by Jayme Morse
The last thing I wanted to do was talk to her in private. But she was my professor, so how could I say no? That would have just given her something else to hold against me.
Once we were in her office, she closed the door behind us. She sat down at her desk and motioned to the chair across from it. “Please have a seat.”
Nervously, I sat down.
“Welcome back to Werewolf Academy. Your second year hasn’t even really begun yet, and I’ve heard you’ve made quite the commotion.” She smiled at me.
“Uh… what?”
The Full Moon Party. That was the first thought that came to mind. Somehow, she knew that I had hidden the moon… and that I was the cause of our entire school lockdown.
But how could she have known? Theo had said that my hiding the moon was a secret that would remain between us—our pack, only. Was it possible that one of them had somehow let it slip?
I also couldn’t help but wonder what Caroline Wickburn would do with that information if she knew just how powerful I was. But considering how much she seemed to hate me, I would have been surprised if she didn’t try to do something with it. I just wasn’t sure what yet.
Would she try to use my powers for her own benefit?
“Yes. I heard about what happened at your dorm suite.” Her light eyes met mine. “It must have been so scary to learn there was an intruder.”
I just stared back at her, wondering how she knew.
What if I was wrong? What if Milos hadn’t left the message in blood on my countertop?
What if Caroline Wickburn had?
“I’m sorry. How did you find out about it?” I asked her.
“I overheard Theo talking to Headmaster Black on the night of the Full Moon Party,” she explained.
Well, I supposed that made a lot of sense. Any time Theo was near her, all of her attention was on him… always.
“I just wanted to let you know that I am always here if something ever happens, or if you ever feel your life is in danger,” Caroline Wickburn went on.
I blinked. Why was she being so nice to me?
“I can’t help but feel like you and I got off to the wrong foot,” Caroline went on. “I felt it was important for us to clear the air before classes begin. It’s going to be a long school year, and it looks like the two of us are stuck with each other, whether we like it or not.” She smiled.
I forced a smile back at her. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”
“I just want to explain some of my actions to you,” she went on. “Theo and I go… way back.”
“You do?” He’d never mentioned that to me.
“Yes, we actually attended Werewolf Academy together—along with your parents,” she explained. “I always felt something for him. He was my first love, even though my feelings were never reciprocated.” She paused. “That was all a very long time ago. We hadn’t seen each other in many years. So, when he ended up teaching at Werewolf Academy, too, I just thought it was… fate.” She paused. “I didn’t expect him to be your mate. I guess my jealousy got the best of me. That’s why I acted the way I did towards you. I’m not exactly proud of my actions.” She paused. “Theo never had feelings for me. I just want you to know that. I was the only one who felt anything between the two of us. But I’m over it now. And I’ve met someone else.” She offered another smile. “Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that so hopefully we can start fresh.”
“I think we can do that,” I replied with a nod.
“Of course.” She paused as we both rose to our feet. “If you ever have any questions about your parents, let me know. I have many stories about them.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “That means a lot.”
As we walked back to the classroom together, I allowed our conversation to sink in.
As much as I wanted to believe that what she had said was true, I knew that it wasn’t.
There was no way Caroline Wickburn was actually over Theo. I couldn’t allow myself to forget one little, but incredibly important, fact.
Once you fell in love with an ancient, it was impossible to fall out of it.
Caroline Wickburn was lying to me, to try to make nice. The only question was why?
Chapter Nine
“Welcome to Lupine Genetics class,” Professor Rodriguez said as he stood at the front of the classroom. “This semester, we’re going to cover a lot about your genetics. We will be discussing the genetics of all four houses throughout the duration of this course. But, first, I’d like to begin with the earliest werewolves in history—the ancients.”
His gold eyes fell on mine then, and I shrunk down in my seat. I wasn’t sure how Professor Rodriguez had found out I was one of the ancients, but I figured that he must have heard about it from Headmaster Black. Still, it unnerved me that so many knew the truth about what I was.
“The ancients possessed a number of traits that many of us no longer possess and, if we do, our traits are no longer as strong,” Professor Rodriguez went on. “Many of us don’t have high quantities of ancient blood. Having just a drop of ancient blood will give you some of the same abilities and traits the ancients possessed, but only just a hint of it. Our strengths certainly won’t compare.
“As many of you know, a disease killed off the majority of the ancients. The virus was one of the only things known to kill werewolves. Nearly all of the ancients died. Very few survived, but for those who did, it is a true testament of their power. Their strength.” His eyes met mine again from across the room. “There are exactly six ancients who remain in this world today.”
Theo. Aiden. Colton. Rhys. Me.
And Milos.
“The ancient wolves were faster, more agile, than other wolves. Their running speeds were—or are—about five times faster than the rest of us, and about ten to twenty times faster than the average human,” he explained. “The world javelin-throwing record for a human is 98.48 meters. But the ancients could throw a javelin up to a mile away.”
Two miles, actually. That was what my own personal record was, at least, this past summer when I went through the official Darken boot camp training. But the last thing I wanted to do was correct him and draw unnecessary attention to myself.
“As werewolves, we’re all known to be more attractive than humans. The reason for this is due to the ancients, who the majority of us descend from. The ancients were known for their physical attractiveness. Their beauty is what you would call otherworldly.” Professor Rodriguez’s eyes found mine again; his gold irises pierced through me. I realized then that he was attracted to me.
I wasn’t going to lie. It wasa mutual feeling. Even though I didn’t feel the type of connection I had with my mates, there was something about him that was undeniably attractive.
I felt weird for thinking that. I had four mates. Was it disloyal to think another wolf was hot?
I was relieved that the Darken couldn’t hear my thoughts. If any of them heard what I was thinking right now, I was pretty sure they would have been jealous as fuck.
“Perhaps one of the more interesting abilities of some of the ancient wolves is one that none of the rest of us are capable of,” Professor Rodriguez went on. “Only werewolves with one-hundred percent ancient blood were able to do this, and it was much more common in male wolves than female wolves. And even then, it’s not an ability that all of them are able to possess, but rather a unique and incredibly rare ability. It’s what we call Mind Travel.” He wrote the words Mind Travel on the chalkboard.
“With this ability, some Ancient werewolves were able to get inside another wolf’s mind. And I don’t mean in the way that mates are able to communicate with one another. With mind travel, a werewolf is able to tap into another wolf’s thoughts. No spell or potion could keep them out. The werewolf is even able to leave his or her own body, leaving their mind vacant, and actually travel inside the other werewolf’s mind.”
“That’s freaking creepy,” Vince whispered from where he sat next to me.
Iris, who sat behind h
im, nodded her agreement. “Extremely creepy.”
“Mind Travel isn’t something werewolves could do with just any werewolf. Rather, the werewolf had to imprint on the other wolf—a wolf of the opposite sex. Contrary to popular belief, a werewolf could imprint on anyone. If a werewolf wanted another wolf, even if they weren’t mated, he was able to imprint on her, which was a bond that couldn’t easily be broken. In fact, the only way an imprint bond could be broken is if either the wolf, or the wolf he’d imprinted on, died. Unless that happened, that werewolf would forever have the ability to Mind Travel. He could not only speak to the wolf he’d imprinted on through her thoughts. She could see his face, too—but only if he allowed her to. Sometimes, he might have chosen to remain silent, quietly listening in on her thoughts without warning.”
It hit me then.
Every time I had seen Milos in my thoughts, it hadn’t only been a figment of my imagination.
Milos had imprinted on me. He had traveled inside my mind.
He had access to my thoughts… and my location… at all times.
As if on cue, Milos’s face appeared in my mind at that moment.
His lips curved upwards into a wicked smile, confirming that everything I was thinking was true.
Then, his image faded away.
***
“How come you never mentioned that Milos was inside your head before?” Aiden asked.
I had called a pack meeting in the Darken pack’s living room. I had just told them what I’d learned today in Lupine Genetics class.
“I don’t know. I guess I just thought I was imagining it all,” I admitted. “I thought I was just paranoid, and it was making me conjure images of Milos in my mind. But it all makes sense. He even spoke to me in my thoughts before. That night when Jessica Davis attacked me in the woods, he told me, ‘My daughter is the furthest thing from trustworthy.’ I thought it was just a gut instinct or something that was manifesting in the form of his words, but it was obviously really him.” I paused. “Then again, that doesn’t make sense, either. Why would Milos have said something to actually help me?”
“Because I think we’re all wrong about Milos. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you,” Theo said quietly.
We all glanced over at him, wide-eyed.
“He wouldn’t?” Rhys asked.
“Think about it. Milos has wanted to marry Raven—well, Fallyn—for nearly six hundred years. He’s not about to kill her when he’s wanted her for that long,” Theo replied.
I frowned. “But what about the bloody message he left on my countertop? That definitely seemed like some sort of threat.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Theo said. “We thought Milos was the one who left that message there for you, but what if it wasn’thim?”
“What are you saying?” I asked with raised eyebrows.
“There’s a chance that someone else might have written the message.”
“But who else, besides Milos, would feel that strongly about me to write a message like that?” I questioned.
“Someone else who wants you,” Colton suggested.
“I don’t think anyone outside of this room does, and I doubt any of you left the message there.”
“All I’m saying is that we might have jumped to conclusions. It probably was Milos, but there’s always the chance that it wasn’t.” Theo shrugged.
“I hate all of this not knowing.” I sighed. “But what do we do now? Milos can Mind Travel, which means he knows my every thought—my every location. And the worst part about it all is that he knows I’m aware of this now. He knows I know, so he might be less inclined to stay hidden.”
“Milos is also smart,” Aiden said, shaking his head. “He’s not going to start making stupid moves just because you know he imprinted on you. Everything he does will still be perfectly calculated.”
“I guess,” I replied.
“And all we can do is work towards killing him,” Colton added. “That’s the only way to break the imprint bond. Once he’s dead, the two of you will no longer be bonded.”
“You make it sound so easy,” I replied.
“It will be,” Theo replied with a nod.
“I don’t know. I mean, when I saw my parents in my dream—the dream that I’m pretty sure was real—they did tell me that we were strong enough to kill Milos.” My mind landed on something I had forgotten since that dream, something important. “They also told me that Milos wasn’t the only threat to me. They told me the reason they did what they did was because they wanted to keep me safe from the Triangle.” I glanced around at my pack members. “What’s the Triangle?”
“I’ve never heard of it,” Colton replied, shaking his head.
“Do you think they could have meant the Bermuda Triangle?” Rhys asked me.
I shook my head. “No. I don’t think that’s a threat to me. I never spent that much time at sea, at least not without my parents.” I paused. “I’m not sure, but I feel like this may have something to do with the number ‘three’. Three people? Three places? I’m not sure… It’s just a gut feeling, I guess.”
“I’ll have to do some research,” Aiden replied. “There’s got to be somethingin one of the library books about it.”
I nodded. “I can help you.”
“Sounds good,” he nodded. “Maybe tomorrow afternoon after school, if you’re free.”
“Actually, there’s a party tomorrow,” I informed them. “This guy Branden Mitchell, who I know from the human world, is having a party. Maddie wanted us to get ready together after school.”
“Alright. Do you want to do our research on Saturday afternoon then?” Aiden asked.
“Actually, Raven and I have plans on Saturday,” Theo told him.
I glanced over at him with wide eyes. “We do?”
This was news to me. Unless it had somehow completely slipped my mind. But I was pretty sure this was the first time I had heard anything about it.
“Yeah. Sorry, I must have forgotten to mention it. I’m taking you out.”
“Okay.” I didn’t even try to suppress my huge grin.
“Well, Raven and I have plans on Sunday,” Rhys added. I wasn’t entirely sure, but I got the sense that he was actually jealous by Theo’s surprise date with me. That was sort of out of character for Rhys. Of my mates, he was, by far, the least jealous.
“Okay. Raven and I have a library date for Monday, then,” Aiden cut in. He glanced over at me and then said bitterly, “Apparently, that’s the only time I can get with you.”
“We’ll do something after the library,” I assured him.
“So, I guess I get Raven on Tuesday, then?” Colton asked.
“You guys know that at some point I’m going to need to focus on my studies, right?” I asked them. “I have a lot of schoolwork this year—classes that actually seem difficult.”
“We promise to go easy on you when grading,” Rhys said.
“Actually, Headmaster Black talked to me about this already. He wanted to make sure that I actually earn my grades. So, if I fail any of your classes, you have to actually give me a failing grade—and not just go ‘easy’ on me. You have to give me the grades I earn. And I wouldn’t even want you to go easy on me. I want to earn my own grades. I don’t want them to just be handed to me.” I knew I was ranting, but I couldn’t help it. This was something I felt pretty strongly about.
“I was joking, Raven,” Rhys said. “Of course we’re going to make you earn your grades.”
“However, feel free to start failing my class, if you want. I would love to give you some private tutoring sessions,” Aiden told me with a wink. “Though I can’t promise that we’d actually get any schoolwork accomplished.”
For some reason, his words reminded me of the fact that Jessica Davis went to his office hours for one-on-one tutoring. Did he have those same thoughts about her?
I knew I was just being a jealous mate. I was Aiden’s mate, not Jessica. Plus, it was even more complicated than jus
t that.
Ancients can’t be attracted to non-ancients, I reminded myself.
Then again, was Jessica Davis a non-ancient? Of course, I knew she wasn’t six-hundred years old, like the rest of us were. But Milos was her father, and he was an ancient. That meant that she had a stronger percentage of ancient blood than most other wolves. Could ancients be attracted to Descendants who had a high percentage of ancient blood?
I wanted to know the answer to this, but I also didn’t want to ask the Darken. I didn’t want to sound like a jealous mate.
I was just going to have to save the question for Professor Rodriguez. Lupine Genetics was clearly his specialty, after all, so I was sure he probably knew the answer.
***
The following day in Lupine Genetics, I glanced over at Iris and Vince, who always waited for me. “You guys go ahead. I need to ask Professor Rodriguez a question.”
“Okay. See you later,” Vince said.
Iris stared at me for a moment. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. “Yeah, see you in Lunar Magic class.”
I waited until the other students had left the classroom.
Once it was just the two of us, I moved to stand in front of his desk. “Professor Rodriguez, I have a question for you.”
He glanced up at me with a smile. “And I just might have an answer.”
“This may seem like an odd question. I know the ancients were only attracted to other ancients, due to the curse.”
“That’s right,” Professor Rodriguez replied with a nod.
“Well, is it possible for a full-blooded ancient to be attracted to someone who has a strong percentage of ancient blood? Say fifty percent of their genetic makeup?” I asked him.
“I don’t know. You tell me. Are you attracted to me?” Professor Rodriguez’s gold eyes locked on mine.
“W-what?” My voice wavered a little. I wasn’t going to lie. I did feel a little something when he looked at me like that…
“My mother was an ancient,” Professor Rodriguez explained. “My father was not.” His eyes met mine. “Do you feel anything for me, Raven?”