Dawn of a New Age: A Sons of Satrina Novel (23 page)

“It’s fine. I drove here. There’s plenty of room in the back of my truck.”

Kelton nodded again.

“Once again, my sincere apologies that this landed on your doorstep. I’ll send some of my guys up here tomorrow to sort out the damage.”

Kelton waved him off. “No need. We can sort that out, no problem. Think no more about it.”

“See you tomorrow then.” Patrick said with a stiff wave of his arm before he turned to limp over to his truck.

Kelton felt a hand on his arm as he watched the shifters moving out. It was Kayleigh. “Are you okay” He should have known that she wouldn’t have been able to stay away and wasn’t sure how much of the bloodshed she had witnessed.

“I’m fine. I’m glad Patrick is okay.” She shivered at the thought of the bloody state of Carlos’ corpse. “I think that you had better go and see Caleb and Rees. Someone needs to explain to them what has happened out here. I can guarantee that word will spread quickly and you want them to hear the right story.”

Kelton fell silent before leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. She was right. He had managed to keep them away from it, but they needed to hear from him what went down. The night was a long way from over for him. He knew that the other warriors would see that the shifters safely got off their land, so that was one less problem.

Walking through the elegantly decorated corridors, Kelton found the boys. Rees was looking pale and Caleb looked grim. They had witnessed what had happened through the first floor windows, but they didn’t yet know the full story. It was the first time that Kelton had seen the smile fall from Rees’ lips. He looked his age, a young and frightened boy.

Kelton was glad when it was over and done with. Finally, he could fall into bed. Kelton had been running high on adrenaline all night and was starting to feel the crash. After a night of fighting and problems, he was mentally and physically exhausted.

Sleep. If only his mind and body could wind down enough. That remained to be seen.

Chapter Eighteen

Trey knew that it was a really bad idea, but he couldn’t seem to get the girl out of his head.

When the shifters attacked the academy, they had been ready and waiting for them. Master Warrior Verynai had put some of the trainees in as back up in the entryway, probably thinking that the shifters wouldn’t stand a cat in hell’s chance of getting in, but they had, so it was lucky they were there. But, there was no way that any of them were going to let the shifters get the better of them, especially not on their own turf. There were plans in place for this kind of thing, something they had some training in, just in case. The Sons had plenty of enemies, and as the whole move had highlighted, their location couldn’t always remain a secret from the bad guys. They had every capable warrior and trainee on site ready and willing to defend.

Trey was part of the third wave. The first echelon took the shifters on outside and the second took on those that breached the entrance. The third wave was to make sure that no others slipped any further into the mansion.

However, the shifters had been pretty predictable and the third wave didn’t really see any action. They were well known for their brute force and knowing that, the other more experienced warriors were able to disarm and disable the shifters before any damage was done. Trey and the others were simply there to help keep the peace once the shifters had been overpowered.

That was how Trey had come to be standing next to a pretty little blonde girl. The scowl on her face didn’t detract from the beauty in any way, shape or form. It was clear that she was as pissed as the rest of them at being taken by a ‘fanger’.

She was ridiculously cute. Trey hadn’t been so much guarding her from doing any further damage to their property or their warriors as he was simply staring at her. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. Sure, some could say that he it was because he was starved of female companionship, being in a solely (almost!) male environment. But, that wasn’t it. This was something else altogether. It was like there was a physical or mental pull between them. And, now he couldn’t get her out of his head.

Not that she had seemed to feel the same way about him. The girl had sat slumped on the floor at his feet, snarling up at him with more curse words coming out of her mouth than he even knew existed. That amused him for some inane reason. He had never really known a girl that was as rough and tough as this one. Growing up in a family that was part of the elite social circuit, he was more accustomed to girls acting like proper little ladies, not tomboys. Even Ash, who was surrounded by male warrior’s day in, day out, didn’t speak in this way. It was refreshing in a humorous way.

“If you keep pointing that dagger at me like that, I’ll turn it on you and poke your fucking eye out.” She’d sneered at him. That just made Trey grin wider, which resulted in pissing her off even further. It was an unfortunate cycle, but Trey couldn’t help himself.

It was a strange night for them all. Trey and most of the other trainee’s had no idea what was going on between the Sons and the shifters. He was more interested in listening to the girls infuriated whispered ranting. She had fire. She had spunk. Trey loved it.

When the signal had come for them all to stand down and get back to their rooms, Trey had re-sheathed his dagger, but he didn’t immediately move from his spot. Surprisingly enough, neither had the girl. He had expected her to jump up and get as far away from him as possible, maybe bitch-slapping him on her way. But, she didn’t. Her posture relaxed slightly and her features softened.

“So, do you have a name? Or do you just respond to ‘idiot’?”

Trey raised his eyebrows at her as his eyes sparkled with humour. Even when she was being nice, she was still edgy and he couldn’t help the grin that broke out on his face once again. “I’m Trey.”

“What kind of name is that?” she scoffed.

“Oh and I supposed that your name is so spectacular that you can mock mine, huh?” Trey laughed.

“I’m Starr.”

“Starr?”

“Yes, Starr.” She replied through gritted teeth.

Trey chuckled softly. “Starr? Really? What kind of name is that?”

Starr glared at him. “You wouldn’t understand, bloodsucker.”

“Whatever.”

There had been no more time for any more banter, friendly or otherwise, as Starr was called over to convene with her pack. Trey watched her as she walked away. Starr moved with an almost feline grace, confident in her own skin. Her long blonde hair fell in a river of waves down her back, bouncing softly as her long legs carried her away from him.

The warriors had directed most of the trainees back to their own rooms, now that the threat to the academy had lessened. The rest that had stayed had still been ready to attack and defend, but the mood in the air had changed considerably. Whatever was happening didn’t involve them and was clearly pack business. Following Kelton’s lead, the others had relaxed a touch. Trey had continued to watch Starr.

As he watched her interact with her pack, it was clear to see how different she was from his own kind. It was the way she held herself. She was one of them, one of the pack. She was their equal. She didn’t need anyone to protect her.

It didn’t matter what anyone said, or how modern the world was, among the Lamia it was the males who were the leaders. The council members were all male. It was the men who were the head of the family and the warriors protecting the race were male. That was part of the reason that it had caused such a stir when Aisline had received the mark of the warrior. It was done. It just wasn’t the sort of thing that a female of their race was ever supposed to do.

Not that Trey thought like that. He thought everyone deserved an equal chance in life. But, generally, that was just the way things were in his world. Trey thought Ash was seriously awesome for all she had done and been through and he was glad that she had stepped up and shown everyone that girls can kick ass with the best of them.

It was easy to see that Starr wouldn’t put up with any of that male chauvinist crap. Hell that would be a sight worth seeing. She would beat them down without a second thought.

When the warriors deemed it safe for the trainees to leave them and go back to their room, they still didn’t have much of a clue what was going on. Apparently for them the evening’s entertainment was over. Trey had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t over at all and that it was just the beginning. Instinct tried to wash over him and he didn’t want to leave Starr down there to fend for herself, but what could he do? It was her pack. It wasn’t his business.

He raced up the stairs and barrelled into the room that he shared with Jackson. His roomie wasn’t up there yet and Trey hadn’t seen him down with the trainees that had been drafted in to help the warriors.

Rushing over to the window, Trey had watched as the shifters milled about outside the mansion. It all seemed pretty normal until the crowd moved into a tight circle. The warriors moved back and two of the shifters stepped into the centre of the circle.

It was a brutal sight and one that Trey wouldn’t be able to forget in a hurry. And that was saying something seeing as Trey was at the academy, learning to fight and slay, but this was a whole other level of violence.

He kept flicking his eyes from the death match over to where Starr had been standing at the back of the group. She was standing as still as a statue like the rest of them, as if she were made of unfeeling stone. He had no idea how she knew, but when she turned her head and looked up, she looked directly at his window and held his gaze. The pain in her face was evident. Watching the battle hurt her.

Trey had wanted to race back downstairs and take her away from it all. He wanted to protect her from the mindless violence she had to witness.

But, he couldn’t.

He had never felt that way before. It was a natural instinct within him to want to protect, but that had always been a protection to his race as a whole. To protect his family, the civilians, the warriors, his brothers. This was the first time that he had the urge so strongly to protect a single person. A girl.

Trey remembered clearly when the man laid on the gravel and breathed out his last breath and Starr had turned to look at him once more. There was a sadness in her eyes that he could see even from that distance. That look had haunted him all night.

As the pack had turned to leave, she raised a hand to him. That was all. A simple wave. Trey nodded but couldn’t smile at her. He raised his own hand in return and watch as she left on the back of some dudes bike.

Starr.

Trey didn’t know what to make of her, but something had happened between the two of them. He couldn’t shake her out of his head. He had spent all night dreaming about her. She was the first thing he thought of when he woke.

Starr.

Chapter Nineteen

“She’s beautiful, man.” Trey said with a small, shy smile.

“Why don’t you try and find out more about her?” Ash encouraged. She had never seen Trey like this before. He looked so happy and it was great to see. If anyone deserved something good in his life, it was Trey.

“I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“I wouldn’t know why you would even want to bother.” Denver piped up as he plonked himself down on the bench next to them.

Ash glared over in his direction. She managed to refrain from saying anything. She still greatly disliked him with every fibre of her being, but she wasn’t going to waste her breath or energy on him anymore. It was just unfortunate that she had regained some of his self-confidence and that he felt okay to approach her again, acting like nothing had happened between them.

There had been some rumours going around about what had happened to her, or the ‘why’ of it, anyway. Apparently, Denver wasn’t entirely to blame. That didn’t make her warm to him anymore, though. He had been an ass from the very moment she had walked into the academy and he had been an ass ever since. He just wasn’t the kind of guy that she would ever get along with. Denver didn’t have a likeable bone in his body, so it was irrelevant whether his role was a major part in her abduction or not. Ash just didn’t like him, full stop.

“What do you mean by that?” Trey asked.

“Just ignore him.” Jackson glared over at Denver.

“Well, why would you want to get involved with one of them? Dreaming of having a furry baby are we?” Denver whooped it up, Lewis laughing like a hyena next to him.

“What?”

“Why would you even bother going around chasing one of those inbreeds? You know what they’re all like – Love thy neighbour and don’t worry if it’s your cousin or your sister.” Denver nearly choked laughing at his own joke.

The sparring room suddenly fell silent. Ash was watching Trey, but his gaze was fixed somewhere past Denver. She followed where his eyes were glued and she felt her jaw drop. The shit was really about to hit the fan.

“What. Did. You. Say?” Caleb growled viciously.

Denver turned around and alarm flitted across his features before that well-worn arrogance fell back into place. Lewis turned so pale he was almost green.

“Caleb.” Aisline stood up and touched his arm, trying to calm him but he didn’t even seem to notice her.

Denver laughed, cocky to the end. “Aw, that’s so sweet. You’ve got a girl sticking up for you? Is that how you do things at home? Send all the girls out to fight while you stay at home, chatting up your mother?”

Aisline stepped forward, “You’re pushing your luck big style, Denver. I’ve kicked your ass before and I can guarantee that I’ll do it again.” Her eyes glowered at him, furious. Denver at his most arrogant, poking fun out of people in his hateful manner, was one thing she couldn’t abhor.

Caleb moved slightly so that Ash was out of Denver’s eye line. This was his problem and he could sort it out on his own. He didn’t need anyone fighting his battles for him, especially not a girl. He knew from the very first time he’d set eyes on Denver and Lewis that he was going to have trouble with that pair. It was just a surprise it had taken so long for them to stir it.

If looks could kill, Denver would have been six feet under already. The other guys around them stood silently, watching and waiting. Even Ash took a reluctant step back. She glanced around to see who was going to stick up for Caleb if things got nasty, who was going to back him up, and was pleased to see that Trey, Jackson and Jase were standing close by. Obviously, it was clear to all of them that Caleb could easily handle himself in a physical fight and had proved as much during sparring. The shifter had a natural talent for violence. But, when cornered, Denver had the tendency to play dirty and she was glad that they had his back.

“What?” Denver smirked. “You’ve gone all quiet. You come here squaring up to me and then you’ve got nothing to say? Not such a hard man after all are you, eh?”

You could have heard a pin drop in the silence of the room. Caleb clenched his shaking hands into hard fists. The rage that was flowing through him was barely contained. He had been feeling the pressure ever since last night.

The warriors had told him to stay in his room, bringing Rees to him. It wasn’t easy knowing that his pack was outside and it wasn’t until after he had found out the full extent of what had gone down. Caleb appreciated the fact that Kelton hadn’t tried to hide anything from him. He knew how these things went and wasn’t at all upset to hear that Carlos had bitten the dust. The guy was a dick and the pack was better off without him.

It cut him deep to know the troubles that his pack were having with coming to understand what the warrior mark and its call was all about. It was hard enough for him to understand it, so their confusion was understandable.

Caleb had almost physically felt the closest of his kin and it killed him not to be near them, but he understood that it was for the best for him to stay away from them. Patrick and Kelton could deal with it on their own, and they had.

It was hard for Rees. At first, he had gotten really excited to know that his pack and family were near. It was hard for him to comprehend that they weren’t there for the right reasons. Even Caleb now knew that if they had their way and had taken him and his brother from the academy that the results could have been disastrous. As much as he hated it there, the academy was the one place that they could deal with this mess. The warriors knew what they were doing and Caleb appreciated it, even if he didn’t show it.

Now he had to deal with Denver on top of all of that. He didn’t dare move or utter a single word in case he erupted. He wouldn’t be held responsible for his actions. Sure, he wanted to teach the dumbass a lesson for talking shit about his people, but he knew that if he didn’t try to control himself that he would tear this kid limb from limb with his bare hands. After the display that the shifters had put on last night, it was the last thing he should be doing.

Denver burst out laughing in a mocking manner. “Look!! The fur-ball tries to play a tough game, but he isn’t man enough to follow it through. Let’s hope that you don’t choke out there in the real world. If you freeze up in front of the enemy, they’ll eat your furry ass for breakfast!” Denver continued chuckling as he turned to look at Lewis. “A warrior? What a joke.”

Caleb couldn’t contain it a single second longer. He couldn’t hold it all in. Watching his arm shoot out and grab Denver by the throat, swinging him around, it was like he had no control over his actions whatsoever. It was like his fist moved all on its own, landing with a sickening crunch, connecting viciously with Denver’s nose which exploded in a fountain of blood. It took all his strength and determination to stop himself from jumping on the little rat as he fell to the floor and pummelling him until his facial features were unrecognisable.

Denver was howling on the top of his lungs as Kelton walked into the sparring room. He glanced around and noticed that the trainees were standing in a close knit group with blank expressions on their faces. Kelton knew that look well enough. Either a fight was about to happen or it already had kicked off and by the sounds of Denver’s outraged wails, it had already started and finished. The rest of the group were standing deadly still as he dramatically writhed on the floor.

“What the hell is going on in here? Can’t I leave you alone for two minutes?” Kelton demanded. No one said anything. Kelton looked down at the floor. Denver was cradling his face, blood running through his fingers. “Do I even want need or want to know happened here?”

“Yes! He did…” Denver started to say.

Jackson stepped forward. “I think that it’s all sorted now.”

Kelton looked at Jackson questioningly as the boy moved to stand next to Caleb. Even though he knew that Jackson and Denver had their issues, he didn’t think that it was the two of them who had been fighting. It wasn’t until the crowd started to disperse that he saw a knowing nod pass between Caleb and Jackson that he understood a little more what was happening. It was good to see Jackson taking the shifter under his wing. Not that he condoned any sort of violence within the ranks, but Denver pushed a lot of buttons and it could only happen for so long before one of them bit back. It was inevitable that sooner or later it was going to backfire on Denver.

Shaking his head slightly, Kelton shouted, “Get into groups of four. Grab your gloves and mitts. We’re going to pound out some combinations.” As he moved to get his own boxing gloves, Kelton stopped to talk to Caleb. “Is everything okay with you?”

“Everything’s fine.” Caleb snapped, his temper still spiking. Pounding his aggression out on the pads would be welcome today, and probably preferable to pounding the hell out of Denver.

“You do know that you can come to me if you have any concerns. If you want to talk about last night, or if anyone is giving you any hassle, I’m here.”

“I’m fine. Thanks.” Caleb said through gritted teeth.

Kelton looked at the boy for a moment. He only wanted the boy to know that he had the option of going to him if he needed or wanted to. It was clear that the boy would never be inclined to take him up on that offer. “Just remember that I’m here if you need anything at all.”

“Whatever.” Caleb replied in his typical sulky manner.

As the boys grouped up, Kelton couldn’t help but think how different the shifter boys were to the rest of them. He was pleased now that Master Warrior Verynai had convinced him to split the brothers up. Rees was much more pliable and easy going to work with and needed a lower level of supervision than Caleb. However, he was pleased that he had kept the boys together during their study times. He knew that they spent a lot of time together outside of training, but they needed that more than most. They needed the pack connection.

As he watched all the trainees getting their gear together and getting into groups, Kelton called out, “Remember, groups of four. Aisline, Jackson and Denver, you’re with me.” He watched as the three of them glanced briefly at one another before quickly rushing over to where he was standing and waiting.

“Does this mean that I get to train today?” Ash asked eagerly.

“Well, the doctor says that you’re fighting fit. Let’s see if she’s right, shall we?” Kelton couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s enthusiasm. She had been waiting for this moment for weeks.

“Oh believe me, she’s right!”

Flashing them all an evil grin, Kelton got stuck straight in, demonstrating several punch combinations for the class to work on before pounding Aisline, Jackson and Denver into the ground.

She felt like her arms were going to drop off. It felt so good to be back even if her body did feel like one big dead weight. It was physical proof that she was back in the game.

Ash had the feeling that Kelton had stepped the training up a notch or two. He usually worked them all into an exhausted sweat, but this went above and beyond. At first, she thought it was simply because she was out of practice and more out of shape than she had first thought, but noticing the looks on the other guys faces, she wasn’t so sure. They looked ready to drop.

It was great to be back in it. It was strange how much she missed pushing herself to the physical limits like that. Sitting on the side-lines and watching as the others trained had bored her senseless and she had hated every single minute of it. The pain and aches in her muscles were totally worth it to be back doing what she did best.

It was quite an experience. Usually, Ash concentrated solely on what she was doing. The physical side of things came quite naturally to her and she absorbed everything Kelton taught her like a sponge. She was used to working in a group with Trey and Jackson and they had unlimited patience with her as she strived to perfect her moves. Ordinarily, she did everything she could to avoid being near Denver and she wasn’t sure why Kelton had lumped them all together.

It all became clear soon enough. Kelton was going for subtle humiliation. Or if that hadn’t been his intent all along, it was certainly the outcome. Even out of practice, Aisline was outshining Denver by a mile. He was messing up his combinations, striking out with the wrong punches and continually missing his target. Kelton was gradually getting more and more annoyed by the minute, and the angrier he got, the more Denver messed up.

When Kelton was going through the combinations with Denver over and over again, it gave Ash time to look around and check out how the others were doing.

It was Caleb that caught her eye. She had only worked with him a few times and never in a real physical capacity, purely more in a mentoring role, but he was awesome to watch. Those rippling muscles held her in fascination. It was obvious that he was pounding the living crap out of the pads that one of the other guys was struggling to hold for him, probably imagining that it was Denver’s face while he did it.

He’d caught her looking at him once or twice and Ash turned away, blushing furiously. Then, when she turned away, it was Jackson’s gaze that she caught. She didn’t know where to look for the best. 

Things were getting more and more confusing and complicated as time went on. There was man-candy walking around everywhere with copious amounts of finely toned flesh on show, but up until now, she had only noticed Jackson. Why were things changing now? Why were her eyes suddenly opening?