Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy by Tracey Lee Campbell

us - so strong it felt as if we were cocooned in a warm bubble. The wait before the creature moved on seemed endless.
    We stayed under the bush, Aric's shield emanating around us, for hours. My legs were numb but I ignored them as we listened to the sound of the rustling grow fainter as the search moved away from us. Gradually the bursts of light lit the forest less frequently, and I began to relax again. Aric stayed in his trance-like state, unmoving, until the sun began to rise. Finally, when the normal sounds of the forest returned, Aric took a deep breath and shuddered. His eyes focused on me for the first time in hours, and he brushed his fingers over my cheek.
    "They're gone. Are you okay?"
    I nodded, and shifted my numb feet from under my body. Pins and needles shot through my legs. The pain from my twisted ankle began to return.
    "You're bleeding," he said
    I felt the dried blood on my forehead. There was a crusty gash above my eyebrow.
    "I ran into a branch."
    "Here, let me."
    He placed his palm over the cut, and I felt the warm buzzing euphoria emanate from his hand. I touched my forehead - the cut was gone; only the crusty blood remained on my skin.
    "Where else are you hurt?"
    "We'd be here all day if you tried to heal everything - I'm covered in cuts and bruises, but I did sprain my ankle."
    He healed my ankle, and we crawled out from under the bush. The forest's silence was broken by an incredible screech overhead. I went to duck back under the bush, but Aric put out a hand to stop me.
    "They're military fighter planes. They'll be investigating the lights."
    A few minutes later the whirring of numerous helicopters could be heard overhead too. They were heading towards the valley.
    "Come on, we need to get out of here." Aric grabbed my hand, and pulled me along.
    "We should check on the animals. We can ride out of here."
    "They'll be long gone - and we haven't got time anyway."
    We pushed through the brush until we found the trail leading to Carson Creek.
    "What were those... creatures? Are they, like... real aliens?" I asked, my breath already labored by the fast pace he set.
    "They're called the Innaki. And yes, they're what you might term 'aliens'."
    I pulled him to a stop.
    "How do you know all this? How do you know them? What do they want with me?"
    Aric urged me forward. "We haven't got time to stop."
    I dug in my heels. "I'm not going another step until you tell me what's going on."
    He sighed and turned around. He looked exhausted and I felt a twinge of guilt for causing him more trouble.
    He put his hands on my shoulders.
    "I don't know how much you can handle knowing right now Luce. You've been through a lot."
    "Aric, I've just spent a night hiding under a bush from mind-reading monsters. Please don't treat me like a child. I think I deserve to know the truth. How do you know them?"
    He sighed and rubbed a tired hand across his forehead. He peered up at the sky and then looked straight into my eyes.
    "You're going to be... 'weirded-out'. Can you handle it?"
    "I'm already 'weirded-out'."
    His mouth twitched into a half smile, and he leaned his forehead on mine. He seemed to make a decision, and sighed resolutely.
    "Have you been wondering why I can do this mind-reading stuff?"
    "You said you were born knowing how to do it."
    "Yeah, I know - but did you wonder why I was born being able to do it?"
    "Well... kind of. I figured some people are born psychics, so mind-reading must be another weird 'talent' like that."
    He gave a slight shrug. "Hmm... Okay. Well, there's a reason I can do it. Ugh, maybe you'd better sit down to hear this."
    I shook my head and he sighed, exasperated.
    "Okay. How old do you think I am?"
    "Uncle Tom said you're twenty one."
    "I look about that. But I'm not." He swallowed hard. "I'm actually eight hundred and ninety seven years old."
    I took a step back, and laughed nervously. "Oh, come on. You are not!"
    His expression was serious; he didn't answer me. He really believed he was