Page 55 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“You will stay away from her,” Nox growls, his hands fisting at his sides in frustration when Creed scoffs in response.

“No, I won’t, and you can’t make me. You may be in charge, but that only works for commands on the field and during missions. Not personal relationships. Not even Father could command me away from her,” Creed stubbornly says, making Lennox’s eyes darken. A growl bursts from his chest before his hand snaps out and wraps around Creed's throat. Grinning, I step back, enjoying the show, when Creed full-on launches himself at Nox, sending the two men stumbling back into the closed door.

“Father would never let you have her. You are promised to another,” Lennox snarls right before Creed punches him in the jaw.

“That's a backup plan if we don’t find someone we love, and you know it. Mom wouldn't ever force us into that arrangement; she said so herself!” Lennox punches Creed in the side, making the smaller man double over with a grunt.

“Well, it doesn't matter. We are on a mission, and you do have to listen to me, so get over it,” Nox mutters, shoving Creed to the floor and brushing off his shirt and pants. “If I see you with her, I'll be sure she has to pay for your actions.”

“Don’t try to use that low threat again. I have my own personal time, Lennox. You can’t control every second of my life,” Creed grinds out, standing up. Nox leans forward, getting in Creed's face, and grins.

“Yes, I can,” he whispers before he turns to leave.

“I’ll tell Father,” Creed mutters, making Nox chuckle.

“What are we? Twelve again? Go for it, Credence. We have overstayed our mission assignment. He’ll agree with me.” Creed curses, knowing Nox is telling the truth, before his eyes light up, and he smiles. I lean forward, interested in what he thinks he has in order to get Nox to back down. As far as I can tell, Creed is stuck in a corner until we complete our mission. Then these two can fight it out over the silly girl and see who wins, but by then, I'm guessing she won't want either of them.

“I'll tell Mom,” Creed says, clapping his hands together and beaming like an idiot. I blink in surprise and nod, a little proud of the boy. Yeah… that would probably work. Mom is all about true love and that bullshit. If Creed tells her Nox is keeping him from someone he believes he could have a future with, she would put her youngest son in his place so fast Nox wouldn't know what happened.

Nox freezes, his back still turned to us, before he curses and shakes his head, probably coming to the same conclusion I had. “Fine. But not during training hours,” he finally says as he yanks my door open and then slams it so hard I'm pretty sure I hear the frame crack. Creed fist pumps the air and does a weird dance, which instantly loses him all the respect he just earned from me. “You’re an idiot,” I mutter under my breath, then walk over and open the door, nodding for him to leave.

“Don’t worry, Razzy baby. You are also on my list to fix,” he says happily as he skips through my door like a love-sick fool.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Meyer

“Really?” Jordan whispers as the rest of our bloodline stops in the center of the training room.

“What?” I ask, adjusting the comfy blue sweater that I threw on as we were leaving the barracks. Then yawn again and reach up to rub my eyes. I haven't been sleeping well the last few days, and it's not from the dreams I’ve been having, but the lack of them. I haven't been back in my dreamscape since the night I met Valen, and I can’t help but worry about him. He seemed so lonely, acting as if the thought of me waking up was heartbreaking to him. I can't imagine how it would feel to be lost. And that's another thing! Where is Valen, and how is he lost? Was he killed during that Demon attack in Europe and somehow made it into my dreams? Or is he trapped somewhere, needing to be found?

Jordan sighs, oblivious to my inner turmoil, as he reaches down, grabs the hem of my sweater, and lifts it up, pointing to the fighting leathers I have on underneath.

“You’re wearing a sweater over your leathers,” he points out in confusion, and I swat his hand away and shrug.

“Yeah, so? It's freezing, Jordan, and I want as many layers as possible before the Seniors toss us in a frozen lake or something,” I grumble, making Jordan snicker.

“The closest lake is on the south side of the mountain, and it would take a while to get there, so I doubt that's what they’ll be doing for this week's Ranger games,” Jordan reassures me.

“What will the games be?” I ask nervously, my eyes scanning over the other five bloodlines until I find a familiar set of brown eyes. The Drakos Bloodline is lined up, hands behind their backs already, their black and red fighting gear strapped on with military precision. Glancing down at my black and blue set, I grin, brushing off the blue sweater. You can’t see it, but I strapped on every piece of leather armor this morning, and I'm beyond proud of myself for it. It may not be a big deal like kicking ass, but the damn laces on all the armor are confusing as hell, and I finally figured it out on my own.

Looking around the room, I see a mixture of colors. Yellow and brown for the DeLucas, dark green and gray for the Riveras, orange and brown for the Rossi Bloodline, and purple and gray for the Axfords.

My gaze circles back to the Drakos, and I smile and wave at Theo, who grins and bounces on his toes in excitement. He’s been complaining for the last few days that the Ranger games got postponed an extra two days because of the Demon attack.

The Seniorem had to handle the lost members and contact their families before there was a giant burial ceremony. It was all extremely sad, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for the families that lost a loved one during the attack. But it opened my eyes and showed me this is real life. The Umbra Hunters are not playing around. I’m currently in a life-or-death situation, and if I don’t do better, I'll probably die.

After a moment, a girl with the familiar Drakos-brown hair leans in and whispers something to Theo, and he laughs, slinging his arm around the girl, making her giggle and blush. I can feel Jordan tense at my side, and I bite my lip to stifle the smile that threatens to break free. While I’ve had my suspicions for the last week or so that Jordan and Theo might be crushing on each other, I haven't had the guts to ask either of them if there is something there that is more than friendship. But from Jordan's lingering looks and outright jealousy whenever Theo flirts with anyone, I would say he’s definitely crushing hard on our friend.

Theo is a little more discreet in his affection, but I don't miss the small unnecessary touches he gives when helping Jordan to his feet or showing him a new fighting stance. The boys have it bad for each other, and I hope one of them is eventually brave enough to say something to the other.

“Little shit will do something to us during the games, mark my word. If we have a close contact game, keep your eyes on Theo. He cheats,” Jordan grumbles, yanking on a pair of black leather gloves as he scowls at his best friend.

“You both do,” I mutter, then giggle when Jordan pokes my side. “Stop!” I hiss when he keeps going, making me laugh louder, drawing the attention of the other Rangers and Hunters nearby. When Lennox turns and rests his dark gaze on us, I cough and elbow Jordan in the side. He grins and tosses an arm around my shoulder, nodding to our Senior, who glares at us with a fury that scares me. “You're asking for trouble,” I grind out between clenched teeth, a fake smile plastered on my face. Jordan grins, then leans closer to me and winks, making Lennox’s nostrils flare before he turns back to talk to Billy and Sabrina.

“Dude shouldn't have been a jerk then,” Jordan responds, and I shake my head in amusement. I hadn't told the guys about mine and Lennox’s kiss. I had felt too dirty and embarrassed after the way Lennox had treated me, but I did tell them we had argued, and he treated me like crap.

Theo had been pissed, claiming our Senior was jealous, and Jordan agreed before they started to plot a way to make him regret his actions. When I told them I hinted at Jordan taking care of my needs, the boys laughed so hard Theo had to run to the restroom. Since then, they have been extra touchy with me. Throwing arms around my shoulders. Linking our hands together and flirting whenever Lennox is nearby. The first few days produced some great reactions, but ultimately we eased up after Lennox gave the three of us an extra ten laps around the track for being disruptive. The boys thought it was worth it, but I’m pretty sure one of my lungs popped with the strain of the extra physical activity.

---