Callyn
After I messaged the boys last night, it got me thinking. I wasn’t pay attention to anything around me. I was just focused on Cat. But, I have an idea that I hope they are willing to try. The best part is we can do this in the hallway, and no one will be the wiser. The boys always come to my locker in the morning, and that is where I am waiting for them. It doesn’t take long before they appear.
“Angel, you are looking mighty fine today.” Max leans down and gives me a quick peck on the cheek.
The rest of them mumble their good mornings. It’s weird not having them pick me up in the mornings, but Mrs. Donaldson goes by the school every morning on her way to work. It just made sense to have her take me. The boys give me a ride home, and when I move back to my house, they’ll go back to picking me up in the mornings.
“Hey, guys. So, after I got off the phone with you, it made me wonder if I felt anything change around me at the training center.” I have their full attention now. “I wasn’t paying attention, so I didn’t notice anything. But, I have a little experiment we can do right now in the hallway.” At the mention of an experiment Lucian really perks up.
“Please, go on.”
“So, I want you guys to think about the same thing you were thinking when you were watching me fight. Focus all that energy on me.” I can tell the moment that they do. The energy around me shifts. It’s subtle, so subtle that if you aren’t looking for it you wouldn’t know that it happened. It was like a feather softly caressing my body. I let out a giggle. I can feel each of their unique energies. “I can feel it, the change in the energy.” I can tell when they lose the focus, the energy returns to normal.
“Do you think you could do the same back?” Lucian questions.
“I can try.” I focus my thoughts on them. I try to send my energy toward them. I can tell when I succeed, because I hear four sharp breath intakes. I lose focus, and the energy returns to normal.
“Holy shit,” Max exclaims.
“I think we should focus on how to use and control this, tomorrow night. Callie you still need to learn the basics. I suggest that we let Cat train you for an hour, and then, we’ll stay behind and train for another half an hour. Does everyone agree?” Lucian questions.
Everyone nods their heads.
“I feel like I should mention to you, that to me, you each have your own energy signature. I think over time and the more that I feel I would be able to tell you apart by just that,” I say.
Lucian’s eyes grow wide. I can see the wheels turning in that brilliant mind of his. Max’s energy is light and playful; Lucian’s is more grounded and warm. Zeke’s energy is strong and balanced, and Graydon’s is powerful and hot. It’s weird their energy match their personality. I wonder what my energy feels like to them? I can see he wants to question me but the bell rings.
“Let’s get to class and get this day over with,” Graydon grumbles.
No one says anything all morning or during lunch about what we discovered last night. This was my little test on Cat to see if we could truly trust her. So far, she has passed. Now, I wish people would stop with all the same questions from yesterday. But of course, all this changes in gym class. Kelsey really needs to pick a new spot to stop and corner me.
“I hear you made a new friend. Honestly, you think you could have picked a better one. Catori? Really?”
“Unlike you, she hasn’t done anything to hurt me.”
“Yet. Just wait until you get to know the real Cat.”
“Care to enlighten me then?”
“No. I think I’ll watch the show and let you crash and burn.”
“Then why even warn me?”
“For my own enjoyment.”
I go to move around her but she grabs my arm. This is seriously getting old. I go to make a retort, but Kelsey has that thousand yard stare. She’s having a vision.
Kelsey
“Help. Someone help me.” Callyn starts coughing, the smoke raising. She starts to bang on a door. “Help. Please. I’m stuck.” Callyn is starting to succumb to the smoke inhalation. She slowly slides down against the door. Her eyes close, and her breathing becomes wheezy.
I blink coming out of the vision.
“You had a vision didn’t you? What did you see?” Callyn questions
“Nothing that concerns you,” I snap.
“If it’s something that can help us you need to tell me.”
“It has nothing to do with you or your problem. What I saw is none of your business.” I turn and walk away before I let the smirk I was holding back cross my face.
Should I have told her what I saw? Yeah. Am I going to? No. I don’t care if that makes me a horrible person. If she dies in that fire, that means I can have the boys for myself. Just think, those boys will be so broken, and I’m going to be there to help piece them back together. Callyn dying would help solve a lot of problems. I’m sure a lot of people will thank me.
I don’t need to do anything to her anymore. I can sit back and enjoy the show.
Callyn
I knew Kelsey wasn’t going to help us. Who were we kidding. All Kelsey is going to do is use these visions to help her get what she wants. She’s going to manipulate everyone. Of all the people to receive this gift, why did it have to be her? What did I do to deserve this?
On autopilot, I walk to study hall. I tell the guys no sooner after I sit down. “We have a problem.”
“Another one,” Max whines.
“I know, but this is a Kelsey problem. She had a vision again, and she refused to tell me about it. She’s not going to help us. I know that we are never going to be friends, but you would think that she wouldn’t want a war to start, and that she would help stop it.”
“We don’t know if she knows about the impending war. We don’t know what the Elder Council told her. But I agree with you, she probably isn’t going to tell us,” Lucian states.
“If she won’t talk to you, then maybe she’ll talk to one of us.”
I whip my head in Zeke’s direction. I can feel the rumble start in my chest right before I release an angry squawk. “And let her get her claws into one of you? I don’t think so. Wait, she does have claws right? I don’t even know what kind of shifter she is?”
Max chuckles. “Look at our fierce protector.” I puff out my chest. I try to look at Max seriously, but the second our eyes meet we both lose it.
“For the love of all things holy,” Graydon says. But when I look at him I can see he is trying not to smirk.
“Anyways, to answer your question, yes, Kelsey does have claws. She is a panther shifter,” Lucian answers.
“Figures,” I state.
“Having one of us try and be Kelsey’s friend wouldn’t work. She knows that we are Callie’s mates. There is no way she would believe that one of us suddenly had a change of heart,” Lucian states.
“There has to be a way to make her tell us,” Zeke exclaims.
“We can’t force her to do anything.”
“I guarantee you the other members of the Elder Council had something to do with this. Elder Greaves and Caine let their stances be known when they refused to let us help her. I know your grandfather didn’t know which Council members were there, but I’d bet you any money it was them,” Graydon growls.
I don’t doubt him for a second. Just throw this on our ever growing list of problems. “So, what do we do?”
“We can’t do anything right now.”
“Ugh. One step forward and two steps back,” I say.
“I have an idea.” We all look at Max. “It’s not about any of this though. I don’t want to think about any of this for a while.”
“That’s not a bad idea. If we take a step back and come back to it later, it could give us insight or a solution we didn’t see before. It will be looking at it with a fresh set of eyes.”
“Okay Luke, but that’s not quite where I was going with this. I was thinking more like going to the party at the Michaelson's.”
“We have more important things to do than go out and party. You know I hate crowds. And parties. And people,” Graydon says gruffly.
“I know, but we need to have a little fun. Plus, this will be Callie’s first party. We gotta show her a good time.”
“I’m game,” Zeke says.
“Me too,” Lucian agrees.
“Please, Graydon. I promise that me and Max…”
“Hey,” Max interrupts.
“...will be on our best behavior.” I can see him wavering. “Please,” I say with a pout.
“Fine, but let it be known I was against this the whole time, and the only reason why I am agreeing is because I can’t say no to her.”
“Yes,” me and Max say at the same time. He leans over and fist bumps me.
“I’m going to make sure you have a blast.”
Oh, Max is going to get me in trouble this weekend.