Academy Obscura

by J. J. Krzemien

  Fuck.

  I was already his greatest disappointment. This would just be one more of my failures added to the long list he kept. The top among those, of course, was being best friends with the rebel’s son. Although, if I didn’t follow through with wooing Caprice, this might top all the others.

  There was no way I’d use compulsion on her. That was just sick.

  Monday morning at five sharp, Caprice arrived at Jaxon’s office. She gave me a startled look when I opened the door, then did a quick scan of the room behind me.

  “He’s not here,” I told her.

  “But I thought—”

  “No. You’re right. You have a tutoring appointment. But he agreed to let me…ah…have you for today.” That came out way more awkward than I’d intended. I stepped back to let her enter, registering the momentary uneasiness that she felt. I was such an idiot.

  “Why? What are we doing?” she asked, setting her backpack in the armchair.

  I watched her movements, taking in the curve of her ass and shapely legs. My father’s words drifted into my mind. How sweet it’d be to be with Caprice…but that would never happen. If she liked Jaxon even a little, and I was sure she did, then she was his. Not mine.

  I shook my head, this wasn’t the time to be checking her out. Or indulging in wishful thinking.

  She turned to face me, and my gaze slid to her mouth and those luscious—Abruptly, I rounded Jaxon’s desk, ready to get to work. Work. That’s why she and I were here.

  “May thinks that you’re not witch,” I said, pulling up a case from under the desk.

  “Right. We’ve talked a bit about that.” Caprice nibbled on her bottom lip. Jesus. I needed to stop looking at her mouth.

  “We’re going to do some experimenting today. See if we can figure you out.” I pulled a vial from the case. “Here. Smell this.”

  She leaned across the desk to take a whiff. Her nose wrinkled in disgust. “What is that? It smells like blood.”

  “It is blood. Human blood. Do you notice any urge to drink it?”

  She recoiled. “Ugh! No!”

  I stoppered the vial. “We’ll rule out vampire.”

  “You already know I’m not a vampire. We met in the sunlight at the river. Don’t you remember?”

  I remembered all right. The image of her in cutoffs and a bikini top was seared into my brain.

  “Well?” Caprice rested her hands on her hips.

  “Of course I remember. But I want to double-check everything we think we know about you. Bear with me.” I produced another vial. “Drink this, please.”

  She gave me a wary glance. “What is it?”

  “It’s a potion made with fairy dust. It will encourage any fae ability to reveal itself.” When she didn’t take it from me, I said, “It’s just a little prod. It won’t hurt you.”

  She took the vial and downed the contents, her brows rising. “That actually tastes good.”

  “Fairy dust.” I watched her face. “Do you have an urge to spread your wings? Can you sense what I’m feeling?”

  Caprice took her time to consider my questions. Her gaze held mine as she tried to read my feelings. Not looking away took all the courage I had.

  Finally she said, “No. I don’t feel anything different.”

  “All right. Let’s try this one.” I handed her another small glass container.

  “And this is..?”

  “Werewolf. Well, a potion to see if you are one.”

  “Where’d you get all these?”

  “May brewed them.”

  Caprice smiled. “That was nice of her.” She upended the vial, sputtering. “That one’s gross!”

  “Hm. That should taste good if you’re a wolf. Let’s give it a few minutes to see if you shift.”

  “Into a wolf?” Her deep brown eyes widened.

  “Well…yeah.” I sank into Jaxon’s chair as Caprice began pacing the room. Her anxiety rose with each step. “It won’t make you shift unless you are actually a werewolf. Since you didn’t like the taste, I don’t think you are one.” I reached out with my calming influence. Trying to sooth her without being obvious about it.

  She marginally relaxed, but kept pacing.

  I counted to sixty in my head. “Feel anything?”

  She halted. “No. What’s next?”

  “Witch.”

  “Are you joking?” Her hands returned to her curvy hips.

  “Take out your wand. Drink this. Let’s see if anything happens.” Once she’d done what I told her to do, I came up behind her, hesitantly taking her right wrist in my hand. Her warm skin heated my palm. I swallowed hard. “Hold your wand up, yes like that. Now I want you to focus your intensions on casting a simple spell. I’m going to push my own energy behind yours and see if we can get it into your wand. Okay?”

  She nodded.

  I closed my eyes to focus on feeling her power, to determine where it was flowing. Her haired smelled like an exotic flower. Mentally shaking myself, I refocused on my task. Her wrist was growing warmer. A pool of energy was backing up into her arm. It seemed that a blockage was in place, not letting her magic enter the wand.

  I adjusted my hold on her wrist. With the movement came an outpouring of her emotions. Lust rolled off of her. It was a heady, light sensation zipping through my mind, that turned southward and shot straight to my groin.

  My eyes popped open. I let her go, taking a step back. “Anything?” I asked, my voice strangled. I cleared my throat. “Any magic?”

  “No.” Her lips were slightly parted in her flushed face.

  “Lastly, we have a generic shifter potion.” I retrieved it. “Let’s hope something happens with this.” I handed her the container, then retreated to sit on the desk.

  “What sort of thing should happen?” Her anxiety was rising again.

  “Nothing big. It should bring out some natural instinct that will clue us in to what kind of shifter you are.” I folded my hands in my lap, trying for a casual posture.

  Lust? Had I really felt that coming from her? Directed at me? I must have misread her. Angel was right about me. Girls…they didn’t respond well to me—or find me attractive. At least not the ones that I was drawn to.

  She sipped at the contents before downing the rest. Caprice’s eyes became unfocused. She stepped toward me. “Natural instincts? Should I follow them?” Her voice was low and soft.

  “Yes. Give in to them. That will give us an idea of what you—”

  She lunged at me, closing the distance between us, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her lips took mine in a fiercely passionate kiss. Her fingers swept up into my hair to pull me closer.

  Automatically, I grabbed her waist. She squirmed closer, pressing her soft breasts to my chest as she moaned into my mouth. Her tongue parted my lips, plunging into my mouth, caressing and exploring. She tasted like mint with a hint of pineapple. Her lust caught me up in it, and I kissed her back, giving as good as I got. My hands slid down to grip her curvy ass.

  The office door burst open. Jaxon’s gaze took us in, his face hardening.

  I froze.

  Caprice nipped at my bottom lip, then turned her head toward Jaxon. “Come here. I want you too.”

  Jaxon’s startled glance met mine. “What did you give her?”

  “Just May’s potions. I swear.” Realizing my hands still clutched her ass, I dropped them to my sides.

  “What the—”

  May appeared in the doorway. “I think I know what she is.”

  16

  Caprice

  “Do you have any proof of this wild theory you’re presenting?” Dean Wright sat behind her gigantic glass desk. Her gaze flitted from me, to May, Jaxon, Liam, and back again, even though her question was aimed at May.

  My face must have been the brightest crimson anyone had ever seen. I wanted to slink away and hide under my bed. I’d attacked Liam. A teacher. Like, literally jumped on him and started making out. Then I’d invited Jaxon to join us. Impossi
bly, my skin heated some more. What had I been thinking?

  That was the thing. I hadn’t been thinking. I’d done what Liam had said to do. Give in to instinct. He never told me my instincts would turn me into a slut! How embarrassing.

  I glanced over at him, immediately regretting it as his ears brightened to match the color of my face. He must be humiliated. Or terrified. I didn’t even want to guess what Jaxon thought of me in that moment. And May…

  May seemed the calmest of us all. “I don’t have any proof. Not yet. But we did run her through several potions of my own making. Her instincts led her to want both Liam and Jaxon. It could be a sign.”

  The dean’s eyes lit with mirth. “I’m sure she’s not the only student who would willing take these two to bed.”

  At that, even Jaxon blushed. It was the first time I’d seen his skin redden. He looked almost boyish, and it was hot. I had a feeling that potion was still messing with my brain.

  “And,” Wright continued, “it’s not enough to prove that she’s a dragon-shifter. We don’t even know if they exist.”

  “I know,” May said. “All I want is permission to take her out of witch classes and further explore this possibility.”

  “If she ditches half of her classes, her points will take a fall. Those will be difficult to regain.”

  “She’s already failing both Magic and Potions.” May pointed out. “It won’t make that big of a difference—at least not negatively.”

  Dean Wright inclined her head. “I give you my permission. Do whatever you think is best for her. You’re all dismissed.”

  Jaxon and Liam practically raced each other to the door. May wrapped an arm around my shoulders, steering us after them.

  “I’m sorry, Caprice, I didn’t know that the potion would lead to…that,” she said, once we were in the hallway.

  I fought another blush and lost. “It’s okay. Don’t blame yourself. Obviously it’s me, not you.”

  “You shouldn’t feel bad.” She grinned. “We have a clue now. And we’ve ruled out all of the other supernatural types. That’s some serious progress.”

  I stopped walking so I could look her in the face. “So, you’re not upset at me for practically forcing your brother to make out with me?”

  May chuckled. “He certainly wasn’t resisting.” Her expression sobered. “No. I’m not upset. And as far as what you said to Jaxon…well, dragon-shifters take more than one mate. That’s the rumor anyway. That’s what clued me in. Besides the fact that you did have a reaction to the shifter potion. Which proves that you are a shifter. We just need to figure out which kind.”

  “You’re so positive about all this.” I frowned, lowering my voice. “They just think I’m a slut. Don’t they?”

  “We don’t slut shame around here. Being a supernatural in today’s world is hard enough without piling ridiculous morals on top of it.” May squeezed my arm. “Besides, if you are a dragon-shifter, you can’t help it. So let that word leave your vocabulary. Got it?”

  I nodded, chewing the inside of my cheek. “I’m still humiliated. They’re teachers. It’s so wrong.”

  “This isn’t the human world. We live by different rules here. No one is going to hold anything that happened against you. Trust me. The guys are actually okay. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent so many years hanging out with them.”

  “Have you like…you know. I mean not with Liam, because he’s your brother, but the other two?” I couldn’t help asking, since we were on the topic of sex.

  May wrinkled her nose. “Oh, God, no! Jaxon and Angel are like little brothers to me too.”

  So they could all be mine. I clamped down on that thought, pushing it from my mind. What was I thinking? I didn’t really want all three of them, did I? That potion had awakened some strange part of me, and it wasn’t going back to sleep.

  I switched topics, remembering the other thing I wanted to ask May about. “Which supernatural uses compulsion? And what is it exactly?”

  We continued down the hall. “It’s a mental manipulation technique that compels a person to often act against their will. Fae are the only ones with the ability. Why do you ask? You don’t think Liam—”

  “No! Not at all. I know that my throwing myself at him was all me.” Besides, Liam was too sweet to use compulsion on me. Wasn’t he? I continued with my questions, “Do you know a guy named Tyler? He was probably a student here in the last two years.”

  “Yeah, he’s a fae. I remember him. How do you know him?”

  “He’s dating my friend back in Baltimore. She’s human. I just want to make sure she’s safe with him.”

  May frowned. “Hm. The Council doesn’t like us getting romantic with humans. But what do they know,” she said that last part under her breath. “Tyler is a good kid. Liam was his counselor and only had good things to say about him.”

  “Did he have a friend that was not such a good kid? Another fae?”

  May eyed me. “Yes. Edwin Stewart. His father holds a seat on the Supernatural Council. That boy was trouble. Fortunately his bad behavior didn’t rub off on Tyler. How do you know about them?”

  “Oh, just a coincidence.” I waved a dismissive hand in the air. “Elena and I ran into them at a University of Maryland Baltimore party last summer. Now she’s dating Tyler.”

  Edwin Stewart. The creep. My chest tightened. If his dad was on the Council, chances were good that I’d run into him again in the future. I shuddered.

  Tuesday night, in History, was the next time I saw Jaxon. I sat in my usual seat at the back of class. When I dared to glance up, Jaxon met my gaze. His grey eyes held curiosity, with a hint of uncertainty. I focused on my notebook. My skin flushed. It was so much better when he just ignored me. Especially after what happened in his office.

  “Sorrentino.” My head jerked up at Jaxon’s voice. He motioned me to come up to his desk. Reluctantly, I did as he bid.

  He came round his desk, so that his back was to the other students as they filed into the room. I caught a glare from Destiny as she took her seat in the front row.

  Jaxon leaned close to my ear. “Let’s keep this all under wraps for now. Here’s your new schedule. You’ll stay in the witches’ dorm until we figure everything else out.” His breath was hot against my neck, sending a tendril of longing through my chest.

  I took the paper from him, then returned to my seat. Earning me another glare from Destiny and her crew. What was their problem today?

  The vampire girl caught Destiny’s eyes, staring her down.

  I unfolded the schedule. In the place of Magic, was tutoring with May. Then for Potions I was assigned as her TA. The guys didn’t want anything to do with me, and I couldn’t blame them. It hurt though. Neither of them wanted me.

  Jaxon lectured on the European Supernatural Council, but I didn’t pay much attention. I was too focused on how he avoided looking at me. He’d delivered my new schedule, and once again his duty was done.

  Depressed, I packed up my bag and headed to my tutoring session with May. Destiny and her crew caught up with me on the lawn.

  “Greedy, bitch,” she said. “Going after both Jaxon and Liam.” She smirked. “Jaxon hardly looked at you in class. Maybe he doesn’t want to fuck a dud witch.”

  I knew neither Jaxon, Liam, nor May would ever say anything about what I’d done. That left Dean Wright. She must have been overheard talking about me. Now the gossip would be all over school.

  My face heated. Maybe I could kill the rumor mill before it got out of control. “Mr. McIver didn’t look at me in class because nothing happened between us. Not that it’s any of your business.”

  Destiny growled. “Everything is my business.” She shoved my shoulder—hard. The wolf-girl was stronger than she looked. “And all the hot guys are mine. Until I decide which one to keep. Angel will someday be on the Council, but so will Jaxon. So back off, bitch.”

  I gritted my teeth. She didn’t care about them as people. All she wanted were their positi
ons of power. An urge to protect the guys filled my chest. I fought against it, knowing I should get away from these girls before I lost my temper. But instinct kept me rooted in place.

  “You back off!” I shoved Destiny. Catching her off guard, she stumbled. With a snarl, the twins were on me. Each grabbing one of my arms.

  Jade screamed in my ear. “Don’t you dare touch our Alpha!”

  Destiny’s face flushed with rage. We’d drawn the attention of other students. Several stopped to stare at our showdown.

  “Break it up, girls,” called Angel. Jade and Amber immediately let me go. Destiny rounded on Angel, snarling. He pinned her with an unwavering glare. For several long seconds they silently battled for dominance. Destiny finally backed down, lowering her eyes to the ground.

  With a haughty shake of her head, she said, “Let’s go. This trash isn’t worth our attention.”

  The five of them walked away, swaying their hips in the hopes to catch Angel’s eye. They had no shame.

  I turned to him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have pushed her.”

  His eyes were glowing with that golden light. It should have scared me, but it didn’t. Instead, I felt drawn in by his wolfish side. If I was a dragon-shifter, maybe the beast in me recognized the beast in him.

  Without a word, he stalked off. Well, to hell with him too. I was so tired of being treated like I was invisible.

  I met with May in her office. She flashed me a bright, cheery smile as she closed the door. At least someone was having a good night.

  “Are you ready to get started?” she asked, nearly bouncing back to her chair.

  “Sure. What are we doing?” I settled across from her.

  “Well, I brewed up some more of that potion yesterday—”

  “No! Are you crazy?” I wasn’t going to go through that again.

  She held up a hand. “Hear me out. I want to bring out other natural instincts in you, so that we can get more clues. This is the most direct way to do that.”