a bomb on him. We need to get him before anyone gets hurt.”

With a speed that no one on campus had ever seen before, the ten of us took off running in the direction of the man that had walked away from us. He hadn’t seen us coming until the last second, and that was when he started to try and run. It was too late by then.

We tackled the man to the ground, taking him down with an unceremonious yet all too present grace. There were a few screams that emitted from the students nearby, mostly the girls. And a few guys called out in worry.

“What the hell?”

“What are you doing?”

“Let him go.”

We knew that we needed to protect these people. We had to keep them all safe. They were in danger if they stayed here.

“All of you get back.” I called out to them. I wasn’t the one that was sitting on the suspect, that was Beech, since he was the one to get there first. “This man has a bomb.”

“A bomb?” A girl asked in disbelief.

“LET ME GO!” The man pinned to the ground called out as he struggled to get free.

“We will show you.” Reagan said as he started to take the man’s bag away from him.

“NO! GIVE THAT BACK! IT’S NOT YOURS!” The others that were watching didn’t make a move. They wanted to know if the claim was true. And several of them were already recording it on their phones and other devices. “THEY ATTACKED ME! DID YOU SEE THAT! THEY ATTACKED ME FOR NO REASON AT ALL!”

“Oh, we had a reason.” Reagan said as he pulled the zipper of the bag open. “And here is that reason.” He showed the crowd the contents of the bag.

There were half a dozen devices in the bag that couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than what they were. They were bombs. They had all the necessary components to be a bomb, and the others, the humans, that were watching knew what they were immediately.

Most of them started to scream and flee the scene. Others, a little more bold and brave than the ones that had fled the scene, stayed there to film the scene. They weren’t going to miss an opportunity like this. This was exciting.

“How did you know?” One of the humans asked as Reagan started to empty the bags.

“We smelled them.” I told him honestly. “We were taught what to look for so that we could prevent situations like this.” I knew that transparency was the best option right now. These videos would be all over the internet soon, and we needed it to go good for us.

“You smelled them? That is fucking cool.” One of the voices said, but we were more interested in what was going on with the bag.

“There is a device here with a lot of switches.” Reagan said. “They are labeled with places of other bombs. It has fifty buttons, but only thirty-nine of them are labeled.”

“Did he not label the others, or did he only have forty-five to begin with?” Levi asked in a strained voice. He was nervous, as were the rest of us.

“I don’t know.” Reagan said as he looked down at the trapped man. “How many bombs did you have?”

“FUCK YOU!” The man screamed at him. “YOU WILL NEVER FIND THEM! AND WHEN THEY GO OFF, MANY WILL DIE!”

“Damn you!” Reagan snapped at him. “How many bombs did you have to start with? Are there some that are not marked?”

“PISS OFF!” The man screamed again before he spat on the ground next to his head. He was an angry man, and I could sense the psychosis that was inside of him. He was crazy.

“We need to call the authorities.” Reagan said. “Rika, call Mom and Dad. Levi, call Devon, I will call Rawlynne.”

“Devon? Rawlynne? And why your parents?” the man that was closest and still filming asked him in a curious tone.

“Our parents are the King and Queen of our people, they need to be notified of this attempt. And Devon is Captain Devon Scott with the Colorado Springs Police Department. Rawlynne is Director Rawlynne Otsana-Martin of the local FBI branch. We are contacting the proper authorities in this situation.”

Somehow, Reagan had turned into some sort of leader that we had never seen before. He was smooth, wise, and in control. He and Rika were both so calm at the moment, and I was happy that they were here. They were keeping us grounded at the current moment.

“We need to do two things right now.” Reagan said as he looked around the campus. “We need to evacuate the students and staff, and we need to find the other bombs. That is what Devon and Rawlynne would do if they were here already.”

“Then make your calls, then we split up.” I told him, urging him to call for the backup that we needed.

The others nodded and made their calls. Rika told their parents what was happening, and that they needed to get to the campus right away. The more wolf noses that we had searching the better. We wouldn’t miss a single bomb if that was the case. Devon and Rawlynne were also on their way, and would likely be here in minutes.

“Beech, can you stay here and hold onto him?” Reagan asked in a serious tone.

“Of course.” Our friend asked in a calm tone. “He isn’t a challenge for me.”

“GET OFF ME ASSHOLE!” The man fought against Beech again, but it was like the man hadn’t moved at all. It didn’t affect Beech in any way.

“Alright, that’s good. Ashle, stay here with your brother. If you see anyone, tell them to leave the campus immediately. And keep an eye out for the others when they get here.”

“Will do.” She nodded in agreement with Reagan’s words.

“The rest of us will split into groups and search for the bombs and start the evacuation. Rika, you and Lyssa team up, Alexa and Elias, Cypress and Levi, and I will go with Luka.”

“Got it.” Everyone nodded in agreement. “Cypress and Levi, you two start to evacuate the student buildings. Alexa and Elias, you let the staff know what is happening, get security involved. Tell them that the FBI is already on the way.”

“Understood.” The others spoke in unison.

“The rest of us, we are going to go to all the places listed on this device. Take a picture with your phones and get moving. We need to find all of these bombs and make sure that there is no one near them. Don’t touch them though, that is for the bomb squad. Just evacuate the areas around them.”

“Will do.” Rika and Lyssa said as they nodded.

This was it. We were about to head out and do our best to save these people. And of course, I was scared shitless. That didn’t mean that I wouldn’t do it though. I was brave, despite my fear I would do what needed to be done.