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10: Exposed
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2021-08-14 06:30:43Everything was changing way faster than Ceanna could have fathomed.
She had gone from inconspicuous and uninteresting to the center of attention and the name on every high school senior’s lips in a matter of hours. All because Prince Keion had put his arms around her and called her his girlfriend.
Nobody even knew the back story to that! They were all just running with it... how can they even believe that he would pick an obscure girl like me? Because of fireworks?!
Blowing a stray curl out of her face, she crossed her arms and looked at herself in the mirror.
Honestly, she had tried her darnedest to remain nondescript, and nothing that she saw in the reflection called particular attention to her. Her hair was dark and curly but easy to manage and the bun she’d barely twisted up didn’t yell, ‘Hey, I’m cute!’ The baggy jersey was a vintage acquisition from Daddy Daley and hung on her the same way a car cover draped over a bicycle, pre
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Lines Crossed For Love 11: Subtle Shifts
Msia Hamadi smiled at his head of security when he walked in. “Good morning, Chief.” “Good morning, your highness.” His smile faded slightly. “Ah, so it really is one of those visits.” He gestured to the chair across from his. “Have a seat.” “Thank you.” Msia’s PA came in and offered the chief of police a variety of beverages. When he declined, she left as quietly as she had come in and Msia had given Chief Ruthers all his attention. “I’m all ears.” “Nomusa Chule’s behavior recently changed.” “So I’ve heard. Is there something you think I need to be aware of?” “She’s watching a child.” Msia frowned. “A child?” Placing a piece of paper on the desk in front of the king, the chief of police added, “Someone who interacts with one of your sons.” Reading the transcript, Msia’s lips pursed and he looked out the window for a short moment. “It’s alright Paul. I know exactly who this is about.”
Last Updated : 2021-08-14Lines Crossed For Love 12: From Different Worlds
It didn’t take long for Keion’s Politics of History assignment to consume him. In fact, the same day he decided his research topic, he headed to the library during lunch time. He pored over the limited passages written in the books he could find and scribbled notes, intending to go by Mrs. Greens’ classroom again after school. One particular book, written by none other than Dr. Calum Daley, held more insight on the Chule Kingdom than he had hoped to find in the school library. Happily, he tucked it under his arm and kept browsing for possible additions to his book list for the week. As he was doing that, he stumbled over someone who was sitting on the floor, their back against the book case. As an apology already forming on his lips, he looked down to see who he’d almost stepped on. He couldn’t believe his eyes when Ceanna looked up, already protesting against the interruption. The moment she saw who it was, she shut her eyes in what can only be described as
Last Updated : 2021-08-14Lines Crossed For Love 13: Approaching the Line
His experience walking through the halls with Ceanna still played in his mind as he got into his car and drove to the police headquarters to see his godfather, Paul Ruthers. It had been greatly uncomfortable even for him and he was sure he’d heard her moan of sheer distress at least once. Ceanna wasn’t the first person he’d dated from Alcombey, but she was the first person he had officially made his girlfriend. While his wolf was a little confused about that move, he reasoned that it was to keep the flock at bay. The likelihood of his mate being Ceanna Daley was so slim; he figured he could get to know this quirky wallflower without doing anything dishonorable toward her or his future mate. And the fact that she constantly wanted to run in the opposite direction meant her wolf hadn’t felt the same infinitesimal spark which had triggered the dream and therefore, she probably wasn’t the one. In his quest to whittle down the list of possibilities, Ceanna on his arm would
Last Updated : 2021-08-14Lines Crossed For Love 14: Plucked Out of Obscurity
Ceanna couldn’t have known that this was what she’d been missing in advanced classes all this time. Sitting in the classroom's corner, where she had an excellent view of everyone else, she listened to their views about supreme legacy: what should be an heir’s right and what they should earn as with every other wolf. She tapped her converse sneaker on the floor and twirled a loose curl around her finger while a debate formed. Zach, who she knew was the Model United Nations chairperson for their school, was leading the argument for fair treatment and insisting that all heirs to any rank should prove themselves worthy. Nancy, a nominee for class representative, claimed that the entire notion then negated the import and point of divine nomination and legacy being passed on as a birthright. She was more inclined to agree with Nancy, but Ceanna felt like both sides of the argument lacked objectivity, which was ironic because they were both good friends with someone who exi
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“Besides the fact that she was brilliant in this discourse, my girl- I mean Ceanna Daley,” he grinned cheekily, “has a more rounded worldview than most of us here, simply because she wasn’t born here. So while she’s one of us, she adds an air of diversity which may make our student body committee more inclusive. I even believe she would work well with our international students.” More students in the class started nodding as he listed her attributes and before he knew it, they entered her name into the system. Leaning back in his seat, Keion smiled, a little surprised at the quick uptake of the idea that had come to him on a whim. Looking over at Ceanna, Keion started slightly seeing how unhappy she seemed with the nomination. The frown faded as understanding lit on his face a moment later. He leaned over and whispered. “I’m sorry about the girlfriend part. It was just a joke.” She whispered back emphatically, “You are not sorry.” Pause. “You realize you just rigged the whole electi
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Despite her objective understanding of who Keion was and how unlikely a real relationship with him would ever be, Ceanna did her best to keep her head down and avoid him whenever she could. Holding onto as many of her ordinary classes as she could reasonably fight for, she kept herself busy and tried to be the last one to leave a classroom so that he couldn’t wait for her all the time. A part of her was very aware that attachments were easily formed with prolonged periods in each other’s company.Every now and then their schedules overlapped and Keion seemed to enjoy making a point to go out of his way to shower her with attention in those instances. As Nancy kept him abreast on the campaign she had devised for the Student Leader elections, he started asking her how she felt about it and what her thoughts were.At first, she reluctantly offered her opinions but as she saw it taking shape and showing up on school bulletins Ceanna started to push back and giv
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Keion was running drills with his team. His coach had revved everyone up for being slow after winter break and this was the second week he’d been put to task, driving ball skills and sprints from the front. Physically, Keion could handle it but he knew he was stretching the weaker guys’ limits. Mentally, he was a little annoyed because whenever someone made a mistake, coach would jeer about how their captain had spent his time kissing girls instead of staying on course and everyone else thought they could do the same.After an hour of that, Keion and everyone else had had enough. Coach Ferreira told them to take ten and he went outside to smoke behind the gym. The cheerleaders were practicing on the other side of the sports complex and Keion was aware that some of them were seniors who had been at the party.Pushing that to the back of his mind, he apologized for the way coach was using his incident as a point of reference.“Even if you hadn&rs
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Ceanna... Books slipping from Ceanna’s hands, she gasped and froze in the middle of the busy staircase. Are you alright? Shaking her head slightly, she scurried down the stairs, collecting her stuff and thanking those who stopped to help her. How can I hear you right now? Where are you? I think I am closer than I have been in years... I felt your tears. What’s going on? I-I’m okay. I was just having a bad day. That must have been one hell of a bad day, little sister, came the wry reply. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you, her voice wobbled. Keep it together, Cece, you don’t want to have that meltdown in public, do you, he chuckled. Haha, right. I have to go to class... Okay. Hang in there. If you are in any danger, I will come. As far as I know, I'm fine. Come anyway... I miss you s
Last Updated : 2021-08-14
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Lines Crossed For Love 26: Coming to Terms
Ceanna hadn’t always felt like an outsider in her adoptive family. She was grateful for their love and care, and she knew she was different from them, but they had made her feel welcome, despite the obvious. She was a little taller than the average teenage girl, but luckily the men in her family were giants, too. It made her feel like that was a superficial thing they had in common when everything else was far from similar. Ceanna’s golden-brown skin and ethnicity were the first obvious deviations from Daley genetics. She had curly hair and almost yellow eyes, while they had straight black hair and normal colored eyes. Their bloodline was rich with love and academic achievement, hers was… The turmoil she felt whenever she thought of her heritage made her sigh out loud and turn away from the mirror. She wanted to believe what Queen Hamadi had said at school the other day, but she did feel alone, especially when comparing herself to the other kids at Alcombey High. Ceanna was as differe
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Oblivious of what was taking place in the boy’s session, the girls sitting in the theater hung on every word the queen shared with them. Her voice resonated across the room without a microphone as she single-handedly held the room captive with her words. Kaliah Hamadi was a tall, willowy woman with golden brown skin and long curly hair. It wasn’t just her position in the hierarchy that made her so easy to listen to; her voice was like a clear flute note- so pleasing to the ear that several girls across the hall had smiles on their faces as they leaned into the wisdom of their leader. Next to Ceanna, Nancy nodded emphatically when the queen asked them if they were excited to be discovering who their mates were. When the time came for a few girls to share what their pairing experiences had been like, Nancy whispered to the girls around her. “I could watch her all day, she’s so amazing.” They all agreed. “She looks so beautiful and sure of herself.” Pause. “I can’t imagine her being
Lines Crossed For Love 24: So Close and So Far
King Msia stopped talking as Keion’s head hit the ground and his breath rushed out of his lungs in a violent whoosh. Zach and Tommy laughed in surprise, but also immediately reached out to pick up their best friend. Keion sat down quickly and put his head in his hands. Heads turned to look at the handsome young prince. The contact with the floor had hurt, but Msia knew that a headache was the least of his son’s worries. “We’re going to take a break, boys. You can go outside.” No one stopped to think about the king’s instruction. Everyone in the room, except for his son, stood up and filed out of the hall respectfully. Msia waited until most of the boys left before rising to his feet and walking across the room to where his eldest son was sitting. The man could feel the young man’s heart pounding, and he knew it had something to do with his mate. Taking the chair nearest his son, he placed it right beside him and he sat down, putting his hand on the boy’s back. Keion breathed a sig
Lines Crossed For Love 23: New Levels to Leadership and Love
Keion could feel the excitement every time they discovered a new couple in their school. Some came as an absolute surprise, but the general response was joy for the people who discovered their mates and increasing curiosity for the remaining pool of possibilities. More deeply, though, he felt the anxiety of his future mate. Sometimes when the notifications popped up on his phone, he felt a distinct twinge of sadness, which he could now distinguish as his mate’s. His medication made his reactions a lot more mild, but they didn’t entirely conceal how she was feeling. It made him unhappy that he couldn’t do anything to help her and even though he’d tried a few times to get a picture of her in his mind, the moon goddess had not yet seen it fit to reveal to him who his soul mate was. Keion wanted to take away her worries and the loneliness that seemed to strike a chord whenever anyone else got their mate. He felt helpless and so he tried to do what his father had suggeste
Lines Crossed For Love 22: An Untameable Hunger
Miles away, a young man woke up suddenly. Beads of sweat gathered on his forehead and his bare chest from the heat of the morning sun, and his heart was racing as if he’d been running. Centering himself, he realized that it wasn’t his anxiety that had woken him up, but it was more urgent than it had been in a while. What’s the matter? Are you alright? I need you. What if they find out, she asked frantically. Take a deep breath. They won’t find out. The prince is doing a paper on it! Okay, Cece... just calm down. It’s going to be alright, he told her. I’m coming as soon as I can. Feeling her panic settle to mild worry helped Reyan focus on his present situation. Shutting her out of his mind, he looked around the room where Maxwell and Andrea Cosby had kept him for the last few weeks. Andrea would be coming in very soon. She came to him every morning after her brother-in-law Ma
Lines Crossed For Love 21: What Do I Do Now?
Returning to school after yet another fainting spell felt like even more of a task than usual. Knowing that it was her grandmother’s anger that had caused her last blackout only increased her anxiety and heightened the deep longing for her brother.He had always protected her, and they had always felt stronger together. Knowing that they were on the same continent brought Ceanna some relief, but the distance still made her heart ache. She hadn’t heard from him in a while, and she needed to know that he was alright.Mama Daley had breakfast ready for her when she came downstairs and her father was already seated at the kitchen table, drinking coffee.He looked up when she walked through the door and opened his arms the way he used to when she was smaller.Going over to him, she let him hug her. She sat down on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Good morning, baby girl.”“Good morning, daddy,” she mumbl
Lines Crossed For Love 20: Different Fates
Ceanna fainted again during a conversation with Keion in the library.Just before it happened, she had sensed a familiar feeling that had filled her stomach with terror. She was being watched, and the person was very unhappy.Hunching her shoulders, Ceanna had tried to block out any conscious awareness of her grandmother’s presence and her growing ire. Reaching up to her throat, she’d sought to touch the necklace she wore every day for comfort.Don’t you dare touch that while you are sitting next to that boy!Flinching, her hand dropped back to her lap.Keion paused and looked at her oddly. “Are you alright?”“Huh?”“You just jumped.”“Oh, I-I’m fine.”What worried Ceanna was she had no idea what she had done to upset the woman so much. Was it just being in his presence? Surely not, because they had done this before.Tell me what
Lines Crossed For Love 19: A Journey Long Since Begun
The old woman on the other side of the table tapped her pipe against her lips and gazed deeply into Keion’s eyes. “Try to open yourself up to this. Hide nothing from me.” Nodding once, Keion let his memories replay freely in his mind. “I see you’ve been busy, young prince,” the healer commented. “Very busy.” Not sure how to interpret her statement, Keion sighed, still feeling her treading carefully amidst his recollections. “Did I do something wrong?” Kaliah reached out and took hold of his hand, and he felt nothing but immense love. His father’s hand was on his shoulder and he knew they both supported him, but the dreams and emotions that assailed him unbidden felt almost like a punishment. “You are not being disciplined, but this will certainly be a significant test.” The Hamadi’s waited for the old woman to explain further. She reached over to the side of her desk for a small jar and took a pinch of the powder and pl
Lines Crossed For Love 18: Connections
Ceanna... Books slipping from Ceanna’s hands, she gasped and froze in the middle of the busy staircase. Are you alright? Shaking her head slightly, she scurried down the stairs, collecting her stuff and thanking those who stopped to help her. How can I hear you right now? Where are you? I think I am closer than I have been in years... I felt your tears. What’s going on? I-I’m okay. I was just having a bad day. That must have been one hell of a bad day, little sister, came the wry reply. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s really you, her voice wobbled. Keep it together, Cece, you don’t want to have that meltdown in public, do you, he chuckled. Haha, right. I have to go to class... Okay. Hang in there. If you are in any danger, I will come. As far as I know, I'm fine. Come anyway... I miss you s
