Branches of Life

Thankfully, Reed had been right. The groups had been chosen and sent out to the human realm by nightfall yesterday. From what I’d heard, the vampire in custody still hadn’t spoken or given them anything to go off of. No word was given on the type of spell used or the extent of the demon’s involvement. Hopefully, the reconnaissance groups found something useful.

My parents and older brother called as soon as they heard about the attack. My parents already knew most of the details due to their high ranks within the clan. After the attack, the council was required to report to all the rulers of our realm and keep them in the loop throughout the entire process.

As a result of the attack and the possible risk of more in the future, Ander doubled our training today. First, he had us run five miles through the Wilds, choosing the absolute worst path. It was narrow, full of overgrown roots, prickly bushes, and low-hanging branches. Ander ran behind us even though he could’ve easily overtaken us all. I knew Ander well enough to know it wasn’t a good sign if he was behind us. My worry over what Ander might do distracted me enough that I didn’t see the branch until I ran right into it, scraping up my shoulder. I stumbled and fell way behind the others, and that was when Ander attacked, tackling me from behind. Luckily, I narrowly avoided falling into the thorn-covered bushes.

“Pick up your pace, Jade!” Ander yelled, climbing to his feet.

By the end of the run, Ander had tackled me and the others several times. The last time, I was able to stop him from pinning me. Although, I hadn’t been able to dodge a bush and ended up having thorns stuck in my thigh. With Ander on my ass, I wasn’t able to pull them out until after we stopped. Fuck, those little shits hurt! Dried blood covered my cheeks and arms from healed scrapes, a result of running into more branches. And this was just the warm-up.

After that, Ander had us climbing up a cliff. Whenever one of us wasn’t moving fast enough, he shot at us with a fucking crossbow. All the while yelling at us, telling us that today was about speed and expecting the unexpected. Reed told him where he could shove his crossbow, resulting in him getting a bolt through his right shoulder. I wasn’t one for climbing, not when it meant I’d end up high off the ground. Heights and I didn’t mix. Don’t look down, I chanted to myself over and over.

All of us had been shot at least once by the halfway mark when Ander finally stopped firing and started scaling the wall, promising three more miles for anyone he beat up the wall. His words kicked my ass into gear, and thankfully we all beat him up the cliff.

Following the warm-ups, Ander gave us a ten-minute break to change our clothes and clean up our blood before we went to a training room.

A half-hour into our training, Ari was shooting arrows at targets over a hundred yards away, hitting the bullseye every single time. Harmony was working on her punch combos on the punching bag. Reed, Ander, and I were sparring on the mat in the middle of the room using weapons.

We were working with daggers today, and luckily they were dull, otherwise, I would’ve had several stab wounds to go along with the now-healed wounds left behind by the warm-up. My parents and instructors had trained me well, and I could more than hold my own in a fight, but Ander was just better. With his background, I expected nothing less, which was why I wasn’t insulted when he beat me every time.

Ander was the first to hear someone approach, holding his hand up, signaling us to cease fighting. Now that I wasn’t distracted, I was able to pick up the approaching footsteps.

It was unusual for others to come into a training room in use. There were over two dozen different rooms for others to use. With our room being at the end of the hallway, it was clear they weren’t walking past us.

The multiple sets of footsteps told us it was more than one person. By the time they walked through the door, Harmony and Ari joined us on the mat. I was taken aback when one of them was Councilor Dove. She was dressed more casually than I was used to seeing. The sharp planes of her face were accentuated by her dark hair that was pulled back into a top knot. Her toned physique was shown off by her leggings and orange tank top, which brought out the golden undertones of her light brown skin. Being just over five foot had many make the foolish mistake of underestimating her, but from the stories I heard, she was a certified badass.

Entering the room behind her was the same woman who arrived late to the meeting yesterday. Now that the man wasn’t around, I was able to get a good look at her and noticed she was an inch or so shorter than me. Her lithe build, paired with her light footsteps, told me she was well-trained. She had long, curly black hair that was pulled back into a ponytail, sharply contrasting her pale, almost luminescent skin. I would kill for her eyebrows, I really would. Thick dark lashes framed deep blue eyes that were almost indigo.

Around her neck was a silver-colored chain, with a rough cut, dark silver crystal as the pendant. Her outfit showed she wasn’t here to train, with the leather jacket over a white v-neck, and a pair of jean shorts over a pair of black lace tights tucked into her boots. Now that I was close enough to her, I was able to sense that she was a summoner, but that was all I could tell. I couldn’t sense what kind of animal she had. I sensed that Dove was a lynx but nothing from the other woman.

Spirit animal summoners usually were able to sense each other’s animals. The fact that she was able to shield her species, without any visible strain, showed how strong it was. There had always been only twelve types of spirit animals, meaning there were twelve possible animals she could possess. Not knowing her animal put me at a severe disadvantage if I ever was in a fight against her. As summoners, we all were able to pull energy from our animals, allowing us to enhance our senses and speed up the healing process. But the species of our animals dictated what else we could summon. Most of us had claws, but their size, shape, and strength varied from animal to animal. Cobra summoners didn’t have claws, but they did have fangs, and those fangs could inject poison.

I snuck a glance over at Ari, hoping she was somehow able to sense the other woman’s animal, but she looked just as confused as I probably did. I didn’t bother checking with the others. They were able to sense spirit animals, but not as well as a summoner could.

“Shit,” Reed muttered under his breath at the sight of a council member here. I was right there with him, knowing that it was highly unlikely that Dove and the mystery woman accidentally wandered into an occupied room. I glanced around behind me, knowing damn well no one else was in here, in the hopes that I was wrong, and they came in here to talk to someone else.

We joined them at the line of chairs along the brick wall, where we kept our drinks and towels.

“Councilor Dove.” Ander gave a small nod of acknowledgment. It wasn’t a requirement to bow or show reverence to the council members, but Ander has always been one to show respect to a leader, even if he didn’t like or respect them.

The woman with Dove hung back, still standing in the doorway, quietly observing us. I was glad we changed our clothes and cleaned up the blood from our warm-up earlier.

“I won’t waste time with small talk. We’ve chosen you for a special scouting mission,” Dove said, her dark eyes scanning over each of us, gauging our reactions.

I had suspected she’d come here to request something of us, but I hadn’t expected this. No doubt the surprise showed on my face. Harmony choked on the water she’d been drinking, and Ari reached over and smacked her back. She and Ander were hard to read, both of their feelings and thoughts hidden behind neutral expressions. Reed, on the other hand, seemed pissed. It was subtle. His jaw was clenched while he tightly laced his fingers together, squeezing until his knuckles went white.

Out of everyone, I’d known him the least amount of time, and there were a few things from his past that he refused to talk about. Things we’ve never pushed him to talk about, waiting until he was ready to do so. Time would tell if that had anything to do with this or not.

“The reconnaissance groups went out last night.” Harmony coughed, having still not recovered from choking on her water.

“This is a separate task, though not completely unrelated,” Dover said patiently.

“Why us?” I bluntly asked. There were over three thousand Mythics in the Convergence point. What was it about us that made them think we were the best fit? We helped out in the community, as did everyone here, but we never made waves in any way. So it was strange to me that she sought us out to say we’d been chosen for a special mission, one that she still had yet to tell us about.

I was expecting shock or annoyance at my blunt question, but instead, she smiled. “Your parents were right; you don’t mince words.” I blinked, having not expected her to say that.

“Our parents?” Ari drew out the question, her brows pulling together.

She nodded. “I’ve known Micah and Addie for years. I even went to their mating ceremony. They’re the main reason I know I can trust the two of you. When I spoke to them this morning, they were confident you could handle this. They assured me you’ve kept up with your training, which I’m pleased to see is true.”

Ari and I looked at each other in disbelief. She used mom’s nickname instead of calling her Adelaide as everyone usually did. It wasn’t too surprising I hadn’t known they were friends since both of my parents were over a hundred. They had many friends from different clans that they didn’t see too often.

The surprising part was that they had recommended us for this. Part of me liked that they were so confident in our abilities that they thought we could do whatever the mission entailed. The other part was a little annoyed at them doing so behind our backs without a heads-up.

“What does this scouting mission entail?” Ari’s shock had vanished, and the unreadable expression was back.

Dove pursed her lips as she hesitated. “It isn’t exactly one that can be known by the public,” she hedged.

This vague shit wasn’t working for me. I let out a frustrated sigh as my hands found their way to my hips. “What is this secret scouting mission?”

“I’m afraid you’ll have to agree to it before I can give you the details.”

What bullshit. My restraint was working overtime just to stop me from telling her and her super secret mission to fuck off. If I was going on a potentially life-threatening mission, I wanted to know what it was before I agreed.

“And does this offer extend to the rest of us?” Ander cut in as he crossed his arms, probably doing so to prevent me from saying something I’d regret. One thing I knew for certain was that there was no way Ander would let Ari and I go on a dangerous mission without him.

“It does,” the mystery woman said, having moved closer to our group without me noticing. I don’t know what surprised me more: the fact that she finally spoke or how her voice was sweet and quiet.

“Can we have a moment to discuss this amongst ourselves?” A crease formed between Ander’s brows as he stroked his jaw. Out of all of us, he had the most experience and therefore, was the most cautious.

“Of course,” Dove said but was cut off before she said more.

“I told you this was a waste of time. Star and I can handle this ourselves,” a deep voice rumbled.

In the doorway stood the sexy man from the meeting. How in the fuck did he get in here without any of us noticing? Like the woman, I was able to sense he was a summoner, but not the type of animal.

This close, I finally saw his amber eyes and was able to make out the whirlpool of copper and gold. I found it near impossible to look away from their swirling depths, almost like they were hypnotizing me. Those same eyes looked us up and down, and based on his bland expression, he wasn’t impressed.

My wolf pressed close to the surface, almost like she was waiting on me to summon energy. Her actions confused the hell out of me, but I wasn’t able to dwell on it at the moment. I felt her bristle at his insinuation, and I was right there with her.

He was about to get an earful from me about his shitty attitude when Harmony responded first. “You don’t think we’d be able to help?” Her tone had a bite to it as she placed her hands on her hips.

“Oh shit. He’s awakened Harmony’s competitive side,” Ari stage whispered while fighting a smile.

Harmony has always been the calm voice of reason in our group dynamic. Well, until you played any type of game with her or insinuated she couldn’t do something. Then that calm, reasonable demeanor was thrown right out the window.

One time, we were visiting the human realm and we found a game called Sorry. The human working there had been shocked we’d never heard of it. They went on and on about how it was so much fun. At his recommendation, we brought it and not even ten minutes into the game, Harmony flipped the board. We hadn’t played the game since.

His piercing gaze landed on Harmony, staring her down. “No. I don’t.”

My jaw went slack at how he outright admitted it. No veiled insults. Ari’s response was a sharp gasp. While Ander, as per usual, hid his true feelings behind a stoic mask. Although, I doubted he liked the jab at our abilities. Sometime during the conversation, Reed sat down on one of the chairs, feet stretched out and crossed in front of him. The picture of ease, not the least bit concerned by the insult thrown our way.

An apologetic expression filled Dove’s face, while Star—a weird name for a summoner, it would’ve made more sense for a sorceress unless it was a nickname—shut her eyes, shaking her head.

Once the utter disbelief wore off, I was fucking pissed. What the hell was this guy’s problem?

Harmony was the first to respond again. Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. “No discussion needed. I’m going.” The air in the room stirred in a subtle show of her power. A raised brow was his only response.

“Why are the good-looking guys always such assholes?” I muttered under my breath, uncomfortable by the tense and quiet atmosphere. His eyes snapped to mine, and I got lost in the swirling depths.

“Prove yourself.”

His words make zero fucking sense. Was I so distracted by him that I missed part of the conversation? I needed to get far away from this guy; he was starting to turn me into a dumbass.

He pushed off the doorframe, walking to the mat in the center of the room. “If you can last against me for, let’s set the bar low and say twenty minutes, then you can join Star and me.”

I meant this in the rudest way possible; fuck this guy.

My only thought was that he better not be talking to me. I pointed at Ander while maintaining eye contact. The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly before he slowly shook his head.

Dammit.

More than anything, I wanted to tell him to fuck himself. I had nothing to prove to him. There was also one incredibly important detail: I had no clue what animal he possessed, but he sure as hell knew mine. My focus moved over his large frame and bulging muscles. From the looks of it, he was maybe a couple of inches taller than Ander. My odds against him weren’t good.

I turned away from him and met Ander’s calculating stare. Using his index finger, he gestured for me to join him. His focus flicked over the man and then back to me. “Can you?” Even though he spoke in a low whisper, everyone else in the room heard him.

Knowing he was asking if I’d been able to sense his animal, I gave a subtle head shake.

Ander pressed his lips together as he glanced at the man again. “Just apply the same technique from the Dawn court.”

The Dawn Court was one of the three courts in the blood mage’s territory. Dusk and Aurora were the other two. All three of the courts having something to do with the sun wasn’t a coincidence. The blood mages always had a special connection with the sun, and it only made sense that their courts would reflect that.

Over six years ago, when Ander, Ari, and I visited the Dawn Court, Ari managed to find a way to get us in some trouble. Long story short, I ended up having to fight this gigantic blood mage. Before I fought him, Ander told me that if I attempted to fight him the way I would with anyone else, I would lose. Instead, I needed to outlast him. I needed to put him on the offense and have him wear himself out. It took over thirty minutes. Along with more bruises than I could count, I had a few broken ribs and a fractured wrist before he wore himself out enough that several well-placed hits and a few kicks knocked him flat on his back.

Of course, one of the main differences between then and now was that the blood mage was seven feet tall and enraged. I doubted my ability to goad the mystery man into making sloppy attacks. He seemed too calculated and level-headed for that. However, I didn’t have to beat him. I just had to survive his attack for twenty minutes.

“You don’t have to prove yourself. Just ignore him,” Dove said with a sigh.

“Quit being a dick, Koa. Aunt Dove wouldn’t have chosen them if they weren’t able to handle themselves.” Star groaned, pressing the heel of her hands against her eyes, obviously used to this dominant behavior.

What the shit? Aunt Dove? I hadn’t been expecting that. The others had a similar reaction, sharing surprised looks. Well, except Reed. He looked like he was close to falling asleep. What the fuck was wrong with him today?

I turned back to face Koa. It was nice to finally have his name. It suited him.

By now, most people would’ve started getting impatient, but not him. He stood there, popping his knuckles as he stared me down. A move meant to intimidate and make me want to back down, but I couldn’t. If I didn’t fight him, he’d never respect me. As summoners, our animals influenced our behaviors in some ways. Summoner men tended to be on the more overly dominant side, especially when it came to their mates. And yet here I was, about to fight one. Great.