Chapter 663

My brother and my mate each take another menacing step towards Blythe, who falls back, even as he glares at them. "All right," Blythe says, his face twisting nastily, "I came over to introduce myself to my recruit, but this is getting to be too much." He snaps his head back to me now. "See you at the helicopters tomorrow, Clark. I'll look forward to it."

No one says another word as Blythe turns and marches away, heading towards the door.

We're all silent, even as the room continues to hum with gossip.

"Say what you want," Ben says after a long moment, "that guy has...balls."

"He's a dead man," Jackson snarls, vicious.

I reach up to Jacks then, putting a hand on his arm, wanting him calm. Then I turn my eyes to my brother and my cousin. "What can we do about this?"

"Go to the Captain," Rafe says, turning to Jesse for confirmation. Jesse nods, steady and solid. "No way we can let this stand."noveldrama

Luca and Jackson sink into their chairs next to me, both moody, lost in thought, each of them trying to find a solution to this problem. Rafe and Jesse likewise sit down, leaning towards Ben, starting to discuss a negotiation process, seeing what they could do about organizing a trade if the Captain refuses to move me to another team. Jackson and Luca each chime in, offering their ideas.

I sigh, letting the boys all talk it through. Losing myself to my own thoughts, I turn back to my plate, picking up the draft list still sitting there, looking it over, my eyes catching again on my name listed below Blythe's.

Redman Blythe - currently my Captain.

A man who I have given...little to no thought about in my entire life.

The real question is - who the hell is he? And what does he know about me?

I'm stressed and grumpy all day as I go through my study hall with Ben, trying to ignore the stares and whispers of literally everyone in the library. I have to admit, I don't get much work done, and I wish that I was more polished at Faiza's lessons so that I could literally just transform into someone else and ignore it all.

Nothing snaps me out of my mood until Ben walks me to magic class that afternoon - and even then, the only thing that pulls me out is shock. "Luca?" I ask, my eyes going wide when I see him waiting outside the classroom door.

Seeing that I'm in good hands, Ben pats me on the back and I wave to him over my shoulder as I hurry to Luca's side.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, tilting my head and standing close, peering up into his face.

"I was summoned," he says, reaching out and rubbing a hand warmly up and down my arm. "By the Queen."

"Mom called you in?" I ask, interested, turning towards the door. "Okay, but then why are you outside?"

“Because last time I tried to infiltrate the magic classroom,” Luca says, giving me a small smile, “some people had protests. I just wanted to wait for you."

“Okay,” I say, grinning up into his face and slipping my hand into his. “Well, let's go inside and find out what's up.”

"After you," Luca murmurs, gesturing towards the door. My grin deepens as I tug him with me into the classroom, giving a bright smile to Tony and Jacks, already in their seats, and Mom and Cora, sitting together on the desk.

The boys' faces move from expressions of greeting to shocked surprise when I come into the room with Luca on my heels.

"Hi!" mom says, bouncing off the desk and ignoring Jacks and Tony as she runs over to me, wrapping me up in a big hug and then giving Luca one too. "Yay! I'm glad you're here missed you, baby, and tuca thank you so much for coming."

"What's going on?" I ask, reaching for my aunt Cora when she comes over to greet me too, wrapping her in a warm hug.

"It's nice to see you too, trouble," she says, a little dry, stroking a hand over my cap and then standing on her toes to give Luca a kiss on the cheek before gesturing us towards the desks. I move happily to my regular one and Luca, a little awkward, takes the seat behind me. I turn towards Jackson with a big smile, sending warmth and delight down the bond to him. His serious face breaks into a smile at that, as it always does, and he reaches out to take my hand, give it a squeeze.

"What's he doing here?" Tony asks, peering at Luca with a frown. "Great to see you too, Davis," Luca snaps.

"How's Becca?" Tony asks, dry, sending Luca a malicious grin.

Luca just blushes beet red and turns his face to stare at the front of the room, ignoring him. I turn to the front too, looking at my mom with wide eyes, kind of prompting her to start class and end the weird drama between these two. Luckily, Rafe and Jesse walk in at that moment, peering curiously around the room and instantly noticing our new addition.

"What's going on?” Rafe asks as he and Jesse move to give their mothers hugs and then take their seats.