Mutant Academy (The Fundamental Society Book 1)

by Yumoyori Wilson

  Tara wrapped her arm around my waist, and I embraced her, the warmth of her body pressed against mine.

  “Thank you for telling me that story,” she whispered. “It makes me feel like I wasn’t the only one who endured hell before I came here.”

  I leaned down and kissed the top of her head. She smelled fresh and beautiful. “No problem.”

  Tara abstractly glanced at her wrist and frowned, slowly rubbing her fingertips against it. “I hope I can get rid of this soon.”

  I realized that she was referring to the microchip tracker that was still embedded beneath her skin. I was horrified, embarrassed.

  “I’m so sorry.” I stood up in a flash.

  Tara gazed up at me with confusion. “What’s wrong?” She was trying to read my shift in demeanor.

  “We need to take care of that right away,” I said.

  “Now?” Tara seemed perplexed. She frowned.

  “Yes.” I nodded. “I can take you to the medical unit.”

  “Are they open this late in the afternoon?”

  “Of course.” I chuckled. “There is always someone on duty at the medical unit.”

  “I guess that makes sense.” Tara thumped her forehead. “In case of an emergency.”

  “I think this qualifies,” I said and took her arm.

  We raced back to get our shoes and then shuffled to the medical building. I’d enjoyed the bonding moment between us, but we had to get the tracker issue settled at once. Tara was safe here at the campus because humans couldn’t breach the water, but it was better that we take care of the matter and get it over with.

  “Is it going to hurt?” Tara asked, even though she was trying to appear tough.

  “They will numb the area,” I reassured her and gently stroked her hair. “Unlike when the scientists implanted it and didn’t use any local anesthesia.”

  “That’s a good point.” Tara exhaled slowly.

  “I am so sorry we forgot about this.” I didn’t know why, but I felt the need to continue apologizing profusely.

  “Don’t worry about it.” Tara smiled at me in earnest. “We have had a lot going on. Honestly, I forgot about it too until we were on the beach. I can’t really feel it in there.”

  One of the Mutant doctors began preparing for the procedure and explained to both Tara and me how they would make a tiny incision in the skin to remove the microchip.

  Tara signed a consent form and the area was numbed. I held her hand through the whole process as an assurance to her that I would never leave her side, even when things got complicated or dangerous. Especially during those times.

  Once the microchip was removed, the doctor bandaged her up and gave her a cream to rub on the incision stitches twice a day.

  “You did great.” I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a bear hug, careful to not rub up against her wound. “I had to get mine out too when I came here.”

  “Thanks,” Tara said. “It doesn’t really hurt.”

  “That’s because you are one badass chick,” I said and gave her a wink.

  Tara chuckled and eyed me seductively, the sexual tension steaming up around us. I leaned in and hoped that she would accept my kiss. When my lips brushed against hers, sparks flew. I held my breath to keep from gasping as a fire swelled in my belly and ignited a flame inside of my heart.

  Her tongue tickled up against mine and our mouths became one. When she finally pulled away a few moments later, she was beaming.

  “Thank you for looking out for me,” she said in a seductive voice.

  “You are worth looking out for,” I said, noticing a gleam in her eyes that made my attraction to her soar through the roof.

  “Do you want me to walk you home?” I asked.

  “I would love that,” she said. “But first, let’s get something to eat in the cafeteria.”

  I took her hand for what seemed like the hundredth time tonight, but it never got old. Each press of her skin against mine was a thrill to my senses.

  “Dinner sounds amazing.”

  But I wasn’t hungry for anything unless it was more of her attention and affection.

  31

  Tara

  I exited my last class of the day, which happened to be Mutant Enchantments. The professor was a squirrely looking woman with wiry hair and copper glasses who was extremely enthusiastic about her role as a professor at the academy.

  In the class, we were learning about various ways to use enchantments — that only Mutants had the capability of producing — to defend ourselves against the humans who wanted to do us harm.

  In the event that we ever faced a dangerous encounter with them, we would be prepared.

  I was somewhat distracted as I shuffled through the hordes of other students leaving their respective classes. I stuffed my notes back into my book bag and decided to go to the courtyard to get some fresh air.

  Although I didn’t mind having back-to-back classes, by the time they were over I was itching to stretch my legs a little and take a breather.

  I noticed Megan at the edge of the courtyard, sitting on a bench with her back turned away from me. Her shoulders were hunched, and I couldn’t tell if she was reading, looking at a device, or maybe even taking a brief afternoon snooze.

  I approached her.

  “Hey, Megan,” I chimed in a friendly voice. I walked around the bench in order to sit next to her.

  She sniffed and hastily wiped her eyes and nose, clearing her throat to compose herself. My heart sank.

  “Megan?” My voice was soothing, a whisper. “What’s wrong?”

  She refused to look me in the eye. “It’s…fine.”

  I gave her a generous smile. “You know I can tell that’s not true. Why are you crying?”

  Megan’s eyes were red rimmed and a little puffy. She was clearly upset about something and I wanted to help her.

  She finally worked up the nerve to look at me.

  “It was…that gang again.” Her voice was hushed, and she glanced over her shoulder with paranoia in her guarded eyes.

  “What gang?” I frowned, trying to jog my memory.

  “You know.” Megan’s eyes were wide and panicked. “The ones that were listening to our conversation the other night at dinner. You know, that Liam and Nick were suspicious of?”

  “Right.” I nodded. “What about them?”

  “They sought me out.” Megan gulped and took a deep breath. “And they threatened me.”

  I stood up. “What?” I couldn’t help myself. My voice was raised to almost a shout.

  “Keep your voice down.” Megan looked embarrassed about my reaction, but her expression wasn’t harsh.

  Her eyes darted suspiciously across the courtyard, but it was nearly empty and those who were around didn’t seem to be paying us a lick of attention.

  I sat back down and eyed her expectantly. “What do you mean, they threatened you?”

  My heart raced and I held my breath.

  Megan gazed at the sky and then at her hands. “They told me that if I ever went back into the woods, I would regret it.”

  I was furious. It was as if lava and rage were running through my veins instead of blood. “Do you know their names?” I asked.

  “No.” Megan shook her head regretfully.

  “Do you remember what they looked like?”

  “I think so…” Megan wrinkled her forehead in concentration. “One of them was pretty tall, kind of skinny. He had shoulder-length silver hair. He was with another guy who was a little on the stocky side. He was much shorter but just as aggressive. They backed me into a corner in a hallway near the bathrooms in the science center. They had a girl with them too. She had a short haircut and a nasty, snarly kind of smile.”

  “Gross.” I grimaced at the repulsive thought of Megan being loomed over and vulnerable like that. “Come on,” I said, standing and reaching for Megan’s hand to pull her up too.

  My mind raced with fury. How did these Mutants even know we had left the ac
ademy to go into the woods? Were we really being watched? The prospect sent a sinister chill up and down my spine.

  “What?” Megan peered up at me with a dazed look of confusion on her face.

  “We need to go tell the guys,” I said.

  “We can’t do that,” Megan protested. “That gang is probably watching every move I make.”

  “We have to tell them,” I said. “This might be serious. We might need to get Headmaster Atticus involved.”

  Megan vigorously shook her head. “Not yet. I’ll talk to the guys about it, but I don’t want to get the headmaster involved at this point.”

  “Okay.” I decided to take the compromise. I needed Megan to cooperate.

  We waited for the guys to get out of their classes. I sent them a group text to meet us at the beach. It was a less risky spot for us to congregate and discuss the unfortunate encounter Megan had had with our rival students.

  We were on pins and needles waiting for them to arrive, but when they finally did, Megan spilled the beans on her encounter. The guys seemed to be fuming. Their cheeks were red and puffed. They behaved as if they wanted to start a fight with the enemy.

  “I know exactly who they are,” Liam said and cracked his knuckles with a scowl on his face.

  “Me too.” Jude nodded. “The trio you are describing sounds exactly like Matt, Lauren, and Hansel. They are always together and always instigating trouble around the campus. They’ve been sent to Headmaster Atticus’s office countless times over the past year for bullying and pranks.”

  “The only reason they haven’t been expelled yet is because they are masters at convincing authority figures that they will change their behavior,” Nick admitted darkly.

  “Their conduct borders on the edge of expulsion but they never take it quite far enough to warrant that,” Pete added.

  “They were the ones who were sitting at the table behind us that night at dinner, too,” Liam said with a hostile flicker in his eyes.

  “We need to stay away from them then,” I said.

  “I agree.” Pete nodded. “We don’t want to put ourselves in a position where we might get expelled for starting a brawl or a riot.”

  I gave him a grateful look. Thank you, I mouthed.

  It wasn’t worth it to get in trouble when we didn’t have all the facts yet.

  “We should definitely keep an eye out for them and look for any strange behavior,” Gabriel mentioned.

  “Agreed, but we need to try to do it subtly,” Jude said. “We need to start watching them, but we don’t want to let on that we’re doing it. We can’t give them any extra reason to suspect us. We have to play it cool.”

  I glanced at Megan and then at Pete. “Do you think we should go to Headmaster Atticus?” Megan hadn’t been receptive to that earlier, but maybe the guys could change her mind.

  He shrugged as he pondered. “I don’t know yet. Maybe not right away. Megan is new to the school. We don’t want to put the headmaster in a position where he has to try to believe one group of students over another without solid proof or witnesses to the threats.”

  Megan kept her eyes down in her lap and didn’t offer her opinion.

  “I guess that’s a good point,” I said, feeling slightly crestfallen by our lack of ability to do something proactive to put this fire out quickly. I enjoyed confrontation.

  That was when I noticed a shadow of a figure moving behind the sand dunes. If it was that gang, I was going to go ballistic. I could feel it in my bones.

  “Look over there!” I shouted and pointed to the dunes.

  Sure enough, my suspicions came true. Out slinked Lauren, Matt, and Hansel. They had devious expressions on their faces and their mouths were twisted into mocking smiles.

  I looked at Pete. “Surely if they approach us, we can defend ourselves and warn them to stay away?”

  Pete nodded and I noticed him visibly clench his jaw. “Oh, yes.”

  Nick and Liam, the twin Brutes, took a step forward.

  “What are you all doing out here?” Nick asked.

  “We could be asking you the very same thing,” Lauren said in a high-pitched voice that made my skin crawl with annoyance.

  Megan stood up straight and squared her shoulders, scowling with animosity at Lauren and the ugly smirk puckered across her lips.

  “We have the right to roam around the campus and perimeter of the academy as we see fit,” Pete said assertively.

  I noticed a flicker of loathing in Matt’s eyes as he firmed his jaw and gave each of us an equally defiant stare.

  “That’s them,” Megan whispered to Liam and Nick, nudging her chin in the brooding trio’s direction. “Those are the same Mutants who warned me not to go into the woods.”

  Liam took a step forward. I held my breath. They were training to be Brutes, which meant that they might not be able to keep their tempers in check when dealing with a problem or potential enemy.

  I noticed every muscle in my body tensing as both Nick and Liam edged slightly closer, Matt and Hansel doing the same. I didn’t want a fight to ensue. An unnerved feeling began to tear me apart.

  “You need to watch what you are doing,” Liam warned. “Stay away from us if you know what’s good for you.”

  Matt, Hansel, and Lauren exchanged a humored glance with each other and began to cackle amongst themselves.

  “What are you going to do about it?” Hansel inched forward.

  Jude cracked his knuckles and glared at the trio. “You’ve been warned not to mess with us. That’s all you need to know.”

  Before any of the gang had a chance to retort, the rushing sound of footsteps thundered through the area and flooded my eardrums. A campus siren began to wail.

  “What’s happening?” Megan’s eyes were wide with fright. My heart pounded.

  I whipped around and my eyes darted left and right. My heart froze with horror as I recognized the blue jackets and gold armor of the Fundamental Society guards as they rushed across the lawns, infiltrating the perimeter.

  They had determined expressions etched onto their malicious faces. Their guns were drawn and they were wearing protective helmets I had never seen before.

  “Get down!” Jude grabbed me by the shoulder and pushed me behind the sand dunes.

  My muscles trembled involuntarily as fear sent a shock through me. How did they make it across the water without dying? A million questions without answers shot like cannon balls through my brain. My heart plummeted into my stomach, which swirled in waves of violent nausea.

  It appeared as if our safe haven had been infiltrated. Did the rival Mutant students standing across from us have something to do with this and assist the guards in some way?

  They glared at me, but their faces were stoic and didn’t reveal a single clue.

  All I knew was this environment and people here had changed my life, and there was no way I was going to lose it.

  It was time to fight.

  TO BE CONTINUED.

  ABOUT YUMOYORI WILSON

  Yumoyori Wilson is a full-time author who has a “slight” addiction to bubble tea.

  She previously was a Pediatric Registered Nurse, working her night shifts away and reading her kindle during her breaks. She decided to take the chance at becoming an author and is now working on multiple projects in various genres, including Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and more.

  She lives in Toronto, Ontario and loves to bother her lovely Mother (also known as her Queen). She has many projects and plans for her readers.

  ~Books by Yumoyori Wilson~

  THE STARLIGHT GODS SERIES:

  Dark Wish

  Tainted Rose

  RYDER

  Poisonous Dream

  DANIEL

  Forgotten Fairytale

  Forgotten Fairytale 2

  PARANORMAL INC SERIES:

  Visionary Investigator

  Visionary Awakened

  HOLIDAY SERIES:

  Visionary Christmas


  Starlight Christmas

  Visionary New Years

  EARTHALA SERIES (COMPLETE):

  Visionary X Starlight- Chapter One

  Visionary X Starlight- Chapter Two

  Visionary X Starlight- St. Patrick’s Day

  CRIMSON STORM SERIES (COMPLETE):

  Taming the Storm

  Calming the Storm

  Facing the Storm

  SOUL DANCER OF HOMATOMASHI SERIES:

  The Legend Of Crimson Storm (Coming Soon)

  BRIGHTEN MAGIC ACADEMY SERIES (COMPLETE):

  Reflections of You

  Reflections of Me

  Reflections of Us

  BRIGHTEN ELITE SERIES:

  BRIGHTEN ELITE - YEAR I (Coming Soon)

  BLOODY DESIRE SERIES:

  Seduce My Blood

  Seduce My Heart

  Seduce My Soul

  Seduce My Love

  UNICORN BLESSED CHRONICLES (COMPLETE):

  Celestia

  Celestia 2

  Celestia 3

  Celestia 4

  Celestia Christmas

  FAMILIAR BLESSED CHRONICLES:

  Arielle Rainbow

  Arielle Rainbow 2

  REAPERS OF BEAUTY SERIES:

  One Thousand & One Lies

  One Thousand & Two Lies

  CLAIMING MY PACK:

  Wolf Tamer

  Work Seeker

  Wolf Lover

  Wolf Keeper