Graydon
We talk about the plan a little bit more. Everyone seems to be okay with it, but me. I don’t like the idea of putting her in danger. She clearly already is, so why risk it. I’m outnumbered. Callyn said she was comfortable with the idea. She would know better than any of us. I guess we’ll see. The bell rings signaling the end of lunch.
“Oh, guys before I forget, my grandfather messaged me, we have that meeting tonight,” Lucian says before taking off.
“What meeting?” Callyn questions.
“Oh, it’s just about some information we were looking for,” states Zeke.
Callyn, Zeke, and I are walking down the hall when some girl purposely bumps into Callyn. The girl whispers something to her, and whatever it is was, it was surprising to Callyn by the shocked expression on her face. The girl leaves just as fast as she comes.
I lightly touch Callyn’s elbow. “What did she say?” She begins to shake her head like she isn’t going to tell me. Oh, no. We aren’t doing that. She can keep her home life private, for now, but I’m not doing that here. “Tell me, Callie.” She looks up at me at the nickname.
She releases a breath. “She called me a slut and told me to pick one already.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I was more shocked that she called me a slut. I don’t even know her, and I have no idea what she was talking about. Pick what?”
“I don’t know, but we need to get going before that tardy bell rings.”
“So, Callie, huh?” she teases.
“I won’t call you that if you don’t like it?”
“I do. I haven’t had a nickname in a long time.”
“Why?”
She looks down at the floor before answering. “My mother was the only one who called me Callie. She died of cancer seven years ago. It’s nice being called that again.”
She looks at me and I can see the unshed tears in her eyes. I open my arms.
“Come here, Callie bear.” She giggles. “What? If I’m your grumpy teddy bear, you’re going to be my Callie bear.” She nods and steps into my embrace.
I just want to protect her. She looks so small in my arms. I want to take away all her pain. I look up and see Zeke smiling and shaking his head at me before he gives me a thumbs up gesture. The tardy bell rings, shit. I release Callyn and grab her hand and drag her behind me, as we all run to class.
Zeke
Before I know it, it’s the end of the school day and we are all piled in my car heading to the meeting that we have with the Elder Council. I’m nervous. The Elder Council has been in effect for almost 200 years. If there is an issue in the shifter community, they are the ones to hand down punishments and rulings. I pull up in front of the office space, that the Council uses as headquarters. It’s unassuming from the outside. It looks like your everyday run of the mill offices. But unless you are a shifter, you wouldn’t know the difference.
We all get out and enter the front door. We each take a seat in the waiting area. I catch myself rubbing the back of my neck. I usually do that when I’m nervous. I look to the others, Max is running his hands through his hair, Graydon is bouncing his knee, and Lucian is looking everywhere but at us. Safe to say that we are all nervous. We wait for what seems like forever, but was probably only ten minutes, before Elder Harris, Lucian’s grandfather, summons us. We enter through a door on the right.
It leads us to what I like to call the judgment room. We pass by a couple rows of pews, before coming to a stop in front of a long table that has five huge chairs behind it. In those chairs sit, Elders Harris, Caine, Sander, Hastings, and Greaves. It was decided many years ago, that there would be five members on the Council, so when they voted on anything there would always be a tiebreaker.
“What could be so urgent, that four teenagers would request a meeting with the Council?” Elder Hastings voice pulls me from my thoughts.
Lucian bows. “Elder Hastings, the reason for the meeting is because the four us have found our mate. One female is the destined mate to all of us. She is also a human.” Thank god for Lucian.
“Are you certain?” questions Elder Caine.
“Yes.”
“This is preposterous. Humans cannot mate with shifters. Humans have no business mating with shifters, creating filthy half-breeds,” boisters Elder Greaves.
How dare Elder Greaves talk about my mate this way. My hands clench into fists. Callyn didn’t have a choice in her parentage. No halfling does, the bigoted idiot. Honestly, maybe the council shouldn’t be filled with such aging, balding, stuffy, old men. They all look similar, with their receding hairlines. The only difference is their eye colors, height, and weights. They even wear the same style robes and in the same color.
“That’s enough Greaves. There is clearly a meaning to this. Why would a human be mated to not one but four shifters? There has been no such case of any shifter being mated to not just one but four of us, not since the Alpha Queen,” Elder Harris interjects.
“You can’t possibly mean what I think you do.” Elder Sanders says as he turns in his chair to look at Elder Harris.
“No, but I believe this warrants further investigation. The girl they are claiming to be the mates to is new to our town. I say we look at our records and see if perhaps she is a shifter, but doesn’t know it. The shifter gene in her could be diluted to the point she shows no signs.” Elder Harris looks at us. “What is this girls name?”
“Callyn Silvers,” Lucian answers.
“We shall have a look and see if we can trace any lineage. But for now, you don’t speak a word of this to her. We need answers first. Once we have something we will contact you. Don’t be surprised if we don’t find anything. I may need to see her and ask her questions myself. This could help us out in the long run.”
“Yes, Elder Harris.”
“Good. Continue how you boys have been with her. Don’t let her know anything is going on. Also, Lucian, be sure to invite her over some time. I would like to meet her. Give us time to do some research and maybe we’ll have an answer.” Lucian nods. “You may go.”
We do, without another word.
Graydon waits until we are on the road going home before he speaks.
“Are you going to do what they said? Not tell her anything.”
“They didn’t give us much of a choice,” Lucian states.
“It feels wrong,” I interject.
“I know. I don’t like it either, but I don’t see another option right now. Callyn doesn’t know anything about this world. Maybe we shouldn’t say anything to her until we have all answers and the facts.”
Maybe, but it still doesn’t feel right.
∞∞∞
The rest of the school week flies by. There hasn’t been any word from the Elder Council yet and I’m not sure if that is a good thing. We haven’t really talked about anything since the meeting. Until we know more, there really isn’t anything we can do. We talked briefly about the possibility of Callie being a shifter, but none of us believe that she is. If she was this would be easier. Like girls leaving her alone because they would know she was ours.
Callyns had a couple of incidents with some girls over the week. You can tell she is trying not to let it bother her, but it does. Today is the first time Callyn is coming to hang out. I know she’s been nervous. She said the conversation she had with her father didn’t go well, but in the end, she convinced him. An argument happened between Callyn and Graydon after that about someone coming and picking her up.
Needless to say, she refused, stating that she was more than capable of walking, just like she does to and from school every day. Well, that sparked another argument. One that they eventually compromised on. Callyn said she would let us start giving her a ride home, only after she saw how this weekend, next week, and next weekend went. Then and only then would she let us start taking her home. Graydon tried to throw in picking her up too, but she said they would already be going out if their way taking her home that she didn’t want them to do that going to school as well.
Sometimes those two are like oil and water. But then after everything is said and done they makeup by hugging and calling each other by their nicknames. They are seriously entertaining. Graydon isn’t used to someone defying him. Callyn gives him a run for his money. Now, we are all sitting here at Lucians waiting for Callyn to show up when there is a knock on the door. Speaking of the cute little devil.
Lucian goes and answers the door. A few moments later Callyn walks in the room. She quickly glances around, before settling her eyes on us. She smiles.
“Hey, guys.” She places her bookbag on the floor and walks over to the couch I am sitting on.
“Why did you bring that?” I motion to the bookbag.
“Had to make it believable. Why would I go to the library to work on my group project but not bring books?” She put air quotes around group project, then cocks her head to the side, in a duh gesture.
“Well, I definitely didn’t think about that.”
She giggles and rolls her eyes. Her giggle has this husky sound to it. It’s unlike anything I have heard. I groan low in my throat.
“Who is that I hear giggling in there?” Lucian’s grandmother asks before walking into the living room. Callyn stiffens, but Lucian goes over and stands by her side.
“Grammy, this is my friend Callyn, I was telling you about. Callyn, this is my grandmother Victoria.”
“Well, aren’t you just the cutest thing. Just call me Grammy, everyone else does,” she says before stepping over to Callyn and pulling her in for a hug.
I see all of us visibility stiffen, not sure how Callyn will react. Callyn surprises us all and hugs her back. Huh? I glance at the guys and see that we each have a look of disbelief.
“Now, Lucian, why didn’t you tell me how pretty she is,” Grammy said after she releases Callyn.
Callyn’s cheek turns so red. Wait, is she blushing? Oh my god, she is. I’m sitting here grinning like an idiot. Oh, I plan on making sure I see that blush on her face daily.