Eden's Playground: Graystone Academy Book One, BE Kelly [good short books .TXT] 📗

Bianca Graystone. She was a first year here when our father was an upper classman. But your father wouldn’t allow his only sister to date a wolf shifter. She was a very talented witch.”

“I’m afraid I don’t know much about my Aunt Bianca. She died before I was born and my father doesn’t talk about her much. My mother told me the story of her death when I was a teenager, after I found a picture of her in some of my father’s old things. My mom said that I look a lot like Bianca.”

“You do,” Anson said. “Our father has her picture on his desk in his office. Mother hated that he kept her picture, but he insisted that it was an homage to his friend. Mum accused him of still being in love with her, but he insisted that it was impossible to be in love with a dead woman. Her ghost seemed to be a dividing force in their marriage—almost as if a third person was always present in their relationship.”

“That’s so sad,” Eden whispered. “Her death seems to have hurt so many people. Your poor mother must have hated my aunt,” she said.

“Our mum didn’t hate anyone. In fact, she thought the whole feud between our fathers was silly,” Duff said.

“I hate to admit it but, refusing to let his sister date a shifter sounds exactly like my father. He’s a stickler about preserving our bloodlines and not mixing with other supernatural’s. I’m afraid my grandfather instilled that belief in him,” Eden said. Duff was very aware of Theo Graystone’s beliefs about shifters and witches not being together. His father told them both the story of his “beloved Bianca,” as he called her when their mother wasn’t around. Eden’s father forbade Bianca to see their father, but that didn’t stop them from finding a way to be together. When Theo found out that his sister had betrayed him, he went crazy. Their father told them that he believed Theo Graystone killed his sister and left her body in the woods that surrounded the academy, but his theory was never proven.

“My father said that his sister was murdered here, at the academy, but that was all that he told me, really. My mother said that Aunt Bianca was found in the woods and that she was brutally murdered.” Eden gasped and covered her mouth with her trembling hand. “That sounds a lot like the girl they found months ago—what was her name again?”

“Geneva,” Anson whispered.

“Right,” Eden said. “She was found murdered in the woods too, wasn’t she?” Duff shot his brother a sympathetic look. He knew what finding Gen’s body did to Anson.

“I found her,” Anson admitted.

“Oh,” Eden breathed. “You said she was your friend, but I had no idea that you were the one to find her.”

“It’s not a big deal,” Anson lied.

“You know, I don’t have to be a mind reader, like you, to know that you’re lying, Anson,” she whispered across the table. He stared her down, as if daring her to push him any further. Duff could feel the anger inside of his brother. Anson wanted a fight and he had a feeling that Eden would give him just that, if pushed hard enough.

Eden

She almost wanted to laugh about the supposed feud that the Kirkpatrick twins told her about. She had never heard her father even mention their name before, although she was aware of the stories about her Aunt Bianca. Her mother had shared those details with her, but when it came to talking about her being in love with a shifter at the academy, not much was shared about him. Her aunt must have had good taste because Eden could see the appeal of the Kirkpatrick boys. Anson and Duff were both sexy as hell and as alpha as they came.

Eden sat across from Anson as he stared her down, almost daring her to ask him about his friend Geneva. The girl who was murdered in the woods was still the talk of the academy and the witches dorm buzzed with rumors about how she died. All of the varying versions agreed on one thing—her murder was gruesome and probably committed by a supernatural.

Her welcome packet warned all witches to travel in groups of two or more students, and when it was time for her to leave her dorm for dinner, Eden realized that she didn’t have anyone to travel to the dining hall with. That wasn’t going to stop her from going to eat dinner—she was starving. Literally bumping into Anson wasn’t her finest moment, but she had to admit—hanging out with the twins was a lot more fun than she thought it would be. Well, until they brought up the feud between their families that she knew nothing about, and the coincidences of similarities between her Aunt’s and Geneva’s deaths on campus. She hadn’t given it much thought before, but now, she wanted to know how her aunt had died. Opening that can of worms with her father wasn’t going to be pleasant, but she planned on calling him in the morning to ask him about Bianca. Hopefully, she’d catch him in a good mood and get at least a few details from him.

“Is there a place on campus that I can go to and learn more about my aunt’s death?” she asked.

“Why not ask your parents?” Duff asked.

“Yeah—that’s easier said than done. As I’ve said, my mother gave me some details but left out the bits about how it happened. I’ll ask my father, but I’m betting he won’t tell me anything. If I want to know what happened, I’ll need to do a little bit of research myself,” Eden said.

“The library might have something in the archives,” Duff said. She didn’t miss how somber Anson suddenly seemed. “I can go with you tomorrow if you’d like. You really shouldn’t travel around campus on your own, Eden. It’s not safe.”

“I’d appreciate that, Duff,”