Safe Travels

by Alex Dafney

  I look up to Cooper with a tiny shrug as I make my way to the couch. Ryder passes me a game control. “Know anything about Madden?” I shake my head. “More of a Mario Kart gal.” I say with a shy grin. Grant jumps up from the loveseat. “Mario Kart for the lady.” He says with an English accent before doing something with the game console sitting on the entertainment center.

  Cooper grabs a beer from the cooler, passing one to Micah as they both stay standing, chatting quietly with each other. “So, Ophelia. When did you get here?” Ryder asks me. “I just got here yesterday. No, today.” I sigh. “It was today. Sorry, it’s been an eventful day.” Ryder nods. “Yeah. I remember my first day. It’s quite the adventure.” Ryder chuckles before taking a drink of his beer. “You have no fucking idea.” Cooper says as he strides into the kitchen.

  Cooper comes back with a glass of wine, taking the beer from my hand and replacing it as I give him a bright smile. “Thank you.” He gives me a nod as he steps back to Micah. “What’s your deets?” Zane asks. I look at him confused. “My deets?” He chuckles. “Sorry. Your details, newbie.” I nod my head. “Oh. Well, I’m a past shifter, and apparently I’ll be a lead.” Zane looks from me to Cooper. “How did you two come to live together? We don’t exactly have many coed situations around here.”

  I look to Cooper for help. He shakes his head lightly, running his hand through his hair. “We might as well get it over with. Everyone will know in a few days time with this place being like high school.” I give him a nod as my approval. “Alright guys, take a seat.” Grant walks over to the loveseat as Ryder and Zane sit forward on either side of me, Micah sits on the edge of the loveseat as Cooper paces in front of the TV.

  He stops, placing his hands on his hips. “Alright. We all have learned about the Prophecy, so I’m not going into much details, just that Ophelia and I are the power couple.” He ends by throwing his hands up at his side. The room is deathly quiet as all the guys stare at Cooper. Grant recovers first, looking between Cooper and I. “Bloody hell.” He mutters with his thick English accent. Zane sits back, folding his arms over his chest with a disbelieving scowl. “How in the hell did you decide this nonsense?”

  I look over at him, cocking my head to the side with a raised eyebrow. “Maybe because we spent the afternoon watching the fucking dinosaurs.” Zane raises an eyebrow at me with a cocky grin before looking over at Cooper. He hooks a thumb toward me. “I think I kind of like her.” Cooper gives him a glare, causing everyone in the room to laugh. Ryder places a hand on my shoulder. “Uh, Congratulations? I don’t really know the sentiment for this.”

  Micah jumps up from the couch, raising his beer above him. “To Coopster and Ophelia!” He chuckles before throwing back the rest of his beer. We all laugh as we raise our drinks. Zane tosses me a game remote as he starts the game. “Come on, Princess. Show us what you’ve got.” He says with a sly grin.

  The next morning, I wake up to a soft knock on the bedroom door. I groan and cover my head with the pillow. I hear the door open, but don’t move. The bed sinks down beside me, and I peek one eye out from under the pillow. “Good morning, love.” I groan again as Cooper chuckles. He stands, pulling the pillow off my head. “Come on, O. You can’t be late for your first day of training.” I hear him walk back to the door. “One hour.” He calls over his shoulder as he closes the door behind him. I get out of bed, grumbling the whole way to the bathroom to get ready.

  Once I’m showered and dressed, I make my way down the stairs to find Cooper in the kitchen. He slides a plate and a cup of coffee in front of me as I sit at the kitchen table. “Thanks.” I mutter as he walks back to the counter, grabbing his own plate and a cup of coffee. He sits across from me, studying me as I pour cream and sugar in my mug. “Not a morning person?” I shake my head with a frown as I drink my coffee.

  “No. I’ve never understood the whole ‘early bird gets the worm’. I don’t want the damn worm. I just want sleep.” He chuckles as he practically inhales his breakfast. When he finishes, he sits back, holding his coffee cup in his hands. “I knew I should’ve sent the guys home last night. You’re going to be exhausted after training.” I wave my hand toward him as I crunch on a piece of bacon. “Nah. I would’ve stayed up late anyway. I’m a night owl.”

  He raises an eyebrow, giving me a knowing look. “I bet tonight you’ll be in bed early.” I roll my eyes as I finish my toast, gripping my coffee in my hands and sitting back in the chair. “What exactly will I be doing today?” He places his coffee mug on the table as he stands, taking both of our plates to the sink, rinsing them, then placing them in the dishwasher. “You’ll just have to see that for yourself. The best way to describe it would be self defense training.” He shrugs as he walks back to the table, checking his watch as he sits down. “Ten minutes and we need to go.”

  I drop my head to the table, groaning as he laughs. He stands and walks behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders and rubbing gently. “Come on, O. You’ll be fine.” I shake my head against the table. “Can’t you write me an excuse or something?” I whine as he laughs. “I’ll never let you skip training. It’s the only thing that keeps you safe when you’re on missions.” I shudder at the thought. Cooper removes his hands from my shoulders, and I sit up. “Fiiiiine. Let’s go then.”

  I ride with Cooper back to the building that we were at yesterday, even though it feels like days ago. We step out of the car to find his teammates outside, apparently waiting on him. Cooper grips my hand in his as we walk across the parking lot toward his team. “Coooopsteeer!” Zane calls out, raising his styrofoam coffee cup in the air. Cooper shakes his head and chuckles. “He’s kind of the class clown, huh?” He glances at me, a small smirk on his face. “You have no idea.”

  We stop in front of the guys. Ryder gives me a side hug as Zane high fives me. “What up, Princess?” I roll my eyes with a smile as Grant places a kiss on each of my cheeks and Micah hugs me. Cooper checks his watch. “Let’s go guys. I don’t want to piss Niko off by being late.” Cooper wraps his arm around my shoulders as we walk in the building. We file on the elevator, someone hitting a button going down.

  When the doors open, I find a large room, full of every kind of workout equipment imaginable to one side, the other a blue, padded mat that stretches the length of the room. I follow the guys to a group standing in the middle of the room, Jim talking to them. They turn as we approach. “Ophelia! Come meet your team.” Cooper removes his arm from my shoulders as I step forward, suddenly feeling very shy, and very unsure of myself.

  A girl bounds forward, throwing her arms around my neck, taking me by surprise. “Oh my God! We are so, super duper excited that you’re here! We’ve been waiting on a lead forever!” She steps back, bouncing up and down. “I’m Charlotte, but everyone calls me Charlie!” I give her a smile as I take her in. She’s petite, a few inches shorter than I am, with her blond hair pulled into pigtails. Cheerleader. She definitely reminds me of a cheerleader.

  The other girl of the group steps forward, thrusting her hand toward me. I take it as she speaks with a southern accent, looking me up and down. “I’m Raven. I hate training, and I hate mornings, so don’t expect much from me.” She drops my hand and steps back as I smile. Her long black hair is piled up on top of her head in a spiral bun. She’s lean, but toned, and at least a half foot taller than me.

  The two guys of the group step forward together, introducing themselves as Reese and Dominic. Reese is tall and lanky with red hair. Dominic is about the same height as Reese, but broader. We shake hands and I smile at each of them. Dominic’s eyes linger longer than my liking, until I feel a hand on my waist. I tilt my head up to find Cooper giving Dominic a rather sharp glance. Jim claps his hands. “Alright! You five get to know each other and enjoy training.” He says as he strides away.

  Cooper spins me to face him, dropping a quick kiss to my cheek. “Good luck, love.” He says as a middle-aged man walks onto the mat. Cooper keeps his hand firmly around my waist as we
turn our attention forward as quiet descends upon the group. The man on the mat is a bit shorter than the group of guys standing around me, towering over me, but he’s muscular.

  “Mr. Clark and Miss Oakes, I need to speak with you. Everyone else, start warmups.” Grumbling and moans echo through the group as they turn and walk behind us to the exercise equipment. Cooper and I step forward as the man meets us in the middle. He thrusts his hand toward me. “I’m Niko, the trainer for the Assembly.” I smile at him, taking his hand in my own. “Ophelia. It’s nice to meet you.” He gives me a sideways grin. “You may not think that after training.”

  He turns to Cooper, slapping his hand on his shoulder. “Word on the street is we have a power couple on our hands.” Cooper shakes his head with a smile before looking down at me. “I told you this place is like high school. Just a bunch of gossiping children.” Niko pushes Cooper’s shoulder. “Easy there, bud. I’ll take that out on you on the mat.” They both laugh.

  Niko turns serious and looks at me. “Your team has been waiting for quite some time for you to arrive. If you plan on being any kind of a leader, you’ll need to catch up. Fast.” I nod. “Yes, sir. Just tell me what I need to do.” He gives me a bright smile. “I want you to start training twice a day, starting tomorrow. Morning will be with your team and afternoon I’ll give you solo lessons.” Cooper huffs next to me and I can feel the tension coming from him. “No way, Niko! That is way too fucking much.”

  Niko’s eyes turn to him, a scowl marring his face. “This is the Prophecy we’re talking about, Cooper. Do you think we’re the only ones that know the two of you have found each other? The Hunters are already going after the Society members. How long do you think we have here?” Cooper shakes his head while glaring at Niko. “I understand, but it’s too much.” I drop Cooper’s hand and turn to him, folding my arms across my chest with an annoyed expression. “Damn, Coop. How bad of shape do you think I’m in?”

  Niko chuckles as Cooper raises an eyebrow at me. “I’m not saying you’re out of shape, this is just intense.” I hold up one hand. “I’m good. I can handle this.” I turn back to Niko. “Anyway, we can start this afternoon?” Cooper lets out a sigh as Niko’s smile widens. “Sure thing. Meet me back here after lunch. Now, go warm up.”

  Cooper and I jog across the floor toward the equipment area, jumping on treadmills side by side. “You know you just signed a deal with the devil.” I increase my pace as I pull my hair up in a high ponytail. “How bad can it be?” He throws his head back laughing as I grimace. What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  After the morning workout and training we broke to get lunch. My new team insisted I have lunch with them. Well, Charlie insisted I have lunch with them. I agreed, thinking it was probably a good idea for me to get to know them better. Cooper stands over next to the doorway with his team in a loose circle. “Hey.” I say as I jog up beside him.

  He leans down and places a kiss on my cheek. “Hey, love. I think I underestimated you. You’re quite something on the mat.” I smile widely at him. “Thanks. The team wants me to grab lunch with them, so I guess I’ll see you later today.” I give a little shrug as he looks behind me at the four of them waiting for me. He looks back at me with a forced smile. “I’ll ride with Micah, so you’ll have the car.”

  Another kiss on the cheek and he walks out of the room, leaving me feeling unsettled. I take a deep breath before spinning around and joining the group. “So, where to for lunch?” Raven rolls her eyes as Charlie claps her hands in front of her. “Oh oh oh, let’s go to the cafeteria!” I look at Reese who simply shrugs while Dominic scowls at me. Yeah, this is not what I was thinking when I signed up for this.

  Once we’re in the cafeteria I find myself sandwiched between Reese and Charlie on one side of the table, Raven and Dominic on the other. Charlie continues her incessant chatter as the rest of us quietly eat. “Ophelia.” Dominic speaks, causing Charlie to quiet. “You and Cooper a thing?” My mouth drops slightly as my cheeks heat. “I, uh, I don’t think that’s really anyones business.” He scoffs. “We’re supposed to trust you and you can’t even be honest about that? It’s not like it’s a big secret. Ya’ll are the power couple. We’re just here to make sure the golden children don’t get into any shit.”

  Raven folds her arms over her chest, giving me the same disgusted look as Dominic. I clear my throat, taking a second to gather what I want to say. “Look. Cooper and I.” I shake my head. “I don’t know, okay?” I look down at my lap trying to decide how to continue. “Yes. Cooper and I are the power couple. We’re taking things slow. However, I’m here to make this team work, and what goes on between Cooper and I, doesn’t affect that.” I gesture around the table.

  Dominic lets out a huff as he stands. “Whatever. I’ve got shit to do.” He says as he storms away from the table. Raven rolls her eyes at me. “Dom’s an asshole, but he’s right. If you can’t trust us, we don’t have a team.” She grabs her tray and stands, walking away from the table. Charlie places her hand on my shoulder. “They’ll come around. We’ve been waiting a long time for a lead, maybe they’re just antsy.” She gives me a little grin.

  “It’s not like we’ve been a cohesive team since day one.” I look over at Reese. “What do you mean?” He shrugs while picking at his food. “Dom tries to be our leader. That’s just his personality, but now that you’re here…” He trails off, but I understand what he’s saying. I stand, grabbing my tray as I go. “Thanks for having lunch with me today. I’ll do my best to prove to ya’ll that I can be a good leader.” Charlie gives me a bright smile as Reese nods.

  The elevator door opens to the training floor and I step out to find Niko waiting for me. “About time, Miss Oakes. Get on the mat.” For the next hour and a half Niko teaches me self-defense training and techniques. I find myself on my back more often than not. On the last technique, Niko sailed me over his head straight onto my back, knocking the breath out of me. “Fuck. Me.” I say after catching my breath.

  He puts his hand down to me, offering to help me up, but I give a half wave. “Just let me stay here.” I say as I close my eyes and put my arm over my face, trying to calm my breathing. I feel the mat shift and peek through my arm to see him sitting next to me, his elbows propped on his pulled up knees. “You’re not half bad, Ophelia.”

  I scoff as I attempt to sit up. “Then why do I feel like I just got my ass kicked six ways from Sunday?” He lets out a loud barking laugh. “It wasn’t that bad!” I stare at him with wide eyes. “I feel like I got hit by a truck!” He laughs again as he stands, offering me his hand which I take. I grimace as I pull myself up, my entire body hurting as I do. “Get home. I expect you refreshed and ready to go in the morning. You’ve got a lot to prove.”

  I grab my bag and make my way to the elevator. Niko’s words replaying in my mind. You’ve got a lot to prove. When the elevator door opens, I find Dominic inside. I’m tempted to make an excuse of forgetting something, so I don’t have to be in such a confined area with him alone. Unfortunately, I need to get this over with. I step on the elevator and push the button for the ground floor. Turning to Dominic. “Listen, I know we kind of got off to a bad start. I promise I’m going to bust my ass, literally, to make this team work.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me with an arrogant smirk. “We’ll see.” Is all he says as the elevator doors open. I fight the urge to roll my eyes, instead giving him a small wave as I make my way across the lobby and out the doors. I find Cooper’s car and hop in, finding the keys on the front seat.

  I pull the car into the garage and get out, hitting the button to close the garage door as I step inside. I look around the quiet living room. Dropping my purse to the floor I walk straight for the couch and fall face first, moaning as every muscle in my body rejects the movement.

  A half hour later I hear the front door open. I open my eyes just enough to see Cooper giving me a sympathetic smile. “Rough day, love?” I groan in response. He throws his wallet and keys on t
he kitchen counter before coming my way, sitting on the edge of the couch, placing both hands on my shoulders and rubbing gently. Even the gentle strokes cause me to flinch. “Dammit. I told Niko this was too much.” He mumbles as he stands up.

  I hear him jog up the stairs as I close my eyes. A few minutes later I hear him coming down the stairs. I open one eye to see him kneeled in front of me. He brushes my hair off my face with a gentle smile. “Come on.” He motions his head toward the stairs. I shake my head, cringing at the pain in my neck. “No. Just leave me here to die.” He chuckles as he stands. “Have it your way.” He says before sweeping me up in his arms.

  I can’t even fight back. I just nuzzle my face into his chest as he carries me up the stairs. He walks into my bedroom, straight for the bathroom and places me on my feet gingerly in front of the bathtub. I look around to find a bath drawn, candles lit, the smell of lavender in the air, and my kindle near the tub. I look back at Cooper with a wide smile. “Thank you.” He shrugs as he walks across the bathroom, retrieving a towel from the cabinet and draping it over the side of the bathtub.

  “Don’t fall asleep in here.” He leans down and gives me a kiss on the cheek before walking out of the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I sigh as I quickly strip out of my clothes and step in the warm water, slowly lowering myself all the way in. The water feels amazing on my aching muscles and I find myself relaxing. Just as I’m about to drift to sleep there’s a light knock at the door, causing me to jump and slosh water onto the floor. “Yeah?”

  “I’ve got dinner ready.” I smile as I sink back into the water. “Okay. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I hear Cooper walk out of my bedroom, shutting the door as he leaves. A few minutes later I force myself to get out of the bathtub, drying off and wrapping a towel around myself as I walk to my closet. I haven’t unpacked yet, so I grab a pair of leggings and a tank top from my suitcase, tossing them on before going downstairs.