Chapter 2

Orchid

       "I still think we should have asked Grandpa why we have to be careful of Mae," I said as my brothers and I made our way to Jerome and Mae's apartment. "There has to be a reason if he wanted all four of us to go, so we should be prepared."

       "We are," Ryder said. "Seriously, you and Nolan are always too careful about things. Whatever it is, we can handle it."

       Would it be bad to say that I actually wanted something to happen to Ryder to prove we should have been prepared?

       Nope, not a bad thing to say. He always went into missions unprepared and yes, he was successful most of the time but the rest of the times, failure wouldn't have happened if he was prepared.

       We got to the apartment and Ryder knocked on the door. Shortly after, it flew open so Ryder started walking inside. I sighed and followed him. 

       "Ooh, the Princes," the guy who I was guessing was Jerome said as he sat on the couch. "I've been expecting you."

       "Really?" Ryder asked.

       "Nope," Jerome said. "I just like saying that whenever I get a Protector or supernatural visiting. It freaks them out most of the time." He looked at each and every one of us before standing up and walking over. "I'm Jerome, though I'm guessing you all knew that. So, what can I do for you."

       Ryder was about to answer, but he was interrupted when a girl around Jerome's age, obviously Mae, walked over.

       As soon as she did, it was clear as to why Grandpa wanted all four of us to go. Or at least me.

       She was a siren and was able to attract the attention of any male in the room, especially if it was their first time meeting her.

       I had to say, I was glad she was a siren. Now, something actually did happen to the boys, so I was right again for wanting to be prepared.

       "Jerome, you never told me you were expecting visitors," Mae said.

       "I wasn't expecting them," he said. "And really? You had to take off your necklace?"

       Mae just shrugged as Ryder said, "Hi, I'm Ryder. My name's Ryder. Yeah, hi."

       "And I'm Alan," Alan said. "Hi."

       I thought Nolan was going to introduce himself next and be all charmed by Mae, but he wasn't. Instead, he was just looking at Ryder and Alan with a disgusted look. "Gross."

       I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at Nolan. "You're not attracted to her?"

       "No? Why would I be?" Nolan asked.

       "She's a siren," Jerome said. 

       "Meaning?"

       "You don't know what a siren is?" I asked. "They can charm any male. Why not you?"

       "Well, there are a few exceptions," Jerome said. "Not every single male can be charmed by sirens, so he's probably just immune to it. It could be the ability he has as a Protector."

       "Invisibility?" I asked. "I doubt that would provide immunity to a siren charm. Anyway, we're here to ask for your help. There's been three killings all done by werewolves, but we talked to the only pack in Miami and they had no part in it. We need a sorcerer to confirm that a werewolf actually did kill them. Can you help?"

       "I don't know," Jerome said. "It feels like a lot of work."

       "Please?" Nolan asked. "The werewolf pack really had no part of it, and we don't want their reputation to be hindered if word gets around to other supernaturals."

       "Well, normally I don't like doing anything unless I get some sort of payment in return, but I'm feeling generous today," Jerome said, which made me raise an eyebrow. He went from it feeling like it would be a lot of work to suddenly feeling generous.

       However, I wasn't complaining. As long as he got the job done, that was all that mattered.

       "Can I come?" Mae asked.

       "You can if you put on your necklace and stop charming people," Jerome said.

       "Fine," Mae said before walking out of the living room, and Ryder and Alan watched as she walked away.

       "Wow," Ryder said. "She's....wow."

       "Yeah," Alan agreed. "Wow."

       "I think I'm going to start asking for solo missions," Nolan said. 

       I still didn't get why Nolan wasn't charmed by Mae. His Protector ability was being able to turn invisible, so there was no way he could have been immune to Mae.

       Whatever the reason was, I was still glad Mr. We Don't Have To Be Prepared was affected by it.

       When Mae came back, she was holding a necklace in her hand and as soon as she put it on, the charm was broken and Ryder and Alan snapped out of it. "Where were we?" Ryder asked.

       "You're too late, Ryder," I said. "We already asked for Jerome's help, and he already accepted."

       "What?" Ryder asked. "When?"

       "When you were too busy being charmed by a siren," I said.

       Ryder furrowed his eyebrows and his eyes landed on Mae, and then he smiled. "Well, hello. The name's Ryder."

       "I'm aware," Mae said, smiling back.

       "Can we go now?" Nolan asked. "I'm tired of my siblings flirting with people on missions."

       "Yeah, let's go," I said.

       We were about to leave, but Jerome stopped us. "I'm not in the mood to travel far," he said. "Anyone up for a little travelling through a portal?"

       "Maybe next time," Ryder said. "We drove here, and I don't want to leave the car here."

       "Well, since I was able to not get charmed, I'm going through the portal," I said. Mainly because I didn't want to be in a car with Ryder right now. He was annoying me.

       "Fine by me," Ryder said. "Let's go, Alan and Nolan."

       "I'm going through the portal too," Nolan said. "I still haven't gotten anything to eat, so I need to get to the HQ as fast as I could."

       "Alright then," Ryder said.

       After Ryder and Alan left, Jerome told us to step aside while he created a portal. He took a deep breathe before moving his hands around, and the more he moved his hands, the larger the portal in front of us got.

       When it was to the size he desired, he said, "Just think of the HQ when you walk in. Ladies first."

       I stepped forward and closed my eyes, thinking of the HQ before I stepped into the portal. I opened my eyes when I stepped out and I was already where Grandpa normally talked to me and my siblings.

       "That was easy," I said as Jerome and Mae appeared behind me before the portal disappeared. "Where's Nolan? Wait, don't answer that. I already know."

       Grandpa spotted us and walked over. "Jerome, Mae, thank you for coming. I'm Gene, the head of the HQ."

       "To be honest, I wasn't going to come," Jerome said. "But I've grown a liking to the Prince children, so I decided to, no payment whatsoever."

       "Thank you," Grandpa said before looking at me. "Where are your brothers?"

       "Nolan's most likely in the kitchen, and Ryder and Alan are driving here," I said. "We came through a portal."

       "Ah, makes sense," Grandpa said. "Well, Jerome, I'll lead you to the bodies so you can look them over."

       Once they were out of sight, I looked at Mae. "Do you know why your siren charm didn't work on Nolan?"

       "You really haven't figured it out?" Mae asked. "My charm works on everyone except for specific people."

       "Specific? How?" I asked.

       "Let's put it this way," Mae said. "Pretend I was just a normal girl when you and your brothers came to meet me. In what circumstance would Ryder and Alan still be attracted to me, but Nolan wouldn't?"

       I shrugged, because I honestly had no idea.

       Mae sighed. "He's gay."

       I....did not expect that at all. However, once she said it, it made a lot of sense. Nolan was never interested in getting a girlfriend, and he hated when his siblings flirted around him.

       Nolan suddenly walked over, carrying an apple. "So, what did I miss?" he asked before biting into the apple.

       I grabbed his arm and pulled him away so nobody was in earshot. "Why didn't you tell me you're gay?"

       Nolan almost chocked on the apple he was eating. After he finished chewing it properly and swallowed it, he said, "What are you talking about?"

       "I'm talking about you not being charmed by Mae," I said. "It's the only explanation. How else could you have been immune?"

       Nolan shrugged. "Maybe it's a hidden ability."

       "Every Protector only has one ability," I said. "Are you?"

       "Am I what?"

       "Gay, Nolan. Are you gay?"

       "Gay as in happy or gay as in attracted to males? Because yes. To both." He then sighed. "I really don't want anyone knowing, Orchid. I'd rather focus on being a Protector than....that."

       "There's nothing wrong with it," I said.

       "I know," Nolan said. "I'm just not ready. You can keep a secret, right?"

       "Yeah, of course," I said. "Especially when you're always siding with me. I couldn't not keep your secret the one time you need it."

       Nolan smiled and pulled me into a hug. "Thanks. You're the best."

       "I know."

       Ryder and Alan got back to the HQ shortly before Jerome was finished looking at all three of the bodies to see if a werewolf was the true cause. While we were waiting for them to return, Ryder, of course, was too busy flirting with Mae. 

       Then again, I couldn't be mad since I was always flirting with Atticus whenever I had to go talk to the werewolves.

       When Grandpa and Jerome walked over to us, Alan asked, "So, what was it?"

       "It wasn't a werewolf attack," Jerome said. "It was both a vampire and a sorcerer. The vampire was the one that killed them, and the sorcerer used magic to make it look like a werewolf attack."

       "Why would they do that?" Alan asked. "Aren't supernaturals supposed to work together?"

       "Apparently not," Jerome said. "I can talk to all the sorcerers I know in this area. See if they were part of it. Can I take one of the Princes with me? The sorcerers might lie to me, so it would be great to have one for their abilities."

       "Yeah, of course," Grandpa said. "I would let Orchid go with her because we like to call her the walking lie detector, but she's going to have to go talk to the vampires."

       "Oh, come on," Alan said. "She already talked to the werewolves."

       "We also need her to talk to the vampires because the head of the clan is a female who can easily enchant any male," Grandpa said.

       "Yeah, and we don't need you and Ryder falling under another spell, do we?" I asked to tease my brothers, since they teased me all the time.

       "Uh, and Nolan," Alan said.

       "I didn't fall for it," Nolan said.

       "Uh huh."

       "It's true, he didn't," Mae said. 

       "What? That's not fair," Alan said.

       "Anyway," Grandpa said. "Ryder, you'll go with Orchid since your agility is almost as good as the vampires, and they might get mad being questioned about the murders."

       "I'll go with them too," Alan said. "I'm guessing we'll have to go at night when they're awake, so my night vision can help."

       "True," Grandpa said. "Nolan, are you okay with going with Jerome to talk to sorcerers."

       "Sure," Nolan said.

       "Alright, I'll leave you all to it," Grandpa said.

_______________

I love the scene when Ryder and Alan get charmed and Nolan is just like, "Gross." I'm Nolan. Nolan is me. We are one. (literally)

So I did my presentation and I'm happy it's over with. I think I did pretty well. It was just beforehand I wasn't doing too well because of my stupid brain.

My dad decided to get this internet blocker, which immediately shuts the internet off at midnight, so no more me watching Jylan and Malec videos before I got to bed. :/ (but im downloading a shadowhunters episode heavily focused on malec)

Oh, and apparently the internet is going to shut off if too much of it is being used. :/ I really hope Wattpad doesn't use too much internet. cx If it does, I just use my data to get started on a new chapter, then turn it off until I have to publish it.