“The things you’ve become?” I suggested, and he clamped his jaw shut. “Just… think about it. You, and Brad, and Laura. Don’t you ever wish it could be quiet in your head again? Without that constant anger screaming at you every waking moment? I can barely even remember a time when it was that peaceful.”
“Me, either.” Ryan rolled his bottle in his hands and picked at the label. “I don’t think Brad wants peaceful. Not now, not that way.”
“But he has a right to decide for himself, doesn’t he?”
Ryan mulled that one over for a moment, then nodded and pulled a phone from his pocket.
“Don’t suppose you want to give me the number for that, so that next time I need to get hold of you I don’t have to wait for another full moon to pass?”
“So you can track me? I don’t think so.”
I tried not to take the accusation to heart, because I figured being on the run from Draeven was enough to make anyone paranoid. But that didn’t make it sting any less. I said nothing as Ryan typed out a message and hit send, then set his phone on the table.
“You should go,” he said. “We’ll let you know when we’ve made our decision.”
“Here.” I grabbed a beermat and scrawled my number on it. “Call me when you decide. And if you want to talk – about anything.”
I slid the mat across the table to him, and I could see the suspicion written all over his face. I rolled my eyes.
“From a damned payphone if you have to. Dammit, Ryan, if I wanted to turn you in, don’t you think I would have done it by now?”
He shrugged and opened his mouth, but whatever he was about to say was interrupted by his phone buzzing.
“It’s time for you to leave,” he said, placing one hand over the phone. He obviously wanted to take his call in private. I gave him a lopsided smile and got to my feet.
“Take care of yourself, Ryan.”
We made for the exit, nodding to the others on our way past, and then stepped out into the street. I hoped they weren’t going to be long finishing up their drinks. I didn’t much fancy loitering. I wasn’t in the mood to hang around.
There were several locals heading for the different bars on the street, and the evening air was crackling with the low hum of chatter that marked people working themselves up to a good night out, and a few rowdy shouts from people who were already on their way. A low whistle cut across the noise, and I pivoted to locate its source.
A slight woman with shoulder-length, mousey-brown hair was leaning against the wall. Laura. She’d tried to kill me the last time we’d seen each other, and it didn’t look like her feelings had warmed any in the meantime. She pushed off from the wall and swaggered towards me and Cam, a nasty smile spreading itself on her face. Cam tensed, but I touched a hand to his arm. I was more than capable of handling anything Laura threw at me.
Something moved in the shadow, and a second figure detached itself. I frowned: it was a young guy, maybe our age, but I didn’t recognise him. I glanced at his wrist, but there was nothing there. No cuff. He wasn’t from Fur ‘n’ Fang. I tested the air and flicked a questioning glance at Cam, and he dipped his chin. He agreed, then – the guy was a shifter, even if something smelled off. So why wasn’t he wearing a cuff?
It didn’t matter. There were two of them, two of us – I still liked our odds. Me and Cam had been in more than our fair share of scraps, and we’d come out of them fine.
But maybe we didn’t have to fight. I didn’t have to like Laura – but I did have to acknowledge she was under the influence of the same rage curse as me. Except, instead of having a damned good mentor and counsellor, she got locked in a cage and left to rot. There but for the grace of God… If Blake had paired me with a different instructor, and her with mine, we could be living each other’s lives right now. She deserved a second chance – and so long as she wasn’t throwing silver knives at me, I intended to offer it to her.
“We don’t have to do this, Laura,” I said.
“Scared, bitch?”
I took a breath of the damp air and eased the tension from my shoulders.
“We can help you.”
She barked a harsh laugh, and the guy in her shadow squared his shoulders. He wasn’t interested in help – but he wasn’t the one I was talking to.
“There’s a cure. For your rage curse.”
“The only thing I’m interested in is your blood.”
“Well, it’s good to be wanted, I guess.” I felt Cam tense beside me, but I wasn’t ready to go there, not yet. “Just think about it, Laura. You can be yourself again.”
“I rather like the new version of her.”
The voice came from behind me, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end at the sound. It was a voice I’d never wanted to hear again. But if Laura and Ryan were both here, it shouldn’t have surprised me that Brad was, too.
I twisted round to face him, aware as I did that I was giving Laura the perfect opportunity to jump me. Shit. The others needed to hurry the hell up with their drinks and get out here.
I must’ve glanced towards the door, because Brad’s lips spread in a smirk.
“Oh, your friends are a bit busy. I didn’t want us to be disturbed. But I’m sorry, I’m interrupting. You were trying to convince Laura that you could cure her personality.”
“Not her personality,” I said. “You know the curse is affecting all of us. You can’t want to stay like this?”
“Can’t I?” He swaggered forward, closing the distance between us to just a few feet. Cam bristled, and I laid a hand on his arm. Not yet. “Don’t you feel it? The power? It makes us strong.”
I shook my head. “It makes us flawed.”
“Oh, you’re more flawed than us, cur.”
He flashed his teeth in the moonlight, and trainers scuffed on the pavement behind me. I ducked low and the punch sailed over my head, missing me by inches. I lashed out behind with a clenched hand and landed a blow to Laura’s stomach. Trust that coward to attack from behind.
A snarl ripped from Cam’s throat as I spun to face the gasping woman, but it was Brad he dived at. Shit. They were too evenly matched for my liking. I had to finish this quickly.
I advanced on Laura as she straightened, her face twisted in a scowl.
“What’s the matter?” I taunted. “Don’t like fighting an enemy who’s looking?”
I needed her to do something reckless, to give me an opening so I could put her down without trading blows, but she just shook her head and beckoned me forward with one hand, the other hanging loose by her side. I wasn’t fooled. I knew she could have that hand up ready to attack or defend before I reached her.
Behind me, I could hear Cam and Brad trading blows and snarls, but I didn’t take my eyes from Laura. She’d never been one to fight fair, and nothing I’d seen this evening had persuaded me she’d changed her ways. I watched her warily.
“What’s the matter?” she asked. “Scared?”
Fury flashed through me at the suggestion, but I forced it down and plastered a cocky smile on my face.
“Hey, you’re the one who wants to trade insults instead of punches.”
“No, I was just keeping you busy.”
A pair of arms clamped around me from behind, squeezing my upper body. Dammit! I’d forgotten about Brad’s little pet. I’d played right into Laura’s hands. I struggled, but the arms didn’t budge, pinning my own arms to my sides. He was much stronger than me. I threw a glance over my shoulder, past his grinning face, but Cam was still squaring off with Brad. I was on my own. And I was screwed.
I snapped my head back round to Laura and barked a laugh that burned the whole way up my throat.
“I should have known you’d never dare to face me in a fair fight,” I said, forcing derision into my voice.
“Fair?” She laughed, and her laugh was a lot more convincing than mine. “Fair doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is winning.”
She sauntered toward me, her hand
s raised and ready to strike my defenceless face.
Fuck that.
I slammed my head back into the brute’s face. His nose shattered with the satisfying sound of bone splintering, spraying me with his blood, and his arms loosened around me. I spun round and drove my knee between his legs, then shoved him away from me. He hit the ground, his mouth open in a soundless cry of pain – he was all brute force with no training, and he wasn’t getting up anytime soon.
I turned back to Laura, baring my teeth in a bloody smile, and watched her face go pale. Guess she hadn’t been expecting an even fight. I raised one hand and beckoned her forward with her own taunt, and her pale cheeks flushed red with anger. She peeled back her lips and rushed me, one hand going to her hip.
A flash of grey metal caught my eye, and the sharp tang of silver filled the air. A knife. Laura lashed out with the blade, nicking my arm. I hissed in pain and backed away.
“She’s got a knife!” a voice shouted. “Someone call the cops.”
I noticed the gathered crowd for the first time – half a dozen revellers enjoying what they had thought was a light-hearted brawl.
Laura took another swing at me, this time aiming for my face, and I swept a leg into her knees, sending her crashing to the ground. The bar’s door slammed open, and three figures burst out – Dean, Mei and Leo. They took in the scene with a glance and started advancing on us.
Brad grabbed Laura’s arm and hauled her to her feet. The trio backed away, and he fixed me with a glare.
“This isn’t over, cur.”
Chapter Ten
We flagged down a taxi before the police could show, and had it drop us half a mile from the academy – if we’d brought a mundane right up to the gates, Blake would have skinned us alive. By the time we covered the last half mile and slipped through the gates, my arm was throbbing and I was leaning heavily on Cam. It was getting harder to focus with every step, and my breaths were coming in ragged gasps. The silver was spreading through my system. It was the one thing my body couldn’t heal from.
Dean slammed open the doors, and Cam and Leo half-walked, half-carried me through the hallways. Every step jolted my arm, sending fresh waves of pain through me, and by the time we barged into the med wing, sweat was beading on my forehead, and I couldn’t support my own weight.
“What happened?” Healer Fenwick was on his feet in an instant and hurrying over to us. “Get her on the bed.”
“Silver poisoning,” Cam said, steering me to the closest of the beds. I collapsed onto it with a sense of relief that was short-lived as Fenwick laid me back and started examining me.
He wasted no time cutting away my sleeve, and then tutted as he looked down at the wound.
“How long ago did this happen?”
“About half an hour,” Mei said.
“It’s advancing quickly. I’ll have to use pack magic to stop it spreading. You four will do. Quickly, now.”
“What do we have to do?” Leo said.
Fenwick paused. “Are any of you taking healing as an elective?”
Leo, Dean, and Mei shared a look and shook their heads.
“Aye, I am,” Cam said.
Fenwick tutted. “I’ll never understand why more students don’t study it. Normally, you’d need to be members of the same pack for this to work, but your wrist bands function similarly to a pack bond, which means I’ll be able to draw energy from all of you to help the healing. You–”
“Cam.”
“Take hold of her left hand and hold your other hand over her wound. I’ll take her right and do the same. The rest of you, sit down – I don’t need any of you fainting and getting a head injury when I drain your energy.”
The other three shared a look and pulled up some chairs. Cam took hold of my hand and squeezed it. I smiled at him. I mean, what wasn’t to love about the guy? Not only did he get into street brawls with me, but he helped patch me up after. Then I frowned.
“When did you study healing?”
He looked guilty for a moment, but before he could answer, Fenwick shushed us both.
I smelled it before I felt it – the cloying scent of magic, not as strong as a portal, but unmistakable just the same. It was coming from Fenwick’s hands. A grimace flashed over Dean’s face, and then I felt the magic pouring over my wound, like a salve. A salve that was suddenly getting very, very hot. I gasped, and Cam squeezed my hand again, but this time I could only grit my teeth in response. The magic was searing through my bloodstream, burning up the silver, and it was all I could do to keep the scream of pain bottled inside me and count the seconds that felt like hours.
It passed as quickly as it started, leaving only a warm glow behind, and a cold sweat beading on my forehead.
Fenwick nodded and lowered his hands. He looked pale. They all did. The magic must really have taken it out of them.
“Rest,” Fenwick said. “You’ll need to stay here tonight.”
“We can stay with her, though?” Cam said. Fenwick eyed him for a long moment, then dipped his chin again.
“But if you impede her recovery, I’ll use your energy to heal her again. That goes for all of you.”
He gave them all a fierce glare, then shuffled away into a side room.
As soon as he was gone, I propped myself up and looked around the circle of my friends, and then asked the most pressing question.
“When the hell did you take healing classes?”
Cam shuffled his feet.
“When ye had yer magic lessons, lass.”
Oh. I guessed that explained why I hadn’t noticed that him sneaking away a couple of times a week to take extra classes. It didn’t explain why he hadn’t told me, though.
“Any reason you kept it secret?” I asked, trying not to pout.
“I know ye dinnae have a choice about the magic lessons. I didnae want to rub yer nose in it.”
Oh. I sighed and leaned back against the headrest. There was one way I could get out of the magic lessons… if I didn’t mind risking my shifter magic, too. I hadn’t managed to get my head around it yet, and I didn’t think it was going to happen lying in a hospital bed. A change of subject was in order.
“We should get our stories straight,” I said. “Before Blake gets wind of it.”
They all gaped at me.
“What?”
“We cannae keep the truth from him, not after what we saw.”
“So Laura and Brad ambushed us. So what?”
Leo shook his head.
“Not that. The other guy.” He scanned our faces. “You all smelled it, right? He’s a Bitten.”
Dean nodded, and so did Mei. I cocked my head up at Leo, wrinkling my forehead.
“A Bitten? Are you sure?” I turned to Cam. “That’s why he smelled strange?”
Cam nodded.
“Aye. I recognised it right away, lass. From when I first met you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Yer scent has faded some, but yer know it’s nae the same as the rest of us.”
I did know. That was how Madison and her pack of bitches had singled me out on my first day here. I hadn’t been attuned enough to my senses to recognise it in Ryan, Brad, and Laura when I’d first met them, but now that I thought about it, there was a commonality between their scents… and the other guy, he’d shared it. Shit.
“They’ve broken our single most important law,” Mei said. “We have no choice. We have to report this.”
“But not all of them,” I tried. “Ryan would never do this.”
“At the very least he had to have known about it,” Mei said with an apologetic look.
“Why are we even still talking about this?” Leo said, getting to his feet and flinging an arm in the direction of the door. “He broke the law, we have a duty to report him.”
“You didn’t seem to care so much about that law when it was Kelsey sinking her teeth into me,” I snapped.
He lunged forward, and Cam stepped quickly between us, shoving the shifte
r back.
“What are ye going t’ do, lad – attack her while she’s still lying in a damned bed?”
Leo peered round him, locking eyes with me.
“You know damned well it wasn’t like that. She was being controlled by Raphael.”
“And Ryan’s being controlled by Brad!”
“No, he’s being manipulated, and he made his choice.”
“Oh, now choice matters to you, does it? How about his choice to be bitten? Oh, wait. He never got one.”
Cam planted a hand on Leo’s chest, and shot me a frustrated look over his shoulder. For a moment, I thought Leo might just go through him and take a lump out of me, anyway. For a moment, I wanted him to try. Then Mei spoke up.
“What about the choice of the people Brad is attacking?” she said, her voice soft. “And the ones he hasn’t bitten yet?”
Shit. I sagged back against the headboard again and stared down at my hands.
“I just wish there was a way we could keep Ryan out of it.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Dean said. “We covered for him as long as we could. But if Draeven gets wind that we’re hiding something like this from him, he’ll drag us all in front of the alpha pack.”
He was right. Trying to hide this meant putting all of my friends’ lives in danger. Didn’t mean it didn’t suck, though. Ryan’s life got torn apart when he was bitten. He deserved better than being sold out.
*
The following morning, Fenwick discharged me, and informed me I’d been summoned to Blake’s office. I found the others waiting for me outside, and the five of us marched to our collective doom. There was no way this could possibly go well.
Blake ordered us to enter almost the moment my knuckles rapped on his door. I shared an apprehensive look with Cam, and then squared my shoulders and stepped inside, with the rest of them following behind.
Blake was on his feet behind his desk, and he looked pissed as all hell. There were no seats on our side of the desk – I had no idea where they’d gone, but the message was clear. We all stood there, waiting for the shitstorm to hit us. Blake didn’t keep us waiting long.
“Which of you wants to explain,” he ground out between clenched teeth, “why you were seen engaging in a street brawl?”
Feral Bitten (Fur 'n' Fang Academy Book 3): A Shifter Academy Novel Page 6