by Sophie Stern
“What does that have to do with anything?”
He doesn’t look shocked, surprised, or sad. He doesn’t look like he’s judging me. If anything, my dad seems to not see that there’s anything wrong or fucked up with what I did.
“Dad, I stole her.”
I don’t know if he’s getting the gravity of the situation.
“Flynn, that girl is sweet and she’s kind and she’s smart. I still don’t trust her. I don’t know if I ever will. She’s an outsider, and it’s best to be weary of people we don’t truly know or understand, but there’s something about her that your wolf likes. You owe it to both of yourselves to explore that.”
Is my dad right?
Do I owe it to my wolf?
Do I owe it to her?
I’ve been giving Heather space because being around her is intoxicating. I hate how much I want her. In fact, I kind of loathe myself for it. Part of me thinks I never should have marched into that book signing and stolen her away. Part of me wonders if I should have just left her there.
The problem is that we wouldn’t have had answers, and honestly, I know that we can’t let her go. Not until we either mate one another and the dreams stop naturally or until we find another way of stopping her dreams. As far as I know, death of one of the mates is the only way to stop the mating dreams without consummation.
We can’t send her home while she’s having those dreams, though. The risk that she’ll inadvertently release pack secrets is just too high. There’s too much of a risk that she’ll accidentally let other people know how the pack works. What if in her next book, she reveals some of our safety protocols? What if she releases passwords? Hell, what if she talks about the history of our pack?
Part of me hoped that by letting her attend classes, I’d be helping her understand exactly what our pack has to offer.
I didn’t really realize that I’d be sending her to gather information that could be used against us.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I finally say to my dad.
“You need to talk to her,” he says. “And do it quickly. There’s a full moon coming, Flynn, and she might be our only shot at finding out what’s coming.”
DESPITE THE FACT THAT she’s not officially a prisoner, Heather’s never really alone. I didn’t tell her, but I’ve assigned guards to her anytime we’re apart. It’s for her own safety, but it’s also for my peace of mind. I don’t want to be in meetings or dealing with pack business and have to worry about her. When I meet her in the cafeteria for dinner, I nod slightly to the guard I had assigned to her for the day. He nods back and leaves, disappearing into the crowd.
Heather doesn’t seem to notice, which is good. Part of me feels a little bad for not trusting her, and I wouldn’t want to make her feel sad.
She can’t run away yet.
Not when we don’t know what threat we’re facing here at the academy.
She takes a bite of her food and suddenly drops her fork and starts waving wildly. I turn behind me to see Gaston and Lily coming into the cafeteria. Lily grins and hurries over. Gaston heads for the buffet.
“Hey!” Lily comes over and pulls Heather into a tight hug. Since when did they become such good friends? She pulls back and looks at Heather. “How was the test?”
Test?
I didn’t even know she had a test today.
She didn’t tell me.
“It was great,” Heather laughs. She sits back down and gestures for Lily to join us, which she does. “I didn’t realize how nervous I was until Barker dropped that paper in front of me.” She shakes her head. “It brought back so many memories of being a kid in school and not knowing whether I was about to ace or fail an exam.”
“How do you think you did?” Lily wonders.
“I’m pretty sure I did a great job, but you never really know. This is all new to me. I mean, obviously, I had some knowledge before I came here, but not much, and...well, it was exciting.” She smiles, and I realize that Heather feels proud of herself.
And I’m proud of her, too.
“That’s wonderful news,” I interject. “Barker isn’t an easy teacher.”
“You’ve got that right,” Lily rolls her eyes. “Most of the students hate her,” she whispers in confidence.
“I can understand that,” Heather says carefully. “Sometimes having a difficult teacher can be hard.”
“You’re being too nice,” Lily says.
“Maybe, but I think she does a good job preparing her students for their futures. I mean, some of them are going to go live in the human world and they’re going to need to know where they came from and how to stay safe. She teaches a lot more than just names and dates in her classes.”
“Yeah,” Gaston says, joining us. He carefully sets a plate of food in front of Lily and then sets one in front of himself and sits down. “She does a good job giving lots of information and facts. You can’t go wrong with facts.”
We eat the rest of our meal while comfortably chatting, and I’m surprised by just how smoothly everything goes. This is our first time sharing a meal with Lily and Gaston and even though I realize we haven’t actually mated, eating with Heather and my friends feels almost idyllic. It’s kind of wonderful, actually, and I’m really enjoying myself.
By the time we get back to the bedroom, we’re both full and happy. We go into my bedroom and close the door, and both Maple and Syrup throw themselves at Heather. They still haven’t quite gotten used to me, though, and Maple in particular eyes me suspiciously. Heather notices this and smiles.
“Don’t worry. He’ll get used to you.”
“I’m not worried,” I tell her.
“I was talking to Maple,” she laughs, and then she looks over at me. She smiles and then she moves across the room to me. Her scent is intoxicating to me, and evening time is both the best and worst time of the day. It’s the best because I get to be close to her, but it’s the worst because I can’t be with her, and honestly, that’s what I really want.
I look at her, and so many different things rush through my head, but what I say ends up being something neither of us expected.
“I’m sorry.”
“What?”
“I’m sorry I kidnapped you.”
“Flynn,” she waves her hand, as though it was nothing. “I know you have your reasons. Besides, being part of the academy has been really eye opening. Did you know that some shifters actually can create potions? Who knew? And there are herbal remedies for just about everything.”
I touch her shoulder and she looks up at me.
“I know about potions and herbs, Heather, but I do mean it. I’m sorry.”
There are a million ways I could have asked for her help, but I had to go with the most drastic measure.
“Flynn, I know why you did it. It’s okay.”
“I stole you away,” I shake my head. Watching her with her cats, and reading her books at night, and curled up studying for her tests makes me like her even more. She’s better than I could have imagined. She’s cuter and funnier and sweeter. She’s great with her pets and she’s wonderful with the shifters. Even some of the old grumpy wolves have started asking when the two of us are going to be mated, but I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.
Because I like Heather.
A lot.
And I don’t want to do anything that could hurt her.
I don’t want to do anything that could make her feel bad or upset or lost.
I don’t want to do anything that could make her feel like she’s trapped.
Once this is all over, and once we’ve discovered who has been capturing the wolves, and why, then I’ll have to let her go.
But something tells me that letting Heather go after all of this is over is going to be the hardest experience of my entire life.
Chapter Thirteen
Heather
“So the War of the Shifters was in 1734,” Megan says.
“No, it was in 1735,” Erin
corrects her.
“You’re both wrong,” I smile. “1736.”
The girls sigh and write down the correct dates on their papers. We’re in one of the common rooms in the main castle, and we’re studying for an upcoming test in Barker’s class. I’ve been at the academy for nearly two weeks now, and I feel wildly comfortable here.
More comfortable than I should.
That much is for certain.
When Flynn stole me away, I thought I’d be killed or captured, locked up in a dungeon, but that couldn’t have been more off base from my reality. The truth is that I’m basically free to wander around the academy. I get to eat when I want, exercise when I want, and relax when I want. Aside from my classes and tutoring sessions, I’m pretty much free to do as I please, but that doesn’t mean I’ve been able to relax.
I know that Flynn has people watching me. I’ve noticed at least two different wolves who always seem just out of sight. They’re always in the corner of my eye, and I’d guess that they’re supposed to make sure I don’t leave the campus or anything.
That’s fine.
I mean, where would I go?
I definitely wouldn’t leave without my cats and even if I was going to leave, it’s not like there’s anywhere I’d want to be. Now that I know my dreams are real, I have endless questions that I want answered. I want to find out exactly where I should go next and what I should do. I want to know everything there is to know about the wolf pack.
“You’re good at this stuff, you know,” Erin says.
“Yeah, especially for being human,” Megan points out.
“What’s wrong with being human?”
“Nothing,” Erin says.
“Everything,” Megan says at the same time.
The two girls exchange looks, and then Erin looks at me.
“Look, the thing is that most of the students have never met a human. Most of the wolves live in the woods and come around for pack meetings. There are a few towns around where the wolves live, but they’re all shifter towns. The people who live on campus are either students, like us, or teachers who never feel like leaving campus. They’re perfectly fine just sitting around with their books.”
“There’s not really anything wrong with books.”
“There’s also nothing wrong with wanting more from your life,” Erin points out.
“Erin’s a dreamer,” Megan explains, as though Erin isn’t right there. “And she wants to go away as soon as she graduates.”
“Of course I do,” Erin says. “I want to go out into the world and find my mate. Then I want to travel around with her and explore.”
“And you?” I ask Megan. “What do you want?”
“I want to be a scientist,” she says. “After I graduate from the academy, I’m going to go to a shifter college and find a job in a lab somewhere. Something neat and tidy.”
“And your mate?”
“I don’t have one.”
I’m confused.
“I thought everyone had a mate?”
“Nope,” Megan shakes her head. “At least, if I do, I’ve never had mating dreams, and I’ve never had an urge to find someone to love me. That’s okay with me,” she adds before I can say anything. “I don’t need a partner to be happy.”
“That’s very mature of you.”
“It’s just the way I feel,” she shrugs. “I’ve always been kind of a loner. I prefer the idea of being able to do my own thing, rather than needing someone to be there with me, you know? I don’t like answering to people.”
“That’s true. Just ask her mom,” Erin says, and both girls chuckle.
“Your mom doesn’t like the way you live your life?” I ask gently.
“Not so much. She has very strict ideas on what a good wolf shifter should be, and I fit none of those ideas.”
“I’m sorry. That must be hard.”
“Not as hard as you think,” Megan says. “I mean, I live at the academy and she lives off in a town somewhere. We don’t speak very often.”
“My parents are dead,” I tell her. “But we weren’t very close before they passed away.”
“What happened?” Erin asks. “You seem pretty young. No offense, and I mean, I hope that isn’t too personal of a question. If it is, just tell me and I’ll shut up.” She makes a zipping motion, like she’s locking her lips, and then she throws away an invisible key.
“My dad died in a car wreck when I was 12,” I tell her. “My mom couldn’t handle life without him.”
I rarely talk about my mother’s suicide. It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever gone through and even though it’s been years since she passed away, I don’t want to imagine what life would be like if she were still here.
My mom is never going to see me have kids.
She’s never going to see me have babies.
She’s never going to be able to watch me fall in love or turn into the person I’ve always dreamed about becoming. Maybe that’s the real reason I like being a writer so much. Maybe I just really love being able to write about characters who do have moms. Then I can sort of, in my own weird way, experience having a mother as an adult.
Kind of messed up.
“Woah,” Erin says. “You just drifted off into your own world for like, five minutes. Are you okay?” She looks concerned. Megan does, too.
“Yeah, you kind of completely spaced.”
“Sorry, I, uh, I don’t really like talking about what happened.”
“Understood,” Erin says. “We all have shit in our pasts. Sorry for bringing it up. Now why don’t you remind me when the Battle of the First Wolves was?” She turns back to her book and gestures to the page she’s on.
“No problem. It was in 1823, right?”
“I think so,” she says.
We spend the rest of the afternoon prepping for our next history test, talking about the upcoming school dance, and complaining about the cafeteria food. Before I know it, it’s time to head to dinner. The three of us go together with my not-so-secret bodyguard following at a distance. If the girls have noticed him, they’ve been kind enough not to say anything. Even worse than having someone follow me would be feeling like a prisoner in my own space.
Not that this is my space, but, well, it’s starting to feel a lot like home.
“Hey, there’s your boyfriend,” Erin nudges me with her elbow and smiles.
“Yeah, looks like he’s waiting for you,” Megan adds.
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I mutter, but the two girls disappear and I look over at Flynn. He’s sitting at one of the tables and he hasn’t spotted me yet. It doesn’t matter, though, because I’ve spotted him, and I hate the way my heart seems to sing when I’m close to him. It soars, actually, if I’m being honest.
He’s even got two plates set out: one for each of us.
That’s right.
Flynn got me a plate of food, and a drink, and he’s not even my boyfriend.
He’s just some guy who kidnapped me when I didn’t expect it, and captured my heart in the process, and the problem is that even if he frees me and lets me go, I’m no longer sure that I want to go. Part of me wants to spend the rest of my life here with him and the students. Would that be so terrible?
I love writing, but I love this, too, and maybe there’s a way I could have both.
But I don’t know if Flynn could ever really love me, or if the pack could ever really accept me. After all, I’m a human, and as far as they suspect, it’s kind of my fault they’re in this mess. If it wasn’t for my books, no one would have been able to find their secret lairs or known the history and layout of the school. If it hadn’t been for me, the wolves would still be safe.
And that’s a sobering thought that makes me feel sick.
Chapter Fourteen
Flynn
It’s the first night of the full moon, and my father and Maxwell still haven’t decided whether we’re going on a run or not. The wolves are anxious, and we haven’t received any other thr
eats. Maybe the disappearances really were just coincidences.
“I don’t think so,” I tell him, lowering my voice.
My father sighs. He’s got dark circles under his eyes and I know this entire thing has been getting to him.
“I know,” he agrees. “But we can’t cause a panic. As far as most of the pack knows, the other shifters just got bored and moved on. They don’t know we believe the shifters were taken.”
It makes me sick to think about what happened to them.
“If we don’t go out, they’ll know something is wrong,” Maxwell points out. “And the chances of someone being taken yet again are slim.”
“Not impossible, though.”
“Agreed.”
The truth is that the wolves are getting antsy. Most of us have been busy lately. A few of us have been looking for more leads and reaching out, trying to find information on who or what could have kidnapped our members. Another pack did respond to me and tell me that a few months ago, a human came around asking questions about their educational systems and whether they had an academy. It was strange enough that the wolves remembered the questions, but they felt the questions had been harmless.
Maybe not, though.
It had been a man in his thirties with a wolf tattoo on his wrist. He had dark, shaggy hair, but was otherwise unremarkable. He seemed polite enough that the wolves didn’t worry too much about him and just brushed him off as a nosy traveler.
I’m not so sure, though.
Was the scraggly man a threat?
He had been looking for the academy written about in Heather’s books?
The dragons from the Fablestone Clan reached out to me, too. They hadn’t heard from anyone looking into shifters, but they offered their assistance if we needed any help.
“If it comes down to a fight,” Wilson told me. “I’ll be by your side.”
That man has no idea how much we all appreciate his support, but it doesn’t really help us with our decisions today. Finally, I shake my head.