The man howled with denial, his chest heaving, his head dropped low.
“Who sent you to kill Rufus?”
The man spun and advanced, completely pissed, but grateful to see her. When she backed up, he froze, then he swallowed hard. “Our alpha ordered a hit on him.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I only do what I’m told.” He held out his arms beseechingly, panic darkening his face. “I don’t want to die in this hellish place.”
Annora didn’t have the heart to tell him everyone dies here eventually.
Sighing in resignation, she turned and knelt next to his still body, conscious of the man hovering behind her, careful to maintain his distance so he wouldn’t scare her off. She placed her hand against the body stretched out along the floor, barely feeling the slow, steady thump of his heartbeat against her palm.
She called to the darkness and watched his form slowly scatter into a stream of smoke. It snaked toward her until it completely filled the body, and she carefully wrapped what remained of the dull golden sparks around his heart. With each strand he became whole again, becoming stronger.
When she lifted her hand and moved to stand, something darted out of the darkness. Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard, she couldn’t catch her breath—
—then she relaxed when she saw the small ferret. “Dammit, Edgar, you scared the crap out of me.”
She quickly snatched him up and clutched the critter to her chest, glancing around cautiously for a few seconds, expecting a monster to jump out at her at any moment. Not wanting to push her luck, she let go of the darkness and watched it scatter.
The light in the room nearly blinded her as she returned to the human world, and she shaded her eyes with her hand, ridiculously relieved to be back.
She was afraid one of these times she would end up trapped there permanently.
“Why isn’t he waking?” One of the wolves growled, his body hunched over as if his wolf was seconds away from bursting out of his skin.
The ferret clambered up her arm and perched himself on her shoulder, chittering angrily at the wolves like he would fight them for her honor. Annora sighed, then walked over to the prone body. The other guys scattered, taking care not to remain within touching distance, and she wanted to laugh at seeing grown men afraid of little-bitty her.
She glanced down at the still body, noting his haggard appearance, like he’d aged ten years in the span of a few minutes. His body had shed twenty pounds, looking almost frail as he lay unconscious. Without an ounce of remorse, she drew back her boot, and slammed it into his ribs. Instead of waking up like she expected, his wolf tore free of his form, his flesh and clothes ripping away from his body. Bones cracked and lengthened, fur spread rapidly across the body. In seconds, a giant wolf was before her.
“Don’t move.” Rufus edged in front of her, angling himself between her and the wolf.
The big beast wobbled precariously, growling and grumbling as he staggered. When he swung his big head toward her, she expected him to lunge.
Instead a trail of pee collected on the floor. The beast turned tail and darted toward the door, his claws scrambling for purchase. It didn’t take more than a second for the other wolves to follow, leaving her alone in an awkward silence with Rufus.
She smiled brightly, her face tight as she turned to face him, mentally measuring the distance to the exit, wondering if she had time to pack her bag. Even if he somehow didn’t want to keep her prisoner, people would be coming for her once the news got out about what happened. “I suppose you have questions?”
Chapter Two
Annora braced herself to run.
As if sensing her unease, Rufus held up his hands and took a step back. “Thank you for saving my life.”
She expected aggression, not the way he gazed at her so deferentially. If anything, it freaked her out even more. She could handle hatred and disgust—but it creeped her out when others looked at her like she could perform miracles.
“Do you know why I hired you?”
The abrupt change of topic stopped her rambling thoughts.
She didn’t have a clue. For the first week she remained vigilant, waiting for a trap to spring. After a month, she finally unpacked her bag. After two months, she actually didn’t shy away from him when he entered a room. It was three months later, and she still had no clue what he saw in her.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know, but silently shook her head.
The ferret rubbed his head along her jaw as if to soothe her, and she absently reached up, running her fingers along his tail. He chattered softly in her ear, then patted her hand.
“You’re a fighter. You have so much potential. Whatever you’re running from, I want to help. Unfortunately, I’m afraid your past will catch up with you unless you take precautions to protect yourself.”
Annora crossed her arms, as if his statement would conjure her uncle and his minions, and she frowned at him. “Why do you care?”
People don’t care unless they get something out of the deal.
She’d learned that lesson the hard way.
“I know you don’t trust me, but I can help you. I might not be able to keep you safe, but I can send you somewhere that can.”
She eyed him suspiciously. “And what do you want in return?”
Rufus shook his head sadly. “I promised to keep you safe when you accepted this job, and I failed. Instead, you saved me.”
She couldn’t help but snorted. “For some reason, I have a feeling that’s not exactly true.”
A sly smile crossed his face. “Maybe, but you stopped to help when most people would’ve run. I owe you.”
Annora didn’t sense he was lying, but she doubted he was telling the truth either. But he did get one thing right…her past was going to catch up with her—sooner rather than later.
“So where do you want to send me?”
Rufus smiled like he’d gotten exactly what he wanted. She considered being suspicious that he set up the whole thing, but she could still see his blood staining the floor and pushed away her doubts.
“Let me make a few calls.”
* * *
Annora tightened her grip on her backpack as she boggled at the huge campus before her. This was her chance for freedom, her escape from the hell of her past. Rufus had pulled some strings, then gotten her a train ticket. Within just a day, she was standing on the campus of a remote school in Montana.
She argued with Rufus that she didn’t have any school records or money, the few classes she managed to take online over the years were under a pseudonym her uncle had no doubt discovered by now, but it didn’t seem to matter. She’d been accepted as a student under the Redemption Scholarship and granted the full protection of the school.
Which meant no one could touch her.
Which meant she no longer had to run.
The Redemption Scholarship was very selective, and only the most gifted students were chosen. Not only did the nominees have to pass the entrance exams, but the student had to be more than human. Apparently, the rarer the species, the higher one’s ranking. It also meant a free ride.
Unfortunately, it also meant she was indentured to the school for the next ten years.
They basically owned her.
She knew there was danger involved in turning herself over to them, but her survival instincts were riding her hard.
She wanted to live.
Annora didn’t care if she had to work her ass off for the next decade, it was worth it if it got her away from her uncle. She shuddered at the thought of him, and quickly buried the brutal memories.
Her mother moved them around a lot when they were younger, and Annora realized it was because of her…it was the only way her mother could protect her from other paranormals. Her mother gave her everything, taught her how to read and write, good from bad, but she also warned her while there was evil in the world, there was just as much goodness.
Annora wanted to beli
eve it, but experience had taught her otherwise.
On her way toward the main office, she noted the split between humans and supernaturals appeared to be half and half, which surprised her. The chill in the air felt good, but being allowed to walk outside freely was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. It reminded her time with her mother. Of laughter and fun. Then the memories faded, the open space of the campus almost too much for her brain to process. Just imagining the number of people able to watch her without her knowledge had her hunching her shoulders and ducking her head.
When she entered the administration building, she located the admissions office within minutes. Since classes officially started in a couple of days, there wasn’t much of a line. Everyone already had their schedule and books except for a few stragglers like her.
“Are you Annora?” A perky young woman bounced up from a chair, snatching the bag resting at her feet, and shot toward her. “I’m Loulou, and I’m supposed to show you around campus.”
Annora backed up a step from the force of Loulou’s bubbly personality, but the girl didn’t seem to notice as she skipped toward the door and disappeared down the hall. Annora shook her head, blew out a puff of breath, then scrambled after the little bit of a thing.
The energy around the petite blonde indicated she was a supernatural of some sort, but not one Annora had run across before. The young girl dug around in her bag, pulling out a stack of crumpled papers. Her blonde hair was wispy and perfectly straight, and so pale it almost looked white. Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight, the size just a tad bit too large for her face, like she was wearing coke-bottle glasses that enlarged them. She was cute and harmless, if somewhat absent-minded.
“School official starts on Monday, though some live on campus and take classes all year round. Even though first-years are normally assigned dorms, it looks like they have you bunking in the Grady House.” The happy cheer on her face dimmed for a moment before she smiled brighter than ever, and it raised the hairs on the back of Annora’s neck.
“What’s wrong with Grady House?” The last thing she wanted was to walk into a situation blind.
“Oh, nothing.” The girl turned and began walking backwards without missing a beat. “The house itself is amazing. You’ll be at the very edge of the campus, next to the forest. It’s a prime spot.”
Then she turned and began to flip through the pages again. “It looks like you’re reporting to class tomorrow.”
Annora wasn’t fooled and stopped walking. The young blonde was halfway across the quad before she realized she was alone. Very reluctantly, she came back, her good cheer dulled a little. When Loulou came to a stop in front of her, she couldn’t seem to stay still, twitching and dancing around in one spot.
Annora blinked, allowing the shadows to fill her vision, and saw the girl was nothing more than a fluffy white rabbit. When she blinked again, her vision cleared, and she crossed her arms. “What’s wrong with Grady House?”
Loulou’s shoulders drooped, and she glanced down at the ground, digging the toe of her shoe into the dirt as if she would like to bury her head. “Your roommates.”
Annora relaxed, resisting the urge to smile, not wanting to offend her. Whatever it was about her new roommates obviously distressed the girl. After spending years being imprisoned and tortured by her uncle, Annora could easily deal with a couple of college girls. “I’m sure it will be okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Her big blue eyes flashed up in surprise, her mouth dropping open, but Annora ignored her distress and began walking again.
“B-but you don’t understand… every other roommate assigned to them has run screaming…well, only the one was actually screaming…right back to the administration office, demanding other accommodations.”
“Don’t worry. I’m made of sterner stuff.” Annora snorted, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She wouldn’t let her shot at going to school and escaping her uncle be ruined by a couple of spoiled, privileged girls. “Now why don’t you show me where I’m supposed to stay?”
Loulou blinked her innocent eyes up at her, then began to bob her head and smiled brightly, her good mood restored. “I think I’m going to enjoy having you around.”
Loulou skipped around her like a hyper puppy, babbling incessantly but not really saying anything, and Annora let her voice slip into the background. The people here were laughing. No one seemed under duress. None of them appeared to be beaten or starved.
They seemed free.
For the first time, she allowed a sliver of hope to pierce the painstakingly constructed bunker surrounding her heart and allowed herself to feel a tinge of hope.
She could make this work, and she wouldn’t let any supposedly scary roommates frighten her off. They could do what they wanted with her. She’d survived worse.
She would survive them.
Despite being only twenty, she felt older than most of the other students on campus. As she observed the others, she noticed more and more of the supernaturals were heading in the same direction. “Where are they going?”
The bunny paused in her meandering monologue and glanced up. “Oh, the trials have started!” She grabbed Annora’s elbow, then dragged her into the stream of people, towing her along. The little bit of a thing was a lot stronger than she looked. Annora tensed at the contact, doing her best to stay whole and not ghost away. If she wanted to fit in with the rest of the students, she needed to start acting like them.
They entered a large building, and the students’ excitement was catching as everyone picked up their pace, laughing and joking with each other as they headed along the cavernous hallway.
They emerged into a large, amphitheater-style stadium. While most of the students filtered up the stairs, the bunny dragged her along until they were standing at the railing. In the center of the stadium were a group of fifty kids, the majority of them looking bright and shiny and so incredibly young that Annora shook her head at their innocence.
When a group of older guys walked out onto the field, the kids quieted down and snapped to attention. Something about the men drew her gaze, and she couldn’t look away.
“Camden and his men are one of our most elite teams, tasked with training the freshman,” Loulou spoke in a loud whisper. “You don’t want to get on his bad side.”
The men split into three groups. One went to stand in front of the kids, another walked around them as if inspecting a horse, while the remaining two walked toward where she was standing.
The guys moved with a lethal grace that drew the eyes, and it was all Annora could do not to twitch and draw attention to herself. They scanned the stands briefly, then just turned and rested their backs against the wall, as if settling in to watch the show.
One guy drew her attention, and it wasn’t just because he was huge…it was because he had freaking hot pink hair. He must have stood close to six and a half feet tall, his head almost reaching the top of the railing, and she was hypnotized.
It was obvious he’d tried to slick back his hair, but the pink strands seemed to stand up of their own accord. They swayed in front of her until she couldn’t resist the urge to touch, and she slowly reached over the railing.
To her surprise, the hair stilled, then began to sway toward her, gently playing with her fingertips until the strands slipped between her fingers, tickling her palm until she couldn’t hold back her grin.
When Loulou gasped, Annora flushed and jerked away in panic…but not fast enough. The giant of the man whirled, and grabbed her wrist, nearly pulling her over the railing, until they were face-to-face.
“Eapp.” Annora let out a startled squeak, the railing slamming into her gut, and whatever air she had in her lungs exploded out of her.
The snarl on his face froze, leaving his upper and lower fangs exposed. But instead of scaring her, his bright lavender eyes captured her breath. Then he blinked and quickly closed his mouth. Very slowly, he lowered her, placing her back on her feet, but instead of releasing her, he gentl
y put her hand back in his hair, never once releasing his grip on her arm or letting go of her gaze.
The strands of his hair swayed forward, gently prying open her clenched fingers, until they were once more buried in the almost coarse pink strands, until she reached the satiny layer beneath…and touched—
“You have horns.” For some reason the discovery delighted her, and she couldn’t repress a grin. The crown of horns was mostly hidden by his hair, and she trailed her fingers along the ridges.
A rumble emerged from the man, drawing the attention of the guy with a shock of bright red hair next to him. When the redhead turned to look, his eyes widened almost comically, then he swore.
“Hey, Mason. How about we let the pretty girl go, big guy?” The man was a foot shorter than the giant, his bright blue eyes seemed to snap with electricity. Instead of pure red, his hair was a deep black tipped with three-inch, bright red spikes. And his lean frame practically vibrated with tension.
The giant’s hands flexed where his grip practically encircled her arm from wrist to elbow, before he reluctantly loosened his hold…but he didn’t let go of her completely. The hulk released a heavy sigh, his massive shoulders flexing, a flash of annoyance crossing his face. “Logan—I’m going to kill you very slowly, and enjoy it.”
The redhead sighed with relief, then turned those stormy eyes toward her, a smirk brightening his face. “Do you know horns are an erogenous zone?”
“What?” Annora jerked her hands away, her face burning. The giant scowled and tightened his hold on her for a second, as if reluctant to release her—or just pissed at the interruption.
“You might as well be stroking his cock.”
With a roar, the giant let her go and turned on his tormentor. He seemed to bulk up, gaining another foot in height. His teeth lengthened, his features became more exaggerated, his forehead larger, his horns actually growing.
The redhead lifted his hands in surrender, dancing out of the way while the giant stomped after him. Then the guy nodded to someone standing off to the side.
Tethered to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel Page 2