Chosen by Fate, Rejected by the Alpha

1048 Chapter 33- Talia – Staying at a Friend’s Part 1 (VOLUME 6)

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Talia

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The weekend after the quads had their sleepover, it was time for me to have mine. I wasn’t doing it at our house though. I wanted to take the chance to get away for a night. I wanted the chance to be a normal teenage girl for a change. And that was why Ada and I were staying the night with our newest friend, Sereia. Her brothers weren’t going to be there, not that it would have been an issue with me. I mean, Storm was gay and Saylor didn’t seem like he was interested in anyone at all. He was so aloof when we were all around that it was like he wasn’t even there most of the time.

Still, they were staying at their cousin’s house. And no, they didn’t live here in Colorado. They were literally flying back to California for a night to stay with their cousin that was half human and half sea dragon. Only like the Siren part of Sereia’s dad, the sea dragon blood was dominant and that was what he truly was. Just like his dad, Abraham. And I think that the cousin’s name was Eragon. Yeah, that was a pretty obvious name in my opinion, but then again, the best way to hide is to stand out. The more flashy that someone was trying to tell you something, the more you averted your eyes from the truth. At least that was the lesson that I had learned for myself over the years.

I packed a bag for my sleepover, planning for two nights just to be safe. I mean, Sereia had said that we were supposed to be staying the entire weekend and that her dads were going to be super cool about it. Also, they were supposed to be some awesome cooks and there would be delicious food the entire time.

I was looking forward to this trip more than I had ever thought was possible. Though, I knew that Alexio and a few others were worried about it. I would be gone, away from home. And I wouldn’t have anyone there to protect me. However, Alexio was staying in a hotel that was near the house that I was going to be at, so he wouldn’t be too far away. And even if Sereia’s dads were gay, they weren’t human and that meant that they would be able to protect me more than a human would. Makai was a Merman and Ocean was a Siren.

I actually think that I was just curious to be meeting them. I knew that my parents had worked with Sereia’s grandparents before, but I hadn’t met them. I did meet her uncle though, the one that was a sea dragon. He was the man that met us at the beach in Waterton over the summer. That was the place where one of the girls had been killed by the Jaegan.

“Hahh.” I sighed and mentally kicked myself for thinking about that. I was supposed to be putting it out of my mind. Even if I would never be able to forget about it at all, I wanted to be able to not think about it for a while. “I think I am all ready.” I spoke to myself as I zipped my bag shut. I had all the clothes and personal items that I would need for two nights at someone else’s house. And, with that, I grabbed my phone and left the room.

.....

“Are you ready?” Alexio asked me as I entered the hall. He was leaning against the wall across from my room and I saw that he still wasn’t all that happy. He wasn’t going to say anything though, so I wasn’t going to bring it up either. I needed time to be a kid still, and Lex needed to understand that.

“Yes, I am.” I nodded at him. “Come on, let’s go.” There was no need to put it off for any longer.

It took about thirty minutes in total to get to the house that we were going to. The Waters family lived on the opposite side of the city, and with all the time that it took to leave the compound, it really added up quickly. I didn’t mind though. When I saw the house that I was staying at I smiled. It was definitely not like the one that I was used to.

Sereia and her family lived in a nice house that was two stories tall. It looked like it was about four thousand square feet and had more than enough room to fit us all. And best of all, it wasn’t a castle. It was just a normal family home, if perhaps a very large family home.

When I got out of the car, I wanted to roll my eyes at Lex because he got out with me. He even had the gull to look annoyed because I had opened my own door and stepped out without him. He usually wanted to do that so that I wasn’t somehow hurt by a passing gust of wind.

Together we walked to the door of Sereia’s house. Lex carried my measly little bag, but that was understandable. It was his job to do things like that for me. Or at least he acted like it was. I just ignored it because I was used to it.

One of Sereia’s dads answered the door for us. He looked so much like Saylor that I had to do a double take. There were just slight differences in the shape of the face and hair. Other than that though, they were almost the same person. And when I looked behind him, I saw another man that made me think of Storm. I could tell that the boys got a lot of their looks from their dads. And I was guessing that the one that answered the door was Ocean, the Siren, and the other one was Makai, the Merman.

“Hello, welcome to our home. You must be Talia.” Ocean was grinning at me when he started to speak.

“Yes, I am Talia Gray.” I nodded at him, instantly embarrassed that he knew who I was.

“Rei has told us so much about you.” He beckoned me into the house and stepped back. “I know your parents, of course. Makai and I have been working for them for a long time. Ever since we graduated from university.”

“Yes, I heard. I thought that it was a crazily funny coincidence when I met Sereia. She has become such a good friend already though, and I am happy to be here.” I was throwing aside my caution at the moment. I could tell that Ocean was a good man. And he wouldn’t be working for my parents if he wasn’t a good person.

“I am happy to hear that. We were surprised when all the kids made friends so fast, but I guess you’re all just really nice out here.” He paused then and looked at Lex, who had obviously followed me into the house with Ocean and the rest of them. “Hello, I don’t think that we’ve met. My name is Ocean Waters.”

“Alexio Ptolemy. I am Talia’s guard. I will be staying at a hotel nearby. If anything should happen and I am needed, I will be here within minutes.”

“Ahh, understandable. I think all will be fine though. The girls will just be having normal teenage fun. I mean, they are all in their senior year, and two of them are graduating early. I am sure that they won’t get too wild.” Ocean laughed about it for a moment. “You are welcome to stay here with us if you would like, Mr. Ptolemy.” I saw the hopeful look in Lex’s eyes just then, as he turned to face me with the question unasked between us.

“I don’t think that will be necessary, Lex. Do you?” He could tell that I wanted away from the princess life for the night. And that meant that I needed to be away from him as well.

“Yes. That is not necessary at all.” Lex’s jaw was tight as he spoke just then. “I will be staying at the hotel. Talia, here is your bag.” He was preparing to leave now. “I will have my phone on me at all times. Call if you need anything.”

“I will, Lex, but I am sure that nothing will happen at all. I will be fine. And you should use this time to relax as well. Trust me, you need some down time as well.”

“I..I will think about it, Talia.” He nodded. “Have a good evening. Mr. Waters, please take care of her.” With that, Lex stepped back out through the open door. He didn’t want to waste anymore time here when he knew that I was just going to send him on his way later.

For a moment, I felt really sad without him here with me. I had grown so used to his presence when I wasn’t in school that I felt naked without it close to me. On the other hand, I felt free for the first time in a long time. I felt like I didn’t have to worry about anything anymore at all.

“He cares for you quite a bit.” Ocean said as he looked after Lex. “He must be an amazing guard.”

“He has been with me since I was young, so I think that has a lot to do with it. He is amazing though. I don’t know of another guard that is as capable as he is. With his magic that is unique to him.”

“What is he?” Makai asked as he stepped forward. “If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” He looked instantly embarrassed.

“He is a demon.” I told him truthfully. “And he will be going back to the underworld with me when I take over for the current leaders.” I didn’t elaborate after that, even though I knew that they wanted more details. I wasn’t here about that, so I didn’t want to waste more time talking about it.

I was here for a sleepover. I was here to spend time with Ada and Sereia. I was here to forget for a night or two that I was a princess that saw the ghosts that refused to move on. I was here to forget about the fact that the world as we know it might be changing in a way that was not safe for any of us. I was here to forget all about the negative stuff and to focus on only being a teenage girl. I knew that it would be hard, but that was what I was here for. And I wouldn’t let anything else distract me from doing just that.