Page 56 of A Shadow of Betrayal

Watching Lennox closely, I don’t like how Sabrina looks up at him like he hangs the damn moon in the sky. I hate it, and I can't stop the jealousy that cords through my belly when Lennox smiles softly down at the Ranger and dips his head to her respectfully. I look away, not liking the hurt and anger I’m feeling. Mostly, I feel betrayed, which is fucking ridiculous since Lennox is not mine. We kissed once. And it wasn't even a sweet, loving kiss. No… it was born out of anger and adrenaline… nothing more. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.

When I glance back over at Lennox, I actually smile when I find Creed standing beside him. The man is talking to his brother in a hushed tone but looks up at me, his eyes locking with mine like he can feel my stare. A bright smile fills his face, and he winks, making me blush a little. Lennox frowns in confusion, looking from his brother to me and scowling when I wink back at Creed.

“Two out of three, huh?” Jordan whispers, watching my interaction with the brothers. “Are we trying to clear the Regalis roster? Collect them all like Pokemon cards? I’m totally game for that.” I laugh and break my stare with Creed to look up at Jordan.

“Are you kidding? Razar would sooner murder me than grace me with even a moment of his time.” I giggle, and Jordan nods in agreement, his arm tightening around my shoulder, pulling me closer before we look back at Creed and Lennox. I stop laughing when I see both brothers glaring our way, their arms crossed over their chests and matching pissed-off expressions on their faces, their eyes locked on Jordan’s arm wrapped around me.

Jordan whistles low and slowly removes his arm from my shoulder. “That's the sign to pump the brakes. I feel like I’m waving a red flag in front of two raging bulls,” he admits. “Two insanely hot bulls. Damn, what I wouldn't give to be the meat in that sandwich,” he whispers, making me choke on a laugh and look up at him incredulously.

“Seriously?”

“Uh, yeah. Tell me you wouldn't love that. You would have the angry, rough sex from Lennox; he’s giving off serious Daddy Dom vibes. And the soft sweet sex from Creed.” Jordan sighs wistfully, and I bite my lip, looking at the brothers from the side of my eye, not wanting to be obvious. But Jordan makes an excellent point. Plus, if Lennox fucks the way he kisses, I already know it would be the best sex of my life. “You should push for your lessons to be given by Creed from now on if Lennox is still refusing to teach you himself,” Jordan adds, and I nod in agreement.

After my kiss with Lennox, things changed. I showed up at his office the next evening for my lessons, only to find Monroe sitting behind his desk, snapping at me to open my book and start reading. When I asked what happened to Lennox, Monroe ignored me before tossing a few more books my way. I have gone over the last twenty years or so of the Umbra Hunter's history and have tried and failed to heal myself a few more times.

The only time I have seen or interacted with my bloodline Senior since the Demon attacks six days ago has been at training and in passing at the cafeteria. Each time I look at him, he turns away, refusing to meet my eye or say anything to me. I can't quite tell if he’s mad at me for the kiss or himself. He hasn't been overly assholish… just his normal amount, but I catch him glaring at me a lot. I can also tell he doesn't want Creed talking to me, which doesn't make any sense since he made it perfectly clear how he felt about our kiss.

“Prick,” I mutter to myself as the rest of the Seniors and a few of the elderly Seniorem members come into the room, bringing the six bloodlines to attention. I sigh and clasp my hands behind my back, standing tall with my shoulders back the way Theo and Jordan had taught me this week. Apparently, we have to stand at attention whenever one of the old bastards is in the room with us unless it is in an informal gathering, like the cafeteria.

“Rangers, welcome to the second game in your Umbra training,” one of the old men says, his voice echoing around the large room as he clutches a cane in his withered hand. “This week, we will be testing your speed and endurance as a group and individually.”

Excited whispers break out over the large group, and Jordan bounces up and down on his toes, his hands still clutched behind his back as he grins down at me. I roll my eyes and mentally groan and wince, not liking the sound of that. I'm already the slowest member of the Regalis bloodline, and even though I can run a few more laps without feeling like my lungs are going to burst, I’m still not at the level a Ranger should be.

The old man holds a hand up, bringing the Rangers back under control with a stern look. “All members will be required to run a part of a relay race up the north ridge until the final Ranger brings the Bloodline flag to the north castle gate, where your Senior will be waiting. The fastest bloodline will earn an additional fifty points, and each Ranger will be timed on their portion of the relay in order to monitor their speed and efficiency while navigating the mountainside.”

“Shit,” I hiss under my breath, shifting on my feet and throwing a nervous glance at the Bloodline scoreboard on the wall at our side. The Drakos bloodline has pulled into first place with individual training over the last few days, with us right behind them, followed closely by the Riveras.

I know I’m the reason the Regalis score isn't as high as the Drakos one. I’m honestly trying my hardest to get better, but it's going to take more than a week to learn how to be a damn Hunter. If I’m being honest, I feel pretty good about my progress in such a short time. While I’m still way behind everyone else, I’m giving it my all and making the most of this situation. I’ve realized that getting out of this castle before completing the Umbra training isn’t going to happen. So I figure I can look at my options after the Umbra Trials… as long as I survive them, that is.

“Each portion of the relay has an obstacle you must overcome to get the flag to your teammate. In order to move from your starting point, you must have your Bloodlines’ flag to pass to the next Ranger. This will continue until all six flags are back at the castle gates,” the man says, and I cringe. Obstacle? What kind of obstacle are we talking about? I glance at the course on the other side of the room and shake my head. I’m guessing he’s not talking about tall walls with a rope you have to scale or a few balance beams over a foam pit.

“Wait,” I whisper, leaning close to Jordan, a thought just occurring to me. “The north ridge… that's where Creed was before I came here, right? Where the tear in the veil is?” I ask, dread pooling in my belly when Jordan nods.

“Yeah, looks like the Seniors want to test more than our speed today,” he whispers back, and I groan. “But I wouldn't worry about it too much. Demons don’t like coming out in the sunlight. This is all to make us nervous,” Jordan reassures me.

“Seniors, please bring your Rangers to their relay so we can have this done before nightfall.”

“Ready, babe?” Jordan asks, turning toward me.

“No,” I grumble but smile when he does a little happy dance in excitement. I wish I could manage half of Jordan’s and Theo's excitement regarding training. But I laugh a little and poke his side, making him flinch and narrow his eyes in challenge. I have come to learn that out of the two boys, Jordan is more ticklish. So I take advantage and poke his sides whenever possible. My favorite is when he’s stretching or yawning. He always yelps like a little girl and then glares at me.

“You really want to start that right now?” he threatens with a chuckle, pulling his hand back to slap my ass, but before it can make contact, a big hand wraps around his wrist, halting his movements.

“Ranger Jennings will run the first leg of the relay,” Lennox grinds out, glaring down at the Ranger and making Jordan's eyes widen in surprise. I turn around in shock, looking at where Lennox and Creed stood only moments ago, then back.

Damn, that guy is fast!

A big arm winds around my waist, making me tense up for a moment before a familiar chuckle washes over me. “Are you trying to get the poor boy killed, Meyer? He’s going to be lucky if Lennox doesn't stake him to a pole by the Rift and let the beasts demolish him,” Creed breathes into my ear, tugging me back into his firm chest, his arm cording tight around me as he steps us back, putting distance between Jordan and me.

“No. And why would Lennox care? He’s being an asshole,” I grind out, glaring at the stupid Viking in front of me. Tensing in his arms, I turn and glare at Creed. “I thought you weren’t supposed to touch me,” I hiss between gritted teeth, making a charming smirk play across his lips.

“I found a loophole,” he whispers, then wiggles his eyebrows at me, making me roll my eyes.

“Alright,” I say with a grin, turning and settling back into his arms, and smirk at Lennox, letting our green eyes lock as his fingers tighten around Jordan's wrist, making my friend wince in pain. A small growl tears from me, a wave of protectiveness urging me forward to help Jordan, but Creed only tightens his grip.

“Uh-uh-uh,” he chides, turning me in his arms so I can’t glare at Lennox anymore. So instead, I shoot him a dirty look. “Let's not aggravate the asshole anymore,” Creed whispers, making me calm a little when Lennox huffs in irritation, not liking his brother agreeing with my assessment. The Rangers and Umbra Hunters file out of the training center, and I grudgingly follow after them, watching Lennox as he keeps Jordan in front of him. We move through the castle's long hallways until we walk out into the frigid weather outside. Thankfully, it's not snowing today, but there is little cloud cover, meaning the air temperature is colder than normal.

I shiver a little, wrapping my arms around myself as a soft breeze catches a few locks of my blonde hair, making them flick around my face.

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