Strings of Fate by Kit Bryan

112- Lockdown and loading 

We stare at each other for a minute until I am distracted by Megan giggling. I turn to her, a question on my face and she shrugs. 

Ry you’re on total lockdown. Watching you argue with him is kind of hilarious. Mostly because no one else does so he has no idea how to deal with it.” She laughs again and Bellamy turns on her. 

“I wouldn’t laugh too soon, Megan Kane. You’re also going on lockdown. We don’t know who is going after Ry or why which means we can’t rule out the possibility that they want you too. You’ve been a harder target to access so it’s no surprise if we haven’t noticed before now. You’ll need to do your lectures online and discuss online options for any classes you need to do in person. Worst case you can repeat a few subjects if needed.” Megan begins to object but unlike me, Bellamy can silence her with a glare. She holds his gaze and resists for a full minute before dropping her eyes to the floor and sighing. 

“Yes, fine. I’ll see what I can do.” She grumbles. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Darrien’s shoulders drop a little as tension drains from him. I hadn’t considered that he would be worrying about Megan. Honestly I hadn’t thought that this could be a danger to anyone other than me. Now I feel a little bad for kicking up a fuss. I decide it’s time for another compromise. 

“Bellamy, how about a deal? Megan and I will take Aaron AND Darrien with us and we can grab my stuff. Then, I will make sure to stay inside the compound gates for the next two weeks unless you escort me out yourself.” I offer. Bellamy narrows his eyes. 

“What if this hasn’t been resolved in two weeks? What happens then?” He queries. I shrug. 

“Then we re–evaluate. I can’t stay in lockdown forever.” Bellamy looks up towards the ceiling and I suspect he is praying for patience.. 

“Take Shaun too.” He finally grumbles. I grin and give him a quick hug and a kiss on his cheek. I then turn and glare at the others just daring them to comment. They all stay suspiciously silent but they’re making a lot of eye contact so I know they’re still doing something. I don’t know what, but I feel like my glare wasn’t as effective as I might have hoped. I call Shaun and he promises to arrive in ten minutes. Most of the Shifters seem to 

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live in the compound or at least nearby. It’s kind of nice knowing that everyone is only a few minutes away most of the time. When he arrives I usher everyone out of the door before Bellamy can rethink his decision. I know that he wants to come too but we spent a long time 

having breakfast and apparently he has to go meet up with some people. Something about hunters being caught on Shifter property. Obviously that isn’t acceptable. It would be awful for a hunter to shoot a Shifter by accident, or even worse, on purpose to sell their parts for potions or spells. 

With the five of us, it’s a full vehicle, but Shaun brings a large SUV so we take that. I figure I’ll need a bit of space to put my stuff, and three male Shifters take up a lot of space on their own, and Megan might be slimmer than the guys, but she’s not particularly short or anything. When we pull up and park, Aaron stays in the car with Megan and I. Darrien stands just outside the car and keeps a lookout while Shaun goes around and checks the place out. I notice a couple guys I haven’t seen around before but Shaun greets them cheerfully so I guess they must be the guards Bellamy said he would leave here to keep an eye on the others in the building. Once Shaun has deemed the area safe enough, we head upstairs to my place. It cringe when I see the spray paint all over the front of the building. I am definitely going to have to make this up to Maggie. Megan swears under her breath. 

“Hey guys, after I pack I want to stop and check in with Maggie. I need to apologise for all the trouble.” I state firmly. I can see that Shaun looks a little doubtful but Aaron and Darrien 

both nod their acceptance. I guess they know better than to bother arguing with me. I can’t help a small grin at that. As someone who has spent so much time going with the flow and avoiding causing trouble, it’s kind of nice being able to speak up. 

Even though I’ve only been gone a few days, my place seems kind of dark and stuffy. Also smaller than I thought? Bellamy and Megan have been spoiling me. I don’t need heaps of space. My place is perfectly fine. It’s enough for one person, always has been. Still… the glass everywhere, the spots of blood in the kitchen from where I was hiding… this place used to be my own little sanctuary and I’m just not sure that it is anymore. Megan must notice that I’m a bit down because she links her arm through mine and drags me to my room, a couple empty duffle bags swinging at her side. 

“Come on Ry, cheer up. There’s nothing here that we can’t fix, besides, it’s not like you have nowhere else to go. You know you can stay with us as long as you want, forever even…” She trails off, her expression serious. The perks up, 

“But, that’s not something to worry about right now. For now, I’m looking forward to going 

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through all your stuff. Let’s go!” She drags me into my room and pointedly ignores the broken window. Together, we begin sorting through my clothes. I don’t take everything, just the things I like most. Enough for a few weeks at least. Some comfy items and a few cute things. I also grab a few more of my toiletries and my favourite pillows and blankets. On the way o stop in the kitchen and grab my favourite mug, one with a unicorn on it that says ‘I wish I was a unicorn so I could stab people with my head.” 

out I 

We all step outside and Aaron locks up my place. Darrien insists on carrying all the bags, but I continue clutching one of my pillows and keep my mug hooked over a couple of my fingers. I have to work nor 

to swing it around, something about having it hooked over my fingers 

makes me want to fiddle with it. Probably because it’s just balanced perfectly, the cute pictures aren’t the only reason it’s my favourite. Darrien loads all my stuff into the back of the car and I throw the pillow into the back seat. For some weird reason I decide to hold onto my mug. Not sure why, I guess it’s a bit of a safety blanket item for me right now. Now I need. to go talk to Maggie. I know she’s a good person, but I’m worried she will be mad at me. She puts up with a lot, but something like what happened… it could have endangered Logan, and he is always her number one priority. Still clutching my mug, I knock on her door. I can hear her on the other side checking the cameras. At least she is being cautious. After a moment, the door swings open. Maggie stands with her hands on her hips. Her expression gives nothing away. I shift my feet nervously then hold out my mug. 

chance 

“Any you have any hot chocolate?“.