Taming A Predator

Chapter 1

I swear I heard a short laugh from the phone as I crossed the room to go change in the bathroom.

"Yeah okay, I'll see you soon then," and with that, he hung up.

"So who are we taking with us?" I asked, stopping just a few steps from the bathroom.

Xander stood straight, pushing himself off of the desk.

"Nico put us in charge of getting the limo, and he... took one of Bronwyn's favorites from his floor to drive us."

My eyes bulged.

He snuck onto one of the royal floors and just grabbed one of the slaves there?

And got away with it?

"He what?"

"Right?! That's what I said. But I guess he's coming with us, and I really don't blame him for wanting to."

Me neither.

Damn Nico...

"So they'll be here in... four minutes."

We just kind of looked at each other for a few seconds before rushing to prepare what we needed to in such little time.

We worked effortlessly around each other as we threw ourselves together within the timeframe given until we were both dressed and moderately presented.

Xander insisted on carrying the instruments, leaving me with just the bag over my shoulder.

My guitar case sat against his back with the strap going down his torso, and his violin in his right hand.

His hair was still a mess, but what else was I supposed to expect?

We finished just in time, a knock sounding as soon as we deemed ourselves ready.

I stayed a bit behind Xander as he went to open the door, Nico and a new face standing on the other side.

The first thing I noticed was the light blue oversized hoodie he was hiding in.

Though since we were apparently sneaking him out, that was understandable.

The boy's dark blue eyes widened and were full of caution as Nico pulled back the hood to expose his face.

"This is Marcus," Nico introduced, "He's very well known around the castle, so make sure you keep him hidden from absolutely everyone who works here. I don't know if word has gotten out that he's missing yet, but you can't be too careful."

His gaze stayed glued to the floor, the wavy wheat blonde hair still shifting from the sudden absence of the hood.

His posture was odd but also familiar in a way, though even in his hunched position, I could see that he still stood taller than me.

It was obvious enough that he was nervous, for good reason given his circumstance, but there was something else to it.

"I will be," Xander guaranteed, " I know a route that would get us there with minimal attention,"

Nico nodded, his look alone showing the trust he had in Xander.

With no annoyance or disappointment anywhere to be seen.

It was refreshing to see, honestly.

I hadn't seen these two together since they talked it out while I was at the clinic.

I could tell that Xander was basking in that fact as well, that being even more evident through the way he was carrying himself right now.

It felt nice knowing that he's been successful lately in his attempts at fixing everything.