by S. L. Morgan
I thought back to what the men said about Jessica asking questions, and I tried to remember my last interactions with her. She seemed a bit frazzled I guess, but she was a bit flighty to begin with, so I didn’t think anything of it. Had she started to see through the façade at this school the way I had? Did she see the shadow creature?
She was asking questions, and now, she was dead. An immortal had been killed.
Chapter Sixteen
I managed to make it through the Ageless Ball, but my mind was so consumed with the death of innocent Jessica that it was difficult. After what I’d seen, it took all I had not to spin out of control. Putting on a fake face and getting through the rest of the stupid dance was probably the hardest thing I’d ever had to do.
I was numbed to everything right now, and if it weren’t for my wolf sitting in the driver’s seat of my mind, I would be trembling in fear and risking my life to shift and bust out of this place.
The school succeeded in brainwashing my friends into loving this place, which now might’ve been a good thing. They were safely alive because of their devotion to this menacing place, but on the flip side, that meant I couldn’t confide in my best friend about this horror that, quite frankly, was utterly impossible.
I had to play it cool and find a way out of here. Selfish, I know, but how was I supposed to get help from inside this nightmare of a place? Maybe it seemed like a stupid choice, but I certainly didn’t want to end up like Jessica, and I was on pretty thin ice at this place in the first place. One wrong word from me and that could be the end.
I took a deep breath in the shower after a restless night. I had to play fake, and I had to plan a way out. I had no one I could trust. Period. Not Lusa or even Dominic…definitely not Dominic no matter how much my wolf kept forcing his handsome face to the front of my mind right now.
My inner wolf might have picked up on something with him, but she made her mistakes too. She was practically drooling over his wolf while we danced. His wolf was larger and more fierce than any shifter I’d ever encountered. I needed his strength, that was for sure, but how was I to know this school wasn’t using one of the most powerful shifters for their evil work?
I had to get my fake face on, pretend to love this evil school, and go through the motions while I tried to figure things out. I wished with everything that was in me that I could snap my friends out of their apparent trance so we could all escape together, but as the wolf continued to remind me, I needed to leave them alone. They were all safe.
I would do whatever I could to get answers, but I also needed to make sure I stayed alive. I couldn’t do much to help if I were a ghost. All I knew was that my wolf and I were on a survival mission, and that mission began with playing the game.
I walked out and ignored the dark clouds that blocked out the sun. It’s like the atmosphere was disturbed over what happened last night during our dance.
Stop thinking. Spies. Mind readers! It was me talking inside my head, but my wolf was the one reminding me. I appreciated my wolf being more engaged, but she needed to take a back seat ASAP because Dominic dressed out in his all-black training attire was definitely perking my wolf up. He would sense that a mile away, and I’d be totally screwed.
As if my wolf knew what we needed to do, she mellowed down and gave me my head back. I felt the weakness fall over my body, but I overcame that immediately.
“Where’s Jess?” Freddie, a coyote shifter, asked in confusion. “She’s usually the first one here.”
Dominic nodded and stood in his usual posture: legs apart and hands behind his back. He always hid his gorgeous eyes behind dark glasses, so no one ever really knew what was going on in his mind. Smart on his part, annoying for someone like me.
“Jess left school. That’s all I know. I was informed before reporting to the fields this morning. No questions, it’s time to get busy. Things are changing up a bit after today’s workouts. The dean wants to use this week to determine who will be moving under different instructors.” He smiled at Master Ian, who had his group lined up closer to ours than usual. “First, you’re all invited to watch me, Master Ian, Master Scott, and Master Finley take the leadership challenge. If you were paying attention in class,” his dark sunglasses and strong jawline looked directly where I stood, “you would know that after a month, the masters go through a challenge to see who will take on the strongest to weakest shifters in their groups.” He started pacing through the lines. “A quest awaits us, and before we take any of our students on that quest, your masters will do it on their own. When we return, we’ll choose who we believe can handle the quest and bring you on it after some smaller exercises. The reason we don’t bring just any student on a quest without training is simply that they are grueling, and this school has a different outlook on succeeding in them.”
“Master Dominic?” red lips, the panther shifter, called out.
“Yes, Kat?” he answered in his commanding, dismissive tone.
“When you and the other masters leave, what are we supposed to do?”
Dominic smirked, of course, he enjoyed the fact that her whiney little question proved she was going to feel lost without our badass master for who knows how long.
“We trust that you’re all responsible enough to follow the lead of the students we put in charge while we are absent.”
“Yeah, that’s going to be a problem,” I shot off.
Dark sunglasses whipped in my direction as Dominic cocked his head to the side. “Why, so, Silvers? If you can’t respect your peers who’ve been selected to help instruct you, then you should be off with the sprites, blowing air up someone’s butt.”
I tightened my lips in frustration, ignoring red lips—Kat—practically losing it in laughter with Dominic shutting me down.
“I think Kat is proving my point.” I decided to go for her immature reaction. “If you were to pick a shifter who can't control her laughter after the master decides it’s cool to insult a student and a fellow supernatural’s talents, then how is someone like her supposed to run your unit in your absence?”
“I owe you no explanation, but I will tell you that I see and hear everything. We’ve never had a problem putting a student of our choosing in command. Let’s just say that the expression on your face tells me you would immaturely make Kat do a grueling exercise because of her immature reaction. So that rules both of you out on leading this unit in my absence. I have chosen who I want running the unit already, and I think you all will be grateful.” He turned his back to me and paced up another aisle, “Let’s get our workouts going. Tonight will be a fun night if you would like to see the different masters fighting for the top spot on the shifter regiments. The shifter who wins tonight leads the mission, and when we choose our new students, the lead will pick the ones he wants, leaving the rest to continue to build up to being in the top master’s class.”
Good God. Dude’s talking like he has this in the bag.
“Do not forget, the top master will be bringing his students on the quest before the others after the masters return. That’s all in time, but for now, enjoy the new changes that will be underway for House Braeclaw’s shifters. This is when it all gets fun.”
The morning routine pretty much stayed the same, kept my mind busy, and that was a good thing. The worst part was getting through class and keeping my memories and mind silent about everything that happened.
Finally, it was lunchtime. I used my steaks, ham, and smoked pork links to keep my mind happy and my stress levels down.
Time for pie!
“Sheesh, Jenna,” Tanner laughed. “You inhaled your lunch, which was half a cow and pig. You’re already going for dessert?”
“What can I say, intense workouts today, and the C I got on my lame Vampires Through History exam has me stress eating. Everyone’s lucky that they wait to bring the pies out, or I would have skipped proteins and went straight for my comfort food.”
Vannah caught my hand. “Hold on, don’t make it look obvious.
”
I looked into her stern eyes. Maybe she did a witchy thing—popped out of her trance—and knew something wasn’t right. She was part of one of the most powerful witch families in history. Maybe my bestie came back to me?
“Obvious? I want pie. I smell it.” I decided to test her.
“You’re showing weakness.” Her eyes were severe, “Don’t want to do that in front of Dominic, especially all his little groupies who have been glaring at you since you got here. That Kat chick and her two friends are at the table next to the entrance, watching you, and who knows what they’ll do now that they think you and Dominic planned on dressing as the Queen and King of Sparta last night.”
I straddled the bench seat at the wooden candlelit table where we always sat. “First of all, I don’t give two craps about what they think. Second, you’re stalling me, and there are kids already in there. Third, everyone knows pie is my weakness. Boom.” I smirked.
Vannah rolled her eyes, “Go get your pie. Quit talking like that. You sound so lame when you come up with excuses to eat your stinking pie.”
“I hate to hear your new way of muting a cuss word,” I looked over at Nick, her boyfriend in her new delusional life at this school. “You sound like a fairy with your new terms now too. So stinking lame.” I shook my head.
“Hey,” Tanner said, bringing my attention to him gulping down his water, “Emma and I are doing great, by the way.”
“Glad to see that.” I looked at Emma, “Other dude too boring for you, or did you actually realize losing Tanner was a stupid idea?”
“Jenna!” Vannah snapped. “Go get your pie and quit being so awful.”
“Exactly, if you fairy-loving friends of mine would have let me go when I was ready, my dark side wouldn’t have come out. Sorry, Tan,” I apologized to him, but I didn’t miss the opportunity to eye Emma whose cheeks were painted pink with embarrassment. Good. Don’t cheat on my friend, bitch fairy.
I walked past the high-pitched trills coming from the Dominites’ table—Dominite was my new word for the three groupies who followed Dom around as if he was gonna wake up one day and give them the time of day. The trio acted like they were part of his harem or something, utterly ridiculous.
I balanced a plate of banana cream pie and a plate of blackberry pie in one hand and held a piece of apple pie in the other as I walked past the Dominites’ table.
“Do it!” I heard a whisper just before one of the mean girls slid her foot in front of mine, tripping me. It all happened in slow motion. My precious apple pie crashed on top of the banana cream pie, and both splattered onto the floor. God only knew who had the privilege of wearing my blackberry pie.
I sprang to my feet, furious, and turned back to see the trio laughing, and the entire lunchroom was either laughing under their breath or waiting for what I was about to do. What I wanted to do was punch Kat in her pointed little feline face.
“Jenna,” Tanner grabbed my arm, knowing I was about to lunge. “I’ll get you some more. Get back to the table before you get busted for starting a fight with a jealous cat.”
Kat rolled her eyes and brought her red nails to meet her lush red lips. “Sorry about that,” she said in some stupid fake voice.
“Yeah, I am too,” I managed.
“Get back to the table,” Tanner said.
I followed his instructions, and my eyes met Vannah’s stern ones. She smiled, and her witchy gaze literally spelled me out, and I walked like a numb robot to my table.
“Unbelievable. If Dom had control over the chicks who clung to him, I would still have my apple pie.”
Vannah’s eye’s widened. “I don’t think Dom was part of that. Can’t blame him for jealous girls.”
“Screw that and screw Dominic. Damn it, I have pie all over this lame uniform now.” I turned back to the table when Tanner smiled and slid me a piece of rhubarb pie.
“Here, Jenna.” He smiled and had some weird, dumb look on his face, “You love to try new things. I think you’ll like the rhubarb pie.”
I placed each hand on the table, mad at the pie that did nothing wrong. “If I wanted to try something new, I would have gotten this disgusting pie in the first place, Tan.”A strong hand covered my balled up fist to the left of my plate. My lethal gaze left the pie and went to the familiar hand. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Taking your friend Tanner’s advice,” Dominic’s humored voice rang through my head. Now, my wolf was up and ready like it was her freaking wedding day. Dom’s wolf was present, I could feel the power of it and him. “Trying something new.”
I turned to see his smile. God, he was beautiful. It was like the floating candles of the room highlighted the dark five-o’clock shadow on his face, enhanced his beautiful irises—focus, Jenna. Wait. Let’s forget about the fact I just lost the last piece of apple pie, Dom and Co. were all at our table now, and not at their anointed table. Where the hell was my boy, Ethan? After last night, this was an unsettling feeling for me. Did they get him too?
Chapter Seventeen
I sat there, contemplating Dominic holding my hand with a gentle, yet tight grip. My eyes roamed over to the other two handsome guys in the Dom and Co. universe who were conversing with the annoying female shifter trio, three fairies, and one witch that migrated with them from the other tables.
“Yeah, Sahvannah Woodson,” Vannah answered a question from a tanned skin, dark-haired, green-eyed witch who seemed to act extremely interested in my formerly normal best friend.
“Of the Woodson coven?” she asked as she leaned her chin on her fist, giving Vannah her full attention.
“Yes.” Vannah perked up.
“A very powerful coven. Tell me, have you been able to teleport yet?” green eyes asked. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy but cute top knot.
“Yes,” Vannah met my shocked gaze with a cheerful smile. “I’ve been able to teleport my friends whenever they’ve come close to crossing a line here and there.” She laughed.
Green eyes looked at me and displayed her polished white teeth. “Jenna, is it?” she asked.
I played along, ignoring Dominic clutching my hand as if he and I had been a couple for months. The wolf in me was pacing nervously for my reactions and also because her dream wolf was sitting right next to us.
“Yep, Jenna. Wolf shifter, one of Master Dominic’s students.”
“I see that.” She looked at Dom’s thumb rubbing the side of my hand. “Has Sahvannah teleported you?”
“Nice underhanded way of asking if she’s caught me out of line.” I smiled and tried to take my hand back from Dominic, but he held it tighter.
I glanced at him and saw his bright eyes practically begging me to play along with him. My inner wolf was acting like she wanted to bust out of her cage and jump all over this muscular man that had an inner beast she’d blindly fell for.
“I wasn’t trying to be like that. Just wondering if being friends with a powerful witch got a wolf shifter like you some fun rides, that’s all.”
“It makes me want to barf.” I looked at Vannah, remembering the good old days when my friend teleported my butt out of the trouble I seemed to find at every corner of our other school.
“That’s amusing,” green eyes said with sarcasm dripping off her lips.
“What coven are you from, and why would you bring up things that are forbidden at this awesome academy?”
“Just trying to figure you and your friends out,” she said.
“There’s nothing to figure out. Obviously, my friends date elves, and I love pie.” I looked back to see a beet-red face from red nails, the sweetheart who tripped me and destroyed my precious apple pie. Chick must’ve been fuming that Dom and Co. elected to sit at our table.
“Speaking of pie.” She giggled and looked at the other nosy mean girls next to her. “You must be mortified taking a fall like that. Clumsy shifters don’t do well at this school,” she said condescendingly.
“Why don’t you keep your insu
lts to yourself, Misty,” Dominic spoke up before I did. “I can tell you first hand that my girl can hold her own, and she will tomorrow when she takes on Scott’s best shifter.”
“Wait, what?” I looked at Dominic, making a note to hit him later for what he just said. And where the hell was Ethan? What was this charade all about? I went to pull my hand out of his and go off, but something told me to knock it off.
Just trust me. That’s what he asked after we danced last night. Something about doing something for Ethan. Okay, we had a situation, maybe Dominic knew more, and he would let me in after he explained our new boyfriend-girlfriend dilemma in private.
“Yes. Scott is choosing his top shifter, I chose mine. You go into the challenge tomorrow. You seem to be the type who would want to go on the first quest of the year.”
“Yes.”
“Then you better kick some serious butt tomorrow.”
Lunch dragged on for a lifetime, and that was even after Dom slid over his apple pie to me—and I ate it, obviously. I needed answers for this strange turn of events, like, right now.
Lunch finished, and where it was usually Tan and me walking to our next class together, it was Dominic who was escorting me there. His arm was draped over my shoulder, and I was as stiff as a board.
“Thanks for doing this,” he said under his breath, nodding at a group of girls giggling as they passed.
“I don’t understand what the hell is going on right now. You need to give me something.”
Dom stopped our walk next to a building. “I’m simply acting on my wolf’s instincts. He’s leading me to be more attracted to you.”
“Shut the hell up,” I practically shouted.
Dominic took my arm and led me closer to the building. Now, the staff was in the area, heading and scrambling to their classes.
“Cool it with the language,” he ordered in that stupid alpha voice that didn’t work on me. “I need you to go with me on this, can you do that?”