“Hey, I’m fine. You helped save me,” I murmured softly, continuing to stroke the soft strands of her hair, letting the rose scent wash over me. “Thank you for that. I owe you.” She murmured her denial of that claim, but didn’t bother removing her arms from around me. I didn’t even care that her glasses were digging into my shoulder as she cried, though I wondered if it was as uncomfortable for her face as it was for my neck. Shifting her slightly to relieve the pressure, I hissed when I saw the bruises marking her body, which were clear even in the dim light of the room. “What happened, Shannon?”
She shrugged, not letting go of the hold she had on my waist, though her tears had slowed down. Part of me, maybe the part that was used to being around humans, was uncomfortable at being this close to someone I barely knew. Another part enjoyed it, the sensation of giving and receiving comfort felt more natural than I would have expected, and far better than simply ignoring her pain—or my own. Besides, she smelled good. The thought had me nearly choking on a chuckle as I focused on the matter at hand.
“It’s no big deal,” she murmured quietly.
I leaned back, lifting her chin until her pale green eyes met mine. If I’d been sitting here crying, my face would have been red, blotchy, and swollen, but she still looked pretty with the tears lingering in her dark lashes and a hint of color in her skin. “It is to me. I didn’t think Rhiannon managed to hit you. Why are you bruised up? Hell, at this rate you should be in bed beside me.”
“Language, Ms. Miller.” The deep voice made me jump and Shannon drew in a deep breath as she faced Mr. Cole over my shoulder.
“My apologies, Mr. Cole,” she said softly, angling her head in a type of bow. The move seemed awkward, especially as she maintained her hold on me. My cheeks heated slightly, and I slid from her lap, though I rested a hand on her shoulder, biting my tongue hard so I didn’t wince as the bandages tugged.
“Why are all of you always sneaking up on me?” I questioned with a scowl. “And why didn’t you heal her? You’re a healer, right?” Okay, so I was feeling a tad bitchy. But considering I felt like I had taken my own tumble down a mountain and I was running on very little sleep, my tongue was winning over my temper.
Mr. Cole’s suit didn’t show a single line on it, his straight posture appearing effortless as he arched a brow at me. “I wasn’t aware that Ms. White had gained any injuries. She had merely asked to visit you while you rested.” His eyes shot to her and she hung her head as he added, “I had assured her that was fine so long as she let you rest so you could heal.”
“She didn’t wake me up,” I lied, lifting my chin.
“I didn’t mean to,” Shannon said softly. Mr. Cole’s eyes moved to her, and he stepped into the room. Without thinking, I put myself between the pair of them, causing a gasp from Shannon and a raised brow from Mr. Cole. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips before he settled back into the serious expression I had constantly seen him wear.
“Challenging me would not be wise, Ms. Miller,” he cautioned softly, though amusement warmed his velvet voice.
“It’s not a challenge, I just don’t think she deserves to be punished for looking in on a friend who’s hurt, so I’m not going to let you punish her.” Okay, so it was a challenge, but sue me for not calling it that. I was exhausted and in pain, not stupid.
“I have no intentions of harming your friend, though I do appreciate your championship of her. I was simply going to attend to her wounds,” he explained gently.
“Oh,” I replied blankly, shifting to glance at a still gaping Shannon. “Is that okay with you?” I asked her softly. “Those bruises must hurt, especially with me sitting on you like that.”
She sniffled, but nodded. “Yes, please.”
“One condition. Ms. Miller, you need to return to your bed. My healing will not stick if you’re overextending yourself,” he warned. He was close enough to me now that I could feel the heat radiating off of him. “Now.” I huffed, but complied, settling back into the blankets and keeping a close eye on the pair of them. Shannon had saved my life tonight, and I wasn’t going to let her be harmed in any way. Having someone save you when you were nearly dying was one way to solidify a friendship, but it wasn’t one I would recommend to anyone else.
“It’s not too bad, Mr. Cole,” Shannon rushed to say, and Mr. Cole shook his head.
“Let me be the judge of that, if you will, Ms. White. How exactly did you come by these wounds? I don’t remember you being injured when you dropped off Ms. Miller here earlier tonight.”
“Um,” she hedged, chewing on her lip as she glanced between the pair of us.
“I’d like to know too,” I added, nodding slowly. “I’d just asked her about that when you came in.”
“Cierra, Scarlett, and Blanca,” she answered in a whisper. Mr. Cole’s jaw firmed and anger rolled through me in a wave.
“Three of them jumped you?” I asked in disbelief, sliding from the bed to crouch near her.
“Well, technically they challenged me.” She sent me a pained smile.
Mr. Cole sighed. “Let’s move this healing session over to the bed, shall we? It seems to be the only way I’m going to manage to keep your champion in it and get you healed.”
I tugged on Shannon’s hand, leading her to the bed to sit beside me, before settling comfortably down as Mr. Cole approached us. He gripped her chin in his hand, turning her eyes to his. I held my breath and kept a soft hand on her shoulder. I wasn’t sure what staring at her was going to accomplish when the bruises seemed to be scattered all over her. Just as I opened my mouth, his eyes began to glow bronze and I reached up, snatching his hand away from Shannon. “You said you wouldn’t hurt her!” My words were loud in the quiet room, and Mr. Cole sighed, facing me directly.
“That’s not a trick you’ll want to try with other pack members, Ms. Miller,” he warned, a slight growl rumbling in his chest. “You’ll do best to remember that.” He looked pointedly at my hand where it still gripped his wrist, holding him away from Shannon, my hand screaming at the tight grip I maintained.
“Your eyes glowed,” I snapped, though fear had my heart racing. I wasn’t sure why I had grabbed him, but I hadn’t been able to stop the motion. I released his hand, though I kept a wary eye on him as he pulled his glasses off, settling them gently into the pocket of his shirt. I blinked, startled at how much warmer and more open he appeared without them—although personally, I thought the glasses were sexy as hell.
“It’s okay, Pixie,” Shannon soothed, stroking a gentle hand down my back. “It’s how you can tell when they’re accessing their power.”
“I know,” I snarled. “I got that when Rhiannon nearly had me slit my own wrists with the stupid, glowy, golden eye thing she did. Shannon doesn’t need manipulating, she needs you to help her.”
“How exactly do you expect me to heal Ms. White if you won’t allow me to access my magic to do so?” Mr. Cole challenged, cocking his head to the side, a frown tugging at his full lips.
I shrugged. “Pain pills? Ice packs? You’re the doctor.”
“Healer,” he corrected quietly. “There’s a difference, and one you should not forget. We don’t focus on human medicine. I can heal her wounds almost instantly, but you need to remain quiet and let me work. Unless you like seeing her in pain?”
I hesitated, torn for a moment as I glanced between them. “I’m watching you,” I warned him, although I wasn’t sure what I would do if he did try to manipulate her. Maybe I could hit him with the lamp or the chair, I mused to myself, as I watched him return his grip to her chin and hold her in place.
“Do not interrupt me again,” he ordered, before turning his attention back to Shannon, his voice softening as he added, “Relax, Ms. White.” His eyes turned bronze again, and the air around him warmed. Shannon sighed, her relief evident as she leaned against me. He broke eye contact, blinking rapidly as the glow faded and his eyes returned to their usual chocolate brown. I leaned forward, inspecting
her neck and shoulders for the bruising that had been obvious before.
“How does it work?” I inquired, still angling my head to look for any additional bruising or marks. “And why did they beat you up anyhow?” My mind was spinning, and for once I didn’t think it was the lack of sleep.
“Rank,” Mr. Cole stated, taking his glasses from his pocket and sliding them back on with a shrug.
“Some of us have extra talents, usually those who are the highest ranking in the pack,” Shannon explained, patting my leg reassuringly.
“However, healing is one of the lowest ranking abilities,” Mr. Cole added.
“Why in the world is healing considered a low skill?” I looked between the pair of them, unsure if the pounding in my head was from the beating I took or from the amount of information I’d tried to shove into my head over the last twenty-four hours.
“Many of our kind have it, at least to a limited extent. From a merely logical standpoint, having an extensive number of healers in a pack of werewolves, whose ability to function and create a useful structure involves a massive amount of fighting, makes sense. Otherwise, too many of us would be injured or dead and the entire system would fall apart.”
“You’ve seen Alarick use his skill,” Shannon reminded me, nudging her shoulder into mine with a smile. “When he’s ordered Zev and Chann, and you’ve seen his eyes turn bright blue.”
“I kind of thought that was a trick of the light,” I admitted. “I mean, glowing eyes? That’s harder to believe than werewolves.”
“You can believe in werewolves without a problem but not abilities?” she teased, squeezing my knee softly and I snorted. “There are all kinds of abilities. Healing, seeing, manipulation…” She trailed off with a wince.
“Is that what happened tonight?” I asked quietly. “She used her skill on me?” I needed the verification of that—that it wasn’t just me falling into my own depression, but her using her insane werewolf talent.
“Yes,” Mr. Cole said, settling into the chair Shannon had abandoned. “She’s quite talented with manipulation. It’s one of the reasons she’s risen so high amongst the student pack.” He turned his dark eyes to Shannon. “Is that the reason you’re bearing marks now?”
Shannon pulled her touch from my knee, wringing her hands together as she shot me a guilty look. “Well, it wasn’t Rhiannon, not really.” She took a deep breath, sending a pleading look to Mr. Cole.
“Remember how I said you’d have to deal with the fallout?” Mr. Cole questioned, his dark eyes cool when they met mine. “Welcome to the supernatural world, Ms. Miller.”
I looked between the pair of them, reaching up to rub at the headache currently pounding behind my eyes. “Okay, I’m human, you need to explain better.”
He sighed, leaning forward and steepling his fingers together. “When Shannon helped take down Rhiannon, she increased her own rank, opening herself up to challenges.”
“You’re ranked higher now?” I asked the blushing girl.
“Was.” She tugged at her hair, mussing the soft brown strands. “I’m back to the bottom in the ranking system. You’re higher than me now, actually.”
I gaped. “That’s what the beating was about? Pushing you down the ranking system again?” Fear crept up my spine, an icy chill seeping deeply into me. “Wait, does that mean they’re going to be coming after me next? I mean, I had the lowest rank out of everyone. I couldn’t have moved up that far, could I?” My heart was beating so hard I was sure both of them could hear it.
“You took out the highest-ranking female student in the school.” Shannon’s words were quiet, but even my weak human ears couldn’t miss them.
“And got my ass handed to me,” I pointed out, lifting my bandaged hands to mark the damage she’d inflicted.
“You did not,” Mr. Cole interjected, his voice sharp enough to make Shannon whimper. Without thinking, I lifted a hand to stroke it through her hair, cupping it around the back of her neck protectively as she shot me a grateful smile. “If you had issued a challenge against her, and she’d won, then your rank would have stayed the same,” he explained, his dark eyes glittering. “She did not issue a challenge, however. She went behind your back, plotted against you, and attacked you from behind with the clear intent of killing you. That you survived at all raises your pack rank. That you took her down, with help,” he added with a wave, seeing my clear attempt at interruption, “and inflicted severe damage to her—it matters here. You didn’t surpass her role in the pack, mind you. But both you and Shannon gained a significant boost.”
“Some of the other pack members, well, they encouraged the wolf I outranked to challenge me,” Shannon explained with a shrug.
“That’s not fair!” I cried, pounding my hand on to the bed, making Mr. Cole tsk as I winced.
“I don’t mind being the bottom of the pack.” Shannon’s voice was quiet, her eyes unfocused as she searched for the words. “I don’t like fighting if I don’t have to. I mean, I like just knowing my place and not having to constantly battle to stay where I am. I may be at the bottom of our group, but I’m still high in the school itself, and my grades and other skills contribute to keeping our pack level high.”
“You’re the nicest person I’ve ever met,” I assured her, wrapping my arm around her shoulders to hug her to me. It was true too. While the twins had been fun and friendly, their behavior had been partly duty and partly to tease me. Shannon had been nothing but helpful and sweet to me, despite knowing it would cause trouble for her. Shannon blushed brightly at the praise, fiddling with her glasses for a moment before rubbing her cheek against my head. Sometimes it was nice being smaller than almost everyone else. The cuddles tended to be top notch.
“Your rank has taken a jump as well. I’m sure they’ll be itching to issue a challenge once you’ve been medically cleared,” Mr. Cole drawled, pushing to his feet. “For the moment, though, you need to rest. You’re going to undo the little bit of healing I managed to push past the human wall erected in your mind. Hopefully, you won’t need much more than some pampering and your body will take care of the rest.” He arched a brow at Shannon before shaking his head. “If Ms. Miller is okay with it you can stay here with her.”
“You can stay,” I agreed. “Besides, it’s nice knowing I’m not alone.” She sent me a sweet smile.
“Right to sleep, the both of you. You have classes in a few hours,” he reminded us. A wicked grin flashed across his face so fast, I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination before he snapped off the light and flooded the room with darkness, though I was sure he and Shannon could still see quite well. “The chair’s free for your use, or Ms. Miller may share her bed if she’s willing. Selene knows, she’s not big enough to take up even half of it.” With those confusing words, he strode from the room.
“You can stay up here,” I offered on a yawn, snuggling down into the covers. “I don’t mind. Besides, you’re warm.” Shannon chuckled, placing her glasses on the table and settling down beside me. It was true though. Shannon was pumping out enough heat where I didn’t even need to fumble with the blankets.
“Who’s Selene?” I asked. Even as sleep tugged at me, my curiosity wasn’t waning.
“Our goddess,” she replied, her own yawn almost swallowing the words. “Sleep, Pixie. You’ll figure things out in time.” With another yawn, I couldn’t help but comply.
Chapter Eleven
I groaned when a hand shook my shoulder, snuggling deeper into my soft bed. I’d been worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep without my own bed, and I wasn’t sure if it was the injury or the extremely comfy beds here that had changed my mind. A bark of laughter had me cracking an eye open to see the twins’ mischievous faces above me. “Go ‘way,” I muttered. “Sleeping. Nice soft bed.” Okay, so I wasn’t a morning person. I buried my head in my pillow, the scent of roses filling my noses as the laughter grew. I blinked, trying to clear the sleep from my eyes, then nearly launched myself backwards from the hysterically la
ughing pair at my side. Heat flamed in my cheeks. The soft bed I’d been burrowing into had actually been Shannon’s breasts, and the girl seemed amused by it, though color mantled her cheeks as well.
“Sleep well?” one of the twins choked out. I rubbed my bleary eyes, pretending I wasn’t the color of a tomato.
“Sorry,” I murmured to Shannon, sending her a sheepish smile. “I seriously thought you were the pillows.”
“I didn’t mind,” she whispered in my ear as she slid from the bed, the color in both of our cheeks deepening as the boys howled, wiping tears from their faces as they doubled over.
“What are you two doing here?” Mr. Cole’s cold voice broke through their laughter and he studied them through icy eyes. “I gave permission for Ms. White to be in here, but I don’t believe you checked in with the other healers. This is a healing ward, not a playground for whatever antics you’re starting.”
“We just wanted to check on Pixie,” they argued in unison.
“Messrs. Grader, whatever your reasoning, you don’t have permission to be in here,” he said on an exasperated sigh.
“It’s fine,” I hurried to assure him. “I have to get to classes anyway, right?”
“Besides, we brought her a gift,” one argued.
“And breakfast,” added the other.
“Okay, first, you’re making me dizzy,” I interrupted. “I’m sorry if it’s rude, but I don’t know you well enough yet to tell you apart. Who’s who so I can put a name to the crazy?”
The pair chuckled, locking arms, but Shannon interrupted before they could mislead me. “Zev’s got the gray sweater on,” she explained with a wave at the pair of them. “I’ll let you know if they switch. You’ll start seeing the differences soon, don’t worry. I’ve known the pair of them since birth, they can’t fool me, or most of the pack members for that matter. It’s newbies they like to take advantage of with the twin thing.”
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