"Did she say anything?" Aeson questioned, the coldness still in his tone.
"No," I replied tentatively, hating how weird he sounded. "But I think you guys should explain this a bit more."
"Yeah, agreed. Go for a drive, or stay in our room?" Lachlan asked, stepping around and pulling me to his side. His hand wound absently in my hair, and my thoughts derailed at the feel of his strong arms around me, making me wonder what his muscles looked like under those baggy clothes of his.
"Let's get out of here," I said quickly, wrapping my arm around his back and turning us toward the front door.
"Don't we need wallets and keys and shit?" Calev snorted, laughing at my quick retreat.
"Some of us come prepared," I shot back, pulling my wallet out of my pocket and holding it up. Having a shit roommate taught me pretty early on not to leave that kind of stuff behind. "Old habits die hard."
"I got it," Evander laughed at the others’ sheepish expressions, taking off at a sprint that was clearly slowed down for the humans’ sake. I'd seen him run faster. However, he was back within two minutes, a stack of wallets and phones in his hand.
"Now can we go?" I whined impatiently, desperately needing a change. Cierra's not so warm welcome had me itching to get out before my old anxiety flared back up.
"Yes," Aeson said, grabbing my free hand and pulling me, and in turn Lachlan, away swiftly. We were all outside and hastily buckled into their SUV quickly, pushing the boundaries of how fast we should move with so many witnesses. Apparently the guys all needed a break as well.
"Alright, let's do the explanation in the car. I don't trust this place anymore, and I doubt they sent one girl all alone. Unless they're that fucking dumb. This is our territory," Aeson bit out, clearly still not over it.
"Turf wars?" I snorted, "That's not something I expected from the Supernaturals.”
"How could you not? As a whole, we are possessive, instinctual, and territorial as fuck. Shifters are some of the worst, if you hadn’t noticed," Lachlan said, nuzzling into my neck. Now that he pointed it out, Lachlan and Calev both surprised me with how quickly they settled in with me, both of them always touching me.
"They're not the only ones. Vampires aren't quite as instinctual, but mine claimed you right away," Evander said unapologetically. "You're mine now." His possessive words had heat flooding me, and for some reason, that turned me on even more. There's something super hot about a dominating man.
"Oh, just wait then," Tristan said, giving me a heated look and a sly smirk. Fuck, I have to watch my thoughts. Why can't I block them out?!
Lachlan chuckled and glanced over at Tristan. "What's she thinking about?"
"I'll keep that little thought to myself," he teased, leaning back with a smug smile and a slight bulge in his jeans.
"Fucker," Lachlan joked back, giving me a wink to show he wasn't really angry. "Okay, explanation. We're off task."
"Oh, yeah. So, the supernatural community has several academies that are always named after their location. So, we are Obsidian Cove Supernatural Academy, and our team of elites are called the Obsidian Warriors. They're our government per se. All major factions have a member or two on our collective council, but we each run our own areas. The council is in place for major issues, or to be an 'impartial' third party if war breaks out," Aeson explained.
Tristan picked up where Aeson left off. "Now, the United States alone has five. Obsidian, Citrine, Diamond, Lapis, and Emerald. Two on each coast, and one in the midwest. Our people can move freely, but we require that they register with their new faction, to keep an accurate census of our people. Each area also has a magical radar to pick up the stragglers that have been hidden away."
Calev joined in on the explaining, his darkening eyes putting me on edge. "Which means your parents either had a good or bad reason for tucking you away like they did. We really need to track down your adoptive parents, or search their online correspondence. Did they act weird about the mail or anything?"
"Not really. The staff always got it, but I wasn't allowed to go in my adoptive father's office. He was kind of secretive about it," I said, my eyebrows furrowing as I tried to remember if they ever had guests over or anything. My eyes started to widen when I triggered an old memory. "Now that you mention it...when I was around seven, before I moved to this school, a group of people came to our house. The servants announced them while my mother and I were downstairs. Father barreled down the stairs and ordered us to go up. Even though I begged her not to, Mother closed me in my room, with the threat of grounding me if I even dared to come out. I tried to listen, but I didn't catch the conversation. Eventually, they started yelling, and I caught snippets of them talking about 'her', which I assumed was me. They left when the police showed up, my parents claiming there was a possible home invasion and quieting the staff. After that, the driver took me to school instead of giving me the freedom to walk."
Evander's eyes narrowed as my story went on, "I bet that was the 'father' she mentioned in your letter. Possibly others? I'm not sure. We'll look into it more, as soon as you let us take you back to the island."
"Soon. I just don't want to be an outsider," I mumbled. Before I could say more, Calev picked up speed, and everyone around me tensed.
"We've got a tail," he mumbled, our heads whipping around to spot the white car that was following us through every turn and lane change.
"They're keeping distance. Trying to just watch and observe, I bet," Lachlan noted, holding me a bit tighter.
"Don't worry, they won't get to you," Evander growled out, reaching back and giving my knee a squeeze. Their touches kept me from freaking out too badly, but my heart pounded in my chest. Just how dangerous would this new life be?
"If they were simply here to find the source of the abilities, then why would they trail us?" I asked, pointing out the obvious. It didn't add up, so there had to be more to this story.
"I'm assuming she called them in. I'm sure she read all of our powers too, but you probably seemed oblivious, so she assumed you didn't know what you are, or even what we are. She probably thinks we are overstepping our bounds, or that they'll lose you to us, so they're upping security," Calev answered, his eyes flicking from the windshield to the mirror to watch them.
"Well, fuck them. No supernatural is ever forced to go with one or the other. It's their choice, not the government. The council would flip if they found out they forced people to their territory," Aeson fumed.
"Aeson, why do you hate them?" I asked softly, reaching out and taking his hand again. His eyes softened as they met mine, but a sadness was clear in their depths.