Royals

by S. Dalambakis

  “Morning angel.”

  She turns her head to the side and looks at me through the corner of her eyes. She gives me a smile. Her lips are right there, and all I want to do is kiss her.

  “You know I almost was going to elbow you. You’re lucky you said something,” she says with laughter in her voice.

  “Awe, Callie you wouldn’t really done that would you?”

  “Probably not because then I would have felt bad.”

  “Felt bad for what? And why are you still hugging her Max?” Graydon inquiries.

  “I said I was going to elbow him, but he was lucky he said something to me when he wrapped his arms around me.”

  “He would have deserved it, so don’t feel bad. Again, Max enough with the hugging.”

  Next thing I know Graydon is pulling me away from Callie. I frown. I like her being in my arms. She belongs there, she fits perfectly. She is made for me. I turn to look at Graydon. Is he jealous I was hugging her? I think he is. She is his mate too, so there is no reason for him to be, but she doesn’t know that yet. I wonder how she will take that news. I smirk. It’s going to be good. Since I can’t find that out yet, I’m going to rile up Callie.

  “You didn’t mind did you Callie?” I ask.

  She shuts her locker and turns to face us. “No, I didn’t. I like your hugs Max.” Callie turns to face Graydon fully. She narrows her eyes, and puts her hands on her hips. Now, I wait for the show. “Now, Graydon didn’t you just tell me not that long ago that we shouldn’t change how we are with each other? Did you change your mind? I like his hugs. I like yours too.” She looks over at me. “Would you have asked Graydon to stop hugging me, then forcefully remove him from me?”

  “No. I would have just whined until you gave me hug as well,” I reply with a shrug of my shoulders. It’s true. I’m not going to lie.

  Callie looks back to Graydon. “See. All you had to do was ask for a hug and I would have given you one.”

  Lucian and Zeke walk over.

  “What did he do know,” Zeke ask.

  They both look over to Graydon who has a sheepish look about his face.

  “I’m sorry Callie bear. I just… I just.” He trails off, looking down at the floor.

  “You just what?”

  “I just...was jealous and wanted a hug.” Callie smiles at him.

  “Oh, my grumpy teddybear,” she says before she launches herself at Graydon.

  He catches her around her waist. Her feet are off the ground and her arms are around his neck. She leans in and gives him a quick kiss to his cheek. His eyes whip up to meet hers. She just smiles at him. She moves her face so that they are cheek to cheek. I see her hug him tighter. She pulls back, and he sets her on her feet. Callie takes a step back.

  “We got to work on your morning skills,” she says with an impish smile. “Now, apologize for being rude.”

  Me, Zeke, and Lucian bust out laughing. Callyn is making Graydon apologize. This girl is the best.

  Graydon

  Is she being serious? I look at her face. Fuck she is. I narrow my eyes at her. She’s just standing there with a smile on her face.

  “What if I don’t want to apologize. It’s not like I hurt him.”

  “Apologize or no hugs for a week.”

  My eyes widen. “You wouldn’t.” I narrow my eyes.

  “I would.” She narrows her eyes right back at me.

  Of course, Larry, Curly, and Moe are laughing it up at my expense. Do I want to go to a week without her hugs? No. I sigh.

  “I’m only doing this because you asked, and I’m not going a week without any of your hugs.” I turn to Max. “I’m sorry,” I grumble. That sends them all into another laughing fit.

  “I think Graydon is going soft. Is the pretty girl making you have feelings?” Max says in a baby voice. I growl.

  “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Callie asks before she gives me another hug. The bell rings. Thank god.

  I’m sitting in English, thinking about what just happened in the hallway. Callie surprised me. I didn’t expect her to run at me. But that hug she gave me was awesome. I can’t believe she kissed me. When she looked at me smiling, I wanted to kiss the shit out of her. I wanted to feel her lips on mine so bad in that moment. It would have been perfect. Instead of just doing it, I did nothing. I wonder what she would have done?

  Would she have kissed me back? I want to believe she would have. One of these days I’m going to find out. Those thoughts carry me through my morning.

  We’re all sitting at our usual lunch table. Max is teasing Callie, when she reaches to grab something from him, but he moves it out of her reach. As she is stretching her arms out, her shirt sleeve rides up. She is too distracted by Max to notice, but I did. I saw the purple marks. I reach over the table and gently take ahold of her wrist. Callie stops, and puts her focus on me. I push her sleeve up more. Five purple spots encircle her forearm.

  I pull the sleeve down. “Give me your other arm.” She does. The guys quiet down. I know they are wondering what is going on.

  I gently take her wrist in my hand and with my other, push her sleeve up. Another set of five purple spots encircle this arm as well. I hear some colorful words from the guys. I pull her sleeve down before I let go. I watch as she pulls on both sleeves trying to tuck her hands in. She brings her arms close to her body, practically hugging her middle.

  “What happened Callie?” Lucian calmly asks.

  She won’t meet our eyes. “I got up to go to the bathroom. I was just leaving and when I opened the door, my father was there. I bumped into him. I lifted my arms, and he grabbed me. He was squeezing my arms and shaking me, as he was yelling at me for being in his way. He shoved me away from him.”

  “Jesus, is this why you didn’t hang out with us on Sunday?” Zeke asks.

  “Yeah. I didn’t want to chance anything.”

  I’m sitting here frowning. I’m so pissed. I get more so each time he leaves another mark on her skin. I feel can someone looking at me. I lift my eyes and meet Callyn’s. She gives me this look, asking if I’m mad at her.

  “I’m not angry at you Callie bear. All the rage I’m feeling right now, is directed solely at your father. The worthless piece of shit.”

  I see her nod her head. I get up and go to her side of the table. I help her stand and pull her in for a hug. My hand goes to the back of her head, threading my fingers in hair at the nape of her neck. My other arm around the top of her shoulders.

  “I promise, baby. I’m not mad at you.” Then I move my head until I can whisper in her ear. “I will find a way to help you. Once I do, I promise to make sure no one ever lays another hand on you like that again.”

  I knew as soon as I said them, it was true. I will do everything I possibly can to keep the promise I just made to Callyn.

  Zeke

  He left his fingerprint marks on her. It pisses me off. I heard what Graydon said, and I couldn’t agree more. I want to sink my teeth into her father’s throat and rip it out. I’m sick of him touching my mate, hurting her, leaving marks on her. The damn Elder Council, won’t let us do anything about it. It’s been a couple of months and they are still no closer to the answers. It sets me on edge. Being near her, smelling her scent, touching her is strengthening the bond. I can feel it. If I can the others can. I don’t know how this is affecting Callyn. She doesn’t know what we are.

  Forbidden from telling her until the Elders can get to the bottom of the mystery that surrounds Callyn. I force a growl back. It’s been hard keeping some of my animal instincts and urges at bay. The hardest being the urge to claim her. I want to mark her, so everyone knows that she’s mine…ours. I can feel my canines lengthen. I need to calm down. I don’t want to scare her. I take a couple of deep breaths. I start to calm down. My teeth shortening.

  Graydon walks back around the table to take his seat. Callyn clears her throat, shifting in her seat. I take another deep breath and scent her arousal. I bite my lip from groaning out
loud. What the scent of her does to me. Now, it’s me shifting uncomfortably in my seat.

  “So, homecoming is next week. Are we all still going to hang out on Saturday?”

  “Of course. What do you want to do?” I ask.

  “I don’t care, as long as we are all together.”

  “We can go to the diner town. Maybe see a movie?”

  “Oh yes, can we? I haven’t been to a movie theater in years.”

  “Anything for you, sweetheart.”

  The smile she gives me. I can never say enough about it. It makes me and my wolf happy that we made our mate happy. I almost feel like preening. My wolf wants to rub up against her skin. Get her scent all over him. I smile back. Callyn’s eyes drift over my shoulder, and that smile falls. I see her eyes narrow, but she quickly looks away. I look over my shoulder and see Kelsey. That she-bitch, is causing trouble. She should know better. We have tried to drop hints to her, thinking that she is smart enough to figure it out. I guess not. She knows that once a shifter finds their mate, they want to other. They will touch no other.

  It’s like she is purposely goading Callyn. Callyn isn’t a shifter, that we know of, and Kelsey thinks she is human. She knows Callyn doesn’t understand our ways. Kelsey is capitalizing on that. I look back to Callyn and she’s just playing with her food. I wish I could tell her she has nothing to worry about. If she was a shifter, she would already know. Callyn glances up and I can see her visibly stiffen. I can smell Kelsey approaching.

  “Hey Graydon,” Kelsey says as she runs her hand across her shoulders.

  He tenses. If Callie was a shifter, Kelsey wouldn’t even attempt to touch him. Any shifter female would attack another female for touching what is theirs. I can’t wait to tell Callyn. She thinks Kelsey just a pampered princess. The most popular girl in school, like this is a normal high school. It mostly is, and Kelsey is pampered, but mostly because she does come from a high-ranking family. Most males here would beg to get attention from her, and they do, but to her they are not good enough. There are some shifters who get together because of the power and prestige they gain from the pairing. Some are lucky to find their destined mate, but most aren’t.

  Before Callyn came into our lives, Kelsey was trying to land one of us. Max’s family is the best at agility, Graydon’s family is known for their strength, Lucian’s family has been on the council for years and are all highly intelligent, and mine is fighting. We excel at predetermining an opponent’s next move. We train shifters. Make them better.

  For the last two years Kelsey has been trying to get one of us to pair with her. Once I got…we got a whiff of Callyn, that was it. Stick a fork in us, we’re done. Callyn is everything I wished for in a mate and more. She is prefect for us. I can’t wait until I can shout it from the rooftops, that she is ours. I have to agree with my mom. Callyn was given to the four us to make up for the shitty life she has had, for the lack of love. We are going to give her all the love she can handle. Fourfold.

  Lucian

  I don’t know how Graydon can stand having Kelsey put her scent on him, let alone her hand. Graydon comes from a long line of strong bear shifters, known for their strength and determination. To not shove Kelsey’s hand off him and immediately go to Callyn to replace the scent, is amazing. That takes a lot of will power. I know it’s mostly because Callyn doesn’t know about us, what we are. It’s getting harder every day to keep it from her.

  I’ve been groomed my whole life, to one day take the spot on the Elder Council. The spot that my grandfather currently holds. The pursuit of knowledge has always been ingrained in my family. If anyone can find the answers, we need it’s the Council. But until they do, we are not to pursue Callyn in any official capacity. Which is going against our baser instincts, that of our animals. Graydon shifts enough that Kelsey’s hand falls away from him.

  “What do you want Kelsey?” he questions. She pulls out the chair next to him and sits down. She pushes her chest out a little and flips her long, blonde hair over her shoulder.

  “You know that the homecoming dance is coming up and I was wondering if you have an idea on who you were asking to the dance.”

  She puts her hand on his forearm, but Graydon moves his arms and crosses them over his chest. A nice subtle move. I know what you must be thinking, shifters having a homecoming dance, how human of you. While there are a few humans who attend this school, there are more shifters. Our homecoming dance is nothing like the human one. Well, it sort of is, but there is more too it. We invite neighboring shifter towns to see if anyone can find their destined mates, or to see about a mutual pairing. The humans have no clue what is really going on.

  New shifters come to town all the time, looking for their destined mates. We show up together, more for show, but if someone finds their mates or a better potential mate, they go to that person. Honestly, it would be better if we showed up separate, but we keep up appearances because there are a few human families in town.

  “I’m not going,” Graydon says.

  “What-what do you mean you’re not going? You have too,” Kelsey says affronted.

  “No, I don’t,” he says with a shrug. Kelsey quickly recovers her composure.

  “Well, I thought we could go together,” she says and places a hand on his thigh. Graydon is up and out of his seat the second her hand touches his thigh. Graydon is reaching his limit. He walks over to the other side of the table, pulls a chair, and places it as close to Callyn as he can, then sits down.

  “You got to be kidding me. She’s the reason you’re not going. Really?” He just lifts his shoulders.

  “We have plans.” Kelsey narrows her eyes at Callyn. She moves over a seat, sitting next to Zeke.

  “What about you Zeke? Who are you going with?”

  “I’m not going either.” She turns and looks at me.

  “Before you ask, I’m not going,” I say to head her off. I hear a snort and a slight chuckle. It was from Callyn. Kelsey hears it too.

  “What do you find so funny?”

  “Just the fact that you sound desperate and can’t take no for an answer.” The second that she says it, she slaps a hand over her mouth.

  Chapter 23

  Callyn

  The second those words come out of my mouth, I regret it. What in the world has gotten into me? I should have never said anything, but I couldn’t take seeing her paw all over Graydon. Then she set her sights on the others.

  They. Are. Mine.

  There go those thoughts again. They aren’t mine, but I have a hard time seeing her or any other girl touch them. I have this urge to rip out her throat and I have no idea why.

  “Well, you would know all about being desperate wouldn’t you. Vying for the affections of four guys. You little…” The rest of her words are cut off because one of the guys growls.

  When I say growls, I mean growls, like a dog.

  “If I were you I would watch then next thing you say about my ma-about her,” Graydon says venomously.

  He was going to say something else, but corrects himself. I look around to everyone quickly and it seems like only the guys knew what he was about say. Make a mental note to ask later. Kelsey is too busy glaring at me.

  “Can’t even stick up for yourself. Weakling.”

  She basically spat the last word at me before leaving. I look at the others, I could see their faces contorting with anger. She really got under their skin.

  “So…” I was beginning to say but got cut off by the bell. I wait until me, Zeke, and Graydon are walking to art class before I finish asking my question. “So, did any of you date Kelsey?” Not liking the idea one bit.

  “None, of us,” Zeke answers me. I relax. Relieved by the answer. I hate the idea of her hands on my guys. “Why, do you ask?”

  I shrug my shoulders trying to play it off. “No, reason. She just seems hell bent on hooking up with one of you. Figured she already dated someone and was trying to make one of you jealous, or get one of you back.” I was tryin
g to down play it, but I hated the idea of one of them touching her, being with her. I don’t understand the jealously I feel.

  “Nothing to worry about. We don’t want Kelsey.” Zeke puts an arm around my shoulder, then kisses my temple.

  I couldn’t help but lean into his side. I want to bury my nose in his neck and inhale his scent. He smells like pine and sandalwood. A scent I could roll around in. I want to nuzzle against his chest. I stop myself, barely. I love the feeling of being in his arms. I love being in all their arms. I sigh.

  “You okay Callie bear?”

  “Yeah. I am.”

  I go over to Graydon and put my arm around his waist. His arm goes around my shoulder. I love his scent too, freshly mowed grass and earth. I know that sounds weird, but he smells like outside. I want to nuzzle him too.

  “You guys smell good.” My face flaming. Oh god why can’t I shut up.

  “Oh, yeah? Well, we think you smell good too.” Graydon kisses the side of my forehead.

  There really is no better place to be.

  ∞∞∞

  “Oh, look if it isn’t the whore herself.”

  Kelsey. I guess what happened at lunch bothered her. Just ignore her, Callyn. I am walking by her, when she grabs my arm and shoves me up against the gym lockers. Until now she has never laid a hand on me. All she did was talk trash. But today must have really pissed her off. I went to move around her, but she puts her left arm across my chest holding me in place. Her right hand goes to my throat. The tips of her finger nails digging in.

  “You need to start backing off those boys. They are too good for you. One of them will be mine, do you understand? You need to leave them alone. You need to convince one of them to go to the homecoming dance with me.”

  “No.” Could you be more stupid Callyn. This chick has you by the throat and you’re telling her no. “I won’t help you. They clearly don’t want you, so stop. Now, you just look pathetic. Pining away for someone who doesn’t want you.” Well, the boys keep saying I need to stand up for myself. What better time, since I keep putting my foot in my mouth today.