by Cece Rose
Identical looks of annoyance cross all three headmasters’ faces, clearly unhappy with the fact that he could so easily go over their heads.
“Of course not. If this is the best way to keep Miss Crowe safe, then by all means, she may stay with you,” Mr. Lockhart says, his voice suggesting the very opposite of his agreeing statement.
“I do think it would be best,” Mr. Daniels replies, standing to leave. “Come along, Miss Crowe.” I stand and turn around to follow him, not giving the headmasters another look either. They clearly aren’t in charge here.
“Do I get a say in this?” I mutter as we exit the office.
“Not a damn word, Miss Crowe,” he replies without humour, and continues down the corridor, not waiting for me to catch up.
Chapter 20
Kenzie
I try to avoid the looks I get from the other students as I walk into the dining hall for breakfast. Making a beeline for where Kelly, East, and the twins are sitting, not even detouring to get food or coffee. I slump down into the seat next to Kelly.
“You look tired, I’m guessing you didn’t get any sleep after what happened last night then?” East asks from across the table.
“I look tired? Everyone knows that’s polite code for you look like crap,” I mutter, snagging a piece of toast from Logan’s plate. He frowns but doesn’t say anything as I munch silently, avoiding the looks of everyone else in the room.
“Fine, you look crappy, is that what you wanted to hear?” Kelly chimes in sarcastically. “I’m worried, why did they move you?” she asks.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Locke says, answering for me. Kelly shakes her head, clearly confused.
“The rogues were after her,” Logan answers.
“What?! You can’t be serious,” Kelly says, shooting me a concerned look before focusing her gaze back on the twins. “How would you know?” They both shrug in sync.
“It’s obvious, why else would they move Kenzie?” East says.
“Well clearly, it’s obvious to everyone but me,” Kelly says, sighing. “I was so worried when someone came in and grabbed all your stuff last night, Kenz,” she adds. I grab for her hand and give her my best attempt at a reassuring smile.
“It’s fine, honestly,” I say softly.
“Where are you staying now? Somewhere safer?” she asks. I roll my eyes.
“Yeah, you could say that,” I mutter.
“Shacking up with a teacher in the first week? Classy, Mackenzie, really classy,” a familiar, irritating voice says loudly from behind me. How the fuck does Stella know where I am staying?
“Hi, Stella,” I say sweetly, turning to face her. “Want to practice for pain class?” She visibly pales at my comment, taking a slight step back.
“I’ll pass on that, you little psycho. But, I guess you could always practice with Mr. Daniels? I hear pain can be very fun to play with in the bedroom,” she comments. East chokes on his drink, and Logan thumps him on the back.
“You’re staying with Mr. Daniels?” he asks me directly, ignoring Stella.
“Yes, in the spare room. For safety,” I reply blankly. Stella laughs, a harsh, forced sound.
“For safety? That’s the excuse you’re going with? Cute,” she says, deliberately speaking loud enough so that the people at the surrounding tables can hear. By lunch, everyone will know where I’m staying. And, they will be assuming it’s for completely different reasons than the true one. Great.
“Yes, for safety. Rogues attacked the Academy last night if you didn’t notice,” I say sarcastically.
“And, you’re getting special treatment because?” she snaps.
“Because she’s got twelve marks and is a target, obviously. Get a fucking grip and get lost, Stella,” Enzo’s voice floats over. Stella steps to the side and reveals Enzo standing there, holding two trays. He takes a seat at the table, sliding one breakfast-filled tray across to me, and the other in front of himself.
“Hey, Enzo. I didn’t see you there,” Stella practically purrs, completely ignoring the fact he plainly just told her to take a hike.
“Stella, go crawl back into whatever cave you came out of,” Locke mutters.
“Fuck off, Logan,” she spits back.
I laugh. “That’s Locke,” I chirp.
“Does it fucking matter? They’re basically just one annoying person anyway,” Stella says, earning glares from all of us. “Fine, I’m going. The standards over at this table have clearly dropped too low for me to stick around anyway,” she says, looking pointedly at me and Kelly. Relief washes over me as she walks away. I was moments from slapping the sense into her.
“You’re staying with Mr. Daniels?” East asks again quietly, repeating his earlier question.
“Yes, for safety,” I say, repeating my previous answer. “Is there a problem with that?” He stares silently at me, considering for a while before shrugging.
“I guess not,” he says casually, but I can see the intense looks he is giving the twins. I decide to ignore it.
“Thanks for breakfast,” I mumble to Enzo.
“I was only trying to save my own. I could see you stealing Logan’s from over there, and decided you having your own would be my best chance at keeping my food to myself,” he answers coldly.
“Sure. Thanks anyway,” I say, trying to stop the smug smile creeping over my face. He’s not a complete ass then.
“What classes have you got today, Kenz?” Kelly asks, moving the conversation onto a lighter tone.
“Um, Transmutation, and the app said it’s an all-day class for the first one,” I answer. “You’ve got electives today, right?”
“Yup, marked history and literature. The history teacher is apparently a total bore though, so I am already regretting that decision,” she replies.
“You can drop it if it’s crap though, right?” I ask, taking a bite of bacon. Gods that’s good.
“Yes, only after the end of term, though,” she says sighing.
“You’ll probably die of boredom by then,” Locke says, tapping his fingers on the table, having already finished his food.
“That bad?” I ask.
“Even he falls asleep teaching that class,” Logan answers, a smirk crossing his face.
“Have fun,” I tease Kelly. A frown crosses her face.
“I think I may regret taking so many electives,” she says softly.
“Most definitely, the best part about having less powers is all the free time. I’m kind of jealous,” Locke says. She bites her lip, clearly holding something back. Instead, she just smiles and nods politely. Damn, she really is still worked up about having two marks.
“Better to be a master of two marks than a master of none,” I chime. She rolls her eyes.
“But, it’s better to be a master of all twelve,” she teases.
“I’ll be lucky if I can cover the basics in each,” I reply. “Just too much effort to become a master. I’d rather watch Netflix.”
“You’re such a bad liar,” she replies.
“You should probably do more eating and less talking, Kenz. We’ve gotta be in transmutation in fifteen minutes,” Easton says, interrupting us.
“Fine, fine,” I mutter, shovelling more food in my mouth. Far too much food at once. I can feel my cheeks are slightly puffed out. I grin at him, he just shakes his head smiling at me, before going back to finishing his own food. We finish off our food, and I walk out with East, keeping my eyes on the floor and away from everyone in the room who I know are staring.
“So, who teaches transmutation?” I ask East as we make our way outside the academy and towards the woods, where the class is apparently being held. It’s freezing out here, and I pull my coat closer around me. Why are all the classes outside when there are buildings with heating?
“Mr. Daniels,” East says, his voice dripping with annoyance. I glance at East as he moves slightly closer to me, and his arm brushes mine. We haven’t had a chance to talk since the kiss yesterday and everything t
hat happened after. I want to talk to him about it, but know it’s not the best idea right now. I haven’t even had a chance to tell Kelly about what happened. She’s never going to believe sexy East kissed me.
“Don’t you like him?” I ask.
“I respect him, but I don’t trust him around you, Kenz,” East says just as we come into the clearing, and a group of students are standing in a circle, with Mr. Daniels in the middle. His eyes meet mine, and he waves us over. Mr. Daniels looks good today in a black coat, his soft-brown hair is brushed to one side, and he is freshly shaven. I can’t look away as we stop in the gap in the circle, and Mr. Daniels gives me a strange look, his eyes drifting to East before looking away.
“Now that everyone is here, we can start. I’m Mr. Daniels, and this is your first transmutation class. Transmutation is the ability to shift into an animal, and it’s a powerful mark to have. Now, animals are individual to each person. There’s no way to know what you will get until you try.”
“I heard that you are more likely to get the animals your parents have,” a girl says, blushing when Mr. Daniels turns to look at her. A slight bit of jealousy flitters through me when he nods and replies to her.
“Yes, Annabelle. Sometimes animals run in the family, but that’s not always the case. My parents both have the transmutation mark, and my wolf is different from theirs. They have a snake and rat,” he tells her. She giggles and smiles at him. Why does he know her first name? I swallow down the bitter jealously I feel, deciding I just don’t like the girl and keep listening as Mr. Daniels carries on talking.
“Some animals, like bears for example, are great for combat and others, like mice, are good for escaping. Either way, this class will teach you how to shift safely and still be in control. No matter the size of your animal, losing control and letting their instinct take over is easy. It’s much harder to remember that you’re human and not animal. That’s something to think on when you shift, try to remember who you are. One more thing before we start. The first shift is difficult, painful even,” he tells us and pauses as people start whispering. He flat out avoids looking at me as he carries on speaking. “So, we will take shifting one by one, and I will command you to shift back for the first time. I assume everyone read the message and understands about the protection mark?” he asks, everyone says yes, and I try to think back to what my dad said about the protection mark and shifting. I can’t remember, and I’m sure it can’t be that important anyway. “Those of you who do not have the protection mark will go last, we have a separate practice in place for you. Easton, Jacob, Skye, and Marcel, you are the only ones without protection here, correct?” he asks.
“I don’t either, sir,” another guy says. Mr. Daniels nods.
“Mr. Dawn please step forward,” Mr. Daniels asks, and another guy with bright-ginger hair and a spotty face steps forward. “Please call your mark,” Mr. Daniels suggests, and we all go quiet as we watch him shift. It takes a few minutes, but his body starts to glimmer. When the glimmering stops, there’s a small ginger cat sitting on the ground. The cat shakily takes a step forward and then stops, looking up at Mr. Daniels before rolling on the floor and showing his belly. I wouldn’t be able to tell that’s anything other than a normal cat at one glance. I wonder how many marked shift into normal animals and just walk around?
“Shift,” Mr. Daniels says with such power in his voice that it makes me want to cower from him. His voice is deep, dark almost, and reminds me just how powerful he is. I have a feeling that Mr. Daniels is constantly holding back with his power, and could do much more than most. The cat glimmers once more, and the guy is back, kneeling and he shakes a little as he stands.
“Brilliant first shift. Well done, Mr. Dawn,” Mr. Daniels says and claps. We clap, too as the guy blushes and takes a step back. Two more people shift while we wait, one into a large horse and another into a lion. Mr. Daniels congratulates them both, and I whisper to East,
“What do you shift into?”
“A hawk,” he whispers back, moving closer and placing his hand on the middle of my back. That must be a sight to see, and it kind of suits him.
“Miss Crowe, if you would leave your boyfriend for a second and come here? I have called you twice,” Mr. Daniels says, and there’s an awkward silence as I look back at him. He isn’t looking at me, no, he is glaring at East. What is his problem?
“Sure,” I say stepping forward.
“Please call your mark, Miss Crowe,” he tells me as I stop in the middle of the circle. I call the mark into my mind, imagining the circle with dozens of lines in the middle of it and they all cross over. The first thing I feel is a slight pain in my hip where the mark is, and then it spreads, causing me to close my eyes and hold in the urge to scream. The pain washes over my body like a wave, feeling like it hits every part of me before it stops. I blink open my eyes, feeling how different my body feels straight away. I stretch slightly, seeing large paws instead of arms in front of me and somehow it doesn’t freak me out. My fur is white and everything seems a little more in focus than I’ve ever seen it. I can see the white flecks of dust in the air, and when I take a deep breath, the strong smells of the people around me. I look up, as a deep voice speaks,
“Shift, Miss Crowe,” I hear, and I shake my head, knocking off the urge to do as he said. I don’t want to. I go to tell him no, and a loud growl comes out, instead. I must be a wolf or a dog. I look over at Mr. Daniels, seeing that I’m about half the size of him, so a large animal definitely.
“Come back, Mackenzie,” another voice says next to me as I hear steps on the grass and look up into East’s worried face as he crouches down a few steps away from me. East, I remember East.
“Shift,” the deep voice says again, and all I hear is the demand, the challenge in his deep voice. I turn to look at Mr. Daniels, and no part of me stops as I jump at him. He catches me mid-air as I snap my teeth at him, wanting to challenge him back. We land on the floor with a smack, and I hear him groan in pain, my teeth inches away from his neck. The jolt shocks me out of whatever that was, and I remember who he is, who I am. I push the mark away in my mind, begging for my normal body back. When a slight bite of pain starts at my hip and spreads across my body, I welcome it and close my eyes. When I start to feel normal again, I smile down at Mr. Daniels and see a paw turn into a hand on his shoulder. My hair falls down my body, my very naked body. Shit.
“Kenz . . .,” East’s horrified voice comes from behind me, and the chilly air hits my back. I’m naked on top of Mr. Daniels.
“Everyone look away before I make you,” East threatens as I try to keep very still on top of Mr. Daniels as I feel every part of him against me. Gods, this is not how I wanted to get naked with Mr. Daniels, not one little bit.
“Get her a jacket, now,” Mr. Daniels says as I stand up, and he keeps his eyes off my body. I try to cover myself up as East comes over, shirtless, and hands me his shirt. I slip it over my head, and it, thankfully, falls to my knees. I pull my hair out of the shirt and look over at the shredded pile of clothes where I must have shifted. Thankfully my phone and shoes seem to have made it, but nothing else. I walk over and slip them on, picking up my phone and looking back at Mr. Daniels who runs his hands over his face.
“Go back to your room, Miss Crowe. We will speak about how to use the protection mark to keep your clothes on later. Easton, go with her,” Mr. Daniels tells him, and I’m shocked enough to glance at East who shakes his head at me. Shit, that’s what the protection ward was for. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing a note on my phone last night about reading up on the protection ward for the class. Whoops.
“The rest of you, get back into the circle. Please remember to use the protection ward,” he says, and I hear a few snickers around me. Great. It won’t be long until this gets around the school, too, I bet. I walk away towards Mr. Daniels cabin, which is thankfully not far. I wonder if any of my classes are going to go normally?
Chapter 21
Kenzie
“Here, the key is under the pot. Mr. Daniels showed me it last night,” I say when East tries to open the door to Mr. Daniels’ cabin. The cabin is far outside the school, practically in the middle of the woods and a far distance from the other teacher’s cabins. I wonder why he wanted to be so alone out here? I pick the plant pot up and pull the key out, handing it to East who opens the door to the cabin.
I walk in after East, admiring how nice Mr. Daniels’ cabin is on the inside. It has a modern leather sofa and a large fireplace with a big TV above it. There is a big, fur rug in front of the fire, which is thick and looks real. I didn’t get a chance to look around much last night, so I walk over to the picture frames on the fireplace. There is a picture of a young girl who looks about eight in the picture. She looks so familiar, with her brown hair and green eyes, but I can’t place where I’ve seen her before. There’s another picture of an old couple, that are clearly his parents as the man in the picture looks just like Mr. Daniels. I quickly glance around the rest of the room, not seeing many other personal effects. There is a small pile of books on the window ledge, but that’s it.
“He has a nice place,” East comments, and I look over to see him walk into the small kitchen. There are five rooms: two bedrooms, the lounge, the kitchen and a large bathroom. It’s cosy and strange to think I’m going to be living here with Mr. Daniels for the rest of the year. My attraction to him is only getting worse, and being around him all the time is going to be a nightmare.
“I’m going to get dressed,” I tell East, gesturing down at my body dressed only in his shirt. I turn to go to the guest room when he grabs my arm and stops me. I pause and look up at him quizzically.
“Kenz,” he whispers, staring back down at me. I feel heat rush through me from the intensity of his gaze. I’m not able to shift my mind from our kiss yesterday, or the fact he saw me completely naked just minutes ago. I wonder if he liked what he saw? Fuck.