Callyn
It’s my first day back to school since my father got arrested. This being a small town, everyone knows about it. I missed a week of school, only because the doctor gave me an excuse. After I put the necklace on and my back healed, I had no need for the note, but the boys convinced me to take the time off anyway. Their thinking was it would give people time to move on to something else before I came back. They were afraid of people asking me questions about what happened and me not being able to handle it.
I can’t fault them. They probably would have been right. Also, Elder Harris helped me change my doctor from a human one to a shifter one. There would have been no way we could have answered how my back healed so fast. I’m lucky the police took pictures of my back in the hospital to use as evidence against my father because there is no evidence now. So far, there have only been a few odd looks which I expected, but nothing else I can’t handle. Besides, I have my four mates with me. I almost feel invincible with them around. Almost.
“What are we doing after school today?” I ask as I sort through my bookbag.
“We figured tonight we should start your training. Nothing to serious, just your basics. It will be moves to help you defend yourself against an attack from a shifter, while you’re in human form. Once you shift, we will throw in moves to help you defend yourself in both forms,” Lucian answers.
I close my locker and turn to face the guys. “You think I will be able to shift?” I whisper. “I haven’t thought much about it. I don’t want to be disappointed if I can’t. I don’t want to disappoint y’all either. Does it hurt when you shift?”
“I believe you will. It’s just a matter of unlocking that part of you. It’s buried somewhere deep inside you. We just have to find it and set it free, and you could never disappoint us, Callie. So, don’t think twice about that. Back to the rest of your question, usually the first shift does hurt, but it gets easier the more you do it. After a while it won’t hurt at all.”
“Small favors, I guess. So, my aunt should be here by the end of the week. Can you guys help us move her in this weekend? It will be a good opportunity for her to meet all of you. You are a huge part of my life. It’s nice that I don’t have to hide it anymore either.”
“How are you going to explain who we are to your aunt?” Max asks cheekily.
“I plan on telling her the truth, that you all are my mates. Well, maybe not mates. It’s not a very common way to say boyfri…” I trail off because I almost called them my boyfriends. Oh god. I look up at them in horror. I mean we didn’t talk about this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I just-I just,” I trail off again.
Graydon slowly starts taking steps in my direction. Every step he takes toward me, I take a step back, until my back is pressed up against my locker. He doesn’t stop until he is standing right in front of me. His hands go to either side of my head effectively blocking me in. He leans down until just inches separate our faces.
“Let’s just set this straight right now. We are your boyfriends. Hell, we are more than that. We are your mates. Do you know what that means?” I shake my head. “We have a deeper connection, one that surpasses that of a boyfriend. Mates are for life. There will be no others, for any of us. We have been yours since the moment you set foot in this town. Now, we will be your boyfriends until we can claim you. Once we do that, we will be mates, we can call each other that after it happens.”
“When will that happen?” I whisper.
“As soon as you’re ready,” he whispers next to my ear.
I’m ready, I’m so ready. Okay, maybe not because I don’t exactly know what claiming each other entails. Add that to my growing list of questions. Graydon lowers his face to my neck, bringing me out of my inner thoughts. His nose trails a path from my ear to my collar bone. He takes a deep breath before I feel his teeth nip at my pulse point. A moan escapes my lips. I feel my body arch into his. I turn my face to his neck and graze my teeth at his pulse point. A low growl rumbles from his lips. His hands go to my waist, pulling my body against his.
“Um, guys? I feel like I should remind you, you’re standing in the hallway,” Zeke says.
“Yeah, as hot as this is, you are giving everyone else quite a show,” Max quips.
“Perhaps another time and place would be better,” Lucian includes.
I look over Graydon’s shoulder to see he is right. I can feel my face get hot. I push at Graydon. He backs up a step.
“So, yeah. Um,” I run my fingers through my hair. “Okay, you’re all my boyfriends.” I smile. “Huh, who knew the first time I’d have a boyfriend, I’d end up with four.” I start to giggle and the boys follow soon after.
Besides mine and Graydon's impromptu little show this morning, the rest of my day has been great. It feels amazing not having to hide anymore. I can finally breathe. I can finally be Callyn Silvers. Which apparently still includes not being athletic. Gym is the worst. I always countdown until the end of class, which never seems to come fast enough. Finally, it does. I’m standing at my locker when I see a shadow appear next to me. I turn to see Kelsey. She left me alone for a couple of weeks, but it looks like my luck has run out.
“Heard your daddy is locked up and liked to use you as a punching bag.”
I turned to face her. Her days of coming after me are done. I square my shoulders. She wants a fight, well she’s about to get one. I’m just about to say something when I see a strange look on her face. That’s when I notice she’s not looking at me, but rather she is looking at my neck. I look down to see that my necklace isn’t tucked into my shirt.
“Where did you get that? Do you know what that is?” Kelsey questions. Before I can stop her, she grabs my necklace. I’m expecting her to yank on the chain, but instead her expression is blank. I reach up and try to pry her hand from my necklace. Just as quickly as Kelsey went into her trance, she comes out of it. “Why? How? Are you fucking kidding me,” Kelsey rambles as she backs away from me. “Of all people, why you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You’re the fucking Alpha Queen.”
Kelsey - A few moments earlier
Callyn Silvers. My lip curls up in disgust. I don’t understand how she has Lucian, Graydon, Zeke, and Max wrapped around her little finger. She says jump, and they’re like how high. I can’t find a redeeming quality about her. Seriously, what do they find so appealing about a mousy, plain jane, when they could have all of this. I did hear some interesting news though. Her daddy is in jail, and he likes to hit her. You think I feel sorry for her, I don’t. I want to gouge her eyes out with my claws. I want to rip her throat out with my teeth. The only reason I don’t is because I know I will never have a chance with any them if I do, but that doesn’t mean I still can’t mess with her.
Oh, they tried to threaten people, to get them to stop. I let them believe it was working, but I think it’s time I go back to being me. I walk over to Callyn. We’re the last ones in the locker room, just like the day I pinned her. I saw her slowly losing consciousness as I squeezed her throat. It was satisfying.
“Heard your daddy is locked up and liked to use you as a punching bag.” She turns and squares her shoulders. Oo, someone is growing a backbone. I glance down and notice a necklace hanging around her neck. She never wore that before. I take a closer look. No, it can’t be. There’s no way she should have anything with the Alpha Queen symbol on it. “Where did you get that? Do you know what that is?”
I reach out to grab the necklace, to yank it from her pathetic neck. Suddenly, it feels like I’m being transported to another time. Rapid successions of images flash before my eyes. A queen handing her baby to someone, taking off her necklace and putting it around the baby’s neck. That baby growing up and handing the necklace down to her daughter. Over and over the same thing happens until I see Callyn being handed the same necklace, the one that is around her neck. I blink, and I’m brought back to the present.
“Why? How? Are you fucking kidding me?” I’m piecing it all together. The queen, it has to be the Alpha Queen. There is no other explanation. I back away from Callyn. “Of all people, why you?”
Her eyebrows furrow. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The only reason Callyn can have that necklace is if she is a descendant of the Alpha Queen. Which means only one thing.
“You’re the fucking Alpha Queen.”
Realization dawns on me. The reason why the guys are so obsessed with her. It only makes me hate her more. One of the guys has to be her mate, but which one? The only question left is why I had that vision? I have never had that happen. What could this mean?
Callyn
How can she know that? No one is supposed to know right now. “Why do you think that?”
“Because I saw it when I touched the necklace. I saw a queen putting that necklace around a baby’s neck. I saw flashes of a mother handing down that necklace to her daughter. The same thing happened over and over again. Then, I saw it being passed down to you.”
“So, that doesn’t make me a queen. This is a family heirloom. That’s all it is.”
“No. Don’t lie to me. I know what that symbol is. That can only mean one thing, you are the Alpha Queen, and one of the boys is your mate. I want to know who.”
Now, it was my turn to get a jab back at her. I slow smile creeps along my lips. “You know what, Kelsey, I’m sick and tired of your attitude. I have done nothing to you since I moved to this town, yet you don’t like me. I’m not taking your shit anymore. You want to know who my mate is, I’ll let you know. It’s all of them.” I hear her suck in a breath.
“All of them. How? That's not fair. You can’t have all of them,” she growls at me.
“I can, and I do. They are all mine. So, next time you touch one of them, you might want to think twice. Because you are right. I am the Alpha Queen, and if I so much as hear one word from you to anyone about this, I will personally rip your throat out.”
I grab my bookbag and leave Kelsey standing next to my gym locker shocked and dazed. I’m shaking as I walk to study hall. I can’t believe I just stood up to Kelsey. Hell, I can’t believe I just threatened her, but there is no way I will let her try to take what is mine. And those boys are mine. I’m late to my last class. The tardy bell rings while me and Kelsey were having our verbal showdown. I’m honestly surprised none of the guys tried to come and look for me or at least message me.
I walk in the class and head to my seat. I didn’t make it very far before Ms. Neal called my name.
“Callyn Silvers, you’re late. Do you have a slip?”
“No, I’m sorry I don’t. I got held up after gym class. It won’t happen again.”
“Make sure it doesn’t, otherwise I will have to write you up. The only reason I’m not doing so today is because you are never late and don’t cause problems.”
I nod my head, “Thank you, Ms. Neal.” I go and sit in my usual seat. I look around to the guys and realize that Max isn’t here. “Where’s Max?”
“Out looking for you. We all texted you, and not one answer. What the hell happened? Zeke, text Max to let him know Callyn’s here,” Graydon growled.
“Short version is me and Kelsey got into it after gym class.”
“And the long version?” Zeke questions.
I sigh. I told them all about mine and Kelsey’s encounter. Halfway through the retelling Max came back. I inhaled. My sense of smell has been getting stronger. That’s when I hear it. At first it almost sounds like an elegant song, but then it changes. The sound climbing higher and higher reaching a crescendo. I could feel the anger in the bird’s cry. When suddenly, it stops. That’s when I notice Graydon’s hand covering my mouth. My eyes widen in shock. That sound was coming from me.