by Sophie Stern
Maybe she knows what went wrong.
Maybe she knows who would want to hurt the wolves.
“What happened, Flynn?”
“The first night, it was Frank that disappeared.”
“Frank?”
“We didn’t notice he was gone until we were halfway home. He’s an older wolf and he’s known for being a loner, especially since his mate passed away last year. We didn’t really think much of it at first. We figured he just went off to chase a squirrel or splash around in a swimming hole.”
“But he never came back.”
“Nope.”
“And the next time?”
“The next time, we were once more on a run. It was Angela who was taken. She’s a younger wolf. Feisty. She does a great job blending in with the forest when we’re out. It’s almost impossible, even for wolves, to track her when she’s on her own, but we were in a group.”
I sigh, not wanting to tell her the truth, but I will, anyway.
“In this case, I fucked up. I hold myself responsible for what happened.”
Heather moves to me quickly and reaches for me. She holds my wrist and shakes her head at me.
“It couldn’t have been your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
“We were exploring a new area in the forest and we were playing games. Racing games. I like to keep the wolves active as much as possible, and sometimes, we’ll do silly things like play tag or hide-and-seek.”
It brings me back to when I was a kid, and life was simpler.
“So you played hide-and-seek, and what, she just vanished?”
“Like that,” I snap my fingers. “The third time, it was the same story. By then I was suspicious of the full moon. I wondered if these disappearances weren’t accidental. I mean, we’re shifters. Sometimes things happen. People want to leave the clan or they wander off to be alone and just never return. That’s not unheard of, but this...something about this just felt different.”
The third time was the worst.
“We’d already honed in on your books. Lily’s a big fan, and she read a passage to Gaston one day that made him question you as a writer.”
“What do you mean?” She bristles, but she has no need to. She’s a wonderful writer.
“Easy love. He just said you seemed to know about our pack specifically. There was something in one of the stories about some teen wolves who go off into the woods and build a tree fort by a waterfall.”
“Yes.”
“Gaston and I did that when we were kids,” I tell her. “We never told anyone.”
That’s probably one of the biggest reasons I think she’s my mate. Before I met her, I just thought she was a spy. Now that she’s here and we’re close together, it’s different. Now I want to worship the ground she walks on because her fierceness and bravery constantly astounds me.
One of her cats gives a little meow.
“Shhh, Maple,” she says. “Let him speak.”
“Anyway, the last time someone disappeared, it was near the old fort that Gaston and I had built. Almost right next to it, actually. The other wolves have seen the fort now, but no one knows that Gaston and I were the ones who built it.” Our scents have faded over the years and other animals – birds and squirrels, most likely – have spent time in it. No one could ever know that we were the boys in the woods causing mischief.
“Someone else vanished by the fort.”
“Leah.”
“You were friends.”
“She was like an aunt to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“We found a page from one of your books at the fort there, along with a note that said, YOU’LL NEVER FIND THEM.”
Heather looks like she’s going to be sick.
“That’s ominous,” she finally manages to say.
“Putting it lightly.”
“Flynn,” she sits down on the bed, suddenly looking defeated. “I’m sorry if my books are partially responsible for this. I didn’t mean to give away secrets of how the pack runs. I didn’t know that the dreams were to lead me to you.”
It’s the closest I’ve gotten from her accepting me as her mate, so I’ll take it.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I feel like it is.” She shakes her head and just looks at her hands. “I mean, I thought I was doing something therapeutic, you know, and if I could make money off of my art, then that was even better. I had no idea that your pack was a real pack. I always suspected there was more out there than just humans, you know, everyone kind of has an idea that shifters exist, but...”
“But it wasn’t until now that it really seemed real.”
“Pretty much.”
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her, but I don’t know if it’s a true promise or not.
Heather nods and stands up. She reaches for my hand and tugs me to my feet, and then the sweet little writer wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. Unlike our kisses over the weekend, this kiss isn’t passionate or arousing. It’s just sweet.
It’s comforting.
And I love it.
“Okay,” she says. “Will you walk me to my first class? I think I’m ready.”
Chapter Eleven
Heather
I’m so not ready for this.
When I walk into my first classroom, everyone turns and looks at me. A dozen noses sniff, reminding me that I’m human and that I have a very strange scent.
“You smell like Flynn,” one of the shifter teens accuses me.
Shit.
“Uh, I’m staying with him,” I say.
“Are you mated?” A boy asks.
“No.”
“Are you going to be?” A girl pipes up.
“Um...”
The teacher takes pity on me and the barrage of personal questions.
“All right, that’s enough for the new kid,” she says. “Heather, have a seat. I don’t care where.”
I slide into a seat at the back of the class, but I’m well aware that everyone is still staring at me. So this is shifter high school, huh? Most of the kids here look decidedly normal, but they all look very, very curious.
And some of them do not look very happy that I’m here.
Fortunately, I’m only going to be at the academy for a week or two. At least, it better not be longer than that. I’m kind of itching to get back to my own life. I haven’t typed any words on a computer in a full 72 hours and I’m starting to get a little jittery.
The teacher is a tall, curvy woman with long dark hair and a bright smile. She gestures to the board behind her and starts talking.
“As you may remember from last year, the history of shifters is a complex one. Most of you are already familiar with the emergence of shifters in to the public, but I know many of you may have forgotten what you learned over the summer, and of course, we have a new student.”
Once again, everyone turns to look at me.
“All right, all right,” the teacher says. “Class, Heather is here as a temporary student. Please be kind to her. She’s a guest of Flynn’s, and he asked that she be allowed to attend classes while she’s here.”
A girl with bright red hair raises her hand.
“Yes, Cinnamon?”
“Why is she wearing a uniform?”
“Honestly, it’s so that us oldies don’t freak out when we see her. You know that many of the older shifters here aren’t particularly fond of humans. Her uniform is a protector that designates her as a student who is allowed to be on campus.”
“Plus, she smells like Flynn,” another guy says, and the room erupts in giggles.
Fuck.
Do I really smell that bad?
“That’s enough,” the teacher says.
“Miss Barker?” A student raises her hand.
The teacher sighs, but gestures for her to ask her question.
“Shouldn’t someone show her around to her classes and stuff? I mean, I could do that.”
I’m a little sur
prised that the student feels like helping me, but I’m also honored. Hell yes, I want a personal tour guide while I’m at Big Bad Academy. There are enough wolves here to make a girl feel intimidated and the last thing I want to do is get lost and have to ask someone for help.
Not that there’s anything wrong with asking someone for help, but...
Some of the wolves look like humans are not their friends.
“That sounds like a nice idea,” Miss Barker says. Then she looks at me. “After class, show your schedule to Erin, okay? She’ll help you find where you’re going.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The class looks at me again, but Miss Barker snaps her finger and keeps talking.
“All right, no more questions until the end of class,” she says. “We’ve got a lot to get through today. As I was saying, the history of shifters is...complex. No one knows exactly where the first shifters came from. Have shifters always existed on Earth? I’d like to think so.”
She walks back and forth as she talks, and Miss Barker fills everyone in on different theories as to the origins of shifters. I’m so fascinated and stuck on what she’s saying that I don’t even notice it’s time for my next class until the room starts emptying out and Erin appears in front of me.
“Ready?” She grins.
“Ready.”
I yank out the piece of paper from Flynn.
“I just have one other class,” I tell her. “But it’s after a study hall.”
“So you’re here for three periods a day. Got it. Well, study hall is over here, so I’ll take you.”
She hands me back my paper and we head out of the room and turn left. We start walking, pushing our way through the crowd of students, and Erin starts talking.
“I’ve met humans before, you know,” she says.
“Is that right?”
“Yep. I mean, a lot of the shifters here just stay around the pack or go to other shifter towns, you know: Honeypot, Fablestone, Dragon Isle.”
“Got it.”
I’ve never heard of any of those places, but I don’t want to tell Erin that just yet. I like the fact that she’s talking openly with me and she’s not treating me like an outsider.
“My parents used to travel with me a lot when I was a kid, though, so I’ve met lots of people. You’ll have to be patient with the other students, though. Some of them can be pretty secluded.”
“I understand.”
We move down the hallway and Erin points out different people and paintings as we pass.
“That was painted by the alpha’s wife before she passed away,” she tells me.
“She was an artist?”
“One of the best.”
“Did he ever remarry?”
“He married Maxwell a few years ago,” she says. “Everyone was happy for him, according to my mom. I was too young to really remember or pay attention.”
“He’s lucky. A lot of people don’t even find true love once in a lifetime,” I tell her.
“Yeah, and he found it twice. I hope that when I find my mate, we’re as happy as they are.”
“Erin,” I ask carefully as we make our way toward the study hall room. “Do you have dreams about your mate?”
“All the time,” Erin smiles. “And I don’t know what she looks like, but I know that she’s brave and strong and funny. At least, I always laugh a lot in my dreams, so she must be, right?”
“Right.”
“Well, here we are,” Erin gestures toward a big oak door. Like the other doors in the academy, this one is solid wood and doesn’t have any windows or ways to peer inside. I have no idea what’s waiting for me on the other side of the door, but I take a deep breath and nod.
I can do this.
I’ve totally got this.
“Thanks for everything,” I tell her.
“No problem. See you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
Erin turns to head to her next class, and I push the door open. I walk inside to find a single large table that fills almost the entire room. There are several comfortable-looking chairs pushed around it. The walls of the room are lined with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and my little writer heart starts to race.
Seriously, what is this place?
It looks amazing, and I want to find out everything there is to know about it.
“Hello,” a deep voice says from one corner. I turn to see a man in a suit sitting primly in an oversized armchair.
“Uh, hi,” I give a little wave. “I’m Heather. I’m here for, uh, study hall.”
“The new girl, I presume.” The man stands and approaches me. He’s taller than Flynn, even, which is saying something because Flynn is pretty tall. I think this man is older, too, but it’s hard to tell with the shifters exactly how old they are. Everyone I’ve met so far seems undeniably beautiful. They’re almost too perfect.
He shakes my hand.
“Yeah, that’s me. I’m about as new as they come.”
“What brings you to Greystone Academy? Have you developed an interest in shifter history?” He eyes me suspiciously, and I totally understand one. I might not like it, but I understand it. He’s part of a pack that could be hunted at anytime. Maybe it’s being hunted right now. Is that why people have been stealing shifters away?
I have no idea.
What I do know is that I have to be on my best behavior.
Flynn thinks I’m his mate, so he’s being kind to me. These other wolves? They don’t know anything about me. For all they know, I could be a quiet threat, so I need to appear to be as docile as possible. When I write about wolf shifters, in my books, my characters always seem to be so put-together and strong. They always know just what to say, but right now, I don’t feel any of that.
“Uh, something like that,” I say.
What am I supposed to say?
Am I supposed to beg for help?
Tell him that Flynn kidnapped me?
No, thank you.
I don’t know who this guy is or what he’s like. For all I know, he could be a total jerk. He might just be really harsh the way Flynn’s dad seems to be. I haven’t seen the alpha since yesterday, and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t ever need to see him again.
“What does that mean?”
“I’m, um, I’m staying with Flynn.” I blurt out.
“Ah,” the man’s gaze softens. “So you’re lovers.”
Holy dragons. Is everyone here so damn blunt? I would never call someone out for having a boyfriend or even a hook-up partner. No way. That’s not my style at all, but here, it just seems to be the absolute norm.
I’m saved from having to answer the man because the door to the study room pushes open and a group of students come in. They look me up and down curiously, but they don’t say anything. Instead, they nod to the man I’m talking with and take their places at the table.
“I’m afraid study hall is in session,” he tells me. “Go ahead and take your seat. There’s no talking during this time, but you’re free to study anything you like. Grab a book from one of the shelves if you need additional inspiration.”
Then he returns to his armchair and picks up his book. I think he’s going to look at it and start reading again, but instead, I feel him watching me, and I don’t know why.
Why is he watching me?
I’m not anyone special.
I’m nobody.
I’m just...me.
Chapter Twelve
Flynn
So far, no one seems to know why anyone has been kidnapped. I’ve reached out to other packs and clans in the area, but no one is talking. Nobody has any missing wolves, at least that they’re willing to admit, so I have to assume that it’s just us who are being targeted.
“I just don’t know what the link is,” my father says. After nearly a week of talking with Heather about her mate dreams and her visions, we still aren’t any closer to finding out who took the wolves. After talking with her and my father, as well as Maxwell, we�
��ve managed to learn that each of the affected wolves has, in some form or another, shown up in her dreams.
In fact, Lily is the one who points out that each of those wolves has something unique about them that also showed up in Heather’s books.
“She’s talked about everyone distinctive in the clan,” my dad points out. He shoves one of her books to the side of his desk, frustrated. “Even I’m in there. Even Maxwell’s in there, and you, I’m sure.”
“Am I the handsome billionaire shifter or the rugged cowboy shifter?” I ask with a laugh.
“Not funny.”
“I know it’s not funny, dad, but damn, we’ve been at this for a week. We don’t know anything more than we did before.”
“She does, though.”
“She knows more?”
“The school has been good for her. She’s learned a lot. Would you believe that Tanya Barker actually told me that Heather is now one of her best students?”
“Really? But Tanya hates everyone.”
“Not Heather. Apparently, Heather actually offered to tutor some of the other kids in writing after they got their last papers back. She said she wasn’t working right now, so she had plenty of free time. She’s been using her study hall hour to help the other students get their papers up to par.”
My father looks at me and smiles for the first time in awhile.
“I didn’t think I’d like her one bit,” he says to me.
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“But I’ve changed my mind. She’s good for this pack, and I think she’s good for you. You two still haven’t mated yet, though.”
“Dad, I’m not going to talk about my dating life with you.”
“The dreams are going to get worse, Flynn,” he looks concerned now, and I know why. We’ve both known wolves who went crazy when they didn’t mate with their destined partner.
“I know.”
“You have to do something,” he says. “Win her over, son. You have to.”
I decide that being blunt and honest with my dad is going to be the best course of action here.
“Look, I kidnapped her.”
It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud to someone else. Gaston knows. Obviously. He was there. My dad probably suspected what happened, but he never asked me, so I never told.