Recessive Gifts Read online

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  Yuri was interested in how Zena viewed and thought about the world. She was full of wonder and could see all the flaws in human life. She saw the world differently and was intelligent in her unique way that some people might think that she was speaking utter nonsense. It made him want to introduce her to his world. He wanted to show her things her human mind wouldn’t even comprehend. He wanted her to go beyond the world and fill all the curiosity she had, to give her an adventure she could never even dream about.

  “That’s some interesting views you have on the world.” Yuri smiled at Zena. “I have to say, I have never met anyone who thought out of the box as you. Honestly, I can finally understand who you are a little better now.”

  Zena beamed at Yuri. She looked like she thought that Yuri would look at her like she was saying stuff that she had no understanding about. She assumed he would tell her what she already heard before. Yuri heartily listened to her and didn’t judge her. Her face showed that she saw him in a different light and wanted to see what they could both learn from each other.

  Yuri pulled away from Zena to finish cooking the food he was making and made Zena a plate. “Whenever you are ready to eat, there is a plate on the counter, along with some wine that would go well with it. I need to do something really quick in the other room, so make yourself at home.” He held onto Zena's hand again and kissed it before he left the room.

  Zena walked into the kitchen and examined the plate Yuri had made for her. The food looked like something from a chef TV show. She didn’t even know what to call the dish. The smell was like nothing she had ever smelt before. If she were asked what the ingredients were or to attempt to make it, she would fail miserably. With anticipation, Zena went to the open counter and sat on a barstool to eat.

  “Mmmmm,” Zena moaned, as she ate her food. It was like heaven in her mouth. Yuri was right; the wine did go well with the food, as it brought more flavor out. She eventually made her way to the sides. There was only one thing on the plate she was hesitant to eat, and that was the unknown vegetables. Zena was kind of picky about the type of vegetables she ate. Not wanting to be a rude guest, she forcefully took a bite.

  Yuri walked back into the room and saw Zena’s face as she took a bite of the vegetables that were on her plate. It was the same face that Liam makes, but with her, it looked adorable. He watched Zena push the plate away, as she still had the fork in her mouth, debating if she should continue to chew the food or spit it out. Yuri shook his head as he smiled.

  “Eat your veggies,” Yuri said playfully, as he walked over to Zena and pulled the fork out of her mouth. “Or you will not get dessert.” He stabbed the veggies with the fork and held it out so he could feed her.

  Zena scrunched her face in annoyance, as she swallowed her food by force. She didn’t need to tell him anything, as her face screamed that she wasn’t a child, and she had her fill. Yuri laughed from her reaction. He never laughed with anyone else other than Liam, and that was rare. He took a bite of the food that was on the fork, giving her a playful smirk.

  Zena grabbed her glass of wine and drank from it. She had nothing to say to respond to Yuri’s little fun as she became flustered from what was happening between them. It was cute. It was like they were a couple who just had a lovely comical moment.

  Yuri gazed passionately into Zena’s eyes, leaning to kiss her on the lips tenderly. Zena closed her eyes as she kissed him back. Before he started to lose control of himself, Yuri pulled back.

  “I noticed at the party that you were enjoying the music. Do you like to listen to classical music?” Yuri asked.

  “Yeah, I love to listen to it. It’s calming and relaxing.” Zena replied. “Whenever I need inspiration for creative things, something to give me energy, or just go off to my little world, I love to let myself go into the music and let it consume me.”

  “Come with me,” Yuri grabbed her hand and led her to a den. In the room was a black grand piano and a couple of instruments on the other side was a fireplace. In the middle, close by the piano and fireplace, was a sectional couch with a colorful throw blanket at the end of it. The walls had elegant paintings that complemented the room. “Make yourself comfortable.”

  Zena took upon Yuri's offer and got comfy. She laid on the lounge part of the couch and waited to see what Yuri was going to do next. Yuri grabbed a violin and started to play a soothing lullaby for her. He was trying to recreate what he had seen the night he first laid his eyes on her. Zena became consumed by the music as her eyes began to space out, as she let her wandering mind take her into her wonderland. Her eyes started to change colors as it slightly glowed. Without knowing it, she began to release a small amount of energy. Zena was zoned out for so long that she drifted off to sleep. Having a glass of wine and a full stomach didn’t help her fight off the powers of sleep. Her head bobbed back once, and she was out like a light.

  Yuri grabbed a throw blanket and, with care, put it over Zena. He rubbed his hand on her face before he kissed her. He knew he didn't imagine things on the night that he met her.

  Chapter 8

  Yuri sat in the living room with his laptop on his lap. The news played on the TV in the background to fill the silence in the room. On the coffee table was a hot cup of coffee, which he barely touched.

  As he glared at the screen of his laptop, all he could think about was Zena. He finally confirmed part of his intuition. Her eyes were slightly glowing when she released little magic. He pieced together the clues that indeed she had faint magic in her. It only was for a split second before she fell asleep to his lullaby, but he certainly saw her magic. He was more determined to find out what was dormant inside of her. Whatever it was, he knew she would need someone to guide her so she could awaken it. She will need protection from being discovered by the wrong people who would want to use or take whatever she has in her, but how could he do that without her knowing about it?

  After what she had told him, telling her the truth about what he and Liam are could make her think he was playing with her and her emotions. Even if he showed her his fangs and glowing eyes as a vampire, she would think it was cosplay, and he was going too far. No matter how many different situations he could think of, it seemed like it would end up being a failure and would push her way. Zena didn’t make things easy, even if it was right in front of her eyes. She was so stubborn not to believe the truth. At least she had a firm grasp on reality that if a god appeared in front of her and claimed that he or she was a god or goddess, she would roll her eyes, not believing them. She had the sense that no matter how much she wanted it, she knew that it would never be real. Zena already had her resolve that the supernatural wasn’t real, and trying to untie that knot would be a difficult task to do. It would take something substantial for her to be convinced.

  As Yuri stared at his laptop, his eyes slightly went wide as he read an intriguing email. He pushed his face closer to the screen as he read more in-depth, piecing together another piece to his research. Leaning back, Yuri got lost in his thought while he typed something on his laptop. Once he was done, he pressed send. His eyes beamed as he continued to piece more of the puzzle he was trying to solve about Zena.

  The front door creaked as Liam strolled into the house. Yuri lost his train of thought as he turned his head to look at Liam, a little surprised to see him back so soon.

  “You’re back earlier than I thought,” Yuri stated.

  “Aye, I came back as soon as I could when we found what we were looking for,” Liam had a playful smile on his face. “Also, I wanted to try to surprise a special lady.”

  “What did you find?” Yuri knew who Liam was talking about. He didn’t want to tell him at this moment that the special lady was sleeping on the couch in the music room.

  “Well, we finally discovered another one of Apep’s hideouts and found a lot of books and research on stuff that is forbidden. Also, we found some things we can’t make sense of. He’s been searching for humans who have recessive
genes; he called them the ones with the recessive gift. I don’t know what that means, but we’re looking into it. He called some of his gifts his treasure and used them as a food source and as sex slaves. We were able to save some people who were about to be sent off to the parallel world. When we freed them, we made sure we erased their memories. We also were able to cover up that they had been missing.”

  Yuri placed his laptop on the table. “More puzzle pieces about Zena and why people are trying to take her is piecing nearly together. I also found some stuff out about her and why he might want her. She must be one of these so-called recessive gifted ones. From what I saw last night, I was right about what I told you. There is something about her that she doesn’t even know herself.”

  “Last night?” Liam had a confused look on his face, as he walked in front of Yuri. “Wha’ you mean last night?”

  Yuri leaned back and had a grin on his face. “She came to my office yesterday to try to return the money I gave her.”

  Liam was stunned and confused, as he tried to piece everything together. When he finally did, his eyes went animated but not in a good way. As he looked at Yuri, he could tell that there was something off. Yuri seemed different, and his eyes didn’t look as cold as they used to. “What did you do?”

  “That’s none of your business really,” Yuri replied coldly, brushing Liam off. “Know that I worked things out with her, and she is no longer mad at me. We both came to an equal understanding.”

  Liam glared at Yuri as he became irritated with him. “That’s not like you to do something behind meh back and not tell me about it. Did you do something that you don’t want to tell meh? What did you do to her!?”

  Yuri stood up and scowled at Liam from his accusation. “If you assume I used my powers to manipulate her mind, I did not. But I do have a better understanding of her.” He exhaled as he calmed himself down. He began to speak with a sincere tone. “Liam, all you need to know right now is that we need to protect her. We need to find a way for her to find out about the paranormal world without our help. We need to gain her trust and make her want to stay with us. Most of all, we need to keep an eye on her and make sure no one ever harms her.”

  Liam could see a fondness and passion in Yuri’s eyes, as he could feel his genuine emotions rushing into him. He saw it; Yuri felt the same way that he felt about Zena. Yuri’s cold heart was melting. Liam didn't utter a word, knowing he was right about his assumptions. He gazed at Yuri adoringly, as he enjoyed seeing his heart finally melting.

  “Also-” Yuri inched closer to Liam. “I want to let you know that I cherish you, and I’m glad that you are at my side.” Yuri tenderly spoke, as he said something in Russian.

  Liam gawked at Yuri, as his mouth nearly dropped. Yuri was never open about his emotions. Liam cherished Yuri as well, and his feelings for him were intimately deep. He never told Yuri how much he meant to him because he knew Yuri hated people expressing their feelings to him. Yuri always wanted people at a distance. He hated showing and giving back affection when it’s presented to him. To see Yuri displaying emotions showed precisely where Liam stood in his heart, which meant something special to him.

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  Zena laid on the couch, not wanting to wake up. She had a good dream that felt real. She dreamed that she was having sex with Yuri, and then he had vampire fangs. He opened his mouth to feed on her as they were having hot sex. She dreamt that Yuri introduced her to a different world that was right under her nose, and he wanted her to join him. He wanted her to stay with him forever. Liam also appeared in the picture. He told her that he wasn’t human either but didn’t reveal what he was. All she knew was that Liam wasn’t human nor vampire. He confessed his love for her and wanted her to stay with him for all eternity. Suddenly, Yuri and Liam started to kiss each other passionately. They both pleasured each other, which Zena couldn't help to find it attractive and hot. In the blink of an eye, she was devoured by both men at the same time! They both called her in their Russian and Irish-Scottish dialect, ulaidh koroleva, as they continued to shower Zena with love and affection. It felt like they belonged to her, and she belonged to them.

  Irritated, Zena stared at the ceiling, as she heard Yuri talking to someone. In curiosity, Zena crept to the doorway to the living room. She knew she shouldn’t eavesdrop on Yuri, but she couldn’t help it. After the wet dream she had with Yuri telling her he was a vampire, she had to make sure she wasn’t still dreaming. She wondered if Yuri would do some vampire stuff. Cautiously, she peeked into the room to find Yuri and Liam having a heated chat.

  Liam had a teasing smirk on his face. “You are acting weird, Yuri. What happened to the cold Yuri I know and love? I do admit I like this side of you. I never knew you could be so gentle.”

  Yuri became irritated and annoyed by Liam’s teasing, looking like he was regretting what he said. “I will drain you dry if you keep your immature teasing act up, Liam.”

  Liam hooted in amusement. “Are you embarrassed? Why are you embarrassed? Come on, go ahead and open up and say you love meh. You love meh, don’t you?” He teased again.

  All the life in Yuri’s eyes disappeared, as he coldly scowled at Liam.

  Liam threw more fuel onto the fire. “Aye, there’s the Yuri I know. What, are you going to kick my ass now, eh? Come on, bring it. I’ve been itching for a brawl. Maybe I can beat the love out of ya’. Then you can finally have some real emotions and say you love meh.”

  The room went quiet as Liam and Yuri glared at each other, both becoming tensed like they were about to go at it. Zena’s heart raced, as she was confused about what was going on. Was Liam teasing Yuri to get under his skin? Sometimes guy friends like to do stuff like that, but it looked like Liam was taking it a little over the top. Did she want to get in between them? How will Liam react when he finds her at his best friend’s home? She was pretty sure that there was evidence that she had sex with Yuri and that he gave her a massive hickey on her neck, and it wasn’t on the side where Liam gave her his love mark either, which had almost faded away.

  Unexpectedly, Liam and Yuri clung together like magnets as they grabbed on each other’s shirts and began to make out. Zena heard the slurping of their tongues rubbing together. They stopped for a second as they gazed into each other’s eyes with affection, both caressed each other’s faces before they went at it again. Their arms moved around each other’s bodies, holding each other as tight as they could.

  Zena tried not to gasp, as she covered her mouth and ducked her head back into the din. Her heart wanted to jump out of her chest. What was happening was almost like in her dream. Was she still dreaming? If it was a dream, she wanted to wake up now. This was way too much for her to handle! So many feelings went through her as things weren’t endearing anymore.

  Were Liam and Yuri a couple? Or are they on the down-low? Did Liam get so drunk he threw himself at her and cheated on Yuri? Did Yuri have sex with her to get back at Liam? Are they using her as a play toy and was going to toss her aside when they had their fill? Zena could ask herself countless questions about what the fuck was going on, but all she knew was things were starting to get weird and flat out confusing. If this was a dream, it was becoming more like an emotional nightmare, and she wanted to wake up.

  Zena didn’t know if she should be angry, confront them, or act like she didn’t see anything. What would happen if she acted as if nothing had happened and got serious with one of them? She would know their dark secret, leaving her to have one as well. She didn’t like hiding things. Would either of them still want to speak with her if they find out she slept with them both?

  “Zena, you’ve gotten yourself into some fucked up shit,” she quietly stated to herself.

  Gradually, Zena tried to sneak back to the couch to pretend she was still asleep so she could find a way to act like she didn’t see what she saw. She could make an excuse and say she needed to leave. As she tried to come up with different scenarios where she could find a way to act calm about not see
ing their make-out session, Zena tripped over something and yipped.

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  Liam and Yuri pulled away from each other with a look that shouted, fuck. They wondered if she overheard them or saw them kissing. Either way, it didn’t look good. They knew that if she saw them kissing that she would be confused and probably overthink what was going on. Any logical person could see that things looked fucked up and twisted, almost like some Jerry Springer shit. All they could do now is see how things play out and see how she reacts.