Rebels and Runaways: Eden Academy Book One

by Grace McGinty

  I came all over the grass, and I mentally apologized to all the bugs that had just drowned in my gunk.

  Panting loudly in the silence, I rolled onto my back. I tucked my dick back into my pants before Eric came home and saw me with my dick out as an invitation. I shuddered.

  Hopefully, this was as close as I’d ever get to Carmen. Hopefully that big fucker would keep her away.

  Because I meant nothing but pain and death for her and anyone I got close to.

  7

  Carmen

  My head throbbed. I’d woken in the front seat of Bobby’s truck, and the hard set of his jaw warned me against small talk. I’d snuck back into the house, and slid beneath the covers just before dawn. Three hours of sleep didn’t help my raging headache at all.

  It didn’t help that every time I closed my eyes, I pictured a fire-haired, scarred guy with a wicked grin. And if I wasn’t thinking about him? I was thinking about that fucking kiss with Bobby. Sensing either my shitty mood, or the fact I was in pain, my siblings stuck to me tighter than glue. Enit had her hand in mine, and Christopher hovered closer than Peter Pan’s shadow.

  Luckily, by the time I’d woken up in the morning, the bruise had faded enough that it was easily covered by makeup, and if anyone noticed I caked it on a little thicker than usual, no one had mentioned it.

  I drowned my pain in a cup of coffee so big that I could have actually drowned in it. Luckily for us all, we hadn’t had any more run-ins with Bohdie the golden lion, or the rest of the group. I had found out that the girl who looked so much like Sammie was his sister, Cara. Madoc with the wings was their adopted younger brother and the red-headed girl with the soft face was their cousin.

  Something had happened between Christopher and the girl Cara, so now apparently we hated her. I snorted. I liked seeing Christopher rattled. I also liked to see him rattled by a woman. Shifter society was still wildly patriarchal, so power to a girl who could bring an Alpha to his knees without being naked on a bed at the same time.

  But still, family loyalty meant I’d probably have to kick her ass at some point.

  I was going to need a diagram or something. That was the thing about the supernatural world. It was all about the bloodlines.

  I had combat class this morning, and I’d heard through the grapevine that Sammie was tutoring it, as well as running the weapons class. It was interesting really, considering he was a human and young. What could he have possibly done in his short life to be considered a viable option as a combat tutor at a school for the preternatural?

  There was a depth to Sammie, and I was going to explore it. Preferably with my tongue.

  Enit had her Omega class, and Christopher his Alpha Leadership seminar, so I was by myself in combat. Well, there were a bunch of other first years here too, including all the beta bitches who normally hung off Christopher, but right now were making moonstruck eyes at Sammie.

  I growled low in my throat, and several looked over at me. I lifted my lip in a snarl and Teesha smirked. I hated that wench.

  Honestly, I wouldn’t even call her a bitch, because that would be an insult to my kind. She was like pond scum. Pond scum that had broken my brother's heart in the seventh grade and was all over Bobby like a rash at all the Pack’s social events.

  I wanted to kick her ass out of principle, but I resisted. We were adults now, and when you were an adult, you didn’t just hit girls in the face because they pissed you off.

  I strode over to the bleachers on the other side of the gym, already in my tight shorts and sports bra. I was looking forward to kicking some Academy-sanctioned ass.

  The room started to fill up when the door opened, and Cara Richards swished her way in. Half her body was tattooed in brightly colored ink, and I envied her. She was wearing an outfit similar to mine, though she had a tied up shirt over her sports bra.

  The whole room stopped speaking as she strode in, and my gaze drifted to Sammie in the corner. He rolled his eyes, but looked at his sister fondly.

  They didn’t acknowledge each other, and that was fair enough. Everyone knew they were related, but at least she wasn’t going to try and coast through this class. When she stopped beside me, I raised an eyebrow. She stuck out a hand and I looked at it.

  “I’m Cara.”

  I shrugged, shaking her hand like we were fucking businessmen. “Carmen.”

  A frown folded her pretty face. “Hm, that’s a bit close to Cara. I’m not sure we can be friends.”

  I snorted. Dammit, I kinda liked her. “Well, that and the fact my brother hates your guts.”

  Cara curled her lip. “The feeling is mutual.” She sighed heavily and slumped onto the bench beside me, despite her declaration that we couldn’t be friends. “It’s a pity though. I know your kind.”

  “Wolf shifter?”

  She grinned and shook her head. “Nah, trouble. With a capital T.”

  I threw back my head and laughed, because somehow, in two short interactions, she had me pegged.

  “Like knows like, I guess,” I said, smirking back. “Fine, for this class, we’ll be friends. But outside, I’m going to have to hate you. Sorry. Family first.” I shrugged like that statement made total sense, and judging by the way she was nodding seriously, she got it. “By the way, my friends call me Mouse.”

  Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up at Sammie. “I’m not sure if I like what’s going on here,” he murmured softly, his eyes bouncing between me and his sister. “This? It can only mean trouble.”

  Cara snorted and I laughed again. She rolled her eyes at her brother. “Relax, Sammie. We’re mortal enemies. The Montagues and the Capulets. The Angels and the Fallen. Coke and Pepsi. Ne’er shall the two combine.”

  Yeah, Sammie didn’t look convinced. He eyeballed his sister and mouthed, “Behave,” as the other instructors walked in. I watched his ass as he walked away, and let's face it, so did half of the class.

  He was in a tank, all his ink on display and he was glorious. I look over at Cara in time to see her scrunch up her face. “Jesus, not you too. I kind of hoped you were into girls so we could be friends.”

  I lifted a finger. “One, don’t assume.”

  She looked genuinely gleeful for a moment. “You’re a lesbian?”

  I scoffed. “No. Unfortunately. I’m all about the dick.”

  Cara sighed heavily. “Yeah, me too. But it would have been nice to have one female friend who didn’t want to ride my brother like he was a white stallion and there was a sunset waiting on the other side of his twin bed.”

  I blinked. And then I blinked again. “Okay… I’m not going to unpack all that. That shit is for your human therapist. Though, if you want to meet a white stallion shifter to ride, I know a guy.” I leaned in closer. “But I’ve heard that he doesn’t share all those horse traits, if you know what I mean.”

  Cara snorted loudly, drawing the attention of the other half of the class. The ones that weren’t looking at Sammie’s impressive guns. She gave a fake pout. “Well, that’s disappointing. So what was point number two?”

  I cleared my throat. “I wasn’t checking out your brother, I was admiring his artwork. Yours too. You have some beautiful ink.”

  The grin that lit up her face was radiant, and for a moment I was enraptured. She was human, I knew that without a shadow of a doubt, but right then, I could have been convinced she was a siren. “Thanks. My parents own a tattoo parlor, and my dad is one hell of an artist. So’s Sammie.” She held out her arm and I had a quick look at the sleeve that ran from the center of her hand, up over her arm and disappeared under the sleeve of her tee. It was dark. There was a dying tree with a snake wrapped around its base, and that led up to Death, who was directly below a woman in a black mourning veil with a blue and white feather between her teeth.

  The exact blue and white of Madoc’s wings. This tattoo meant something, and I didn’t know Cara well enough to pry. But one thing I was certain of though was that the artistry of it was unbelievab
le.

  “Did your dad do this?”

  Cara looked at it and shook her head. “No, this one was Sammie. He designed it, drew it and tattooed it.”

  My eyes shot back to the man himself. He was talking to John, the combat trainer, his brows drawn together as he concentrated on what the other man was saying. From here, I could see that his tattoo was similar to Cara’s. They both had a crying woman, though his one was holding a gun to her temple. Death was kissing La Catrina, below wings either side of a sword.

  Below that was a rotted apple. The style was a little different, and you could tell a different artist had inked it.

  John’s voice boomed around the room. “Alright, people. Pair up so I can see everyone's base skills.”

  “Wanna fight me, Not-A-Lesbian Carmen?” Cara asked, and I was in the middle of nodding when Sammie reappeared.

  “Oh, hell no. Neither of you has an off switch. One of you would be bleeding on the floor in seconds. Cara, go pair up with Teesha.”

  She screwed up her face. “Who the fuck is Teesha?”

  “The blonde with a face like a smashed crab.”

  Teesha spun on her heel and glared at me. I just grinned and waved. “Fuck you, bitch,” she screeched and I waved her away.

  “No thanks, Teesh. I’ve seen where you’ve been.”

  She smirked. “All over your brother's cock.”

  I rolled my eyes, and flipped her the finger. “You say that like it's a complicated feat. You just have to have tits and spring-loaded thighs.”

  I turned back to Cara and she was shooting daggers at Teesha. On my behalf? Or because she’d mentioned screwing Christopher? Oh goodie, can someone say sexual tension?

  She strode over, and Sammie sighed. “You know where the first aid kit is here?”

  I pointed at the corner of the room, where we had a kit that rivalled an entire first aid tent at a music festival.

  Everyone else had paired off, and I was the odd one out. John looked over at us. “Mouse, you go with Sammie.”

  “Sir, I don’t—” Sammie protested, but John had already walked away. John was Pack and knew that I was trained in MMA. He knew that I was damn good at it too. Did he know that I fought underground? Maybe, maybe not, but if he did he hadn’t told on me yet.

  Sammie frowned again, but moved toward an open section of mat. “I hold a significant height and weight advantage on you, but then you’re a tiny thing so most of your opponents will have that. I’m going to come at you, and I want you to show me how you’d evade me.”

  I held in the smug smirk that wanted to spread across my face. “Okay. I’ll try.”

  He lumbered toward me, almost hesitantly. I let him grab me, and for a microsecond, I appreciated the strength of his body as it encased me.

  But you know what's better than a hot body?

  Vindication.

  I slipped my foot between his legs, and then stepped into him rather than trying to wiggle away. He went down and I went down with him, but then I had him in an arm bar in exactly eight seconds from the moment he touched me to the moment he tapped out.

  He looked up at me, my grin manic and wild as it stretched across my face. “So, not a beginner, huh?”

  I let go and helped him to his feet. “Not quite. I have seven overprotective fathers and a thirst for pain.”

  He tilted his head at me. “Yours or someone else's?” I might have imagined his voice dropping, or the note of lust that colored his question.

  I bit my lip, and his eyes followed the gesture. “Does it matter?”

  He was silent for a long time, his eyes just taking in my face, the frown still there despite the desire I could see. Finally, he shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter. Just don’t forget to tap out if you need to.” He cleared his throat, and nodded back at the mats. “Alright, let’s go again. I won’t underestimate you this time.”

  I nodded and sucked down some water, before climbing on the mats. He might seem impervious, but I’d seen him adjusting his hard dick in those sweats.

  Sammie Richards wanted me as much as I wanted him, and I was pretty sure that when I had him—and I would have him—he would make it hurt so good.

  8

  Sammie

  Some of the older Academy kids had invited me to a party on Friday night, and I couldn’t seem to find a reason to say no. Cara was in a rare mood, someone had definitely pissed in her Cheerios because when I asked if she was going, she all but threw a punch at my face. Whatever, she could stay behind and watch the kids.

  Bohdie was dressed in a white t-shirt, and it set off the golden hues of his skin perfectly. Bohdie was beautiful, but straight as an arrow. It was a bit of a shame really. We made a matching pair, me with my black tee and tight ripped jeans. Black and gold. I checked on the kids, and pulled a few beers from the fridge.

  Bohdie’s room was on the ground floor beside Cara’s, which would normally worry me, but Bohdie and Cara had grown up together. To say they had zero interest in each other was an understatement. I was waiting for that Hallmark moment when they realized that they were both attractive and single, but I was beginning to think it was never coming. I was fine with that. They were both too similar, too stubborn and wild, that they would burn too hot and break each other in the end.

  We wandered toward the back of the compound, and I could see the glow of the bonfire from here. They weren’t trying to be quiet, so I had to assume the faculty knew what they were doing. But I guess, if they were all old enough to drive, to vote, to die in a war, then they were old enough to drink flammable liquids around a roaring fire.

  Bohdie’s eyes tracked the shadows for threats, and I left him to it. Sure, I was always on alert; I was raised by killers after all. But Bohdie would pick up any threats long before my human ears caught up. I trusted Bohdie with my life. We’d been friends since we’d moved to Black Mountain when I was eight. He was a good guy who believed in family above all else.

  There were very few people I trusted in this world, and I knew that it probably had something to do with how I grew up, pre-Damnation anyway. I was rich. Hell, I was still rich. The only son of a ruthless businessman, who’d smiled for the camera by day, and sold women for a clandestine cartel at night. He beat me, beat my mom, and was just an all-around shit human being. I wouldn’t feel bad for my mother though. When she’d had Cara, she’d neglected her so badly that even my fragile two-year-old brain had known that if I didn’t feed her and care for her, my little sister would die. They’d both ‘accidentally’ died in prison, and not a soul in the whole world mourned them.

  We hit the outer ring of the crowd, and there had to be fifty or so people here, and I shook thoughts of the past from my mind. I recognized some faces from the combat and weapons classes, but I didn’t know them well enough to chat to them casually yet.

  Making friends didn’t come easily to me. Bohdie, however? He was as congenial as they got. He cracked a beer and passed it to me, and we found an empty place near the fire. There were a couple of tigers lying around in front of the fire, and I didn’t know if they were two-natured shifters, or shapeshifters like Bobby. There was a difference apparently, and I was a little envious of Cara, who’d be able to learn all this stuff without actually being one of them. She’d be less of an outsider.

  “It’s weird being so far from home,” Bohdie murmured, and I nodded. It really was. Black Mountain and Damnation MC had been home for so long, they were basically a safety blanket. The shifters of the Mountain had taken us in without too much trouble, once they realized that my parents didn’t want to destroy the place. Cara and I had gone to school with the bear shifters and Bohdie. We’d all gone to high school among the humans. But this? Preternaturals of every shape and variety, just lazing around and being friendly? They’d created something special here, and I wasn’t even sure if anyone would know just how special for years to come.

  “Not going to lie, Teach, I didn’t think you’d show your face at one of these parties,” a vo
ice said behind me, and I couldn’t help the smile that curled my lips, even before I turned around. “Aren’t you a little old for parties with students?”

  I snorted, looking down at Carmen. She was average height, but in her heels, she could almost look in my eyes without craning her neck. She was wearing a short leather skirt and a torn crop top with a band I’d never heard of branded across the front. She had on her signature dark lipstick and her winged eyeliner again, and she looked fierce and infinitely fuckable. God help me. “I’m younger than some of the students here.”

  She held a bottle of Jack in her hand and a grin on her face. “Touché. Guess there's no living out my naughty schoolgirl/dirty professor fantasies with you then.”

  Her pale-haired sister gasped and smacked her on the arm. “Carmen!”

  “Come on, Enit. You know I’m kidding,” she soothed, but I didn’t miss the wink she threw me.

  I couldn’t help my boom of laughter. Damn, this girl was something.

  There was a deep rumble, and Bohdie was bowing his head at Enit. “Omega.”

  Enit reached out, putting a hand on his bicep. I watched Carmen tense, like she was ready to throw down with Bohdie again if he made one wrong move. Bohdie was tense too, but the way he watched the Omega, I mean Enit, was with pure reverence.

  “Tonight is a party, Alpha. You can relax,” Enit grinned, but I saw something in her face that wasn’t entirely teasing when she looked at Bohdie.

  Interesting. I mean, I got it. Bohdie was handsome as hell, and Enit was beautiful in an ethereal kind of way that made you want to care for her. She wasn’t my type—I liked my girls a little more kickass—but for a lion Alpha like Bohdie? She was catnip.

  It got too much for Carmen, who grabbed Enit and pulled her away. “I think I hear Christopher calling. We should go before he gets mauled by she-wolves again.”