Fur 'n' Fang Academy: The Complete Series: A Shifter Academy Adventure

by C. S. Churton

  I was utterly defenceless to protect myself from his right hook, and the fist landed a solid blow to my temple. Pain exploded through my head and I hit the ground before I even registered I was off my feet. The air rushed out of my lungs and I curled around my stomach, gasping in a desperate attempt to get a breath.

  “Enough playing,” Brad said, dropping to the ground and straddling me. “It’s time to end this.”

  I groped my hands along the ground, searching for something, anything, to prolong the fight, to give me a chance to heal, to get a breath, to stand a damned chance.

  “Any last words, Jade?”

  My hand closed on something, and I forced a breath painfully into my lungs.

  “Yeah. Enjoy the cure.”

  His face screwed up in confusion and I lifted my arm, slamming the glass vial onto the exposed skin on the back of his neck. The glass shattered, showering him with liquid inside.

  He reared back and his face sharpened with realisation, and then with horror.

  “You bitch!”

  He drew his fist back to deliver what I knew would be a killing blow with the last of his shifter strength. Screw that. I wasn’t done yet. I lifted my knee and slammed it between his human legs with all the force I could muster.

  He cried out in pain and collapsed, rolling off to one side. I lay on the ground beside him, unable to move, completely drained by the exertion of that one strike. He would kill me now for sure, but at least I’d got the bastard one last time. And he’d never create another shifter. That was enough.

  “Don’t move!”

  The voice sounded from across the grounds, and it was completely alien to me. More joined it right after.

  “Do not move! Stay where you are!”

  What did they think I was going to do, run a bloody marathon? A series of snarls erupted, backing up the order, and I twisted my head to one side. A grin spread on my bruised face. That wasn’t Brad’s army. The enforcers were here.

  Brad staggered to his feet and froze, then stared down at his hands and legs in shock.

  “Yeah,” I muttered. “Works pretty damned fast, doesn’t it?”

  I grinned, and then my head sunk back to the mud, suddenly too heavy to support, and my eyelids slid closed.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  When I awoke, I was in a bed in the hospital wing. Both these things gave me great hope, since last time I’d checked, it had seemed pretty damned unlikely I was going to be surviving, let alone finding myself in a comfortable bed. Also, the fact I was clearly still at Fur ‘n’ Fang meant the academy, too, had survived, so all things considered, I was calling that a win.

  All of this I discerned without opening my eyes: my shifter senses had fully returned, and I could smell the three other people in the room. Two of them were healers, and of no interest to me beside noting that if Healer Leighton was still here, then Draeven probably was, too.

  I rolled my head to one side to face the third and opened my eyes.

  “Hey, Cam.”

  “Hey, yerself, lass,” he said, but my hearing was crisp enough to make out the way his voice caught. I narrowed my eyes and tried to clear the last of the fogginess from my head.

  “How long was I out?”

  “Two days,” Healer Leighton said, crossing the room towards us. He stooped over my bed and peered down at me. “A good deal less than might have been expected, given the extent of your injuries.”

  I’d healed faster than I could have hoped out in the grounds, too. I should never have been well enough to have lasted even thirty seconds against Brad.

  “Why do you think that is?”

  “I have my theories,” he said, lifting my wrist and checking my pulse, then sniffing delicately at the skin, analysing my blood more thoroughly than any lab test.

  “Care to share them?” I asked, after it seemed likely that he wouldn’t without some prompting.

  He hesitated a moment, then lowered my wrist back to the bed.

  “Normally, I would not until I had more concrete evidence, but I suspect I can make an exception for you, this once. Keep in mind this is just a theory.”

  I nodded.

  “There are legends, though I’ve never given them much weight before. I believe it is linked to you being bitten in your mundane state by the Alpha of Alphas.”

  I realised then that he hadn’t just been scenting my blood – he’d been testing the scent of the newly formed circle of scar tissue.

  Beside me, Cam had turned to stone, and when I turned back to him, his jaw was clenched tight.

  “He did what?” It was a low rumble, one that threatened violence. I reached out and squeezed his hand, giving him what I hoped was a reassuring smile. I guess the Fur ‘n’ Fang gossip mill hadn’t gotten hold of that yet.

  “I’ll leave you two to talk,” Leighton said, withdrawing. “I should inform Alpha Draeven that you are awake.”

  “What happened?” Cam said, his voice still taut. I sighed and tried to push myself up into a sitting position, but sleeping for two days had left me weak as a pup. Cam saw what I was trying to do and unfroze long enough to help me up. I caught his hand again and tugged him onto the bed beside me. He perched on the edge and stared at me, waiting for his answer.

  “We were ambushed,” I started. “Laura… well, she got me pretty bad, and then she got me with the cure.”

  I shuddered, and Cam wrapped an arm around me, drawing me close to him. I settled my head onto his chest.

  “I was dying, Cam. Without my shifter healing… Draeven saw that, and he saved me the only way he could.”

  He picked up my wrist and traced his fingers over my scar.

  “And you got another one o’ these.”

  “And I got to stay a shifter. And keep you.” I peered up at him through my lashes because he’d tensed right up again. “Don’t I?”

  “Jade, lass, how could ye think I would walk away from ye, shifter or no?”

  I exhaled in contentment and snuggled deeper into his chest. After a moment, he relaxed again. A thought struck me, physically painful, and I wiggled away enough to look up at him.

  “What happened to the others? Dean, and Mei, and Leo?”

  The door swung open before Cam could answer, and Draeven’s scent preceded him into the room. I wondered how long he’d been waiting out there – his timing seemed a little too perfect.

  “They’re all fine,” he said. “And the Bittens have all been captured, including the one jumped your portal.”

  I nodded, sinking back against Cam in relief. Draeven switched his attention to him.

  “If I might have a moment alone with Jade?”

  Cam gazed down at me, looking for all the world like he was about to defy the Alpha of Alphas – and we both knew that was my job.

  “It’s fine,” I told him.

  He eyed me for a moment longer, then nodded and slipped his arm out from behind me.

  “I’ll be right outside,” he promised. I gave him a peck, then shook my head.

  “You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

  “He hasn’t,” Draeven said, a flicker of amusement on his face. I gave Cam a reproachful shove.

  “Go. Get some sleep. I’m not going anywhere.”

  He looked for a moment like he would disobey us both, but then he ducked his head, planted a kiss on my forehead, and left.

  “Jade,” Draeven said, once we were alone. I frowned. He looked… uncertain. I’d never seen him anything less than completely self-assured before. He took a breath and met my eye. “I apologise.”

  “For what?”

  “I never should have bitten you. I had no right. I’m sorry.”

  “I’m not.”

  His frown tightened.

  “Before the battle, you had a choice about whether you wanted to be a shifter. I took that choice from you. There’s no cure for my bite.”

  “I’m glad you bit me. I didn’t want the cure. My past was as a mundane, but my future is as a s
hifter. When Laura took my powers away...” I sat straighter and cocked my head. “Won’t you have to face a trial? The laws…”

  He shook his head. “I am the law. Who would pass judgement at my trial? But still, I went to the alpha pack.”

  He must have seen my confusion, because he took a moment to choose his words, then continued.

  “I am the law, but I’m not above the law, and nor should I be. I gave each of the alphas the chance to lay a claim on my life. They voted unanimously that no law had been broken in saving your life. That law is designed to protect mundanes, but after Kelsey bit you, you could never truly be mundane again. You were, and are, one of us.”

  “Unanimously?” A grin crept onto my face. “I had no idea I was so popular.”

  He barked a laugh. “I think you’ll find I’m the one who’s popular.”

  “Well, whatever. I’m glad I’m still a shifter, and not dead and stuff.”

  The word ‘dead’ hung in the air for a long moment, and I picked at my nails. I didn’t look up when I asked the other question that was plaguing me.

  “Brad?”

  Draeven exhaled heavily. “Alive, and in custody. The alpha pack is divided. One half says he must face the death penalty – and I’m inclined to agree – the other half says we cannot deliver the death penalty to a human. The druids are involved, and they agree with the latter.”

  I shuddered. We probably weren’t flavour of the month with the druids as it was, what with Leo teaming up with one of their own to keep them out of here. Draeven, reading my face, nodded.

  “Things are… tense. But now isn’t the time to worry about that. You have other things to concern yourself with.”

  “I do?” I frowned, because the possibility of impending war seemed like it should be quite high up my priority list.

  “You do. You have exams in two weeks. I presume you would prefer not to repeat this year?”

  “Wait, I still have to take exams? I saved the academy!”

  “And it is very grateful, I’m sure. But like me, you’re not above the rules.”

  “Guess not.” I pouted, and Draeven laughed. The door swung open, and Shaun stood outlined in its frame.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  I looked to Draeven, not sure if he was. The alpha shook his head.

  “No. I should be leaving. I’m glad you’re well, Jade.”

  “Wait, Alpha Draeven?”

  He paused, halfway to the door already.

  “What happened to Ryan? And Tara?”

  “In custody, awaiting trial.”

  “I want to defend them.”

  He allowed himself a small smile. “I expected nothing less.”

  And with that, he left.

  “It’s good to see you, Jade,” Shaun said, claiming the empty chair beside my bed. I felt a yawn working its way up and clamped my jaw shut to stifle it. I’d slept enough over the last two days. Shaun tried to hide a smile no better than I hid the yawn.

  “I’ll keep it brief,” he promised. “I just thought you’d want to know, the Bittens Brad turned in town, we gave them the choice about taking the cure.”

  “You did?”

  “Over half of them took it. We can’t remove their memories, but we can give them back their future, at least. They’ll have to be monitored, but they can return to their lives.”

  “The others?”

  He smiled. “Well, they’ll be enrolling next year, since the academy’s still standing. And unless you want to join them…”

  I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know. I’ve got to study.”

  “Good. I’ll leave you to it.”

  He got up, and he’d made it two steps before I stopped him.

  “Shaun?”

  He turned.

  “I killed Laura.”

  “In self-defence.”

  “But I still killed her.”

  He shook his head and looked pained.

  “You saved a lot of lives, Jade. You can’t dwell–”

  “On the one I took?” I cut him off. I blew out a breath and stared up at the ceiling. Shaun crossed back to me and placed a hand on my shoulder.

  “Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?”

  I nodded, because abruptly I was exhausted again. But I wasn’t sure sleep would come quite so easily this time.

  *

  The healers kept me in the medical wing for another two days, under ‘observation’, but really I suspected Leighton just wanted to satisfy his curiosity about alpha bites. I was the only person to ever have been turned by an alpha since written records began, which was just great – because I so loved being the odd one out.

  All of my friends visited me during my enforced stay, but the face that truly surprised me was Caleb’s. He brought me grapes, ate them while telling me it wasn’t my fault that his team got killed – whether through complicity or complacency – then said he’d see me around, and left. I wasn’t sure it made me feel any better, but it was nice that he tried.

  On the plus side, when I was finally released from the hospital wing, no-one threw me in the dungeon or hauled me off to face the alpha pack, so I figured someone had found me innocent of all my alleged crimes in my absence. On the downside, that just meant I have more time to study – and three friends who were determined to make sure I didn’t fail my exams. They were more brutal than Brad.

  But the fortnight passed, and the torture with it, and then exam week was on us. The theory exams were first, and I was grudgingly forced to admit that the torture might have been worth it. That left us with just the practical assessments. And this time, I wouldn’t have any magic powers to help me cheat, which was kind of a bummer.

  “Oh no,” Dean said, as I bemoaned it yet again. “Having to pass the same way as the rest of us. How tragic.”

  Mei elbowed him in the ribs, and he grinned.

  “You’ll be fine,” she told me.

  “I’m glad one of us is confident,” I grumbled, kicking my feet up the wall behind me as we waited to be called into the shifting lab.

  “Come on, if Dean can get through law, you can handle this.”

  “Hey! I aced that exam through hard work.”

  Cam coughed loudly, and I couldn’t help but notice it sounded a whole lot like ‘bullshit’, and the three of us erupted into snickers.

  “Yeah, yeah, alright,” Dean said, and then smirked at Cam. “But at least I didn’t get tripped up on the banshee question in Cultural Studies.”

  “Hey, lad, there’s no any banshees in bonnie Scotland.”

  The door creaked open, silencing the three of us. Jared glanced at his clipboard, then down the corridor.

  “Jade, you’re next.”

  Cam squeezed my shoulder, and I stepped inside. Jared closed the door behind me, sealing us alone in the room together.

  “This will be a three-part exam,” he said, as he led me through into the shifting room. “Shifting, tracking, and combat.”

  I nodded. This much I knew. We’d already finished the three written exams earlier this week – history, law, and cultural studies – leaving us with just the three practical exams to go. Well, I say ‘just’…

  “When I give the signal,” Jared said, “you will pick up this balloon.”

  He gestured to a basketball sized balloon sitting on the only desk in the room.

  “Whilst holding the balloon, you will shift your hands only. You must achieve a full shift below the wrist, without dropping or puncturing the balloon. I will then conjure a portal. Then, and only then, you may complete a full shift – either by returning to your human form or continuing from where you are.”

  I blanched. Partial shifts were hard, and this one sounded next to impossible. I’d never even tried to exercise that much control before.

  “Beyond the portal, you will find the strongest scent, and follow it to its destination, where you will face an opponent in single combat in your shifted form. Any bite, or attempt to bite, will be an automatic fail.
Do you have any questions?”

  “Um, yeah. What sort of scent am I looking for?”

  He shook his head and smiled. “You have twenty minutes. Are you ready?”

  Twenty minutes? Crap. That wasn’t long. I yanked my hoodie off over my head and then nodded. Jared reached over to the timer on his desk.

  “Begin.”

  I snatched up the balloon and held it carefully between my palms. Not only was I going to have to be careful not to shift my whole body by accident, I also needed to move my hands as they grew so I didn’t put a claw through the thin latex – but not so quickly I would drop it. There were a few more balloons in one corner of the room, so I figured I’d get another go if I burst it, but the clock was ticking, and I needed as much time as possible to follow the scent outside.

  Sweat beaded on my forehead as I focused on my hands. Joints cracked and the skin on the back of my hand moved like there was something crawling under it. I ignored the pain and kept a gentle pressure on the balloon so it didn’t drop to the floor. Fur sprouted from my hands, and then I felt the muscles in my forearm twitch in anticipation. I grit my teeth and willed them to stay human. The claws sprouting from the tips of my fingers wavered, and I took a steadying breath, and slowly pushed the transformation, so as not to puncture the balloon with their razor-sharp tips. And then a grin spread over my face.

  I glanced to Jared and he raised a hand.

  “Eachlais.”

  The portal sprung into existence, and I dropped the balloon. I reached for the hem of my t-shirt, then realised I didn’t have time to shift back, remove my clothes, and then shift again, not if I wanted to find my rival and beat him.

  I willed the heat to flash through me, cracking joints and twisting muscles. It took only seconds for the shift to race over me – it was like my body wanted to be all in the same form, and frankly, it was hard to disagree with that. It was creepy as all hell seeing wolf paws attached to human wrists. My clothes burst off me in tatters, and I landed on four legs in time to see Jared reaching for a broom. Beside it was a pile of fabric. My lips curved into a wolfish grin, then I dived through the portal.