Simon
He watched Darren walk across campus on sentry duty. The poor guy had pretty much lost his status among the Knights and was now a lone ranger.
His temper had gotten worse since Maddie and Drew had taken off for Dallas. They didn't call or anything and the longer he went without any information his temper worsened.
Simon didn't dare tell him he had been in contact with the crew in Dallas. If he did, Darren might unleash his temper on him. If he did that, there would be a fight between them and Simon would win.
Bruce had taken over as leader. His temperament made him the ideal person to take over. His temper never got the best of him and he was a good guy all around. He made it possible for these people to do their job correctly and efficiently.
His office phone rang and he turned away from the window to answer it.
"Headmaster Alexander's office," he said.
"Hey, it's me," Drew said on the other end. "We're headed back to Oklahoma. We should be back tomorrow some time."
"I take it that means you found the rest of the Knights."
"Oh, yeah. We found them."
"Then come on back tonight." Drew didn't say anything. Simon became a little nervous because Drew was rarely distracted. "Drew? What's going on?"
"We can't come back tonight. We have another little issue here. I can't talk now."
He hung up so abruptly Simon pulled the phone away from his ear and stared at it. Something was going on and they weren't at full strength. It meant Drew was going to have to use his power. God help anyone who stood in his way.
Maddie
Tyler threw himself over me as the next explosion almost took out the living room. We had returned from the coffee shop to see Parker, Beca, Drew, and Sam holding off Catherine and some goons she had brought with her. Well apparently these goons worked for Casey. I wasn't really surprised.
I rolled with Tyler and came up on my feet. We're pretty smart when it comes to attacks. No matter where we are, there are always weapons in that room. As we rolled by the couch I snagged my bow and arrows from under it. I had a bow knocked by the time I was on my feet. My first one nailed the guy square in the chest. He stared at me before sinking to his knees.
Chase and Petey suddenly blocked my vision as they fended off the guys that had taken the first guy's place. Behind me, Beca and Parker were dancing around their opponents. Drew was off to the side fighting Catherine.
I closed my eyes and felt the bond I had with Stryker. I heard the howl in my head before I heard it with my ears. Twenty-four wolves burst on the scene. The people invading my house took notice as every person was joined by at least one wolf. Stryker stopped by the men and lowered his head.
"Your animals are dogs!" Catherine screamed at the top of her lungs.
Drew blasted her back with something akin to magic. I don't know if it was magic but it could have been. I don't ask and he doesn't tell. He lowered his hands and looked at her.
"They're wolves, not dogs. Now get out of this house and tell Casey we're ready for her," he said.
I took one step forward and Stryker followed me. His growl was loud but his bite was lethal. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of it.
Catherine took a step back and when all the wolves began to stalk her, she hightailed it and ran. Her lackeys were left behind. Max nodded and everyone moved to cart the other guys off. Drew walked around making sure everyone wasn't hurt. I sighed heavily as I slumped against the wall.
"At least we were here to help," Tyler said. I nodded at him but didn't look up. He squatted down beside me. "We need to get you back to school as soon as possible. If we stay here, we're sitting ducks. Going back means you're safe. We're all safer in numbers."
"I know. Our plan was to leave today but after this we might as well stay so we can clean up," I replied.
"Nonsense, nonsense," Anita said as she whipped through the room with a vacuum cleaner. She sucked up all the small things then came back through with the broom and dustpan for the bigger pieces.
"Anita, let us help," Parker said. She slapped his hand when he went to pick up a piece of plaster that had fallen from the mantle. He yelped and rubbed his hand.
She aimed the broom at him and he backed off. "Everyone, shower now. Then get to bed so you can start out tomorrow."
I was so drained from putting up with all this crap that I got up and headed upstairs. I wanted to be the first to use the shower.
Once secluded in my room, I grabbed clean clothes and a towel then went to the bathroom. The shower was huge and could fit four people comfortably. Jets shot from the wall and the head was like a waterfall. I enjoyed that shower because I left it feeling very clean.
I didn't want to take too long so I didn't revel in the hot water like I normally did. Instead I scrubbed off as quickly as I could and washed my hair. When I was done, I turned it off and stepped out. Though I wasn't in the shower very long, the bathroom was already steamed.
I towel dried off then slipped into my sweats and t-shirt. When I walked out, Max was sitting beside Stryker on my bed. Something in me hummed. I didn't know what was going on. I was really liking the feeling but I had no clue what it meant.
Max looked up at me. Those eyes pierced me deeply and the humming intensified. Was this the thing people talked about when they felt as if they truly liked someone? I frowned, pulling my lower lip between my teeth and gnawed on it.
"Hey."
I looked up at the soft word. Max was in my face and I couldn't get away. Not that I wanted to anyway.
He gently ran his fingertips along my cheek. I saw sparks dance from my skin to his fingers. We both watched it as it disappeared. I licked my lip and looked away from him.
"What's going on in your head?" he asked.
"We're going back tomorrow. I wonder what the campus looks like. Has Darren been doing his job?" I replied.
He snorted out a laugh. "I think Darren can take care of himself almost as well as you can."
I lifted my eyes to his, mismatched meeting turquoise. "What is this?"
He canted his head a little. "What is what?"
I motioned between the two of us. "This. Us. What is this?"
"Should we find out?"
Before I could answer, he was lowering his mouth to mine. Without any thought, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on for dear life. When Darren kissed me, there was no spark. There wasn't anything. But with Max, it was completely different.
His hands roamed over my back. It was intimate and yet he was being careful. I felt as if he were simply following his instinct. He must have been because he whirled me around and walked me towards my bed.
Before we got there, I broke it off. He looked down at me as I licked my lip and pushed him farther away. I didn't stop until he was a good two feet away from me. He smiled.
"I get it. You're not ready for that and I didn't expect you to be," he said.
"You were just trying to figure out the boundaries?" I asked. He nodded. "What do we do when we go back to school? It's forbidden for students to have relationships with teachers."
"Good thing I'm not going to be a teacher when we return." I frowned at him. "Simon and Drew thought it would be a good idea if I was just the manager of our equipment. I'm still going to be on campus but I won't be teaching biology."
I crossed my arms. "Who's going to teach biology?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. I'm more worried about how we're going to keep you safe."
"Don't worry about me."
"I don't have a choice. I have to worry about you."
I waved my hand dismissively. "Yeah, because you're a Knight."
"No!" The way he said it was really forceful. I looked up at him. "It's not just because I'm a Knight." He came forward and kneeled. "It's something much deeper. It's this."
He placed his hand up by my cheek again and the sparks danced across his palm and my cheek. I could feel the warmth but it didn't burn me.
"I don't know what this is but I think we should find out." I stared at him. When he figured I wasn't going to answer, he patted my knee and stood. "I'll leave you to sleep. We have to leave early in the morning. "
I watched him as he walked out the door. I figured he knew more than he was letting on but I'd let him keep his secrets for a while longer.