Page 216 of The Chosen One Universe: Volume One

Henry

Henry skipped ahead of his mates as they made their way to the beach and his promised clambake. Eduard was less than thrilled that Sawyer was alone with his father and had been for the past several hours. Henry had a really good feeling, though, and the wind whipping around him at the beach didn’t have any warning messages to pass along. He’d been listening a lot more lately, practicing picking up the subtle messages his magic shared with him with a simple brush of air across his cheek.

He’d learned a lot from being around Draco, Eduard, and Andvari. Draco and Eduard’s magic came from the fire element. It interacted with his air magic in a very distinctive way. During his studies, he’d seen an analogy that he’d fallen in love with. It described his relationship with Draco and Eduard perfectly. When fire and air were in sync, they worked like a hot air balloon, each helping the other rise to levels they never could on their own. Draco and Eduard did that for him, had helped him understand the heights he could achieve with his magic.

Andvari, on the other hand, got his magic from the earth element. He’d learned how to stay grounded with Andvari, to not let his magic go so far that he couldn’t bring it back. Andvari tethered him in a way that wasn’t actually binding in anyway, but kept him safe and secure while he explored his limits. He needed Andvari’s quiet strength more than he’d imagined, especially as his entire shifter family had earth magic as well. He was the most comfortable around Andvari’s magic. It felt like home to him.

The wind whispered and danced around him as he finally reached the sand and the amazing set up Augustus’s staff had arranged. There were tables covered in checkered cloths, a white tent off to the side— Henry blushed and wondered if it was the same one from the other night— and a couple fires surrounded by rocks. Augustus and Sawyer were already on the beach and Henry couldn’t believe that Augustus was actually wearing shorts.

He fought back a snicker, even as Eduard stopped beside him and wrapped an arm over his shoulder. “What has you laughing?”

“Your dad is wearing shorts. And you guys had me all convinced that griffins were some sort of fashion icons who would never be caught dead in such plebeian attire!”

Eduard huffed out a laugh and guided him forward. He was wearing flowing white linen pants with a matching shirt open over a gray tank top. Henry had opted to throw on a pair of swim shorts and one of the soft T-shirts Bebe had picked out. He had to admit that they all looked good. As much as he’d like their suits from the night before, seeing Eduard looking so relaxed and casual and not buttoned up— “You know,” Henry complained, “I never paid attention to clothes before I met you. What’s that about?”

“Finally educating you on the importance of appearance?”

Henry pinched Eduard’s ass instead of dignifying his comment with a response. They made their way over to Augustus and Sawyer, and Henry was really happy to see that Sawyer looked more relaxed than he’d been since they arrived. Augustus had one hand on Sawyer’s shoulder, gesturing with the beer bottle in his hand. Beer, Henry thought. Who knew?

Sawyer also had a beer in his hand and was listening raptly to Augustus’s story about a shipwreck on the island that had turned into a raucous party. Henry was bummed that he missed the first part of the story because the punch line made Sawyer laugh so hard he snorted. Sawyer turned to them and his smile brightened even more. He stepped between Henry and Eduard, wrapping arms around each of them.

Henry hugged him close then glanced up at Eduard. Eduard’s gaze was directed to his father and his eyes were softer than Henry had ever seen them. Henry smiled and hugged them both more tightly to him. They’d needed this, and even though the acceptance of Eduard’s father had been easier than Henry expected, it proved to him once again that Sawyer was absolutely who they needed in the role.

Who else could convince someone so set against them with a simple conversation?

Henry didn’t even know what Sawyer had said, but he had a way about him, something that let him see to the heart of a person or a situation. He was definitely very observant and picked up on subtle things about their mates that Henry would have missed. But it was more than that. He had an instinct for it. Henry would call him an empath if he didn’t know better.

Empaths had a very particular brand of magic that Henry had experienced once when he was younger and his dad had helped heal a powerful member of a coven. One of the younger men in the group was an empath. Henry had avoided the guy like the plague, his magic insisting that he stay far away from the stranger. Anyway, it wasn’t that, but it was close.

Before he could think about it further, Augustus announced that the food was ready. Henry followed the others over to a low to the ground table that had pillows sitting on the sand instead of chairs. There were huge pots filled with steaming food that the chefs poured out into large metal containers spread along the table.

Henry peeked over the edge of one and was surprised to see corn on the cob in with the rest of the seafood. He hadn’t had a lot of seafood growing up in a pack of wolf shifters, although his brother Ben was all bear when it came to his love of salmon. He’d eat it at every meal if they would have let him.

Henry ate until he was stuffed, as did everyone else. It was such a different experience from the night before, with everyone chatting and smiling and relaxed. Before long, they were mingling and talking and getting to know the extended members of Eduard’s family. His cousin, Victor, had about a million questions for Henry about life in a wolf pack, and even ice queen Helena thawed a little bit under Sawyer’s undivided attention.

A couple hours later, Henry had his feet in the water, throwing a ball back and forth with Andvari, when the wind turned, and a sudden chill ran down Henry’s spine. He barely managed to catch the ball before it smashed into his face. He turned and immediately searched the beach for Sawyer who was standing further up toward the path with Helena.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but Henry looked at Andvari and let the vampire see his sudden worry. Andvari straightened and his eyes began scanning the beach as well. Henry hurried toward Sawyer with a fake smile plastered on his face. When he stopped beside Sawyer, he could see that he was a little pale and the smile he had was as fake as Henry’s.

“Hey, Helena. Can I steal him for a second?”

She scowled but turned away with a spin of her skirted sundress that was really impressive. Once she was out of earshot, Henry leaned in and put his arm around Sawyer’s waist. “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing. Well, my stomach is a little upset. I don’t think clams agree with me.”

“Uh oh.”

“Yeah. I think I should head back to the cottage. It’s kind of embarrassing, but I think I’m going to need a bathroom pretty quickly.”

“No worries. I’ll grab the others.”

“No, Henry. Don’t. I’ll be fine. You guys are having fun. Draco is actually in a grown-up conversation with Eduard’s cousin. Eduard and his dad are actually smiling at each other. You and Andvari were having fun, too.”

“It’s fine, Sawyer. It’s not like we can’t come back to the beach tomorrow.”

“You guys stay. I’ll get a couple of the vampire guards to walk back with me.”

“Sawyer—”