Blood + Tears (all 15)

Chapter 7

"A bat?" Eron, Brandon's shifter, spoke. Disbelief was obviously written on his face.

We nodded, looking at the array of shocked faces staring at me. I frowned at the attention. "So when can I go home?"

Kearn looked at me in confusion. "Home? You consider the Forbidden Forest to be your home?"

I looked at him. "Of course. That's where I've been living for the past five years."

Alistair looked at me with a sad look. I frowned at him. A frown doesn't look good on the alicorn shifter. "How old are you, Amara?"

"Twenty."

Havoc growled. "You lived there when you were fifteen?"

My eyebrows arched in surprise. "Yeah. It's not that bad." Compared to my life before.

Noah spoke. "I would like to give you another choice."

I looked at him suspicion. "What?"

Noah shifted in his seat. "Gabriel and I would like to have you become part of my Protectors."

I narrowed my eyes. "Why?"

Noah's green eyes faded to blue, leaving Gabriel to explain. Gabriel smiled. "Well, you have a choice whether you want to become one of my Protectors who protects me. I have enemies in my own kingdom, and I would like to offer you a place with us."

"Why? You don't know me."

Gabriel spoke. "You saved me and my family from the Forbidden Forest although you weren't obligated to. You showed me that you have compassion and good heart. Plus we like you."

Amara faded, leaving me in control. I felt my face redden, shocking me since I don't remember the last time I blushed. "Thanks."

Yoki, Axel's shifter, looked at me with his sapphire eyes. "So what do you say?"

I noticed everyone looking at me in anticipation except for a certain djinn. I looked at Royal. "What's your opinion, Royal? You don't look to fond to letting me join your group."

Royal stared at me with cold calculation. "Like you said, we barely know you. I can tell you have a good heart but you're hiding something. But I don't feel an animosity coming from you so I am not against the notion for you to join the team."

I smiled at his honesty and bluntness. I turned towards Gabriel who has a hopeful smile on his face. "Thank you for the offer, but I am not sure if I want to bind myself to you. I'll still protect you but I'm not ready to give up my freedom."

Kearn frowned. I blinked. Kearn was the literal opposite of Luke, and Solas was the opposite of North. "You won't be giving your free will up."

I shrugged. I had my reasons that I won't share with them. "That's not the way I see it. I still have things I want to do."

Gabriel interrupted, drawing our eyes back to him. "I don't want you to feel that way, Sang. I'm not that sort of man that I will have my family at my beck and call, ordering them around. Why don't you stay here at the palace with us and have a trial period?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. "If I stay, what will I have to do?"

Gabriel smiled. "Well, there is the usual princely things I have to do. Politics, etiquette, training. I'm still attending the Academy."

I felt my eyebrows go up. The Academy was a school where both commoner and nobles' children went for schooling, and they had a large library that could shed some light onto some of my unanswered questions. "Do all of you go to the Academy?"

Silas' shifter Leo spoke. "We do to protect Prince Gabriel."

Gabriel groaned. "Leo, why can't you call me just by my name?"

Leo looked at his future king. "You are our prince. Why shouldn't I call you by your name?"

Gabriel chuckled, sending me a fake pout that made me want to giggle. I frowned, why do I want to giggle? "Six years, and he never calls me by my name. And yes, all of my Protectors also go there, despite not being royal."

I played with a strand of my hair. "So if I did decide to do the trial period, I can still refuse, right?"

Arcus, Kevin's shifter, growled softly as his eyes flashed. "We will never try to force you to make a decision you do not want to. If they do, I'll take them to hell."

Caleb chuckled. "He means that literally. I've been there, and it's cold as hell. That's why every demon either has fire or ice powers."

I felt my lips tilt up into a smile. "Then I'll do the trial period. You guys interest me."

Alistair stood and gave a bow that was clumsy but cute. "We aim to please."

Brandon threw a pillow at the unicorn before directing his lavender eyes to me. "You have a lot of magic for such a small shifter."

I tilted my head, unsure if he was just stating something or complimenting me. "Thanks?"

Solas chuckled, looking at me with a bright smile on his face. His smile seemed odd on the grumpy man in the group. "Levi was giving you a compliment."

I felt my face blush again. I've never had someone compliment me so much before these men. As I was about to open my mouth to speak, a woman bellowed. "Gabriel Fucking Coleman, you got some explaining to do."

Alistair straightened and his pink eyes were filled in distaste, making me look at him in shock. The unicorn always seemed nice, so with him being like this was different. "It's her. I'm leaving. I don't want to talk to that bitch who thinks she is queen." He spoke before his pink eyes returned to Sean's green eyes.

"What happened?" Sean yawned and looked around. As another scream from that woman echoed down the halls, he winced. "Oh, her."

double chapter update!!! The previous one was so long that I decided to make this one a bit smaller. I hope that you guys liked this and comment on anything.