Blue Violet

chapter 33



As soon as they arrived home, Lila told the others about their encounter with Gideon.

Griffin looked both stunned and worried. “Why couldn’t I hear him?” Ellie heard him wonder.

Aloud she explained to him, “He seemed to be blocking your power, Griffin. Or someone in his pack was.”

“And how do you know that exactly?” Alex’s asked.

“He told me. When I tried to read his mind.”

“She also shook his hand,” Lila piped up.

Ellie shot her friend a look.

“Ellie, I suggest you explain before Alex and Griffin both have a conniption,” Hugh advised calmly.

She walked over to Alex and wrapped her arms around his neck. He didn’t hesitate to pull her in closer and bury his face in her hair.

“I’m fine. I’m still here,” she whispered in his ear.

He gave her a tender squeeze. “You take too many chances.”

“It wasn’t my choice to confront Gideon. He found us. I just did what I could with the opportunity.” Pulling back, she took his face between her hands and gave him a gentle kiss. She turned to the others. “Gideon wants me to join his pack.”

Everyone started talking at once, and Alex laughed, though it was a bitter sound. “Well, he can go to hell and get bent on his way down!”

“He gave me an offer,” Ellie continued calmly. “If I go with him willingly, he promises safety for the rest of you… forever.”

Dead silence.

“I’m confident in his sincerity in this offer,” Ellie added, scrutinizing each of their faces.

They all looked to Lila for confirmation, who just shrugged. “The conversation was mostly telepathic. I didn’t really hear much. He didn’t lie once during the discussion though,” Lila confirmed somewhat reluctantly.

“You weren’t intending to tell us?” Griffin half-asked, half-accused.

“No,” Ellie admitted, shifting uneasily on her feet.

“What changed your mind?”

“All of you.” Ellie nodded her head around the room. “I wasn’t going to tell you. I was planning to go with him to protect you. But I realized that you’re my family now, and I couldn’t do that to you. You all deserve a choice in this.”

“If you think we’re letting you go, you’re quite mistaken,” Dexter declared. Ellie gave him a surprised look. Of everyone there, he’d remained the most distant. Even Ramsey had warmed up to her after she’d opened up the potential of his powers to him. Dexter participated, he joined in…but he always acted slightly reserved. Ellie hadn’t been sure of her position with him, so this show of support from him now meant a lot.

“I second that sentiment,” Hugh added.

“Just so we’re clear… I go with them, and we’re all safe. I stay and it’s a guaranteed battle. Some or all of us could die. Are you willing to risk that?” Ellie moved to Griffin’s side, taking his hand.

“Losing one of us is just as bad as losing all of us,” Lucy insisted, a fierce look on her normally mild face. Everyone else nodded their agreement.

Ellie’s eyes welled. For the first time, it truly sank in that she had a family again. And knowing they loved her enough to put their own lives in danger was beyond moving—it was heart wrenching. Glancing at Griffin, she saw her tears reflected in his own eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered. Alex put his arms around her from behind, enfolding her in a strong and comforting embrace.

Suddenly he stood up straight. Ellie turned her head to look up at him. “How were you going to join the wolves when you left us?” he asked.

She explained Gideon’s directions of where and when to meet, and a slow grin spread over Alex’s face. Griffin smirked as well. Looking at each other, the two boys started to nod, obviously enjoying some secret, silent communication.

Ellie did her best to stay out of Alex’s head, partly out of respect and partly on the assumption that he’d tell her anything important. She and the others looked back and forth, like at a tennis match, totally lost.

“That’s a lot more annoying from the outside than I realized,” Ellie burst out, arms akimbo.

Alex raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Shoe’s on the other foot, huh? Now you know how the rest of us feel… but I think I have an idea that might work,” he added smugly.

“Please feel free to let the rest of us in on it,” Hugh said.

“We’re all aware that our biggest weakness is centered on their attacking when we’re scattered. Until Charlotte can gather us all together, we’re all at risk, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“What if we attack them first? I think it could give us an edge. Especially if we attack Gideon first.” Alex grew excited. “Based on what Ellie’s said, he seems to be their leader and motivator. If we take him out first, maybe they won’t want to keep fighting.”

Hugh slowly nodded, his expression thoughtful. “I see where you’re going with this.”

“Explain it to those of us who are a little slower,” Charlotte murmured as she tucked her hair behind her ear.

“I suggest Ellie goes to her meeting with Gideon…” He paused, looking from face to face. “She’ll just happen to bring all of us along with her.”

Ellie worked through this scenario in her mind. “What if it’s a trap and they’re already waiting for us?”

“You said that Griffin can block Gideon’s power of sight, right?” Alex asked.

“Yeah.”

“So he won’t know about Griffin’s defensive shield, first of all.”

Griffin joined in. “Maybe. He knows about my telepathy. But even if it is a trap, if we arrive with my shield up, they won’t be able to do anything. That should give you enough time to organize, Ellie.”

“It’s better that we do this on our time, on our terms,” Alex insisted.

“And on our own ground,” Hugh added. “Gideon picked our home for you to meet at, you said?”

She nodded. Everyone remained quiet for a while, each caught up in their own thoughts.

Ellie tapped a fingernail on her teeth, a bad habit when she was thinking. “We should try to appear as we normally would had I not told you about this. Any ideas?”

Alex dragged his hand through his hair. “We should keep to our routine like usual,” he decided. Lucy, who had been making coffee in the kitchen, brought out a tray and offered him a cup. With a grateful glance, he readily accepted.

Griffin nodded his agreement and also grabbed a steaming mug, “But we should take more precautions since Lila would’ve told us about your talking with Gideon at the very least.”

“So let’s only work on the things we have been while outside. Once indoors, we can discuss a more specific plan,” Alex said.

Agreements given by all, they decided to go ahead and train for a little while. They also decided to teleport into the clearing with Griffin’s shield up just in case the wolves thought to ambush them there.

But no attack happened that night or any other night that week. They practiced just like normal. They went to school like normal. They ate dinner and did homework and played games like normal. Late at night, they orchestrated their plans for the impending attack.

Ellie’s tension level grew exponentially as the agreed on date and time grew closer. She and Griffin had just found their new family. What if they lost them again? What if she lost Alex? Every night she fell asleep in his arms thinking about this, knowing that she couldn’t live with herself if anything happened to any of them.

****

Finally the day arrived. It seemed so strange because at first glance the day appeared just like any other, and like no other at the same time. Ellie went to school. She chatted with friends. She took notes in class. She ate lunch. She drove home. They practiced in the clearing as usual. But it all seemed to go in slow motion, in sort of a numb haze. Today she would meet her fate, once and for all. Today, she might die.

And then the time had arrived.

They gathered in the living room. Lucy and Hugh grabbed Lila and Adelaide up in a giant bear hug. “We love you girls,” Lucy choked out.

Their action started a long round of hugging. Ellie moved from person to person. Her heart felt like it got more and more full with every hug. “We will always be grateful for your joining our family,” Hugh told her quietly when she came to him. Holding back her tears, Ellie threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tight.

Releasing Hugh, she turned to Nate, Lila, and Adelaide. Nate chucked her on the arm. “Who knew that the new girl in school would end up here?” he teased gently.

“And I for one couldn’t be happier to have you as my soon-to-be sister,” Adelaide added. The four friends shared a group hug.

Ellie turned toward Griffin. They wrapped their arms tightly around one another. They spent some time walking through memories of childhood and their life together thus far in their minds. Not talking, no words, just the images and understanding each other perfectly.

Finally she turned to Alex, who pulled her onto his lap while he sat on the couch. Placing her forehead against his, they sat there. Not speaking. Just absorbing each other. They’d only just begun to explore their love for each other. Now potentially losing each other was happening too fast, too soon. Ellie lifted her head and just looked at him, at this man who had become as essential to her existence as breathing.

“Alex…” Ellie gave a deep sigh, unable to express the depth of her feelings with mere words.

He gave her that sexy half smile she adored so much and cupped her chin in his hand. “I know, baby.”

With a long, lingering kiss, they sat wrapped in each other’s arms, neither wanting to ever let the other go. With one last kiss and a deep breath, in unison they stood.

Everyone else took this as a signal. Without talking, they gathered in a formation resembling a wagon wheel with those with active powers on the outside, and those with more passive powers on the inside. Each person on the inside of the circle stood slightly sideways, hands linked, forming the spokes of the wheel.

The idea was for Griffin to shield all of them as they made their appearance in the clearing. Then, when the time seemed right, he would move his shield to the inner circle, leaving those on the outer circle free to fight without having to remove his protection entirely. He would expand the shield around individuals in the outer circle as necessary, and Ellie would tap into all the skills available to her as needed.

“Ready?” she asked.

With general murmurs all around which she took as “yes,” she tapped into Charlotte’s teleportation. Instantly, they were all standing in the clearing where Ellie had had her fight with the Vyusher wolves.