by Casey Morgan
“Yes, and I heard you can as well. Do you have some vampire blood running through those sweet veins of yours?”
In the heat of the gaze of his red eyes, I stepped back, suddenly feeling unsure. “Not that I’m aware of.”
I could handle being a witch. I could even accept that I could shift into an icky snake, but finding out that I might be a vampire was too much for me. That just wasn’t possible. Plus, weren’t vampires dead?
Blaise closed the rest of the distance between us and leaned down close to my ear. His hands reached around my head and began to play with my hair. His breath tickled my ear and sent chills down my spine.
“Well,” he continued, “If you do, you should ditch the shifters and come hang out with my crew and me.”
I giggled, warmth growing in my core. The sexy look in Blaise’s eyes was mesmerizing, and I felt drawn into him as he reached out touching my check with a slender hand.
Even though the boys at Ironwood were somewhat possessive, I was strangely captivated by the idea of Blaise possessing me. But deep down, I began to feel something was off. I didn’t want to be possessed. Just earlier this evening I was mad about Cade and Jasper about that same thing.
I took a step back, breaking the skin on skin connection that Blaise and I had been sharing. The moment that we were no longer touching, all thoughts of him possessing me were gone. I realized then, he had been trying to mesmerize me.
“How did you do that?” he asked with confusion lacing in his voice.
I didn’t know how I did it, so I laughed it off.
“Ruby, how did you break my gaze?” Blaise questioned me once more.
“I’m amazing in a lot of ways you don’t know,” I quipped, suddenly feeling confident. “For example, what’s something that you as a vampire cannot shift into?”
He raised his right eyebrow. “A bird.”
I was taking a risk, a big risk. I had no idea if I could shift into a bird or not, I was winging it. But I also had no idea how I was able to break Blaine’s attempt to mesmerize me. I figured that this was my only way out, since if I wasn’t able to explain to him what happened.
I focused my energy and envisioned a bird. A sparrow, to be specific. It was a different feeling from when I shifted into a snake or a wolf, but strangely similar to when I shifted into a bat. It was just a moment of confusion before the haze cleared away, and I realized that I was a sparrow flying around the interior of the tower. I looked down at Blaise, thankful that I had managed to pull it off.
I flew closer and did a few circles around his head, half because I was happy and half because I wanted to tease him.
I shifted back into human form with a big smile plastered on my face. But before I could even turn and talk to the stunned vampire, he grabbed my shoulders and looked at me in awe.
“You are the most powerful witch I have ever seen!” he exclaimed.
“R-Really?” It was hard to not sound shocked.
“I have to have you.”
I couldn't help it. I had to laugh. I had absolutely had it with the boys in this school talking about possessing me! If anything, I was the one owning the boys at Ironwood. I decided when we saw each other, I decided if we hooked up, I decided if we got into a relationship. They kept acting as if they didn’t need my permission. First Jasper, then Cade, and now Blaise.
“Listen, Blaise,” I declared, “You’ll have me when I want you. Is that clear?”
Before he could respond and without a moment of hesitation, I shifted once again. I decided to go with another bird just to rub it in Blaise’s face. But the powerful feeling I felt for sticking up for myself molded the bird that I shifted into. I found myself in the form of an eagle as I flew out of the tower and back towards my dorm. I needed to just hang out with Angie for the night and forget the disrespect of all these boys.
Thankfully, Angie had left the window to our dorm open, and I entered without a problem. I rested on my desk and came face to face with Angie, who was in human form. She looked confused until I returned to my human form.
“Ruby?” she questioned.
“Hey, Angie, thanks for leaving the window open.”
I slowly made my way to my bed and sat down in order to rest for a bit. There was a moment where Angie just paced around the room for a while. Despite the fact that I wanted the attention off of me for just a second, Angie seemed serious when she approached my bed and sat down next to me.
“Ruby,” she began, “If you can change into anything you want, then you’re not just any old shifter.”
“I’m not?”
“No, that would make you a shape-shifter. It’s a higher-class shifter, they’re incredibly powerful.”
“Angie...”
“Don’t interrupt. I know what you’re going to say. You’re going to argue, but it’s not up for debate. You just flew in here as an eagle, there’s no denying it.”
Angie once again got up and began to pace. It was new information to me, but there wasn’t any basis for me to decide how I felt about it. But if Angie was this excited over it, it must mean something. She stopped pacing and looked at me with passionate eyes.
“Ruby, I have an idea,” she started. “I need you to be my alpha.”
I was shocked, “What?”
“Your strength will help me control my shifting! And, our bond will be deeper, enabling you to call for my help no matter how far away we are from each other.”
“That sounds perfect!” I responded. “Are you sure? It sounds like a risk and a lot of responsibility.”
“I’m sure,” Angie had determination laced in her voice. “This is the perfect opportunity.”
“Okay, I trust you. How do we do it?”
“Just a simple imprint spell. I have it in one of my textbooks.”
Angie rushed over to her school supplies and flipped through her books. I could tell when she found the spell because her eyes lit up. She rushed back over to me and pointed to what we needed to chant. We made eye contact and nodded at each other. We began to recite the spell, and a warm feeling blossomed in my heart and steadily spread throughout the rest of my body. As we continued to chant, I could feel her heartbeat alongside mine.
Although it felt like a lot of responsibility, I knew that this was the best way to help my friend. The warmth in my chest proved it.
Chapter Twelve
Annoyed was the only word to describe it. The fact that I had woken up in a relatively good mood, determined and somewhat excited to face Headmaster Thorn’s trial, only to see a large number of brightly colored flyers with my name plastered on them covering the hallways.
Really all I wanted some breakfast.
“Ruby,” Angie interrupted my thoughts as I glared at one of the flyers. “I can tell you’re overreacting. Come on, let’s go get some food.”
I didn’t think I was overreacting and the bloom of heat in my chest agreed. The flyers had my name on them, announcing that my special trial was to be held at midnight, under the full moon, and that the whole school as invited. It irked me. Headmaster Thorn wanted the entire school to watch me fail.
“This is ridiculous,” I snapped. “Isn’t the headmaster of a school supposed to be mature? I’m not some circus animal for him to show off.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Angie answered, while prodding me towards the cafeteria. “You know how to shift now, so it really doesn’t matter whether or not people are watching.”
“But still...”
“Ruby, you’re going to kill it, regardless of any tactics Headmaster Thorn has.”
I gave up arguing against myself and continued walking to breakfast with Angie. The rest of the day passed by without so much as a disturbance. People left me alone, which allowed me plenty of time to think and brood about the events that would happen at midnight. It was no longer an option for me to merely pass the trial. I needed to completely dominate it, there was no choice. If the headmaster was expecting a show, then he was going to get one. I wa
s ready for anything. Maybe I could pull something off that he wouldn’t be ready for at all.
When it came time for the trial, and I found myself with pillars of support on all sides. Angie and Drew were on either side of me as we headed out to the stone amphitheater where my trial was to be held.
I was nervous, and Angie could tell. She began to talk about the random facts that she had been researching to try to distract me. I wasn’t responding, but Drew was. The conversation in the background was appreciated, but I only understood a few things.
“That’s ridiculous, Angie,” Drew said, crossing his semi-transparent arms and floating up just slightly.
She scoffed at her twin. “I do my research, Drew! I’m telling you, Dragon Shifters used to be a thing.”
“It’s just hard to believe.”
“Why? Plenty of crazy things happen, why is this any different?”
Before they could continue their conversation, two more bodies joined our small group. I didn’t even see Cade or Jasper jog to catch up with us, but they were suddenly at either side of me, pushing Angie and Drew out of the way. I felt both of their hands reach for mine causing me to recoil immediately and halt.
“What do you two think you’re doing?” I snapped.
“Walking with you to your trial,” Jasper explained, looking sheepish.
“And you need to hold my hand to do that? Leave me alone.”
After stomping my heel, I continued to walk, Drew and Angie taking their rightful positions next to me. I could feel the presence of both Jasper and Cade trailing behind us. It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but at least they were not trying to touch me or claim me. As much as their touch could drive me crazy, now was not the time, and I was still kind of mad about their behavior prior.
We continued to make our way to the stone auditorium and began to look for seats. Few were available and there was an uncountable number of students sitting throughout. I felt my stomach drop. It was too many people. I hated that they were all here to see me.
I wanted to find a spot for Drew and Angie to sit that was somewhat close to the stage; that way if I got nervous, I could look over to get support. Luckily, to the right of the stage, there was a group of five seats that were only a few rows back. Our group sat down, waiting for Headmaster Thorn to arrive.
“Ruby, look at me,” Angie started.
I smiled as I turned to look at my best friend.
“You’ve got this, girl!” she continued. “You are so smart and strong, there is no way that you won’t pass this trial.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
With determination burning within me, I noticed the headmaster taking the stage—his tall thin form somehow managing to overpower the large space in a grotesque way. He really was a ghoul I thought as he turned towards the audience and brought his floppy lips into a frog-like grin. It was chilling.
I stood up as strongly as I could and began to walk towards the stage. To my surprise, the students all turned towards me and began cheering. The only explanation that I could think of was that what happened in potions class had spread throughout the student body. The louder their cheers, the more confidence I felt. With everyone in the auditorium except the headmaster on my side, I suddenly felt more powerful. Perhaps I could even have fun with this?
I stepped up onto the stage and walked straight up to Headmaster Thorn. I was feeling cocky, and I recognized it. We made eye contact for a split second, but that was all that was necessary. There was a tension that could easily be felt throughout the crowd, but I paid it no mind. I was ready.
“This is Ms. Thrushmoor’s first shifting trial,” Thorn announced to the crowd. “If she fails, then she will be expelled immediately. There is no room for failure at Ironwood.”
The crowd fell into silence as we began to prepare for the trial. The ugly, thin man stood only a few steps away from me, but I felt like there was a mile in between us. I already began to focus my energy and almost felt giddy. I knew I could do it; it was taking all I had to not immediately shift and knock him down a few pegs, but I had bigger plans.
“Ms.Thrushmoor,” Thorn demanded, a crazed light in his eyes. “Shift.”
I didn’t. I held my breath and closed my eyes in fake effort. I put everything I could into making it look like I was having the hardest time trying to shift. I heard whispers from the crowd and could feel the headmaster sigh in amusement. That was all it took, he thought I couldn’t do it.
I laughed as I instantly shifted into a snake then lunged forward, sinking my teeth into his shoe. Out of instinct, Headmaster Thorn kicked my animal form backward. By the time I looked back at him, he was shifting himself. I was shocked to see Thorn transform into a larger snake. I didn’t even know that he could shift at all, and by the gasps in the audience, I could tell that a lot of the other students felt the same way.
He coiled back and sprung at me, I barely had time to shift into an owl and fly upwards. I circled a few times before diving back down towards the headmaster in an attempt to catch him between my talons. However, right when I was about to enter the desired range, he shifted into a wolf and snapped his jaws at me.
Thorn was a shapeshifter, too!
Annoyance flowed through my veins as I tried to fly upwards again to escape from his fangs. Unfortunately, I felt a tug on my wing, and I was tossed to the ground. The headmaster had managed to bite into the very tip of my right wing, and that pulled me to the stone floor, completely at his mercy.
Thorn stood above me in wolf form, his teeth aggressively showing. The thought of his jaws clamping down at my neck made me panic. I tried to think of something, anything to get me out of the situation. Angie and Drew came to mind—more specifically, the conversation that they had been having before the trial.
Dragon shifters used to be a thing.
The panic paired with my desire to escape the situation combined into a powerful burst of energy within me. In a ball of fire and light, I found myself shifting into something bigger than I had ever done before. It felt strange to be something that I had previously not known was even real.
My dragon form was large, reptilian, and hot. I towered above the headmaster’s tiny wolf, looked down my snout at him, and roared. Sparks flew out of my mouth, singeing the stone around the wolf and causing it to scurry back.
I could breathe fire! The thought thrilled me, so I opened my snout wider and blew.
Thorn was going to regret ever crossing me.
Red hot fire poured out of my mouth. It was amazing that it didn’t burn my throat or my long reptilian tongue. All of my anger streamed out of me, burning the stone stage of the amphitheater black and flickering on a few hairs of Thorn’s canine head. He glared up at me with unsettled doggy eyes.
I had astonished him. That meant I had won.
Wanting to laugh, I pulled my head back and tried to close my jaw, but I couldn’t. It was then that I realized I could not stop the fire that was pouring from my mouth. I could hear the screaming from the crowd as I began to flail around in an attempt to stop the destruction coming from my body, but nothing was working. Burning the whole school and my classmates to the ground was not what I intended!
I suddenly felt my entire body stop becoming locked in place. Movement wasn’t possible even if I wanted to. Looking down, I saw Headmaster Thorn back in human form, his arms held out towards me.
Thorn was holding me in place, stopping me from destroying anything. I could also see him muttering a spell under his breath. Without warning, my dragon body began to shrink, and I started to shift back into my human form. It was weird and invasive to be forced to shift, but I was grateful regardless.
I found myself on all fours in human form on the ground, breathing deeply. Most of the students were gone, having fled the fire, and I was thankful. It was embarrassing that I had lost control.
Headmaster Thorn spoke from above me, “Although there is a mess to clean up...”
I prepared
myself for him to expel me, not even looking up at him.
He sighed as he continued, “There is no doubt that your shapeshifting abilities are top-notch. With a little more control, you could really become somewhat of a master.”
I looked up at him, startled. “What does that mean?”
“You can stay at Ironwood for now. If you’ll excuse me, I need to go tend to some students.”
I stood up as Headmaster Thorn trotted down the stone steps. I could almost swear that I heard him mutter something under his breath.
Angie and Drew rushed towards me; smiles plastered on their faces.
“Told you, Drew!” Angie laughed. “A dragon shifter!”
I laughed along with them as they helped me make my way back towards the dorms.
“Hey, guys?” I asked.
“Yeah?” Angie responded.
“I’m going to take a walk. Meet up with you later?”
They nodded and smiled. I started walking around campus, joy bubbling in my chest. I was certain that Headmaster Thorn had said what I thought he said, and it kept replaying in my head.
“I never thought that she would learn so fast.”
Epilogue
It had been a while since I was as happy as I felt after the trial. Angie’s issue was fixed, I had shown that I could shift, and things were looking up.
As I walked around campus in the light of the full moon, I could only think of one problem that still existed in my life—the Jasper and Cade situation. It would be ideal if they could just recognize the fact that I was not going to limit myself to one boy. I mean, why would I? I was powerful, beautiful, and intelligent. I deserved more than to just be tied down.
As if my thoughts had summoned them, I saw both boys standing near the gate that led to my dorm building. They seemed to be arguing about something, and as I got closer, it sounded like it was about me again.
I was still feeling confident from the trial, so I decided then and there that I was going to solve this problem immediately.
“Hey!” I yelled as I walked towards them. “You two are starting to get ridiculous.” They both waited for me to get closer to hear me out. I continued, “I want to date you both.”