Page 63 of Forging Bonds: Part One

Mael dips so that I can get off him, and the guy's kelpies all do the same. We say thank you and watch them all gallop back into the woods and back to their lake before we then head back inside the house. I’m too hungry not to eat, but I don’t want to fill up on food now when I know that I’m planning to eat later with Navy and the others. Which means I need a snack, and yes I am aware that most people don’t put as much thought into food as I do.

As we walk through the massive back doors and into the kitchen, Evander’s phone starts to ring, and we all turn to look at him curiously like the nosey fuckers we are.

He grins, “It’s my parents. I should probably answer it. They’re most likely wanting to know what time we’re arriving tomorrow.”

As Van answers the phone, we all disperse through the kitchen to grab something to eat.

“What do you mean?” He asks, sounding confused.

His eyes meet mine as the confusion begins to mix with anger.

“What’s going on?” Doc asks, watching Evander and clearly picking up what I have.

Everyone stops doing what they’re doing and turns to look at Van.

“I’ve got to go, I need to talk to Ty,” Van says and then hangs up before his parents can say anything else. I know that it must be serious because he’s going to catch hell for doing that.

“Why do you need to call Ty?” Ransom asks, worry in his eyes.

“Because he has announced the Choosing and that we’re contestants,” Evader says with a growl as he starts to dial another number.

“What the fuck?” River asks. “Why would he do that? He was supposed to wait until just before we went in, and we aren’t supposed to be going in for another two weeks.”

Van shakes his head, “I don’t know, but I intend to find out. He’s not answering.”

“Keep trying until he does,” Ransom suggests, his expression not pleased at all.

Everyone abandons what they were doing and moves to stand near Evander so that we can hear what’s going on better. As soon as I move up next to Reed, he pulls me in front of him and wraps his arms around me. I lean back on him and wait to see what the fuck Ty is thinking.

It wasn’t just for the hell of it that we wanted to wait until just before the Choosing to announce that we were going to be pulled in, it was for safety reasons. We didn’t want HID to know that I’m alive until the very last moment because they’ve tried to kill me before. Well, they did kill me, but as far as Ty is concerned, it was only an attempt that they thought they had succeeded at. My point is that they are likely to try again. Although this time, they’re going to be convinced that I’m a supernatural and most likely try to take to me to the blue fucker.

When Ty doesn’t answer again, Van just immediately hits the redial button.

“I would transport us to him, but I have no idea where he is, and we would just end up wasting time,” Doc says.

“We’ll call that the last resort,” Van replies. “I’ll keep trying him until he answers.”

Doc nods.

“We can probably assume that he’s at the academy. He rarely leaves,” Griff replies, not sounding very impressed at the situation that we find ourselves in.

“Agreed,” Raiden says. He frowns, “It’s Ty. It’s not like him to say that he will do something and then go and do the opposite. He must have had a good reason.”

I nod, “I know I haven’t known him for as long as you guys, but he’s been fighting in our corner since I have known him, and he is adamant about keeping me safe for my parents. Announcing the Choosing now is the exact opposite of that. Is there any way that someone else could have called it?”

Griff shakes his head, “No, we deliberately kept those in the know very small, although I suppose that the Draconian Team could have told someone. Was the announcement official?”

Van nods, “Yeah. My parents said that they were struggling now that it has been officially announced.”

Griff frowns, “Then it’s unlikely that anyone but Ty has announced it.”

“You still can’t get through?” River asks Van.

Van shakes his head, “No, it’s just ringing. At least he isn’t putting me straight through to voicemail.”

I frown. It’s really strange that Ty isn’t answering the phone, and I’m about to question whether we should be worried that something has happened to him when my phone buzzes in my pocket. Usually, when we’re in this situation, I wouldn’t bother to answer it since we have other things going on, but I am supposed to be meeting Navy and the others, and it looks like we’re going to have to get to the bottom of this early announcement so I need to tell them that I’m not going to be able to make it. I don’t want them hanging around waiting for me.

“I’ll just keep trying,” Van says, seeming like he’s at a loss for what else he can do.

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