“Yes, yes I love you too. Before all this information overload, someone named Scail, was clapping at me and was admiring how awesome I was; he appreciates my talents clearly. But he also said camping is not a good idea, to keep moving and he’ll watch our back. That we need to cross the Veil as soon as possible. After all of this, I’m afraid he’s right.” He cursed.
“Everyone pick your stuff up and let’s go, we can follow the river, but if Scail says go, he means it.” Everyone was pretty much ready considering we didn't have anything to really fix, since we threw it down to fight, add in the fact that we were now overly jittery and hyper focused and we moved quickly and efficiently.
“So, who is Scail and why is he right?” I asked Kalen, my guys echoing my sentiments through our connection, as we started walking again. King looked a little tired, so I pulled energy from around me and transferred it to him so that he wouldn’t have to do it himself. He looked at me gratefully and winked.
“Scail, is one of the deadliest warriors and trackers of our time. I've been around many years and besides me, and you, which is because of me by the way,” he smirked, and I rolled my eyes before he continued, “Scail is a very disciplined warrior. He also has built a network of underground spies. If there is something you need done or information you need, he would be the one to go to, although he is as cunning as he is helpful, so making a deal with him could easily break you, and he doesn’t leave loose ends. He is as great of a person to have by your side as he is the worst.”
“How is that possible?” Ryder wondered out loud.
“Well, he has his network and as such knows where tides are turning and at the drop of the dime can go either way. If anyone were to ever gain his fealty it would mean certain destruction for whatever side he abandons. He has made many enemies over the years, in name only, as they are all too chicken shit to actually do anything,” he chuckled. “He’s a good man; resourceful and intelligent. He reminds me much of you actually - very interested in human relations and making sure whatever new age is brought in is aware of the importance of those relations.”
I pondered for a while. He sounds like a dangerous person to get on the wrong side of, which means I would naturally end up there because quite frankly. I always ended up pissing someone off. I sighed, “He said he realized that everything you said about me was true and that he looked forward to seeing me very soon. Does that mean he lives in the Veil?” He frowned at that.
“Not really... he visits but doesn’t spend long, if he is as intrigued by you as you say and is coming, it's anyone’s guess how long he will stay. He has his own quarters there,” he shrugged.
Hmm, well. I guess I'll see Mr. Chocolate, vaginal-punch inducing, mysterious Fae soon. I turned back and the guys and Remi were all in deep conversation. I’m sure I was the topic, so I rolled my eyes and ignored them. Kalen caught my look and laughed. “They are worried about you, you know. I have known you longer and I know how you tick a bit more. You are protective and you are fierce Hudson, and I love that about you, but they are your mates now; you are a part of them. If anything happened to you, they wouldn’t survive and vice versa. If you stay close you can defend better. In your heart, you know it's a brotherhood of sorts. I taught you strategy, so realistically you should have thought about that, but you let your magic take over. Your magic is your connection to Gaia and nature, which is a strength, however with tides having turned…Alvor,” he choked up a bit, “with Alvor having always been on the other side, we now know he has been gauging your strengths and weaknesses and he knows more now than we ever wanted him to. We are at a disadvantage; something I do not like. Knowing that, I realize we never went over the importance of fighting with your team, which, in a war, a coordinated team can mean the difference between winning and losing. I look forward to teaching you all I can. We will have to pick up training again soon.” I groaned jokingly and he laughed. We walked in silence for about an hour more and we reached...a tree? I looked at Kalen and he laughed.
“Well, it's not going to have a sign that says welcome to the good side of the Fae kingdom.” He chuckled as he cut his palm and placed it against the tree and dropped to one knee, “as blood grounds, I offer my essence to the essence of which we came.” Once he said the words, a tightness appeared in my chest, and we were suddenly in a resort-like city with twinkling, floating lights. Holy shit, I fucking entered Disney World. There was even a white horse!
I spun around, taking in the homes and stores carved into trees and beautiful little cabins all around. Surrounded by the greenest of grass and foliage, I couldn’t help but picture all of this destroyed, and the white horse covered in blood.
Shaking the bad thoughts from my head, I tried to take in as much as possible, but it looked like everyone was pretty much asleep, and to be honest I could use some serious sleep too. But it all looked so pretty! Luca and Jensi waved at us and went to a cabin to the right of a huge, gorgeous cabin. I wondered who it belonged to until Kalen led us straight to it. I gaped- it was a gorgeous three-story cabin, in front of a still lake and a campfire area. The cabin was all dark wood and the front door was hidden, as you needed to walk down three steps down in order to reach it. When he opened the door, I was taken aback by the open-concept plan that led you into an expansive foyer with a perfect view of a rustic kitchen, and a smooth marble double island. The living room was decorated out of a magazine and the walls were painted a soft green, giving more to the overall earth tones of the home.
“Wow,” I whispered. Kalen blushed.
“I started building this for you the moment I knew of your existence. I didn't know how close we would become, but every time I look at this place, I knew in my heart that it was perfect for you and I couldn't wait to have you here.” He cleared his throat when he saw my face and I looked away so I wouldn’t get emotional. There was Father and then there was someone like Kalen who truly cared about me and my happiness; that meant the world to me.
He cleared his throat, “anyways, there are ten rooms, and each room has its own bathroom. Also, the lowest level has a gym, but in the next few days, we’ll be moving training to the courtyard. It's how we all train here. Hunter, Ryder, Zane, Grayson, King, and I need to gauge your level of skill and tailor it accordingly.” They all nodded. “We have quite a bit to go over, but we can worry about that tomorrow after some rest. Oh, there is also a pool outside and a large bathroom that leads off it. There’s also a half-bath in the gym and in the living area near the mudroom. I'll let you explore it. I’m going to bed; my cabin is directly across from yours. The one to your left belongs to Scail, believe it or not. That should be interesting.”
Kalen said his goodbyes and we all wandered upstairs to the bedrooms. I laughed when I saw the room that was clearly mine.
Hudson- Guys my room has like a triple king bed, a huge television and posters of Lucifer Morningstar, and fuck yeah, direct access to the pool area again. Totally tanning tomorrow.
Zane- Yeah that’s your room, I chose an all-black one, its fucking huge. The bed is ridiculous. I’ll be watching you tan tomorrow.
Hunter- Fuck yes, I chose the red room, for obvious reasons. Matches all I bought that day we went shopping, all of which I brought with me. I’ll be rubbing the tanning lotion.
Hudson- Fucking perv, I love it. Wait what the fuck did you buy that needs a red room?
Hunter- You better, the only reason I’m not deep in you right now is because we need to shower and sleep, but tomorrow all bets are off.
Remi-Guys, I can hear you now. Fucking gross. My room is such a pretty autumn gold. I love it.
Grayson- Rolling my eyes right now, my room is green and it is tastefully done for sure. I have to wonder if Kalen knew about our preferences.
Ryder- Maybe. I chose a room with blue. Holy fuck, have you guys been in the bathrooms yet? Also, I’m using the tanning lotion as lube, I hear perineal sunning is good for your health.
Hudson- I am now. Fuck. I didn't even know they made showers this big and I have my own jacuzzi. Ryder, you're a dweeb. Stay off buzz feed.
Hunter- Okay, so we’re all sleeping with Hudson tonight?
Hudson- No sir, we need to come up with some rotations and then nights we are all together. I want to be able to love up to all of you individually. Also, I’m going to need to talk to Remi before that. It would be wrong to exclude her in cuddles, even though I’m sure she’ll always want to be excluded from sex. Haha
Remi- You’re absolutely fucking right. I’ll cuddle, but someone is getting punched in the nuts.
Zane- I agree with all of that, except the nut punching. We’ll come by for our nightly kisses after we shower.
Smiling,I stripped off my sweaty, bloody clothes and jumped into my gorgeous shower. Holy fuck, it was incredible- purple glitter tiles and color changing rain shower features, and there was already shampoo in here. I was in heaven as I finished up, brushed my teeth and put curling cream in my hair that I snagged out of my bag. I skipped to my room happily, butt ass naked and unpacked my bags. I hated clutter. Twenty minutes later, all my clothes, shoes, cosmetics and lotions were put away. The best part? My room had shelves! I started to put my books away when the guys walked in, only in gray sweats; fuck me. Hunter whistled and they all stood there staring at me. I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips.