Expired With Me

Chapter Eleven

Jonas

After three hours of meetings, my Beta nowhere to be found, and my wife not feeling her best today, the last thing I want to do is talk to a bunch of high schoolers from an alternate universe, which is exactly what I'm walking to my office to do. I enter, thankful the civilians haven't arrived yet, and take a seat at my desk. As a knock occurs on my door, I write myself a note to have the chefs make a plate of blondies tonight for Iris, along with getting her a bouquet of flowers.

"Come in!" I say. The door opens and closes, followed by the five civilians taking their seats. The two boys take the chairs closest to me, the girls on the couch behind them. I lean back in my chair, pressing my fingers together. They stare at me. Good. I need to be feared. "Before we begin," I say. "I'm afraid I never asked your names." I look at the boy with a striking resemblance to my brother. He's going to be a handful.

"Aiden. Aiden Parker." I look at the girl seated behind him.

"Thea Kennedy."

"Noah Adams."

"Annalesia White."

"Kaitlyn Anderson."

"Very well. As you're aware, I am Preeminence Jonas Blackwood. You may think of me as a king. For all intents and purposes, I am, just with a different title. As such, I am to be respected." I focus my attention on Mr. Parker. "And I am to be feared." I sit up. "Since I suppose you will all be here a while, let me inform you of how things work around here." I stand, focusing my attention on the globe. "I am head of a group called the Order. The Order runs the Society." I look back at the group. "As you've become aware, it consists of myself, my siblings, and my cousins. All above you. This does not necessarily include my wife, but I would respect her above all. Understand?" The civilians nod. "Excellent. Now, let's begin. How are you here?"