Found: A Reverse Harem Academy Shifter Bully Romance (Thornbriar Academy Series Book 1)

by Cali Mann

  “Isn’t that right, Hailey?”

  “Yes,” I answered automatically, and the other students laughed.

  The professor smiled. “Now that you’ve joined us back here on earth, we can perhaps continue our lesson?”

  Heat filled my cheeks. Nodding, I picked up my pencil.

  “The spirit shifter colony of 1920,” Professor Roth said.

  I raised my hand.

  “Yes, Hailey?” she asked.

  “Are there still spirit shifter colonies?”

  “Indeed, there are small groups of rebels and refugees scattered around.”

  My brain whirled. “But how?”

  “Well, although the Council has a law that spirit shifters are to be killed at birth, not everyone abides by this law.”

  I blinked. “Aren’t they arrested?”

  “If they are caught, yes, but some outlaw groups exist.” The Professor sighed. “And by banding together, they have been able to resist the Council’s efforts to enforce the law.”

  If I could get away from the academy, maybe I could escape execution by finding one of these groups. “Does the Council know where they are?”

  “No,” Monica said. “If my father knew where they were, he’d have them bombed.” Greta flipped back her blonde hair, and said in a stage whisper, “If he could afford a bomb.”

  The girls around her tittered, and Monica’s face flamed.

  Eyeing Monica, I wondered what she’d done to bring Greta’s wrath down on herself. I thought they were best friends.

  Professor Roth ignored the jibe and continued on with her lecture. I listened closer, wondering if the story of the 1920s colony would give me any clue to those existing today. I nibbled on my lip. This could be the way I survived, among my own kind. But what happened when the whole group went crazy? Did they have some way of forestalling it? Or of curing the madness? If there was a cure, wouldn’t the Council have rescinded the kill order?

  22

  Terrin

  The movie played on the big screen. Sciro leaned back in the armchair, and Adrian perched on the end of the couch. Hailey snuggled against my side, and my arm wrapped around her shoulders. It felt right with her there. My jaguar purred. After all we had shared in the last few days, things were finally coming together. She was where she should have been all the time.

  Adrian got up from the end of the couch and headed over to the fridge. He called, “Anybody want anything?”

  Hailey raised her arm and said, “A Coke.”

  “Kinda late for a soda,” I said against the top of her head. I could feel her shoulders tighten underneath my arm. “But whatever you want.”

  “Yeah, a coke,” she said.

  Adrian brought over two drinks, popping the tops. He pressed one against Hailey’s bare foot, and she squealed. Then they both giggled.

  My eyes narrowed as I watched them. Monica had been going on and on about Adrian yesterday. He’d been half-naked in the suite the other day when Hailey had come over. My brother was always like that. I never thought anything of it, but Monica had been so worried. She really believed there was something going on between them. I’d said no way. My brother wouldn’t do me like that.

  Adrian leaned back on the couch. Hailey put her feet on his lap, and he tickled her toes.

  “Hey, quit it!” Hailey exclaimed, laughing and hitting him with a pillow.

  It’s just Adrian being Adrian, and I shouldn’t make anything of it. Hailey and I were together. He knew that. I should have been glad my pack mate enjoyed my mate’s company.

  Whoa. Had I just thought mate? I could feel my cat’s utter relaxation, like you didn’t know that, you idiot? If it’d been a house cat, it’d have been licking its paw and laughing at me. I squeezed Hailey closer, and she snuggled me. Mate.

  The credits rolled. Sciro clicked off the screen, and then he headed back into his bedroom.

  Adrian jumped up and muttered something about a swim. He disappeared out the door.

  I grinned at Hailey. “Guess they’re giving us some alone time.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Thought it was getting late?”

  “Not too late for this,” I said, leaning in for a kiss.

  Hailey kissed me back, wrapping her arms around me. Her tongue darted into my mouth, and she set my nerve endings on fire. I hardened instantly and rubbed my hand across her breasts. Everything in me called out to claim this female, but I wanted to give her time. Time to get used to our world and to want me as much as I wanted her.

  What if we made love and the mate mark appeared? I’d have to protect her, not just here at Thornbriar, but out in the world. And I had already proved that I couldn’t protect the things I loved. At these thoughts, my passion cooled and I extricated myself from Hailey’s embrace.

  “I guess it is late. You should go,” I said.

  She frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”

  “No,” I said. “It’s just me. More tired than I thought.”

  “Okay.” She stood and walked toward the door.

  Her new jeans clung to her perfect ass, and I groaned. My cat growled. I was not supposed to let this gorgeous thing walk away from us. I squeezed my hands into fists. We both needed time. She needed time to be ready for love-making, and I needed time to learn control. This really was the best solution as much as my cat hated it.

  At the door, she glanced back, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. “Goodnight, Terrin.”

  I jumped up. “I should walk you back to your dorm.”

  She laughed. “It’s just a few feet away.”

  Taking her hand, I led her down the hall and toward the stairs. “Come on.”

  23

  Hailey

  Terrin dropped me at my door with a sweet kiss. Boy, can this guy kiss. Energy hummed through my veins. He’d have been right, if I was going to bed, the soda would have been too much. But I wasn’t going to bed. I gave him a few minutes to disappear down the corridor, then I took off for the pools.

  I’d thrown a school sweater over my jeans and shirt to hold off the chill in the cool corridors. The halls were silent and dark. Not a soul seemed to be out of bed. It was a precious piece of silence in a busy day.

  Ever since the day in the woods, Terrin had clung to my side like a barnacle. I loved the attention, and he was sexy as hell. Still, I couldn’t stay at Thornbriar Academy forever. I needed to get out, and sooner rather than later. I hadn’t shifted yet, but it could be any day now. I was still in my water phase, and if I did shift, I doubted it would be the expected wolf.

  I needed a plan, but it all seemed hopeless. The fences were topped with electrical wires and deliveries were made by plane and truck. Even if I did escape, I’d be in acres and acres of forest. Sciro had said that spirit shifters could change into any form. Would that mean that, even if I was in a water form, I could choose to shift to wolf? There was just so much I didn’t know.

  Turning the corner, I breathed the warm salty air of the first cavern and sighed. This is what I needed. Every night that I went swimming, I avoided the water dreams. The element’s needs were sated and the dreams unnecessary. One more way to avoid detection at the moment. My stomach swirled. Until I shifted and they killed me.

  Adrian was already in the pool. His pale body cut across the water. I hurried over, stripping as I went, and dived in. Underwater, I opened my eyes, watching the reflecting lights make patterns on the bottom. No creatures lived in these pools, except a certain man-fish. I swam across the water, surfacing near the wall on the other side.

  “You’re getting good at this,” Adrian said.

  This routine had become an inside joke to us. I grinned. “All due to my excellent teacher.”

  He laughed, and lay his arms along the cold stone at the edge of the pool. Kicking his feet gently under the water, he watched me. “That movie sucked.” Giggling, I paddled over to him. “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “Ha. You’re just trying to take your boyfriend’s side.”r />
  I shrugged my shoulders. “He isn’t my boyfriend.”

  “You kiss, hold hands, and walk together . . .” He winked. “Seems like a boyfriend to me.”

  “He hasn’t asked.”

  Adrian snorted. “He doesn’t need to.”

  My brow furrowed. “Of course he does. I am not bought and paid for.”

  Running a hand through his blond hair, Adrian studied me. “Most girls would be thrilled to be on his arm.”

  “It’s nice,” I admitted. “But I don’t belong to anyone but myself. And if Terrin wants a commitment, he needs to be upfront about it.”

  Adrian nodded. “I don’t think he knows that. You might want to tell him.”

  “He might want to ask.” I dove across the pool.

  We swam in companionable silence for a few minutes.

  Then Adrian stopped me, searching my face. “Where are you from, wild girl?” he asked.

  “A very bad place,” I said softly.

  “Tell me.”

  “I was kidnapped when I was seven.” I bit my lip. “Before that, I remember only blue skies, beaches, and my parents’ arms.”

  His face stilled. “And then?”

  “I was taken to Hastings House. They raised us to be sold for sex.”

  “Like cattle.”

  It wasn’t often I saw Adrian serious. I wanted to stroke away the lines from his face. “It wasn’t so bad really. I was fed, clothed, and cared for.”

  “Cared for?”

  “Well, not in any sort of affectionate way. But if we followed the rules, kept our schedules, then they mostly ignored us.”

  “But you didn’t follow the rules.” He stroked the scar that lined the back of my shoulder. I’d almost forgotten it was there.

  I snorted. “Of course not.”

  A grin spread across his face. “You’re such a brave woman.”

  “Idiot, more like.”

  He grasped my shoulders and peered into my eyes. “No, Hailey. You need to own this. You fucking survived.”

  I stared back at him. “I fucking did.”

  And I would keep surviving. Even if it meant I had to leave the only place that had ever felt like home.

  24

  Sciro

  The moon rose over the mountain as Terrin and I ran along the forest path. “So, you and Hailey are a thing?”

  “Yup,” he said.

  “That’s awesome, man.”

  “Yeah, I know. I still get scared though you know.”

  I nodded. We all had things in our pasts to keep us up at night. “Did she tell you about her life before?”

  “Before? As in before Thornbriar?”

  “Yeah.”

  He shook his head. “Not yet.”

  “Oh.”

  Pulling to a stop, he glared at me. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I shrugged. “It’s just kinda a big thing to say she’s your girlfriend and not know about her history.”

  “She tell you?”

  Ducking my chin, I pushed a rock around with my toe. “Sorta.”

  “What the hell?” he growled. “First she’s flirting with Adrian, and now she’s telling you her secrets? What kind of girlfriend is she?”

  Frowning, I asked, “Flirting with Adrian?”

  “Yeah, Monica said . . .”

  At least he had the common sense to looks sheepish. “You’re believing Monica Fucking Gray when it comes to anything involving Adrian?”

  He scratched his neck. “Shit, you’re right man.”

  “Did you actually see them flirt?”

  “I only saw that stuff during the movie night. You know, the tickling and stuff.”

  “Terrin, he’s only treating her like a kid sister. That’s probably the most appropriate way to treat your bro’s mate.”

  He scuffed his feet on the grass. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

  “And I only know a little about her past because I asked. Have you asked her?”

  “Well, no . . .”

  Idiot. He was my pack brother, and I loved him, but sometimes he was so dense. Then it dawned on me. What if he hadn’t really talked to her about any of this? “Terrin, man, you did ask her to be your girlfriend, didn’t you?”

  He blinked. “Well, I thought it was understood. I mean we’ve been holding hands and making out.”

  “Terrin, you have to make your wishes plain. Especially with a girl like Hailey.” Bristling, he frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Not my secrets to tell.” I held my hands out, palms up. “But she’s had a rough history.”

  “I figured that out. I met her trying to climb the fence to escape Thornbriar.”

  I grimaced. Sounded about right. After growing up where she did, I wouldn’t expect Hailey to trust any place with a wall. “You need to talk to her. Not just kiss her.”

  He grunted. “Do you think there really is something going on between her and Adrian?”

  “Hell no. Adrian wouldn’t do that to you.”

  Nor would I. That’s why I’d stayed as far away from Hailey as I could get. She was too much temptation. Just the smell of her in the common room after movie night had given me a hard-on for days. But she was Terrin’s. We all knew that.

  25

  Hailey

  I rolled over in my bed, the soft mattress giving beneath my weight. Today was my birthday. Hard to believe I’d already been at the school for a month. I stared at the morning light drifting through the curtained window. No one knew I was turning eighteen today. I didn’t want them to start watching me for signs of a shift. I needed to get out of Thornbriar Academy before I shifted, and I still had no idea how.

  Slipping out of bed, I dragged on some clothes. Tee shirts and jeans had almost completely replaced my school uniform. The scholarship student stipend was more than generous. Monica had made a couple of quips about me not having any school spirit, but mostly I could ignore her. It was amazing how easy it was to avoid someone who lived in the same suite and had most of the same classes.

  I ran a hand through my hair and headed out into the common room.

  “Surprise!” Terrin yelled, shoving a cupcake with a lit candle in my face.

  “Shit,” I exclaimed, lashing out with my arm and knocking the cupcake to the floor.

  He grabbed the candle, pinching out the tiny flame, then he looked at me with sad puppy dog eyes. “I’m sorry. I only meant to surprise you for your birthday.”

  “How did you know?” I demanded, my hands settling on my hips.

  “I asked the Headmaster,” he said sheepishly.

  “How did she know?”

  “Mr. Reed, I think.” He shrugged. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “Well you fucking did,” I said and turned back toward my bedroom.

  “Hailey,” he said softly, reaching out a hand toward me.

  “Go away, Terrin.” I closed the door behind me and leaned against it. The headmaster knew when my birthday was. It was just a day, really. One’s first shift happened sometime after the birthday, but everyone grew at different rates, like puberty, and it rarely happened right away. I’d been pretending it wasn’t coming. That I could just hang out at Thornbriar forever. I had comfortable clothes, great food, and friends. As Terrin has said that first night, it wasn’t such a bad place.

  A knock came at the door. “Hailey,” Terrin pleaded.

  “Go away.”

  “Can I just talk to you please?” he asked.

  “Fine,” I said, letting him in. I dropped down on the end of my bed and glared at him.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You said that.”

  He rubbed a hand along the scar on his arm. “I was only trying to do something nice for my girlfriend on her birthday. Most girls would love a cupcake.”

  I gaped at him. There were so many things wrong with that statement, I didn’t even know where to begin. “Terrin, I like you. We have fun hanging out. But you don’t know me at all.�
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  “Hailey—”

  “I’m not your girlfriend.”

  This time, he looked surprised.

  “We’ve never talked about it at all. You can’t just decide things in your own head. A relationship is a partnership.” I sighed. I sounded like one of the warden’s romance book heroines, but, dammit, they were right.

  “But—”

  “And I’m not most girls.”

  “I know, Hailey. I just wanted to celebrate your birthday.”

  “Well, I didn’t.”

  His mouth dropped open.

  I wanted to tell him everything about my shitty life. About how birthdays weren’t a great thing to be celebrated, and how I especially didn’t want to celebrate this one. Because I was a spirit shifter and this was a sign of my coming doom. I stopped my speeding thoughts right there. I couldn’t put that on Terrin. He was a good guy, and he didn’t deserve it. I sighed. “Just go.”

  He started to speak, but then he stopped. “Let me know when you’re ready to talk,” he said quietly and left.

  I gazed at the closed door. I hadn’t even been awake for ten minutes and this day couldn’t have gone more wrong. I was eighteen and I was doomed.

  * * *

  I had spoken too soon. I walked into Shifter Biology and Brenton was already glaring at me. Couldn’t we be done with this damn project already?

  “What’s got your panties in a twist?” he sneered.

  Batting my lashes at him, I said, “You, you handsome devil.”

  He glared at me and turned back to our microscope.

  I sighed. How was I supposed to handle classwork when I needed to plan my escape? I’d been searching through the records in the library, and I still hadn’t found anything about get away routes that wouldn’t take me over the fence or through the gate. Part of me wished my shift would come and I could turn into a bird, then I could fly off. I frowned. But after my shift, would I be restricted to the creature of my current phase? Or would I have the option to turn into any? Or would I have to shift into all of them, before I gained control? I bit my lip. And when would the madness start? I needed to be as far away from civilization as I could get when that happened.