by Emma Cole
Lorca’s assessment was correct. I contemplated revealing that I could get out if need be but decided to hold on to that tidbit for now. Besides, it wouldn’t solve anything more now than it would had I tried it before. My uncle had to have some plan, or else he wouldn’t have been so pleased with himself on my departure. If I could prove it here then take the proof to the council once my time was up, I could potentially get rid of him without a struggle. As for taking my place as Anassa— well, first I’d have to figure out a way to complete the mate bond. Without my bondmates, I was ineligible to hold the position.
Chapter Five
We were halfway down Shifter Alley when I remembered that I hadn’t told the guys about the dean. That was definitely something they needed to know if I was going to avoid the demon. I recounted my interaction with him and Lorca stepped up and said he’d run interference if we ran into him. I was worried he’d be punished but left it up to him. He was an Enforcer, not just a student here. Quite possibly he had the ability to avoid anything too terrible. Rumors were all that escaped about the reformatory, so no one really knew exactly what happened here.
At least the uniforms for the shifter were laid back compared to some of the other houses. The black pants were comfortable with a black t-shirt underneath the charcoal blazer I had to wear out of the dormitory. It was a bit hot for the blazer, but the rules stated that I had to wear it to identify my house. The bright purple insignia wasn’t ostentatious, but it was clearly embroidered onto the jacket. Lorca wore a matching one in black. The others though…
“Hey, why are you able to wear your Enforcer get-up here, but we have to have uniforms?”
Vaughn seemed to think about it for a moment. “I don’t think the others can see us. Not if we don’t wish them to, maybe? Or it could be that the mate bond facilitates it, even if it's not complete.” He didn’t stumble over the words that time. I guessed since he didn’t actually know that, he could hypothesize all he wanted.
With a shrug, I kept meandering, checking out the buildings and other paranormals as we went. We passed a pond near the fae housing with black swans wearing collars, and I was pissed they were kept as pets until Lorca informed me they were shifters who were stuck that way. That was even worse, and I turned away before I did something stupid like trying to rescue them. We avoided getting too close to the other houses, and Lorca just pointed them out as we passed them. The vampires wouldn't be out during the day unless they were fully covered, the berserkers were big brutes in leather, and the fae were formal creatures in their get-ups. The houses themselves ranged from basic to the fantastical— it was a lot to take in all at once.
“You’ll have to go for a meet and greet with the counselor. Her name is Cora, and she seems nice, but something is really off with her. We can head to the other side of campus and catch her at the staff housing this time of day, I think.” Lorca was going over the paperwork I’d taken from the dean’s office, and I let him figure out what order we needed to do things since. he was the one that was most familiar. I could be reasonable— upon occasion.
We went in front of the admin building, and I kept a wary eye out for the dean, breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t appear to confront me. Maybe he was always like that? I decided not to worry about him, not with everything else going on. Lorca had pointed out the medical building as we passed, squat, sprawling, and made of poured cement, it was larger than I’d have thought necessary. The dining hall was up next, and I hoped the food wasn’t terrible, I couldn’t cook worth a damn. I eyed Lorca speculatively.
“What are you thinking, my queen?” Bane startled me out of my musing.
“I’m not your queen. Not yet, anyway— maybe not ever,” I added darkly. “Can Lorca cook?”
If he was surprised by my swift change in subject, he didn’t show it. “Decently enough. We all can.” He smiled at me, softening the harshness of his visage, and I badly wanted to trace the dimple in the corner of his cheek. Instead, I balled my fist at my side to keep it from the futile attempt.
“Well, that’s a relief. My specialty is charcoal. Or it’s still raw.” I shuddered at the memory of the last time I tried to make a spaghetti—it was crunchy. My alter shuddered too, and she liked killing and eating rabbits.
Lorca interrupted my moment with Bane. “This is her place.” We had stopped in front of the row of non-descript row housing the staff stayed in.
With a nervous glance back at the guys, I went up and knocked. After a few moments, I heard rustling and then footsteps from inside. The door opened, and an overly cheerful woman poked her head out. Her long curly red hair was loose, falling over the kerry-green sweater she wore.
“Hello, can I help you?” Her pale, freckled complexion complemented her ginger locks, lending a sweetness to her demeanor that I found hard to trust.
“I’m Arimina Ruscov, and my papers said I need to see Cora for counseling. Sorry to bother you after hours, but I didn’t want to disregard that I needed to meet with you before classes tomorrow.”
Her smile stayed bright, but my alter was on high alert. Without any outward changes to detect, she still gave off a sinister vibe, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit, and I considered hightailing it— except there was nowhere else to go. I couldn’t run from every teacher or administrator at the school, it wasn't feasible.
“Quite alright. Won’t you come in? We can get the preliminaries out of the way quickly, and you can return to your young man.” She eyed my mate, the one she could see, speculatively. Again, it seemed the others were undetectable, and I wondered what exactly the Wraith Order was.
My tongue felt raw from chewing on it instead of her face. Fucking bond. At this rate I’d be humping and marking him within the hour. I’d heard stories of what happened when bondmates sealed the deal, and it was very...animalistic. My face flamed at the thought.
A brittle smile pasted on my face, I followed her into the small abode. Beige carpet, white walls, and serviceable furniture. There weren't even any personal touches in the open plan living room and kitchen. I didn't have long to peruse my environment before Cora gestured for me to take a seat.
"If you'll give me a moment, I was just making a pot of tea." She swept gracefully from the door to a stove where she had a kettle already full and steaming on the stovetop. "Do you prefer milk or honey?"
I didn't particularly want any, but I didn't want to be rude and get off on the wrong foot either. "Honey is fine, thank you."
She bundled the pot with a cozy and cups onto a tray with a little pitcher of milk and a honey pot before bringing it all to sit on the coffee table between the chairs.
"So," she started, "I'm the resident psychologist and counselor for the school." She paused to pour and nudged the honey pot in my direction after placing my cup on a saucer in front of me. "Help yourself, dear. I've read up on your file the council sent ahead. Seems you've had some trouble with acting out? Due to the stress of your birthright?"
I nearly bungled my tea at her assessment of the situation. Acting out? Who the heck was she kidding? "I wouldn't quite call it that. Does the file say why I was 'acting out'?"
Her saccharine smile stayed in place, creepily tipping right back up after she sipped her tea. "As I just said. You're having issues with your responsibilities." She eyed my cup, giving me a nod to try it.
Obligingly, I did. Whatever tea leaves she used were atrocious, and I wasn't sure how the scent hadn't irritated my nose. "Oh, that's...strong."
"It's a special blend. Sneaks up on you." She gave me a wink that I wasn't entirely sure how to interpret.
Getting back to the reason for our meeting, I tried to explain about my uncle and helping my clan. "So, you see, it wasn't really in defiance. I was looking out for my people. The Therian Council is going to investigate and hopefully soon."
"Hmm… yes I can see how you might construe things that way. The young can be so— impetuous and quick to jump to conclusions. Did you try to speak to your uncle about any of this? He is your gu
ardian, is he not?"
Flabbergasted at her accusations, I could only nod. "He brushed the matter off and warned me to concentrate on my studies and finding a mate. That was hardly a sufficient response." It was everything I could do to remain civil in the face of her complete disregard for the truth.
"I see we'll need to work on those anger issues, as well as your kleptomania. I want you to see me three times a week. I'll give you a pass for your missed classes, and we can meet at my office in the Administration Building." It was a dismissal, and I waited while she wrote me a pass to show to my instructors. "Here you go. Oh, and drink up, please. I hate to waste; it's quite a chore to get all the ingredients in for a decent cuppa."
Trying not to grimace, I tipped the cup back and drank it in one go while holding my breath. That crap was nasty. I thought that was it, but she had one last tidbit to impart.
"Don't deviate from your schedule, Miss Ruscov— you won't like the consequences."
With a nod to acknowledge her warning, I escaped outside where my bondmates waited on me. Lorca gave me an expectant smile, silently inquiring how it went, but the others were quiet and withdrawn.
“That lady is—actually, let’s move on, I don’t know if she’s listening.” We started walking toward ugly cement buildings. “You guys okay?” Lorca shrugged, apparently not knowing what was up with the three somber men either. But they only nodded, tight-lipped. “One of those things you can’t discuss again.” That time I got a curt nod from Vaughn. Oh well, nothing to be done for it. Not unless I can figure out how to break a geas.
“Those buildings house the detention center, and beyond them is the behavior modification—” At that moment a chilling scream sounded from behind the detention center that had hair all over my body rising in response. “Maybe we should go elsewhere. It can be… gruesome.” He didn’t elaborate further, and to be honest, I didn’t want him to. Torture wasn’t my thing, so I had every intention of avoiding that place like the plague. “Why don’t we stop by the dining hall for dinner since we’re already out?” I nodded, and we backtracked the way we had come.
Chapter Six
They're zombies. Rotting zombies. "Uh, how is this sanitary?" I gestured at a server with half her scalp missing. At least I thought it was female— her boobs were... "No, you know what? That's fucking gross."
Lorca chuckled at me like that nasty crap was commonplace. "Stick with the sealed containers. We can get a list of supplies from the communal pantry and fridge too. It's not the most extravagant, but you don't have to worry what the 'surprise' is in the Tuesday surprise menu." I'm gonna be sick.
Even the others were outright laughing at my reaction, and I didn't know how they weren't a half a second away from retching themselves.
"Please get me out of here. I'm going to lose it." My stomach churned so badly I was truly afraid I wouldn't make it out if the building.
Lorca saw it wasn't a joke and scooped me up to dash outside and around the building. At least the others had been able to open the door and held it until we'd passed through.
I fell to my knees, unable to support myself when he sat me on my feet. My hair barely avoided the stream of tea that came up, and it definitely wasn't better the second time around. By the time I'd hurled the contents of my stomach and was down to dry heaving with a bit of fiery bile to add to the misery, I realized Lorca was holding me up and my hair back.
Before I could offer thanks, Iliam shoved into him, knocking us both sideways. Not a second later, a thud hit the wall in front of where we'd been. A crossbow bolt stood embedded in the siding.
"Someone is taking potshots. Get her out of here," Vaughn demanded. All three went incorporeal, presumably going after the shooter.
I briefly wondered how they could interfere after they said they couldn't, but I didn't have the capacity to ponder it. My head was pounding, and my stomach felt like it was in a vise. I couldn't even move by myself.
"I've got you, Mina. Try to hold on if you can; I'm going to run now." And he did. For being just a tad bit taller than me, he could move.
It seemed in a blink we were back at the dorm house and passing by the startled occupants in the living room. As soon as Lorca had me in my room, he started checking me over for injuries.
“I’m fine… I think. Nothing hit me; it was just my stomach. Don’t drink the tea if that woman offers you any. Pretty sure she did something to it.” My scowl was firmly in place while I huddled over my sore belly, an arm wrapped around my midsection.
“Your priority is the tea that you think made you sick and not the potential assassin?” Lorca blinked at me with his silver peepers that felt like they saw straight to my soul. And those freckles, they were kinda cute too.
Now I was the one blinking. He was right, and my thoughts were— odd. A small cramp and a tendril of warmth worked its way through my abdomen. Something was wrong. Helplessly, I looked up to Lorca, who stood close by next to my bed. His eyes were suddenly brighter, a flush lit his cheeks, and he exuded a woodsy scent that had my mouth watering— among other places— with the urge to pull him into bed. I shook my head hard even as my nostrils flared to better pick up the aroma.
“Don’t even think about it, loverboy.” My sharp reprimand snapped him out of it, and he shook his head as if to clear the cobwebs from it. “I don’t know what that was, but if it’s what I think… it shouldn’t be possible yet. That tea very well could be more important than the assassination attempt. You just stay over there.” I pointed to the foot of the bed, wanting him to retreat out of arm's reach.
“I apologize. I’ve not encountered... that before.” He appeared and sounded contrite, and he’d moved further away as I’d commanded. His immediate acquiescence went a long way toward earning my trust.
I couldn’t blame him since I’d only ever heard about what happened when the first pheromones of a heat cycle started. If that’s what it was. Usually it was a private thing, and the bondmates didn’t share their experience publicly. What I had heard was that it was intense, and in my case, I needed my mate to move things along— or face dire consequences.
“Let’s not worry about that right now.” I waved him off when he opened his mouth to protest. “Really, it’s something we’ll have to deal with or not. For now, we should be worried about who the target was. You’re an Enforcer in a reformatory, so it might not have been me they were after— unless they were sealed, the sentencing would be public knowledge.”
Surprise had his brows rising before they fell, and his lips contorted in a weird quirky twist as he considered it. Even his 'thinking' face was adorable. “I don’t know. We’ve done more jobs bounty hunting escapees than anything. Vaughn would know more, but I’m nearly certain they wouldn't have been sent here for me. I’m more inclined to consider that the Regent would have hired someone to come after you.”
He was probably correct, but I didn’t want to discount other options and get waylaid by them later. For now, until we had more information, I agreed with him. “We’ll just have to wait and see what the others find out, I suppose. I’m still not feeling so hot and want to go over my schedule before classes tomorrow and get some rest.” I didn’t think he’d go for leaving me alone, but with only the bed to sit on I didn’t want to invite him to stay either.
“Why don’t I go get something light for you to eat, and then maybe the rest of my quad will be back?” I nodded but wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat anytime soon. He checked that the window was locked and the shade pulled down before he left, only giving one uncertain glance back before he shut my door.
I pulled the packet of papers out again to start reading up on what to expect while I waited.
***
It was late in the evening when the others returned. I’d fallen asleep after managing some soup and crackers Lorca had brought up, and he was slumped against the door with his chin on his chest, snoring, when they appeared. A tingle of awareness had my eyes cracking open as they coalesced in the same corner as
before.
Iliam stepped forward to kick Lorca’s outstretched foot. “Sleeping on guard duty, I see.”
Lorca came awake with a start. “Damnit, Ils, why do you have to do that? If someone can do the freaky appearing act you have going on, we’re screwed anyway.” I snickered at that but kept my secret to myself.
Iliam didn’t think it was funny. “You laugh after you were shot at and your protector falls asleep?” His icy gaze felt cold enough to burn as it bore into mine.
Annoyed enough to reveal what they’d find out soon anyway, I ghosted. And smirked at their collective dumbfounded expressions. Then I went to Lorca and touched his head, lending him my ability. I was still too tired to hold it for long, but it got my point across.
“I’m not helpless. And don’t come down on him when you all were MIA. That’s not nice after he’s been worried.”
They completely ignored my admonishment and instead started in on the questions of how and why.
“Why didn’t you do that earlier?” My glare turned to the one I’d just stuck up for.
“Are you kidding me right now? For one, I was puking my guts up. And two, it’s not foolproof. I’d have to know I needed to avoid something. Besides, I don’t do it in front of people. You’re the first I’ve revealed it to. Others suspect but have no proof.”
A happy glow overtook him. “You showed us first?” A glance at the others showed they were smug bastards too.
“You’d find out eventually, and you were annoying me. I have a bit of an issue with overbearing males, ask my uncle.” The barb hit home, and even Bane scowled. He frowned so hard it looked like a fuzzy caterpillar sat above his eyes. If he wasn’t careful, I’d go at him with some tweezers. He wasn’t ugly by any stretch, but he was definitely the least refined of the group, and so far he seemed to be the quiet one. “Anyway, did you find out who it was?”
My question got another round of grumpiness. “We were detained.” Vaughn’s answer was curt.