Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6

by Abigail Grant

  Gavin watches me as if trying to discern whether I'm serious or not. I hold my ground, sure of myself. His expression becomes unreadable, almost statuesque. "I'm supposed to be your trainer, so how will we do that if you plan to stay away from me?"

  I shrug. "I'll call Alexa. She put her number in my phone, earlier. I'm sure she'd be happy to help me out. It might even be fun," I say, not making it sound too fun at all.

  Gavin steps back, looking angry now. I haven't seen that look on his face before. "Fine. I guess you should go then. Liam left, so Kassy is probably waiting up for you to come home." He turns and leaves without another word, likely to find a place to hide for the night while he guards my best friend.

  I want so badly to call out to him and tell him I’m an idiot. But I also want what's best for Kassy, and that is someone who will spend their time protecting her… without distractions.

  ***

  I know that Gavin is outside my door somewhere as I toss and turn in my bed. He is off keeping a lookout for things that go bump in the night. I feel terrible for basically dumping him, even though we weren't really a couple to begin with. Were we? I keep replaying his beautiful face in my mind and all I see is hurt and anger written across it.

  The morning sun peers at me through my window, and I finally decide to just get up and find anything to distract myself. Maybe a wickedly handsome vampire will take my mind off of a certain ruggedly handsome Seer. I put season two in the DVD player and plop myself on the couch in the front room. I watch the devious Klaus Mikaelson kick supernatural butt over and over again, until Kassy comes out and mutes the television.

  She looks me up and down, eyebrows raised as she observes my messy hair and pajamas with real concern. "The Originals? At seven in the morning, El? Time to fess up and tell me what you are trying to distract yourself from." She knows me way too well. "I thought you had a really good day yesterday. Are your nightmares coming back?"

  I shake my head, giving nothing away. "No, I just didn’t sleep well."

  She places her hands on her hips and glares at me. "All right, I believe that part of your explanation. Now what else is going on?" Oh, she is good.

  I throw my hands in the air, giving in to her penetrating eye squinting. "Fine! Gavin and I are over. I honestly don't really know if we ever started, but if we did, that's done."

  She clicks her tongue and walks into the attached kitchen without a word. She immediately starts making my favorite honey vanilla chamomile tea. After a minute, Kassy sits by me and hands over a warm cup of the sweet liquid. "Well, let me hear it. What did the jerk do? Do I need to beat him up or something?" she asks, totally serious.

  I slouch against the love seat I’ve inhabited. "Calm down, Rocky. We don't need to beat him up or call him names. He is actually a pretty perfect guy." I start to sip my tea, tasting the warm honey. "I guess it just wasn't meant to be."

  "Oh, El. I'm so sorry. I wish I would’ve been up when you got home last night. I could tell that you were really excited about him before your date. I've never seen you like that before."

  I wave away her apology. "It's actually all my fault. He works a lot I guess, and has a lot of responsibilities. I don't want to get in his way."

  Kassy pats my knee. "Well, it's not over then, El. Maybe someday his schedule will clear up and you guys can have another chance."

  Her statement gives me a sliver of hope, but it's hard to be overly optimistic, considering. "Yeah, maybe someday.” I don’t know how much I should say, so I change the subject. “Anyways, I really like his twin sister, Alexa. I think I’m going to call her and see if she wants to hang out.”

  “Sweet, we need more girlfriends!” She sighs and gets lost in her own thoughts for a moment.

  I nudge her arm with my elbow. "Are you thinking about your make out sesh with Liam last night?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

  Her pink lips drop open and she shouts at me. "How did you know that?" Her pale cheeks turn bright red.

  I laugh loudly at her bewildered expression. "I accidentally saw you guys when Gavin dropped me off. I had to hang back for a bit, so I wouldn’t interrupt. It was uh... actually more than a bit." I tease.

  "Oh my gosh, El! You should have just said something, or at least cleared your throat." She avoids my eyes and plays with a piece of her hair, a small curve lifts her mouth on one side.

  "I'm really glad you guys are happy together," I say, minus the teasing.

  Her small smile grows. "Me too and we really are. He is just so, so amazing; I think I can see us having a future already."

  My eyes widen. "Wow, that was incredibly fast. That must've been one heck of a kiss."

  She shoves my shoulder and I nearly spill my tea on the red loveseat."Get over it, El. When you ever decide to kiss a boy, you’ll understand."

  "What makes you think you know everything? I kissed Mason when we were dating… kind of." I cringe, all too aware of my huge lack of experience with boys.

  She leans into the plush cushion of the couch and flicks her long chocolate hair over the back. "Because you suck at lying and I can read you like an open book."

  "Oh, yeah. What am I thinking right now?" I challenge her with a glare.

  She closes her eyes and puts her fingers to her temple. "You’re thinking that you want to make your best friend some bacon because she is wonderful and funny. And then you want to do all of the dishes." She opens her eyes and slaps her hands together. "Oh, that’s so sweet, El. I'll go make some orange juice while you cook."

  She jumps from her seat and skips off into the kitchen with a grin plastered on her smug face. I can't help but smile at her antics and happiness. I shake my head, grateful that I have someone like her in my life to keep me entertained.

  Chapter 2

  Kassy ran off with Liam again after classes today, so while I sat on the brick edge of the school sign, I decided to get a jump on my training and give Alexa a call. I could tell how giddy she was on the phone when I asked her to be my trainer. And even more so by the fact that I am sitting in her car only forty minutes after we talked and she offered to pick me up.

  Alexa’s brand-new cherry red Audi isn’t as classic as Gavin’s car, but it is still way nicer than anything I could ever afford. The interior of the car practically sparkles just as much as the exterior. It’s amazing to me how much money their family has. My adoptive mom has enough money to enjoy life, but she has one little home in a decent neighborhood, and a twelve-year-old oldsmobile. I have some money that I saved up from my one part-time job as a Starbucks Barista in high school to live off of until I find a job here. If I ever have the time for that.

  Alexa turns down the wide dirt road that leads to her mother’s home, but splits off at a fork, toward the opposite direction. I turn to her in the ridiculously comfy passenger seat. “We’re not going to your house to train?” I ask, confused.

  She shakes her head. “Gavin put the most amazing gym behind his home when he built it. It will be the best place for you to train for sure.”

  I cringe at her words and want to bail out the passenger door. “Gavin’s house? I don’t know if that is such a good idea.”

  She just waves her free hand at me. “It will be fine, El. He’s out working, so he won’t even be there to bug us. No worries, sweetie.” She turns the wheel onto another road, this one paved, instead of dirt like all the rest. My eyes go wide when I see what sits at the end of the long driveway.

  The most beautiful yet rustic house I have ever seen comes into view. There are large rocks surrounding the home, framing its gardens that wrap around both sides. The roof has a high peak in between two lower ones with a large, rounded window under each peak. The top ridges of the home are probably three stories up from the ground, making the dark shingles reach up to the sky in a dramatic contrast. The majority of the home is made of a dark wood, causing it to almost blend in with the trees surrounding it. There are smooth gray rock pillars holding up the covered porch and matching the stone steps up
to the glass front door. A wooden deck lines the whole front of the home, curving around each of the three large windows on the main floor. The whole house looks like it just rose up from the ground.

  A part of the driveway leads to an attached underground garage, which opens when Alexa pushes a button on her visor. She parks inside, next to a large white SUV. “Here we are.” She chimes, hopping out of her seat.

  I follow her up a short flight of stairs at the back of the garage and through a door that opens into a large modern-looking kitchen. There are granite countertops and all stainless-steel appliances. Alexa opens the fridge and pulls out two bottles of water, handing one to me. I just stand amazed, watching her.

  She notices how still I am while I stare at her and lifts a hand to her cheek. “What? Is there something on my face?”

  I gesture all around us and scoff. “There is absolutely no way this is Gavin’s home!” I say, louder than I intend. My voice bounces off the high ceilings in an echo.

  She raises an eyebrow to me in question. “Why do you think that?”

  She continues leading me through a high archway into a huge living room with a fireplace that has an opening taller than my head. The furniture is all dark and very masculine with little feminine touches here and there, a few vases of flowers on the tables and cream-colored curtains that block our view of the outside world. There are beautiful paintings on the walls of waterfalls and mountain ranges, bringing the surrounding wooded area into the home.

  “I guess I just don’t understand how a twenty-year-old guy could create something this magnificent. Where did he even get the money for it at his age?” I ask, astonished at how cozy Gavin’s home is as I plop into a plush sofa.

  She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know how he came up with a lot of the design part of it, but as for the money, when our dad passed away, he left us each a large sum. Gavin wanted to put the money toward a home that he could take care of forever and have a family in some day.”

  I sink into the couch, praying for it to just swallow me whole. I feel like I pushed away the most perfect man in the universe. She watches my reaction. “He didn’t do it all himself though. I helped decorate. If not for me, it’d all be black and brown, like he wanted. That boy can sure make a place look super doom and gloom. You’d think he was a shut-in with how dark it is in here.”

  I smile at her, grateful that she is trying to cheer me up. “Well, if I had any idea of the perfect home, it would look a lot like this. It’s absolutely breathtaking.”

  Alexa smiles wide at me and shakes her head, causing her auburn curls to flop around wildly. She mumbles something under her breath that sounds like “that’s amazing” but instead of elaborating, she grabs my hand and lifts me from the couch. She tows me through wide double doors.

  “Where are we going?” I ask, wanting really badly to go back in and see the rest of the house.

  “I’m taking you to Gav’s gym. It’s in the backyard.”

  We exit onto a cobblestone pathway leading through a grassy lawn, to another building matching Gavin’s house. It has all of the same characteristics on the outside as the main house but is about half the size. Alexa has to stop and unlock the large door with her fingerprint on an electronic pad. My eyebrows raise at her, surprised at the level of security required for a gym.

  As soon as we step through the door though, I understand why the security system is so important. An entire wall of the large room is lined with an assortment of weapons. There’s everything from nunchucks to throwing stars and long samurai swords, but shockingly no guns.

  I turn to Alexa with weary eyes. “You didn’t bring me here to murder me, did you?” I ask, mostly kidding. Mostly.

  She laughs hysterically at me and slaps her thigh. “Of course not, El! These are very necessary for the line of work we’re in. You know, we’re basically demon hunters, so swords tend to come in handy from time to time.”

  I am taken aback by the truth of her words. I knew some of what they did, but seeing all of these weapons really puts it into perspective. I suddenly feel afraid of what I’m getting myself into by agreeing to this. “Right, I guess that makes sense. I just can’t see you guys as demon-killers.” Especially the sweet and adorable girl standing in front of me.

  I look Alexa up and down. “Sorry, Lex, but you don’t really look the type.”

  A devious grin spreads across her freckled face, and I instantly regret my words. She winks at me and then is gone. I try to follow her red hair blur to the weapons wall and in a second, I see a large, thin dagger fly by my face and imbed itself with a loud thunk into the wall behind me. I jump, and a small, frightened squeal escapes my lips.

  I hear laughter coming from behind me, and Alexa is standing there bent over, cackling her head off. “I’m sorry, but that was so worth it! I mean, the look on your face was priceless.” She barely spurts the words out, through her giggling fit.

  One of my hands flies to my chest and I finally start breathing again. “Goodness gracious, Lex! You almost stopped my heart!” I shake my head at her hysterics. “Okay, you are still adorable, but I will definitely try to stay on your good side from now on.”

  Her laughter slows, and she crosses the wood floor at a normal human pace this time, thank the heavens. “I’m sorry I scared you, but I think it’s necessary to show you what someone like us is capable of. You’ll be that fast, too, someday.”

  I absolutely cannot see a future where I can run as fast as her. Alexa places her hand on an expensive-looking treadmill and calls me over. I obey and stretch my legs before climbing on. She turns the machine up so that I am at a comfortable walking speed.

  "So, if you're really serious about training and learning to protect yourself, you need to put in a lot of exercise. You should be running for at least an hour every day, constantly pushing yourself further and I will help you do weight training afterwards." She kicks my pace up until I am speed walking. "After weights each day, I will teach you how to use weapons. We’ll practice only one at a time until you are a pro at one, then move onto the next."

  I nod my head at her, even though I'm seriously stressing out about how I'm going to fit this into my school schedule.

  She continues, turning my speed up again so that I am jogging. "After you’re exhausted from training, we will go into Gavin’s library and I’ll teach you about our kind, so that you can learn a bit about Seers."

  I mull over her training regimen in my mind. "All right, how long will this take every day? I have classes until after noon on weekdays, and I have Kassy, my best friend and roommate who doesn't know anything about any of this."

  "If we want to do it right, probably three hours a day.” I nod. “Have you thought about maybe telling Kassy who you really are? She is your best friend, and she cares about you, right?"

  I shrug, starting to sweat a little. "Is that allowed, though? Wouldn't I be breaking some Seer rule, or something?"

  She waves her hand in the air, erasing my outspoken doubt. "Sure, we have guidelines, but they aren't set rules. The leaders say we shouldn't tell humans our secrets, but they also know that we aren't hermits, and we have relationships with the rest of society, so sometimes you just have to be honest in order to keep a loved one." She turns up my speed on the treadmill again so that I am running now. "Really, our only actual rule is to not harm humans, considering our sole purpose is to keep them safe."

  "I guess I'll have to tell her, then. I don't know how else to train for hours everyday unless Kassy knows what’s going on." I push the words out in between short breaths.

  "Great! Now, as your trainer, I want you on a dead sprint for ten minutes and then you can run at an even pace until your time is up. After that, we do weights!" She rubs her hands together, enjoying herself too much. "You won't be able to stand tomorrow, it'll be hilarious!"

  "Woohoo." I say sarcastically, starting to wonder if I made a huge mistake picking her as my trainer.

  Chapter 3

  After t
wo and a half exhausting hours of exercise and failing miserably at wielding a longsword, Alexa calls it a day and postpones study time until tomorrow. She drops me off back at home with an apologetic grimace on her face. I wave goodbye and drag my body inside to sit, or rather fall, down on the loveseat. My legs are numb, and my arms feel as if they weigh a hundred pounds each. If this is going to be an everyday thing, I’ll seriously need to increase my protein and calorie intake.

  I wander around the pool house, waiting for Kassy to get home from her date with Liam, and nervous about the bomb I have to drop on her. I’m starting to psych myself out, but I know letting her in on my long-hidden secret is the best option if I want to keep her in my life. I just hope she doesn’t freak out too much or just think I’ve gone crazy.

  As I’m exiting the shower, I hear the front door shut, so I dress fast and rush to meet Kassy in the living room. She and Liam are sitting close together on the couch, looking very cozy and giggling at something. I smile, glad to see them so happy together, but feel just a tiny twinge of jealousy over how easy it is for them.

  I clear my throat, announcing myself before I end up witnessing something I’d rather not. Liam turns and flashes me his cute, boyish grin. “Hey there, El. Kass said you have been going up into the mountains a lot lately. You’re not going to become some hippy and stop shaving your armpits, are you?” Kassy elbows him gently.

  I give him a faux angry glare. “There’s nothing wrong with liking the outdoors, pretty-boy. By the way, you have more than enough armpit hair to go around, sasquatch,” I tease. He is surprisingly hairy for the cute lanky type, even if it is all blonde.

  Kassy stands and rolls her eyes. “You guys are seriously like brother and sister. I don’t want to have to live with all this bickering every day from now on. I really can’t pick sides.”