Good Intentions

Ch18: Calm Before the Storm

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Without further ado....

Decan POV

"Stay away from our bird," he said through his teeth.

I'm sure he thought that he was hiding how angry he was, but he wasn't. Owen Blackbourne was notorious for being stone cold, no matter the situation. He never let anyone see the real him. But this, this was the real him. He couldn't stand the fact that I wasn't bowing at his feet. As if. I let a feral smile spread across my face. I wasn't really one for alpha male posturing, but I also would not be dominated by anyone. Never again.

"No." With that, I turned around and left. Sang would be my family from here on out, unless she didn't want to be. It would always be her choice. Owen and his entourage would just have to get over it.

***

I knocked once on the office door to announce my presence and then walked in. Phil was sitting behind his desk, while Lily was pacing the small room. They both looked agitated and anxious.

"Who's dying?" I asked, after closing the door and plopping into one of the seats. Phil scowled at me and Lily huffed. Okay, apparently it was gonna be that kind of night.

"What exactly did you tell Sang?" Phil asked, tension lining his voice. I quirked my brow at him. That's what this was about? Jeez.

"I told her I would be here tonight. That's it." Shrugging, I threw my feet up on the back of his desk. "Why?" Lily looked over at me like she wasn't sure if she should believe me or not. I could see her brain working a mile a minute behind her eyes.

"Because Owen just called extremely angry, demanding to know everything about you. He is furious that a member outside of his family has approached her without his consent, given that they applied for a closed adoption," Phil answered. I rolled my eyes. Owen was really losing his cool.

"Applied being the operative word. It hasn't been approved yet, and if you want what is best for Sang, you will deny it tonight." I wasn't going to pussy foot around the fuckers. They didn't get to shelter her and control her life. Not anymore. I wouldn't stand for it, and if the last few days were any indication, neither would my little ghost.

Lily snorted. "Oh, it is being denied. That is for damn sure." She was still pacing around the room. What was her problem? Phil, I understood had a close relationship with the Blackbourne team, so this would be a hard meeting for him. But Lily? She never got this emotional over Academy internal affairs.

"Lil, what is eating you?" I chuckled to myself. That sounded awful. She quirked a smile, enjoying my poor choice of words as well, and then sighed.

"This is just going to be a very stressful meeting. We are basically going to break down her world tonight. It is not something I take lightly." She was speaking softly, using her therapist voice. I thought about what she said for a moment. She wasn't wrong. But I also didn't think it was going to be as bad as they thought.

"Yeah, maybe a little. But she's strong and smart. She'll bounce back quickly," I said with confidence I truly felt. Then I let a devilish smirk cross my face. "Plus, she'll have me to help her put it back together." I shot Lily a wicked little wink. She tried to look angry. She really did. But she just loved me too much.

Laughter lighting up her eyes, Lily scolded me. "You will be on your best behavior Decan. She is a fragile young girl and does not need you messing with her head, her heart, or her hormones!"

I scoffed at that. Fragile my ass. "She is about as fragile as you are. Mark my words, she'll have the Academy bent over and begging by Christmas!"

"Decan! Show some respect," Phil growled. Lily was visibly shaking from holding in her laughter.

"Oh, I show my little ghost plenty of respect. Don't you worry about it. I just know her better than you." Phil's eyes narrowed on me.

"Yeah, about that. How exactly have you gotten so close with her? And why did you tell her who you are?" Phil was exasperated.

"It was an accident actually," I responded quickly. "She just started popping up everywhere. Timing couldn't have been better. And she is a ton of fun. I would have been her friend regardless of her being my new protégé." And it was true. She was beautiful, funny, smart, sassy. Exactly my type of human. He quirked his eyebrow, waiting for me to answer his other question. "And I told her who I was because I didn't want her to feel hoodwinked when she walks in later." Phil blinked at me.

"Hoodwinked?" He said the word like he had never heard it before.

"Yes, hoodwinked. Tricked. Swindled. Mislead. Bamboozled. Hornswog-"

"Enough!" Phil demanded. Lily had plopped down next to me and was now full on laughing. I smirked. Annoying Phil was one of my favorite things to do. "How on earth, did we vote you in as an elder?" Phil asked, sounding as if he was a minute away from grounding me.

"That, my good friend, is a mystery. Horrible decision if you ask me," I said, meaning it. I mean sure, I am awesome. But still, they weren't always going to like my style. For example, they would not like my plan for mentoring Sang. The only ghostbird in the states. Which is why I had no intention of telling it to them until it was too late. Phil and Lily both grunted in agreement. She was such a lady, Miss Lily.

After a few moments of silence, the energy in the room started turning anxious again.

"Alright, guys, what's the plan? What exactly are we telling her, and how?" I asked. I needed to know so that I wasn't blindsided. I knew a little bit from her file, but there wasn't much in there.

"Well, the first thing we are going to do is explain to her that she is a ghost, and all that it entails. We would like you to share the basics of your story at that point, so she knows she isn't alone."