“There’s been what?” I ask, and they all look at each other.
“She should know, it’s too much of a coincidence that this all started getting worse when she got her twelve powers,” she says, and they all sigh. Her word is law with them. They rarely tell her no.
“The rebels have been getting stronger recently; more attacks, and more marked have been going missing,” Dad M explains, running a hand through his curly hair.
“They killed one of the high council members and took something; we aren’t sure what. I’m sure you will hear about it tomorrow around school, but I treated him. They killed twenty marked before they got to him. I don’t know how they got so powerful or what they wanted, but I don’t like it,” Dad P says with a serious look. I know why he is worried. The high council members are the most powerful of our kind. All of them ten marks or eleven, and to beat one, you have to have some serious power. They were the ones with extreme power, but they also have the control to handle it, making them a force to be reckoned with.
“What could they possibly want?” I reply after a moment of silence.
“I don’t know, Kennie, but train and stay safe. Watch your back, okay?” she answers with a serious look, and I nod. “And, call your brother,” she adds, before she and the others say goodbye.
I turn the iPad off and reach for my phone on the side, every part of my body feeling like I’ve been run over from my torture earlier. I dial Ryan’s number, and he answers on the third ring.
“Well, well, look who finally decided to call me back,” the deep, sarcastic voice of my brother comes through the line.
“Don’t be a little shit. I know you told our mum and dads about my marks,” I say, and he laughs.
“Kennie, how did you expect to hide that?” he asks, and I hear the sounds of a chair creaking in the background.
“I don’t know, but you know how they worry,” I say.
“Shit, alright I’m sorry. How’s the academy?” he asks, not sounding the least bit sorry.
“Full of drama, I can see why you didn’t like it here. I just had detention, and I feel like death,” I say.
“Who with?” he asks.
“Mr. Daniels,” I say.
“Holy shit, that man is a god. Everyone knows about him and his family. His parents died protecting his sister, apparently,” he says.
“Do you know much more?” I ask, wanting to know about him.
“No, but I feel sorry for his sister. I mean, I heard she joined the rebels because they want humans to know about us and so we don’t have to hide. When the council found out, they tried to kill her, like they do all rebels, and her parents defended her,” he says.
“Yeah, but the rebels don’t just want the humans to find out. They want war, Ryan.” I say, not liking how he is making them out to sound good. They aren’t.
“Why is that so bad?” he asks. There’s an awkward silence where I don’t know how to respond, and he changes the subject. I’m sure he didn’t mean it.
“Is Kelly okay? Has she met anyone?” he asks me.
“Why?” I ask.
“Just wondering, shit, can’t I ask about your friend?” he says. Ryan has never asked about Kelly and ignored her a lot growing up, as much as he ignored me. The only time I saw them talk was last Christmas when Kelly came to dinner with us because her parents were out of town on business. Even then, it wasn’t much more than a simple chat about something random on telly.
“Kelly is fine,” I say slowly, and he clears his throat.
“How many marks did she get? I bet she got a lot,” he asks.
“Two,” I say
“Fuck, do her dads know?” he asks, reminding me that both her dads are part of London’s council. There are twenty-four council members in each district, and there are five districts around the world. Her parents have an immense amount of power and growing up, they made it clear that they wanted Kelly to follow in their footsteps.
“No, they don’t, but if they can’t accept it . . . well they can go and fuck themselves,” I say, and he laughs.
“Tell her, well I don’t know, just that I said hello,” he says, sounding awkward. What the hell?
“Right . . .,” I say, trailing off.
“Gotta go, Kennie, later,” Ryan quickly replies, and puts the phone down. I lie on my back on the bed and look up at the ceiling, coming to the conclusion that my brother is even weirder than I’d previously given him credit for being.
Chapter 14
Locke
“What class have you got now?” I ask Kenzie, outside my elective fighting class. Only East, Logan, and Enzo are in this class that Mr. Daniels teaches. All the others are too shit scared to try to fight us in here.
“Healing with Kelly. She is so excited,” she replies.
“You best go,” I say, nodding in the direction of her friend Kelly, who is walking towards us.
“See you later,” she says, and I grab her arm gently.
“Don’t I get a hug goodbye?” I say, and her cheeks go slightly red as she nods with a laugh. I pull her into a hug, loving the feel of her body pushed against mine, and kiss her cheek. As I pull my lips away and hear her little gasp, I see Mr. Daniels walking over to us. His eyes narrow on me and Kenzie. What is that about?
“You are going to be late for class, Miss Crowe,” he says in a clipped tone as I let her go.
“Going, Mr. Daniels,” she says, and I follow him into our class as Kenzie walks away.
I laugh as I watch East knock Logan on his ass with a blast of air as I take my coat off. They look like they have been at it a while. East walks over and offers him a hand up as Mr. Daniels starts clapping.
“Good. Locke, you’re against me next,” he says, and I internally groan. Logan pats my shoulder as he passes, and I walk in front of Mr. Daniels, quickly calling protection and shielding myself. He only smirks before jumping back and shifting mid-air into a large, grey wolf.
Guess I know what training he wants to do today. A neat trick is to have your protection ward on when you shift and your clothes stay with your human form. Thank the gods some mark figured that out, I don’t want to see his naked ass.
I do the same, shifting into my own black panther, feeling the cold wash of my mark spreading all over my body. The shift is instant now, I only have to think about it, and I can shift. I remember how at the start, bonding with your chosen creature is difficult. Nearly impossible to control if it’s strong. I ended up running around the forest for a whole day, trying to shift back. A loud growl is the only warning before Mr. Daniels’ wolf slams into my side, biting my shoulder. I shake him off with a paw, scratching his side, and I snap my teeth at his leg, making him loosen his grip. I call my healing mark, as I step back, ignoring the blasting pain radiating through my back. Fucking hell, he is serious today.