Darkmyth University 2021

Chapter Sixteen

After getting on the jet...

Crystal was worried about Michael, Brody, and Lucas and she felt that she needed to speak with them. When everyone was situated on the jet, Crystal pulled Michael, Brody, and Lucas into the conference room, and told Quinten to entertain himself for a little while. Crystal turned to the three men sitting around her and said with concern, “I am concerned about the three of you. I know that Quinten has not been spending enough time with you but, I hope that you understand that Quinten has not done this on purpose.”

“We do understand that its Quinten did not stop spending time with us on purpose. We wish that Quinten realized that we were suffering before we had to confront him about it.” Michael said.

“Quinten has been dealing with a lot lately and most of it revolves around me and for that I am sorry.” Crystal said with a small frown.

Brody said with a harsh tone, “I am no longer sure that Quinten wants to spend time with us Crystal.”

Quinten breezed in the door and said, “I do want to spend time with all of you. Do not be harsh with Crystal because she cares about the three of you and how you feel. I know that I have been spending a lot of time with Crystal but, I will make a point to spend more time with you all but, Crystal will always be one of my top priorities. I have resigned myself to make all of you a top priority as well but please allow me the time to accomplish that. Quinten allowed Crystal to take his hand and let her presence calm him down. After a moment Quinten said, “You all owe Crystal an apology because she was trying to help with the situation, we find ourselves in because she feels partially responsible for what has happened.”

Brody was the first one to approach Crystal with a sad smile on his face. Brody asked, “May I hug you?” Crystal nodded her head in acceptance and Brody continued, “I am sorry for how we acted Crystal. I think that this has upset us more than we know. And thank you for getting us to talk about what we are feeling. Quinten is right we should not have taken our anger out on you. We should have been able to handle this more gracefully than we did.”

Matt and Lucas said, “We wholeheartedly agree with what Brody just said and we apologize as well.”

Crystal smiled at Matt and Lucas, opened her arms offering them a hug, which they both took the opportunity to accept. Crystal said, “I forgive all of you but, you four need to talk this out and come up with a plan to correct the error that has been made.” Crystal turns to Quinten pulls him close to her and says, “Take the time you need to fix this situation. I will be fine for a few hours on my own. They need you more than I do right now.” Quinten nodded in agreement and watched as Crystal walked back into the main part of the plane leaving the men to their own devices. Crystal pulled out her iPad, put in her earphones, opened her sss app, purchased a digital novel, and began to read.

^

^

^

Quinten appreciated Crystal trying to mediate the situation between himself and his friends. Quinten sat down in the chair that Crystal had vacated and said, “I would like to plan one a week where we have a guy's night. No distractions just us guys spending time together like we used to. Is this reasonable to all of you?”

Michael said, “That sounds reasonable.”

“Does Crystal plan on continuing to be a candidate DEB (Delta Epsilon Beta)?” Lucas asked.

“I do not know. I have not spoken to Crystal about DEB in quite some time, and I am sure that she has not been thinking about the sorority either. But it is Crystal’s choice to make.” Quinten said with a creased brow.

Brody said, “Let’s just drop the subject until Quinten has the time to talk to Crystal.”

Michael, Lucas, and Quinten said, “Agreed.”

“Shall we go play some video games?” Brody asked getting up from his chair. Everyone followed Brody out of the conference room to a long sofa on the left side of the plane that was facing a large television. They all picked up controllers and settled on the sofa to start playing video games. After playing video games for a few hours, we decided to rejoin Crystal and watch some movies.

After a few movies Lucas turned to Crystal and asked, “May I speak with you for a moment?”

“Absolutely Lucas. What would you like to speak to me about?”

“I would like to speak to you about Regina.” Lucas said looking at the ground.

Crystal saw that Quinten was asleep, made sure he was comfortable and cover him with a blanket. Crystal took Lucas’s hand and dragged him into the conference room and said, “Tell me everything.”

“I am very confused, and I need some advice on what to do. When I met Regina, everything just fell into place. But now that we have spent some time together, I feel as if Regina is hiding something from me. Every time I bring it up the Regina shuts down and closes me out. And with everything going on I do not know what I want anymore.”

“That might be why Regina has not shared everything with you Lucas. Have you revealed anything about yourself?”

“Not exactly, I have told her where I am from and who my parents are but, nothing about what we are dealing with.”

“I can tell you from experience that it is easier for a woman to open once the man has opened. We feel closer to you that way. What else seems to be the problem, Lucas?”

“I no longer know what I want now that I am with Regina. I wanted what you and Quinten have but, now I am not sure.”

“That I cannot help you with but, I can tell you that Regina is not going to wait forever. Regina wants to be with you but, she is not going to do anything to get closer to you unless you want to be with her forever. Lucas, you are a good man, a great friend, and have everything that a woman would want. I cannot think of a reason that you do not want a mate with Regina.”

“I worry that something will happen to Regina if she joins us in the mission to rescue Stephanie.”

Crystal took Lucas’s hand and said with a smile, “I have seen Regina train and she is good. Regina is quite strong and has the speed that is equal to Quinten’s and mine. Regina will be able to get away if she were in trouble. You need time to figure out what you want. My other suggestion is to talk to Regina about your feelings. Regina will know you better than anyone else so she will understand exactly how you feel.”

“Thank you, Crystal I feel much better. I will take the time I need to figure out what it is that I want.”

“Good. Now I am going to try and rest. We should try to get used to whatever time zone we are heading toward. I would like to explore during the day if we can.” Crystal said rising and hugged Lucas before leaving the conference room. Crystal rejoined Quinten, snuggled under the blanket with him, and closed her eyes. Lucas took a seat in the back of the plane trying to relax but, was not able too. Lucas stayed up until his body just shut down on its own.

^

^

^

Zander heard from the people that were watching Whitlock manner and they had seen a man and a woman fitting the king and queen’s description enter the premises along with several guards. Zander had the people go in to investigate further if they could. Zander knew that his parents used body doubles all the time especially when they felt they were in danger. One of Zander’s people came and found him before he entered his room and told him the Whitlock Manor was occupied by body doubles. Zander growled as he entered the room. Stephanie looked up from her reading chair and asked, “Whatever is the matter, my love?”

“My parents are not at Whitlock Manner. The information that Marissa was able to obtain was a false lead.”

“Have you spoken to Marissa to find out what may have happened?”

“No, I have not spoken to Marissa yet. I just found out that they were not there.”

Stephanie went to Zander’s side, put her arms around Zander, and said, “We will produce another plan to take them down my darling. This does not have to affect you so much. Marissa and Paul are in place at the other hideouts. This may be even better for it gives you more time to plan.”

Zander took a deep breath, calming down by smelling Stepanie’s scent, and said, “You are right. I need to hunt; would you like to come with me?” Stephanie nodded in agreement. Zander kissed Stephanie’s forehead to let her know that everything would be all right. Zander guided Stephanie to the other city on the opposite side of the mountain where they went last time and fed.