Page 19

Neith

“I don’t know how you did that, but it was a lucky fucking take down,” Kylen accuses and then kicks Coen. “Get the fuck up.”

I want to rage, I want to accuse, but the voices are practically screaming at me, and Coen himself asked me not to say anything, so I will keep my mouth shut.

I watch with barely contained anger as the two of them haul Coen to his feet roughly, fortunately he comes to before they manage to throw him around anymore and he avoids my gaze as he follows the two members of his team out of the doors.

Suddenly I’m surrounded by smiling faces as students congratulate me on beating the shit out of Coen. I paste a fake smile on my face, as I reply to them. My gaze finds Raiden and Ransom on the edge of the crowd, both of them looking worried. I know it’s because they saw him get me with his claws. Raiden mouths the words, asking if I’m okay and I nod that I am. Physically, I am fine, and I know that’s what they are referring to.

“That was amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen someone go up against Coen and make it out standing,” a student says to me.

“Can I sign up for your combat class?” another one asks.

I push everything away for the moment so that I can answer the student’s questions, and because I don’t want to give anything away. Everything, Coen, the voices, my instincts, all of it is telling me to keep this to myself for the moment. I know I need to talk to the guys, but I can’t do that right now.

I smile, and hope they don’t realize how fake it is, “I don’t have a class for you guys to sign up to.”

“But you will, right?” the guy who I fought first asks.

I shrug, “I honestly don’t know right now. I’m just trying to find my feet. I promise that I will think about it though, okay?”

He nods.

“Alright, you lot, class is over,” Raiden shouts.

His words have an immediate effect and everyone starts to disperse, soon enough it’s just Raiden, Ransom and I left in the room.

“Are you okay?” Raiden asks as he goes straight to my arm to check it out.

“I’m okay. They aren’t deep,” I reply.

Ransom frowns, “This may sound really strange, but he’s actually a good guy.”

Before I can reply that, I know the doors bang open, and all the other guys rush in, asking me if I’m okay and if I’m hurt and looking angry as fuck. I let them fuss for a moment before I can’t keep it in anymore.

“Guys,” I say, stopping their questions.

The door opens again, and Coen storms through them, his eyes searching the room.

“Where the fuck is she?” he growls.

The guys immediately move in front of me, blocking me from his view and trying to protect me.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” Evander growls.

“I suggest you leave before I make you,” Reed adds, the threat accompanied by a flare of power.

“Get out of the way,” I growl, shocking the guys enough that I’m able to push through them.

As soon as Coen’s gaze finds me his entire demeanor changes, the angry scowl that was on his face moments ago drops, and is replaced by worry and then a huge smile, when he realizes I’m okay. His green eyes sparkle like gems as his strides practically eat up the distance between us.

“What the fuck?” River curses, sounding thoroughly confused.

Coen picks me up, his head burying into my neck as he takes a deep breath. My arms wrap around him, and I hold him tight. It feels fucking good to be held by him again.

“Neith, what’s going on?” Griff asks, somewhat cautiously.

Coen lets go of me reluctantly but puts his hand on my back, clearly needing the connection. I need it too, it has been far too fucking long, and I lean into his side. Something that the guys notice and that has their frowns deepening.

“Er, Griff, you know I was telling you about the dragon and watching the flight classes?” I ask.

Coen grins, “N’aww, you’ve been talking about me?”

I roll my eyes and then get distracted in my reply, “Obviously. Where the fuck have you been?”

Coen’s eyes darken and fill with shadows, “That’s really complicated, Love. I would have been at the keep if I could.”

I frown.

“So, are you two a thing?” Doc asks, his eyebrows raised.

I shake my head as Coen nods, and I smack him so he corrects himself, “No, supes and humans don’t mix.”

“Well, act . . .” I start, and his hand wraps around my mouth.

“Don’t tell me anything,” he warns, his eyes darkening.

I nod and pull his hand away, “Okay.”

He tenses, “I have to go.”

“What?” I ask.

“I can’t Love.” He replies although it doesn’t make much sense. He pulls me in tightly, “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too,” I say, when he pulls back, I meet his eyes, “I’m going to figure it out.”

He opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but nothing comes out, his expression fills with anger and his dragons growl releases as he spins around and storms out.

“What the fuck is going on?” River asks, “It has been a really long fucking time that I have seen Coen smile like that, and why didn’t I have a problem with him touching Neith?”

I shrug, “I have no idea. I would say it’s because Coen isn’t a threat to me, but Ahren isn’t either, and you didn’t like him touching me, so I really don’t know.”

Griff interrupts, “Wait, Coen can’t be the dragon that you were telling me about.”

I frown, “Why not?”

“You said that your friend was the youngest dragon to have reached that status in flying combat,” Griff says.

“Yeah,” I nod. I’m confused about where he is going with this.

“Neith, Coen can’t fly,” Van says, “he can’t shift.”

“What!” I exclaim. “What the fuck is going on here? What the fuck have those fucking cunts on that other team done to him?”

“Nothing, he’s chosen to be on that team,” Reed replies although he frowns like he doesn’t quite believe it.

“Fucking bullshit. There is something extremely wrong. I’ve known Coen for nearly a decade, I used to hang out with him all the time at the keep, he’s really good friends with Draith. He told me I needed to knock him out because he couldn’t stop, not wouldn’t, but couldn’t. Something is very wrong.”

“Shit,” Raiden curses. He looks at the guys, “It would make sense.”

Griff nods, “It would. He was always supposed to be on our team. It shocked all of us when he chose to be on the other team when we graduated.”

“There’s only one problem with that though,” Doc starts.

“He’s right. How would they have gotten Coen to do anything that he didn’t want to do?” River says.

“I don’t know how, but I intend to fucking find out,” I growl. I frown, “Wait, if you guys went to the magical academy with him, then you would have seen him shift?”

The guys share a look.

Evander nods, “Yeah, we did. Around the beginning of our last year, he just stopped shifting. They did everything that they could to try and figure it out but couldn't find a cause.”

My frown deepens, “I've seen him since then though? I haven't seen him for a few years, but I have definitely seen him at least three times since his last year at the magical academy.”

“Did you see him shift?” Doc asks me.

I start to nod and then frown, my eyes widening, “Holy fuck. No, I didn't how could I have not noticed that he wasn't shifting?”

River smiles slightly, “Knowing Coen he most likely kept you so busy and distracted that it didn't even occur to you that he wasn't shifting.”

“The fucking heist, and the cave exploring,” I growl, “the motherfucker knew exactly what he was fucking doing. He couldn't shift in either place.”

“The heist?” Griff asks, “Should we ask?”

I shake my head, “Probably not. It means he must have somehow managed to keep it from Draith as well, which might explain why he stopped going back to the keep.”

“Fuck,” Raiden exclaims.

“Should we tell Ty?” Ransom asks.

“Tell him what?” River replies, clearly upset about this whole situation, “All we’ve got is suspicions, and we went to him with suspicions when it first happened. They asked Coen about it, and he said that he didn’t want to be on our team. Ty can’t do fuck all if there really is something going on.”

I walk over to River and wrap my arms around his waist, holding on to him tightly, and his arms immediately wrap around me, his head resting on the top of mine as he takes a shuddering breath.

“We will sort it, I promised him,” I say firmly, as I step back looking around at all of the guys who look horrified.

“It’s just that we all knew that there was something wrong, but Ty had them all interviewed, he separated Coen from them and everything, and Coen said that he wanted to be on their team. If it turns out that he’s somehow being coerced, then that means he’s been on that fucking shit excuse for a team for years, Neith, years,” Doc says, his eyes troubled and his hands clenching.

It’s actually really reassuring that they all care about him as much as they do.

“Maybe Ty could do something about it this time?” Evander says, “Now it’s not just us that is saying that something is wrong but Neith as well.”

The voices stir, rising in volume, a clear warning. I shake my head, “The voices are warning me against that. For whatever reason, we need to deal with this ourselves for the time being,”

“That’s so cool,” River says, “your voices, not the Coen thing.”

I smile, “It’s weird for me to be so honest about it. I never have been but it’s nice not to have to say something like, my instincts are telling or just saying something and hoping that someone is going to believe me and not question it.”

“Come on, I think we’ve had enough excitement for today. Let’s head back,” Evander says.

As we walk through the academy, I get this unsettling feeling in my gut. I don’t want to leave Coen here; I want to take him with us, but the way that he told me not to tell him anything makes me wonder if it’s because they have a way to find out information from him. Also, what the fuck do the guys mean when they say that he can’t shift or fly? That makes absolutely no sense to me, and it has only been a couple of years since I have seen him properly.

The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

As we drive away from the academy Raiden says, “I think it’s safe to assume that you didn’t stay off the Draconian’s radar.”

“No, I guess not,” I reply. “To be honest, with everything that happened, I forgot that I was supposed to.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ransom replies.

“What are we going to do?” River asks, “About Coen?”

Evander frowns, “I think the first step is to pick up a few more classes at the academy. I will try to work it out so that we are there at the same time that the Draconian team is. We observe, follow and see what we can find out. I know that it isn’t much of a plan, but I really think that we need to tread really fucking lightly with this.”

“I agree,” Reed says. “We don’t want them to realize that we are interested in why he chose their team again. It could raise red flags.”

“He was protecting you,” Ransom suddenly says. “He pretended like he had no idea who you were.”

I nod, “Yeah.”

“Fuck,” Griff curses, “I wish we could just go and get him and bring him home. I’ve fucking missed the idiot.”

“We all have,” Van agrees.

“Does he not hang out with you at all?” I ask.

I vaguely remember him talking about the guys at the academy that he was friends with, but we never spoke much about our outside lives. We just focused on the present, having fun, and training all of that shit. Of course, I knew that there was a strong possibility that he would have known of Evander. They were the same age, so in the same year, but I didn’t ask because I didn’t want to know. Not really.

Van shakes his head, “No. He wouldn’t even speak to us in the first year or so after we graduated, and he picked them. We really fucking tried as well, we just wanted to understand, and then we just wanted him to know that even though he didn’t want to be on the team, it didn’t mean we had to stop being friends, but he avoided us like the plague.”

“He pretty much did until around a year or so ago, now he has conversations with us, but they don’t last that long,” Griff explains.

“Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t know how we didn’t see that something was wrong,” Doc frowns.

“I know,” Ransom agrees. “We know now though, and we will figure it out.”

“Why doesn’t Ty do anything about that team? I was watching them, and the students were scared of him. That guy that called me out was forced to by Kylen. He refused at first, and then Kylen said something that made him agree, and then that whole thing happened.”

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Reed says.

“You handled that really well,” Raiden compliments, “I think if you do decide to teach a combat class, it’s going to be full.”

I smile, “Yeah, the guy seemed really receptive. It’s easy to teach someone who wants to be taught. Plus, the Kylen and that other one weren’t actually teaching them, they were just shouting.”

Ransom rolls his eyes, “Yeah, unfortunately, they like to do that. It’s all about control, fear, and power.”

“To answer your question though, Ty doesn’t do anything about it because no one is willing to say anything. Kylen and several of his team members come from very influential families or have really good connections with people in power and that puts people off from doing anything about it. As far as most of the students are concerned, they just avoid them as much as they can, and considering they are only at the academy maybe once or twice a week, that’s easily done,” Evander explains.

“Well, I’m going to destroy them,” I say simply. “I’m going to find out what they have done to Coen, and then I am going to tear them apart. I’m going to make them bleed and beg for mercy that I won’t give. I don’t give a fuck who they are.”

The car is silent.

There is no mistaking how serious I am. I tend to be reasonably laidback about a lot of things until someone threatens someone that I care about, and then all bets are off, and I will become your worst fucking nightmare.

“You know you are kind of scary,” River mutters.

I grin, “Only if you get on my bad side.”

“Why is it hot?” Reed asks seriously, although he’s not looking at me, he’s looking around at the other guys.

They all smirk, and Evander says, “That’s Neith.”

“So, we’re agreed, we will get Ty to put us on the rota so that we’re there when they are?” Doc asks.

“Yeah, hopefully, the more time that we spend around him, the more likely we are going to be able to figure it out,” Evander agrees.

“I’ll message him now,” Ransom says, his phone already out as he taps out a message.

“Let’s get home and get some rest,” Raiden says.

“And food,” River adds, making me smile.

“Shit,” I mutter suddenly.

“What?” Van asks.

“I forgot to ask Ty about taking the supe test,” I reply.

Van smiles, “Don’t worry we will be going back soon, you can ask him then.”

∞∞∞

Something has woken me up.

I know this, and yet, I can’t bring myself to open my eyes and find out what it was. I’m exhausted. My sleep so far has been filled with nightmares about what that fucking team could be doing to Coen.

Plus, my bed is fucking comfortable, I don’t want to wake up.

I know that I’m safe and it wasn’t one of my usual nightmares because there isn’t a hole in the wall. I’m assuming that one of the guys made a noise or something, and that’s what woke me up.

Just as I am drifting back to sleep, my phone rings throughout the room, ah that was the noise that woke me up. With that settled, I snuggle deeper under the covers. Stupid phone needs to shut the fuck up now. We’ve established that’s what was ringing. It goes silent and I smile, and then immediately start frowning again when it starts ringing again.

Wait, if someone is ringing this late, I should probably answer it, right?

Right.

It’s not until the third time that it rings that it actually wakes me up enough for me to sit up in bed and find the damn thing.

My eyes are still closed as I say, or rather growl, “This better be fucking important.”

“Ah, there she is. I was slightly worried that I had the wrong number but there’s no doubting that greeting,” a thick Irish brogue says.

“Niamh,” I greet warmly. “How the fuck are you?”

She chuckles, “Could be better.”

The circumstances finally click in my tired brain. She's calling me in the middle of the night, granted it’s not the middle of the night there but she would avoid calling me when it's night here if she was just calling for a chat. Which she doesn’t often do anyway, which means something has happened.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, as I get up out of the bed and flick the lights on. Immediately searching the room for clothes.

If she’s calling me with an issue, then I doubt that it’s going to be a problem that I can fix from here.

She sighs heavily, “We’ve had two people go missing, and we’ve had a witness come forward with some concerning footage.”