by Riley Ross, Sally Slayer, Kaydence Rayne, & Dovey Mayali Cralk
*****
Seth Johnson was up in his room, trying to get through that day's history lesson on his computer. Summer classes were one of the last things he wanted to do, but he wasn't given a choice on the matter. His father had told him he needed to hurry and get his college education behind him because he had more important matters to that needed to be the center of his focus. He had graduated almost a year earlier than the rest of his class and would be starting his sophomore year of college in the fall. What surprised him the most is that they were allowing him to take online classes, giving him the opportunity to manage his own time. Ultimately, to him, that meant he was getting freedom.
When he started high school they became more strict on him. This included both his school and personal life. He wasn't allowed to have friends outside of the ones his parents felt were necessary with the path that had been chosen for him. It sucked not being able to hang around with Alyssa anymore but they could sense he was developing feelings for her. A shifter and a human relationship was not safe. Especially when the shifter hadn't completed his training.
Pausing briefly from his history work, he glanced outside and groaned. It wasn't meant to be anything but a brief reprieve, giving his eyes a rest from having spent most of his morning going through the textbook. He hadn't anticipated Alyssa to be there, laying near her pool and reading a book in her bathing suit. There was no way he could concentrate on his schoolwork with her out there.
Getting up, he closed his laptop and grabbed his swimming trunks from the top drawer of his dresser. He changed into them and covered them up with his clothes before heading over to her backyard. His parents wouldn't be home until later that night, so there was little chance of being caught. He'd been good for the last four years, so he doubted they would expect this.