My mouth dropped open as I tried to form the words fueled by my anger. "You mean to tell me they don't accept people from the LGBTQ community here?"
Aeson scoffed,"It's actually worse. Shifters want their people to breed, as do most other species, so being in your prime and not taking part in that is seen as a huge insult to the pack, and a problem that needs to be “fixed.” Some are exiled from their packs, some are forced into pairings, and some are brutalized."
"Wow, I guess I thought things would be better over here," I said quietly, the news a harsh slap in the face with reality.
"In some ways, yes. But in other ways, it's worse," Lorcan answered honestly.
"Well, if she's going to be under scrutiny, and we have to go back to school, she should at least master our powers. Then we won't have to hover over her and smother her," Aeson teased, blowing me a kiss.
"That sounds wonderful. Who's up first?" I asked, looking around. The guys all looked around at each other, seemingly having a mental conversation without including me this time. Without speaking, they turned their focus to Calev. I guess he’s being offered up as the test subject.
"Whoa there, Little Psycho. Why don't we wait until morning?" Calev said, pulling me with him upstairs. I tried to protest, but I just didn't have it in me, sagging into him as we walked into our room. He pulled me down into a bed, not even bothering with changing clothes, before he covered me up and snuggled around me. I wanted to sink into the warmth and comfort he was offering, but my mind wouldn't stop going as he fell asleep behind me. I tried to calm my mind, letting the soft sound of Tristan and Aeson snoring on the other bed fade into the background, but nothing worked. After what felt like hours, I slipped out of the room and headed for the kitchen. I felt bad for moving around the house at night like a creeper, but I couldn't lay there for another minute, or I'd go crazy.
"Couldn't sleep, either?" Lilah's voice asked as I rounded the corner. I yelped in a completely undignified way, clutching my chest and heaving out deep breaths. "Sorry," she cackled, clearly not sorry at all.
"At least I didn't scream?" I attempted to joke, but my voice was still shaking. I had been so lost in my thoughts, that I wasn't prepared for her to be right there.
"True, though those boys could sleep through the apocalypse. Hungry?" she asked, going back to mixing whatever was in the bowl.
"I could always eat," I said, taking a seat at the breakfast bar. "Want help?"
"No, thank you. And good, I bake when I can't sleep, so we should have some fresh scones here in a minute. Dark chocolate raspberry or white chocolate cranberry?" she asked, not even skipping a beat. She plopped a huge ball of dough on the counter and looked up, waiting for my answer.
"I mean, we can't go wrong either way, but I vote dark. Or, go big and throw it all in. Why choose?" I said with a shrug. She smirked for a moment, looking pointedly upstairs, before shrugging and throwing some of each in a smaller bowl and mixing them together. She poured the mixture over the dough, before folding it in until they were fully mixed.
"So, how are you handling the news?" she asked quietly,
not looking at me as she worked, but I could tell she was listening. I appreciated how perceptive she was, how she seemed to know I didn't want to be put on the spot.
I thought over my answer, trying to figure out how to word it all. "I'm kind of numb, but my mind is also going a hundred miles an hour. Questions keep popping up, like what will happen, who are my real parents, why did they abandon me, why did my adoptive parents move away?" I finished speaking and flopped my head down on my folded arms, my hair fanning around me and hiding me from view.
"Now none of that," she chided softly. "The boys will help you find those answers. The school will help with that too. As for your earlier worries, we won't let anyone experiment on you, and neither will Obsidian Cove's Regency." There was a fire in her voice that helped calm my nerves.
“How could they stop the main Regency from anything, though?” I worried my lip as I waited for her answer. My mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts and worries, and I just needed someone to show some confidence that I could use to settle it.
“They’re independent parts of a whole, so they won’t necessarily report you to the main Regency until you’re ready. Not to mention, the Dean is truly a good guy. If he tells them, then it would be only because he thinks it’s for the best.” I thought over her words, still not quite sure why they trusted him so much, but I was going to keep hoping that it was well placed. “Don’t worry, you will have people behind you. They can’t do anything without your permission, or they’d have a lot of backlash.”
"That's probably my biggest fear. I'm used to being ostracized, and I don't do well with the idea of needles and tests and experiments. That shit’s out of those human horror films," I said, peeking up at her. Her mouth curved into a happy smile, completely not fitting the topic. "What?"
"You said ‘human horror films’. You aren't as disconnected as you think, not anymore," she said happily, popping the scones in the oven. That thought actually did brighten my spirits, knowing I'm finally accepting my life here. Now if I can just come to terms with my apparent mimic abilities.
May 2nd
Afternoon
Lennox
"Again," Calev called, getting a glare from me while sweat poured down my face. We'd been at this for hours, and I had yet to be able to mimic any of their abilities for longer than a minute. No matter how hard I concentrated, nothing was working. It also didn’t help that they were all watching me, despite knowing that I hated being the center of attention. I felt like one of those monkeys at the zoo being given fruit to perform, except I was getting unhelpful comments instead of fruit. Now I'm just hot, sweaty, frustrated, and miserable. It didn't help that I didn't actually go to bed until the sun was up.
"It's not working, we need to try something else," Lachlan pointed out again as he switched back to his human form, giving me a shot of his perfect ass. Which of course, only distracted me more.
"Your bare ass is clearly helping her concentration," Evander called out, cracking up as I guiltily pulled my eyes away.
"I can appreciate the goods, too," I said with a shrug. "Don't act like you wouldn't look if my bare ass was out!"
"She's got a point," Lachlan said, cracking up. "Should I turn and give her the frontal view?"
"Yes!" I said, laughing with him and waving off the glares from the other guys.