Chapter 18

Alan

       "Why aren't you training?" Martha asked me when she saw me laying on a bench in the training room. 

       "I've been training long enough," I said. 

       I really didn't like Martha being in charge of the HQ. Things went much more smoothly with Grandpa in charge. He never pushed us way too hard, and he certainly didn't drive my brother away.

       Nolan wasn't answering any of my texts or calls, and I was really missing him. He wasn't even at home, and that definitely said something. He rarely ever left the house, unless he was at the HQ or on a mission. It was his safe space.

       Now his safe space had been taken away because of Martha.

       "You've been training for only half an hour, Alan," Martha said. "You should be training a lot more, especially because I was just informed of an upcoming attack on the HQ."

       I furrowed my eyebrows and sat up. "What are you talking about?"

       "Dirk's group, apparently, is planning another attack on the HQ," Martha said. "So I need all Protectors to be prepared because we don't know when it will come."

       I laid back down on the bench. "I wouldn't worry about it. Jerome put a barrier up around here. Oh, and to be clear, Jerome is the guy you banned my brother from seeing."

       "I didn't ban anyone from seeing anyone," Martha said. "I wanted the communication to be kept at a bare minimum."

       "Which is almost the same thing. Basically less time to spend with them."

       "And that will be changing," Martha said. "From now on, I'll be clearing the supernaturals that the Protectors will be allowed to have contact with. Atticus, Mae, and Jerome are all cleared, so perhaps your brother will actually return here. He has missed a lot of training, and he is definitely going to need it."

       "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

       "He's one of the weaker Protectors."

       I snorted. "If he's one of the weaker Protectors, the strongest should be unbeatable. Just because Nolan's bow and arrow can't kill anyone, that doesn't make him weak. He has the best aim."

       "And what if he's alone and gets attacked?"

       "That will never happen. The only time he's alone is when he's in his bedroom at home. Nolan would never, and I do mean never, go out on a mission alone. You can think what you want, but you can't come here and start making assumptions, even if you are part of the Tribunal."

       "I swear, all your Princes aren't afraid to say what's really on your mind," Martha said.

       "Of course we're not," I said. "We stand up for what we believe in and right now, we believe all the decisions you have been making are pure crap and you should go back to where you came from."

       "Alan," a voice said in a warning tone, and I was thankful that it wasn't Martha. It was, however, my grandfather.

       I sat up and looked over to see Grandpa standing beside Martha. "She's in charge whether you like it or not," he said. "You have to respect the decisions she has made."

       "How can I when it has driven my brother into hiding?" I asked. "I haven't spoken to Nolan in a few days now and for all I know, he could be dead."

       "He's not dead," Grandpa said.

       "How do you know?" I asked. "Have you talked to him?"

       "Nope."

       "Then he's dead."

       "He's not dead, Alan. Orchid went to go visit him not too long ago."

       "She told me she didn't know where he was," Martha said. "She even took the lie detector."

       Grandpa chuckled. "Never underestimate my grandchildren. They can find their way around anything and everything. One of the main reasons they're usually the ones going on the more serious missions."

       I stood up from the bench. "Well, I need to go talk to my sister. And don't worry, Martha, I'll be training later on. I just really need a break."

       "Again, you've only been training for half an hour," Martha pointed out.

       I shrugged before walking out of the training room to go talk to Orchid. I found her nearby, talking to Atticus so I walked over. "Orchid, why didn't you tell me where Nolan was?" I asked. "I miss my baby bro."

       Orchid raised an eyebrow. "Is everyone stupid or something?"

       "Hey, I'm not stupid," I said. "Well, most of the time I'm not."

       "Could have fooled me," Orchid said. "Seriously though, I'm worried about everyone else's IQ if I was the only person who knew where Nolan was. He was at Jerome's apartment this whole time. Where else could he be?"

       "Oh," I said. "Yeah, that makes sense. So, do you know what Martha means about an upcoming attack?"

       "Yeah, Dirk is planning another attack on the HQ," Atticus said. "Not only that, but he has converted a lot of supernaturals on his side, and some people from my pack might be included."

       "Really?" I asked. "Damn, now we actually do have to start training hard."

       "And I'm going to talk to my dad about helping the Protectors out," Atticus said. "He's the alpha of the pack, so no one can disagree with him about it if he agrees to and chances are, he will."

       "You know, we should actually join forces with supernaturals for this upcoming attack," I said. "Instead of having just you, Mae, and Jerome, we should look a lot further. Maybe get some vampires, fairies, shapeshifters, even more sirens."

       "That can work," Orchid said. "The only problem is we might not be able to join forces in time because we have no idea when the attack is going to happen."

       "Well, I'll head back to the bowling alley and talk to my dad now," Atticus said. "And I'll see if he knows any other supernaturals that will be willing to help."

       Orchid smiled. "Thank you for your help." She gave him a quick kiss before Atticus left the HQ.

       "So, how's Nolan doing?" I asked.

       "I assume he's doing good," Orchid said. "I went to visit him, but I didn't stay for too long because I wanted to see Atticus. He and Jerome have been trying to decipher all the spells in the spell book, and they did a few but they still have some left."

       "Hopefully they'll be able to in time for the attack," I said. "And speaking of, want to go train together? We need to be at the top of our game."

       "Of course," Orchid said. "But don't cry when I kick your ass."

       "Bring it," I said.

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I can't wait for a certain chapter. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) Everyone is going to be so shooketh.

I just hope you won't hate me lol.

I mean what?