eyes. She was just normal.
She couldn’t compete when it came to Tamara.
The hair on her arms stood on end, and tingles of electricity arched across her nerve endings. With supreme effort, she steered her angry thoughts away from things better left alone.
Laughing, Tamara cleared her throat. “So what’s the plan?”
* * * *
After they logged off, Selena pushed back from her desk with a sigh. She stared at the moon in all its glory and wondered if Malcolm preferred the view of the setting sun, or the moon like she did.
Her parents said they’d named her Selena because when they found her, it looked as if a moonbeam had shone down, highlighting her presence. She smiled at the memory.
“Mommy, how come I don’t look like you and papa?”
“Well sweetheart, that’s because we adopted you,” Selena’s mother, Theresa, whispered.
“What does that mean?” Selena asked. Her mother looked over at her father, and shrugged her shoulders. At three years old, Selena spoke fluently in Spanish and English, and talked more like an adult than a normal child.
Her father knelt in front of her and clasped her hands. His voice shook as he spoke. “One night, when your mother and I went on an evening stroll, we were so sad because we didn’t have any bambinas. Then we saw this beam of light leading us to this little bundle. And there we found you. Your mother and I were so surprised to see this baby with blonde, curly hair, and eyes like liquid silver. It was a miracle. We just picked you up and carried you home.” Jose wiped his eyes and motioned for his wife to continue.
“You’re a gift from God, and we thank him every day.”
Selena had known she wasn’t like normal children very early. Her first memory of being a baby was more like a fairy tale. When she’d told her parents, they hadn’t believed her and told her not to tell anyone else.
Giant men and beautiful women surrounded her. Everything seemed to shimmer in gold and silver hues, with lots of feelings of love and happiness. Her next memory encompassed an angry man, and the golden light was replaced by a cloying darkness.
* * * *
The air crackled as her body temperature rose. She inhaled in an attempt to control her breathing. Her eyes closed, while she focused inward on the here and now.
With an abrupt turn she walked out of her home office, stopping to turn on the sound system. Drowning Pool’s “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor” pumped outside at ear-splitting decibels.
She rolled her shoulders, unsnapped her jeans, and lifted her top off before stepping onto the back deck in her sports bra and boy shorts.
Her pulse thundered. The chorus was on the third repeat and she was more than ready.
She didn’t want to destroy any of her beautiful surroundings, and from past experiences, she knew if she didn’t wrest control of herself she’d do just that.
In the middle of her backyard she took a deep breath, lifted her arms up, and brought them back in front of her body. She bowed to an imaginary opponent and began the intricate steps to Tai Chi, which quickly flowed into the fluid steps of Krav Maga.
By the time her playlist flowed into Metallica, sweat covered her scantily clad body. Her steps slowed and her body felt more like her own.
No longer did the air crackle.
Her hybrid wolf-dog Katja barked, sounding more like a mournful howl.
Selena glanced at the sky, shocked to see the moon had shifted toward the horizon.
She dropped to her knees into the damp grass and bowed her head. A wet snout nudged her arm. “It’s okay, girl. I feel much better, but I stink.” Selena wrapped her arm around Katja’s head. They stayed that way a few minutes. Looking down at her sweat-covered body, Selena grimaced.
In unison they both stood. The large pool called to Selena. Not bothering to shower first, she dived into the cool water while Katja sat at the end.
Only able to swim one lap before her muscles began to protest, she turned to her