by Mandy Rosko
At least now she understood why Cindy accused her of using a nightlight.
"I should… I should go." Warren said it as though he really didn't want to leave.
"Yeah, I guess you should."
He didn't go. Trisha didn't shut the door either.
Something came over her. It came over him, too, because as Trisha opened the door wider, he reached for her.
Trisha threw her arms around Warren's neck and shoulders. Their bodies came flush together; the heat was nearly overpowering as the softness of her breasts pressed against the firm strength of his chest. They were definitely getting much better at avoiding her horn, that was for sure, but Trisha couldn't think of that as her lips crashed against his.
This was what she wanted. She wanted more than this. Her body ached for it.
Even though she couldn't remember anything about her former life, Trisha knew there was no way she'd ever been kissed that way before. She would have felt it. Deep inside of her, she knew this was the first time in her life that anyone had ever been able to make her body come alive like this.
"Are you sure that you can't come inside?" Her voice was breathy, to say the least. Was it hot in there? It felt like the air conditioning in the building was no longer functional.
He gave her a look that damn near melted her knees. "Do you think your roommate might have something to say about that?"
Dammit. Trisha had forgotten all about Cindy. "I mean she might not notice."
Warren blinked wide, clearly taken aback by her words before he realized that she was joking.
Mostly.
"I really should take you to horny jail for that."
Trisha smirked at the tease. "Are there handcuffs involved?"
Warren gently spun her around and steered her back to her door. "Maybe if we behave for a while. Until then, get some rest."
"Are you making a joke, or are you promising me something?" That seemed like something important Trisha should figure out before he left her for the night.
Warren pushed open her door and guided her inside, while not stepping inside himself, as though the threshold were a barrier he didn't dare cross. But that didn't stop him from leaning in and quickly kissing her on the mouth one last time. "Goodnight. No trash hunting while I'm gone." He whispered the last words in her ear, too soft for anyone else to hear.
"You're never allowed to repeat that to anybody else. Ever."
Regardless of whether or not it was his job, Trisha didn't want anyone knowing about her secret trash fetish. Luckily for her, and for him, Warren actually crossed his index finger over his heart.
"That one will stay between you and me. I'll see you tomorrow." He hesitated briefly but then spun on his heel and walked away.
A petty piece of Trisha couldn't help but enjoy the fact that it looked as though he was forcing himself to walk away. Proof that he really didn't want to leave her.
Trisha shut and locked the door as per protocol. She spun around and leaned against it, hands over her swiftly beating heart.
How the hell was she supposed to go to bed when her entire body thrummed with energy?
The quick answer was that she wasn't. There was no way she was going to fall asleep anytime soon. Maybe not even for the whole night.
Trisha needed something to do.
She eyed the little trash bin that she and Cindy shared between them, but that was when she noticed it. The complete absence of Cindy in her own bed.
That was…weird.
Maybe she was in the bathroom? Or off on a midnight swim in the lake?
It wouldn't have been the first time Cindy had needed to get up and get her gills wet when the shower and bath didn't do the trick. But it would be the first time—that Trisha knew of—Cindy had headed off past curfew to do so.
A quick check proved that Cindy was not in the bathroom, meaning that she really was probably out in the lake again.
Trisha was torn for maybe half a minute, debating whether or not she needed to run after Warren and let him know that her roommate was missing or leaving it alone. It was probably nothing, and Cindy was most likely fine…
But that just didn't sit right with her.
Shit. Cindy wasn't going to forgive her if this turned out to be nothing.
Trisha opened the door and ran down the hall. "Warren, wait!"
She was probably waking half the hall, but fuck it. This was important.
It was serious.
Cindy could be mad at her all she wanted. Trisha wasn't going to take the risk with her friend. Not for one damn second.
11
Cindy only truly felt like she could breathe when she was in the water.
Back in the lab, there was a time when she thought she would go crazy if she didn't get to sleep in a proper bed again instead of the giant aquarium she'd been put into while living in the lab.
Now, the FUCN'A bed was worse. So much worse because it was dry, but sleeping outdoors in the lake, even though it was just a short distance from her dorm, was against the rules.
Rules made by furry people. Her TWATS mentor had told her that their organization—The Water/Aquatic Type Syndicate—had yet to open their own sister academy to FUCN'A. Otherwise, they would have taken Cindy in and given her accommodations much better suited for her.
To hell with the FUC rules. Cindy was done with following other people's rules, especially where her own comfort was concerned.
She was there to feel close to normal again, wasn't she? To learn about her body and how to control her new gifts?
If they could even be called that.
She had to admit it was kind of nice finding out a few things about her new body on her terms. Other times, she just enjoyed testing her own bravery.
Cindy used to struggle with going deep into the lake. In the beginning, she had stayed closer to the surface, and only during daylight hours, as though the gills at her throat would suddenly close up and go away, leaving her to drown in the depths of the water.
Alone, cold, and scared.
No more. She wasn't scared anymore. She'd started taking daytime naps in the lake, and up until that night, she'd been too afraid to brave the dark waters alone, but the dryness of the room and her bed drove her to overcome that fear.
And now she was completely relaxed all the way at the bottom where no one bothered her.
But she couldn't drift off to sleep. Something niggled at her, and it wasn't the occasional small, curious fish that nibbled or bumped at her.
No, something else was causing her sixth sense to tingle. The darkness of the water wasn't the comfort it once was. It was as though something watched her.
She wondered if it was TJ. She knew from Trisha's recounting that TJ had left his room and gone to the cafeteria past curfew, so maybe he also left and went to the lake.
It would be odd, since he told her he didn't have a very difficult time sleeping in his bed, but it was possible she'd misunderstood him. Those long, needle-thin teeth sometimes got in the way of his tongue.
It could be him.
But he would say hello to her. He was just that kind of guy.
Something was off. Something was...wrong.
Her scales crawled, and ignoring the feeling wasn't making it go away.
Just in case FUC was keeping something down there they hadn't told her about, she decided it was time to get out of the water. She hadn't spent all that time locked up in a lab just to ignore her gut feelings now.
Kicking her legs and pushing her arms through the water, Cindy soon was able to see the glow of the moon through the water.
That chilling feeling something was close by didn't leave her, though.
Cindy tried not to glance back. It was like she was a little kid again with that scary feeling something was under her bed. Best to pull the blankets up and not look down there at all, as if that would make things safer.
But she wasn't in bed, and she couldn't just pull the covers over her head and face, hoping whatever it w
as down there would go away. Despite her best efforts, she looked behind her.
Glowing eyes stared back at her, sunken into a pale face with a wide, toothy smile that grew when she spotted it, as though the creature had been waiting for her to look at it.
Then it lunged, swifter than she could ever hope to be in the water.
Cindy screamed, the air she'd been keeping in her lungs escaping in a flurry of bubbles around her face as the creature grabbed her.
Trisha had hoped it wouldn't be a big deal. She'd tell Warren that Cindy was missing, he'd check out the lake and find her there, and then both girls would be back in bed before she knew it.
No. It seemed that wasn't going to happen because Warren listened to Trisha's worries and then called all the FUC agents he had on his contact list as though announcing an Amber Alert for a missing kid.
Apparently, they weren't all too far away. More people than she'd realized had been staying either in the school itself or had homes or lodgings nearby, because Trisha watched everyone as they grouped up, planned quickly, and then separated with such a quickness that it felt as though she'd blinked and they were gone.
"Wait, what's going on? Where are you all going?"
No one had consulted her when they went over their plans, but she supposed that was to be expected, being that she wasn't a FUC agent and all.
Still, she was annoyed.
Warren stayed back as the others left. He put his hands to her shoulders and gripped tight. If that was supposed to comfort her, it didn't work.
"We're going to check out the lake and the area around it. I want you to go back to your room and lock the door."
Now she definitely wasn't comforted.
Trisha only told him Cindy was gone because she had a feeling, but that feeling had now turned into the blaring sound of a bullhorn in her ears as her heart slammed.
"She's okay, though. I mean look how many times I've gone off and been fine."
"And when we come back with her, we're going to have a talk with you both about it. Try not to worry. She's most likely all right. Mason and Chase are going to scout the land with me. Victor will be in the water, and Albert is flying overhead."
The pounding in her ears got worse. "Isn't that overkill? Do you really think she's okay? Or are you just telling me this so I don't make a big deal out of it?"
Trisha couldn't even appreciate that she was probably wasting his time. This was too surreal. They were supposed to be safe there. Nothing bad was supposed to happen now that they were at the Academy. Life in the lab and the terrors within was supposed to be long over.
Warren rubbed her arms. "I know you're not dumb. She's most likely all right. You were right to come to me and tell me she was gone, though. It's just a precaution, but I really do need you to go back to your room."
She wanted to argue with him. Trisha wanted to go with him so badly.
Cindy was her friend. The fact that she was younger made Trisha feel a little protective of her as well. But she wasn't trained to fight or track, and she could barely control her new shifter abilities. Even now, her horn started to glow, and the little violet plant on the desk of the office they'd used for their little meeting started to sprout brand new leaves and flowers, the plant getting much too big for its pot.
That lack of control was what did it.
"Okay."
She couldn't be stubborn. She would just get in the way, and if there really was something happening with Cindy, it would distract everyone around her.
"You're right. I'll...go back to my room."
"Good." Warren's grip on her elbow was firm but not painful. "I'll go with you."
That stung. "I won't sneak away."
Warren glanced down at her. "That's not what I'm worried about."
As they moved, it took Trisha a few seconds to realize what he was talking about.
He was worried someone might already be there. Waiting for her.
When they got back, he even did a check of the window to make sure it was closed and locked. He kept his nose to the air, sniffing everything except for her and Cindy's pillows.
"All right, I'll come right back soon. Lock the door behind me."
"R-right. If you do find Cindy and this was all for nothing, tell her, and everyone you called, that I said sorry for worrying them."
He smiled at her, reaching out, his hand comforting behind her neck. "You won't have to apologize. That's exactly what we're all hoping this is."
He pulled his hand away. Unlike the last time he left her room, there were no lingering kisses, no hesitating or long glances. He turned and left as though he had an important job to do. As though someone's life might be hanging in the balance.
As Trisha shut and locked the door, she realized in the silence of her room that she absolutely loved him for that. Her heart thumped up into her throat and then settled painfully in her ribs. Trisha tried to swallow, but couldn't seem to do so over the lump.
Was she in love with Warren? A man she'd only just started to know? Who she'd only kissed a few times?
Not that sex had to have anything to do with love, but she’d thought for sure she would get him into her bed at some point for a round of naked wrestling before she had to face feelings like these.
Maybe that was why it hurt so much to think about. Trisha pressed her horn to the door, leaning against it since she couldn't put her forehead flush on the cool wood.
Yeah, she was definitely in love with the guy. In love with a man who spoke to her like she wasn't a victim but still took his job seriously enough to help her. Who didn't hesitate to leap into action when a friend might be in trouble.
What was not to love in a guy like that? Even the stoic bit was kind of a turn-on. The fact that she'd been drawn to his resting bitch face even before that fateful day when she tried to steal his wallet cemented it.
She was in love with the squirrel-chasing wolf-man.
It hurt to have these kinds of feelings because he very likely didn't return them. Why would he? It was way too soon for something like that.
She was so fucked.
A gentle tapping on her window made her blink out of her painful thoughts.
She spun around to the source of the noise but saw nothing.
She was on the first floor, but it was still a slight dropdown. So unless the person outside was seven feet tall, they wouldn't be rapping at her window.
"Cindy?"
Was she out there? Tossing pebbles and trying to get back in? Usually, whenever they snuck in and out, they tried to use doors because it was too hard climbing in through the window.
The tapping sound started again, but she couldn't see who was knocking, and on autopilot, Trisha went to the window and opened it, expecting to see Cindy down below, asking for a hand to get back up and into their room.
No one was there.
A chill rippled down her spine.
"Cindy?"
A hiss and something slithered out of the corner of her eye. Trisha screamed a little as she jumped backward, falling on her ass as the snake made its way onto her floor.
"Holy shit." She could hardly breathe. Trisha could barely think as she watched it coil its lower body before standing up. It didn't have feet, but the head was suddenly propped up, tongue flicking at her.
She tried to catch her breath. Its little snake face wasn't pressing into its gross, coiled body; that meant it wasn't getting ready to strike at her.
She hoped.
"Okay, there's a snake in my room. That's nice."
Was it poisonous? Shit, if it bit her, she was totally going to die. Trisha didn't remember having a fear of snakes, but now that this one was in front of her, she knew she could go the rest of her life without ever seeing one again.
Trisha wet her lips. "Okay, this is a shifter school. You're probably another shifter, right? You're not a real snake, because you were knocking on my window. That's right. You're an agent, right? What do you want?"
Please be a person.
Please be a person.
Even as she hoped and prayed this was something else, Trisha's hand moved to the side, blindly searching for anything that would suffice as a decent weapon.
The snake moved. Barely, but it was enough for Trisha to shriek, her hand finding a shoe and launching it at the snake's ugly little head. Magically, she managed to land the hit, and the snake flew backward, with the shoe, into the wall, but it didn't stay the size of a snake for long. It got bigger, arms and legs forming, hair, fingers, elbows, and knees of a guy, a naked guy, in her room who held on to his forehead, nose and brow scrunched up from the pain of being bashed in the face with her sneaker.
"What the fuck, lady?"
12
"Uh..."
This definitely was not what Trisha had expected, and as the man before her stood at his full height, she realized with dread that he was not only taller than her but broader in the shoulders.
If she got lucky, she might be able to get in a little stabby action with her horn, but the chances were good that if he got those beefy arms around her, she wouldn't be getting away.
And he looked mad.
He shook his head and wiped blood onto his hand before shaking it off. His eyes glowed as he looked at her. "What the fuck?"
He asked it as though she was somehow at fault for his current situation, and an angry defensiveness rose up within her.
"Don't look at me like that! You're the one who scared the hell out of me!" Then she remembered something important, backing away from him. "Are you that snake the whole school is talking about?"
"What?"
"The snake? The one who stole that baby? You are, aren't you?"
"Now listen—"
"No, fuck off. Don't come anywhere near me!" The stupid horn in the middle of her forehead started to glow. Bright.
Great. Just what she needed.
This was the worst time in the world for this to be happening to her because she definitely needed to be able to see the guy in front of her, who was most likely a threat.
Even the snake-man squinted a little, his hands up as if trying to talk her down from the ledge of a cliff.