Discovery: Altera Realm Trilogy Read Online Free Page A

multiple locks from the door and opened it for her Protector.
    Raine pulled his large frame into the room and quickly locked the door. Standing next to Cass, he looked like a giant with blond hair at all angles and a pair of crystal-blue eyes. "Everything all right since I've been gone?" he asked in his deep, rough voice.
    Cass nodded. "Nothing happened. Did you find her?"
    A smile slowly filled his usually stoic face. Everyone was excited about the Chosen One, even the most reserved Protector. "Yes. Hunter stayed to watch over her." His smile quickly disappeared. "We smelled a Shifter nearby."
    Cass sucked in a breath. She never had personally seen a Shifter, at least none that she knew of, but she had heard enough stories to be terrified when one was around. "That's not good. If they get to her before we do..."
    "It's all right, Princess," Raine said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Shifters are out in Human Realm all the time. It could just be a coincidence."
    Cass sighed. "You don't believe in coincidences." She paused. "And don't call me 'Princess.' You know I hate that."
    "I do. But it is also protocol," Raine said, walking to the window.
    Cass rolled her eyes. She considered most rules dealing with Protectors to be archaic and felt they should be abolished. She hated being set apart for who her family was. Raine had been her Protector for years. Protectors lived and breathed their jobs once they were able to walk and talk. In a way Raine knew and saw more of Cass than her own family did. And yet he still insisted upon calling her 'Princess.'
    "So tomorrow then?" Cass asked, sitting back down on the bed.
    Raine nodded, still keeping guard by the window. "Hunter believes it's best to go in the light...maybe go through her parents."
    "You mean, you want
me
to go through her parents," Cass said slowly.
    Raine shot her a quick glance and a small smirk. He was the only one who knew of her talent, and only because he was
always
around.
    "You didn't say anything to Hunter, did you?" Cass asked.
    "Of course not. I told him you might talk them into it because you're so innocent looking."
    "Yeah, yeah," she grumbled, lying back in the bed. "Tomorrow then."
    "Get some sleep," Raine said. "I have a feeling it will be a very long couple of days."
    Cass smiled. She didn't mind the long days. It was a dream come true to find the Chosen One, and she couldn't wait to meet her.

Syney

    "Did you guys want me to clean up?" Syney asked, picking up a mostly gone platter of food.
    Joyce took it from her quickly. "Oh, no, you don't. Your party, our cleanup."
    "Mom, I don't mind, really."
    Richard walked up and put an arm around his daughter. "Honey, you know not to argue with your mother—especially about cleaning."
    Syney laughed and put her head on his chest. "Oh, I know."
    "Then you'd better shoo!" Joyce said, hauling a large garbage bag past them, which was almost twice the size of her body.
    Syney and Richard watched her go.
    "I think you should help her," Syney said.
    "Yeah, I think so." Richard squeezed her a little and went off to help his wife.
    Syney sighed and headed up to her room. She wasn't tired at all, but she was mentally exhausted. She needed a nice quiet night with
no
weirdness—if that was even possible. Lately it didn't seem that way. After Jess had pulled Syney back to the party, she didn't feel much like celebrating. She kept thinking about the wolf. He should have struck her with fear, but he'd had the exact opposite effect. If Jess hadn't been there, Syney would have thought she was hallucinating for sure—just like with the smoke arm at the carnival.
    She walked over to the window and looked out into the night. The moon was almost full, shedding a ghostly white light on everything. Curling up onthe window seat, Syney rested her temple against the glass windowpane and scanned the backyard. Her parents never had taken down the large jungle gym they had bought for her when she was five, even though it took up a