The Lexus pulled into the three car garage, and the engine shut off. The driver stepped out and locked the door. Sighing, he walked into the house.
Normal houses had sultry smells of dinner and loud noises of happy people. Even in old houses, the occupants tried to make it smell as if it wasn't an old, mildew ridden place. Candles or air spray were used to make sure that happened.
This house was different. A trn of the century mansion, a great deal of money was spent to renovate it. It still had some of the old house smell since much of the house was still in its original form. It was decorated in clean cut modern lines that shouldn't fit in a home such as this, but they did.
Jarrod walked through the kitchen to find a plate of leftovers wrapped neatly on the counter. Angela the housekeeper had always made sure he'd eaten whenever his parents weren't home. Tonight they must have eaten at home while he was gone. She had saved him dinner for when he returned even though he didn't doubt they'd told her to throw out the leftovers.
He bypassed his dinner and went to the study. If he was right, his dad was planning his next step to take over the Scale. That had been his plan for the last five years, and he'd done things Jarrod wished he didn't know.
The first had been skimming money off the Scale's funds to go on extravagant trips. That money had always been used to help the town, but when several million of that money went missing, no one knew what to do. It wasn't until Michael Carver started to look into everyone's financials that he discovered the missing money.
Callum had been ousted from the Scale and the Wyvern Council. Then they'd revamped it. The former Scale members stepped down when their children became teengers. They'd chosen a new Keeper and had picked twelve talented kids to protect him. Many of those kids weren't even from prominent families.
It wasn't how things usually went. The Keeper was chosen based on intelligence and power. When they'd picked the new one, they'd lied about the reason they'd chosen him. They claimed it was now based on the zodiac sign the person was born under. No one had cracked the reasoning just yet, but Jarrod thought it was because of who he was.
He entered the study and closed the door quietly behind him. Luckily, his dad was nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to answer any questions right now. His answers wouldn't be correct and he didn't want the consequences.
He had been instructed to get as close to Wynn as he could. He had to know what the reasoning was for the Scale's interest in the seemingly normal boy. He was supposed to woo him to his side, but no one realized how truly stubborn Wynn was.
Jarrod hadn't realized how infatuated with Wynn he'd become. His parents had seen it, and they'd pushed for him to continue. It was the same motive they'd used when he'd been told to get close to Callins. The only difference this time was Wynn didn't play with people's emotions as Callins had.
Callins had played with both Gray and Jarrod. He'd dated them both because he'd wanted their money. Gray had made the mistake of falling hard for him despite knowing his gold-digging tendencies. Jarrod had been a lot stricter with his spending so Callins had milked Gray for what he could get. That had been a lot.
Two days before the crash, Jarrod had threatened to leave Callins. They'd fought in the living room, and Callins had smashed a vase from the 19th Century French court. He'd been so angry he'd threatened to tell Gray about all the sex they'd had. None of that had been true, but Gray wouldn't have cared. His parents had wanted to keep him from Jarrod anyway, and any little rumor would have done that.
The night of the Rivers' wreck, Jarrod had been home with a fever. His father had ridiculed him for getting sick despite being of dragonkin. Those who were magincally inclined had an immunity to most diseases such as influenza, polio, and others of the sort. Jarrod had a mild cold but he'd sported a fever, something not really unusual for him.
He'd dreamed vividly that night. Mostly about the wreck. He'd seen it all, from start to finish. At first, he'd thought all of it had been a fluke, but when they'd gone to the funeral for Daryl and Stella Rivers, Jarrod realized it all had been real. Gray had stood alone, making him see Callins had abandoned him.
Several weeks later, Jarrod had contacted Callins. He'd wondered why the other boy had suddenly packed up and left. Callins had told him he couldn't deal with the pressure of them anymore. It had been a lie, but Jarrod hadn't asked why. If Callins wanted to walk away, he'd let him. He wouldn't let Gray live with not knowing.
So he'd created a story. They had agreed when they'd started dating Callins that sex was off the table unless they talked about it together. Jarrod had told Gray he had coerced Callins into sleeping with him even though he hadn't really. He'd recounted all the positions he'd "taken" him in the very night before the crash. It had hurt him to do so, but then they'd fought and had ended their friendship. Jarrod had walked away with a bruised soul but the knowledge that Gray could hate him instead of Callins.
For the last year, Jarrod had lived with the knowledge that something other than a simple crash had happened. He hadn't told anyone because he didn't really want to believe it himself. He was going to simply let it go. Until Wynn showed up.
The dreams had pucked up after that. Some of them hadn't made any sense, but he'd learned long ago that sometimes they weren't anything. Except this time they were, and it had been made worse because Wynn remembered his dreams and had painted all of them.
Jarrod searched his father's study for the books he'd grown up reading. They all contained histories of the Scale, dragons, and other dragonkin. He hoped it would give him some well-deserved answers, even though he was sure he already knew them.
As he was looking, his father came in. Jarrod turned around to see him sink into his cahir and pull out a bottle of scotch. By the way his hand shook, Jarrod could tell he was already drunk. If they had dinner at the house, Callum always went out to meet a friend for a drink. Then he'd return home and drink some more.
"Callum, you know damn well you can't just say shit like that and leave." His mother burst in and slammed the door. Jarrod shrank back into the corner. "Arnold said if we want to go through with this, you have to control your temper. No one wants a president who loses his temper with the drop of a hat."
Callum snorted. "I thought after Daryl's death, everyone would vote for me as president. But no. They went with Thomas Sylvan instead."
Ryssa scoffed. "Who would choose you? You were caught embezzling money after I told you to make dummy accounts. Then you paid off that boy to leave our son and Gray Rivers. And now, you're trying to stage a coup to make sure you get what you want."
"If only our son had been born normal. He would have been chosen as the Keeper instead of Gray. Then we would have complete control. But no. He had to disappoint us by being magicless."
Jarrod sank further into his corner. He'd been born without magic much to his parents' disappointment. He hadn't told anone because magic was the lifeblood of the dragons. It made them who they were even though they didn't use it regularly. Underage magic use was prohibited except during monthly tranings. It was a regular old Hogwarts.
"What about the new kid? What can we do about him? All those kids seem to be protecting him. What for?"
His mother shrugged. "After our son battered him, they have kept an eye on him. The Wright boy is always outside his house. His cousins aren't sure why though. They're a deadend. Even Anita had no idea her son was sneaking out."
The hidden boy's mouth dried out. Nathan had been watching Wynn's house? So he'd seen them sitting on the roof and seen him sneaking in? This couldn't get much worse. Gray had to know he had been checking in on Wynn weekly. Why hadn't he asked him about it?
"What do you want to do now?" Ryssa asked. She picked up the bottle and shook it. "We've done so much and now you want to drink it all away."
"I just need a moment. We'll plan on the rest tomorrow. Get feelers out at the school. I want to know what's going on in that school." Callum slammed his glass down. "You're right. We've come so far. Whatever that boy's part is, he seems to be valuable. Gray Rivers wouldn't protect him for no reason. Once we figure that out, then we can continue our plans."
Ryssa nodded. "And Jarrod? What do we do about our son?"
The older man waved the question off. "We'll do the same with him as we did with the others. It's only a matter of time. Other than not having magic, he's not an idiot. If he gets wind of this, he'll start putting pieces together. We can't let him know all the problems we've dealt with to make our dreams happen."
Jarrod's blood ran cold. Not at the fact that his parents knew how smart he was, but they basically admitted they were behind all of the crazy things that had been happening. He didn't want to believe it, but after all his dreams and now listening to them talk, he had no choice. Unfortunately he couldn't tell anyone. He didn't have the evidence.
He sat as still as he could. They talked a little more then both disappeared. Jarrod waited a little longer before he slowly moved. His legs protested their cramping as he stood. When he had his balance, he left the study.
He zipped through the house with the books in his elbow. He shoved them in a bag then headed for the kitchen. He grabbed his leftovers and left the house.
~~~~~~~
Wynn stared at Jarrod as he slept in his bed, his tear stained face finally at ease as he gently snored.
He'd showed up a quarter after one with a plate in his hand, a bag and tears streaming down his face. He'd sat down in the floor dejectedly and stared at nothing in particular.
Wynn had taken his plate and gone down to the kitchen to warm them up and for a fork. Giulio had come around the corner as he'd headed back upstairs. He'd heard Jarrod climbing the trellis outside the study. He'd looked at his son as he'd headed back to the other boy. Wynn nodded then jogged upstairs.
Jarrod had eaten while he'd cried. The owner of the room had sat quietly, at a loss for something to do. He had never seen this side of him before, just as he had never cried in front of him before until a couple of days ago. Jarrod was as strong mentally as anyone. It had to take a lot for him to break.
Wynn had given him a pair of sweatpants to change into, and he'd climbed in bed and had gone straight to sleep. He looked like a child who'd been scolded hy his parents. No, it was much worse than that. He was someone who's world had just crashed around him.
He hadn't talked to Jarrod since he'd been dropped off at his house. They'd been cordial at school, but no words had been exchanged. Wynn had thought he'd done something wrong. He had exploded on him at the park. But Nathan had said Jarrod sometimes went through these phases. That his home life was slightly off.
Wynn wondered what had happened to make him this distraught. Jarrod could usually keep control over his emotions, so for him to show up with no car meant he didn't want to be caught. He'd shown up at the only place he knew he'd be safe.
The owner of the room picked up his phone and dialed a number. He went to the window so he wouldn't disturb Jarrod.
"Is everything all right? I saw Jarrod climbing the trellis hastily." Nathan's voice was pitched low. Wynn could see him just under the tree, waiting to come up if he was needed.
"He's been crying," Wynn said.
"Something must have happened at home. His car isn't here so I'm certain something must have happened. He never goes anywhere on foot, even several blocks. Do you need help?"
The curly headed boy looked at the bed. "He's asleep. I think we'll be okay. My father knows he's here. I don't think anything will happen."
Nathan made a perturbed noise. "I'll call my cousins. They're as discreet as Autumn and Winter. I'll take you to school tomorrow. I have an extra uniform that'll fit him."
"Thanks, Nathan. We'll be ready by seven-thirty."
They ended the call, and Wynn turned off the overhead light. He left the lamp on so if something happened, Nathan would see the shadows.
Jarrod whimpered in his sleep then bunched the blanket in his hands. He was dreaming, and it distraught him even more.
Wynn climbed in the bed and fought for the covers. When he was situated, he lay on his side and stared at Jarrod. A hand snaked out and gripped his hip, pulling him close. His arm went over Wynn's waist. The boy watched as Jarrod's face relaxed again.
What had he been dreaming of to cause such an adverse reaction? And why was he so at ease with Wynn even after their last meeting? Wynn was so confused it was hard to fall asleep. He needed to fall asleep. His showing was the next day.
With that in mind, he shot Gray a text before dropping off to sleep. He didn't see the affirmative response until he woke up the next day.