“What do you mean, twist?” A little ice crept into her tone.
“Don’t act dumb, Cassandra. I’m putting it out there right now that I am not interested in you. And that I don’t willingly want anything to do with you.” He heard an intake of breath on the line, but felt no guilt. It had to be said. The woman was flirting with him every chance she got and he’d had enough of it. That wasn’t ever going to happen between them. If she hadn’t worked her magic on him, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Kayleigh was the one female that he had ever loved with every passionate part of his soul. That woman that tried to ruin his life didn’t hold a candle to Kayleigh. She was just the type of woman that he would never look twice at. Money grabbing, caring about social status and standing. Self-absorbed and selfish. That wasn’t what he was looking for a in a woman. Even if he had never had Kayleigh in his life, Cassandra still wouldn’t be the kind of woman he wanted. She had to get that through her thick skull.
“How can you say that?”
Kelton knew that she honestly believed that they had some kind of future together. How deranged was this woman? They had one night nearly two decades ago, a night that only happened because she bewitched him with her powers. What kind of basis was that? It would never happen. He hated that woman with every fibre of her being. She had ruined everything good in his life.
“Easily. I have everything I’ve ever wanted.” His voice caught on the words as he thought about Kayleigh.
“Oh, but she isn’t there, is she?” Cassandra’s tone turned catty and Kelton was pleased that she wasn’t in front of him. He may not have been able to control himself.
That was it. He’d done what was needed and that was that. He slammed the phone down, cursing loudly and making Marion jump. That woman made his blood boil.
“It went that well?” Marion shook her head. “I obviously heard your end of the conversation and it wasn’t hard to guess hers.”
“Well, it’s done now.” Kelton fumed, determined not to interact with that woman again. Anything that was in relation to the academy could be dealt with by one of the other warriors.
“When are you telling the girls?” Marion asked, thinking that he may as well get the hard stuff over and done with in one foul swoop.
Kelton growled and hung his head in his hands. Of all the things he’s had to do in his years as a warrior, the fighting and the killing. None of it was as hard as this moment. How on earth was facing two young girls harder than a group of Mortuorum? It was ridiculous.
“Can you find them now?” He wanted to do it before he lost the nerve again.
“I don’t want to do this.” Cala said, keeping her eyes on the ground to avoid her sister’s evil glare.
“I don’t care what you want. I’m bored.”
“Why do you have to mess with them? Why can’t you find something else to do?” Cala had enough of this. Rhian was spending all her time messing with the other trainees. She was keeping it to low key pranks so no one would be able to point the finger at the witch in their midst, but Cala didn’t want any part of it.
“I need to think of something else.” Rhian paced around their small room. She hated everything about this place. It wasn’t up to the standards of how she’d been living and she couldn’t believe her mother was putting her through this hell
It was fun. Making the other boys in the academy look stupid was amusing for her. It was just simple things, like the salt water trick. She’d played that on many of the guys so far, but Caleb’s reaction had been the funniest by far.
But, that was getting old now. She had to think of something new.
“Don’t be such a baby.”
Cala didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t think she was the one being childish here. The stupid pranks were going to escalate until Rhian did something truly dangerous. It had happened before, but Cala couldn’t stop it then. If she could stop it now, she would.
“Hmmm. What to do?” Rhian mused.
A knock at the door had them both looking up.
It didn’t take long for Marion to round the girls up. It was getting late and they were both in their room. The first thing Rhian did when she knocked on the door was complain that they hadn’t found them separate rooms yet.
Cala followed in silence while Rhian kept up a whole list of complaints on their way down to Kelton’s office. Marion seriously felt sorry for Kelton. This wouldn’t be an ideal situation for any man to find himself in, but to find out he had a daughter like Rhian? That had to be a hell of a blow.
“What’s this all about?” Rhian demanded for the tenth time in less than two minutes.
“Master Warrior Kelton wishes to speak to you both.”
“Well, I figured that much out by myself.” Rhian huffed. “I meant, what does he want?”
“He’ll tell you when we get there.”
Rhian didn’t do patient. She thought that if the warrior wanted to speak to them, he should have come to them. Why did she have to run around after him? She was only playing along with this because of her mother. She would do anything for her mother, putting her up on a pedestal as the vision of a perfect woman. Cassandra wanted a way in with Kelton, and that was what Rhian was going to give her. She didn’t have to like it, though. And complained loudly and often. Cassandra may want the Master Warrior, but she didn’t care about him in the slightest. Her father? She didn’t need him. They’d done well enough without him so far.
Marion managed to ignore her the rest of the way down. It was almost like Rhian wasn’t actually waiting for answers. She just liked the sound of her own voice.
Knocking on the office door, she opened it up and smiled sympathetically at Kelton. He looked like he was living a nightmare. The bags under his eyes were dark and deep and there was a look of stress marring his handsome features. Marion wished she could do more to help him, but without Kayleigh, there was nothing else he wanted.
“Please, come in. Sit down.” Kelton moved aside his laptop. He hadn’t been doing anything productive, just wasting more time trying to locate Kayleigh. To no avail. Again. It was amazing how well she was managing to hide herself. After all his years as a warrior, searching out the hidden was one of his specialities, but could he find the one person he needed the most? Like hell he could.
“What’s this all about?” Rhian stood with her hands planted on her hips and enough attitude for a dozen teenagers.
“Please sit down.”
“No. Just tell me what this is about.” She demanded.
Kelton almost growled, he was that frustrated. “Sit your ass down now, Rhian.”
She had clearly never been spoken to like that before as she sat in silence with a shocked expression on her face. But, Kelton couldn’t put up with her crap any more. This was hard enough as it was, without her throwing a hissy fit. She was acting like a toddler, which wouldn’t do any of them any good right now. It was time for her to grow up.
“Rhian, Cala.” He looked at them both, making sure they were listening. “I’ve brought you both here to speak with you. I’ve received the results of the paternity test. It came back positive. I am your father.”
The girls sat in silence. Cala looked like she was emotionally unable to speak. This was what she had wanted to hear. Over the years, it had only been her, Rhian and Cassandra and she had always been the odd one out. They had a bond that couldn’t let anyone else in. Cala was hoping that this could be a fresh start, to get to know someone new, to have a family that she craved so deeply. Even after speaking to Kelton only a handful of times since they first arrived at the academy, she already respected him. He was a man of worth and she was pleased that the results came back positive.
Rhian now looked bored. She didn’t care one way or the other. This was simply a means to an end, working on her mother’s goal. Personally, she couldn’t see what her mother saw in the warrior. He was arrogant and clearly didn’t have the kind of money that was expected of the position h
e held within their community. But, if that was what her mother wanted, that’s what she’d get.
This wasn’t quite the reaction Kelton had been expecting. The news had rocked him to his very core, even though it was expected. But, now it was proved. He was their father. Rhian looked like she didn’t give a damn, but Cala looked as shocked as him, but in a good way. It was a positive thought that he may grow to know and like at least one of them. But, that wasn’t something he wanted to think about right now. That was something they’d have to work on in the future. Right now, he had too much on his plate.
“Is there anything you’d like to talk about? Anything you’d like to ask me?”
Cala looked about to speak when Rhian piped up. “What do you want us to say? Great to have you here Daddy? Don’t be so ridiculous!”
Marion couldn’t bite her tongue a moment longer. “Rhian! There’s no need to be rude.”
“Well, what does he expect? We haven’t had a father for this long. We don’t need one now.”
“Is that right?” Kelton growled, royally pissed off with the girl. Sure, he hadn’t wanted to believe this new turn of events, but he was accepting it and was willing to move forward with it. He turned his eyes to Cala. She seemed overcome by events and he said in a softer tone, “Is that true, Cala?”
Cala looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights. She desperately wanted to connect with him, but the way Rhian was acting, it was making it impossible. She didn’t want him to think that they were alike in their opinions.
“I am giving you both the chance to think about this. This is a new thing for all of us and we don’t know how things are going to turn out. If you want me in your life, we can work with that. If you don’t, we’ll keep this strictly a warrior and trainee relationship and it will never be mentioned again. I’ll leave it to you to think about it.”
Cala looked distraught. She didn’t want to leave t, but Rhian was already tugging on her hand, making the decision for her.
Rhian stood up, yanking her sister to stand with her. “We don’t need a father. We certainly don’t need someone like you in our lives.” She pulled Cala after her out of the door, slamming it shut with a resounding thud behind them.
“Rhian! That was the perfect time to get to know him.” Cala whispered, not wanting to anger her sister any further, but she couldn’t keep it to herself. She wanted to stay and talk, find out about him and talk about the future, but she’d been dragged out of there before she could protest.
“I don’t want to get to know him.” Rhian snapped.
“Why not? He doesn’t seem so bad.” In fact, to Cala, he seemed pretty damn perfect. He was the perfect father figure, strong, protective and loyal. But, with Rhian around, she’d probably never get to find out.
Rhian stopped dead and stepped close to Cala, “If you think we’re here to play happy families, you’ve got another thing coming. You want a father? Good luck with that. It was written all over his face that this was the worst thing to ever happen to him. Get it through your thick head. He doesn’t want us. He doesn’t want you.”
Cala had to blink back tears. “You don’t know that.”
“Get real.” Rhian laughed, “Why would he? He doesn’t need a family, and it’s obvious he doesn’t want one.”
“You don’t know that. He didn’t say that.”
“Grow up, Cala. He didn’t have to say anything. Plus, why would you want anything to do with him?” Rhian turned up her nose in disgust. “He’s uncouth.”
“He is not.” Cala felt she had to try and defend him. “He’s a warrior. And a well-respected one at that.”
Rhian shook her head. “You poor, deluded little fool.”
Cala’s eyes widened, but she was used to that kind of insult from her sister. She’d lived with it all her life. This time, however, when Rhian turned to walk away, she didn’t follow her. It was time for her to try and stand on her own two feet and get out from under her sisters shadow. It wasn’t going to be easy and it would take time, but she had to try to learn to be her own person.
The main thing she would have to learn was to believe in herself. She’d been trodden down her entire life, always told that she was worthless and would never amount of anything. That was part of the reason she was relishing the whole warrior thing at the academy. Sure, she wasn’t very good at it, but in time, she was hoping she could make herself proud. This would be her thing, something away from her mother and sister.
Walking in the opposite direction, Cala ignored the insistent shouts from Rhian.
Marion slumped in the chair. “Well, that went well, didn’t it?” She shook her head, pity for Kelton and the situation he was in welling in her chest.
“Why does she have to be like that?”
“You mean a bitch like her mother?” Marion quipped and then slapped a hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Kelton. I shouldn’t have said that. It was bang out of order.”
Kelton smiled wryly. “Not at all. No need to apologise when you’re speaking the truth. She is the carbon copy of her mother.”
“It’s such a shame, because Cala seems like such a sweet girl. If only she could get out from under Rhian’s tough grasp, her light would shine.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” Kelton agreed. At this moment in time, he couldn’t ever see him getting on well with Rhian, which was such a shame seeing as he just found out for sure that she’s his daughter. On the other hand, there may be hope for Cala. Their mother had well and truly gotten her claws into Rhian, but Cala seemed to have escaped that kind of fate. Maybe there would be hope for the future after all.
It was all too soon to be thinking about that yet. He’d only just got the confirmation that he was a father. There was plenty of time to think about bonding in the future. They’d gone this long without having one another in their lives, a little longer wouldn’t hurt.
Plus, now that he had found out the truth, he could once again concentrate all his efforts on finding Kayleigh. He needed her back in his life now more than ever and would do everything and anything in his power to see that it happened.
Chapter Ten
Ash knew that she was a disgusting sight. Her hair had come loose from her bun and it was plastered to her face which was dripping in sweat. She was also pretty damn sure that she stunk to high heaven, but seeing as the rest of the guys were in the same state, no one seemed to care.
They had just spent the last two hours out on the exterior agility course. The night was frigidly cold, but running, jumping and climbing, plus swinging on those dreaded monkey bars, on the course ensured that they worked up a sweat and got their blood pumping.
Ash had to smile to herself, despite feeling exhausted and cooling rapidly. Seeing how Jackson and Caleb helped Cala around the course, hanging back to make sure she made it through was so sweet of them. The two training classes had come together for one mass work-out, battling in a race to see which team would out-shine the other.
She wasn’t smiling because the girl was struggling. She had nothing against Cala. It was simply nice to see Jackson and Caleb helping her out, even though it put their own class in jeopardy of losing. In all fairness, it should have been people in her own class that were taking that role, but the boys stepped up and showed real warrior teamwork. Even the warriors complimented them.
Plus, it was nice to be able to train with Cala and spend some time with her, without Rhian constantly popping up over their shoulders. The poor girl never seemed to get any time away from her sister, but while they were training, she was free. Rhian was still refusing to participate, which meant she had the time to herself. It was refreshing. Sure, it was hard as hell and she felt like her legs were going to drop off, but it was worth it.
Ash loved spending time with them all. The training was hard, but they all pulled together. Jackson and Caleb were working well together. It was good to see the pair of them getting on so well. Caleb could be a little prickly and seemed standoffish until you really got t
o know him, and even then, he wasn’t always easy to get along with.
It wasn’t surprising, though. Even though it had taken him a while to get there, it seemed that he was finally settling in. However, he was still a shifter living with a bunch of vampires. It wasn’t ever going to be easy for him, but he was working with it and finally making some solid friends. He and Jackson were nearly inseparable lately. It was a good thing for Ash that she got on well with them both!
Bending over with her hands on her knees, Ash swiped at the hair that had fallen in her face. Even though she was thoroughly knackered from the training session, nothing could stop the grin that broke out across her face. Jackson was a helluva sight to behold. All those rippling muscles and those glistening tattoos in the moonlight, it was hard for her to believe that they’d finally gotten their act together and were an item. No wonder Lana always complained how jealous she was, wanting a badass warrior-in-training of her very own. Ash could totally see it.
Looking over at Jackson, he was just the type of boy that her parents would have had a heart attack over. The ink, the muscles and the violent occupation were enough to send them into cardiac arrest if they found out she was involved with him. Or so she had thought. When she had casually mentioned to her father about her ‘new’ relationship, her father had actually been quite pleased. He seemed relieved that she had someone to look out for her during this phase in her life.
And Lana? Jealous wasn’t the word. She was Ash’s best friend in the world and had gone crazy with happiness when she’d first told her that things were going well with Jackson. Lana had been her shoulder to cry on in all those months that Jackson had been running hot and cold on her, so she was over the moon when they finally sorted themselves out. Unfortunately, that meant the end for Lana’s drooling over him, so she moved quickly onto Caleb. He was still young, free and up for grabs. Aisline couldn’t help but laugh at her. That girl was always on the lookout for a future husband.
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