Shielded: A Valkyrie Saga Book 1

A Long Day to End a Long Week - Chapter 22

I had been paired with Hunter Tobias Eldridge to launch an investigation into Ray's past. 

Not only had he ordered me to tell him everything that I knew about the female Valkyrie, but they had also forbidden me from saying anything to Ray. Years of practice of keeping things from Elijah was the only thing that enabled me to keep Ray's more sensitive details to myself, but working with a telepath probing into my every thought was not my idea of a good time. Eldridge was extremely interested in the fact that Samuel Olsen had been a member of the Rabec Clan and made a lot of secret phone calls after he discovered that nugget of information. This is why they had me on this instead of Elijah, he at least would have been able to read the fucker's mind back.

--Derik

At the end of English, I asked Felix what his next class was and offered to walk with him so he didn't get lost. He looked at me like I had two heads and then said that he would figure it out himself. None of the new Valkyries were in my calculus class and I said a silent thank-you for protecting the one place where logic and numbers ruled. 

History was an entirely different story. Regina, Kaiden, Jonas, and Austin were all already in the classroom when I walked through the door. This class had been entirely full before and they were bringing desks so that everyone had a place to sit.

Kaiden was flirting with Maddison and from the looks of it Connor was trying to ignore Regina as she crowded into his space. I remembered that Connor had mentioned that he had a history with Regina and wondered if they would start seeing each other again. Connor hadn't seemed to like her very much, but right now it looked to me like Regina was interested enough for the both of them. 

With the royals preoccupied, Jonas and Austin came over to reintroduce themselves to me.

"Hello, my name is Jonas Pope and my parental clan is the Blade Clan," Jonas said and held out his hand for me to shake. I took it and felt the powerful zing of the clan bond through our palms. My mouth parted and I met his piercing blue eyes. His stare was incredibly intense and if Austin hadn't started talking I would have been trapped by it.

"My name is Austin Silva and my parental clan is the Collins' Royal Guard Clan," Austin said and then visibly flexed to show off his impressive shoulder muscles. I pulled my hand away from Jonas and decided not to shake Austin's hand. I was getting a little overwhelmed by all of the touching.

"My name is Ray Olsen and I don't have a clan," I replied back lamely. Both of them looked taken aback and I awkwardly sidestepped them and took my seat.

"How do you not have a clan?" Austin asked harshly and took the seat to my right. Lucky Connor was to my left so I wouldn't be completely surrounded by strangers.

"Her father died and she was abandoned to live with the humans. She has been living like one of them for years," Regina cut in before I could answer. This chick really was going to highlight my living situation every chance she got. Austin clearly had no idea how to respond to that information so he remained quiet, but kept glancing over at me like I was something disgusting he just couldn't help but look at. Like if I had been in a horrible crash on the interstate and he felt the need to slow down so he could witness all of the wreckage.

This was going to get old real fast. 

I cloaked myself until Austin forgot that I was sitting next to him and tried my best to pay attention to the teacher. The class seemed to drag on way beyond its normal time limit and when the bell rang I let out a deep breath. Then I remembered that next period was lunch. It was like my life was turning into a circus.