by Cali Mann
“Your grandmother?” I asked.
“Long story,” he said with a shrug. He glanced at the time on the tablet. “Looks like your first session is on the hour. I’d better be getting you to it.”
“They are all in the library,” Sciro said. “Your classes are on the other side of campus. I’ll take her.”
Terrin frowned at him, but then he nodded. “You’ll take care of her?”
Sciro didn’t look happy about it, but he said, “Of course, man.”
I set down my empty plate and stood. Glancing back at Terrin, I squared my shoulders. I could do this. Mean girls were my specialty after all those years at Hastings House, and I only had to deal with it until I could find a way to escape Thornbriar that didn’t involve electrocuting myself. Still, I shivered at the sudden chill of not having Terrin by my side. I met Sciro’s cold blue eyes and forced command into my voice. “Let’s go.”
He raised a sardonic eyebrow but gestured toward the door and said, “After you, my lady.”
10
Sciro
I followed the new chick, Hailey, down the hall of the boys’ dorm, kicking myself. When had I turned into such an ass? I was acting worse than that lout Brenton. The problem was I had smelled her the moment I walked into the room. Her scent was a delicious combination of blood and lavender, and all I wanted to do was nick a vein and drink my fill. But even if I’d wanted to make a play, Terrin had been all over her staking his claim. I couldn’t do that to my bro.
Shoving my hands in my jean pockets, I watched her ass sway in that ridiculous school skirt. I groaned. While vampires were as hot-blooded as any other shifter, I liked to get to know a girl a bit before we hopped in the sack. And I didn’t know anything about this one. None of us did.
“Hailey,” I said, forcing some niceness into my tone.
She paused, looking back at me.
I scratched my neck. “I don’t mean to be such an ass.”
“Really?” She arched a dark eyebrow at me.
I snorted. Boy, she had a mouth on her. Two luscious red lips that came to a perfect bow. I slapped myself mentally. Sciro. Quit it, you idiot. She’s taken. She’s Terrin’s.
Gesturing to the halls around us as we descended the stairs, I said, “I hear all this is new to you.”
She shrugged.
“What kind of shifter are you?” I asked, trying to stroll casually next to her.
“Is that polite to ask?” she muttered.
“Well, no, not really,” I said, bemused. “But I didn’t expect you to know that.”
A small smile crossed those amazing lips, and my cock strained against my zipper. What would that mouth be like, wrapped around my bulging . . . damn it! When did I become such a letch? I shook myself and volunteered, “I’m an air shifter.”
She paused her step, studying me with those intense eyes. “Does that mean you are a vampire like Headmaster Larkin?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say there’s anyone like the Headmaster, but yes, all air shifters are vampires and able to shift into birds.”
“Are you dead?”
“Not exactly.” I laughed. I’d wondered the same thing in the years since I’d discovered what I was. To my parents I was. As soon as they’d found out I was a vampire, they’d thrown me out on the street. Filthy, undead, evil creature!—my father’s last words to me as he’d tossed my ass off their property.
I shook myself again. “Vampirism is more like a virus,” I quoted Professor Ward. “It’s present in the human and shifter populations, but only air shifters are susceptible to its effects.”
“Huh, that’s weird. What are Terrin and Adrian?”
“Terrin’s an earth shifter. He shifts into a black jaguar. He’s the only one of us to have transformed so far.” I watched her face, trying to gauge her reaction but she was pretty much a blank slate. I wondered if she’d ever been around other shifters before. “Adrian’s a water shifter.”
She frowned. “But there’s no water around here.”
I grinned. “There are several saltwater pools in the caverns beneath us.” I gestured down. “The creators of Thornbriar wanted to make sure that it felt like home to all shifters.”
“Oh.”
Her mouth rounded as she spoke, and my cock stirred again. You’d think I was a fucking Casanova like Adrian, responding to every girl who walked by. I gritted my teeth. “And you are?”
“You can’t tell?” she asked, looking at her feet.
“No, it’s hard to tell without knowing someone really well.”
“An earth shifter,” she said carefully. “Mr. Reed thinks my form will be wolf.”
“Were your parents shifters?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I was kidnapped when I was seven and held prisoner until now.”
I blinked, a million questions battering at my brain, but I didn’t know what to ask first. Many shifters didn’t have an easy life, but guys like Terrin and I had it especially rough. At least, I thought we had until I heard this. “Captive? How?”
“A human trafficking ring disguised as a home for wayward girls.” Her voice was matter-of-fact, as if this was no big deal.
Shit. I’d lived on the street, and some of the stories I’d heard of the girls and the younger boys getting raped sickened me. She’d lived in a place that sold them off like livestock. How had she stayed sane?
I hadn’t even seen the hallways we’d walked, but, suddenly, the library door was before us. Wooden with gold trimmed edges, it shined in the dark hallway. “This is the library.”
“Okay,” she said, stepping forward.
“Hailey?” I reached out and touched her arm.
She looked at me.
“I’m sorry for what you went through.” I grimaced.
“I know,” Hailey said, giving me a small smile. “Thank you for showing me the way, Sciro.” Then, she opened the library door and stepped through, shutting it behind her.
Staring at the intricate scrollwork, I exhaled. Hailey no-last-name was trouble, pure and simple.
11
Hailey
Why had I said all that to Sciro? I frowned as I closed the library door behind me. I chewed on my lip and turned to look around.
My jaw dropped, and I stared at the beautiful place that was Thornbriar Academy library. Bookshelves covered every wall, stocked with books, but also decorated with lovely gold filigree like that which illustrated the door. Work tables and chairs with slim forest-green cushions dotted the space. Two spiral staircases clustered in the center of the room, leading to even more bookcases on the second floor. Four long, narrow windows stretched ceiling to floor between the bookcases, their heavy green drapes were drawn to the side and letting in filtered daylight.
I crossed to one, and looked out across the campus. The clouds had come in as the morning wore on, and they drifted low, dragging their tails across the buildings.
“Gorgeous, isn’t it?” said an older male voice behind me.
Turning, I met the gaze of a professor. He was massive, but all muscle under his gray sweater vest and slacks. I felt very small in his shadow. His rusty brown hair started to gray at the top, and faded tattoos marked his lower arms. I forced a smile. “Yes, it is.”
His eyes crinkled as he grinned. “You must be Hailey,” he said, offering me a hand.
I took it reluctantly, but he only gave a gentle shake.
“I’m Professor Ward. I’ll be your instructor for T.A.”
I grimaced.
“No worries,” he said, laying his finger alongside his nose. “We’ll get you up to speed in no time.”
Yes, I could do this. It was just schoolwork, right? I followed Professor Ward into the back of the library. He gestured for me to sit at one of the work tables and handed me a test, a legal pad, and pencil.
“I’m afraid to know where one must go, we need to know where you are. Just a short test on some basics.” He set a kitchen timer on the edge of the desk. It was shaped like
a rooster. “Fifteen minutes, I think.”
He wandered back into a small room nearby, and I heard the clank of dishes. I stared down at the sheets he’d given me. The test was divided into sections for reading, math, history, and science. Taking a breath, I scanned for the easiest questions first and answered those, then I went through the harder ones. Reading was easy as I’d gained a fair amount of vocabulary on my own, and I’d picked up some history, from the warden’s more historical romances. But science and math were harder.
When the buzzer went off, the Professor arrived at my desk and held out his hand. I gave him the papers, and he replaced them with a cup of tea. I breathed in the warm cinnamon scent of it and cupped my hands around it. Even on a warm day like today, there was something comforting about tea. My forehead wrinkled as the thought skittered by. It hadn’t really come from me. There’d never been much tea at Hastings House, but someone I’d known before had liked it. Maybe my parents.
“Well, young lady,” Professor Ward said. “Looks like we have a fair amount of work ahead of us.”
I swallowed uneasily.
“But you’re a bright girl.” He smiled. “And you read well. I’m sure we’ll get through it.”
Shuffling through a pile of books, he’d stacked next to the table, he pulled out a math textbook. He flipped it open before I could read the cover and laid it down open in front of me. “Let’s work on these problems for the next bit, shall we?”
The next few hours whizzed by as we covered some basics in every subject area. When we finished, he handed me a stack of books and told me to read them by the end of the week.
Then, he shooed me off. “Shifter History is waiting.”
“But I’m behind there too.”
“You need some time with people your own age. I’m sure you’ll catch on quickly, Hailey.”
Holding my books tight to my chest, I was out the door and down the hall before I realized that I had no idea where my next class was. There was no one in the hallway to ask, so I just wandered back the way Sciro and I had come up.
One of the doors was cracked open, and I heard voices from within. I raised my hand to knock and ask for directions, when I realized who they were talking about.
“Kaiden Hartsman attacked the Council chambers today,” said a nasal woman’s voice.
I knew that name. The red wolf that chased me and Mr. Reed.
“Oh no, not again!” another female replied.
“Robert Gray was injured,” said the nasal one.
“Not Monica’s father? The poor girl will be devastated.”
“Kaiden is the most dangerous spirit shifter who’s ever lived,” the nasal one continued. “He needs to be exterminated.”
“Well, he should have been. At birth, like the rest of them! What could his parents have been thinking?”
I’d never even heard of this kind of shifter and they killed them? At birth?
The nasal one sighed. “What all parents think. They loved their child and didn’t want to sacrifice him.”
“And now look at all the shifters who’ve been sacrificed. To their selfishness.”
I stepped back, looking up and down the still empty hallway. Kaiden Hartsman was a spirit shifter? What was that? They’d told me about earth, air, water, and fire shifters but no one had ever mentioned spirit.
Running my teeth over my lip, I turned toward the stairs. Apparently, spirit shifters were killed at birth. Why? Because they were evil? He’d attacked Monica’s dad and the Council, whatever that was. I’d heard it mentioned before as some kind of ruling body, but what did they really do?
I was so lost in my thoughts that I slammed into a rock hard chest and fell back on my butt for the second time that day. Looking up, I winced as I stared into stormy blue eyes.
“What, are you blind?” Brenton growled. “Or just an idiot?”
My face burned with embarrassment. Twice in one day? I didn’t even have Monica to blame for this one. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
“Obviously,” he said with a sneer. “You’d think you were blonde under all that darkness.”
Climbing to my feet, with no help from him, I glared. “I bet you’ve never made a mistake in your life.”
He scowled. “Just get out of my way, new girl.” Brenton shoved past me and continued down the hall.
“Hey, could you tell me where . . .” He was gone. Dammit. I rubbed my sore butt and headed in the opposite direction. Even if Brenton was going to Shifter History, I didn’t want to sit in class with that asshole.
12
Terrin
We were sitting on our usual bench between classes. My eyes darted toward the stairs to the library wing. Hailey should be done with T.A. by now. Every nerve in my body itched to see her, needed her by my side. My cat purred in agreement.
Everything in me called out for me to claim her as mine, but I knew I shouldn’t. She deserved better than me. I balled my hands into fists. She needed a protector, and I had never been able to protect what was important to me. Not even my family.
Monica Gray came flying across the courtyard, hair streaming, and slammed into Adrian. His arms came around her instantly, stroking her head. Adrian never had a problem offering comfort to chicks. I wish I knew how he did it.
“What’s wrong? Monica?” he asked, his voice low and soothing.
I didn’t know why he was always so kind to her. She really was kind of a jerk. This was probably another play to get his attention.
“My father’s been injured,” she said through her tears. Her whole body trembled.
Now, I felt like a jerk. Adrian and Monica both had family members on the Council. Of course she’d come to him for this.
She sobbed. “Kaiden Hartsman attacked the Council.”
All of the hairs on my neck stood up at the name. He had been the bane and terror of all of our lives for so long. A spirit shifter gone rogue and determined to take down the Council.
“Is everyone else okay?” Adrian asked, his voice steady despite the tension I felt riding my brother.
He and his family might not have gotten along, but they were still blood. His mother had served on the Council for several years now, and if she’d been hurt, he’d go ballistic.
“Seven deaths,” Monica choked out. “But the only high official to be hurt was Father.”
Adrian visibly let his breath out.
His mother was safe then. As much as any of us were safe. Kaiden’s attacks had gotten more brutal and more directed over time. He’d recruited the normal law enforcement to assist him and used our people’s natural hesitation to expose ourselves and hurt humans to escape capture.
My jaguar growled, clawing against my insides. He wanted to hunt Kaiden Hartsman. Hunting murderers was what cat and I did. He and I were made for this.
I squared my shoulders and took a deep breath. Not anymore. Now we stayed out of sight so the people we knew could stay safe. Bloody images shot across my mind’s eye and I tried to push them away. Abuela! Tio! Their bodies were in pieces. My heart beat frantically against my chest as if I was living it all over again.
Forcing myself to breathe deeply as Professor Frank taught us, I lifted my eyes and gazed across the courtyard. I just needed to get out of my head. To forget the past and move forward as I’d told Hailey.
Hailey appeared at the doorway to the yard. Gorgeous. Fragile. In need of protection. My mouth dried as I stared at her. I couldn’t be trusted with something that precious. After everything I’d lost, I couldn’t take care of her and I couldn’t bear to lose someone else. I stood. My jaguar growled at me. She was ours. He’d claimed her almost instantly.
But I couldn’t do it. I had to listen to my rational mind, not my instincts. I couldn’t take the chance I’d lose anyone else. I headed back into the building, ignoring everyone.
Her face puzzled, Hailey frowned at me as I passed. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t tell her I was wrong for her.
My cat
whined and clawed at my skin.
13
Hailey
A couple of days later, I walked into the dining hall at dinnertime. I was still trying to get my legs under me as far as the school went, but wolf phase wouldn’t let me miss any meals. The usual suspects were hanging out in the courtyard, but I hadn’t seen Terrin or Adrian yet. The way Terrin had been ignoring me for the past few days, I hadn’t really expected to.
Heading toward the food line, I caught a whiff of the meatballs and tomato sauce. Everything I’d eaten at Thornbriar had been amazing.
One minute I was strolling and the next I was falling toward the tile floor. Shoving my hands out in front, I caught myself by my forearms and my knees. My breath came out in a little huff.
Laughter echoed in my ears, and the blood rushed to my face. I stared at the black and white tiles.
“Always falling at my feet, aren’t you?”
I huffed and looked up into Brenton’s sneering face. “Yup, your good looks slay me every time,” I muttered, standing. My elbows and knees stung, but I wasn’t really hurt.
Glancing behind me, I saw Monica and Greta sitting a few feet behind us. “Guess it was the loathsome twins again.”
He arched a sardonic eyebrow. “That’s one name for them.”
I met his eyes for a moment and thought I saw something there, something other than his usual sneer, but it was gone in a flash.
“Get going, Rosie Posie, before you fall down again.” He turned and lumbered away.
Looking over at the giggling faces of Greta and Monica, I really wanted to punch them again, but one of the Professors was probably around here and I’d only get in trouble. I forced myself to go get some food like I’d intended in the first place.
“Hey, Hailey,” Sciro said, stepping up next to me, his plate already heaped. “I was going to take my food out to the courtyard. Want to join?”