Councilman Ishida leaned forward, his head cocked as he studied me. I wasn’t sure what his powers were, but I could have sworn the air around him sparkled slightly. “It is understandable that you want to be with friends. While your safety is a top priority, your mental health is to be considered as well.” Looking up and down the table at the other members of the Council, gauging their reactions, he turned back to me with a contemplative look. “Perhaps we can find you a group of female shifters that you would feel comfortable staying with.”
“My roommate is a shifter. I feel safe and comfortable with her.” I tried to interject on my behalf. There was no way in hell that I’d consent to stay with random females I didn’t know. I felt the walls of my heart constricting as I thought about every time I had been thrust into new foster homes. I was never sure what I would encounter when I walked through a new door, and this felt eerily similar as it threw me into memories and past emotions.
“The bear shifter.” The heavily accented voice of Councilman Maldonado practically spit the words like an insult. “You can’t possibly think a regular animal shifter is strong enough to keep you safe should another threat occur. If anything, she would be a mere distraction, a blip on a more powerful shifters radar.” I bristled at his contempt for regular animal shifters and his insult aimed at my best friend, but I bit my cheek and held my tongue. I needed to pick my battles, and this wasn’t one to engage in.
“Surely we must have some strong mythological females staying on campus.” Councilmen Ishida kept pushing. What was his deal?
“Gentlemen. While misguided in the way they handled finding an undocumented mythological, the boys only wanted to protect this female and bring her into our fold slowly so they would not overwhelm her.” The smooth voice of Damien’s father promptly silenced the room, and I could tell he was often the voice of reason, the peacekeeper, among the Council. It was easy to see where Damien got some of his traits. “I feel, for the moment, that Nix is perfectly safe with the boys while we discuss some options for her future.” Turning to me, he addressed me directly, “Nix, everything about your particular situation is unprecedented. I cannot tell you the last time a full-blooded mythological grew up outside our community. As such, there are difficult decisions as to your housing, safety, and training that need to be made. For now…” He enunciated those last two words, stressing that his next decree was temporary, “I think it would be best for you to stay with the boys while we work out options for your future.” I pressed my lips together, trying to keep myself from speaking. Blasphemous things would spill from my lips if I gave them the opportunity. The idea that a group of old men would be deciding my future only exacerbated the already tenuous regard I held for the Council. Trying not to let my contempt show, I gave a short nod.
Smiling at me, Damien’s father nodded in my direction. “Go ahead. I can see you have something you would like to say.”
“Thank you, for letting me stay with the guys… for now.” I couldn’t help the small bit of sass at the end of my statement. “However, I have a problem with the school. I’ve recently been informed that I need to return to living in the dorm. It appears my absence has been noted and since I’m a freshman, living there is a requirement.” As soon as I opened my mouth and spoke those words, I worried that I’d just added provocation for the Council to push their agenda against my schooling. However, I had been stewing over the encounter I’d had with the academic advisor. My moving back to the dorms was a problem with or without the Council’s interference. While I had a mixture of emotions over the subject, it wasn’t hard to admit to myself that I loved staying with the guys. Part of me worried about depending on others too much, afraid of being let down, while the other part of me reveled in finding a family of my choosing and overcoming my triggers and past.
“Ah. Let me ease your fears. We will take care of the issue with the college. You are to return and live with Hiro, Ryder, Theo, Killian, and my son, Damien. Furthermore, I will have a talk with the boys in regards to your safety when you leave the house for classes and other activities. We will coordinate bodyguards.”
“They have been taking me to classes, but I know it’s becoming a hardship while they manage their own jobs and responsibilities.” I hated to admit that I may be becoming a burden. Guilt once again swamped me for bringing them all into the saga that was my life.
“If you will consent to guards on campus, and promise to make every effort to mingle and explore our culture, then I would assume we wouldn’t have to make so drastic of a change to your lifestyle quite yet as long as safety doesn’t become an issue. This will give us all time to discuss the issue further and make a more educated decision.” Ishida threw a scathing look in Councilman Lacroix’s direction. He didn’t look happy about consenting to let me stay with the guys.
I wanted to flip these self-important, conceited, classist men off and storm out. Instead, I swallowed the words down. At least this was one fear behind me for the time being. They weren’t immediately removing me from my family. I nodded slowly, as if I was considering their offer. “Thank you, Councilman. If the guards on campus could be discrete, I really don’t need more attention drawn to me than necessary. What kind of commitment to mingle in your culture are you expecting? I already spend all my days at a college full of shifters and the rest of the time with nine shifters.”
Councilman Rahal snorted, waving a hand through the air. “You have much to learn about shifter classes, child. The friends you are making are instilling bad habits into you. You are an elite mythological shifter. You need to focus on developing relationships with other elites. The animal shifters you associate with are not a part of an elite’s world. Even the little band that Damien Lacroix is involved in is more—varied—than we’d prefer for one of your status.”
I bit my cheek hard to stop the flow of angry words, tasting the blood that filled my mouth. A slight hissing noise drew my eyes to Councilman Maldonado. His eyes were hard and dark, yet a wild light flickered in them. I swallowed rapidly, hoping to clear the blood from my tongue. I had forgotten my warning about him. Even my impenetrable Damien stated his name with awe. “My friendships with them are important to me, but I am willing to learn more about your societal classes. From there, who knows.” I angled my head toward the floor, fighting my Phoenix with every breath as I tried to show submission to this group in front of me.