A few hours later, it was a quiet car ride into the town. I spent the silence trying to bury my mortification and admire the tall green sporadic trees that littered the sides of the smooth asphalt road. With my window rolled down, I inhaled the cool fresh air that caressed my skin and set my anxiety at ease.
"This is strange," Cleo commented. Interested to know what she meant, I twisted in my seat to look at where she sat behind me in the backseat. "What's strange?" Shane asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "This awkward car silence," she said widening her eyes as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "I mean I don't even know why you are so quiet," she added motioning towards Shane. I did not miss the way his eyes quickly darted to me and I know that Cleo saw me recoil into the car seat as her eyes followed his quick glance. She groaned dramatically, rolling her eyes. She reached into her bag and slipped her airpods into her ear. A Sabrina Carpenter song blared through the speakers, filling the silence that returned to the vehicle. The car ride from where the Coles lived to the town was roughly a hour drive with no houses in sight until the car exited through tall iron gates that shimmered when it opened and closed. From there on, the roads were full of cars and houses lined the roadside and tall buildings could be seen in distance. They sparkled in the sunlight giving the city an ethereal glow. I was curious to take a closer look at the tall buildings or even to get a sneak peek at the prestigious Elverton institution but the car stopped at a large building with numerous glass windows and an automatic door, instead. The parking lot was full of cars and many people entered and left the building by the second. It was a shopping mall. Cleo squealed hopping out of the vehicle, excitedly bouncing towards the door and leaving the rest of us behind. Chloe left the vehicle like a robot, her large distant eyes barely recording anything going on before it. I was worried, had I caused it or was I over thinking. "Is she alright," I asked Shane as we walked side by side into the building. He followed my worried eyes to Chloe and for a second he mimicked them but then recognition flashed across his face and he smiled. "She's does that when she's trying to solve a problem. It'll stop when she finds a piece of clothing that she likes or solve the problem," he said with shrug as we passed through the automatic doors. The mall was about 5 floors high with a variety of different shops tucked away in categorized sections. Cleo was already walking in the direction of the clothes store, pausing momentarily to wave me over. It was then I realized that Shane had left my side, disappearing into the crowd of people. I quickly went to stand beside Cleo, glancing around. "Where's Chloe?" I tried desperately to keep the panic from my voice as my anxiety slowly rose. I had barely knew the girls for 24 hours yet here I was obsessing over their well being as if I was their mother. I was technically the adult but mentally I still thought of myself as the teenager. "She's probably in the emo section," Cleo said with an eye roll, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the store. "Are you looking for a new dress," I asked awkwardly, keeping my hands tucked away in my pocket when she finally released it to pick through some sweater dresses. "What? No! There are for you, silly. Dad gave me some money to buy clothes since you don't have any." She told me with a humorous chuckle. "Oh, thats nice of him." "Yes, I take it, your mother and him were really good friends," she said glancing at me curiously while handing me several different dresses. "You don't think they dated do you." I was a deer in headlights. "No," I said with uncertainty shaking my head. "I mean my mother loved talking about her past and she never mentioned him before and she has told me about her past love interests," I explained, holding dresses over my forearm and holding them close to my body. "Maybe they were best friends then," Cleo suggested with a shrug, walking briskly to a clothing rack of denim. She only grabbed a cropped jacket and high waisted jeans. "My mother didn't have friends–how do you know my size," I asked as she grabbed a few more jeans pants from another rack. She responded by pointing at the cargo pants that I was wearing and then towards my shirt and shoes. They did fit perfectly. "I have been taking care of you for 5 moths remember but admittedly not all on my own. Chloe and I had help from a private nurse, Vanessa. She was really nice but Dad let her go when she started snooping about you. Also…who doesn't have friends," she explained, waving her phone around. It had pinged and she took it out to see what it was. "That does sound strange. Why would your father take such good care for me if he and my mother were so close but she didn't bother to mention him until those last moments," my voice faded into a whisper as I followed Cleo to the changing area. Cleo sat on one of the couches, while I entered the changing room. I tried on all the clothing that she had given me and they all fit perfectly. It was strange how I barely knew them but they knew everything about me. I sighed, slipping my shoes back on to my feet and gathering the clothes in my hand. When I exited the room, Cleo had disappeared and Shane sat on the couch. "Everything fit," he asked, his dark eyes watching my every movement closely. I nodded with a small smile. He suddenly tapped the spot on the couch beside him. I felt my heart skip a best for some strange reason. I felt as if I was in trouble. I slowly walked closer to him and sat, still holding the clothes in my lap to act as some kind of a buffer. "I wanted to apologize for last night," he said turning slightly towards me. Our knees touched and the strange warmth returned. I felt like I was frozen and someone was pouring hot chocolate down my throat, breaking the ice from off my body. I began nod but then quickly shook my head, my mind driven to confusion by his closeness. "Its okay. You didn't do anything wrong." I struggled to even figure out what we were even talking about. I was just seeing his eyes staring at me and his soft pink lips stretched in a slight smile. "It was very inappropriate," it was then that I noticed his subtle accent. The revelation was so fascinating my mind didn't even process the words. "Uhm, I'm hungry." My mouth had become so dry and my mind had become blank. What was wrong with me? Why was I acting like this? "Oh, yes. You barely ate anything for breakfast," he said massaging his forehead. "Ah, let's get these paid for." I had ruined the moment. If there was even a moment. Shane paid for the clothing and we left the store and went to the courtyard where he bought me a cheeseburger. I tried to eat it ladylike but it paid to see the smile on his face when I took a huge bite, frowning when the cheese kept stretching. Shane left me in the courtyard when he got a phone call and went outside to answer it, to get away from the noisy background. He took the shopping bags to the car. I walked around the mall for a minutes, observing the different people. Some walked with their friends others with their parents or kids. I was intrigued by the few who walked around with sharp ears or strange runes on their bodies–elves and mages. There were a variety of different mages that were categorized by their main ability. Some could wield fire, others had the ability to communicate with animals better than others and a select few could channel raw magic using runes. Those mages were my favorite. There magic was practically and they could walk among the humans without a thought of keeping their emotions in check or control. I wished that I was born with that gift. I didn't know much about elves but rumors told that they were the first supernatural, thats what my mother told me. She always spoke of the politics of Eta but I didn't care much for any politics. I wish I cared enough to pay attention to her when she spoke. I hope that I didn't forget her voice. I did notice that there weren't a lot of lycans or vampires walking about the mall. I did walk by a day walker but he was young and uninterested in the world. I had found myself walking by empty hall on the second floor when I saw a blonde being pulled into a room and a dark hair boy following with a grin. My anxiety caused my hand to tremble. Who was that blonde girl was she in trouble? Her outfit did look desperately similar to Chloe's. Here, I was hesitant to use my telepathy. With my power unlocked I wouldn't have to struggle to get a glimpse of anyone's thoughts but I would be overwhelmed by the noise and unable to focus. Could I risk it? Would I risk it? "What would it matter?" I muttered to myself. If it was Chloe or even Cleo, if a young woman was in trouble and I could do something about it I had to help. I inhaled deeply and began walking down the hall. I paused before the door and stepped closer, hoping to hear something but I heard nothing. My heart was pounding as I considered what might be happening in my delay. I groaned, with a swift motion I pulled the door towards me. My heightened emotions, causing it to slam against the wall loudly. The trio in the room flinched and Cleo stared at me with wide eyes. I pushed forward gently with my power grazing the surface of their thoughts, pulling back a second later. I was careful not to absorb too much. The tall muscular looking one was the infamous Damon and the smaller scruffy one was Rodrick. Rodrick was going to watch while Damon got hands on with Cleo. Cleo was hoping this interaction would get her girlfriend status and boost her popularity. I hummed, gripping the side of my head when a searing pain sent black spots along my vision. I had taken in a lot more than I had anticipated. So much that I knew that Damon was bully Chloe and Shane had been kicked from the pack because the alpha was afraid of him. "I think we should go home now," I told her quietly, eyeing the boys as they watched me. "Your not going anywhere," suddenly Damon pushed his hands before Cleo as she went to walk out of the small room. "You can leave if you know what's good for you," he spat in my direction. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me." "You heard him. Beat it, bitch! You don't want to mess with us and we're not done yet," Rodrick said earning a nod from Damon. I squinted my eyes, tilting my head slightly. "Its okay, Taiti. I'll be just a minute," Cleo tried to reason. I knew that she she could take care of herself but that did not mean that I was going give up now. I was offended and pissed off. "Now, what would your dad think of me if I left you in a Janitors closet with a pervert and an asshole," I told her. With a flick of my hand, a sickening crunch echoed through the air followed by a howl of pain. Damon fell to the ground cradling his hand, pain distorting his pretty face. I pulled Cleo out of the room, the tips of her shoes dragging against the tile floor as she hovered over it. I caught her waist and pushed her aside as a growl ripped through the air. Rodrick had partially shifted and was reaching a claw towards my face when I wrapped an invisible hand around his neck cutting off his hair supply. I watched him flutter and kick at the air, gasping for air whilst still trying to claw my face away. His torture endured for 10 seconds. I had noticed Damon raising to his feet, so I pushed Roderick into the closet and slammed the door shut. Cleo and I stared at the door for a while listening to the scratches on the other side. "You need nicer love interests," I told her as we quickly left the hallway and entered the crowd moving down the stairs. "I swear he's not always like that its the new alpha, Killian. He's a paranoid menace." She defended. I gulped, moistening my lips. "It doesn't matter, Cleo. If he's like that with you know, what's he going to be like in the future when he's angry. If he takes out his frustration on you now, he'll take out his anger on you later." I released a subtle sigh, blinking rapidly as I said the next few words. "He's only using you for your body. You don't want a one sided relationship. They're are toxic and usually ends with someone getting hurt," I told her, cautiously. "You don't know him," she barked in denial as we came to a stop a few feet from the escalator we had descended. "I'm a telepath and I know you know that," I said staring into her conflicted eyes. "I found it," our stare off was cut short when Chloe suddenly appeared. She rushed towards us, carry a shopping bag with a huge smile on her face and a twinkle in her eyes. "You found what," I asked her softly, blinking furiously. "I found a way to get you into Elverton!" Oh. My magic could use the work but at the moment I was wondering if I had overstepped with Cleo. The car ride back to the house was as horrible as the ride to. Chloe was excited for me to see the campus but Cleo was quiet.I have never had many friends but I had hoped to have a good relationship with the persons who I took care of me while I was asleep for so long. I had hoped to stay on their good side but I overstepped. My lack of social skills sent me down a slippery slope. Everyone had gone their separate ways when the car had returned to the mansion. Shane had helped me with the shopping bags and then disappeared. Chloe had ran off to find her father and Cleo…went to her room. I groaned, falling unto the small bed. Why couldn't I have simply minded my own business? Because you love power and naturally you had to show your dominance. "What?" I said aloud, confused by own thoughts. I didn't love power. I was helping a girl, who was in a room with two perverted guys. And if you didn't have the power to beat them up, would you have intervened? Would I? In high school, I did see witness a guy getting too hands on with a girl but he was her boyfriend though she
Shane reluctantly pulled away from me and in that moment I wanted to pull him back but low growl coming from downstairs and a second crash along with a scream, stopped me. My heart skipped a beat and my eyes met Shane's dark eyes. His warm body moved away from mine and I unconsciously released a longing sigh, until his hand grabbed mine and we were swiftly walking down the dark hall. From the view at the top of the stairs, the sight was grim. 3 persons stood before the crumbled door, several windows held broken glasses. As we swiftly descended the stairs, Shane's hand released mine and I noticed more strange persons making a mess of the living room and kitchen. "Killian! What is the meaning of this?" Shane yelled as his stepped off the last step of the stairs. Killian was a tall and muscular with a 3 thin scars slicing through his neck. As Shane went to stand before him, I noticed that they stood at roughly the same height. The tension thickened around them as we wai
Shan-Cassian didn't return home. Kylen had managed to salvage what was left of the front door, using ropes to hold it in place and old blankets to cover the open spaces. I helped him to cover the windows with some old boards that he had in the garage. "I was going to build the girls a treehouse," he had said and then drifted into the depths of his mental archives. When we finished boarding up the windows it was pass midnight. I found myself leaning against a broom staring at the front door. Kylen had said that he would be fine but that didn't mean that something bad wouldn't happen. Suddenly a scoffed brought me from my thoughts. Cleo stood a few feet away from me. Her arms crossed and her eyes glaring daggers into the back of my head. I shook my head and glanced away from her with a snort. "I guess your here to tell me that this is all my fault," I gave her back the same energy that she was giving to me with a hint of 'I don't care'. Cleo scoffed. "And it isn'
"That's childish," Kylen commented walking off into the living room. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes as I followed closely behind him. He grabbed a small backpack and a brown paper bag with food. I took the time to wear the backpack that he had handed me properly. "Where are we going?" "We are going for a walk through the woods and hopefully make it unto the main road without being detected, hitch a ride from a beautiful woman who has a crush on me into town and to my new home we go," he listed, checking his watch. I was a baffled, blinking idiot. "Aren't you married," I nearly yelled but found some self control. Kylen glanced at me briefly and then at an empty space at the wall. "It's complicated," he eventually said softly. His brows were furrowed and a deep frown was on his lips. I nodded. "Anyways, we have an hour and 3 minutes before she passes by," he explained, walking towards a door that I hadn't noticed before. It was a second entr
Sam and his soldiers took us safely to the main road. They waited patiently with us until Kylen's ride came. I caught a glimpse of a photographic memory reminder that Sam took. He was most definitely going to check if we were actually students at Elverton. I was hesitant to give my name but Kylen quickly fixed that, blurting it out before Sam even opened his mouth to ask. I didn't mind being around the man because admittedly I did think of a future with Cassian and if that future became real I really wanted to get along with his family. Which meant that I had to fix things with Cleo–on second thought, I think I'm just going to let fate do its thing and then I do mine. Kylen hopped into the front passenger seat and I hobbled into the back, placing my duffle bag beside me. I closed the door and glanced towards the driver. Her large blue eyes were piercing mine. I raised my brow and glanced towards Kylen, who had thankfully dropped the glamour. "Oh, this is Vanessa. S
When I grow up, I wanted to be a superhero. Someone who protected the innocent and imprisoned the bad but as if this moment I preferred the term vigilante. I did good things but by my own rules. I would steal from the rich and give back to the poor. I would break self-righteous idiots who thought of themselves as better than me for my own selfish need to feel power. "Kneel," I commanded. Derrick had no choice but to fall to one knee. After all, he was proposing to the love of his life. "How does it feel, Derrick? To kneel before your master," I exaggerated, watching as he struggled to make sense of the strange thoughts in his head. "Get the fu–," "Language!" "Out of my head, fuk–itch!" Damn, he was strong but I was juiced up. I pushed back forcefully, sending him flying into a tree. I felt sorry for the tree when its roots rose above ground. A few students ducked out of the way as it went tumbling down. It erupted into flames a second late
It took us 17 days to clean up the library and even after our job was done we had to help the workers build a new set of stairs through the hole in the ceiling and when that didn't work out, we had to make a raised platform thats triggered by weight. We literally made it for ourselves since it could only carry a maximum of 3 people and our initials were pasted on its glass walls. Always Phoebe, Medaline and I were the first to ascend to the second floor in it. It was a short ride but it was so satisfying! "We make such a good team," Medaline commented, staring towards the sky as we entered the outdoor courtyard. "We are good at fighting crime together, creating good art as well as destruction but then again from chaos comes order. We're really good at chaos," she said squinting slightly. "Uryah is not going have us replant that tree, is he," Phoebe asked with a tired sigh. She had dark circles under her eyes and usual bright skin was pale. "Are you okay," I asked
"Wait," Medaline suddenly said, as I hooked my arm around hers. "We need to change first," she said, pulling me in the opposite direction. I caught Phoebe rolling her eyes. “Harris might be there and I can’t let him see me like this,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I released a groan, throwing my head back to stare at the sky. I could feel the confidence that I had found slowly leaving my body, replaced by the thought that maybe Cassian would be at the party too. It had been a very long time that I had seen him and this morning when I glimpsed him, let’s just say that I really wanted to know if he was okay. There may have also been a longing in my chest, most nights I felt as if I was dying. I would remember crying myself to sleep and not know why I was crying. I knew my mother was okay, for now but the pain that I had felt in my chest wasn’t because of her. I missed him. I took a deep breath as we walked across the south hall, with every step
He will kill you…where Xerxes last words to me before he fell into a deep sleep. His skull had been cracked sending a jolt through his entire body and then his feeling faded. Touch. My heart had broken along with his mind. I was so close and yet I stood at the back of the line. My promise had shattered to the floor with my hope. A hope that my life would be a fairytale. I hells happily ever after in my hand for the first time and then it let go. I thought that I had hated him but how could you shed tears for someone who you hated. Feeling. I felt them falling down my cheek but I didn't want them to fall, that would admit that I had lost. That would presumed that I love. Did I love him? I was willing. What should I do now? Hate or grieve. Claw. He said he attacked. He was hurting me. I felt it but this pain that I felt now hurt more. I inhaled deeply, squeezing my eyes shut as the cold water of the shower beat down against my skin. I released the breath slowly, trying to
Something had changed within Xerxes mind or it was just that Xerxes mind. It was fractured with black smoke creeping around every corner. My mother wasn't with me but I could feel her close by, hopefully convincing her husband to man up. In a way I guess I could understand what he was going through. Not knowing who you really are and constantly doubting yourself. It was sad just like all our lives. I only wish that I could do more to help him rather than just be bait or a distraction for the dark side. I admittedly hadn't planned ahead of getting into Xerxes' mind. This was something that I hadn't thought of. I was still figuring out my abilities but at least I had the confidence to overcome my fear. I walked aimlessly around the giant gothic castle, pushing doors open to reveal empty rooms until I arrived at a large room that vaguely resembled a throne room. Through the shimmers and smog, I spotted a shadowy figure sitting on the throne and another standing before it. I walked
"I told you that I was going to save him," my mother snapped, brushing the dirt of her red sundress, unbeknownst to the twig sticking out of her hair. She looked like a mad woman and she sounded like one too. "He is beyond saving," I gritted out in pain as I straightened my body. My shoulder was in a strange position which could only mean one thing. It was dislocated. "You know nothing," my mother spat angrily. "Yeah, I wonder why," I replied sassily, walking towards a tree. I leaned my shoulder against it and sighed. I might even hurt myself more. "And what is that supposed to mean? I don't even recognize you anymore," she said in her pissed off, 'I'm going to whoop your ass' tone. I turned towards her, leaning my back against the tree. My hand was trembling and the hellhound scratch still hurt really badly. I couldn't push my shoulder back into place without possibly causing myself more harm so I would rely on telekinesis to do the job. I exhaled slowly while staring at m
I couldn't help but to laugh. My nemesis was lying unconscious just inches away from my boot. Oh, the world was right again. I stared down at the man that looked like my father but he was far from it. With his eyes closed he almost looked peaceful, well if it wasn't for the blood running down his face from a nasty gash on his temple. "Yikes, I guess I don't know my own strength," I said, placing my hands on my hips as I glanced towards the table. It was indeed a blueprint of the academy but that is as much as I understood given that it was printed in bold at the bottom of the paper. I had no idea what he was planning but there was only one way to find out. I sighed. I did not want to go that way, especially without a physical anchor. I huffed and crouched beside him. Plucking a strand of hair from his head and pulling a loose strand from mine. I twisted the strands together, well I got frustrated and rolled them into a ball since they were so tiny. With a snap of my fingers,
"You have got to be f*cking kidding me," I cursed aloud, running my hands over my curls. The front bang that I had managed to cut, hanging over my forehead like a mockery. "Excuse me, watch your language young lady," my mother said sternly, folding her arms as she stared at me. I released a humourless laugh, nodding to myself slowly. "I am a motherf*cking idiot," I said slowly to myself in realisation. Xerxes was right. That's a wound that cut far too deep. How was I supposed to recover? "What is wrong with you? Who have you become? You are not the daughter I sent here. What did you do to yourself?" my mother said, staring at me with wide eyes filled with…indifference. "What did I do to myself," I retorted quietly, glancing towards the floor. "I did nothing. What did you do to me," I paused and hummed, giving her a sad smile. "Irrelevant, I guess I don't mean that much anyways," I continued, pulling my knee towards my chest and hugging them. "Taiti, stop this foolishness. You
I was perched in a tree, simply to put it. I couldn't stop thinking about the memories that Professor Faren had sent to me. Xerxes was the name given to him by his father but he had another name, given by his mother. That was how I was supposed to reach out to him. Though I couldn't bury the nerves spiking under my skin, raising my temperature and making me uncomfortable. Was it weird that I was nervous? All this new information was making my stomach twist and turn. Why did this feel so different? I had met Xerxes recently and he was a narcissistic ass hat but I guess I had never met the man my mother fell in love with. It was making me nervous and I needed to focus. I exhaled slowly, hoping down from the tree branch. It was very far from the ground which was how I got up there in the first place. Well, it was not as if the serene scene that I had painted was real. I stood under a large tree, full of branches that hung low and broad leaves that swayed subtly. There was short gr
My heart was pounding in my chest and I struggled to breath properly. What I was about to do, would most likely get me killed. Which was why I needed guidance. Kylen was halfway across town and I was not about to tell the director of my involvement regarding the lockdown. That would be my third strike and then I was out for good. I couldn't leave permanently now, not when Cassian was about to do something that I was told that I needed to do ever since I got here. It was strange, wasn't it? How Kylen would always be pressuring me to awaken Prime and yet Cassian could do it himself. Was that what he was subtly telling me to do…or did I miss something? Ugh, I was always so distracted. I hope that it was nothing major…but then again the look on Parys' face. He discovered something. Shit, I couldn't handle all these doubts right now. I trusted Cassian, more than I did myself. He could do this and whatever the consequences we would face them together. I released a slow shaky breath a
I resisted the urge to stomp my feet childishly while swinging my shoulders. Instead I took a deep breath. I could fix this, we could fix this. I just needed to find Cassian and apologised. I began to walk after Cassian, when Parys suddenly grabbed my wrist. What? Didn't he want me to go after him? Was this a 'he needs some spaces' situation. I glanced down at Parys' tight grip and then met his gaze with confusion. He blinked out of a trance and then quickly released my hand. "Sorry," he said, running his hand through his hair nervously. This was strange, Parys behaviour. I turned towards him slowly. "Are you okay," I asked genuinely worried about him. We still hadn't had that talk about his love life yet and it was most definitely overdue. "I'm fine. I…ah…can we talk later," he paused to glance towards the others but I was already nodding. "Later, in private. It's something important," he continued. "Oh, okay," I said, glancing towards the floor. This sounded very import
Cassian was pacing and gripping his hair so tightly, I was sure that he would rip out a few strands. Silas sat in front of me, bandaging my arm. He followed my gaze to Cassian and released an inaudible sigh. He glanced at me hesitantly as if he wanted to say something but wouldn't say it with Cassian present. "Uhm, are you okay, " I said softly towards Silas. "Why wouldn't he be okay, " Cassian chipped in before Silas could answer. He had stopped pacing to stare at Silas with a hard stare. I sighed, pulling my arm away from Silas to tie the bandage myself. I stood to my feet and left the room with Cassian hot on my heels. "Cassian Shane 'Primus' Cole!" I said loudly, turning sharply to face him. "Stop following me," I continued in a quieter tone. "I'm not going to disappear into thin air if you take your eyes off me for 5 minutes, " I said, hinting at how much alone time I needed. Cassian stared down at me with an unreadable expression on h