Free Beyond by Mary Ting Page A

face…pause…wait for it…and BAM …there it was.
    Austin dropped his jaw and his eyes widened . Claudia was standing next to him , and Davin could see Austin visibly trying to maintain his composure . Claudia had no idea of their history , and they both knew she would ask a bunch of questions if Austin seemed displeased. All he could do was cringe at Davin ’ s huge, satisfied grin.
    “ Davin, what a surprise. I knew you were here, but didn ’ t know you were the A lpha leader. ”
    “ Yes, Katherine thinks I ’ m most qualified. ”
    “ Oh, does she? ” h e muttered under his breath.
    “ We ’ ll be working together a lot . How about that? ” he jeered through gritted teeth, slapping Austin ’ s back.
    Austin rolled his eyes and smirked .
    Shifting her feet, Claudia cleared her throat.
    Davin looked squarely into her rich and luminous golden eyes . “ Hello there, pretty lady. Where were my manners? ” Davin took Claudia ’ s hand, knelt down , and kissed the back of her hand.
    Strange ly, h is mere presence made her happy , l ike seeing an old friend she hadn ’ t seen in years. Her face warmed and she smiled shyly. U neas y with his kneeling , she pulled him upright . “ Nice to meet you too, Davin. ”
    Claudia. Davin said her name through his heart. I know you. You are my friend , he wanted to say and couldn ’ t. He swallowed the guilt . He had to play along no matter how much he disliked it. Even if he did tell her everything, she would never believe him. He was a complete stranger to her.
    “ Have…we me t …before? ” she asked hesitantly .
    “ Perhaps a lifetime ago, ” he answered nervously. He needed to get out of this situation or he would break right now. Think fast , he thought. “ Let ’ s meet the rest of the A lpha team. ” Davin turned and headed back toward his team. Austin and Claudia follow ed , weav ing in and out of the sparring venators , trying not to get hit from one of them. Davin finally led them to the back.
    “ Your A lpha team, ” Davin introduced.
    “ Hey princess, ” Holly greeted.
    “ Hello again, ” Michelle and Gracie said at the same time. Michelle winked at Austin. Gracie blew him a kiss. Austin frowned and glanced away .
    “ This is Delilah, Elissa, Connor and Aaron, ” Davin continued.
    They waved their hands and smiled, except for Delilah, who ignored Claudia. After the introduction s , the group went into the garden to help Claudia tighten up her skills with her bow. She got a kick out of shooting them through the clouds and having them fall off the edge, only to fall to who knew where.

    Days before, Caspian had informed Michael about his family. He asked Michael to join him at the supernatural school so that his family could meet him in person. Florence and Elijah Pierce were Caspian’s adopted parents. Sophia and Alexander were fraternal twins. They could telepathically communicate with one another and read other people’s thoughts. Caspian mentioned other names , but Michael didn ’ t care to listen , nor did he remember. A vampire was a vampire. He didn ’ t come here to make friends. Finishing his mission as quickly as possible and getting back to Claudia was all that matter ed to him. In a way, the Pierce family reminded him of his family in Crossroads ; all the more reason to hurry. How he missed them.
    Michael was used to only working with his kind. For as long as he could remember, Davin, Caleb and Vivian had always been by his side. He could count on them without thinking twice. They ’d always had each other ’ s back. Now he was obligated to work with blood see k ing demons, whom he was also forced to trust. He guessed it couldn ’ t be all that bad since the witches they call ed Ebony and Eliza were their friends. But being told Ebony was now also a vampire was a whole different story he didn ’ t care to know , even though he knew that they turned her to save her life. He d efinitely didn ’ t want to be the first angel