Changing Fates: A Sons of Satrina Novel (The Sons of Satrina Book 3) (15 page)

“Can you bring him in here, please? I don’t think I could carry him in myself.” The girl grinned at the both of them. She didn’t seem phased by the process in the least, even if they were. Caleb felt awkward and Cala looked like she was ready to pass out at any moment.

With a deep breath, Caleb followed as she directed and placed Jackson carefully in a plush armchair in what appeared to be a comfortable and informal living room.

“Do you want to wait for him? It could be a while.” The girl glanced at Jackson, who barely seemed conscious.

“Um. No. Um. Okay.” Caleb stuttered uncomfortably.

The girl smiled sympathetically. “You’re the shifter, aren’t you?” Caleb nodded stiffly. “Don’t worry. I’ll call one of the warriors to let them know when he’s ready to leave. I understand how awkward this must be for you.”

“It’s not awkward.” Caleb said quickly.

She laughed. “You don’t have to play the badass warrior with me. I’ve known a few shifters and I know this isn’t the ideal life for you. Or the ideal place to be.”

“Yeah, I guess.” He replied reluctantly.

“Don’t stress. I’ll make sure Jackson’s fine. You go back to whatever you were doing.”

Caleb breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.” He turned quickly to leave, nearly knocking Cala over in his haste. He didn’t realise that she’d followed him in, she’d been so quiet. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

He just wanted to leave. It wasn’t the girls fault, but he was uncomfortable with the whole blood situation. He knew that they had to do this to survive, but seeing it looking so normal and commonplace? Caleb hadn’t expected that and it weirded him out even more.

This hadn’t changed his view of Jackson or any of the others that he had made friends with in his time at the academy, but it did remind him just how different they were to him. How different he was to the rest of them. All he wanted to do was get back to his room, take a shower and spend some time on his own to get his head together.

Being away from the pack wasn’t easy for him, or his brother, Rees. They had to take time off every so often to go back and spend time with the pack. It helped to keep the connection open and they needed that. Being away from the pack that they’d grown up with was difficult. Patrick, their pack leader, likened it to the call of the warrior mark. The mark urged you on, increasing your need to fight and protect. The call of the pack was similar to that. They needed to be close to their family members, especially if they felt the need to shift. There was no way he could do that at the academy.

Shifting hadn’t been something he thought much about when he’d been growing up. After all, to him it was as natural as breathing. It was always there, lurking in the back of his mind. Now, he had to concentrate on keeping the wolf within. Caleb wasn’t a big shifter, preferring to keep to his human form, but being surrounded by vampires made it more difficult to deny. Hence why they had to return home at regular intervals.

They walked back to the others in silence. Caleb, Jackson and Cala had worked well in a team, but he didn’t know what to say to her when it was just the two of them. They were all as quiet as each other, which didn’t make it easy to start a conversation. Cala seemed ridiculously shy around him and Caleb just didn’t know what to say to her. He was glad when the others came into sight, and they were back in the group again.

Chapter Eleven

Ash ran a hand over her forehead, swiping the stray strands of hair out of her face. “What is it?” she asked Rhian through gritted teeth.

Rhian had been sat staring at her for the last ten minutes and it was really starting to get on her nerves. It wasn’t just off-putting, it was downright annoying. She was here to train and work through the session that Master Warrior Dixon was putting them through. It was exhausting and she really didn’t like feeling like she was being put under a microscope by Rhian.

It was even more infuriating because she was sweating along with the rest of the guys and generally looking a complete mess, whereas Rhian was sat on her backside, looking like a super model as per usual. What the hell was wrong with that girl? Was she just afraid of breaking a nail? And, if the witch was finding it quite so easy to fight the pull of the warrior mark, why was she still there at the academy? It was obvious that she didn’t want to be there, so why didn’t she do them all a favour and just leave? Ash certainly wouldn’t miss her.

“Excuse me?” Rhian replied, turning her nose up and looking at Aisline like she was something the cat had dragged in. She’d decided to focus more of her time on making Aisline’s life a misery and it was satisfying. The girl was a paranoid wreck. One glance in her direction, and she thought you were talking about her. One glance at her boyfriend and she thought you were trying to muscle in. Well, on this occasion Aisline was right. Rhian loved messing with her. It was brightening her days in this godforsaken place.

“Why do you keep on staring at me like that?” Ash asked. She refused to be intimidated by Rhian, which she was sure was the girls’ intention. Aisline had grown up around girls like her and she had never let them get the better of her, so she certainly wasn’t going to let Rhian get to her now.

“I’m staring at you?”

“Yes. You’re staring at me. What’s your problem?”

“Why do you think I’m staring at you?”

“Mainly because your eyes are burning holes in my back.” Ash rolled her eyes. “If you’ve got something to say to me, just say it. I haven’t got all day to waste, unlike some.”

Rhian smirked. “Why would I have anything to say to you?” She loved talking in circles around Aisline. The girl was so easy to wind up.

Aisline narrowed her eyes in annoyance. The girl was really starting to get on her last nerve. Rhian had been acting like that from the moment she’d first set foot in the academy, but it had got so much worse lately. It was like she thought she was too good for this life, like she was better than the rest of them. Ash couldn’t stand that attitude. They were the protectors, the warriors. Each and every one of them was working to the bone to be the best that they could be so that they’d be prepared when they were out on the street. It wasn’t just the Lamia Matris that they protected from the Lamia Mortuorum; everyone was protected. Human, shifter or witch. They were there to protect them all. It was a privilege to be part of this group, a privilege that Rhian refused to acknowledge.

Ash didn’t know what her problem was. She didn’t think it was because she wasn’t Lamia Matris. She seemed to have that kind of attitude with everyone she encountered, regardless of race. Each and every person she came across was dirt on her shoe. Perhaps it was the way she was brought up? She’d come across many of those types of girls in her life, the one’s that looked down on her for not wanting to many a rich husband and be taken care of. That just wasn’t her.

Oddly enough, she seemed to also look down on her sister. Cala was trying her best to work with this new situation and refused to act like a spoilt princess like her sister. Unfortunately, nothing she did was good enough for Rhian and Aisline felt so sorry for her. It was strange to see how different the two girls were. Being identical in appearance didn’t mean they were the same through and through. Although, even though they looked the same, the way they held themselves was infinitely different. Rhian had all the confidence in the world, but Cala looked like a puppy that’d been kicked one too many times.

The room had gone quiet, watching the exchange between the two girls. At least it was a little bit of light relief and a distraction from the gruelling training. Ash turned to glare at the rest of the group as she turned from Rhian and they all hustled back to their training partners. The glare was enough to tell them all to mind their own business.

Ash stormed back over to Trey to finish up, pounding the hell out of the pads he was holding with a strength that even rocked him on his feet, and Trey was built like a man mountain. She had that much pent up anger and aggression in her that it felt like she could take on any of the warriors and beat the hell out of them. It wasn’t easy to concentrate when she could feel Rhian’s eyes on her the whole time, although the anger she was feeling spurred her on.

Even Trey noticed that she’d notched her training up a gear. “What’s going on, Ash?” He nudged her after they’d finished another round of punch combinations.

“Nothing.” She said through gritted teeth, the anger pouring off her in waves.

“Come on. What’s that all about?” He flicked his eyes over towards Rhian.

“I’ve no idea.”

“Why does she have such a problem with you? She hasn’t taken her eyes off of you all session.” Trey frowned. He was the kind of guy who always tried to see the best in people, but even he was having trouble finding redeeming qualities in Rhian.

“Again, I’ve no idea.” Ash glanced back at Rhian, who was sat stony faced with her eyes still glued to Aisline. It was getting annoying because the other trainees could see that she had a problem, but none of the warriors would do anything about it or say anything to her. “Just ignore her. That’s what I do.”

“Not easy when she’d constantly focused on you, I bet.”

“I try my best. It’s either that, or pound the hell out of her and she’s not worth the trouble.”

Grabbing a towel off the shelf, Ash walked back over to her back to grab her water bottle. All that energy she was expending was taking it out of her and she was exhausted already.

“What the hell?” she gasped. The entire contents of her bag was covered in a jelly type substance. Holding her hands up in front of her, Ash turned to show Jackson and Trey.

“Ugh! What’s that?” Trey said as he took a step back away from her, not wanting to get near the foul smelling goop.

As Aisline opened her mouth to say something, she saw Rhian smirk.

“You did this!”

Rhian laughed. “Don’t blame me if you can’t seal a bottle properly. What is that anyway? It reeks!” She was in her element. This was much better than the salt water trick.

Some of the other guys started to laugh nervously, seeing that this could get out of hand very quickly. Aisline was so mad that they could almost see steam coming out of her ears. The laughter stopped abruptly when Ash turned and glared at each and every one of them. She didn’t find this funny. Not at all. The goo was still dripping from her fingers and the smell was making her want to be sick.

“If that’s your shower gel, you might want to think about changing to something a little more feminine.” Rhian quipped, making the boys in the group laugh again. This was working even better than she thought it would. The other guys were lapping it up, making Aisline look even more of a fool. Perfect.

Aisline could feel herself going red, not with embarrassment but with pure white hot anger. She narrowed her eyes and had to hold herself back from pouncing on Rhian. “You don’t like the smell of it? Well, let’s see if it smells any better on you!” and she flicked her hands in Rhian’s direction, splashing her with droplets of the foul smelling goo. She knew that it was a childish move, but she couldn’t help herself. If Rhian wanted to play childish games, she was going to get a hell of a shock when Ash started playing back. 

Rhian shrieked and jumped up, scrabbling frantically to get the disgusting goop off her.

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“I can’t believe you did this to me!” Ash retorted, her skin feeling hot with anger.

“What’s going on over here?” Master Warrior Dixon roared.

“She put this stuff in my bag!” Ash pointed at Rhian furiously. “Look at it.”

“I did not! Why would I do that?”

“Come on. You’ve been glaring at me all day. Who else would have done it?”

“I didn’t do it.” Rhian smirked, the look on her face making it clear to everyone that she had done it and was extremely proud of her work.

Master Warrior Dixon moved to stand in between the girls, wrinkling his nose as the smell hit his senses. “Did you do this, Rhian?”

“Of course not. Why would I?” Rhian insisted, fluttering innocent lashes at the warrior before glaring daggers at Aisline.

“And did you see her put it in your bag?” he asked Aisline.

“No. Not exactly, but.”

“No buts. If you haven’t got any proof, you can’t go around accusing people randomly.” Master Warrior Dixon took a step back, trying to avoid the smell.

“But I know she did it! She’s got a real problem with me.”

The warrior shook his head, “Well, she said she didn’t do it. Clear this mess up.”

“But, sir!”

“No!” he shouted. “That’s the end of this and the last I’ll hear of it. Clear this shit up now!” Dixon stormed off, trying to control his gag reflexes.

Ash glared at Rhian, wishing she could smack that smirk straight off her face. Rhian chuckled before sashaying out of the room, leaving Ash fuming behind her. The rest of the guys quickly moved away from the mess, wanting to get as far away from the stink as they could.

“Do you want a hand?” Jackson asked, clearly not wanting to get any closer, but the thought was there and Ash appreciated it.

She sighed. “No. It’s fine. I’ll sort it.”

“You’re sure?”

“Do you really want to smell like this, too? It’s bad enough that I’ve got it on me and I don’t know how I’ll ever get the stench out of my clothes or bag. It’s all ruined.” She looked at all of her gear sadly. This was one step too far. Why did Rhian have to be like this? They didn’t like each other. That was fine. All they had to do was stay out of each other’s way.

Jackson smiled, trying not to laugh because it really wasn’t funny. “If you’re sure, I’ll catch you later.” He waved lamely as he backed out of the room.

It was so annoying, even more so because no one seemed to believe that Rhian had anything to do with it. She was pretty sure that the guys knew Rhian was behind it, but it seemed like the girl could do no wrong in the eyes of the warriors. It was obvious that Rhian had something to do with it, but there was no way she could prove it. All she could do was gather up the goopy mess and haul ass over to the laundry room in the hope that her things weren’t ruined forever. She wanted to get everything into a washing machine as soon as possible so she could go and grab a shower. It smelled disgusting. Worse than disgusting. She just hoped that the smell would come off.

“Are you okay?”

Ash paused in the hallway and glanced at Cala.

“I would be if your sister wasn’t such a bitch.” She snapped. Instantly, she felt bad for taking it out on Cala. She was nothing like her sister and didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”

Cala smiled. “It’s okay. I understand. Do you want a hand with that?”

“I’m just going to dump it all in the washing machine.”

“That won’t work.” Cala shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

“Just washing won’t get rid of the smell.”

“You mean that I’m going to be stuck like this? I stink!” Ash shrieked, panicking.

Cala glanced around and lowered her voice. “I’ll meet you in the laundry room. Don’t worry, I’ll sort it.” And she rushed off before Ash could say another word.

She carried on to the laundry room and dumped her bag on the counter top. Ash had no idea what Cala was doing, but if she could help her get rid of this god-awful smell, then she was all for it. It was yet more proof to her that Rhian had been behind it and that some sort of magic was used to make this disgusting smell. Not that she’d bother bringing it to the attention of the warriors. If Cala could help her get rid of the stink, that would be good enough for her.

It didn’t take long for Cala to come rushing in with a small bottle in her hand.

“Here. Pour three quarters of this in with the load and it will get rid of the smell.” She held up the small bottle filled with a blue powder. “Save the rest to shower with. It’ll get rid of the gloop and the smell on you, too.”

Ash took the bottle from her hand and looked at the powder. “What’s this?” she asked as she poured the correct amount into the washing machine with the rest of her gross smelling belongings. Even being near the stuff made her gag.

“It’s like an antidote. It’ll counteract the smell.” Cala was pleased that she’d thought to make this up beforehand. Making the antidote was something she’d done before, when Rhian had pulled this stunt on someone at school. She was happy she could help Aisline. It wasn’t fair on the girl and she was just pleased that it hadn’t been anything more complex. Cala couldn’t do that sort of thing and she couldn’t have been able to help.

“She’s done this before, hasn’t she?” Ash said suddenly, the truth dawning on her.