by Ivy Sinclair
Maggie was fascinated yet again. This was yet another dynamic to shifters that she had no idea about. “Have you ever felt like that? Like you wanted to remain as your wolf?”
Tony thought about it. She appreciated that he wasn’t dismissing the question out of hand. “Perhaps. Not often, though. Especially not in the last couple years. There’s just something about walking around on two legs that is more appealing than walking on four. I won’t say there aren’t some benefits of being in my wolf form, and I take full advantage of those when I can, or when it’s necessary. But other than that, I don’t feel the draw unless it happens to be the full moon.” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and Maggie wondered if he was making fun of her.
“So you’re just as affected by the lunar cycle as regular wolves?”
“There’s a reason that we schedule the shifter fights at the club on nights of the full moon if we can. Let’s just say that the crowd is a lot rowdier, but that also means that they spend a hell of a lot more than they would at any other time. It’s not just wolves that feel the pull; pretty much all shifters do to some degree or another.”
Their conversation was interrupted as the plane made its descent to the airfield outside of Croftsborrow. Maggie watched the lush green landscape rush to greet them as the plane landed on the runway. She barely felt the bump as the wheels touched the ground. Maggie loved to fly, and it was something she just didn’t have an opportunity to do that often.
Tony had hired a car to take them into town and on to the school. Maggie soon discovered that Tony was a charming tour guide and well-informed about the area. He told her all about the history of the town and the first settlers there. But he grew most animated as he told her about the Civil War battles that had been fought there. It turned out that Tony was a Civil War buff.
"I know more than my fair share about Civil War history," he confessed. "When my father would drag us to various engagements up and down the East Coast, my favorite part was studying up on the different battles that occurred in those areas. It kept me occupied and out of my parents’ hair. I always did well in history classes, but the chapters on the Civil War were by far my favorite."
Maggie thought that was cool as hell. She figured it was time for her to confess something as well. "My parents loved the idea of the All-American family summer vacation. But we didn’t have a lot of money, so they saved up every year for one big vacation. They always said we’d go someplace different, but we always ended up camping at Niagara Falls. When I was a kid, I’d always pretended it was the end of the world, and I only had my wits and my skills to help me survive. I checked out a lot of books about how to survive in the woods in my day."
Tony thought that was hilarious. "A survivalist, huh?"
"Those are transferable skills. You never know when the zombie apocalypse is going to hit after all," Maggie said with a smug smile. "I think a girl’s got to know how to defend and take care of herself if the world ends."
"You must have loved H.G. Wells then," Tony said. “Truly a classic if there ever was one.”
Maggie flushed. “I listened to War of the Worlds at least a bazillion times. I liked the book too. Because we couldn't afford to travel, reading was the next best escape." Now she was teetering on a line that she wasn’t sure she wanted to cross. She was fine divulging some parts of herself to Tony, but she wasn't ready to let him see everything. Plus, they were just business colleagues after all. There was no need to overshare.
Tony seemed to accept her silence in stride. He pointed out yet another landmark outside the window, and soon she was laughing again at the tales he told her of different pranks that he, Eric, and Kyle had attempted during their time at St. Ignacious. Some of them, they got caught. Most of the time, though, it sounded like they didn’t. No wonder they were so confident taking on the world.
Maggie had seen pictures of St. Ignacious on the internet, but nothing prepared her for the actual approach to the school. The car pulled up to a gate, and the guard at the entrance checked their name off of a list. She looked out the front of the car’s windshield, but she couldn't see the buildings yet. She remarked on that to Tony.
"The school is actually another two miles inside the property," he said. As the car started down the tree-lined lane, Maggie was starting to catch the drift of why.
"So this was because it was important to potentially keep the shifters going through their first phase away from the town?"
"I told you that St. Ignacious takes that responsibility with grave importance. They're not going to let anyone get loose. There are rare instances of situations like Robert’s, but they are few and far between at St. Ignacious. I would have full confidence sending my own children to the school. I have fond memories here, despite the way everything ended."
It surprised her how eager he seemed about visiting his old stomping grounds, given what had happened. There was a part of her that was wondering about his sudden invitation to join him. She had to wonder if the trip was an excuse to be able to spend more time with her. She wasn't normally so confident in a man's attraction to her, but she had known since the benefit that Tony was interested in more than a business relationship with her. Perhaps That was why she was going overboard trying to keep the relationship strictly in professional territory, but with every story that he told her and every laugh he pulled from her lips, she was drawn closer to him.
"So are you still friends with anyone else other than Eric and Kyle?" she asked.
"Is that your way of asking if I had a girlfriend?" Tony asked with a sly smile on his face.
Actually, Maggie was curious about all of Tony's ex-girlfriends, not just the ones that he might have had at school. "You're thirty-five years old, and you're an attractive guy; it is kind of strange that you're not married yet."
“So you think I'm attractive?" he said, catching her off-handed comment and turning it back on her.
Maggie decided it was pointless to hide the fact that she was attracted to him. That secret had already been let out of bag at the benefit when she returned his kiss. "You're all right," she said while rolling her eyes.
"If you want to know the truth, it’s just a simple matter of having not found the right one yet," Tony said. He stretched out his long legs, and she wondered if he was eager to get to their destination. Traveling in confined spaces was probably difficult for him. "I work long hours, I travel all over the world for my job, and it isn't really conducive to having any kind of relationship."
"Have you really ever tried?" Maggie asked.
"Have you?" He turned the question back on her. She supposed she deserved that, digging into his life the way she was. She wanted to understand what made Tony tick. It was important to her, and it wasn't just because she was attracted to him on a physical level. If he had truly done that horrendous deed all those years ago, she needed something else to be able to justify the fact that she liked him. So far, he had proved to be nothing but a charming, affable host.
"I was engaged once; it was a long time ago," she finally said.
"What happened?" Tony asked.
"We were young, and it wasn't the right fit. I can see that now through the lens of maturity. There is something to be said for getting older," she said.
"Yeah, that fit is important. I'm not the type of guy to not do it right. And it goes beyond the fact that I am a shifter. When shifters mate, we mate for life. That was the way it's always been."
Maggie could appreciate that, and she liked the idea of a happy ever after. The cold reality was that often the journey of love ended in the destination of divorce.
She looked out the window, unwilling to say anything more of it. She looked at the clusters of trees as they drove past. It was starting to feel more and more isolated. "What else did you guys do here for fun?"
"I was on the football team with Eric. Kyle was in track and field. All three of us were on the basketball team, and we would've gone to state senior year if Eric hadn’t completely bombed it." H
e caught Maggie's amused expression. "If you ever really want to piss Eric off, ask him about the three-point shot in the regional finals. It's sure to get a reaction."
"I'm pretty sure I don't want to do anything ever to piss Eric off. From what I heard, people disappear after that," Maggie joked. She saw Tony's pained expression and realized the faux pas of her words. "I'm sorry, that was a really stupid thing to say."
"No, it's fine. It's something that we have to stop beating around the bush about, and I know what you meant. Eric is known for being a bit of asshole. He is a good guy underneath all of that bluster. He takes care of his family and his friends."
"It must be nice to have friends like that. You have brothers?"
"Two, both younger," Tony said. "Since I was the oldest, the old man always hoped I’d be the one to follow in his footsteps. Don’t get me wrong, where I ended up at the end of the day still looks good for him. But we were never close."
"I wasn’t that close with my parents either."
“Do they live near Copper City?”
"My father passed away right after I graduated from college. My mother worked herself to the bone after that, and she died a couple of years ago. I never had any siblings."
"I'm sorry," Tony said.
They settled into a comfortable silence. Then the first spire of St. Ignacious came into view, and Maggie's breath was taken away. It was as if they were approaching some kind of Gothic castle.
Maggie plastered her hands to the glass and studied the approaching building. It was clearly designed like a monstrous medieval castle. There were four turrets on each corner of the building. "How many students are here?"
"Give or take five hundred at any given time. There's just three grades now."
"So small and yet so big," she said.
"I’d tell you the whole history, but you’ll hear it at least a dozen times during the course of the time we’re here.”
The car pulled up in front of the school’s main entrance. Maggie saw it was a large stone archway that led into a courtyard past the wall. She looked at Tony with a look of chagrin. He smiled at her and gave her a small shrug. “I hope you like drafty, medieval castles. That was kind of what the place feels like.”
Maggie saw that there was a young man waiting outside on the sidewalk. He appeared to be waiting for them. The driver came around and opened the door. Tony exited first and then put his hand back to help her out as well. She hung back behind him, though, as the boy stepped closer to them. The boy held out his hand to Tony. “Mr. Atwood, we’re so glad you were able to join us for the festivities.”
Maggie remembered that Tony had mentioned they had a schedule. She wondered how long the boy had been standing there waiting for them to arrive.
“My name is Simon, and I’ll be your guide while you are here,” the boy said, introducing himself.
“It’s very nice to meet you Simon,” Tony’s voice was like warm butter warming her insides. Maggie thought how easy it was to listen to him. She saw that the boy had a slightly starstruck look on his face. She imagined that was what most people felt like when they met Tony. He was a kind of minor celebrity in his own right. “This is Ms. O’Hara, and she is my guest.”
“Pleasure, Ms. O’Hara,” Simon said, giving her a small bow. “Yes, your assistant called ahead to let us know to expect a plus one for you.”
Maggie rather liked the idea of being Tony’s plus one. Tony winked at her, and she scowled at him. Instead, she focused back on Simon and saw with a bit of amusement that he seemed to be checking some items off a list on his clipboard. It was all so formal.
“Mr. Atwood, you have a couple of choices as far as how you would like to spend the afternoon. There are activities going on in the courtyard for the alumni. You can also take a tour of the grounds if you would like. The last thing is a tour of the art gallery. We’ve acquired some new pieces that I think you would appreciate.”
Tony looked at Maggie with a questioning look. “It’s up to you. What would you like to do?”
She was flattered. Of course, she was just there on business, but there was something intriguing about finding out more about St. Ignacious and the man that it had created. “I think I’d like to do the tour of the grounds.” She figured that was the one option that seemed most likely to relate to what she was doing there in the first place. She didn’t want to give any indication that she might have an ulterior motive.
“Very good,” Simon said. He handed an itinerary to Tony. “You’re just in time. You can meet the rest of the tour group on the other side of the courtyard. They’ll be beginning in just a few minutes.”
“Thank, you Simon. I’ll look for you later,” Tony said.
Tony put his hand against the small of Maggie’s back and started to guide her through the archway. She tried looking everywhere at once. The area was just so grand, and it had an air of being much older than it was. She could understand why the rich and famous would want to send their children to this particular school. From what she had heard, it was notoriously difficult to get into, though. Someone had to be of the highest caliber in addition to being rich. She knew that spoke volumes about Tony that he had been accepted there.
“So how did this compare to the school you were at before?” she asked.
“The nice thing about St. Ignacious was there were others like me here. My other prep school wasn’t so friendly toward shifters,” Tony said. “That was despite all of the money my father threw at them; they still looked down their noses at those of our kind.”
Maggie wondered what it would be like to be discriminated against at every turn. She knew that the world was a long way from where it had been eighteen years ago, but they still had a ways to go. The work that the Urban Dwellers were doing along with Lukas Kasper was important for that reason.
It bothered her that she had inadvertently been building a reputation of being discriminatory toward shifters. It just happened to be that those were the cases that came her way. It didn’t mean that she sought them out. She needed to do something about that when she got home.
They approached the group across the courtyard. There were probably about a dozen people already standing there, milling about, waiting for the tour to begin. Tony looked completely at ease. Maggie saw several of the people in the tour group look at him and then begin to whisper. She hid her smile behind her hand.
“What are you laughing about?” Tony asked as he noticed her expression. He seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that he’d set the entire crowd atwitter with his approach.
“This must be what it’s like for you every day that you don’t even notice,” Maggie said. “Doesn’t it get tiring always having people treat you like some kind of celebrity?”
Tony’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“And That was the part that is so fascinating,” Maggie said. She wasn’t sure if he was being modest, or he really didn’t understand that his presence was like having a rock star in their midst.
Tony began to make his way around the group, introducing himself and Maggie. She hung back and watched him as he did so. It was so obvious that he had a political background, but she had to admit he played the role well. The women looked as if they were going to fall all over him, and the men looked at him with a grudging amount of respect.
She had no idea of how she would be able to tell which of the group were humans and which were shifters. She knew that St. Ignacious leaned toward a healthy population of shifters, but, over the years, it had become far more integrated with the human community as well. If someone went to St. Ignacious and got good grades, they could apply and practically be guaranteed a spot in any Ivy League college in the country.
She knew that Tony had attended Stanford after he had graduated from St. Ignacious. He had done his masters work there as well and then moved on to his MD from Harvard. He had the perfect pedigree. It was a far cry from her own. It wasn’t that Maggie hadn’t gotten good gr
ades and hadn’t gotten into a decent college. But it wasn’t anything like the Ivy League college in the world where Tony came from. She simply hadn’t been able to afford it, and in fact, she was still paying her student loans on her degrees. She wouldn’t change her job for all the money in the world, though. She had been born to be a lawyer.
She saw another young man appear at the front of the crowd, and he clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention. As soon as everyone had quieted down, he began to speak. “Welcome, welcome everyone. My name is George Benault, and I am a senior here at St. Ignacious Preparatory. We are delighted to have you all here for homecoming. We welcome you, current students, parents, and alumni. Now we are going to take an abbreviated tour of the school grounds. It’ll last about an hour, and after that, you will be free to tour the rest of the grounds on your own if you wish. The homecoming rally, as I need to remind you, is at 6 o’clock tonight. This year, we will be taking on our rivals at Gracefield Private School. We have won our homecoming game for the last ten years running, and we hope to continue that tradition this year as well.”
A small roar went up among the crowd. Maggie couldn’t help but laugh. She was starting to feel the excitement of the school spirit. She saw Tony clapping, and he gave a small whoop as well. She liked this side of him. He was softer and more off guard with her now. These were the types of things that she had wanted to find out about him. They could save the detective work for later.
George began to lead them through the courtyard. As Tony had predicted, he went through the entire story of St. Ignacious’s history as he led them through the older part of the school buildings that had been built on the original foundation, and then a newer wing that had been added in the last fifteen years. This was the part that Tony seemed most interested in, likely because it had been added since his time at St. Ignacious.
St. Ignacious had been built in the 1930s originally as a sanatorium. That was the part that was most interesting to Maggie. So the school’s dormitory was originally the rooms for people who were suffering from tuberculosis. After the cure had been discovered, and that type of facility was no longer needed, it was rented out to the state of Virginia as a high school. It fell into disrepair, though, after it proved to be too far for most people in the local area to want to send their children. It was purchased in the 1950s by a couple of entrepreneurial young men who had a strong bent toward the Roman Catholic Church. They decided to name their new venture after the patron saint of learning, St. Ignacious. St. Ignacious Preparatory became a reality, and they catered to a much more exclusive crowd, and even then, the men recognized that it provided a place of safety needed for well-to-do shifter families. So it became a boarding school and a safe haven for shifters.