“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Maybe, one day.” Cat turns to leave but Lucian calls out to her.
“Hey, Cat, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“Callie needs to learn the basics of self-defense. If you’re free tonight, do you think you could help us out?”
“Yeah, I can.” Cat holds out her hand to Callie. “Give me your phone, so I can put my number in there.” I pull my phone out of my hoodie pocket and hand it over to her. A few seconds later she is handing my phone back. “Text me the when and where. Peace out girl scout.” Cat turns and leaves.
“See ya later kitty Cat.” All you see is Cat put her hand in the air and flip Max her middle finger. He starts to laugh, and I tap him in the stomach.
“Hey, be nice. Besides you guys, she could possibly be my only other friend. Why did you ask her to help? I thought Zeke was doing my training tonight?”
“Well, you could have picked worse,” Graydon says.
“Cat is more your size. She knows how to fight, and she’s good. It might be easier and better for you to learn from another girl,” Lucian answers.
I shrug my shoulders. “She is the only person who came to help, Graydon. I was getting overwhelmed with the barrage of questions. She also didn’t ask me any herself. Cat just cleared a path and made the students back off and give me space. She doesn’t seem too bad to me. Lucian, that’s an excellent idea.”
“She’s not, but we need to get a move on before we miss lunch altogether.” My stomach picks that moment to rumble, just to make Graydon’s point.
I’ve been dreading this moment all day. The point in the day where I have to go to gym class. This is the only class that I have with Kelsey. I’ve seen her in the hallway. Her normal entourage size has doubled. I’ve been uncomfortable all day, and she’s just eating it up. If I do envy anything about Kelsey, it’s her self-confidence. Lord knows, it’s something I have to work on; especially if, I’m going to be queen.
Luckily, Kelsey is too busy entertaining her adoring fans to notice when I enter the locker room. The rest of gym passes in the same fashion. Oh, I had a couple of people come up and ask me questions, but it didn’t take Kelsey long to jump in and take over. More power to her. Of course, because it’s me, and I have the worst luck in the world, Kelsey stops me as I’m trying to leave the locker room. She reaches out and grabs my forearm.
“You had to know I never had any intention of keeping this quiet. It was a nice try though.”
I yank my arm out of her grip. “Having one vision,” I air quote vision, “doesn’t make you the prophetess.”
“Yes, it does. The Elder Council already has given me the title.”
I shake my head. “Title. That’s the only thing you care about. I guess time will tell whether you decide you use your new found ability for good or your own selfish gain.” I walk right past Kelsey with my head held high. As soon as I was far enough away, I sag against a nearby wall and let out the breath that I was holding.
One day she won’t affect me like this. The bell rings, shit, I’m late for class. I run as fast as I can. I don’t need a repeat of the last time I was late.
“Are you sure you sent Cat a text?”
“Yes Graydon. I can show you if you want,” I snap.
“She should be here by now.”
“I know that.” I stalk away and head to the locker where the boys had put my stuff. I rummage through my bag, trying to find my phone. Once I do, I check to see if I missed any messages from Cat. I haven’t, so I send her a quick message.
Me: Hey, checking to see if you were still coming to help out tonight?
I hear the faint sound of a phone beeping.
“If you turn around, I’m already here. I said I was going to help, and I am. Sorry I’m late.” Cat’s voice echoes in the room.
“Just checking.”
“Sure you were. So which is the impatient one?”
“Graydon.”
“Figures. It’s always the strong silent types. Let’s get this show on the road before Graydon's panties begin to twist again.”
An hour later, I’m lying on my back on the mat again. This training center is officially becoming my pain master with Cat and the boys driving the whip.
“Come on, you almost had that last move down. You just have to throw your hip into it more,” Cat says as she bounces from one foot to another.
“I can’t. I don’t think I can even get up. Muscles I didn’t even know I have hurt.”
“Callyn, get up now. Try one more time and I’ll give you a break.”
“Ugh, fine.” I’m only acquiescing so I can take a breather. I’m out of shape, breathing hard, sore, and sweaty. I am officially done with this. But, I get up and back into the stance formation Cat taught me. I do as she instructs and throw my hips more, and the move comes out perfectly. “Yes,” I shout as I jump and fist bump the air.
“See, I told you,” Cat says as I walk over and offer her a hand up. “Come on, let's go get water.”
The boys watched for the first half an hour, to make sure I was going to be okay, then went off to train themselves. “Thanks for helping me.”
“No problem. You’re actually pretty easy to train. You take directions well. I know I might be stepping over the line, because we just met today, but what was with all the fuss when we first started?”
I sigh, because I knew sooner or later she was going to ask. There was no hope of her missing the looks, and the hushed, angry whispers between me the guys. “I’m surprised you don’t already know. Kelsey has no qualms about blasting my life to anyone and everyone who will listen.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not like most people, and I like to form my own opinions about people and situations. Look, Kelsey and I aren’t friends. There’s no love lost between us. Kelsey is the last person I would listen to.”
“That’s good to hear. The guys were worried about how I would react about you coming at me swinging.” I clear my throat. “My father is in jail because he hit me. I’m getting better every day, but somethings are hard to break. They were worried that when you raised your fist, that I would have a flashback and freeze. So, they stuck around to gage my reaction and to intervene if necessary.”
“Fuck, girl. I heard the rumors, but that's what they just are, rumors. I don’t take much stock in them. I’m glad he’s in jail. Is there going to be a trial?”
“I’m crossing my fingers there isn’t. The police have my report and the pictures of what my back looked like. Plus, the boys went and talked to the police about how they found me, and what my father said to them.” I shrug my shoulders. “I think I would be having a worse time dealing if I didn’t have the boys and their families. Plus, the Donaldsons have been good to me as well.”
“I heard something about them fostering someone. I didn’t know it was you.”
“Yeah, I’m only there until my aunt arrives, which is in two days.”
“Hey, it could have been worse.” I look at her. How? “You could have had to stay with Kelsey.” I cringe. She bumps my shoulder. “Let’s finish this.”
I groan. “I’ll make you a promise. If you get through the rest of this, we’ll do something this weekend, and I’ll tell you my story.”
“Deal.”
We were just walking back out to the mat when the boys come over. I can’t help but openly appreciate just how good looking they are. Each of them have their sweaty hair slicked back. Their tank tops are plastered to their skin, clinging to every muscle. I moan out loud. Before I can appreciate the view anymore, water is being squirted in my face.
“Down girl. Focus.” I look over at Cat. Did she really just hose me down? She starts to laugh, and that’s when I see the water bottle in her hand. Then I start to laugh, because let's be honest, if she didn’t do that I would have stared at them for the rest of the night. Those boys pack a punch.
“Oh God, it’s already st
arting,” Max whines and that throws me and Cat into another round of laughter. It takes a moment before we can gather ourselves.
“Let’s show these boys what you can do,” Cat says.
We make our way to the mat and start running through the drills. This time feels different. My vision is sharper, my movements more fluid, and I’m not so out of breath. The moves are coming easier, and I can feel the power in my punches and jabs. There is even a few times I correctly guessed what Cat was going to do next. I blocked and countered those moves like a pro. I feel like a different person. That’s when I feel my necklace is warm against my chest.
“Wait,” I say. We both stop. I place my hand over my necklace.
“What’s wrong, Callie,” Graydon questions.
“It’s my necklace, and the fact that I feel different.” I turn and look at Cat. “Didn’t you notice?”
“I did, but I don’t have an answer for you.”
“I think I might,” Lucian states.
Lucian
Everyone is staring at me, waiting for my answer. I knew something was up because Callie shouldn’t be able to move and do what she was doing. I looked at the guys, and they were all focused on Callie, and I would bet they were running through the moves and what they would do in their heads. I was, and I’m the least proficient in fighting.
“I have to ask you guys a question.” I make it a point to look at Zeke, Max, and Graydon. “Since you guys are the best at fighting and agility, while you were watching Callie and Cat fight, were you thinking about what to do?” I look at each of them individually as I ask the next set of questions. “Zeke, were you thinking about what move Cat would make next and how to get out of it?”
“Yeah, I was.”
“Max, were you thinking about how to smoothly go from one move to the next?”
“Yeah.”
“Graydon, were you thinking about how much force you would need it stop and incapacitate your opponent?”
“Yeah.”
I nod my head. “Just as I thought.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do with Callie and her ability to move and fight like she has been doing it for years and not an hour?” Graydon says gruffly. Always impatient.
I look over at Callie then to Cat, hoping that Callie would understand my meaning in the look. Thankfully, she does.
“It’s okay Lucian. You can say what you need to in front Cat.” Callie gives me this look, one that says she wants to test Cat and see if she really is an ally. Good. It’s a smart strategy.
“Remember when Callyn first put the necklace on, it healed her back. She said the necklace got warm before a tingling sensation spread through her body.” Everyone nods. “Just now she said she felt the necklace getting warm. Each of you were thinking about what you excel in when you fight.”
“Is there a point here or are you just going to continue to recap,” Graydon growls. Before I can answer back, Callie walks over and lightly smacks his chest.
“Be nice.” She turns and looks at me. “Continue.”
“As I was saying, I believe the necklace was aiding Callie. We know the necklace is supposed to help amplify our powers and abilities with the help of her, but what if it does the same for Callie. What if because you were thinking about how to use your abilities, we were unknowingly projecting your power towards Callyn, and the necklace sensed your magic and drew it in to help her?”
Callie is standing there open mouthed, as well as Cat. The guys are wide-eyed. They are clearly having a hard time processing this information.
“Do you think it’s possible?” Zeke questions.
“At this point, I think anything is possible. It’s also the only thing that makes sense right now.”
“Well, shit,” Cat exclaims.
“Couldn’t have said it any better, kitty Cat.”
“Okay, if that’s true, why didn’t the same thing happen when we first started?” Callyn asks.
“My guess would be because they weren’t actually thinking about it then. Our main priority earlier was to make sure you were going to be comfortable. There is going to be a learning curve when it comes to this. None of us are sure of the full potential this could reach. But, I would like to test this out the next time we are here.”
“When is that?” Callyn questions.
“Friday.”
“We might have to change that. My aunt is supposed to be here Friday, and you guys promised to help move her in.”
“Let’s just change it to Thursday. I can tell my dad, and he’ll make sure the training center is available.”
“Sounds good.” The guys and Callie help me lock up the gym before we leave.
“Let’s get you home, Callie bear.”
Tonight’s training definitely didn’t turn out how I thought it was. I’m excited to see if my theory is right. I wonder if this will help me be a better fighter. Also, we need to see if there is a way for this to work when they aren’t focused on Callie. It would be more beneficial to everyone if this works with just being in the same vicinity. There has to be a way, and I’m going to find it.
Graydon
We drop Callie off and head to my house. We’re sitting in the truck, no one making a move to get out. I’m thinking about what Lucian said, and I think that he is right. We knew some magic was held in the necklace; after all, it did heal Callyn’s back right before our eyes. What I don't like is that Callie let Cat hear. I don’t know if we can trust her. Letting her train with Callie was a big gamble. I don’t trust people, because given the right circumstances, anyone can turn on you and use the knowledge they have against you. What was discussed should have only been between the five of us and maybe Lucian’s grandfather. He is the best chance we have at getting any sort of answers.
“You know you shouldn’t have said anything about this is in front of Cat. We don’t know if she’s trustworthy. I don’t think that it is a coincidence that she just randomly showed up in that hallway today.” My voice is laced with venom as I direct my statement to Lucian.
“I wasn’t originally going to say anything with Cat being there. I looked over at Callyn before I said anything, and she gave me the go ahead. Callie gave me this look that I translated as her testing Cat. Callie isn’t stupid. We’ll know soon enough if Cat goes back to anyone and blabs what she heard.”
“If she does say something, we’ll just throw that to the pile of crap we are already dealing with,” Zeke states.
“So, am I the only one who thought this was badass? I mean, it was weird at first, but now that I have had a chance to think about it, it’s pretty cool. We somehow channeled our power enough to give it Callie, and she seamlessly used it. The way she moved was unlike anything I’ve seen,” Max interjects.
Is he serious? I look over my shoulder to the back seat where Max sits, and sure enough, there is admiration on his face. He is in complete awe of what he’s seen. Now, is not the time for this. I slam my hand on the steering wheel.
“Seriously, Max,” I yell.
“What? I can admire what she did back there. It was fucking awesome. No seriously, our mate just did that. How could you not be impressed? How could you not be curious about the magic that was displayed?”
“I never said I wasn’t. I just don’t understand how you can be so calm about everything. We don’t know what the fall back will be from this. I hate that this being kept quiet rest in the hands of Catori Na’Estse.”
“Well, if anyone dislikes Kelsey more than Callyn, it would be her. I don’t think that we have anything to worry about,” Zeke says.
“I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”
I lean my head back on my headrest and groan. “What are we going to do if she does say something? We need a plan.” I look over at Lucian.
“I don’t have one, yet. I’ll think on it. I need to tell my grandfather about this, and maybe he can help come up with some kind of plan. Once I have something, I will text you,” he answers.
“Fine,” I g
rowl. I hate not knowing. One thing I hate is uncertainty. We get out of my car and go our separate ways.
I enter my house, and my dad takes one look at me and knows something is wrong.
“What happened?” he questions. I explain to him what happened at the gym and the conversation that proceeded. “Did anyone think to ask Callyn how she felt about this or what she felt when she was fighting?”
“No.”
“Hm, it looks like some of your problem could be solved if you just talk to her. I would bet you any money that she is just as freaked out about this as you are.” I go to protest that I’m not freaking out, but my father stops me. “Don’t lie about this, Graydon. This is different and not knowing what is going to happen or what is to come, has to be difficult. I wish I could give you some advice, but I can’t. The only thing I can say is take this one day at a time. Deal with one problem at a time and talk to Callie. She is a sweet and smart girl. You all need to be on the same page and work together, because that is the only way you all are going to come out of this alive.”
My father leaves me to stew in my own thoughts. I have to admit he’s right. I glance at my phone and realize it’s not too late to text, so I open our group message thread and send out a message.
Me: I talked to my dad, and he made a few good points.
Zeke: And…
Me: We have to be on the same page and to deal with one problem at a time.
Max: He’s not wrong.
Me: He also said we should have asked Callie what she felt when she was fighting.
Lucian: I didn’t think of that. Do you have her in this group message?
Me: Yeah, it’s all of us.
Zeke: I wonder why she isn’t responding?
Callie Bear: Because I was busy doing homework.
Lucian: Can you tell us if anything felt off when you were fighting?
Callie Bear: I didn’t really pay attention. I will next time.
Zeke: Sounds good.
Callie Bear: I wish I could keep talking but I really need to finish this. Night guys.
Queen's Guard (Shifter Royalty Trilogy Book 2) Page 5
