Alliance of Shadows: NEIL

In Her Hands

Our daily routine had settled into a productive rhythm. Izzy trained with me in the mornings, doing physical workouts to maintain her current health status. Then she spent her afternoons studying magic with her aunt and the rest of her magic-user family. I used that time to touch base with my father, the pack, and my friends. In the evenings, we had two-hour cram sessions with Dreson. We all agreed that weekends would be reserved for what we called "chill time." Our downtime consisted of nothing more than lazing in the entertainment room with popcorn, beer, soda, candy, and family.

Kaden had come back a few months before and eagerly joined in on the fun. He’d passed the testing, blazing a path the same way his brother did when he attended. Challenging the test of his moral and logical compass, the resolve of his heart, and the ability to disarm but not harm, he’d won the right to graduate from the program far earlier than the others.

With him in the picture, Izzy found a new friend. They shared many of the same interests, including their favourite book and movie genres. Both were quiet, using knowledge and sarcasm as weapons when the need arose.

After her uncle unlocked the spell her father put on her mind and powers, she seemed to become more relaxed and at peace. The understanding that the family who never stopped looking for signs of her existence loved her unconditionally helped. It eased her worries even more than I ever could.

Once I taught Izaria everything I knew, she started begging for fighting lessons. Knowing that she was nowhere near my level, I called in a favour from my magic-user friends. Of course, my False Omega decided that he wanted to be the one teaching her. Kaden was actually one of my most trusted pack Interrogators due to his highly unique Veritas ability that had his victims chirping within seconds.

I know some people are probably wondering why, if he was a pack Interrogator, was he officially listed as a False Omega. You see, having him as a False Omega was a power play move. A move Dre had brought to my attention because Kaden begged for the position years ago when he was only eleven. When I pressed him about it, he told me that it was so that I had someone strong in the weak ranks.

When exam day arrived, Clara, Dad, and I were there with Izzy at local high school. The secretary, a young, flirty woman in a sweep-neck blouse and pencil-lined skirt, led us down a few hallways to the gymnasium.

Did I ignore the coy glances? Hell yeah, I did. My Mate was watching my behaviour, sorting each and every reaction into categories where she compared what she knew with what she was learning about men. Her generalized view, though tainted, was legitimate when one thought about how many idiots were out masquerading as men while acting like frat boys.

The doors opened, and I saw that they had set up a booth where she would do the written exams along with various indoor obstacles. After checking that she wasn't hiding any cheat sheets, the Board members motioned for her to go ahead with the exams.

Various subjects were handed to her one after the other, and she finished them with an ease I was insanely jealous of. Having just scraped through four years before, I knew that the final exams were nothing to josh at. For those who don’t know the term, growing up around an Irish grandfather and father, I figured out young that it was a term used to describe something that should not be taken lightly.

Once the written exams were completed, they told her she could do the obstacle course and go home. The dismissive way they treated my girl had me on edge, but knowing my father was standing within arms reach tempered my anger some. Why? Well, who wants to be clouted by their father in a room full of people he went to school with?

Her hand outstretched, Izaria waited while I handed her the duffle bag with her gym clothes in it. She went to change into the emerald-green tank and black shorts she'd packed. My stomach tightened, my blood flow moving to a part of my body that definitely enjoyed seeing her. As I watched her walk back toward us, knowing that almost every male in the room had his eyes on my girl, I was tempted to either kiss her or growl. Both would get me hit, and both would totally be worth it.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to check.

Dre: K is too hyped to calm down. You sure this is a good idea?

Me: It was Izzy that came up with this, not me.

Dre: Still…

A few second later, he sent another message.

Dre: We’re here. Stall however you can. Dad and Mom came, too. They wanted to share in her success.

I grinned at his words, my eyes looking to Izaria as she stretched. Goddess Artemis, please guide her through this trial, I thought.

Every head in the room turned to the door as it opened to admit Dreson and his family, who wanted to be there to support her. One of the Directors stood from his chair and was obviously ready to yell at the people who had interrupted the testing. “You can’t be here!”

When Izaria’s deceptively calm voice spoke up, they suddenly forgot about the newcomers, and returned their focus to the girl they were conducting the testing for. “I invited my family to watch me obtain my high school certification. I do have a request.”

Beside me, Clara chuckled under her breath. "She's using her power to make them listen, but she's not making them obey. Well done, baby girl. Oh, Henry, I’m so proud of her!"

My father snorted a laugh, "She’s Luna material to her core, honey. I still don't know what she sees in my slacker son, though."

"Quit razzing me, Dad. I've gotten a lot better since she's been around," I said, rolling my eyes.

One of the women spoke in an even tone, and I could tell that she was annoyed. "What do you want now?"

Izzy cleared her throat, narrowing her eyes. “No need to be rude.”

Her tone was icy, chilling the room in seconds as she maintained a position of control. Her Druid abilities were on full display, and even her uncle looked pleased as punch with her level of strength.

As the Chairman finished writing something down, he looked up from his notepad and smiled warmly. “And what would that request be, Miss Wilkes? I see no reason to deny such a sweet girl a simple question.”

"Mr. Avery, we can't give her special treatment just because she's homeschooled!" Another woman snapped.

Mr. Avery laughed, "Would you rather face prosecution for discrimination, Mrs. Lee? I really don't see how one little request will put us out any more than this testing already has."

I was waiting for him to defer to the woman, but he held his ground with a light wink in my father’s direction. Dad nodded once, his smirk telling me he’d pulled strings to get Izaria this far. The rest lay entirely in her hands.

He turned his eyes back to Izzy and smiled, "Go ahead, my dear."

Clearing her throat again, Izzy took a deep breath before speaking. “I would like to have my cousin Kaden be my opponent in this final test. This way, you can see how I measure up against other people rather than basing the score on my personal performance.”

Looking like he wanted to crow about the special treatment he was getting from his cousin, Kaden beamed with excitement. He took off his coat, throwing it over the bench beside his brother. Being only one year older than her, he’d been her first choice when it came to sparring partners. Though initially afraid his Werewolf strength would hurt her, I was happy to know he held back a hefty chunk of it out of courtesy and consideration for her wellbeing.

After some deliberation, they agreed to allow the competition to go ahead.

Izzy and Kaden looked as though it was the most fun either of them had in a long time, but the rest of us were on pins and needles. We watched them blow through everything on the floor like it was nothing. She managed to overpower Kaden and get ahead of him when he purposely lost his footing. I knew that Kaden wasn't even trying. He’d been holding back the entire time and had given her the win because he knew it would boost her confidence.

As he was her cousin, I expected no less from him. Bringing her breathing under control, Izaria held out her hand to Kaden. Much to my displeasure, he pulled her into a bear hug.

Dreson got up when his brother walked over to have a short, whispered discussion that I heard in its entirety. His praise for his baby brother was clear, the adoration he felt for Kaden’s empathetic abilities was an all-around feeling at this point. Grinning at each other, they shared a brotherly embrace before going to guard the change room doors. An action I took great comfort in.

As children, teens, and even adults, we had once sworn that we would take care of one another’s families without question when and if we were ever needed. The unbroken promise to be there in each others’ times of need without question. Just a call, a text, or a simple mind-link would have been enough to make us drop everything and run.