Touched Read Online Free PDF Page B

more,” he replied.
    She smiled wanly. “Yes, I know. But I’m still human too. I have feelings.”
    “I’m sorry,” he said then.
    She looked at him gratefully.
    “I don’t want to hurt you. Not ever.”
    “I know,” Keira said softly.
    His heart felt more at ease then.
    “I found the letter, but haven’t read it yet. Not without you. Like it or not, we are in this together,” he said haltingly.
    “But you don’t like it? she replied.
    “I don’t understand it,” Cooper said, “I’m not used to it. And I don’t know who you really are or where we’re both headed.” 
     “Read me the letter,” Keira said, tautly. But she did not fly towards him as she usually did, just kept her distance as she spoke.
    That bothered him. How many times could he turn her away? he wondered. Perhaps she was realizing something about him, learning her role with him? He truly didn’t want it to be like this. He missed the connection, he liked being touched.
    Before he read the letter, Cooper went closer and reached his arms out for her. She looked at him tentatively, confused, like a deer caught off its trail.
    As he put his arms around her, she shivered. He pulled her closer, warming her, feeling the sweetness of her body. Then he buried his face in her perfumed hair.
    “Thank you Keira, thank you,” he murmured.
    She reached her face up to him to be kissed.
    He kissed her mouth lightly, electricity sparking all over him. He could not kiss her more deeply. This was all he could do. It was even too much now. They were too close again. He felt the danger.
    Without saying a word, Keira pulled away gently.
     “Read me the letter,” she repeated.
    Cooper lifted it and began to read.
    This letter has been waiting for you for hundreds of years, it started. It was destined that you would find it exactly at the moment you do. It is from your mother, who has never forgotten her love for you. And who has always known that her love would one day call you home.
    I know you have been raised in the Shadow Vampires, a tribe which knows nothing of love, which fears it, hates it and is dedicated to stomping it out - even the idea of love, the memory. But it your case, the call is too strong. Cooper, you were born hybrid – half Shadow Vampire and half  Torch Vampire. The Torchs are Vampires dedicated to love, to helping the human race. That is your other side, Cooper. It is what you have always sought.
     Our coven is hidden behind a hill, separated by three golden domes. Most who come close do not see these domes-- only dark, slimy rocks. To those who belong and can enter the coven, the domes appear and allow them to approach.
    Come home, Cooper. This is your home. You belong with us. Time is of the essence. When you receive this letter, the war will be on, the world will be in crisis. The shift of the planetary balance between good and evil will be at its peak. We will have the opportunity to wipe evil out of our midst forever. But there is not a moment to waste. Come home immediately. We welcome you.
    Cooper stared at her. She stared back. Could he take her with him? Would she be welcomed? Would the domes appear, letting them in?
    As if hearing his thoughts, she spoke in a deep voice, gruffer than usual, jostling him.
    “I’m not sure I want to go with you either, Cooper. Don’t think this isn’t painful for me.”
    He shuddered, hating the thought of losing her, worrying what would become of her now.
    “But, I must take you with me,” he suddenly said. “Whether you like it or not, it’s part of the Grand Design.”
    Keira desperately wanted to know who she was too, to find where her own powers came from, to figure out what her own mission was. But she also wanted to help Cooper. And she felt that somehow, wherever he led her, it would help her find out more about herself. After all, it was only since he’d come into her life that she had changed so inexplicably.
    She reached out and took his waiting hand, and knew she