“Is he awake?”
“Let’s see, shall we?” and the doctor opened up the door. With a small smile, she saw that Trey had his eyes opened and that his expression brightened the moment he set his eyes on his friends.
“Hey, man. How’re you doing?” Jackson said quietly as they stepped into the room.
It was a shock to see him like that. Trey still looked a complete mess and it was hard to think of what he had been through.
“Don’t wear him out.” The doctor warned as she closed the door behind them, leaving them on their own. She wanted to give them all some privacy and they were good kids. She trusted them not to upset Trey.
“I feel like crap.” Trey said as he shifted on the bed, trying to get more comfortable but wincing at the movement. “What’s going on out there?” There had been a lot of activity in the medical suite in the last hour, but as the door to his room had been shut, he’d been none the wiser.
The three of them looked at each other. “Just some of the trainees not being able to hack the training. Some of them can be such pussies.” Dylan laughed, trying to cover up the awkward silence. He didn’t know what else to say and hoped Trey didn’t question them further.
“What I wouldn’t give to be back at training. I hate being cooped up in here. It sucks.”
“At least you’ve got a television.”
“Yeah, I’m getting great at watching the Discovery channel. Soon enough I’ll be able to change careers to become a marine biologist!” Trey tried to laugh, but again, the movement hurt him. He’d never been in so much pain in his life
“How much longer are you going to be out of action?” Ash asked.
“I’ve no idea. The doctor says that I can start physiotherapy as soon as the plasters come off, but they can’t tell me when I’ll be back at training.”
The room fell into silence. Ash couldn’t hold it back a second longer. Every time they’d popped in to see their friend, they’d steered clear of the subject of where he’d gone and what had happened, not wanting to upset his mental state. The doctor had made it very clear that she didn’t want Trey talking about difficult events, not wanting to delay his recovery any further. His physical state was healing well, but his mental and emotional state was still questionable. With everything else that was going on, Ash had to know.
“What happened Trey?”
“Ash, don’t.” Jackson warned.
“I just want to know.”
“Look, man. You don’t have to do this.” Jackson glared over at Ash. It wasn’t often they argued, but he could see a whopper coming up sometime soon. They were told not to do anything to upset Trey and talking about the attack wasn’t going to be a walk in the park for him.
“What do you mean?” Trey closed his eyes, clearly not wanting to relive it.
“Where did you go? How did you get into this state? What’s it got to do with Caleb?”
“Aisline!” Jackson’s voice rose and he glanced at the door, not wanting the doctor to kick them out.
“What do you mean? What’s Caleb got to do with this?” Trey asked, cracking his eyes open.
“You disappeared and then he retreats into himself. No one can get through to him. I don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you?” She’d tried over and over again to get Caleb to talk to her, but he’d avoided everyone like the plague. He even missed some of the training sessions, which was so unlike him, choosing to train alone or with Rees.
That was another thing – Rees. He wasn’t his usual bubbly self, hiding out with Caleb rather than hanging with his friends. Something was going on and Ash thought that Trey may be the key.
“Ash, leave him alone.” Jackson warned quietly.
“We need to know what’s going on, Jackson.”
“He doesn’t need this right now.”
“It’s okay.” Trey croaked, sitting up higher in the bed.
“No, it’s not okay. You can talk when you’re ready. Not when Ash thinks you are.”
Ash glared at Jackson.
“I was with Starr.”
“Starr?” Jackson looked confused.
Ash knew immediately who Trey was talking about. “Caleb’s cousin? The shifter?”
“Yeah. We’d been speaking a lot and met up a few times. I was going to her place to surprise her.” It hurt him to think about Starr. He hadn’t heard from her, or at least he’d received no messages from her. All he wanted to know was that she was okay.
When Trey fell quiet, Ash couldn’t stand it and prodded him on, “And?”
“And I never made it to her. I was jumped.”
“By who?”
“Shifters, I guess. I’ve no idea really. It all happened too fast and there was too many of them.” His memory was a complete blur, which he was actually kind of thankful of.
You could have heard a pin drop in the room. They were all taking in what Trey had said and it looked like he was having his own internal war.
“How long were you seeing Starr for?” Ash asked quietly.
“I don’t know. A while.”
“Have you heard from her? Since all this happened?”
“No.” Trey closed his eyes as if in pain, but Ash knew that it wasn’t physical pain. If he had put his life on the line to go and see her like that, he must have really cared for her, and to not hear from her? That had to be the most painful wound of all. She felt sorry for asking him now and putting him in this pain.
A knock came on the door and Ash saw Dylan heave a sigh of relief. He’d never been good when things got too emotional and had hated ever moment of this conversation.
Marshall popped his head into the room. “Ah, you’re still awake! I’ll get the doctor. It’s time for your medication.” He turned to look towards Aisline and the others. “I’m afraid it’s time to let this young man get some rest. If you speak to the doctor, she may allow you to come back tomorrow.”
Jackson nodded and said goodbye to Trey, following Dylan out of the room. Ash lingered for a moment, not knowing what to say, but needing to say something.
“Thank you.”
She glanced sharply at Trey. “What for? I was about to apologise. I shouldn’t have asked you about all that stuff.” He was one of her best friends and there was no way she ever wanted to hurt him. She’d been worried about him that was all. The fact that he had been hurt in the first place gutted her, but to hurt him herself? With reminding him of things that made his heart and head hurt? That was plain wrong.
“No. It was good to talk about it. Everyone has been pussy-footing around me, not wanting to upset me, but I got myself into this mess. It was my fault.”
“Trey, you didn’t ask for this. You can’t think like that.”
“I went there when I shouldn’t have. It was a dumb idea.”
Ash walked back over to stand next to his bed. “And they shouldn’t have done this. They could have just sent you on your way.”
“But, they didn’t.” Trey looked at the cast on his arm. “And she hasn’t even called to see if I’m okay.”
She felt tears pricking her eyes. Of all the people she’d met at the academy, Trey was one of the most caring and loving guys she’d ever come across. If Starr couldn’t see that, it was her loss. And she told him so, which made Trey chuckle. “Thanks, Ash.”
“I’ll be back to see you soon.” She leaned down to kiss him gently on the cheek, trying hard to avoid the worst of the bruising. “Stay strong.”
“I don’t feel so strong at the moment.”
“You’ll get there. I’ll come back and help you all I can.”
“That’d be great. It gets as boring as hell stuck in here.”
Ash turned to walk out just as Doctor Phillippe walked into the room. Smiling at her, she made her way out. At least she would be able to rest easy knowing that she’d spoken to her friend.
Kelton walked up to the room that Kayleigh and their baby were resting in. Rubbing a hand over his face, he knew that there would be no way he’
d be able to hide the emotions he was feeling from her.
Telling Mira what had happened to her husband had been just as bad as he’d expected. He wouldn’t have allowed anyone else to deliver the news. She’d sat in silence, tears streaming down her face, but wordless. Comforting her as best as he could, she didn’t collapse into an emotional state until her sister walked into the house and took her into her arms.
How had it come to this? How had the situation deteriorated so badly? And now this woman had lost her husband.
It had been one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. Of course, as head of the warriors, he’d had to deliver bad news to the families of fallen warriors many times in the past, but this was different. He’d known Dixon and Mira for years and they were friends. This had been personal. He could see through her mask to see the pain within and there was nothing he could do to take it away from her.
Opening the door, Kayleigh’s smile immediately dropped from her face. “What’s wrong? What happened?” All she knew was that he was called back to the academy some time ago to deal with an emergency. They hadn’t have time to talk before that to find out what was going on.
“How are you both?”
“We’re fine.” She smiled down at the sleeping baby in her arms. “And don’t change the subject.”
He wearily sat down on the edge of the bed. This was the last thing he wanted to tell her. This was supposed to be a happy time for them all.
“Kelton?”
“Dixon’s dead.” There was no easy way to say it so he just threw it out there.
“What? How?” Kayleigh’s eyes immediately clouded with tears as Kelton quietly explained what had happened. “How’s Mira?”
“She’s with her sister.”
“Oh my, I can’t believe it.” Kayleigh shook her head.
“It’s real, baby.”
“How are you feeling?” She knew this would have shaken him up.
“Everything’s such a mess. I need to speak to Patrick to arrange handing over the rest of the shifters. The longer they’re at the academy, the worse it will be.”
Kayleigh sat up in the bed as the baby stirred. “You need to be there for them.”
“I need to be there for you.” He insisted. He didn’t want to be away from his family. They were his world and he couldn’t face leaving them. After seeing Mira’s devastating loss, he didn’t want to let Kayleigh and the baby out of his sight.
“Kelton. Get this mess sorted. We’ll be waiting for you. I promise.”
He shook his head sadly, knowing that she was right. The sooner he got this mess sorted out, the sooner he could spend time with his new family.
It was all such a mess.
“Do you want us to come back to the academy?”
“No. You’ll be safer here.” He didn’t want to put either of them in any danger. He’d have to think of something else soon enough, but he didn’t want them back at the academy just now. He had too much going on and would be worried about their safety. He was spreading himself thin as it was. Any thinner and he was going to break.
“You don’t think the shifters would attack again, do you?” She asked worriedly.
“I don’t, but I’d rather have you somewhere they wouldn’t know about.”
Kayleigh softly traced the baby’s cheek. She thought the best thing would be to change the subject to something lighter. Kelton looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders and she wanted to do what she could to ease his pain. “We need to come up with a name for this little one.”
He smiled down at the wriggling baby. He wasn’t crying out for food or making a fuss, but he was making his presence known. “What do you think of Elias?”
“Elias? After Dixon?” Kayleigh welled up with tears once again.
“I think it’s perfect. Naming our son after a great man, a great warrior.”
“I think it’s perfect, too.” She kissed Kelton on the cheek and glanced back down at the child. Elias. He looked like an Elias. It was a strong name, a proud name. A legacy. “Perfect.”
Chapter Nine
Kelton didn’t want to return to the academy and leave his woman and baby, but he was needed there. He couldn’t leave Verynai to shoulder all the worry himself at a time like this.
It had been a couple of days since the attack and the death of the warrior. Things weren’t any clearer in his mind and life had been hectic. It felt like he hadn’t slept in a week. Too much was going on to waste time on sleeping.
It hadn’t been easy to leave them, but seeing Mira with Elias made up his mind. They would all be safe there and having the baby around gave Mira something to focus on other than her grief. He called as often as he could to see how they were all doing and he wished he could do so much more. Kelton was being pulled in a million different directions at once.
It was all still too new and raw for her to deal with. Right now, Mira could still see Dixon walking in through the door at any minute. None of it seemed real to her.
She hadn’t asked to hear the details of what happened to her husband. He’d died, that’s all she could focus on. Kelton wouldn’t have wanted to tell her anyway. What use would it have done her?
In time, he knew that she would probably ask. He died in the line of duty, he’d been a true warrior to the very end.
He was proud to have known him and fought alongside him. Dixon was a great man and would be missed by all.
Now they had a lot on their plates dealing with the aftermath. There was much to sort out. The shifters were near the top of the list. The sooner he could get them out of the building, the better. It was putting everyone on edge who knew that they were still there.
So much had happened in such a short space of time, it was hard to believe that it had only been a few hours since he’d left them in peace. Kayleigh had a baby, the academy had been ambushed and they’d lost a life. It was hard to comprehend.
It was clear to see the level of tension as soon as he stepped back into the academy. He’d popped back to see Kayleigh and the baby. They never seemed to have enough time, but he knew this madness would have to die down soon enough and then they could enjoy being a family.
Kelton looked at the faces of the trainees and they looked shell-shocked. The warriors hid it better, after their years of training. The warriors were more used to dealing with death, even though this one rocked them to their very core.
Stepping over to the main security desk, Kelton rounded the counter and glanced down at the security monitors. “How’s everything looking?” He asked Mario, who was manning the station.
“Everything’s quiet.”
“No sign of anyone at the perimeters?” Kelton didn’t think that the shifters would even think of coming back to the academy after the losses they’d suffered, but no one could be sure of that. They had to be ready for anything.
“No sign of anything.” Mario confirmed.
“And the patrols haven’t seen anything?” They’d had warriors patrolling the perimeter of the land, widening their security, just in case.
“Nothing.”
“Great.” Kelton rolled his shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything.” and he turned to walk towards his office.
None of the trainees spoke to him as he passed by. They were all lost in their own world of thought. It was a lot for them to take in and was going to take a while to come to terms with what happened.
Verynai was sitting behind his desk, paperwork spread out in front of him.
“Need any help?” Kelton asked.
Verynai looked up and rolled his eyes. “This mess is never ending.” He shoved a pile of paperwork to one side. “”How did it go with Mira?”
“She was devastated.” Kelton hated to think of the broken look in her eyes as he told her that she had lost her husband.
Putting his head in his hands, Verynai sighed. “There’s nothing we can do to make this better for her.”
“Kayleigh’s going to stick around wi
th the baby. They seem to be helping her.”
“That’s good.” Verynai nodded. “What’s the next plan of action?” He knew that Kelton would have come back here with an action plan, which was what he needed right now. He was drowning in paperwork and it was driving him nuts.
“We need to sort out the shifters. We can’t keep them here.” Kelton wanted to get rid of them as soon as possible. The longer they were under their roof, the worse the situation could get. The shifters weren’t going to like any of their own being kept against their will.
“Have you spoken to Patrick?”
“I spoke to him on the way over here. We’re on.”
“So, what’s the plan?”
“We need a team of warriors to escort the shifters to the handover point. Obviously, I would like you to accompany me.”
“What about the academy?” With him and Kelton out, there was no one else to lead.
Kelton hadn’t thought of that. He was so used to having two warriors working with him to lead the trainees. “I’ll think of something.” He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he’d come up with something. He needed Verynai with him.
He handed Verynai a piece of paper. “That’s who I want to come with us. Round them up. I need to find Caleb.”
“Why?”
“He’s part of this. I don’t want to keep him in the dark. The boys’ are going to have a big decision to make in the not too distant future.”
“Understood.” Verynai got up from behind the desk. “I’ll get the guys together.”
Kelton had a headache that was rattling through his skull. He’d already downed a couple of tablets and they weren’t touching it. Considering everything that had happened over the last couple of days, it was no wonder he was feeling stressed out.
Moving out of his office, Kelton stepped over to Mario. “Can you check the monitors for me? I need to find Caleb.” He didn’t have to elaborate. Everyone knew the shifters. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
End of an Era: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 4) Page 9