-Kaden's POV-
"I think you've found your keeper."
I blinked back, speechless.
"I... uh..." Damn it, I shook my head, I can't appear weakened by this new information and I definitely wasn't one to stutter, but John just smiled as he pretended to not notice.
"You think?" I settled on, none of the other questions managing to form on my tongue.
"Well, I wouldn't want to be wrong if for some reason this was being caused by something else, but I'm fairly certain, there's a book you can read on it actually. See most people recognise their keepers straight away and the following signs kick in, as well as others, and of course with cases like Cameron and Gabriel, or any other problem, such as your guard, can all be involved with feeling this way."
John rambled on as he searched through his desk, but I was still too stunned to comment, did I believe him? I didn't know.
I suppose I had no reason not to, as I said before I never doubted the man, and my parents had always sworn by him, that gave me all the confidence I needed to believe what he was saying.
But...there was just one, tiny little problem, one that I didn't want to admit to.
I was...scared.
It was something I would never admit aloud, or to anyone else, but in the silence of my own mind, it tumbled around, looking for a way out, I didn't want to feel this way and that just made me feel worse.
John presented me with quite a big, hardback book, which had clearly been well loved over time.
"You can borrow it if you like." He smiled softly, and I hesitantly took the book, my eyes falling onto the cover with a pained look I quickly hid.
I knew the book too well, my mother owned a copy and when I was a child, I was fascinated with it, insisting my mother read it to me when she had a moment to spare, I realise now how hard that must have been, because this wasn't a story book that could be easily read, cover to cover.
No, this was an informative book on everything you could possibly want to know about keepers of the soul.
The front cover was orange and purple, two hands intertwined together, a red string connecting from pinkie to pinkie. The title, white in colour with a romantic font, clear words reading; the book on keepers, simple really, but it was a really popular book, one that many people cherished.
I guess it has helped its fair share of people over the years, and many people swore by it because of that, but again I didn't know what to say, and I found myself feeling rather embarrassed, so I took the book and rose from my seat with a small nod.
John got the message and didn't speak as I walked towards the door.
"Thank you for your services, John, if there's anything you ever need, please don't hesitate to ask." I sent him a small smile, hoping he'd understand that I didn't want to talk about it right at this moment, actually the idea of being alone suddenly seemed like a great idea.
"Any time, Kaden, I'm glad to be of service, I hope you get to feeling better," John smiled with a bow of his head as I closed the door behind me, taking in a deep breathe when the cool air hit my face.
I didn't allow my mind to wander, making a beeline as casually as I possibly could back to my office, and with only a few greetings here and there, I sighed in relief when my back finally pressed against the inside of my closed door in my office.
Only then did I finally let my mind wander, and oh boy did it, a million and one thoughts went through my mind as I placed the book down onto my desk.
I stared at it briefly, all too familiar with its contents, yet I had to be sure.
"Matteo, could you bring me a coffee please?" I asked the boy I knew was outside through a mind-link. I hated using my position to get others to do such things for me, but with how I felt right now, it felt needed, more like asking a friend for a drink than anything else.
His response came almost immediately.
"Yes, sir."
And within minutes I sat at my desk with a fresh cup of coffee, staring at the book in front of me.
The thing is, I'm not stupid, I know the signs, even though I'd never felt them or experienced them before, people came to me all the time with similar problems, and yet as soon as they started it never seemed to register with me that that was even an option.
"What if it's one of the new guys?"
My mind went back to what Adrian had said earlier today at lunch, I knew it was a joke, but what if he's right?
I mean, there was still no confirmation that I had in fact found my keeper, but I couldn't cancel it out.
There were still a lot of signs I haven't experienced yet, but with my guard up, who knew what else it would block.
So, say I have found my keeper, were there any signs as to who it could be?
Before I could even think about the new group that had joined us, I was interrupted.
So much for a quiet night, I sighed into my coffee.
"Coming."
*
The newfound work kept me distracted until late in the evening, when I finally found the time to settle down, and sleep was sounding increasingly more tempting.
It didn't take long for me to finally cave into the temptation, and I found myself in bed, staring up at the ceiling in my dark room.
I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself from seeking out this possible keeper of mine, and I knew who would hold my attention the most tomorrow.
I would have to be subtle about it, the last thing I wanted was to arise suspicious, and with that I had a plan.
Rolling over onto my side, I hoped I'd get some decent sleep in this time, and who knows, maybe tomorrow will be a good day.
Although, my standards for a good day were pretty low right now, just being able to make it through a lesson without completely spacing out would be an achievement, and as I much as I hated to admit it, a part of me was hopeful.
*
A yawn escaped my mouth as I stretched against the covers that bunched up around me, I was comfortable, and I could see the sun starting to peak through the curtains.
Wow, I actually managed to sleep through the night.
My eyes rolled over to the clock, bright numbers shining back, telling me it was 6am.
Okay, so it was still super early but, in all fairness, I did go to bed super early.
I felt so refreshed it instantly put me in a good mood, so I pushed the blankets back and sat up stretching once more, eager to get a head start on the day ahead.
Clambering into the bathroom, I caught the reflection of myself in the mirror as I passed, seeing my hair sticking up all over the place, a clear sign of a good night's sleep.
I ignored it as I turned on the shower, letting the water heat up before stepping under the warm spray, the water cascaded down my chest and I sighed as my body relaxed into it.
Instantly, my mind started wandering as I got busy cleaning myself.
Based on the newfound information, it was probable I would have to accept the fact that my keeper is likely human.
Though the thought didn't quite sit well with me, it was dangerous, in every sense.
Because one; it would put the secret of our world and our existence at risk, and two; being the King's keeper would instantly put them at risk, and being human, they wouldn't be able to protect themselves against the threats we have.
I tried to stop myself from groaning aloud at the thought, of course I would give my life to protect them, but it would make things very difficult for me, and the paranoia of my keeper constantly being in danger wasn't something I looked forward to.
However, I had to remind myself, that neither Gabe nor Zach were strong fighters and they held up just fine, being Soul Wakers, they still held power though.
I brushed the thought away as I turned off the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist.
Thinking about that wouldn't help right now anyway. I stepped back into the room, approaching my wardrobe and for the first time in forever, I found myself wanting to put a little more effort into my appearance.
After scouring through my clothes for way too long, I settled on a dark pair of jeans and a light blue button up shirt, I spent an embarrassingly long time on my hair and with one final look in the mirror, I was satisfied.
I debated on eating breakfast, something I never usually do, but decided on sticking to my usual cup of coffee.
There was still some time to kill, so I decided to start my morning jobs as I nursed my coffee, the feeling of restlessness quickly overtaking.
As soon as the guards were situated at their stations, I gave them their daily updates, pleased with the fact that again, there wouldn't be a lot to do.
And with a good start to the day, I found myself at school only fifteen minutes late, now that was honestly impressive.
My guard was up as always, but I was genuinely tempted to take it down, though I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about what might happen if I did.
I didn't know the full effects of being close to your keeper, or meeting them really, only stories that I had heard.
When Adrian and Zach originally met, they both submitted to each other instantly, there was no fighting or denial, and their lips were pressed together barely after they'd even whispered each other's name.
It looked kind of weird to outsiders, those who didn't know the instant connection and want, the power your keeper had over you, and if the power was as strong as I've heard, I needed to be careful.
That was the last thing I needed, my status was completely different from Adrian's, I need to find out before my people, they would instantly doubt the future of Galtolga as soon as they find out my keeper is human.
There was also the fact that John could be completely wrong, it could just be a coincidence with the way I've been acting, and maybe I hadn't found my keeper.
It was too much to think about, so many worries and concerns piled up, and I find myself sighing out, loudly, in the middle of the classroom as I dragged my fingers through my hair.
"Are you okay?"
My head lolled slowly to the side, meeting Cameron's eyes briefly before he was looking towards the front of the room again.
Cameron always had this nervousness about him when he spoke in class, I knew it was because he was afraid to get in trouble, and although he never talked about it, I knew it had something to do with his past.
"I'm okay," I nodded, forcing my eyes to the front of the room where the teacher was gesturing to something on the board.
Okay, no more thinking, I had to get some work done.
*
When lunch time finally rolled around, I felt something I hadn't felt in an exceedingly long time, nervous.
I didn't like the feeling of the anxiety building up my chest, it made me uncomfortable, so before the anxiety could overpower my thoughts and have me turning around, I pushed open the double doors to the cafeteria.
My eyes immediately zoned in on our usual lunch table, I knew I was late because I'd taken a detour to the bathroom to try and calm down before coming here, so of course, everyone was already seated, talking, and eating.
One of the boys' eyes rose to meet mine across the room, almost as if sensing me there, but it wasn't one of my boys so it couldn't have been that.
I nodded briefly at Adam as I stepped towards the food court to grab something small to eat, I wasn't all that hungry, but I knew running on an empty stomach was never a good idea.
I watched them all closely as I slowly approached the table, listening to any signs from my body that I could be approaching my keeper, but nothing.
Even as I joined them in a seat next to Gabriel.
Absolutely nothing.
My hand hovered over my wrist, knowing that my guard would be blocking me off from feeling this, but did I want to know that badly?
The fear of the unknown made my breath catch in my throat, but the need to know made me want to scream, and that was something new.
"You okay, dude?"
My eyes snapped up to find everyone's eyes on me.
I swallowed down, dropping my hand, and acknowledging the person who spoke, I believe his name was Michael.
"Yes, thank you," I quickly shut him down, before turning to face everyone else.
"Are you all free tonight? School has been stressing me out, so I thought we could all meet up and hang out." I wasn't usually the one to instigate these kinds of things, and honestly, the words left my mouth before I even had time to properly think them over.
However, I couldn't deny that it was a good idea, not only would it give me more time to figure everything out, it gave me an excuse to get to know these new guys better, it would also be good to be able to spend some time with my friends, which would always make me feel better in the end.
"Yeah, we're free, right baby?" Adrian addressed his keeper who smiled and nodded, and Gabriel looked at Cameron who also smiled.
"I'd like that," Cameron nodded, taking a bite from his sandwich.
I turned to look at the other guys, who didn't seem to discuss anything amongst themselves before they were agreeing.
"Hell yeah, it'll be good to hang out with you guys outside of school," Luke grinned happily, with a face full of fries.
"How about you swallow before you speak," Adam teased.
"I only swallow for people I like," he threw back, making Adrian laugh loudly, which pulled Cameron and Gabe out of whatever trance they had found themselves in.
Would I be like that? I couldn't help but wonder, it happened all the time with Cameron and Gabe, as well as Adrian and Zach, so it would only make sense it would happen to me too.
I glanced around the table, not really listening as they all discussed what we would do tonight, and I realised I'd never really looked at them before, the new guys anyway, I guess I was never really interested enough to.
They were all fairly quiet, a couple quieter than the others, and there was one I'm fairly sure I'd yet to hear talk, I only knew Nathan, Luke's, and Adam's names, and even them I could be wrong about, the other two I didn't know, I guess I could change that tonight though.
They were all quite well built, with obvious muscle even if they didn't show it off. I could imagine they get a lot of attention from the girls at this school, none of them were bad looking but I don't know if I'd say I was attracted to any of them, but then again, I'd never really been attracted to anyone before.
The bell ringing pulled me out of my thoughts.
Damn it.
Time had a habit of running away from me lately, at least I'd have more time tonight, I told myself before we all departed with promises of tonight.
And as I was walking to my next lesson, I realised something.
I lied.
I did feel something.
I felt different.