by Jayme Morse
“I’ll handle it, Raven,” Theo replied dismissively. I knew this wasn’t open to argument or discussion; he was going to figure out some way to take care of this without revealing the strength of my powers.
At that moment, Vince and Iris walked over to me and Maddie. “I say we all go back to your dorm room. If we have to be under lockdown, at least we can do it comfortably.”
“And, more importantly, we can be together,” Iris added.
“You can count me in,” Maddie chimed in.
“Sounds good to me,” I agreed. I hadn’t been looking forward to returning to my dorm suite this semester after living with the Darken all summer. To go from being so close to all four of my mates back to being so far away from them was the absolute last thing I wanted. But at least it wouldn’t be too lonely tonight. “You guys, this is Maddie, my best friend from the human world.” I glanced over at Maddie. “And these are my best friends from Werewolf Academy, Vince and Iris.”
“We’ll get better acquainted later,” Vince said. “Right now, we need to get the hell out of dodge and get to your dorm suite. Did you see the kid who just died? I don’t know what we just witnessed or why the moon disappeared from the sky, but this shit is really fucking scary.”
“You’re right,” I agreed with a nod. “Let’s go.”
Turning away from them, I began to run, leading the way back to my dorm suite. Vince, Iris, and Maddie followed after me.
When we reached my dorm, every hair on the back of my neck rose and goosebumps erupted all over my arms.
The door was wide open.
Someone had been inside.
Chapter Five
Within seconds, all of my mates, except for Theo, were inside my dorm room, inspecting it for any sign of intruders.
It didn’t take long for one of them to find something.
“Guys, come look at this,” Rhys said from the kitchen. He pointed at the kitchen bar.
As we all headed over to him, I saw the words that were written in a crimson substance.
You’re Mine, Raven.
“Blood,” Aiden muttered under his breath from next to me.
“Is that what that weird odor is?” Vince asked.
Now that he mentioned it, I smelled it, too. It was a faint scent of iron mixed with this odd hint of freshness. It was fresh because this blood was new; it had only been left here within the past hour or so. I wasn’t sure how I knew that. I just did.
“Who would just leave their blood here like this?” Maddie shuddered.
Milos.
All signs pointed to the werewolf who had killed my parents.
Milos Santorini had wanted to marry me more than five-hundred years ago when I was Princess Fallyn and he was a Lord. I had learned from my own memories that my biological parents, the King and Queen of the wolves were going to force me into a marriage with Milos. I had originally escaped in order to run away with Nicholas, the castle servant who I had been in love with. But we’d gotten caught when we’d tried to flee Nocturne Island, and my parents’ guards had fatally shot Nicholas.
I hadn’t been able to unlock all of my memories yet. I knew that after that, I’d been taken back to the tower where I had lived, practically as isolated as Rapunzel. My mother had told me I would marry Lord Milos Santorini the following day.
Except their plan still hadn’t worked out. I really wasn’t sure how I had managed to get out of it, but apparently, I had. Because here I was, staring at the words written in blood: You’re Mine, Raven.
There was no one else who could have written that. There was no one else who wanted me the way he did. There was no one who was willing to kill in order to get to me besides him.
I felt the anger wash over me as the full gravity of the situation hit me.
Somehow, he had been inside my dorm suite. He had left this note on my countertop.
I had been lucky to be at the Full Moon Party. If I had been in my dorm, he would have gotten to me.
And who knows what would have happened then?
I wanted to believe that I was strong enough. Prepared enough. Angry enough. I wanted to believe that I could kill him.
But, somehow, he had managed to kill both of my parents. He had shot Theo. And now, he had gotten inside my dorm room.
Then again, maybe Milos getting to me was the safest bet for everyone. He wouldn’t hurt anyone else who I loved or cared about if he got to me first.
***
A few hours later, Aiden, Colton, and Rhys had cleared out of my dorm suite, promising that they were just one thought away if anything should happen during the night. If I was alone, I probably would have been more afraid, but at least I had Vince, Iris, and Maddie with me.
Fortunately, my kitchen was full of lots of sharp knives. If Milos dared to return tonight, I would be ready for him.
“How about a Netflix marathon?” Vince asked as he turned on the TV.
“No horror shows or movies,” I replied as I plopped down onto the sofa beside him.
“So, we can’t catch up on the new season of You?” Iris asked disappointedly.
“No way.” Even though I was pretty sure my stalker was far scarier than Joe Goldberg.
“I think I have just the thing,” Vince said, flipping through the shows before settling on one.
As Fuller House began to play, I grinned. I loved me some John Stamos. “That’s perfect.”
“Ohmigod, Raven. Do you remember Branden Mitchell?” Maddie asked.
“How could I forget him?” I asked. “I’ve only been gone for a year, not ten. I was so upset that I would be missing out on his party this year.”
“Well, as it turns out, you don’t have to.” Maddie grinned. “He goes here now, too—and he’s having a party on Friday night.”
“Branden Mitchell goes here, too? Really?” I asked with wide eyes.
Maddie nodded. “Yeah, I bumped into him when I first got here. He told me he was born a werewolf. Who knew?”
How was it possible that everyone from the human world was ending up here? And not just the human world, but my old town? Were werewolves really just that much more common than I’d realized, or was this too coincidental?
What if my parents—my adoptive parents—had moved to a location where there were lots of werewolves for a reason?
I just wasn’t sure what that reason could have been yet.
***
I had just closed my eyes to fall asleep when I heard Theo’s voice inside my mind. “Raven, can you come outside so we can talk?”
“Is that… allowed?” I asked. “We’re on lockdown, remember?”
“I brought the car, so we won’t actually be outside.”
“Okay.” I threw my legs over the couch, careful not to kick Vince in the head. Sliding into my flip-flops, I quietly headed out the front door. I saw Theo’s car parked right next to the curb in front of my dorm.
I glanced around to make sure Milos wasn’t lurking in the bushes or anything and then climbed inside the car.
Theo’s bright blue eyes met mine, and I could feel it: Our mate bond. The connection between us. The magnetic energy. The gravity. The pull.
It must have been everything that had happened tonight, but it felt stronger than ever… to the point where it was completely overwhelming.
Theo must have felt it, too, because his lips quickly came crashing down on mine.
We kissed for a long time, and when we finally broke the kiss, we were completely breathless.
“Wow,” he whispered.
“Wow,” I agreed.
We had kissed many, many times before, but there was just something about tonight. Something that felt… different. Better. Something about tonight made me want him in every way possible.
When his eyes caught mine, desire burned through them. It was obviously a mutual feeling.
He kissed me again and then began to kiss a trail down my neck.
Slipping his hand beneath the thin cotton of my tank top, his finger
s brushed against my bare breast. His eyes met mine as he realized I wasn’t wearing a bra.
I wanted this… him… so bad.
That was when it dawned on me. I may have hidden the moon, but it was still a full moon.
We were both fertile as fuck right now. That was why we had this crazy, indescribable desire for one another.
It was also the reason we couldn’t let this go further right now, no matter how badly I wanted to.
“Theo, we can’t,” I said quietly. “It’s a full moon.”
“I know, Raven.” Pulling away from me, he leaned back in his seat and took a deep breath. “I want our first time to be special, anyway.”
“You don’t think it would be special in your car?” I joked.
“Baby, trust me. With all the things I want to do to you, we’re going to need a hell of a lot more space than this tiny car,” Theo said. “And as tempting as it is to rip off all your clothes right now, that’s not the reason I’m here.”
I exhaled slowly, not fully trusting myself to not rip his clothes off. But I tried to control myself. “Why are you here?”
“We need to talk,” he replied. “About what you did tonight.”
“Oh.” I swallowed hard. I couldn’t help but feel like some sort of lecture was coming.
He stared at me for a long moment before finally saying, “I don’t think you understand just how powerful you are, Raven. I had to lie to the Headmaster tonight. I had to lie to protect you.”
“To protect me?” My eyebrows shot up questioningly. “I thought I only needed protection from Milos.”
“You need protection from everyone. If anyone knew how powerful you are…” He trailed off. “Let’s just say it wouldn’t be good.”
“What would happen?” I asked.
“I don’t even want to think about it. They’d probably want to study you. They’d want to use your powers. Your life would be in danger in so many ways that I don’t even want to think about them all.” Theo shook his head at the thought. “No one can ever know it was you who hid the moon tonight, Raven. You can’t ever tell anyone—not even your friends. Promise me.” His blue eyes stared into mine, waiting expectantly for an answer. “No one can know but us. Our pack.”
“I promise,” I replied, even though I knew it was going to be a really hard secret to keep.
“Okay.” Theo took a deep breath. “I told Headmaster Black that I think Milos used dark magic on the moon. That part could be true. Someone used dark magic on it. That kid did die, and the others who fell are in critical condition.”
“They are?” I stared back at him, saddened by this news.
He nodded.
I swallowed hard. If he was right… if Milos really had used dark magic on the moon… I couldn’t help but feel like it all had to do with me. That student was dead, and the others were in critical condition, because Milos had somehow tried to get to me.
“He might have just been trying to distract everyone so he could get into your dorm room without anyone noticing,” Theo went on.
“That seems extreme, but I wouldn’t put it past him,” I murmured. “How does he even know where I live?”
“Your guess is as good as mine,” he replied, shaking his head. “But I’m pretty sure that Milos has been following you—and us—for a very long time.”
I nodded, knowing he was probably right. How else would he have figured out a way to kill my parents?
“Here’s the thing,” Theo said. “I don’t know if I trust Headmaster Black.”
“You don’t?” I just stared at him, confused. “But the entire reason you brought me to Werewolf Academy was because he felt it was safe for me here.”
“It was his idea. And now I wonder if it was just some sort of ploy to get you here,” Theo admitted. “His tone tonight when I told him about Milos breaking into your dorm room…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “If I tell you something, I want it to stay between you and me, okay? I don’t want to alarm the rest of the pack right now.”
“Okay,” I agreed.
His blue eyes locked on mine seriously. “I don’t know why I think this. He put the school under a lockdown, but when we talked about the dark magic, he didn’t really seem that concerned. Not as concerned as I expected him to be, anyway. It’s almost like…” He trailed off.
“Almost like what, Theo?”
He glanced over at me. “I think Headmaster Black might be working with Milos.”
Chapter Six
We stayed under lockdown for the next couple of days, completely missing the first three days of classes. Our meals were delivered to our dorm rooms, and we weren’t allowed to leave, under any circumstances.
I hated being cooped up. It made me feel so anxious and stir crazy. But at least I wasn’t alone. I was excited to be able to catch up with Maddie, Iris, and Vince after so much time away from each other.
Truthfully, I probably would have been scared if I spent this lockdown by myself. Knowing that someone—probably Milos—had attacked us all during the Full Moon Party was scary enough. But it was even scarier to think that he had broken into my dorm room, too.
Needless to say, I was just glad for my friends being there to keep me company. It helped the time pass quicker. It took an entire day to catch Maddie up to speed with everything that had happened since we'd seen each other last: from my being Princess Fallyn to everything there was to know about me and my mates.
We’d done nothing but lounge around, gossiping, watching Netflix, and eating junk food. But there was a part of me that was just dying for classes to start already. I wanted to learn. To explore. And, mostly, to get the hell out of this dorm room, even if it was just to take a walk, but even that wasn’t allowed.
I felt like we were prisoners.
The worst part of the lockdown was that I wasn’t even allowed to see my mates, and none of them had broken the rules after Theo’s visit.
My body was going through the withdrawals from not being near my mates, to say the least. I craved them. It made my entire body ache, but especially my heart. It made me feel empty inside. This was the first time I had been separated from any of them since summer, and it was too much for too long. I hated it.
***
On the third evening of lockdown, the sound of Headmaster Black’s voice came over an intercom in my dorm suite. It startled me at first because I didn’t know we even had intercoms in our dorm rooms.
“Students, may I have your attention, please? Please stop whatever it is you are doing to listen to me.” He paused for a moment. “For starters, I would like to thank you all for remaining under lockdown for the past few days. As of right now, we are not sure who attacked our school on the night of the Full Moon Party. Whoever planned this attack used dark magic to manipulate the Moon Blessing Ceremony. In doing so, they managed to kill three students in the process.”
I swallowed hard. Three students, all dead… and it was probably all because of me. Not because I had killed them but because Milos had probably been trying to get to me and, for whatever reason, had killed them because of me.
“At this time, we don’t have any suspects in this attack. However, our investigation will remain open until we get to the bottom of this. We will figure out who planned this attack on our campus. But in the meantime, we can’t let this interfere with the academic school year any more than it already has,” Headmaster Black continued. “We do feel that it is safe for you to begin your classes tomorrow morning, but we ask that all students remain under lockdown until then. We also insist that you proceed with caution. If you notice anything that seems out of sorts, please let one of your instructors or myself know. Your safety remains our biggest concern and our top priority at Werewolf Academy. Incoming freshman, your Sorting Ceremony will be held first thing in the morning, during what would have been your first homeroom period. Until further notice, all sports are cancelled. Thank you for your patience during this scary and upsetting time.”
“Wow. So,
it really was an attack,” Vince commented what the rest of us were all thinking.
“And they expect us to just resume campus life almost like nothing happened,” Iris murmured.
“I can’t believe we still have to go to this Sorting Ceremony. I mean, you guys don’t, but I do. And I feel like this is so pointless for me,” Maddie complained. “I already know I’m going to be sorted into the Marked.”
“Just look at it as an excuse to check out all the cute guys there,” Vince told her. “It really gives you a good idea of who to crush on during the next year.”
“And to possibly run into my ex-boyfriend who bit me,” Maddie replied with an eye roll. “Seriously, Robbie better hope I don’t run into him today. I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”
“Want me to kill him for you?” Vince asked.
Maddie’s eyebrows lifted. “Have you ever killed someone before?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged.
“Maybe?” I just eyed him curiously. Vince had never mentioned killing anyone to me before.
Not that you’d expect a murderer to just flat out tell someone they were a killer.
I had never thought he’d be capable of killing someone but he was a Crescent—meaning he was a “bad” wolf.
Then again, I was a Crescent, too… and I hadn’t killed anyone.
Not yet, at least…
“Ladies, ladies. Let’s think about this for a second. Would a killer really tell his secrets to the world?” Vince asked.
He was kidding. He had to have been.
At least, I hoped he was.
There were already enough murderers in my life who I needed to deal with.
Chapter Seven
On Thursday morning, I sat across from Iris in our homeroom classroom as we waited for Theo to come into the room. I looked over my schedule again for about the millionth time.
8 a.m.
The Psychology of Love and Mates with Professor Theo Rossi