Destiny Awakened

by C. J. Cooke

  “Kinda looks like it” I laughed back. I skipped into the room and flopped down onto the bed. “Where’s Liam?” I asked looking about.

  “He’s just grabbing the food from the kitchens, they sent an email to say that they didn’t have anyone that could bring it up for us.” Kyle replied organising all of our textbooks and school supplies by the desks. “We could do with a bookcase.” He murmured.

  “Wait! What? What happened to us not going anywhere alone?” I asked bolting upright in bed just as Liam sauntered through the door holding another massive box. “Where did you go?” I screeched.

  “Erm … kitchens.” He replied looking confused and looking back and forth between Sykes and I.

  “No one goes anywhere alone.” I emphasised each word.

  Kyle stuck his head out of the closet door. “What’s going on?” He asked.

  “Liam went out alone” I said standing up and pointing at him like I was a child telling tales on someone. Liam grinned back at me as he slid the box of food onto the table and began to pull things out of it. Kyle and Sykes both wandered over to rummage through the box and see what they could no doubt munch on. “Erm, excuse me,” I said putting my hands on my hips and pulling what was no doubt a vague impression of a pissed off kitten. Something about these guys seemed to null my badass powers “No one is supposed to go out alone.”

  “It’s fine, he was only gone for a few minutes.” Sykes shrugged pulling out a granola bar like it was some kind of treasure.

  “Wait, wait a minute. Who exactly is not allowed to go out alone?” I asked suspiciously. They all looked at me and I caught the flicker of guilt that crossed their eyes before they all shrugged and went back to blindly looking in the box. I fucking knew it! “So just me then.” I said narrowing my eyes at them. They at least had the decency to look ashamed for having been caught out. Before they began looking at random corners of the room like children caught stealing cookies. “You realise that I am more than capable of taking care of myself, right? In fact, probably more so than either of you three?” At that they had the fucking audacity to bristle.

  “Aria,” Kyle said stepping forward, “you have to understand, you are our mate.”

  “And you are mine.” I insisted. I could see where this was going and fuck me sideways if I was going to take it without a fight.

  “Come on Aria. I know you were raised as a human and this is going to be hard to understand, but it isn’t just us that are struggling with this. We have our animals riding us. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t be able to control my wolf. I would lose myself to his rage. It is hard for us to be able to control our own feelings when we are worried that you could be in danger, when you add our animals to that, it feels almost impossible.” He sighed in defeat and slumped down into one of the kitchen table chairs. Fuck, why did he have to go and say something that made sense. Stupid logic!

  “Kyle, I do understand. But you have to see this from my point of view. I am more than a competent and capable fighter. My magic is like a wild fire of rage that sweeps through me. You can’t stop me from jumping into a just fight. It is what I was meant to do. The only thing that you can do, is fight beside me. I won’t hide behind you. I won’t sit by and let you fight my battles for me. But I will stand beside you, I will fight beside you, as an equal and never anything less.” I needed them to understand that I wasn’t going to be some kind of weak mate that would willingly hide behind them. I would never let them stand in front of danger without me. And demons seemed really fucking dangerous. Liam and Sykes came around the table and stood beside me, placing a hand each on my shoulders. Kyle reached forward and ran one hand down the side of my face.

  “I know you’re right Aria, but all I can do is promise that I will try.” Kyle said sighing in resignation.

  “That’s enough. All anyone can really do is try.” I stood up and slide into Kyle’s lap. He brought his arms around me and I laid my head on his shoulder. “Wow, if this is our first sort of fight, we are totally acing this relationship thing.” I smiled. I felt Kyle huff a laugh beneath me.

  Chapter Twenty One

  Everyone had filed into the assembly hall in a sort of hushed silence. Odd rumbles of whispers sounded off at intervals around the room. It seemed wrong to be happy right now. Wrong to act like everything was normal. But fuck me if I had any idea how I was supposed to be acting. Headmaster Farsight stepped up to the podium of the stage. He was dressed in a black suit with a black shirt and a black tie. He looked different to the few times that I had spoken with him. Older even. He cleared his throat and then glanced around the room at all of the faces waiting for him to speak. No one had to ask for silence. No one wanted to gossip or talk over him at a time like this. A stack of note cards were held in one of his hands. He looked down at them before clenching his fist with them inside and dropping them to the podium top. It looked like a million thoughts and feelings crossed his face at once before he took a deep breath and cast his eyes to the ceiling. I know exactly how you feel but there is definitely not anyone up there that’s helping us out right now.

  “Thank you for gathering here with me at such short notice. I know that you are all confused and scared right now. What has happened today at this academy is nothing short of a tragedy. There are people who would have me tell you that nothing like this has ever happened before and that you are safe here at the academy. I don’t want to lie to you. You deserve to know the truth.” He paused for a moment looking around the edges of the room. It was almost like he was waiting to see if anyone was going to stop him. “The demons have infiltrated our realm.” Gasps sounded around the room and hushed hurried whispers chattered animatedly. “This is the fourth incident that I am aware of. They are moving against us. We do not officially know their plan but with the attacks here and those in the human realm we have to assume the worse. We lost nine students today. Nine students that were cut down before they had a chance to have a life. Nine students that were brutally taken from us by something that was sent to infiltrate the academy and cause chaos. If it was not for the swift actions of four of our own students the losses would have been much higher.” I felt his eyes rest on me but I didn’t dare move. This was the most information that we were ever likely to get about what was going on. “I can’t promise you that you are safe at the academy. I can’t promise you that you are safe anywhere. The demons should not have been able to enter our realm yet they did. The demons should not have been able to infiltrate the wards of the academy yet they did. The only thing that I can promise you is that I will do everything that is in my power to keep you safe. I will do everything that I can to train you to try and keep yourself safe. I will not rest until this threat is extinguished. I will not rest until our loss has been avenged.” He was gripped the podium so tightly that it almost seemed like he would break his fingers. He was clearly feeling the loss of these students and the guilt of having let them down. It also seemed unlikely that he was supposed to be telling us this. I hoped that he wasn’t about to lose his job for this. Selfishly I needed him to help him solve me the mystery that was my magic.

  Everyone shuffled in their seats. The atmosphere had changed drastically. Some of the students actually seemed excited and hurried conversations were being whispered back and forth. What was wrong with them? People were dead. Their friends were dead. The headmaster was clearly done. I mean was there really anything left to say. He looked around the room. Fuck this shit. This wasn’t a party. I stood up and strode out and I could hear my guys following behind me. Sykes was grumbling. “That’s some fucked up shit man. We were literally skidding around in their friend’s blood only hours ago and now … what … they’re all fucking excited about it.”

  We walked back to our room in silence and then sat around, not speaking, just looking around. I felt lost. I didn’t know what to do. It seemed like a complete betrayal to those who had died to be happy, to just live.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The whole school just se
emed to be drifting around unable to decide how to act the next morning. Lessons were cancelled for the day and people just seemed at a loss. How do you just go on when something like this happens? How can you just continue to live without it seeming like a slap in the face to those who had just lost theirs? The guys were pretty antsy that morning when I said that I was going to go to the library to do some more reading. Kyle had wanted to come with me so that I could get some books and bring them back to the room to read. But I needed to just do something. Sitting in the room was driving me crazy. I needed a change of scenery. Part of me was upset that this whole thing had ruined what should have been a happy time for us. All the other parts of me wanted to just punch that selfish bitch in her face. I had been sat in the library reading about the Galvinae War and all of the fighting that following for about ten minutes when Britt slumped down into the seat next me. Liam was shuffling through one of the bookcases in the background pretending that he wasn’t watching me. I decided to let him be for now. They were trying and I was grateful for that. I looked up at Britt when she sat down and from the expression on her, which was something like she was chewing a bee, she had something to say but wasn’t quite sure how to do it.

  “Just ask me.” I sighed.

  She looked at my face and a slight blush flushed through her face. “Did you know?” She asked.

  “Know what?” I asked, not liking where this could possibly be heading. I liked Britt and since we had started training I would go as far to say that she was becoming my friend. I didn’t want her to suddenly find me untrustworthy.

  “About the demons. Is that why you are training us?” She whispered.

  I sat back in my seat and carefully thought how to word what I was going to say. “When I was brought here I believed the same as everyone else. That the problems in the human realm were because of halfbloods losing control. When I was thrown through a portal and introduced to the headmaster he told me that he suspected that there was more to it. He thought that they were actually possessed by demons and not acting of their own freewill. I assumed from his conversation that whatever was happening was linked to the human realm. I didn’t know that there were attacks on this side as well. But then I didn’t think to ask. This whole world is new to me Aria, I only got here two weeks ago remember.” I explained.

  She nodded her head in thought. “You didn’t answer me second question.” She pointed out.

  “I guessed that the combat training program was to train a fighting force but that isn’t why I am training you and the rest of the group. If you remember correctly, I was ambushed on one of my lovely morning runs and asked to do it.” I smiled at her and she grinned back at me.

  “Yeah we did kind of force your hand there a little bit didn’t we.” She laughed.

  “It’s okay. I think that it would have happened in some form or other anyway. You just maybe moved up the timetable a bit, which in the circumstances is probably a good thing now.” I said feeling the smile drop from my face.

  “I never thanked you.” She said looking at her hands on the table top. “For what you did that day.”

  “There is never any need to thank me for that Britt. Has he given you any more trouble?” I quietly asked.

  “No. I’ve seen him glare at me a few times and I get the feeling that they are talking about me all the time but none of them have ever approached me.” She looked around the room. “Sometimes I feel like they are watching.”

  I checked out our surroundings but apart from Liam there wasn’t anyone really around. “You know where I am if you need me. I honestly don’t mind maiming that creep for you. Saying that, you’ll be able to do that for yourself soon. Your skills are really coming along. You’re doing really well with the training routine. All of the group are. It’s kind of weird actually how well you are all coming along. I get that you all have that extra boost from your animals or magic or whatever but still, you have to agree that it’s still a bit weird.” I pointed out. I wouldn’t be long before the whole group would be doing the full three laps at the morning runs. The conditioning sessions were going really well and the mediocre fighting skills which they had started out with were starting to get to a level where some of them could have considered competing if we were back at my old gym. All in just one week. It was insane.

  “Yeah, I suppose that it is a little strange.” She shrugged. “I’m just a shifter and not very powerful at that. But I can feel your magic when we train. It’s like it nudges me along when I need it.”

  “Well that sounds … creepily invasive.” I said. “I promise you that I had no idea I was doing that.”

  “It’s not a bad thing Aria. It’s allowing us to train quicker and develop skills that would normally take us months to develop.” She looking suspiciously at Liam who was now just leaning against the bookcase watching us having given up the pretence of looking at books. “Looks like you are having your own stalker problems.” She laughed.

  I glanced over at Liam and he grinned at me. “Yeah, he thinks he’s being stealthy. Best to just smile and pretend that you don’t see him so we don’t hurt his feeling.”

  “As soon as I heard the rumours, I knew that they were true. They’ve always looked at you like you were the moon as soon as they met you.”

  “Yeah, it’s been a crazy few weeks.”

  “We should hang out more.” She said grabbing one hand. “We can pretend that we are studying in my room and you can tell me all the swoonworthy details about your mates while we gorge on ice cream.”

  “I’d like that.” I smiled at her. “I’ll bring my ipad and we can watch a really bad movie and make fun of everyone in it.”

  “Ooooo yeah, make it an action one, I like to laugh at the terrible bad guy lines. Next week?” She asked.

  “Definitely. We can decide a day nearer the time.” I could not have been happier. Then I remembered what happened yesterday and I felt guilty again.

  Chapter Twenty Three

  I had the next morning off and was lounging on the sofa in our room reading while the guys were in lessons. Kyle had nearly lost his mind when he realised that they would have to leave me this morning and I had to promise not to leave the room before he seemed to be able to calm down. I hadn’t planned on going anywhere anyway. I was still trying to get through the background reading that Professor Pax had given me. Trying being the operative word. I couldn’t get my head into it and I kept flashing back to the fight in the hallway. I was starting to think that abandoning the book and finally trying out the enormous tub might be a better use of my time. Just before lunch the handle to the door jiggled and I jumped in surprise as Liam came bustling into the room. He had his book bag over one shoulder and a small basket in one hand.

  “You scared the life out of me.” I huffed as I settled back into the sofa. “I didn’t realise that you would be back so early.”

  He blushed a little as he dropped his book bag on the kitchen table and looked over to me. “I ducked out of class early. I thought that you might like to go on that picnic with me.”

  I immediately straightened in my seat and my book slid of my lap onto the floor. “That’s a brilliant idea.” I grinned.

  “You looked like you might need something to take your mind of things this morning.” Liam said. “Kyle will ease into this. He just needs a bit of time. Try not to judge him too harshly for this morning.”

  “Do you want to know a secret?” I said striding over to him and leaning in.

  “Go on.”

  “I was going to stay here and catch up on some reading anyway.” I snickered.

  “You minx, Kyle is actually walking around like someone kicked his puppy because he thinks you’re mad at him.” He laughed slinging an arm around my shoulders and pulling me against his side. This morning had not gone well when the guys realised that they would have to leave me alone, a lot, because whilst their class timetables were full, mine was pretty much empty. He had got to the point where he was threatening to quit all o
f his classes apart from the ones which I was in when I had to basically promise not to leave the room all morning so that he would just leave. We had put a pin in the argument to continue it later and it wasn’t something which I was really looking forward to.

  “Well I am a little mad at him.” I huffed. And I was, but then I also understood where he was coming from. This was new for all of us but I felt bad that something which they had been looking forward to since hearing stories about it as kids, finding your mate, had turned into the clusterfuck of them being stuck with me.

  “Like I said kitten, you need to give him time to come to terms with it. It’s harder for him because of his Alpha nature. His wolf will ride him hard to protect you. It’s not something that he will be able to just ignore.” We walked down the corridor together hand in hand heading towards the front door.

  “I get that, I do. And I do feel shitty about the whole situation. But it’s hard for me to come into a situation where I’m expected to act like some kind of fucking damsel in distress when that couldn’t be further from the truth.” I was trying my hardest not to get to the same point that I had this morning when the discussion devolved into Kyle and I screaming at each other. It had not been my finest moment.