War (Book 3 in Destined Series)

2

I wake up the next morning and look over at Luke. He lets out a heavy breath then blinks open his eyes and sits up, me following after him. I pull the blanket tighter around me, then tie it around my lower half and stand up.

I walk over to Nick and shake him awake. He jerks up then slowly relaxes, his fists clenching no more.

"Sorry." he mumbles and I shake my head.

"I did the same thing when I first woke up." I say with a small laugh and he nods shaking Ben, his father awake. I walk over to Drew and squat in front of him.

"Hey." I say and he blinks open his wolf eyes. He quickly transforms back to human and Grace slowly opens her eyes.

"Chrissy." she says and I smile kneeling in front of her.

"Hey Grace." I say and she smiles hugging me. She releases me a minute later and I smile.

"You guys ready to start moving again?" I ask and Mike sits up transforming back into a human too.

"We need to find somewhere to stop. Cause I kinda need pants." I mumble and Mike nods.

"We'll sniff somewhere safe out." he says for himself and Drew.

"Alright." I say and they nod. The popping of bones sound, and next thing I know there's two huge wolves in front of us.

They start off and we all slowly follow after. Luke stays protectively by my side and I hold Grace protectively against my chest. We continue to walk and I sigh when we come upon a town like place.

"There's a safe house up the road a little. Stay against the edge of the woods." Drew says looking over at me with his wolf head and I nod. We continue to follow the two wolves and I sigh when a house comes in view.

"We'll check it out first." Drew says then him and Mike transform back into humans then head inside. Luke moves protectively in front of me while we wait. A few minutes pass before they come back out.

"It's clear. And there's a thing of clothes."

"How lucky." I say and Drew nods. We all cautiously head inside and I flick on the lights.

"Where'd you see the clothes?" I ask and Drew motions for me to follow him. I put Grace down then follow him up the stairs. We walk into a nice looking bedroom and he motions me over to the closet. I pull the box out and sigh.

"Will they fit?" he asks and I nod.

"Yeah, thanks. I'll be down in a minute." I say and he nods then leaves. I dig through the box and finally pull out a pair of jeans. I quickly change into them then squat looking for a shirt. The door opens and I look over my shoulder as Luke walks in.

"Hey." I say turning back to searching for a shirt.

"Everything ok?" I ask looking back at him when I finally find a shirt.

"Yeah, we're just waiting for you so we can plan our next move."

"Oh." I say sliding on the shirt then pulling Luke's jacket back on.

"You ok?" I ask and he nods again.

"Alright. Well I'm good, wanna head down?" I ask and he nods. I stand up and we leave the room and head back down the stairs. He sits down on the couch, and I sit beside him. He scoots over some to give me more room. I get comfortable then everyone else takes a seat. Grace runs over to me and I pick her up and put her on my lap.

Nick looks over at me and I take a deep breath.

"Alright, let's get to it. First thing's first, we can trust nobody outside of this group. War is on the verge of blooming, and though we escaped the Shadow Queen and gained her amulet, this war has only just begun. It's dangerous outside of here. We can only trust each other, and I'm not gonna lie, it's not gonna be easy. Trust is a shaky thing. Secrets are hidden inside of us all, it's only human. We will hit obstacle after obstacle, but we cannot turn on one another. We're all any of us have left." I say looking down at Grace.

"It's dangerous, everything is dangerous." I continue on and they look at me.

"But we're strong. We are some of the best fighters left. Luke trained you, Nick, to become a great warrior, and so did Shane." I say biting my lip at his name.

"We've met strong individuals through all our trips. Drew and Mike have stood by us, they fought with us, and will continue to do so. I know they will." I say and they both nod as I look over at them.

"And Ben, you've lost your wife, but that didn't break you down. It made you stronger. I saw the ferocity in your eyes. I see it still." I say and he nods.

"And Luke." I say shifting to face him.

"You have stood by me and trusted in me when I didn't even trust in myself. You put your life in my hands, and I proved to myself that I was capable to fight that monster, and win in the end. You've trusted in me and you've stayed by me. I can't thank you enough." I say and he nods placing his hand on my thigh.

"You all have stood by me." I say and they all nod.

"And I know you will follow me into the fiery flames of hell itself. You will always stand by me, and I cannot be more blessed." I whisper meeting each of their eyes.

"This world has never been the same since we left the Academy. But it never was the same before either." I say and they nod again.

"I know that you are all strong. I know that y'all are ready to win this. To end this. And when the time is right, we'll come face to face with the war, and we'll fight." I say and they all nod.

"We'll fight together." I say rising to my feet.

"Together." Luke says standing up next and putting his hand over my outstretched one.

"Together." Drew says putting his hand over Luke's.

"Yes." Mike says waking over and putting his hand on the pile too.

"Nick? Ben?" I ask looking at them and Ben pats his son's back then walks over.

"For my wife." he says and I nod looking over at Nick.

"Together." Nick says with a smile, putting his hand over Ben's.

"Then we'll be stronger then ever."

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