As Kelton stepped outside into the cold night air, he moved to stand next to Patrick. He didn’t give a damn about their stupid rules. He would stand next to Patrick and show his allegiance to the goddamn world if he chose. He wasn’t a pack member so the rules didn’t apply to him anyway.
“Don’t interfere. No matter what he does.” Patrick muttered.
Kelton took that to mean that Carlos would more than likely fight dirty. “What about the rest of them?”
“If they intervene, feel free to pull them out of it. This is between him and me only, and they all know that.” Patrick glared at the ground for a moment. “I’m sorry about this, and thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. You’ve been a good friend.”
Kelton gave him a friendly shove. “You’re talking like this is goodbye. It’s not. You’ll go out there, kick his ass and do what you need to do. Then tomorrow will be just the same as always.”
Patrick glanced over at him out the corner of his eye. “Fancy going for a beer at Red?” Red was the local biker bar that they often met up in.
“Yep. I’ll be there for seven. You’d better not stand me up for some lame ass reason like you’re dead. That would not make me a happy vampire.”
Patrick laughed, which was the whole point. “It’s a date, fang-boy.”
The air suddenly got serious and Kelton took a step back as the shifters moved into a tight circle around the leader of the pack and the challenger. With all the bodies in front of him, Kelton could barely see what was happening. He glanced over to where Dixon and Verynai were stationed, but they shrugged in response. They weren’t actually supposed to see what happened with the fight anyway, so maybe it was for the best.
With a sudden angered roar, Kelton knew that it had all started. The sounds of fists hitting flesh and blood being spilled could be clearly heard. The crowd around the battling pair were eerily quiet. Kelton guessed that this was part of the whole no-taking-sides thing.
The fight seemed to go on forever. It was even more infuriating, seeing as Kelton didn’t know what was happening. He could only hear, guess and hope.
It wasn’t until a final roar went up from the crowd that signalled the end. Now he would know. Kelton strained his neck to try and identify the victor.
Abruptly, the pack fell to their knees with their heads bowed. It was a show of respect for the winner of the bloody battle, the leader of their pack.
Kelton felt a huge weight suddenly lift from his shoulders as he saw Patrick standing in the centre of the circle. He was badly beaten, bloody and bruised, but he was the last man standing. Carlos lay on the floor in a broken, lifeless heap.
The pack silently rose to its feet and clamoured to shake Patrick’s hand and clap him on the back, mindless of his injuries. They may have followed Carlos to the academy and backed him in his insane plan to get the boys back, but they knew that they had to show their undying loyalty to Patrick. He had just eliminated the opposition. After seeing the state of Carlos, it would have been a huge surprise if any of the other members present were stupid enough to challenge him themselves.
Their eyes met briefly and they shared a manly nod. He saw Patrick turn and speak harshly to some of the members who were standing to his right. They turned immediately to pick up Carlos’ dead body.
Patrick slowly moved through the throng of shifters to approach Kelton. “Guess we’re still on for that drink tomorrow.”
Kelton nodded grimly and shook his hand. “Do you need anything? Everyone came here on bikes.” He wasn’t sure how they were going to get the body home.
“It’s fine. I drove here. There’s plenty of room in the back of my truck.”
Kelton nodded again.
“Once again, my sincere apologies that this landed on your doorstep. I’ll send some of my guys up here tomorrow to sort out the damage.”
Kelton waved him off. “No need. We can sort that out, no problem. Think no more about it.”
“See you tomorrow then.” Patrick said with a stiff wave of his arm before he turned to limp over to his truck.
Kelton felt a hand on his arm as he watched the shifters moving out. It was Kayleigh. “Are you okay” He should have known that she wouldn’t have been able to stay away and wasn’t sure how much of the bloodshed she had witnessed.
“I’m fine. I’m glad Patrick is okay.” She shivered at the thought of the bloody state of Carlos’ corpse. “I think that you had better go and see Caleb and Rees. Someone needs to explain to them what has happened out here. I can guarantee that word will spread quickly and you want them to hear the right story.”
Kelton fell silent before leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. She was right. He had managed to keep them away from it, but they needed to hear from him what went down. The night was a long way from over for him. He knew that the other warriors would see that the shifters safely got off their land, so that was one less problem.
Walking through the elegantly decorated corridors, Kelton found the boys. Rees was looking pale and Caleb looked grim. They had witnessed what had happened through the first floor windows, but they didn’t yet know the full story. It was the first time that Kelton had seen the smile fall from Rees’ lips. He looked his age, a young and frightened boy.
Kelton was glad when it was over and done with. Finally, he could fall into bed. Kelton had been running high on adrenaline all night and was starting to feel the crash. After a night of fighting and problems, he was mentally and physically exhausted.
Sleep. If only his mind and body could wind down enough. That remained to be seen.
Chapter Eighteen
Trey knew that it was a really bad idea, but he couldn’t seem to get the girl out of his head.
When the shifters attacked the academy, they had been ready and waiting for them. Master Warrior Verynai had put some of the trainees in as back up in the entryway, probably thinking that the shifters wouldn’t stand a cat in hell’s chance of getting in, but they had, so it was lucky they were there. But, there was no way that any of them were going to let the shifters get the better of them, especially not on their own turf. There were plans in place for this kind of thing, something they had some training in, just in case. The Sons had plenty of enemies, and as the whole move had highlighted, their location couldn’t always remain a secret from the bad guys. They had every capable warrior and trainee on site ready and willing to defend.
Trey was part of the third wave. The first echelon took the shifters on outside and the second took on those that breached the entrance. The third wave was to make sure that no others slipped any further into the mansion.
However, the shifters had been pretty predictable and the third wave didn’t really see any action. They were well known for their brute force and knowing that, the other more experienced warriors were able to disarm and disable the shifters before any damage was done. Trey and the others were simply there to help keep the peace once the shifters had been overpowered.
That was how Trey had come to be standing next to a pretty little blonde girl. The scowl on her face didn’t detract from the beauty in any way, shape or form. It was clear that she was as pissed as the rest of them at being taken by a ‘fanger’.
She was ridiculously cute. Trey hadn’t been so much guarding her from doing any further damage to their property or their warriors as he was simply staring at her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Sure, some could say that he it was because he was starved of female companionship, being in a solely (almost!) male environment. But, that wasn’t it. This was something else altogether. It was like there was a physical or mental pull between them. And, now he couldn’t get her out of his head.
Not that she had seemed to feel the same way about him. The girl had sat slumped on the floor at his feet, snarling up at him with more curse words coming out of her mouth than he even knew existed. That amused him for some inane reason. He had never really known a girl that was as rough and tough as this one. G
rowing up in a family that was part of the elite social circuit, he was more accustomed to girls acting like proper little ladies, not tomboys. Even Ash, who was surrounded by male warrior’s day in, day out, didn’t speak in this way. It was refreshing in a humorous way.
“If you keep pointing that dagger at me like that, I’ll turn it on you and poke your fucking eye out.” She’d sneered at him. That just made Trey grin wider, which resulted in pissing her off even further. It was an unfortunate cycle, but Trey couldn’t help himself.
It was a strange night for them all. Trey and most of the other trainee’s had no idea what was going on between the Sons and the shifters. He was more interested in listening to the girls infuriated whispered ranting. She had fire. She had spunk. Trey loved it.
When the signal had come for them all to stand down and get back to their rooms, Trey had re-sheathed his dagger, but he didn’t immediately move from his spot. Surprisingly enough, neither had the girl. He had expected her to jump up and get as far away from him as possible, maybe bitch-slapping him on her way. But, she didn’t. Her posture relaxed slightly and her features softened.
“So, do you have a name? Or do you just respond to ‘idiot’?”
Trey raised his eyebrows at her as his eyes sparkled with humour. Even when she was being nice, she was still edgy and he couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face once again. “I’m Trey.”
“What kind of name is that?” she scoffed.
“Oh and I supposed that your name is so spectacular that you can mock mine, huh?” Trey laughed.
“I’m Starr.”
“Starr?”
“Yes, Starr.” She replied through gritted teeth.
Trey chuckled softly. “Starr? Really? What kind of name is that?”
Starr glared at him. “You wouldn’t understand, bloodsucker.”
“Whatever.”
There had been no more time for any more banter, friendly or otherwise, as Starr was called over to convene with her pack. Trey watched her as she walked away. Starr moved with an almost feline grace, confident in her own skin. Her long blonde hair fell in a river of waves down her back, bouncing softly as her long legs carried her away from him.
The warriors had directed most of the trainees back to their own rooms, now that the threat to the academy had lessened. The rest that had stayed had still been ready to attack and defend, but the mood in the air had changed considerably. Whatever was happening didn’t involve them and was clearly pack business. Following Kelton’s lead, the others had relaxed a touch. Trey had continued to watch Starr.
As he watched her interact with her pack, it was clear to see how different she was from his own kind. It was the way she held herself. She was one of them, one of the pack. She was their equal. She didn’t need anyone to protect her.
It didn’t matter what anyone said, or how modern the world was, among the Lamia it was the males who were the leaders. The council members were all male. It was the men who were the head of the family and the warriors protecting the race were male. That was part of the reason that it had caused such a stir when Aisline had received the mark of the warrior. It was done. It just wasn’t the sort of thing that a female of their race was ever supposed to do.
Not that Trey thought like that. He thought everyone deserved an equal chance in life. But, generally, that was just the way things were in his world. Trey thought Ash was seriously awesome for all she had done and been through and he was glad that she had stepped up and shown everyone that girls can kick ass with the best of them.
It was easy to see that Starr wouldn’t put up with any of that male chauvinist crap. Hell that would be a sight worth seeing. She would beat them down without a second thought.
When the warriors deemed it safe for the trainees to leave them and go back to their room, they still didn’t have much of a clue what was going on. Apparently for them the evening’s entertainment was over. Trey had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t over at all and that it was just the beginning. Instinct tried to wash over him and he didn’t want to leave Starr down there to fend for herself, but what could he do? It was her pack. It wasn’t his business.
He raced up the stairs and barrelled into the room that he shared with Jackson. His roomie wasn’t up there yet and Trey hadn’t seen him down with the trainees that had been drafted in to help the warriors.
Rushing over to the window, Trey had watched as the shifters milled about outside the mansion. It all seemed pretty normal until the crowd moved into a tight circle. The warriors moved back and two of the shifters stepped into the centre of the circle.
It was a brutal sight and one that Trey wouldn’t be able to forget in a hurry. And that was saying something seeing as Trey was at the academy, learning to fight and slay, but this was a whole other level of violence.
He kept flicking his eyes from the death match over to where Starr had been standing at the back of the group. She was standing as still as a statue like the rest of them, as if she were made of unfeeling stone. He had no idea how she knew, but when she turned her head and looked up, she looked directly at his window and held his gaze. The pain in her face was evident. Watching the battle hurt her.
Trey had wanted to race back downstairs and take her away from it all. He wanted to protect her from the mindless violence she had to witness.
But, he couldn’t.
He had never felt that way before. It was a natural instinct within him to want to protect, but that had always been a protection to his race as a whole. To protect his family, the civilians, the warriors, his brothers. This was the first time that he had the urge so strongly to protect a single person. A girl.
Trey remembered clearly when the man laid on the gravel and breathed out his last breath and Starr had turned to look at him once more. There was a sadness in her eyes that he could see even from that distance. That look had haunted him all night.
As the pack had turned to leave, she raised a hand to him. That was all. A simple wave. Trey nodded but couldn’t smile at her. He raised his own hand in return and watch as she left on the back of some dudes bike.
Starr.
Trey didn’t know what to make of her, but something had happened between the two of them. He couldn’t shake her out of his head. He had spent all night dreaming about her. She was the first thing he thought of when he woke.
Starr.
Chapter Nineteen
“She’s beautiful, man.” Trey said with a small, shy smile.
“Why don’t you try and find out more about her?” Ash encouraged. She had never seen Trey like this before. He looked so happy and it was great to see. If anyone deserved something good in his life, it was Trey.
“I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“I wouldn’t know why you would even want to bother.” Denver piped up as he plonked himself down on the bench next to them.
Ash glared over in his direction. She managed to refrain from saying anything. She still greatly disliked him with every fibre of her being, but she wasn’t going to waste her breath or energy on him anymore. It was just unfortunate that she had regained some of his self-confidence and that he felt okay to approach her again, acting like nothing had happened between them.
There had been some rumours going around about what had happened to her, or the ‘why’ of it, anyway. Apparently, Denver wasn’t entirely to blame. That didn’t make her warm to him anymore, though. He had been an ass from the very moment she had walked into the academy and he had been an ass ever since. He just wasn’t the kind of guy that she would ever get along with. Denver didn’t have a likeable bone in his body, so it was irrelevant whether his role was a major part in her abduction or not. Ash just didn’t like him, full stop.
“What do you mean by that?” Trey asked.
“Just ignore him.” Jackson glared over at Denver.
“Well, why would you want to get involved with one of them? Dreaming of having a furry baby are we?” Denver whooped it up, Lewis laughing l
ike a hyena next to him.
“What?”
“Why would you even bother going around chasing one of those inbreeds? You know what they’re all like – Love thy neighbour and don’t worry if it’s your cousin or your sister.” Denver nearly choked laughing at his own joke.
The sparring room suddenly fell silent. Ash was watching Trey, but his gaze was fixed somewhere past Denver. She followed where his eyes were glued and she felt her jaw drop. The shit was really about to hit the fan.
“What. Did. You. Say?” Caleb growled viciously.
Denver turned around and alarm flitted across his features before that well-worn arrogance fell back into place. Lewis turned so pale he was almost green.
“Caleb.” Aisline stood up and touched his arm, trying to calm him but he didn’t even seem to notice her.
Denver laughed, cocky to the end. “Aw, that’s so sweet. You’ve got a girl sticking up for you? Is that how you do things at home? Send all the girls out to fight while you stay at home, chatting up your mother?”
Aisline stepped forward, “You’re pushing your luck big style, Denver. I’ve kicked your ass before and I can guarantee that I’ll do it again.” Her eyes glowered at him, furious. Denver at his most arrogant, poking fun out of people in his hateful manner, was one thing she couldn’t abhor.
Caleb moved slightly so that Ash was out of Denver’s eye line. This was his problem and he could sort it out on his own. He didn’t need anyone fighting his battles for him, especially not a girl. He knew from the very first time he’d set eyes on Denver and Lewis that he was going to have trouble with that pair. It was just a surprise it had taken so long for them to stir it.
If looks could kill, Denver would have been six feet under already. The other guys around them stood silently, watching and waiting. Even Ash took a reluctant step back. She glanced around to see who was going to stick up for Caleb if things got nasty, who was going to back him up, and was pleased to see that Trey, Jackson and Jase were standing close by. Obviously, it was clear to all of them that Caleb could easily handle himself in a physical fight and had proved as much during sparring. The shifter had a natural talent for violence. But, when cornered, Denver had the tendency to play dirty and she was glad that they had his back.
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