by May Dawson
“And then you went back to your own pack?”
“They needed the help,” Clearborn said simply.
People had been talking about him since he showed up at the academy. Apparently, his pack hadn’t had any choice in accepting the help. Clearborn had walked back in after fifteen years, with no standing in the pack, then waged a bloody campaign to become the alpha.
“So do you want to make the academy more like the Marine Corps?” Rafe asked.
“No,” Clearborn said. “We’ve got our own problems. We need our own solutions.”
Rafe was on the verge of asking something else, when Clearborn said, “You didn’t answer my question. It was fair enough to want my answer, but now it’s your turn.”
Rafe paused. “I never really thought about it. I think I’m good at this.” He waved his hand to indicate the academy.
Clearborn rolled down his window as he approached the gate, but the guards were already moving to open the gate. Clearborn said nothing, but the faintest lines of tension appeared around his eyes, as if he didn’t approve. Nonetheless, he rolled through the open gate and took a right onto the main road.
“You think you’re good at the part that comes after, as well,” Clearborn said. “You might not have gotten the glory, but I heard about your team bringing down the smuggling ring.”
“We work well together,” Rafe said, pride in his voice.
I wanted Rafe to shut up. Clearborn seemed too curious about us. We didn’t know him well enough to trust him or not.
But I had a feeling we’d better get to know him.
“And you, Lex?” Clearborn asked. “Why do you want to be part of the Council’s Own?”
I hadn’t told him that I did. I hated the thought that was common knowledge, when Dean McCauley had tried to use my desire to control me.
“Rafe’s right, we all work well together,” I said. “We come from different packs, but I want to bring the team back together.”
Clearborn nodded, but I felt like I’d just said too much. I hadn’t even told Rafe that my dream wasn’t just the Council’s Own, but to pull in Ty and Jensen as they graduated, then Silas, Penn, Chase and Maddie.
That wasn’t just because we worked well together. There were three years until our first-years graduated, and nothing we could do about that. But eventually, I wanted to see them all every day. The world felt like it’d be lonely without all of us together.
“I would posit that you could work together even better,” Clearborn said, “if we trained a little harder.”
“We’re up for anything,” Rafe said.
And I once again had a prickling feeling that made me wish he’d shut up. I wasn’t sure we really were up for whatever Clearborn might be thinking up.
“We’ll see.” Clearborn pulled into Dean McCauley’s driveway and cut the engine. There were already a dozen vehicles filling the drive.
When we got out of the car, Duncan was on the front porch of the house with a few of the alphas, and he waved at us, a cocky grin spreading across his face. He seemed pretty happy to be here. I wished I felt that good about it.
“Who’s the student with Alpha Garmond?” Clearborn asked.
“James Duncan,” Rafe said, his tone coolly neutral. “He’s cadre in our house as well.”
“He’s in Garmond’s pack,” Clearborn said, and I wondered why he’d asked the question when he knew that. “I didn’t realize we were bringing mascots.”
The three of us joined the dozen or so Alphas as they entered the house. I worried about Dean McCauley saying something that would reveal our little forgery, but he was nowhere to be seen.
Piper Northsea was on the other side of the expansive living room, flanked by her two alpha males, Arthur and Callum.
Arthur’s gaze met mine across the room. As if he felt Arthur’s attention shift, Callum followed his gaze.
“I would not want to be you if they think you hurt their girl,” Rafe muttered.
“We’re all good,” I said, turning my back to avoid their gaze.
I wasn’t sure we were all good.
Apparently, Alpha council meetings involved alcohol. Once everyone else had a drink in hand, the head of the Alpha council called the meeting to order. A fire crackled in the fireplace behind him as he greeted everyone, but he quickly passed control of the meeting over to Clearborn.
“We’re here today because I believe Dean McCauley has been concealing information from the council regarding the situation at the academy,” Clearborn said. “I’ve been concerned about the preparation level of the students I see emerging from the academy and entering the Council’s Own. After my visit to the academy, I think the issue is one of McCauley’s competence.”
“We need to talk about how there are witches undercover at the academy,” Garmond interrupted Clearborn urgently. Garmond’s face was faintly red, his expression eager.
“That’s a claim that the Council needs to carefully consider,” Clearborn said. “We wouldn’t have known about that accusation if Dean McCauley had his way. He had tried to conceal the presence of Joan Coventry.”
Clearborn turned over the floor to one of the guards who had been in the woods with us, who explained what he had seen that day. Joan’s answer to the question of if Maddie were a witch only sounded more damning now. I don’t know what she is.
Joan had also babbled about how witches worked in the shadows to attack the academy. I wished they would focus on that.
“And the Council was not informed,” Clearborn added. “McCauley should have passed that information on—”
“Well, is the girl a witch?” One of the alphas broke in to demand.
“It might be the only logical reason a girl would want to insert herself into the academy,” someone muttered, and while no one laughed, there was a faint exhalation of tension around the room, as if they almost had.
My hands tightened into fists, and I folded my hands behind my back so no one could see. I hated to hear anyone laugh at Maddie.
“There’s no reason to believe she is,” Clearborn said. “I think Joan Coventry had a mental break. Perhaps induced by magic, yes, or perhaps earned long ago, given that her daughter was kidnapped and tortured by the covens at such a tender age.”
The few smiles that had appeared around the room disappeared at the reminder of just who Maddie Northsea was, and what her family had been through.
“No reason except her mother accused her, and no one knows who her father is,” Garmond said, and there were a few mutters of agreement.
“You and I might have a history, Garmond, but you’d think you could leave my teenage sister out of it,” Piper said. Her tone was mild, but the accusation fell heavily.
“This has nothing to do with you,” Garmond said back to her, his cheeks reddening darker. “Except that perhaps you’re a witch too.”
The accusation sat heavily in the air. Piper had already diffused Garmond’s accusation a bit by calling him out as nothing but a bully, but the Northsea pack’s reputation for using magic would work against them.
Clearborn broke in before Piper could respond. “Would the Council like to hear Joan Coventry’s testimony?”
A few minutes later, Joan was brought in, accompanied by an older woman. Joan babbled without making much sense. I wondered how much of that was an act, if it was at all, or if she was getting worse. Either way, I was glad that Maddie wasn’t there to see it.
I glanced across the crowd at Piper, but her face was a coolly beautiful mask as she stared at Joan without expression. Her face startled me, and I was glad Maddie wasn’t there to see that, either. I’d only ever known the warm, gentle version of Piper Northsea. But the woman in this room had to be someone else to face her allies and enemies.
“It seems like the ranting of a mad woman,” one of the alphas said when Joan had left. “But she never should have been able to breach campus security. And we should have been informed of the possible threat.”
“I move to rep
lace Dean McCauley with Alpha Clearborn until a suitable temporary replacement can be determined,” the alpha added.
Clearborn managed to look faintly surprised, but I was pretty sure he had orchestrated that move.
By the end of the meeting, Clearborn was our new dean.
It was a very quiet ride back to the academy.
Chapter Thirteen
Maddie
That night, as I was packing my bag, I couldn’t help but think about the last time I’d snuck off campus. I’d left with Jensen to find out what really happened to his sister.
I’d known I was headed into danger, but I hadn’t realized it was my heart that was going to fall.
As if my thoughts summoned him, there was a tap on the door. Then Jensen came in without waiting.
I glanced over my shoulder at him with a mischievous smile, about to make a crack about how he came in uninvited, but he looked so troubled and stoic at the same time that the words died on my lips.
“I want you to take this,” he said, flipping a sheathed boot knife in his hand so he could hold it out to me, hilt-first. “In case you find trouble out there.”
“Me?” I asked innocently. The knife felt nicely weighted in my hand. I leaned over, pulling up the hem of my jeans to tuck it into the edge of my boot.
“It was Eliza’s,” he said, then frowned. “If you think it’s bad luck, you don’t need to bring it—”
I knew how much Eliza meant to him, and something tugged inside my chest knowing he’d gifted me something of hers.
“I don’t believe in luck,” I told him firmly, bobbing up onto my toes as I caught his shoulders in my hands. Relief flashed across his face, as if my reaction to that gift had meant a lot to him. “Thank you.”
“Then what do you believe in?” he asked, his lips quirking up at the edges.
“Besides the value of a good blade?” I murmured, because I wanted him to know how much I appreciated Eliza’s knife. “I don’t know. Myself. Us?”
I didn’t know what was coming out there as I tracked down my true origins, but when Jensen’s strong arm was around my waist like this and the rest of my men were waiting for me, I felt deep in my soul that we’d be together. That we’d be good.
Even though right now, I couldn’t see down the dark road ahead of us, to the place where the light shone.
“I believe in you,” he murmured. His lips grazed my cheek, and I turned my face instinctively up to his, searching for his lips. “You made my world a better place, Madeline Northsea. I wish I could be at your side the whole time, but I know you can handle whatever comes next.”
Jensen’s golden eyes were steady on mine, and warmth glowed through my chest. He’d always been the one who saw the worst of my faults. He still did. He knew about my broken bits, my imperfections, and he still thought I could set the world on fire.
It’s a powerful thing, being loved and accepted the way Jensen loved me.
Our lips met. He kissed me, tenderly at first, then our kisses deepened. His arm around my waist tightened, drawing my body tightly against his. I smiled against his lips at the feel of his hard body against mine, his cock pressing against me through his school uniform.
I should stop kissing him. I should finish packing my bag. But I couldn’t pull myself away from the hard, warm lines of his body.
“Jensen,” I murmured, my voice came out husky.
His lips were still on mine as he scooped me up and carried me across the room to the bed. The two of us fell together, still trading kisses as if he was my life and I was his. We undressed each other in quick, hurried movements. Then Jensen was naked in front of me, a chiseled god of a man with golden eyes that shone even brighter when he looked at me.
He held himself over me, his big biceps to either side of my head, as he peppered my throat and shoulders and chest with his kisses. I wrapped my thighs around his narrow waist, bucking my hips up toward him impatiently.
When he slid inside me, his breath hitched, as if I felt so good to him.
He pumped into me with long, steady strokes that had my thighs tightening around him. The scent of my arousal and his mixed in the air, smelling like citrus and salt. That scent always made me throb even harder for him.
A tingling sensation raced through my body, as if my every muscle was on fire for Jensen, as if his love for me went deep as my bones. Then when the pleasure was so intense that it was almost unbearable, I found myself gasping, “Jensen…”
His lips arched up in a familiar smirk. That smirk no longer made me want to slap him across his face. I knew he was just delighted that he had that effect on me.
“Northsea,” he murmured, but it was full of affection now when he said it.
This time when he thrust deep inside me, my head fell back into the pillows as pleasure arched through me. I caught the sheets with my fingers, ripping them off the bed as my orgasm rolled through me in powerful waves. He bit his lip as he came too, his dark lashes fluttering above those beautiful eyes.
Then he sank against me, his big body falling to one side of mine. As he toyed with my hair, stroking it back from my forehead, his expression was watchful and amused.
“You’ve got to come home to me,” he said softly, and I didn’t doubt he meant it.
“I promise,” I said. I traced my fingertips over the curves of his chiseled shoulder, down to his bicep. “You can’t get rid of me now.”
“Good.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I’d die without you, Northsea.”
His voice was soft, but there was a ring of truth to it.
It worried me, and my lips parted, about to tell him—what? I didn’t even know what to say to him. I couldn’t bear the thought of meaning that much to him. I was going to be one of the packs’ fighters protecting our people from the covens. My own life was meant to be held lightly.
Someone banged on my door, instantly setting my heart racing.
“I said ten minutes, didn’t I?” Rafe demanded out in the hallway. “Or was that just my fanciful imagination?”
“Be right there!” I called.
Hastily, Jensen and I rolled off the bed, beginning to dress again. He turned away from me as he dragged his boxers and trousers back on in one motion.
When he turned back, his familiar Jensen mask—relaxed, in control, as if nothing could ever rattle him—was firmly in place.
But I couldn’t shake a sense of fear, and it had nothing to do with my own mission.
Chapter Fourteen
All of us filled Rafe’s room, talking through our plan one more time.
I’d go with Tyson and Penn to Penn’s pack. Penn’s pack was struggling after the death of their alpha. His men were fighting each other, and they were in danger from other packs who might try to take advantage of their weakened position. Given that the academy’s top mission was to promote peace and good relations between the packs, it was believable that the dean would let us sign out early for the weekend to go back.
I glanced at Penn, worried about what I was hearing. He stared forward without reaction, his tattooed arms crossed over his chest. Whatever he felt was shuttered behind his cool demeanor.
“And what do the rest of us do in the meantime?” Jensen asked.
“Try to stay out of trouble,” Lex said pointedly. But then he added, “I don’t know what Clearborn is up to, but it worries me. And having Maddie, Ty and Penn out there might draw attention as it is. So really, keep your heads down and stay out of trouble. For once.”
Jensen touched his first two fingers to his forehead in a fake salute.
“Maddie, one second,” Rafe said when everyone was filing out. Lex glanced over his shoulder at us, but then followed the rest of them out.
I stared at him expectantly. But when the door had closed behind them and it was just the two of us, he still seemed to hesitate.
“We’re talking about getting a jump on what…might be uncovered about you,” he said. “Meanwhile, Lex and I will try to find out if there�
�s any truth to the idea there could be witches undercover at the academy.”
“I know,” I said. We’d just covered that in our team meeting.
Rafe sighed, finally meeting my gaze. His dark eyes looked sad. “What if it turns out you’re half witch, Maddie? What are you going to do?”
A shiver ran down my spine at his words. I wanted to deny the possibility. I’d called myself witchy before, joked about it, because my abilities with magic were beyond what was normal for any shifter. But I was a shifter.
The Academy might not agree, though.
And the Council might have their own thoughts too.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Rafe chewed his lower lip, studying me. Then he gripped my shoulders. My breath caught in my chest, but he was frowning, worried. His hands felt heavy, and his gaze bore into mine.
“Maddie,” he said softly. “I know it’s not your nature. But I want you to think—now—about running, if it turns out you’re a witch.”
His words shocked me.
“Why?” I asked while I tried to regain my equilibrium. The thought of running—of leaving the academy for good, of leaving the guys—made me feel sick, as if the world was spinning around me too fast.
He squeezed my shoulders gently, as if he could tell I was struggling, but he didn’t acknowledge it in words. I might’ve cried if he had.
I knew, deep down, that the academy might not welcome me back if I was a witch.
There was no denying I was a shifter. But I wasn’t sure what place I’d have in the shifter world, if I was half-witch and half-shifter.
“The thought that there could be witches at the academy—hell, that there could be witches in our community—will send people into a panic. That’s why Dean McCauley wanted to keep it quiet and why Clearborn wants to use that fear.”
I nodded. Focusing on something else, something that wasn’t so personal, made me feel calmer.
“I think they might kill you, Maddie.” His voice had gone very soft, but his words still struck deep. “So I want you to think—now—about if you find something out, just running for Northsea territory.”