Hidden One

Chapter Eleven

Tessa fled the room, running down the stairs toward the training area. She knew one of the MacAlistars would be there at the very least, and Demetri wouldn't dare try to shift and talk to her outside the safety of her rooms.

"Hey Tessa!" Keenan said, his voice painfully cheerful as he sparred with Kol. 

"Hey Kee. Who's winning?" She asked, sitting down on the low wall to watch.

A grunt. "Kol. The bastard scored a point when I was at a disadvantage."

Kol laughed. "Just because Ana happened to wander through the courtyard..."

"It counts as a distraction. The point shouldn't count." Keenan said, sending a blast of air toward his brother. Kol erected a wall, shielding Tessa and himself from the worst of it.

"He's just mad because Ana laughed when I knocked him over. Wounded his poor, fragile ego." Kol chuckled, looking over his shoulder at her and winking. With a resounding crack the wall split down the middle by a huge burst of air, a second one following the first and shattering the wall into millions of tiny pieces. Tessa covered her eyes, laughing as the boys tackled each other to the ground, no longer bending but simply sparring with fists and feet and other various limbs.

"Come join  in, Tessa! It'll be fun!" Keenan, chuckled, breaking away from Kol and tossing sweat-soaked hair out of his eyes. He was on his back in the dirt, dust covering most of his body and Kol in much the same condition next to him. 

"I'm sure it would be, but I think I'm going to stay-" A shriek interrupted her words as Keenan grabbed one her ankles, yanking her off the wall and rolling her underneath him. He held all his weight on his elbows so as not to crush her, but she was effectively pinned down.

"Hey! Keenan!" But she was laughing even as she pushed against his chest. With a deft thrust she flipped him over, sitting on his chest triumphantly. "Ha! I- hey!" Kol had grabbed her around the waist from behind, yanking her off his brother and against his chest. Thus full-out war was begun, MacAlistars against Erickson as they tumbled in the dirt.

A fierce, resounding growl was heard from just outside the courtyard. They stopped, their breath frozen in the air as all three heads turned to see the huge, very angry German Shepherd standing mere feet from them.

Tessa's voice was sharp, like the crack of a whip. "Washington!" The dog's ears immediately flattened, a low whine escaping his throat. She scrambled to her feet, moving toward him. "I-I'm going to take him for a walk. Calm him down."

Keenan nodded. "Good idea. German Shepherds are very protective- maybe he was just worried about you."

"Yeah, maybe." She muttered before grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and dragging him out of the courtyard. "Maybe that's it."

(Kate)

Kasper, Kai, Isabelle, Annaliese and I had only just sat down when Keenan and Kol burst into my sitting room, breathing heavily.

"We know who the Shifter is!" Keenan gasped, hands on his knees. "And...Kasper...isn't going to be happy about this!"

"What is it, brother?" Kai asked, standing. Kasper sat still, tense as Keenan opened his mouth to speak.

"The Shifters...they're harder to sense in human form, right?" All three Seers nodded. "That's how he's been avoiding us. By staying out of sight and in human form."

"But how?" I asked, skeptical. "It would be much too hard for him or her to avoid everyone here at all hours of the day. They'd need to eat, use the restroom, and every exit is guarded twenty-four hours a day. Eventually, they'd be seen."

"Not if someone's harbouring him."

The room went silent.

"Kol..." I said slowly. I knew exactly where he was going with this, and I found I did not like the idea in the slightest.

"No, hear me out. Tessa has had that dog with her from the beginning, and we've all noticed strange things about the animal. Tessa's always in her room, recently more alone than not. Except for the dog! I think it's because she's only recently found out what he is."

"But why wouldn't she turn him in? She knows Shifters are dangerous." Isabelle said, leaning forward to rest her arms on her knees. The room, I suddenly noticed, was looking much too cheerful with all the golds and pinks and whites. It was much too gleeful for the current situation.

"Well, she had Washington for years, right? She loved that dog to death. There's a good reason why she might not want to turn him in. If I was in her shoes, I would feel the same way." Maria said, suddenly appearing in the far corner. No one thought much of it as she sat down.

"That's not much of a good reason-!" Annaliese started, but Keenan cut her off.

"Annie, we know why she's willing to put everyone at risk for this animal." He said. There was a silence as it slowly dawned on everyone what he meant.

"What?" Everyone, it seemed, but Kasper. "What do you mean, Keenan?"

I couldn't bare to look at him. "Kas." I said. I swallowed hard before trying again. "Kas...there's a good chance that she hasn't told anyone...because whoever this Shifter is...he's her mate."

Kasper sat rigid for a few moments as the words registered, not even blinking as his eyes clouded over with an emotion I didn't want to read too far into. Then, very slowly, he got up and left the room, the door shutting quietly behind him.

No one stopped him. No one moved.

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Short chapter, I know. In all fairness, I did suffer a concussion this weekend...

Anyways, here you are! Do any of you readers (All five of you :s) have any preferences? Team Demetri? Team Kasper?

Rate, Vote, Comment...

Thank you, my lovelies.