He stood, and in a movement so fast I didn’t see it coming, he grabbed hold of both of my wrists and pulled me against him so we were flush. I could feel his hard on through his pants. Gross.
I tugged my arms away from him, trying to break his grasp but he held me there, against him.
“Let me go, asshole,” I said.
He grinned but didn’t release his grip.
Gritting my teeth, I lifted my knee, making fast contact with his crotch. Remi let go of my wrists as he cried out in a shocked gasp. “You bitch!”
I scrambled away but Remi followed me. He shoved me to the ground, and I landed with a thud.
“The mages didn’t want you but you’re no shifter. We will make your life hell,” he growled, still protecting his injured manhood with one hand.
“You don’t scare me, asshole,” I shouted.
“Just you wait until gym class, bitch,” he said.
Suddenly, a massive form lunged into Remi, knocking him down. It took a moment for me to realize it was Ben, the shifter I’d met last night.
“Get out of the way,” Makayla screamed at me.
I jumped to my feet and moved away from the fight. Remi and Ben rolled around on the ground for a moment before Ben pinned him. He pulled back his fist, then punched Remi in the jaw, the contact making a sickening crack.
Blood ran down Remi’s mouth but he wasn’t giving in. He kicked up his feet, pushing Ben off of him. The two of them were both on their feet now, circling like animals.
Remi charged Ben, landing a punch in Ben’s stomach. Ben grunted but quickly regained control. He grabbed hold of Remi and threw him to the ground again. This time, Ben remained standing. He set his foot on Remi’s throat.
“Stay away from her,” Ben said.
“She doesn’t belong to you,” Remi said, straining against the foot on his vocal chords.
“Stay away from her or I’ll fucking kill you,” Ben said.
“Ben, stop!” I called out. “Stop it. You won, okay?”
To my surprise, he took his foot off of Remi. “He threatened you, Raven.”
“Yeah, cause he’s an immature asshole,” I said. “That doesn’t mean you should kick the shit out of him.”
Remi sat up, coughing. He spit blood on the ground and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. He was a sleaze ball for sure but that didn’t mean he deserved this. Ben had no reason to fight him. Was he trying to defend my honor or some shit? What was with this guy? He sent his friend to look after me, which was sweet and all, but this was too much.
I’d taken care of myself most of my life. I could handle a school bully and threats of gym class. What was he going to do, dodge ball me to death?
“He needs to learn his place,” Ben said.
“His place?” I asked.
“He can’t mess with something of mine,” Ben said.
“I’m not yours,” I said. This was getting scary. First day of school and I already had a bully, a group of mean girls, and a stalker. It was turning out far too similar to my high school experience. The only way I’d survived high school was by keeping to myself and avoiding everyone. It looked like I needed to reinstate that plan here.
“You stay away from me.” I pointed to Ben, Makayla, and Remi. “All of you.”
I ran from the cafeteria. I would figure this out on my own. It couldn’t be that difficult, right?
10
Ben
My whole body shook with anger as Raven walked away from me. How could she not feel the connection between us? I had tried to stay away but I couldn’t resist her pull. She seemed to call to me and I knew it was my job to keep her safe. I wanted to deny it, but the mage called to me in the way only a mate can call to a shifter. She was mine and I would protect her at all costs.
“Looks like your claim is going unrequited,” Remi said.
I glared at him. “You want a formal challenge? Cause we both know how that will turn out.”
Remi’s upper lip curled. “Careful, dog. Just because you have a pack doesn’t mean you’re better than me.”
“You want to try me?” My muscles tensed. If he wanted to keep fighting, I’d fight him. Human form or animal. Day or night. He threatened my mate, and he deserved whatever pain I could cause him.
“Why don’t we let the girl decide for herself? First one to claim her wins,” he said.
“You’re both disgusting,” Makayla said. “She’s not a chew toy.”
“She’s my mate, I can feel it,” I said.
Remi cocked an eyebrow. “If that’s true, then why did she run off from you?”
“Because she doesn’t know it yet,” I said.
“Are you serious, Ben?” Makayla asked. “I’ve never heard of a shifter with a mage for a mate.”
“I’m telling you, it’s true,” I said.
“What’s all the commotion over here?” Dr. Green looked from me to Remi. “Looks like someone has earned some time in confinement.”
“No,” Remi and I both said at the same time.
“Just a misunderstanding,” Remi said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
“Getting warmed up,” I said.
Dr. Green lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “Don’t let me find you warming up in the cafeteria again or it’s confinement for both of you.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Yes, Dr. Green,” Remi said.
The headmaster walked away, and I returned to glaring at Remi.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Remi said. “Until she’s marked, you know she’s fair game.”
“She has zero interest in you,” Makayla said.
“For now,” he said. “I’ll admit I came on a little strong.”
“If you value your life, you’ll stay away from her,” I growled.
“Neither of you are getting this,” Makayla said. “You’re acting like cave men and you both scared her away. She doesn’t want anything to do with either of you and it’s not your choice anyway. It’s hers.”
She turned and walked out of the cafeteria. I almost called her back, but I knew she was right. That wasn’t going to change anything, though. I felt the mating call when Raven was near and until she was marked as mine, I would have little control over how I responded. She called to me and she called to my wolf. When Raven was around, my wolf had more control than the human side. With her around, I wasn’t stable - I was dangerous.
The bell rang and the remaining stragglers in the cafeteria headed toward the door. Class started in five minutes and it wasn’t a good idea to be late. This school might be for the most talented supernaturals, those with the most money and power, but that meant the stakes were higher.
Any toe out of line resulted in confinement. And the horror stories about what happened in those hidden chambers were the stuff of nightmares. It wasn’t that the time spent there resulted in your death, it was the fact that the students who ended up serving even one night in confinement had a history of gruesome accidents before they graduated. As if the punishment acted as a magnet for trouble.
I pushed the image of the mage who fell to his death last week out of my head. There was so much blood. So much screaming. It wasn’t really a surprise, though. He’d spent a night in confinement the week before.
Some speculated that it drained your magic, making it harder for you to complete the tasks at the academy. Others said you emerged cursed. Either way, I didn’t want to find out.
Without a word to Remi, I headed to my first period class. I’d have to deal with Raven later. Somehow, I had to get her alone. I had to get her out of that uniform and under me. I needed to feel my cock inside of her. I had to claim her. It was the only way to satisfy my wolf and the only way to keep myself from making another mistake.
My family pulled strings to get me in here and I owed them. I couldn’t afford to end up in confinement.
Someone rolled a table out of the way and I glanced behind me to see the cleaning crew already clearing away the remains of breakfast
. I bolted out of the cafeteria and hooked a right to dive into the nearest classroom, which just happened to be my first period class and took my seat with a minute to spare.
As soon as I settled in, I caught the unmistakable scent of Raven. She smelled like honeydew and rain. It was intoxicating. I didn’t even need to turn around to know she was sitting behind me but I risked a glance anyway.
There she was, in the back row, three chairs behind me. Her gaze was fixed on the front of the room. She looked nervous. And sexy. Oh, so sexy. I gripped the edge of my desk. It was going to take a lot more willpower than I anticipated to stay away from her.
Professor Hurd, an aging mage with long silver hair walked into the room. He was carrying a stack of books in his arms, huffing with effort. One of the mages seated at the front jumped up and relieved him of his burden. I watched with narrowed eyes. This particular professor had never been kind to shifters and had made it clear he didn’t think we belonged in this class. I should be pissed about it, but I had to agree.
Studying the theory of magic wasn’t something that helped us as our magic came from the animal inside each of us. It wasn’t like I was going to cast a spell or something. Shifter magic was internal and unintentional. The only thing we could do was learn to control our inner animal so we could control when we shifted.
And when we fucked.
Because right now, my inner wolf was battling with me and if he had his way, Raven would be dragged out of this room into the woods behind campus and claimed.
The human part of me wasn’t going to allow that but that didn’t mean it was easy. The mating bond was a magic of its own. Something else we couldn’t control. Maybe they should cover that in class.
“Thank you, Deanna,” Professor Hurd said. He removed his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt.
Without them, his eyes were tiny, nearly hidden in the wrinkles on his face. He slid them back on which magnified them to the same size as the lenses. It was unnerving but so were the tiny eyes. There was no winning with this guy. Either way, he made you feel uncomfortable.
“Will you pass the books out to the class, Deanna?” Professor Hurd asked.
The mage, Deanna, nodded brightly and began to pass books. She paused in front of me and dropped one on my desk. I turned to see how she’d react to Raven. It wasn’t often a new student was added to the Academy after the term was in session.
Deanna paused in front of Raven’s desk. “You’re new.”
“Yes, I am. My name’s Raven.”
Deanna eyed her up and down. “You smell like a wet dog. Are you a shifter?”
I let out a low growl deep in my throat.
“You smell like a thirteen-year-old who just discovered Bath and Body Works. Do your parents know you’re here?” Raven asked.
Deanna scoffed, then dropped the book on Raven’s desk before turning on her heels and heading to the next seat.
I leaned back in my chair, a grin on my face. Maybe Raven can take care of herself. That’s my girl.
11
Raven
My hand ached from all the notes I’d taken in Magical Theory. I felt like I had to write down everything since it was all new to me. While I didn’t ask to be here, I knew I should get as much out of it as I could. After all, I had magic inside me, and I needed to learn how to control it at the very least.
The bell rang and the students got up, leaving their books on the table. I didn’t want to leave my book. We’d started on chapter seven and I was way behind.
I gave the others a moment to shuffle toward the door, then I walked toward Professor Herd, my book in hand. “Excuse me, professor?”
“Yes, Raven, is it?”
I nodded. “Yes. Um, can I borrow the book to read what I’ve missed?”
“You’ve missed in every class. Are you going to catch up on all of it tonight?”
“No, that’s impossible,” I said.
He chuckled. “Technically, with magic, it’s not impossible. But I suppose you aren’t there yet, are you?”
I winced. How much was I supposed to tell him? Luka had warned me about sharing that I was so different. But surely he didn’t mean teachers? “I just found out I had magic yesterday so yeah, I’m not there yet.”
He cocked a brow. “Really? That’s very unusual. We occasionally get late starts but there’s always an excuse. Travel, illness, something in the family.”
“Nobody else has had this happen?” I asked.
“Most mages come into their power during puberty. It’s very unusual to see repressed magic. Or magic that doesn’t flare until later in life.” He tapped his index finger on his chin. “Did you have an encounter or something that triggered the magic?”
“A couple of guys tried to kill me if that’s what you’re asking about.”
“That would do it,” he said. “You need to be careful while you figure out what you’re capable of. Most mages who exhibit power later in life end up incarcerated.”
My heart thumped against my ribs. I’d already had that threat leveled against me. “Why?”
“It’s odd. You’d think the late bloomers would be less powerful, but that’s not usually the case. More often than not, they’re the dangerously powerful bunch.”
The room seemed to spin. That couldn’t be me. I’d used magic once, on accident. “I’m sure that’s not me.”
“Be careful, Raven. Mind your temper and pay attention to your studies. If you lose control here… Let’s just say, you won’t get a warning and you won’t be going to magic prison.”
Professor Hurd’s words swam through my mind as I stumbled toward the door. I was only two steps out when a large figure stood in front of me.
My chest tightened in panic, then I let out a breath of relief that I didn’t want to feel. I should be annoyed by Ben hulking outside the classroom waiting for me. Instead, I was flattered. Which pissed me the fuck off. I felt like my emotions betrayed me at every turn here. From the involuntary responses to Ben and Luka, to the hottest wet dream ever, to my heart pulsing like a schoolgirl with a crush as Ben looked at me, concern in his expression.
“You all right?” He asked.
“I’m fine. And like I told you earlier, I don’t need your help.” Liar. After everything I’d just heard, I needed help more than ever. But I wasn’t about to let Mr. Possessive know that. He went from zero to sixty when he saw someone being rude to me. How would he respond if he knew what Professor Hurd said? Wait. “Were you spying on me?”
His cheeks flushed. “No, of course not. I - I thought you might need help finding your next class.”
“Going to help me yourself this time instead of sending your minions?” I felt bad referring to Makayla as a minion, but I was pissed.
“You’re right. I should have helped you myself this morning. Then that asshole panda wouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Panda?” I asked.
“Bear shifter insult,” he said with a shrug.
The bell chimed.
“Shit, we’re late. Come on, I’ll show you to your class.” He started walking, and I followed him, tugging my schedule out as we walked. I glanced down at it. My next class was Spellcasting. Room 122.
We stopped in front of a class. Room 122. I frowned. “You memorized my schedule?”
“I have a good memory. You better go. Maybe they’ll go easy on you, first day and all,” he said.
I gave Ben one last glance and my heart flipped and tingles ran up my thighs to my core. For some reason, after everything, I was still drawn to him. Terrified by my body’s response to him, I ducked into the classroom without saying goodbye.
Spellcasting was nothing like Magical Theory.
The room was a huge circle with benches that wrapped around a platform in the middle, like an amphitheater. And like an amphitheater, I was in the center on full display of everyone looking down on the professor in the middle of the room.
The professor was a woman in a tight black dress that hugged her
curves. Long dark curls tumbled down her back, past her waist. Completing the look were black stilettos that made me wonder how she was standing. I rarely saw women at parties dressed this well, let alone a teacher. All my high school teachers had worn jeans and tee shirts. This woman was something else.
Her hands were stretched up above her and a dozen glowing lightbulbs floated in the air.
The door closed and a dozen faces turned to me, including the professor. She dropped her hands and the light bulbs fell to the ground. The room echoed with the sound of shattering glass and the scent of burning electricity hung in the air.
“You must be Ms. Winters,” the professor said. Her face was narrow, and she had huge, gorgeous eyes. Her nose and chin were as sharp as her cheekbones. She looked like she’d been airbrushed but this wasn’t a magazine cover. It was real life. Nobody should look like this in real life.
She ran a hand through her hair and I caught sight of her ears. They were pointed. Fucking pointed. Like a Christmas elf. Was she some kind of demon or a shifter I hadn’t met yet? I wished I knew more about this world.
“Have a seat.” She gestured to an empty space on the first row. “If you’re late again, you’ll be sent to confinement.”
“Thank you, sorry,” I said as I walked across the entire stage area toward the empty seat. I could feel the eyes of my classmates boring into me but I didn’t dare look up. Hell of a way to be introduced to the class. At least she didn’t make me stand up and share my favorite television show or something equally cheesy. I hated when teachers did that shit.
Thankfully, the gorgeous professor went right back into teaching. It was like whiplash. Desperately, I looked around for a notebook or something I could write on. They’d been passed out in my last class but there was nothing on my desk. Internally, I cursed myself for not grabbing the backpack sitting in my room.
Trying to make the best of it, I looked back at the Professor and tried to memorize all of her words.
Academy of the Elites: Untamed Magic Page 5