Blue Violet - By Abigail Owen Page 0,70

Lucy and Hugh grabbed Lila and Adelaide up in a giant bear hug. “We love you girls,” Lucy choked out.

Their action started a long round of hugging. Ellie moved from person to person. Her heart felt like it got more and more full with every hug. “We will always be grateful for your joining our family,” Hugh told her quietly when she came to him. Holding back her tears, Ellie threw her arms around his neck, squeezing tight.

Releasing Hugh, she turned to Nate, Lila, and Adelaide. Nate chucked her on the arm. “Who knew that the new girl in school would end up here?” he teased gently.

“And I for one couldn’t be happier to have you as my soon-to-be sister,” Adelaide added. The four friends shared a group hug.

Ellie turned toward Griffin. They wrapped their arms tightly around one another. They spent some time walking through memories of childhood and their life together thus far in their minds. Not talking, no words, just the images and understanding each other perfectly.

Finally she turned to Alex, who pulled her onto his lap while he sat on the couch. Placing her forehead against his, they sat there. Not speaking. Just absorbing each other. They’d only just begun to explore their love for each other. Now potentially losing each other was happening too fast, too soon. Ellie lifted her head and just looked at him, at this man who had become as essential to her existence as breathing.

“Alex…” Ellie gave a deep sigh, unable to express the depth of her feelings with mere words.

He gave her that sexy half smile she adored so much and cupped her chin in his hand. “I know, baby.”

With a long, lingering kiss, they sat wrapped in each other’s arms, neither wanting to ever let the other go. With one last kiss and a deep breath, in unison they stood.

Everyone else took this as a signal. Without talking, they gathered in a formation resembling a wagon wheel with those with active powers on the outside, and those with more passive powers on the inside. Each person on the inside of the circle stood slightly sideways, hands linked, forming the spokes of the wheel.

The idea was for Griffin to shield all of them as they made their appearance in the clearing. Then, when the time seemed right, he would move his shield to the inner circle, leaving those on the outer circle free to fight without having to remove his protection entirely. He would expand the shield around individuals in the outer circle as necessary, and Ellie would tap into all the skills available to her as needed.

“Ready?” she asked.

With general murmurs all around which she took as “yes,” she tapped into Charlotte’s teleportation. Instantly, they were all standing in the clearing where Ellie had had her fight with the Vyusher wolves.

Chapter 34

Empty? Ellie felt herself deflate a little. She wasn’t quite sure what she’d been expecting. At best, she’d thought Gideon would be standing there waiting for her. At worst, she’d thought she’d appear in the midst of a pack of wolves prepared to attack immediately.

Not dropping their guard, they all stood still and listened intently. Each person scanned the surrounding area, and Ellie’s gaze swiftly darted towards the woods. Darkness had settled in, but a glorious full moon beamed its bright, white light down upon them, illuminating the clearing with an eerie glow. The surrounding woods, however, were another matter. If anything or anyone hid among the trees, Ellie certainly couldn’t see them.

Should I morph into the falcon? Ellie briefly considered, but just as quickly she discarded the idea. Can’t, need to stay connected to everyone. She was the key to their plan, but the disadvantages were far outweighed by the advantages. Their training and sparring night after night had proved that to her.

Ellie moved her focus from what she couldn’t see -- and therefore couldn’t know — to what she could know. Using Griffin’s telepathy, she started to catalog what all of the others were sensing. She took only a split second to check on Hugh, Ramsey, Nate, Dexter, Charlotte, and Lila. Each had a power that wouldn’t lend toward sensing the wolves. Ellie spent a little more time checking on the others, although she limited herself to only their thoughts, not yet accessing their powers herself.

Alex, who might be able to sense beings that he could freeze, felt nothing. Lucy, who potentially could sense the Vyushers’ intentions, picked up nothing from the surrounding area. Adelaide, who