A Time for Change (6 page)

“Nah, I bet she couldn’t even make it around the first time before she starts complaining,” Ace said.

Both Ace and James knew the only way to make sure Chelsea was going to finish was to tease her into it.

Chelsea was so exhausted by the time they were finished running around the river that James had to carry her to the car, but he suspected she was pretending just so she wouldn’t have to walk.

After their drive home, the three went upstairs to get ready for bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long day training for the Beta Battle, so they wanted to get a good night’s sleep. After showering, they climbed into bed, but something was on Chelsea’s mind, the letters they sent each other over the years.

“James, Ace, I have been thinking about the letters Jadelyn and Eli sent each other over the years. Do you guys think other things besides the stuff about Jadelyn were tampered with in the letters?” Chelsea asked worriedly, biting her bottom lip.

“Like what?” James turned to her and asked.

“Like everything we ever told each other in the letters we sent. What if it was tampered with?” Chelsea said.

“How about we ask each other about the important things we read about each other and see if the answers are the same as the things the other wrote?" Ace asked.

They realized none of the personal stuff they had wrote to each other about themselves was tampered with. All three breathed a sigh of relief when they realized everything they knew about each other was true.

Chapter Four

Eli, Charity, Greg, and their mates were already in the enclosed backyard of the Alpha house when Chelsea and her mates arrived, waiting to help Chelsea, James, and Ace train for the upcoming Beta Battle in two weeks.

“Ace, Chelsea, and I will individually battle two of you at the same time. We will then battle all six of you against us three each night until two days before the battle,” James said.

James stepped forward first to practice against Trevor and Greg. He wasn’t going to battle against Eli since they knew all of each other’s fighting maneuvers from all their years of training together since they were kids and being partners on the police force for twelve years. They knew what move the other was going to use before they did so Eli was going to help Ace with his battle training instead.

Eli blew the whistle, which signaled for the training to begin. James stayed back and waited for Trevor and Greg to approach him first. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Greg as he tried to maneuver behind him while Trevor was coming at him from the front.

James knew they were trying to plan a sneak attack and knew he had to do something before they could. So he closed his eyes and concentrated on calling forth a little of both his wolf and lion shifters abilities. His senses were quickly enhanced; he could smell, hear, and sense things all around him without looking. James swiftly sensed someone getting closer on his right side without having to open his eyes. He waited until the shifter was close enough to him before he made his move.

Greg knew it was time to make his move. Greg walked up on the side of James slowly as not to alert him of his presences, the closer he walked the more confident he became that he could get to James before James realized it. Just before he could take the last step to close the gap between them, James grabbed Greg by the arm—shocking Greg—right before flipping Greg over and onto his back. James then opened his eyes, and looked down at Greg.

Trevor brought his wolf senses to the front a little before approaching James. He could tell from James’s elongated pupil that his cat shifter was close to the surface.

Greg was back up by this time with a more aggressive look on his face. At first, he didn’t think they were going to really battle. He was just going to tap James on the shoulder, letting him know he had to work on watching his surroundings, but now that he knew they were actually going to fight in the practice, he was ready.

Greg and Trevor approached James on either side of him, ready to react to anything they could throw at him. Without warning, James flipped in the air and landed closer to Greg and Trevor, closing in the gap quickly. As soon as he landed in front of them, blow after blow and kick after kick were exchanged in a fight for dominance.

James, Greg, and Trevor battled for over an hour before Eli called a halt.

By this time Baron, Jack, their mates, and Chelsea’s and Ace’s parents, were watching from the back porch. The noise had caught their attention and brought them out.

When Baron called the three of them to the center of the yard, Ace, Eli, and Trevor went right into battle. Ace wasn’t taking the training serious at first until his father and James yelled for him to. The battle went on for an hour as well with James yelling different moves for Ace to use that James learned on the police force and out on the field.

Before Chelsea’s battle could begin against Charity and Jadelyn, James and Ace had already started taunting, teasing, and making bets against her. It just made Chelsea want to prove them wrong and fight harder, like they wanted her to.

“Why are the two of you teasing her about quitting before the battle began?” Greg asked.

“If you tell Chelsea she can’t do something, she performs even better than she was going to, trying to prove you wrong,” James answered.

From all the back and forth letter writing James knew how Chelsea was. She would write to him telling him how she had to prove Ace wrong about something he thought she couldn’t do since she refused to at first. Ace would write him about the same thing telling him how he tricked Chelsea into doing something.

Ace, Trevor, and Eli all nodded their heads in agreement with James.

Charity was the first to move in the battle; she dropped low and tried to sweep her feet under Chelsea’s. Chelsea did a back flip to avoid being swept to the ground by Charity’s feet. Without warning, Chelsea flipped back over and landed directly behind them. By the time Charity turned around Chelsea had already did a spinning kick and was stopping it just before it connected with Charity’s head. Chelsea, Charity, and Jadelyn went blow for blow, holding back their strength from the punches and kicks they were throwing at each other. They went on like this for another thirty minutes, each holding their strength back.

For over an hour after Chelsea’s practice was called, she and her mates battled against the other two couples all together. They would have still been going if both Chelsea’s and Ace’s parents hadn’t stopped them.

Chelsea, Ace, and James were heading out to dinner with Chelsea’s and Ace’s parents. They were going to catch a late show alone after the dinner ended. They wanted as much time alone as they could before opening the school. Ace and his mates knew it was only a matter of time before they started receiving threats because of the school, and James being part lion shifter as well.

Chelsea slipped on her one shoulder, black, knee length dress and silver heels. Ace and James both dressed in a silk black button up, the only difference was Ace’s slacks were black and James wore gray. They had all gone to different showers in the house but came back to their bedroom to get ready.

Just as Chelsea was slipping on her dress and earrings, her father yelled up the stairs for them to hurry before they missed their reservation. All three of them quickly rushed down the stairs, out the door, and onto James’s trike. Chelsea sat on the side where the golden-brown wolf was painted and Ace sat where the dark-brown wolf was painted. James waited until they both clicked on their seat belts before pulling off. Thirty minutes later, they were pulling up to Paradise Cuisine.

Chelsea had helped her family’s construction company design and build the restaurant after the old one had suddenly burn down.

The restaurant was a one story square building painted burgundy on the outside. The inside had gold pillars throughout the entire restaurant. The bar was located on the right side of the restaurant with oak wood floors and a matching bar and barstools. On the left side was the dining area; their tables were lined with white tablecloths laced with gold trim, which matched the chairs’ gold upholstery.

They had just made it in time for their reservations. They took one of the square tables at the back of the restaurant. Chelsea’s and Ace’s parents, as well as their parents’ tri-mates, all had come to meet James.

Ace’s father, Cornelius, who was also the First Beta, was the first to speak. “As you already know, I am Cornelius and this is Ace’s mother, Grace, and our tri-mate, Leslie.”

James stood, hugged Ace’s mothers, and shook his father’s hand.

Chelsea’s father, Gabe, who James had already met the first day, introduced Chelsea’s mother, Faith, and their tri-mate, Serenity. James greeted them the same way he did Ace’s parents.

“James, I want you to know we are all your parents now. You can come to any of us, just as Ace and Chelsea always does. Jadelyn’s and Eli’s mothers, as well as the women at this table, were best friends with your mother. When she mated with your father, we all accepted him into our circle of best friends, including our mates. Anytime you or Charity would like stories or pictures of your parents back then, don’t be afraid to ask any of us,” Serenity said as they waited for their food,

“Thank you,” James said. He knew Serenity was welcoming him into their family in her own way. He could tell the others wanted to say something similar by the look in their eyes, but Serenity beat them to it.

“Your father and mother were two of the strongest shifters I had the pleasure of knowing. When the other shifters on the Isle started harassing them, we all invited them to stay at the Alpha or Beta house with us. Needless to say, they refused and your father said they wouldn’t let anyone run them out of their home,” Cornelius said just as they food arrived.

Ace, James, and Chelsea admired James’s parents and wanted to be just as tough as they were when it was time to open the school and all the threats would happen.

They lightly chatted over dinner and soon headed over to the bar, where each of them sat in front of the bar on one of the barstools and ordered one drink.

“James, where did you learn to fight like that?” Gabe asked to make conversation. He hated when it was quiet, just like his daughter.

“My father showed me how to tap into both my lion and wolf shifter abilities at the same time, with the help of Aishe, as she talked him through helping me. Charity, Eli, and I also trained with professionals on different fighting techniques throughout the years as well. Joining the police force is what helped me with my training the most though,” James answered.

“How about you three battle against me, Gabe, Baron, Jake, and our mates. We will have all of you in shape and ready for the battle in no time,” said Cornelius.

“Okay, we will meet you all in the Alpha’s backyard tomorrow at noon. We can use all the practice we can get, even if Chelsea doesn’t think so,” James said.

Charity rolled her eyes at James as they all stood. James and his mates said good-bye to their parents before walking across the street and into Paradise Theaters.

Ace was buying Charity and James their favorite candy as they went to find their seats. Ace didn’t think he would ever find his other mate let alone be at the movies with him. He was truly happy and finally understood the weird connection he felt with James since he was sixteen as he read his letters. Ace took their sweets and drinks and made his way to the movie his mates were in.

During the movie, James sat in between Ace and Chelsea and held their hands throughout the movie.

In the middle of the movie, Chelsea laid her head on James’s shoulder and said, “The neighbor across the street is the killer,” as they were still watching the movie.

“Chelsea!” Ace and James yelled at the same time as they both turned to look at her.

“Just because you have seen the movie already doesn’t mean blurt out the ending before we get to see it,” Ace said.

“I have never seen this movie before. It is just basic deductive reasoning and common sense who the killer is,” Charity said.

“I wish one of us had the power to glue her lips shut permanently,” Ace said.

“You and me both,” James said as both he and Ace chuckled. Chelsea thumped them both in the back of the head before turning back to the movie. They found out Chelsea was correct as the movie ended.

When the movie was over, Ace asked James if he wanted to see something neat at the beach. Ace had the power to create a mirage and he was going to create a beach for his mates. When James said yes, they all walked toward the trike and made their way to their secret location. After they arrived there, Ace closed his eyes and created the perfect beach and sunset for his mates.

“The tide is going to come in soon, how about we ride some horses before it does.” Ace said as they stood there and watched the sunset, just the three of them as they were holding hands.

Two black and one brown horse suddenly appeared out of thin air. James and Ace helped Chelsea onto the brown horse before climbing on their own. They galloped bareback on the horses along the shoreline toward the sunset.

Chelsea loved how the wind blew through her hair and her body followed the sway of the horse’s trot as she found peace on the back of the horse while going in a steady pace. She loved it and felt as if she was in heaven until Ace decided to smack her horse on the ass causing it to rear and start a faster trot. Chelsea was mad, she was just finding her inner peace when Ace did that, so she waited until he was close to her. Chelsea reached over and returned the favor to Ace. Before Ace could react, she turned her horse toward the ocean and rode into the water.

Ace waited until Chelsea was in the water deep enough before making the horses all disappear, dropping her in the water in the process. Chelsea jumped up, scooped water into her hands, and threw it at Ace, soaking the top half of him in the process. Ace ran in, picked up a laughing Chelsea, and dunked her back in. While under the water, Chelsea reached out, grabbed James’s ankles, and tugged hard enough to pull him under.