Academy of Mages and Shifters 1

by Laura Wylde

  Once we left here, I didn’t want to be troubled by any of it. I wanted everything that happened with that God damn shadow to be done with. I felt like this would be the first step in that direction. I needed to overcome it all and shift, fly through the sky, and prove to everyone and everything that I was good. That I could survive whatever.

  They all believe in you, I reminded myself yet again. They are all here for you, whatever.

  I was stalling, putting off the inevitable, but I couldn’t do that forever, so I put my head down and I finally forced myself to get the hell on with it already. I shuddered my body hard and felt the dragon version of me burst free. It felt a little stiffer than I expected, it was almost a little painful, but I did it. The pride and the happiness that came with defeating that physical ability overshadowed anything difficult that came with it. It was everything. I knew then that I could fly. I could lift myself off the ground and soar through the air…

  But even with that knowledge, I was slow and steady at first, trying not to push myself so hard that I ended up in a burn out. But as soon as the other guys spotted that I was flying, they joined in as well, flying circles and patterns around me. They actually had me laughing and joyful inside which encouraged me even further. I couldn’t resist trying to join in, which helped me to overcome the fear that was holding me back, making it hard.

  I’m doing it! I wanted to scream with joy. I’m actually making this happen. This is incredible. I’m doing this!

  The guys had been trying not to shift themselves too much so I didn’t feel left out, but there were times during the week where they couldn’t resist taking Megan out on a fly to help her get used to all of them. I was the only one who she hadn’t flown with and I didn’t think that I would have the confidence to ask her today, but it turned out that I did. I wanted her to fly with me, to get to know me on that level as well. I wanted to catch up.

  I landed on the floor beside her and nodded towards my back for her to get on. Megan hesitated for a moment, which I completely understood. No one wanted to fall from a high distance, but in the end, she obviously made the decision to trust me. At least for a short flight, which was all that I would attempt. She climbed on my back and clung to me as I brought her up high. There was something special about having the woman that I felt so strongly for on me, spending this time with me, embracing this experience. Loving this flight. I wanted her to enjoy everything with me. Hanging out with me, talking to me, laughing with me, flying on my back, making love to me.

  Megan was an incredible druidess in bed, it was magical how wonderful she made us all feel. Sure, we hadn’t exactly discussed it directly, but I knew that all the others felt the same way that I did. We were falling for Megan hard. I certainly wanted her to be in our harem, to be the one that we started a family with…

  We flew for a little while before I started to grow tired and I descended back to the ground. If we needed to make our way from here to Scotland, then I was going to need as much time as possible to recover and get my strength up. It was worthwhile to see the bright shining happiness in Megan’s eyes anyway. She really did have fun.

  “You are wonderful,” she breathed out while snuggling against my dragon head. “Truly amazing.”

  I bristled with pride, feeling heat travel through me, pride and joy to hear her say that. Megan was everything.

  “You did good, buddy.” Connor shifted back to human at the same time as me and patted me on the shoulder. My good one. I wasn’t sure that anyone would be touching the injured one for a while, just in case. “Well done.”

  “Thanks. That was intense but it was good. I’m glad that I have done it now. I feel so much better in myself.”

  “So, are you ready to go back? We can go tomorrow if you need more time? There isn’t any rush…”

  I knew that if I put it off a little while longer, I would never want to go back. Being in Ireland was good for me, it had been a healing time, and we needed to leave before it became permanent. I could have stayed for good.

  “I’m ready.” I nodded slowly. “Much as I have loved it here, I think we need to let the academy know that everything is sorted now. We don’t know how much they are panicking about the demon.”

  There could have been an uproar about it for all we knew, the teachers could have been going crazy. We hadn’t exactly been in touch with them recently. This was my first time being trusted as the leader and I didn’t want to screw up. I didn’t want to get a reputation as someone who couldn’t hold it together when in charge.

  Connor nodded knowingly. “I suppose we can’t avoid real-life forever, can we? We should get back.”

  “I agree,” Artemis joined in and Trevor nodded as well. “We still have a lot to do there, don’t we?”

  Megan smiled widely and wrapped her arms around us all in turn. “I guess it’s time, isn’t it? I’m sure that we all have a lot to do at the academy and the more we put it off, the more stressful it will be in the end. So, even if we aren’t ready for it…” She made a sweeping gesture with her hands. “This is what we need to do.”

  It was sad to say goodbye to everyone who had taken such good care of us, especially Megan’s mother and grandmother. I owed them so much. If it wasn’t for them, I wasn’t sure where I would be. I made sure to show them my gratitude before leaving because I wasn’t sure when I would get to visit them again. I hoped soon, I prayed that I and the other guys would be invited because we had become part of the family and this was now a big part of our lives, but I guess there was no guarantee. It was up to Megan, wasn’t it? Where we all went from here. We were going to have to wait for her to decide what she wanted to do with all of us. If we were good enough.

  “Take care of yourself,” her mother whispered to me as we hugged. “If you feel like you need to rest then do it. That’s your body’s way of telling you that it’s struggling. You have to listen to it.” She shot me a meaningful look and I nodded. “And also, please, take care of my daughter as well. She means a lot to me. She’s my world.”

  “She means a lot to me as well,” I reassured her. “A whole lot. Of course, I will look after her. We all will.”

  “I can see that you all love her,” she told me. “That’s why I’m letting you go. I’m leaving you in her care.”

  I could tell that she would kill us all if we ever did anything to hurt Megan. It was just lucky I knew that would never happen. Even hot-headed Connor was gentler around her, softer and better. The best version of himself.

  “We won’t let you down,” I reassured her as best as I could. “I promise you that. We will be good.”

  She took my face in her hands for a couple of seconds before smiling and letting me go. That was the moment all of us knew that we needed to get off. So, we sifted into our dragon forms, and Connor took Megan on his back, before we took to the air and made our way out of the Irish air and over to the ocean, on our way back.

  As we went, my mind began to wander. I was back to not just flying, but considering other things as I went, and this time it was all about Megan. Megan and how she would act back at the academy. It was easy in Ireland to act like we were definitely together and settled into our harem, but we didn’t have a conversation about it so it couldn’t possible be the same when we were back in real life. There wasn’t a chance in hell. So, how would it be?

  First off, there would be a new atmosphere, then there would be the pressure of other people knowing about it. Zena was going to make it difficult for a start because of her feelings for Connor. And since Megan lived with her, that would be a bitch. Plus, there would be a lot of distractions to get in our way, which scared me…

  Oh God, what if she reverted back to ignoring me? All of us? What if it got awkward again? Maybe I shouldn’t have been in such a rush to get out of there after all. We should have all talked first. Made plans. Figured things out. I knew that it was something we could do at the academy, but it wouldn’t be the same, would it? It wouldn’t be as easy. The anxiety was
starting to get to me now, leaving me a little breathless, causing me to struggle.

  I need to stop, I told myself desperately. I need to take a rest as soon as we can…

  Eventually, I spotted land underneath us and I started to descend. I wasn’t even watching to see if the other guys had seen me and were doing the same, I couldn’t handle it and I needed to rest. As soon as my feet hit the floor, I rolled forwards and lay downwards with my eyes flickering closed. I couldn’t cope with anything else right now, only this. I would catch everyone up a bit later on when I could make that happen.

  “We’re here,” I heard Megan whisper. I didn’t know if it was in my head or real life though. “We’re with you. We aren’t going anywhere. Don’t worry, Duncan, we’ll get back together as a team…”

  And those were the last words I heard before the blackness claimed me and I shut the world out.

  It took us a long while, but eventually we made it back to the academy. I was the one holding us back because I needed to rest more than I anticipated, but luckily everyone else was patient with me and didn’t complain at all. But now, we were in a meeting with our teacher, explaining everything that had happened, and I could barely keep my eyes open. I was supposed to be in charge of the situation, but I was far too exhausted to do anything other than sit back and allow Connor to take the lead in explaining it all. Luckily, Megan was there to shut him down and be clearer when he messed things up. They had it, they didn’t need me. I could just rest. Not my eyes though, unfortunately, which was a shame because they kept wanting to shut and block the rest of the world out.

  “Well, it sounds like you have been on quite an adventure.” Was it me or did I hear pride in the teacher’s voice? That would be a first. “And you have done well in making up for your previous mistakes.” Everyone else muttered a ‘sorry’ so I felt compelled to do the same thing as well. “So, of course you pass this practical subject with flying colors. And the next three as well, because you have covered things we would do in those without even needing to.” She scribbled a few things down on a piece of paper in front of her. “Which makes you the highest achieving students in my class so far. You have gone all the way from the bottom to the top. You should be happy. You have all gone up in my estimation as well, which I have to say bodes well for your future here at the academy.”

  It was good to hear that, especially when I considered the idea of getting some time off during the next few projects. We all needed that, me especially since like Megan’s mother said I needed to listen to my body and recover as much as I could. My wing wasn’t going to be where I wanted it to be for a while now.

  “I’m sure you must all want to get some sleep, so go back to your rooms and I will see you soon.”

  Everyone else stood and I felt someone tug on my arm to drag me up right as well. Trevor, probably, since he was the one sitting next to me. Then it was time for us to go. To walk back to our rooms. Since we had all been in the summer house in Ireland, there was no question of where we would stay, but now it was strange.

  “I guess… I will see you later then,” Megan declared while pointing behind her. “I have to face the wrath of Zena.” She giggled, trying to make out that it wasn’t awkward. “That will be fun, won’t it?”

  I silently begged Connor to say something to make the situation better, since it was he who Zena had the crush on. I wanted him to go with Megan to clear things up, or perhaps to invite her to stay in our room with us, but he didn’t. He stayed frustratingly silent which wound me up. If I was the one who created the issues with Zena, then I knew I would have helped her. But he didn’t, he just watched Megan go along with the rest of us.

  “What are you doing?” I hissed angrily at him. “Don’t let Megan go into the lion’s den with Zena alone.”

  “Zena is all mouth.” He rolled his eyes dismissively. “And I have to let her go, don’t I? Can’t you feel it? She needs some space to work out what’s going to happen next with us all. She probably thinks that we need the same too. It’s a big decision, isn’t it? To commit to a harem forever. We need make the right decision. That doesn’t just happen in seconds. It takes time and patience. It takes… well, it’s a lot, isn’t it? We need to give Megan the time that she needs to work out where her head is at. And if she doesn’t want us, then so be it…”

  And there is was, what I feared the most. The separation was already beginning. We were all parting to think, so we weren’t going to see one another until God only knew when. It pulled at my heartstrings. In fact, I felt like my heart was being tugged in every which way because all of us were pulling apart emotionally.

  If only I wasn’t so exhausted, then I could have done something about it. But my body needed my bed, I couldn’t deny the urge to sleep for another second longer, so I was going to have to wait until the morning to make things right. One night couldn’t change everything, could it? The feelings weren’t going to vanish.

  “You aren’t really that blasé about it though, are you?” I asked Connor as I rushed to catch him up. “If she doesn’t choose us, then so be it? Please tell me that Megan is more important to you than that.”

  “Of course, she is!” he hissed back angrily. “It’s even harder for me to be patient because it isn’t in my nature, which should show you how much I care. I’m trying to do the right thing here.” Connor stared at me. “And as hard as it is for you, you need to do the same thing. We all just need to pray that it will all work out.”

  Trevor and Artemis stared at me and then one another with the same realization that this could all go horribly wrong and we could find ourselves very lonely because no one would be as good for us as Megan. She was the one. I just hoped she knew it too and we would be back on track before we knew it.

  Chapter 15

  Megan

  The room was frosty the moment I stepped into it, which wasn’t exactly how I wanted my first night back at the academy to be. After my incredible time in Ireland, I just didn’t need drama, but it had found me regardless.

  “How was your little school project?” Zena sneered at me, looking down on me like I was a piece of dirt under her shoe. That was a look that used to bother me a lot, but I had a feeling it wasn’t going to affect me in the future. “You were gone a long time. I was starting to think that I was going to be left with alone here.”

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but I’m back.” I forced a bright smile on my face, trying to disarm her. There was no need for us to continue arguing, surely, we could get along even if we weren’t the very best of friends.

  “I can see that.” She stood over me, trying to intimidate me with her towering stature and placed her hands firmly on her hips. “So, how was it? Did you spend a lot of time with Connor when you were away?”

  It was impossible to keep the smirk off my face as I thought about all of the ways in which I had spent time with Connor. Kissing, laughing, falling in love, making love… it was steamy and incredible. And all mine. Even if it would finally shut Zena up about Connor and it would make her see me in a different light as well, I wasn’t going to kiss and tell. What I shared with the dragons was much too precious for her ears and spiteful words.

  “Of course, I did. We were working on a project together. I couldn’t exactly avoid him.” I sat on my bed.

  “And what sort of project was it? I don’t see anyone else being sent out for a long time.” She did the same.

  “Perhaps that’s because it was a secret mission.” I shrugged. “I don’t know how much I’m allowed to talk about it, to be honest. I better wait until I have spoken with the relevant people first before I share anything.”

  “Even with your roommate?” Zena spoke softer now, as if we were actually friends which was simply laughable. “You can share anything with me, you know? It won’t go anywhere else. I’m sure you must want to talk it over…”

  “No, I’m good thanks. I’m feeling really good.” I made a big gesture of stretching my arms into a yawn. “So, I need to get som
e sleep. I want to be on top form tomorrow. Who knows what’s going to happen?”

  Before she could say anything to me, I grabbed my pajamas and went to change in the bathroom. Every single time I caught sight of my reflection I was sucked in by the lightness within me. I looked happier, and not just because I was smiling but because there was a difference inside of me. Now, I could see it more than before.

  I didn’t want to face Zena again, but I hoped that she had dropped it so I could get into bed right away. I found her sitting on the edge of her bed with a blank stare in her eyes. It seemed that I had silenced her at last.

  “Do you mind if I turn the light off?” She didn’t answer me, so I did just that. “Goodnight, Zena.”

  It took a moment, I was almost about to settle in for the night to get some sleep, but of course, Zena couldn’t leave it at that. I wasn’t sure why I even believed for a second that she was going to leave me by myself.

  “Megan, did something happen?” Zena paused thoughtfully. “Like, are you with the dragons now?”

  “I’m not with anyone,” I shot back honestly. Since we hadn’t had the conversation yet, I couldn’t claim anyone. I definitely wasn’t going to make any public statements when I had no idea if things were going to go that way. Things could easily change here; they could have decided that I wasn’t worthy. They could have even gone back to mostly ignoring me, so telling Zena would only lead to humiliation. Or not, it could have ended up as something utterly wonderful that lasted forever and ever, but I didn’t want to share it with her anyway. “Why does it matter?”

  “Well, I just don’t want to be surprised by the news tomorrow that you have your harem and it’s them.”