The Lost and the Chosen (The Lost Sentinel Book 1)

by Ivy Asher

  “Shit,” she mumbles quietly.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask, and my adrenaline rises in response to her sudden distress.

  She looks away from the newcomers and back to me. “Do you care if we leave?”

  I study her for a beat. It’s obvious she feels bad for asking. “No, that’s cool, are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll explain in the car.”

  Mave hesitantly swims towards the shore, and I follow. Her demeanor visibly changes, she’s hardening and fortifying, but I don’t know why. Every ounce of laughter and happiness that was just in her eyes has been shuttered away, replaced by a cold ferocity.

  My senses are on alert as we wade out of the water towards our things. I feel eyes on me, but I don’t look around for the source. Neither of us bothers to get dressed, as we start to pack everything up. I’m shoving my clothes in my bag when Mave’s head snaps up. I follow her gaze and spot Kaika, Macon, and Tru rounding a corner and walking towards us.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Mave harshly whispers.

  I look from her to her friends and then finally to the group of newcomers. A couple of guys from the new group hone in on the male shifters. Kaika and Tru slow, almost imperceptibly, as they register the new arrivals.

  “Tru,” a male voice shouts from the new group.

  “Here Tru, come here boy.”

  A burst of laughter follows the obvious insult. I look back at the newcomers, completely disgusted with the taunt. Mave mentioned that shifters aren’t always on good terms with casters. With the tension now radiating from Mave and her packmates, it’s clear I’m about to get a front row seat as to why.

  The group of new arrivals is big. There are eight guys and two girls, but only four guys in the group seem to be outwardly amused by the taunting of the shifters. The other guys are merely watching with various looks of boredom or disinterest on their faces.

  I pause at the set of gray-blue eyes that are trained on me. The eyes belong to a tall blond guy. His hair is short, and an unruly curl gives it a hot bed head look. The contrast of his dark eyebrows and tan skin against the lightness of his eyes and hair gives him a striking and drool-worthy visage. His stormy-blue gaze tracks me with shrewd intensity, and I match his stare for a minute before looking back towards the shifters.

  Macon, Kaika, and Tru almost reach us when a stocky guy grips Tru’s arm and yanks him toward the offensive group. I expect Kaika or Mave to react to the manhandling, but Kaika is staring at the ground and Mave is watching, but she’s not doing anything about it. Kaika and Macon stop in front of us, and Mave starts handing them the things we brought.

  Tru is forcefully guided over to the group of troublemakers. I only catch phrases here and there, but I hear something about a game and to tell them when. I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on when out of nowhere, a guy punches Tru in the stomach. He crumples over from the blow.

  The assholes laugh, and the kid that threw the punch looks toward the bored faces of the other six people he came with like he’s seeking their approval. I step away from Mave and calmly walk into the ring of assholes. I step in front of Tru to face off with the group of bullies.

  “Want to explain to me what you’re doing?” I ask evenly.

  “It’s a game, right Tru? As soon as he says when, we stop," the asshole to my left explains with a laugh.

  I’ve only known Tru for a handful of hours, but I’ve noticed that he hasn’t spoken a word the whole time. Maybe he’s the strong, silent type or maybe it’s something else, but it’s clear these assholes know that no matter what they do to him, he’s not going to tell them to stop.

  I turn to look at Tru, narrowing my eyes at the stocky asshat who still has his arm around Tru’s shoulders. He wisely drops it. I hand my keys to Tru, hoping he’ll take the hint and get Mave and the others in the Jeep. Tru’s eyes are filled with fire, but his body language is surprisingly submissive.

  It bothers the shit out of me to see that he’s tempering the fight in him with inaction. I turn around and start backing up into Tru’s body, forcing him to step out from the group in order to make room for me.

  “Sounds fun. I want to play, but I go first," I say sweetly.

  He snickers uncomfortably and looks around at his friends. When no one steps in to tell him this is a bad idea, he agrees with a shrug and a smirk. I step up to him and give him the most demure smile I can muster.

  I call on the runes on my arm, wanting a little extra kick in my punch, and I hit the guy hard on the side. I feel the distinct crunch of broken ribs, and he crumbles in on himself, immediately screaming in pain. I step back to give him room to writhe and look at the other three assholes in challenge.

  The stocky one looks furious. “What the fuck did you do?” he rages at me, trying to get in my face. I grab him by the neck, lift him off the ground, and then slam his body down flat into the sand. I use enough force to knock the wind out of him but not enough to break anything. I lean over the asshole while he gasps for air and I wait until his eyes focus on me.

  “Tell me when," I mock.

  I stand up and silently dare anyone else to play. When no one else approaches me, I look each and every one of them in the eyes. Not just the bullies, but the rest of the group who just stood by and watched. I shake my head in disgust at them. I look at the two guys on the ground then back up at their group.

  “This bullshit stops now. Don’t touch any of the shifters again.”

  I look over to find the guy with the overcast blue eyes and stare at him until he gives me the slightest of nods. I take that as agreement and walk away, snatching my bag from where I dropped it and head toward where the Jeep is parked.

  Mave and her friends are grouped by the beach entrance instead of in the car where they should be. I approach them, and Tru hands me back my keys. We all climb into the Jeep, and I drive towards where I picked them up. I give them and myself about ten minutes to process things before I break the silence.

  “Anyone care to fill me in?” I pose to no one in particular.

  It’s silent for a minute longer before Mave speaks.

  “We’ve had trouble with that group before," she offers vaguely.

  I patiently wait for her to elaborate.

  “They know our pack is easy prey because we won’t fight back.”

  I look at her with confusion.

  “Our alpha works with the caster’s Elders Council. Two of the guys in that group are the sons of elders. If we fight back, we could jeopardize our alpha’s working relationship with the council, which would be really bad for the pack. We’ve been ordered not to engage any of them for any reason.”

  I nod my head absently. “Is that whole group a coven?” I ask, trying to piece things together.

  “No, only four of them are a registered coven. The extra guys seem to think they’re going to be brought into the fold, and the girls are probably auditioning for a place too," Mave informs me. “The actual coven never lifts a finger towards us, but they also don’t stop their cronies from doing anything either," she adds. “Now your turn."

  “My turn to what?”

  “Explain what in the name of terminator happened back there?”

  I chuckle at the wide-eyed, excited look on her face. “I used to fight for a living. It’s what I did before I found out I was a caster and my uncle found me and brought me here.”

  “Thank you, Vin. It means more than I can say that you stood up for us. Tru doesn’t talk unless it’s in the pack link, but he says thank you, too.” Mave is quiet for a minute, and then she suddenly starts giggling. “Holy shit. I had to stop myself from laughing when you picked Harris up by the neck. It was beautiful," Mave tells me, and she closes her eyes like she’s happily reminiscing.

  A grumbling laugh starts in the back seat, and we both look back to discover it’s grumpy Kaika laughing his ass off. Mave and I look at each other, completely stunned, before breaking down and joining him in fits of hysterical laughter.

&nb
sp; 27

  I make it up to my room without running into anyone, which surprises me. I shower and change into some cotton shorts and a loose, slouchy top that likes to slide off my shoulder. My right hand is sore, and my knuckles are bruised from the punch I threw. I dry my hair with magic and head down in search of a healer.

  I spot Lila in the kitchen, and she tells me Evrin’s out, but Ryker and the boys are playing pool downstairs. She hands me an ice cream cone I thought she was making for herself and I give her a quick hug before I clomp down the stairs.

  I crack open the door to the billiards room, just as someone breaks and the grouping of balls scatter all over the felt tabletop. Five sets of eyes shoot over to me, and I smile at them self-consciously. Knox leans over to take a shot, and I take the opportunity to stare at his ass and the muscles in his back. I shake away my lusty thoughts and take a lick of my ice cream cone as I make my way over to where the other guys are sitting on a set of sofas.

  Valen grabs me and pulls me into his lap shoving his face into my hair and the crook of my neck. I laugh as he starts inhaling deep breaths and gives me a playful bite that sends a shiver down my spine. I love how assertive the twins are. They both exude this confidence and comfort with who they are, and they don’t hesitate to take what they want.

  Bastien takes my feet in his lap and grabs my hand that’s holding the ice cream cone so that he can steal a taste. These sneaky twins are always jacking my food, I grumble to myself and yank my cone away from him. He laughs and winks at me.

  “I thought you said you weren’t going to avoid us anymore,” Bastien asks, his playful smile turning a little sad.

  “I’m not," I reassure him, feeling confused by his question and reaction. I run the back of my hand along his jaw, and he leans into to the caress.

  “Where have you been all day then?”

  Ahhh, that’s what’s going on.

  “I went and hung out with Mave. I met her the other day, and she invited me out.”

  After explaining who Mave is and how we met, in exacting detail, my answer seems to appease him. Bastien twines his fingers with mine, rubbing his other hand over my shins, his smile happy and carefree again.

  “Where’d you and Mave go?” Sabin inquires, watching Bastien and Valen keenly.

  Sabin stands in the corner holding a cue stick, waiting for Knox to finish his shot. He gives me a gentle smile, and his dimples make an appearance. I give him a small smile back and then wince in pain when Bastien unknowingly squeezes my bruised knuckles.

  Sabin catches my pained look and rushes over. I hiss and try to pull my hand free which makes everyone else take notice. Bastien brings my hand closer to his face and narrows his gaze at me when he takes in the fucked up state of my knuckles.

  “Bruiser, what’s with the bruises?”

  I laugh at the Dr. Seuss sounding questions. “It’s not a big deal. I came down here to see if Ryker can work his magic, pun intended, before you two started distracting me," I chuckle again at my own joke, but apparently I’m the only one who sees the humor.

  “How’d that happen?” Knox asks me, a tick in his jaw.

  “We were hanging at this lake, and this other group showed up and started harassing Mave’s friends. I just pointed out some reasons why they shouldn’t do that," I finish, pointing to my bruised knuckles.

  Sabin runs a hand over his face. “Vinna, shifters are more than capable of defending themselves. You should know this after seeing what they can do at the fights. Don’t get involved in their feuds.”

  I stare at Sabin irritated and wish I could take the smile I gave him earlier, back. “Thank you for that useless opinion, but they can’t retaliate against this coven. Mave’s alpha doesn’t want them to do anything that could mess with his relationship with the Elders Council, so they have to just take what’s done to them. But seriously, even if that weren’t the case, I’m perfectly capable of judging for myself what I should and shouldn’t be involved in.”

  I pull myself free from Valen and Bastien’s laps and sit on the arm of the sofa on the opposite side of them. Bastien and Valen shoot a warning look at Sabin. A twinge of regret snakes through me, and I realize that I can’t punish the others every time Sabin pisses me off. I can’t withdraw from them just because I want to withdraw from him.

  “Wait, it was a coven that was starting shit, not other shifters?” Sabin asks confused.

  “It’s kind of complicated," I tell him “The dudes that are actually in the coven didn’t really do anything other than watch, but the group of casters that hang out with them started everything. I only got involved when they hit one of the shifters.”

  “But what does that have to do with the Elders Council?” Sabin asks me.

  “I guess two of the guys in the coven have dads that are elders.”

  Understanding dawns on all of the guy’s faces.

  “What did Enoch do when you fucked up the two guys?” Bastien asks.

  “Who’s Enoch?”

  “Tall, blonde hair, blue eyes," Sabin describes to me.

  “Yeah, that guy was interesting. He just watched me. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t try to stop anything. He just nodded at me when I told him they wouldn’t touch the shifters anymore, like some pretty boy Godfather.”

  Knox cracks up and walks over to press a kiss to the top of my head. He swipes my ice cream cone but I’m too focused on the other guys and the look they’re giving each other, to object. I’m about to ask them what’s going on when Ryker pushes my knees apart and steps in between my legs.

  He takes my bruised hand in his, and the heat of his magic banishes the pain away. He brings my knuckles to his lips and kisses them softly. Flutters fly low in my belly.

  “You know the way you do that, it’s not exactly a deterrent for getting injured," I explain, as I squeeze my thighs against the sides of Ryker’s legs.

  “Anything else need my attention?” he asks dropping his gaze to my lips.

  I put my hands on the backs of his denim-clad thighs and tilt my head back in invitation. A throat clears loudly in the room, unnecessarily reminding us that we’re not alone.

  “Captain Cockblock to the rescue," I chant.

  I scoot back on the arm of the sofa, away from Ryker. I give a mock salute to Sabin that morphs into the bird, and the other guys chuckle. Not to be deterred, Ryker drops his weight onto the sofa and snakes an arm around my waist. He sends a challenging look to Sabin and pulls me down between his legs. I lean into him and press my back against his chest. Sabin watches for a second more and then moves to the table for his shot.

  I can feel the hardness in Ryker’s jeans against my lower back, and I can’t lie, I like this reaction to me. I let out a deep breath and relax into him. One of his strong hands rests on my thigh, and he absently starts to run his fingertips over my skin. Goosebumps spring up all over my body. Ryker notices and breathily chuckles in my ear.

  “So tell me about your magic," I prompt the room in an effort to distract myself from how good Ryker feels against me.

  “Do you have an idea of what kind of magic you think you have?” Ryker asks with excitement in his voice.

  “I have no idea. The books describe how different magic is supposed to feel to a caster, but it’s confusing the fuck out of me. I must not understand it properly, because I feel a jumble of what the books describe and not just one specific thing.”

  They all nod their heads in understanding, which makes me feel a little better. The books make it sound so easy to figure out what your magic is, and I’ve been feeling like an idiot.

  “For most of us calling our magic and directing it is a visual thing. We picture what we want to accomplish, and we weave that intent with the magic itself and then send it out to do what we want. All the branches have limitations and possibilities, and you learn what they are over time,” Valen explains.

  “Spell magic, however, works very differently than the other branches,” Knox tells me. “I have to know about
the potential and the properties for anything in the world that could be used as an ingredient. I have to know how to combine those things to get what I want, and I shape the intent of the spell through words and processes, not visualization. Kind of like baking, you have to add things in a specific order to get the end result that you want. With Spell magic the words you speak into a spell matter, too.”

  “That sounds real fucking complicated,” I tell Knox, and he laughs.

  “Yeah I was a little freaked out when I found out I had Spell magic, but what can you do.”

  He shrugs, and I smile. I don’t know if I’ll be as laid back as he is if I have Spell magic.

  “So, Ryker heals, and Knox spells, what do you guys have?”

  “I have elemental magic,” Sabin tells me.

  Valen raises his hand slightly. “I have offensive magic.”

  “And I have defensive magic,” Bastien finishes with a wink.

  I rest my head back against Ryker’s shoulder and think about what Valen said about visualization and weaving that with magic in order to direct it. That’s kind of what I do with my runes, I suppose. I think about which weapon I want and the runes that create that weapon. Then I feed magic into those images, and the weapon I want pops into my hand. I smile feeling like I finally understand that part of things.

  Lila calls down to us for dinner, and everyone but Ryker and me rush out at the promise of food. I’m slow to get moving, due to the hypnotic state I’m in from Ryker playing with my hair while I’m lost in my thoughts. I head to the door, but when I pass the pool table Ryker tugs on my hips, stopping me and then he turns me around.

  He grabs on to my waist and lifts me to sit on the edge of the pool table. I squeak in surprise, and he chuckles. His eyes are filled with laughter, and his smile is devastatingly gorgeous. Ryker cups my face gently in both of his hands and leans into me. His lips are centimeters away, and I close my eyes and feel his breath against my lips.

  “Vinna, I’m dying to kiss you.”

  He runs the tip of his nose in a circle around the tip of mine but still doesn’t close the distance.