Chapter Eleven
Reed
"Y ou will survive it, Neith," I growl, the others nodding in agreement.
She nods, her eyes on mine, "I know, I've been through a lot of shit in my lifetime. The Choosing is going to be a walk in the park."
"I don't like that," Ransom says what we're all thinking.
Neith shrugs, "I didn't either." She frowns, "Wow, that got a little dreary. What I was going to say before everyone had a 'thing' is that I'm actually really looking forward to it, it's a challenge."
Evander grins and repeats, "A thing." Neith rolls her eyes but smiles, so Van continues, "I am entirely unsurprised that the thought of danger and lots of it is exciting to you."
Neith's smile widens, "Obviously. Life would be boring without a bit of danger and don't even pretend that you guys don't agree with me. You aren't in the careers that you're in just because you're helping people, although I'm sure that's a big part of it."
Doc grins, "You may have a point."
"I know I do," she chuckles.
"When are you going to meet Navy?" Ransom asks her, and she glances up at him.
"Huh?"
"Navy messaged you, and then we talked about Neera, and then the conversation sort of went off in another direction," Ransom reminds her.
If we weren't used to the way that River's conversations usually go, then we would be finding it a lot harder to follow Neith than we currently are.
Realization dawns on her expression, and she says, "Oh, I didn't get that far. Hang on."
Neith
T he guy's chuckle while I glance back down at my phone and start typing a message out to Navy, but before I can finish it and press send I get another message through from her.
I grin, "That is so fucking cool."
"What is?" Griff asks.
"Before I even finished typing the message she messaged and said, we would love to meet Neera, and we can get to the town where she works. Now that we're graduating, we don't have as many restrictions as we did," I explain, reading the message that I have just received from her.
"That is so fucking cool," River agrees.
"I'd message her back pretty quickly. She's probably worrying that you think it's freaky," Doc says, and brief shadows flash through his eyes.
I don't like that he seems to have experience with that. I can relate to people thinking that you're a freak and I really don't want Navy to think that's how I think of her. I mean, I got called all sorts of shit growing up, by the human kids at school, by the supe kids at the compound where I lived with Evander and his family, and then later as an adult too. I have always been the odd one out, the weird one, and the one that can never really relate to anyone else.
I had Sully and the others, but they weren't a constant. The same for Coen and Dimitri, they felt like mine, like I could really be myself around them, but Coen was inconsistent and then disappeared, and Dimitri, well, that just went to shit. There was also Karhu. He was like a big brother to me and fucking awesome, but he stayed with Dimitri. I asked him to come with me. He knew what I was doing when I was gathering evidence, but he still refused to come, he made a good point when he said that I was telling HID and they wouldn't protect a supernatural as well as they would a human.
But he also said that he had to stick around for Dimitri, and that I didn't understand, Dimitri was treating him as bad as he was treating me. I think he was holding onto what Dimitri used to be even more than I was, am, he grew up with him after all.
Other than those few, which in retrospect I am incredibly grateful for and lucky to have, I've always sort of felt like the weird one, and even in those groups, I was on the edge of the group, always not quite a part of it because I'm human. Although no one ever pushed me out or anything like that, the differences were obvious, and despite the fact that I could keep up better than most humans, it wasn't enough when it came to the people that I hung out with because they weren’t your average supernaturals, they're all incredibly strong.
Now though, I don't feel like that, and it's a strange feeling to get used to, but not one that I dislike.
"Oh shit, I don't want her thinking that I think that," I reply and quickly type out a message back to Navy that pretty much just says that I think she's really awesome.
Navy : Ha! I'm glad you think so. I'm adding you to a group chat with Joey, feel free to add Neera in, too!
Me : Oh, shit, Neera. I should probably mention it to her.
Navy just sends loads of laughing faces, and I switch from our chat to a new one with Neera.
Me: Hey, I hope you remember who I am, the weird human from the coffee shop, I came in with Raiden.
Neera: Hey! Of course I do, I accidentally asked you out with my rambling, when what I really wanted was to be friends. I'm really surprised that you messaged me actually.
Me: Yep, that's me! Of course, I did. It's not often that I meet someone who can ramble as well as I can. I've got some stuff coming up soon, which means that it's going to be impossible for me to meet up for a while. I was wondering if you wanted to meet up this Friday and if you would mind if my friends, Navy and Joey came too? They're just about to graduate from the Training Academy, and Joey can ramble like us!
Neera: Absolutely, do you still want to meet in the town or somewhere closer to the Training Academy?
Me: Hang on, I think this is going to get super confusing going back and forth. Can I add you to the group chat?
Neera: Definitely!
I smile and take longer than I would like to admit, trying to work out how to add Neera to the chat that Navy has already added me to. I'm vaguely aware of Ransom moving me out of the way of something, his arm still around my shoulders, and the guys chuckling quietly, but I'm too absorbed in what I'm doing to figure out why.
Me: Hey guys, I think I've added Neera in, but I don't know what I'm doing. I figured that it would be easier to arrange everything in here rather than in two separate conversations.
Neera : I'm here.
Navy: Hey!
Joey: So, what's the plan then?
Me: I have no idea. I'm good with whatever. Just let me know when and where I need to meet you and if I need to bring anything like my gun.
Joey: What kind of shit do you get up to with friends? I'm not judging. It sounds like my kind of fun. I'm just curious!
Me: Haha, well, you never know. I'm sure that you have some stories to tell too, and we can bond over a drink or whatever we're doing on Friday.
Navy : I'm with Neith. It's always smart to carry a gun, even as a supe.
Neera : I third that, although I'm partial to knives.
Me: Oh, me too, I've got this really cool one that I'm going to get Luke in town to make me.
Neera : I know Luke. He has made some of my blades, and he's really good.
Joey: I need a new set of throwing knives. Maybe I'll check him out.
Me: He was going to keep the shop open for me at some point. I can see if he will do it on Friday? What time are you guys available to meet?
Navy : That would be awesome. I could definitely treat myself to a new weapon of some kind. We should be able to get to town for around three ish. Does that work?
Neera: Sounds good to me.
Me: Me too. I'll talk to the guys and see if they can talk to Luke. I've got to go. I'll message you when I can.
"When did we get here?" I ask as I realize that we're standing in front of the labs.
The guys burst out laughing.
"I told you that she had no idea that we had stopped," Reed chuckles, and I stick my tongue out at him.
Doc grins, "We were just waiting for you to zone back in before we went in. I didn't know if you wanted to see what they're up to."
I nod, "Oh definitely, I may not understand what they're talking about, but I find it really super interesting."
"Me too," River says.
We all follow Doc inside, and I am immediately in awe of how high-tech everything looks.
"Hey guys," Doc greets the three men and one woman in the room. They're all dressed really casually in jeans and t-shirts, and honestly look like they've been working nonstop for a while.
"Hey man," the guy nearest to us says, and then looks up, his eyes landing on me, "oh hey, you're new."
I grin, "I'm Neith. I'm a new member of the team."
"Awesome, nice to meet you. I'm Kieran, and this is Freddie, Gareth, and Jessica."
"Nice to meet you guys," I reply.
"Hey," Jessica replies with a friendly smile, "call me Jess."
I nod, and the other two just wave at me.
Jess rolls her eyes, "Don't mind them. They're in the zone. What can we do for you?"
"You know that thing you were working on that would be able to de-glamor a supe?" Doc asks.
Jess's eyebrows draw in slightly, and she nods, "Yeah. What about it?"
"How far along with it are you?" Doc asks.
Kieran shrugs, "Not much further than the last time that we spoke about it, if we're being honest. There were other things that needed our attention before that."
"How would you feel about putting it back to the top of the list?" Doc asks.
Kieran and Jess share a look, and then Kieran nods, "Yeah, we could do that. I've got to warn you though, it's probably going to take us a while. We were only at the very beginning stages of development."
Doc nods, "That's absolutely fine. We don't need it straight away."
Jess nods, "Is this Ty sanctioned or something we need to work on in our free time?"
My eyebrows rise as I glance questioningly at a smirking Evander.
"Ty knows," Van confirms.
"Awesome, that makes it a bit easier to work on. Although not quite as fun as trying not to get caught working on something that we shouldn't be working on," Jess grins.
"Great, thanks guys," Doc says. "We'll leave you to it. It's getting late. Make sure you eat!"
They both look slightly confused as they look up at the clock, and their eyebrows lift in surprise.
"Well, shit," Kieran says.
Doc chuckles, "Bye, guys."
I wave goodbye to them as I turn and follow everyone else out of the room.
"Is it too late to eat in the dining hall?" I ask.
"If we're quick, we might be able to get there before it shuts," Raiden says.
As one, we all pick up our speed and head toward the dining hall. Unfortunately, it seems that we're further away than I thought we were because it's taking a lot longer than I remember it taking before. Maybe I'm just hungrier than I was, and it's making it seem like it's taking longer.
"I have no recollection of walking down this way," I say after a moment.
"That's because you were looking at your phone and messaging Navy and the others," Evander points out with a smile.
"Oh yeah," I reply.
Just as I begin to open my mouth to thank Ransom for stopping me from going the wrong way or walking into something, a group of people walk around the corner, and I recognize Kylen and Rupert—the two members of the Draconian Team who had the other half of the gym.
"Shit," River curses as he moves up beside me and places a hand on the bottom of my back.
"Don't let them rile you up. It will just give them more incentive to do it again," I mutter. My eyes search the group and find Coen walking behind them, his shoulders hunch, he suddenly tenses his eyes darting up to mine, and I see such a mix of strong emotions, fear, longing, and rage that I have to try really hard not to fucking react.
I really fucking hate this, and it may be one of the hardest things that I have had to do. Knowing that he is with them against his will, and I do know that, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind, knowing that and knowing that it's been that way for a really long time now is fucking hard. I want to get him out of it, I want to kill the Draconian Team for being involved or at the very least, Kylen.
"Ah, we were hoping we would run into you," Kylen says with fake happiness.
The rest of his team have smug grins on their faces and the same feeling of wrongness about them. In other words, they all seem to be assholes. Apart from Coen, Kylen, and Rupert, there are two more members, all of them men, and all looking at me like I'm worse than the dirt on their shoes.
"Can't say I felt the same way," I reply.
Kylen's eyes flash with anger, "That's no way to speak to your future leader."
I burst out laughing, full belly laughs, and see Coen's lips twitch in amusement out of the corner of my eye before his expression becomes dark again, the amusement only lasting for milliseconds. My heart sinks, but I make sure that my expression remains blank and decide that it's probably best to keep my gaze away from Coen for the remaining conversation or I'm not going to be able to keep my cool.
"Sorry, but that was hilarious." My expression cools drastically, and I allow the shadows that play with my demons in the depths of my being to rise to the surface, "Let's get one thing clear: if, for some ridiculous reason, I somehow end up being named as being on your team, you will never be my leader, I think it should be stated right now, that I will do everything in my power to ensure that you simply don't survive."
Coen's eyes heat.
The others look wary, there's no denying the truth in my words, but Kylen laughs.
"You're a human and I'm going to look forward to breaking that smart mouth of yours," he sneers.
Rumbles of terrifying growls shake the hallways; River pulls me back against his chest as Reed's power releases and all of the guys remain standing as the Draconian Team is slammed awkwardly to the floor. Kylen's face slams so hard into the floor that I hear the crunch of bone as blood spurts from it.