Graydon
This whole night has been one big clusterfuck. I’m pissed that I didn’t notice that Callie was gone sooner. If I had, maybe none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have been trapped in a burning building, dying. The one good thing that came out of this is Callie shifting. Man, was that a sight to see. Now, we are all impatiently waiting for her to explain what the hell happened. Well, maybe I’m the only one impatiently waiting. Waiting is high on the list of things that I don’t like.
“We don’t have all night, Callie.”
“Fine, you don’t have to be rude.”
I snort. Does she not know me? Rude is my middle name. If she wanted coddling she should go to Zeke for that.
“Just tell us the main points. What happened after you left to go to the restroom?” Lucian questions.
“I was in line waiting my turn.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. Girls take for-ev-er. Y’all have pack mentality. It’s like you can’t go anywhere alone.”
“Not the point, Max,” I growl.
“Anyway, as I was waiting, Kelsey saw me. She told me that she had a vision and that it involved one of you guys.”
Of course, I should have known she was a part of this.
“Did you ask which one of us?”
“Yeah, Zeke,” she says as she meets his eyes. “I told her I wasn’t going anywhere with her. I told her to just tell me in the hallway, but she said there were too many people around.”
“Like she would care who was around,” Cat states.
“I said the same thing. But the only reason I went was because she said she wouldn’t tell me how to save Zeke unless I met her in the barn. I had to go. I would do anything for you guys.” She looks at each of us. I can see the tears welling in her eyes.
Now, it all makes sense. Kelsey lured Callie into a trap by using the one thing that she cares about, us. We all know Kelsey is manipulative and has a couple of screws loose, but this is something else.
“Go on,” Lucian prompts.
“I met her out in the barn like she asked. Once I was there, I realized pretty quickly that she lied. I tried to leave, but she hit me in the head.” A round of growls erupted in the room. “She said something to me, but I can’t remember what it was, and then she hit me in the head again.”
I’m up and out of my seat before I have time to think about what I’m doing. I shift in the middle of Callyn’s living room, taking out a lamp and the coffee table in the process. I let out a roar so loud the windows rattle. I hear footsteps pounding down the stairs. Callie’s aunt comes barreling into the room.
“What is going on in...” she trails off once she sees me.
“Oh, you know, just chilling with a big ass bear,” Max teases.
“Is that Graydon?” she questions.
“Yeah, sorry about your stuff,” Zeke says.
“I’ve never seen a bear that big before.” There is a look of awe on her face. “What happened to cause this reaction in him, and can someone calm him down before he decides to move and completely destroys the house?”
“I’ll calm him down,” Callie says. “It’s because of me that he is this way anyway.”
“No, it’s Kelsey’s fault. Don’t you take the blame for her actions. We all would have done the same if that was you she was talking about,” Zeke responds sharply.
“Okay, once you calm him down, you are going to explain what happened tonight,” her aunt states. Callie just nods her head.
She slowly approaches me. “I’m fine Graydon.” She walks right up to me, no hesitation, and wraps her arms around me the best she can. “Take a couple of deep breaths. Fill your lungs and nose with my scent. I’m fine, I promise.”
The sound of her voice, the feel of her against my bear, her hands in my fur, and her scent surrounding me takes the edge off. I shift back and wrap my arms around her, pulling her as close to my body as I can. I drop my face to her neck. Pressing my nose against the pulse point on her neck, I inhale her scent a couple more times before I’m truly calm.
“Callie bear,” I whisper.
“Oh, my grumpy bear,” she says as she hugs me tighter.
I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. I love this girl so goddamn much.
Zeke
I don’t think I have ever seen Graydon lose control of his bear before. I can’t blame him. I’m barely holding onto my skin, and Callie still hasn’t finished the rest of what happened. I’ve never seen Graydon calm down this fast either. Callie is good for him. All it took was for a five foot nothing girl to worm her way into his heart and break that tough exterior he wears as armor. He still does when he deals with anyone but us. I take a couple of deep breaths, and I start to calm down. I expect another blow up before she’s done. Graydon sits back down but pulls Callie onto his lap. He adjust her so she sits across his legs, her side against his chest, his arms around her waist, and his face in the crook of her neck. This might be the only way he won’t shift again. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt Callie.
“Okay, fill me in,” her aunt says. Callie repeats what she has told us so far. “Do I even want to know the rest?”
“Probably not, but I have to finish telling the rest of them the story, so you might as well stick around.” I watch as Callie sinks further into Graydon’s embrace, and I wish that it was me. I’m not jealous, I just want to touch and comfort her too.
“Please finish, Callie,” Lucian says. She sighs.
“After she hit me for the second time, I blacked out. I don’t know for how long. But when I came too, I was surrounded by fire. I tried to get out the door, but it was too hot to touch.”
“Why didn’t you text or call one of us?” Lucian questions.
“When I agreed to meet her, she said I had to come alone, or she wouldn’t tell me anything. I couldn’t risk your life knowing that I could have done something to stop it. So, I didn’t message you then. After I woke up in the barn, I remembered my phone, but I couldn’t find it. It wasn’t in my pockets and nowhere on the ground where I was lying.”
Kelsey made sure she had no way of getting help in time. Of all the evil and vile things she could do. I shake my head.
Callie continues, “I covered my hands with my hoodie and started yelling, screaming, and banging on the door, hoping that someone would hear me. I was starting to give up. My whole body hurt. It felt like I was dying, and all I could think about was you guys. I was hoping that you knew how much I loved you in case I never saw you again.”
When I looked at Callie, I can see the tears running down her face. This must be so horrible to have to relive again, when it literally just happened.
“Then out of nowhere it felt like my world exploded. I looked down at my arms and there was wings and feathers. I had used all the force I could and broke through the ceiling. I only got out because I shifted, and the roof was moments from collapsing.”
I couldn’t take it. I can’t go another moment without her in my arms. Without any words I go over to where Graydon is sitting and scoop Callyn right off his lap. I go back to my seat and sit her on my lap just like Graydon did. I even bury my nose in her neck. I inhale her scent and listen to the steady beat of her heart.
“Do you know how much I love you, sweetheart? I could have lost you tonight. I think it was at that point when I felt your panic and pain. It was then, that at least for me, I knew you were in trouble.” Agreements were heard from the others.
There would have been no point in living if she were gone. I would have moved heaven and hell to get revenge on who did this, first. I would have lived the rest of my life a shell of the person I am.
“I love you all so much.”
“We love you too, sweetheart.”
Forever and always.
Callyn
“So, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that we should expect a knock on the door from the police.” My aunt says breaking my attention from my cuddle session with Zeke. Before I can answer, Lucian does.
“I called my grandfather on our way here. He said he was going to try to stall them for as long as possible. He has to do damage control. There were humans at this party and some of them were bound to see what happened.”
“Something needs to be done about Kelsey. She can’t continue doing this to people. What if she succeeded? There would have been no witnesses, unless she was stupid enough to tell her friends,” Cat interjects. “Tell me you are going to tell the police or hell the Elder Council about this?”
“I don’t think I have a choice. Like Lucian said there were way too many witnesses. I doubt that the Council could get to all of them before the police could. I also doubt that half of the Council cares enough to try and help me anyways.”
“There are shifters on the police force. They usually try to get assigned any case that deals with shifters, so they can bring the issue to the attention of the Elder Council. I don’t think the Council has a choice. Shifters aren’t known to humans because they would probably fear us. The Council is going to want to keep this quiet,” Lucian states.
“How are they going to make the humans forget what they saw? All they have to do is question everyone, and in this day and age, everyone has a cell phone. How many people do you think videoed what they saw? I don’t see a good way out of this.”
“Hopefully, this is one of those times the Council will step in. I don’t have an answer for you on the rest. This doesn’t look good,” Zeke says.
“I may actually have an answer for you,” Callie’s aunt interjects. We all look to her. “You know that witches and warlocks are real. I told you that a witch put a spell on you to hide what you are. A witch can cast a spell and make people forget.”
“There are no witches in Camden Falls,” Lucian states.
“It’s not out of the realm of possibilities. My guess would be the Elder Council does know at least one, otherwise how do they take care of all the issues that crop up. The Elder Council also wouldn’t tell anyone about it either. They would be crazy to do so. If the goal is to try and keep shifters unknown, they would do the same for any supernatural being.”
All of us are staring at my aunt opened mouthed. It makes sense though, but where do we go from here with this new information?
“Worry about that later. Right now, we need to focus on Kelsey, and if or when, the police come knocking on that door,” Graydon growls.
“I know. You’re right. I’m just afraid that nothing will be done. I don’t know what to do. I have no proof that she did any of that to me, unless by some miracle someone saw her enter or leave the barn right around the time of the fire.”
It’s going to boil down to my word against hers, and I don’t know if I could win that argument.
“Wait.” Lucian's sudden outburst startles me. “Do you think she kept your phone? She had to have taken it. It makes the most logical sense, that way you had no way to escape, no way to call for help. She thinks you can’t shift, that you’re too human. What are the chances that she kept your phone? Do you think she stuck around to watch her plan unfold?”
“Do I think she is sick enough to stick around and watch? Yes. But, I don’t think she did. When...when that stuff went down with my mate, she didn’t. If she did, there was a chance that she could have saved him. Kelsey is too selfish to care about anyone but herself,” Cat spat. I get up and walk over to Cat and grab her hand. I give it a light squeeze, just enough that she knows that I’m here if she needs me.
“Does anyone remember seeing her in the crowd?” I question. There was a round of no’s from everyone.
I sigh. Well, this just keeps getting better.
If we are lucky, the police won’t come here tonight, but I don’t think my luck is that good. It wasn’t.
At almost midnight there was a knock on the door. We all knew the police were coming because Lucian’s grandfather gave us a heads up. I talked to the police in the kitchen with my aunt present. I gave them a run-down of what happened. The tricky part came in explaining why I didn’t go to the hospital, why I don't have burns on my hands, and why I fled the scene. If I didn’t know any better, I would say that they didn’t believe me, or that someone had gotten to them first. If it wasn’t for my necklace and the fact that I shifted, I would have had to go to the hospital. Both of those aspects helped heal me, just like what happened last time.
The web of lies I had to weave would have made grandmother goose proud. I told them I had covered my hands with my hoodie which wasn’t a lie. There are scorch marks and a few holes to prove that. I told them I used my shirt to cover my nose and mouth, so I didn’t breathe in the smoke. Why I fled was a little tricky. I told them I was so relieved that I got out and in my panic and anxiety ridden state, I didn’t think much past getting away from the fire as much as possible.
I don’t think they believed a word I said. It almost seemed like they came with their minds made up. They told me that they will be investigating, but unless they find proof, or someone comes forward to back up my claim, there isn’t much more they can do. They can’t charge Kelsey without proof. I told them about my phone, and they said they will try to use the GPS to ping it’s last or current location. My only hope is that she kept my phone, and she will be caught red-handed with it.
I didn’t fare any better with the Elder Council. They basically said the same thing that the police did, without proof there is nothing they could do. I call bullshit. I think they can; they just don’t want to. Money talks and the Taylors have plenty of that.