I joined the guys in the gym and we trained for the next two hours until Hannah pushed the door open and took Rev by his hand. I wondered sometimes if she had a crush on him and how Rev felt with all the attention that Hannah showered him with. For someone that didn’t talk he had forged quite a bond with her.
“Hannah, you do know that Rev’s actually our friend,” Jax said.“Just until we get married,” she said and we all stood watching her with open mouths as she led Rev from the room.“Did she just say she was going to marry Rev?” Preston asked.“Poor Rev,” I said and we all laughed.“Are we still heading in to Chicago tonight?” Preston asked me.“Yeah, I need to meet with Jasper O’Connell,” I answered.“Who’s he?” Jax asked.“He’s the Sire of the Chicago lair, we’re negotiating the terms of our alliance tonight,” I said as I headed out of the room.“What time do you want to leave?” Preston asked as he stood in the hallway.“Seven,” I said and walked into my room.I stood in the bathroom and took my clothes off. My ribs felt better and my lip had healed completely. I climbed into the shower and stood under the warm water. I closed my eyes as I thought about Rylee once again.“This is a nightmare,” I said to Baz.“Convince her otherwise,” he said.“I think it’s too late for that,” I replied.“No it’s not, I can feel the bond forging,” Baz said.“Me too and once she realizes it she won’t be happy,” I said to him.I pulled the bedroom door open just as Jax went to open it. We bumped into each other and I had to push Jax off of me.“What the hell Jax,” I said to him as he straightened himself.“It’s time,” he said and pushed his hair out of his face.“Doesn’t excuse you not knocking,” I said to him.“Afraid I’ll catch you in the act?” Jax asked me.“What act?” I asked him.“The act of you and your hand,” he said and laughed.“When I’m that desperate Jax I’ll just let you bend over and close my eyes,” I said and he laughed louder.“Yeah right,” he said as we went downstairs where Preston and Rev waited for us.Chris was in the living room with Hannah where she pouted because Rev was leaving and I could hear Chris telling her she’d watch movies with her.“Chris, don’t leave the house without Jay. We’re going to Chicago and it’s going to take a few hours,” I said to her.“I’m not going out tonight, I promise,” she said as Hannah snuggled closer to her.“Let’s go guys,” I said as Hannah blew Rev a kiss and he smiled at her.We drove to Chicago and Jax fiddled with the radio until I hit him on the back of his head. Preston laughed and regaled us with stories about his spy inside Carson’s lair. Jax was also having his birthday soon but he didn’t seem as excited.“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” the woman asked as she looked us over. We were tall but you could see we were still young even though we all wore suits tonight.“Mr. O’Connell’s table,” I said to her as she looked us over again.“Follow me,” she said and we followed her in single file towards a table in the back. Jasper stood up as he saw me and I recognized David Brandt that stood next to him.“Lucas,” he said with a smile as we shook hands and sat down again.“Thank you for meeting with me Jasper,” I said to him.In our circles age didn’t set the rules when it came to respect, your position in your society and lair did. A man twenty years older than me would call me sir if he had a lower rank. As a potential future Sire I was on the same level as Jasper for now. If my ceremony failed then I would have to revert back to calling him sir.“I see this last year’s been good to you,” he remarked.“Training has its benefits,” I said with a smile.“Let’s get some drinks first,” he said and nodded at a waiter. The restaurant belonged to Jasper and we’d have no trouble here tonight. Nothing was guaranteed outside of his borders though.“Scotch,” I said and he ordered our drinks.“Are there any changes to our current allegiance that you’d like to discuss?” Jasper asked me.“Just one,” I said as the waiter put our drinks down on the table.“I’ve heard some rumours,” Jasper said as he took a sip from his glass.“What rumours?” I asked him.“Rumour has it that you got yourself a grey dragon, equivalent to a violet one,” he said to me.“I did,” I confirmed.“Your father would be proud,” he said and I smiled slightly.“So back to the alliance agreement,” I said.“There is one problem Lucas,” he said as he looked me in the eye, “our alliance agreement was with Joseph and your father.”“I’m aware of that but since my ceremony has justified me taking over as Sire we should negotiate added terms,” I said to him.“I understand your thought process but you haven’t taken over yet but as soon as you do I will sit down with you and we can re-negotiate,” he said.“What about your alliance with Joseph McIntyre?” I asked him.“He controls the lower side of Aurora is it not?” Jasper asked.“He does but in every negotiation a side must be chosen,” I said to him.“You’re a smart kid, I’ll give you that but I really think you should wait until you’ve been officially announced as the new Sire before asking other Sires to pick sides. Joseph McIntyre isn’t some low level Sire that doesn’t know what he’s doing,” he said.“At least you didn’t straight out say no,” I said to him and he laughed.“I must apologize and take my leave, but please do enjoy dinner on the house,” he said as we all stood up with him and shook hands again.“We’ll meet again soon,” I said to him.After ten minutes we took our leave and drove back to Aurora. I sat in the back with Rev and called Jay. Everything was fine according to him. Chris and Hannah were watching movies in the living room and Hannah was already asleep.We bought pizza and went home. Rev sat down on the couch opposite Chris and Hannah’s eyes popped open. She saw Rev, smiled and then went over to him and lay down with her head on his lap. He adjusted his seating so she could be comfortable and we all just watched him with amused looks on our faces.“The future Mrs. Rev,” Preston said and Rev just grunted as he ate.“How did the meeting go?” Chris asked.“Good, considering everything,” I said to her and she nodded.“I’m glad,” she said and switched the movie from The Little Mermaid to some action filled scene that I wasn’t paying attention to.On Sunday morning I called Rylee but she declined my calls, all ten of them and I started feeling like a stalker. I would have to be patient, she would know soon enough what was going on and even if she hated me, Baz wouldn’t let anyone else touch her.I didn’t want her to hate me because I already loved her, I just didn’t realize it but it hit me like a freight train the moment I remembered forging that bond with her a year ago. I didn’t want her to reject me either, apparently it hurt like a bitch, physically.I spent another few hours in the gym while everyone watched movies and stayed in their pajamas. Martha made Sunday lunch which was usually a roast with vegetables, baked potatoes and dessert. We ate more than the average teenager our age because we trained a lot.Chris had gone shopping for me because most of my shirts didn’t fit anymore. Since I merged with Baz I’d bulked out more and since my birthday I ate double of what I used to. I took a hot shower before lunch and we ate in front of the television.Hannah sat in between Rev’s legs as he braided her hair and I had to stifle a laugh. Nobody would ever believe that Rev, the guy that most people feared, would be sitting in his pajamas and braiding a ten year old’s hair with Barbie nail polish on his nails.“Rev, can I buy you a pink leather jacket for your birthday?” Jax asked him.“Fuck off,” Rev said and we all laughed.“Language,” Preston said and looked at him.“It’s okay Jax deserved that,” Hannah said and I shook my head.“Gee thanks Hannah,” Jax said and Rev almost smiled.“I wonder what Hannah’s going to do when Rev gets a girlfriend,” Preston said and Hannah stood up straight.“What?” she asked him standing with her hands on her hips.“I just mean… he doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Preston recovered quickly.“Good,” Hannah said and sat down again.“Lucas, are you going to kill Rev when he bonds with Hannah when she turns seventeen?” Jax asked me.“Shit don’t even joke about that, but Rev will know when he turns seventeen,” I said and looked at Hannah.“I already know,” she said and leaned back against Rev.“You’re too young to know,” Preston said to her.“I pity your bond half Pres, you’ve shagged half of Aurora,” Hannah said.“Where the hell did you hear that?” I asked her shocked at her choice of words.“People talk,” she said and Rev laughed out loud.Rylee ignored me on Monday and she was never alone. She looked worried and her eyes looked sad and something else I couldn’t place. She ignored my texts too and I was close to losing my temper. We were sitting in the cafeteria having lunch and I couldn’t help but stare at her.“Lucas, I have to talk to you about something,” Jax said as I sat down.“What’s up Jax?” I asked him still looking at Rylee.“I’ve found the one,” he said to me.“The one what?” I asked not really listening to him.“My bonded half… it’s Chris… her smell is intoxicating and I know you’re protective but I’m not going to reject this bond,” he said to me and my head snapped to his.“What?” I asked him thinking I didn’t hear him correctly.“Chris and I have been bonded,” he said to me.“No,” I said to him.“It
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Chris asked me angrily as I neared the steps.“You’re sixteen Chris, he had no right to push this bond on you,” I said to her my anger flaring up again.“He didn’t,” she said to me and I looked at her neck, it was unmarked.“Shit,” I said.“We both realized it this morning when we bumped into each other in the hallway and he was on the verge of rejecting me. I said to him I wouldn’t reject this bond even if I always thought of him as a brother. You know very well that we can’t fight it,” she said to me.“I thought he marked you,” I said to her.“You’re a shithead because the mark will only appear when I’m seventeen,” she said to me.“I know,” I said as she turned around and left the front door open behind her.Jax wasn’t in the living room and I went up to the second floor to his bedroom and knocked on his door. I knew he was in there. I could sense and smell him. He opened the door and looked at me before turning his back on me leaving the door open
I sat in the dining room but I couldn’t eat, I was nervous. It was Monday and Rylee’s birthday, she would know I was her bonded half the moment she saw me. I had no idea when JD’s birthday was because he would’ve known already if he had turned seventeen.“Have a good day at school,” Martha yelled as we headed to the front door.“Thanks!” Preston yelled back and slammed the door shut.I drove to school alone and much slower than normal. I parked in my usual spot and sat staring out in front of me until I heard the bell ring. Great, now I was late for class. I walked to my locker getting my books and headed to our homeroom.“You’re late Mr. Grey,” Ms. Lucy said as I opened the door.My eyes found Rylee and she gasped audibly. My eyes flickered between green and yellow as I took her scent in, it was much stronger now that she was seventeen and she looked at me with disbelief all over her face. JD was watching both of us and I saw the exact moment he realized what had happened.“Sorry,” I
I pushed myself away from the wall as Stella and Chris exited my room. I felt my heart sink at the look on their faces, it was grim. I had sent everyone else away and waited alone.“She’s asleep,” Stella said.“How bad is it?” I asked her.“She was beaten rather harshly, I found a lot of bruises all over, some cuts and…” she said.“And?” I pushed her.“She has bruising between her legs,” she said and looked down, “I’ll come by and check on her again tomorrow.”I just nodded my head as I looked towards my room. I heard Chris talking to Stella as they walked down the hall and I vaguely heard the front door. I stood frozen on that spot for a few more minutes before entering my room.I pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. She looked small and frail and I felt that familiar anger rising up in me.“What the hell happened to you Rylee?” I asked in a whisper.Her eyes remained closed and her breathing was even. At some point during the night I fell asleep in the chair as I watched h
I ran up the stairs to my room and opened the door. My bed was made and a folded letter lay neatly on my pillow. I knew immediately that she wasn't here. She wasn't even in the house and I dreaded to pick up that letter."Dear LucasI can't stay here, not just with you, but here in Aurora. A relationship between us would never work, especially after what happened to me. You seem like a good person, to me at least, you deserve someone that can give you everything. I have nothing to give you. Reject this bond and move on with your life, I'm sure a chosen half would be much better suited to you than me.Take care,Rylee."Rev stood in my doorway and walked over to me as I held the letter up. He read it quickly and put it down on the bed next to me."She's afraid," he said."She didn't want to tell me what happened to her but Stella said she had bruising. I think she was raped," I said to him."You should talk to Hannah," he said."Why?" I asked him."She sees and feels things," he said a
It was the last week before graduation and I didn't really see the point in going but I went and the only thing that was different was that Rylee wasn't there. Carson and JD still glared at us and I saw that they got their dragons too. I caught a glimpse of Carson's indigo dragon and JD's green one.He must be so pissed off that he didn't get a blue one since he was Carson's second in command. The look in their eyes said that they thought my own gray dragon were beneath them and I only smiled to myself with that realization."Heard you got rejected," Carson said as he pushed past me in the hallway."Heard you bonded with another guy," I said to him and his eyes widened."When did you become such an asshole Lucas, we used to be friends," he said to me."Yeah used to, so glad my eyes opened up," I said to him."What's your problem man?" he asked."Did you know your mother isn't your father's bonded half but a chosen one?" I asked him."That's a load of bullshit," he said."Whatever make
A lot has happened in the past six years. Chris and Jax had gotten married and Preston had met his bonded half, funnily enough she was human but she had taken the news of dragonkin well and they were well suited. She didn't take any of his bullshit and he had changed from a player to a caring and thoughtful boyfriend.Rev had been charged with aggravated assault, possession of an illegal firearm and obstruction of justice. He had also been found guilty and he was currently serving his time at the Federal Prison in Chicago. Hannah had taken it very badly and most nights she screamed as she felt Rev's pain. Rev had also refused any visitors and none of us had seen him in six years.I reached out to Tirsynth on a weekly basis and he confirmed that Rev was doing all right, sometimes he'd tell Baz that Rev had been hurt but mostly I already knew that through Hannah. I kept tabs on him and made sure that he always had money in his prison account and we sent him packages weekly.Rylee had fi
"So that's it?" she asked me, "you're just going to walk away?""Isn't that what you want?" I asked her.She looked down and then her eyes found mine. I closed the distance between us and I picked her up and kissed her. Her back found the wall and I leaned in and pressed myself against her. She wasn't fighting me, she was kissing me back with her own urgency matching mine.I could feel Baz in my head and I knew my eyes would be yellow if I opened them but I did anyway. I moved to the bedroom and I lowered her to the bed and hovered on top of her. Her hands went up to my shoulders and I shrugged my jacket off as she unbuttoned my shirt.I could feel the bond pulsating between us, giving me an euphoric feeling of happiness as she touched me. I lifted her dress and pulled her underwear off as she unbuckled my belt. I pulled her up and unzipped her dress and pulled it over her head."Rylee," I whispered against her neck. She arched it slightly as my teeth grazed her and she wrapped her le