Greyson is a part of us now. Like he said, he considers us pack and I don’t think we can do this without him. It would feel wrong.
“They don’t know for sure that it’s him. The rogues have been out creating mayhem in an organized fashion that makes them hard to pin down but their leader appears to be lying low.”
“Okay,” Jayden cuts in. “Your brother was smart going to Orpheus to get a message to us. We can talk to my father aboutthe possibility of keeping that line of communication open so Grant can keep us posted on what’s happening with the rogues while we do what needs done here.”
“Perfect,” I say. “One thing at a time but still keep an eye out in case we need to intervene with the gods touched wolf.”
“It may not even be him, but if things escalate too much more, there may be a shifter war not long after we go to war with the queen.” Raven shakes her head.
“No rest for the wicked,” I say.
“We should probably get to training and make sure people aren’t losing their absolute shit over the new mandate.” Raven glances at the door.
“Yeah.” I sigh. “We need to practice our new powers.”
“When are we leaving?” Draven asks.
He glances at Kira with a frown. Does he think we’re going to leave her behind? That’s not happening anymore. The SUV is big enough to fit us all. They may not be the most comfortable but they’ll fit.
“I think we should leave today if possible. The faster we get out of here the better. We have a small idea what the roads are like now but if we wait too long, then we run the risk of them deteriorating more and getting lost forever.” I stand from Jayden’s lap.
He doesn’t let me get far. His hands tighten on my hips as he pulls himself to his feet, pressing his front to my back. The others file out the door as I turn to Jayden.
“You okay?” I ask.
“This feeling is weird. I don’t know how to process what my instincts keep telling me.” He shakes his head.
“What feeling?” I tilt my head to the side, trying to understand what he’s not saying.
“Possessiveness and a need to keep touching you. To stake my claim, I guess. It’s riding me hard.”
“It’s not realistic to be touching all the time.” I giggle but his expression doesn’t change.
“I know, but it’s difficult to rationalize that in my mind.”
“Maybe you should find time to have a chat with Greyson about this. I think it might be that it’s so new and may lessen over time.” I grip his hand in mine. “Let’s get to training.”
We walk hand in hand to the training fields. Jayden is quietly brooding the entire way. Without Raven nearby, the dryads don’t bother us on the path. It’s quiet with only the sounds of the forest meeting my ears. The birds chirping and singing in the tall trees relax something inside me. It’s safe. We’re protected but we have no idea how long that will actually last.
The clank of metal clashing and grunts grow louder the closer we get to the training fields. I push through the brush and into the clearing and stop in my tracks. The line is still drawn in the sand.
The advanced training grounds are filled with Ares, Hermes, and Hephaestus students while the others are cramped at the other end of the clearing in a group.
“What in Hades is this?” I ask. “They’re still separating themselves? I thought I made it clear there would be groups formed for them?”
“They don’t have their groups yet.” Raven jogs over to me. “We need to assess their skills before we can put them into groups. That way the groups aren’t stacked one way or another.”
“We can’t assess the Ares or Athena students with the current groups because they are off-balance,” I point out.
Ares and Athena need to battle each other in training to get an accurate representation of their skills and they can do that the way things currently sit. These assholes are still testing me with this bullshit.
“I get what you’re saying.” Raven nods. “The Ares are going to win every sparring match against the others in their group.Athena students may have it a little tougher having Apollo in their group but that’s still not a good representation of their skills.”
“No, the only way to find out who are the best is to compete against the best. Not take the easy way out and stick to your damn cliques.” I ball my hands into fists at my sides.
“I’m so tired having to babysit these idiots,” Raven grumbles. “What do you want to do?”
“Round everyone up,” I say. “We’re changing the game. They don’t understand the assignment. I’ll make them understand.”
