Althena Book 2

105. Adjustments

"We made it. We survived." Lila throws her notes in the trash as we walk out of school.

"Don't we have classes next week?"

"Yes, but we don't do s**t. Graduation is tomorrow for the seniors. They're done. Then we have 3 days of doing nothing. When are your boys getting here?"

"Tonight. I miss them so much. But they have to go back. They didn't get everything done."

"Clayton said he's going with them when they leave again. How long are they going for?"

"A week or two."

"That's not bad."

Saray runs to us. "THEY'RE BACK."

I run for the helicopter with her.

Cyrus is standing outside when we land. He catches me and spins in a circle. "I missed you, babygirl."

I rub all over him. "I missed you."

He carries me into the living room and sits by Mike on the couch. I lay over both of them.

"How did your tests go, babygirl?"

"I took them. I didn't miss any days."

"Good job."

Drogon laughs from the chair. "Her and Conner didn't get up one time. I sent the omega to wake them up, and she walked in on them going at it. She's traumatized and probably won't agree to wake them up again."

The boys pick on me for a bit about it.

Mike rubs my hair. "They weren't up on time only once?"

"Yea. They did amazingly. She stayed with him every other day. They were only late for breakfast one time. Other than that, it was a lot of studying. Her, Conner, and Saray took over the dining room table."

"Was she here a lot?"

"She would come after school every day. Stay a few hours. She ate dinner then went home to watch her brother and sleep. The guards went with her when she went home. I never got any reports of anything weird from them."

"What about Lila?"

"She came over on Saturday night. They sat at the table and studied."

"Sounds like you dealt with nothing."

"Got a lot of work for the island done. Paperwork for the casino is caught up. Found some interesting things."

"Like what?"

"Later."

I turn and look at Drogon. "What? Is someone stealing?"

"No. Edwardo has been buying tickets to your lotteries. A lot of them."

"A lot of people do."

"True. But it's a little more than that. His purchases seem to revolve completely around you. We think he's a ghost. Probably an alias of someone."

"It might be Akley." Mike pushes my hair back. "We think he's trying to buy your protection. Has he ever said anything like that to you?"

"No. Edwardo was my dad's friend. Even the advisors said that."

"We know he's been around a long time. Maybe this is just a deal between your dad and his old friend. We're going to have to find him. We need to talk to him and figure it out. Someone putting this much money into you and us is very suspicious. We're not doing anything for him, and he's not asking for anything."

"I don't think so. They were friends."

"We need to make sure he's not trying to buy you or us. Buy our loyalty somehow. We'll sort it out, babygirl. You lie here and be perfect. Don't worry about anything."

"Just leave him alone. He's probably an old guy who doesn't know what to spend money on."

Cyrus rubs my feet. "Could be. He has way too much money, and we're giving him interesting stuff to donate too."

Conner comes in and plops down. "I'm glad that's over."

"Did you pass everything?"

"Yep. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. I passed my classes without them."

"Lucky." I give him a dirty look.

"Babygirl, you never took the classes. You took the tests to pass the classes. When do you get your results?"

"Wednesday."

"How do you think you did?"

"The math was horrible. Science I didn't understand. I think I did ok on reading and comprehension. I like to read. Writing was dumb. They told me to write a story about an ancient tribe that didn't exist. History was horrible. Asking me about things I've never heard of. Geography was fine. Art was stupid. I know what a paint brush is, but I have no idea who drew an ancient painting. Current events were interesting. I do in fact know who the current queen is." The boys chuckle. I shrug my shoulders. "I did my best. Hopefully it was enough."

Drogon winks. "It'll be fine, babygirl. No more worrying. Let's go do something outside. You've been cooped up for weeks."

"I wanted to do someone in the house."

Cyrus and Mike laugh and help me up. Then Mike picks me up. "We'll meet you in Mystical Moon in an hour. There's someone I want to do in the house too. I don't smell good anymore. I need to fix that."

Cyrus kisses my head. "Can I get some cuddles tonight?"

"Yes. I need cuddles."

An hour later, Mike and I make it to Mystical Moon. I smell like him again. I feel so much better. I need more time with him but at least I got to hold him.

We go to granny's when we get there. Dacious and Saray are holding each other like their lives depend on this test.

"Here we are again." Granny gets the cups. "I also had a thought."

"What?"

"I'll tell you later, Mike. Let's do this." She cuts their hands. I heal them while she stirs and chants. "There it is. Purple. You are soulmates."

They grab onto each other and cry.

Cyrus rubs his brother's shoulder. "Congratulations. You have her."

He pulls her into his lap. "Mine."

"Mine too." She snuggles against him.

Cyrus nods. "Mom's going to freak out again."

Dacious laughs. "That was worth watching." He rubs her back. "What the hell now?"

My boys start laughing. Conner smirks. "Have fun figuring that out."

Cyrus helps me up. "Remember, you have to figure it out together. Don't try planning your life or making big decisions without her. You'll have some serious problems. You can go run, babygirl. We'll be out soon."

He doesn't have to tell me twice. I run for it. I run straight to Monte's house. He's sitting on the couch. I don't even knock.

"What?"

"They're looking for Edwardo."

"Who?"

"The boys. They know he bought tickets for the lottery."

"They must be watching the credit card number. The purchases were made inside Darkburn. Do they have any guesses?"

"They said something about Akley, but I don't know. They're searching." I feel like I'm about to have a panic attack.

"It's ok. I'll order some random s**t tonight. Send it all to his house. Make it seem like regular purchases. I'll leave Darkburn to purchase lottery tickets from now on. Everything will be fine. We know they're watching the credit card now. We'll adjust where we use it."

"They can't see what it's used for outside Darkburn?"

"No. The throne only has power inside the city. Outside, can't be watched. We'll be smarter going forward. Anything revolving around you, me, or them, I will buy from outside the city."

I take a deep breath. "Why do they care that some old guy is giving us money? Who cares?"

"I don't know. It obviously peeked their attention. We'll adapt and be smarter. We got this." He hugs me and rubs my arms. "Don't worry."

"It's hard not to worry."

"I know. But we got this."

Clayton walks in the door. "What are you doing?"

"Standing here."

He points at the door. "Your boys are searching for you. They're over by the play park."

"Take some water. I'll be over in a few minutes." Monte goes towards his bedroom.

Clayton and I go over to the play park. Lila's here. We run through the play park for hours. I think she might like being a wolf as much as I do.

When it's time to go, I run to granny's to get changed. Mike is standing in the front yard with alpha Beryn. Beryn has leggings on with a long t-shirt and some work boots. It's a sight. I wish I could figure out what they're talking about, but I can't get that close.

Conner picks me up. "Let's get you dressed, babygirl."

I wake up early with Cyrus. I don't let him out of bed until 11. I give him a good workout. Then we go to the graduation ceremony.

I sing with the choir. We only sing two songs and Lila was right, we have to stand there for the rest of the hour. It's not fun. But it does make for an easy A.

I spend a few hours after that telling Conner how proud of him I am. I am proud of him. He's amazing and smart. I'm trying so hard to do this, and he makes it look easy. I wish I could be that smart.

We take the boat to the island after dinner. Mike gives himself to me for half the night. I fall asleep on his chest.

We wake up on the island on Sunday. The boys do a bunch of stuff and I lay on the beach. Sometimes it's nice to do nothing.