by Cali Mann
I huffed. I hadn’t meant . . . only I had. Fighting my own guilt, I marched forward. “Alex, you scared me.”
“I had to see her, Sash,” he said, squeezing Molly’s hand.
“Well, now you’ve seen her,” Headmaster Larkin said from the door. “You can get back to the infirmary, young man.”
Alex stood. “No, I won’t leave her. She didn’t do anything.” His eyes ran up the dirt walls to the glaring lights. “She doesn’t deserve to be here.”
“She attacked you and the other students,” Larkin said.
I swallowed. I was going to have to defend Molly, wasn’t I? I liked the kid, sure, but all I really cared about was my brother. My eyes darted back to their hands, still joined. Apparently, they were now a package deal. I sighed. I had my dragon form and my new fire power—surely that would help me fight off Chuck’s next attack. I was going to have to follow Alex like a hawk, and I had no idea if they’d let me do that.
“Molly didn’t attack the students,” I said.
“You’ve said that before,” Larkin said, but her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides. “And you’ve yet to offer me any proof or even a name to go with your suspicions.”
I sighed. “I can’t tell you who, but it wasn’t Molly.”
Larkin rubbed her head. “You spirit shifters are more trouble than you’re worth. I’ve got the Council breathing down my neck to make a decision and throw you all out.”
“Are you?” I asked. “Going to kick us out?”
“I have to,” she said. “The families of the shifters Molly attacked want her blood.”
“But what about the Oracle?” I asked. “She isn’t going to be happy.”
Larkin shook her head. “No, but I’m running out of options.”
I nodded at the same time as a chorus of “noes” rose from everyone else. I blinked, glancing around.
“You can’t throw out my mate,” Drew said, standing tall next to me.
My heart warmed at his words. I’d heard what he said in the woods and certainly felt it when we made love, but hearing him stand up for me like this—I’d never believed it would happen. I’d figured I’d be “like mother, like daughter,” always choosing men who didn’t know how to love or treat me right. Men who’d kick me to the curb at the first sign of trouble. But Drew was willing to take it on. My troubles were his troubles.
“Or my girl,” my brother said, his shoulders back and his eyes on Larkin. He still held Molly’s hand in his.
I gasped. Alex was just a kid. He couldn’t mate yet. But there, for a moment, I saw the man he was turning into and it wasn’t like the assholes he’d seen his whole childhood. I may have raised him right.
“Do I have to throw the whole lot of you out?” Larkin scowled, but then she sighed. “The Oracle would be furious.”
“Yes, she would,” I said.
“The Oracle agrees with you, Sasha.” Larkin gave a small smile. “She doesn’t think this has been a fair trial, and she says Molly’s too young to have had an episode.”
“That’s true.” The angry-looking guard stepped forward. “Headmaster,” he said. “Permission to speak?”
She nodded. “Of course, Gerald.”
“We’ve been holding the young one here for two weeks, and even in this isolation, she has made no moves of aggression toward any of us.”
“With your years of experience, you have seen many things.” Larkin studied him.
Gerald nodded. “Even the spirit shifter attacks of Kaiden Hartsman.”
Who was that? I glanced at Drew, but he shook his head. Later.
Larkin’s eyebrows pinched. “You have seen the wounded students. Do you believe Molly capable of the attack?”
“I do not.”
She sighed. “Nor do I, Gerald.” Larkin glanced around at the rest of us. “But I don’t know what else I can do. At least if I send Molly home, the shifter colony will protect her.”
“Protect her from what?” Alex asked.
“The Council will want her killed. And the parents of the students want justice.”
“But no one’s dead,” I said. “And everyone recovered. My brother doesn’t even think her guilty.”
“What does the Oracle want?” Drew asked, his voice quiet, considering.
Larkin looked over at him. “She wants Molly released and a hunt started for the real assailant.”
We all stood silently for a moment, mulling over that information. Larkin really was between a rock and a hard place. If she let Molly out into the general populace, the parents would riot and possibly pull their kids from Thornbriar. If she didn’t, then the Oracle would be furious with her, and who knew what punishment she would dole out—to Larkin, to Thornbriar, even to the Shifter world?
“Madam,” Gerald said. “I might have an idea for a temporary measure that would allow the girls to remain at Thornbriar at least through the end of the semester.”
“Yes?”
“We can have them placed under guard.”
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I won’t be locked up here.”
“You misunderstand me,” Gerald continued calmly. “We can assign Council guards to follow you both day and night and protect the other students from you.”
“But we aren’t violent,” I said.
Larkin pressed a finger to her lip. “But we’d be letting Molly go, which would make the Oracle happy, and guards would make the parents feel that their children are safer.”
“No one would be entirely happy,” Drew said. “But it might work.”
“I’m willing,” Molly said. “As long as I can stay at Thornbriar with Alex.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. I didn’t want some stodgy guard dogging my every move. I hadn’t even been the one in trouble. But looking at Molly and Alex’s hopeful faces, and Drew, I knew I needed to stay, whatever that took.
“Okay,” I said sourly. “Sounds like a plan.”
7
Lucan
I leaned forward, peering at the huge guy crossing the courtyard. Well over six foot, with bulging arms and a stupid crew cut—what the fuck was Poseidon doing here?
My wolf growled low in my throat, and my pack bristled around me. I stood, my eyes glued to the asshole who dared set foot in my territory. Anger roared through me, but I needed to get ahold of myself. He hadn’t actually done anything—yet. No use getting the pack all riled up about him. Forcing myself to take a breath, I waved back the pack and followed Poseidon.
He was headed down the hall toward the winding stairs that led up to the teachers and headmaster’s offices. Next to him walked a tall brown-haired chick with well-defined muscles and similar military gear. Her curly dark hair was cut close to her head. No ponytails for guard types—too easy to grab onto in a fight.
I grimaced. I’d known Poseidon had been accepted into the Council’s guards, and I hadn’t been sad to see him leave Thornbriar. Why was he back? What was going on? Had he been called up to guard the school? That would suck. I had no interest in having him here. I needed to find out. I strolled up the stairs after them, and the chick peered back down, meeting my eyes.
Her gaze was steady, and she frowned. “Back off.”
I shrugged. “Free country.”
She rolled her eyes and disappeared around the corner at the top of the stairs.
I climbed the rest of the stairs and watched them enter the headmaster’s office. I wanted to follow, but I knew I wasn’t welcome. Instead, I leaned against the wall.
“Hey,” a voice muttered behind me.
I spun and stared at Drew. “What do you want, shithead?”
He scowled. “I could ask you the same thing, dick.”
We glowered at each other for a few seconds, but then I sighed. I wanted to know what was going on, and since Drew was here, did it involve my mate? Jerking my thumb toward Larkin’s door, I asked, “Any idea what’s going on in there?”
“Our mate is getting a bodyguard.”
&nb
sp; “What the fuck?” I asked, my mouth gaping. Why would Sasha need a bodyguard? Was the same guy who went after my pack coming after her? Even I hadn’t really believed that little girl had attacked them. But of all the guards, they had to bring in that asshole. My voice sour, I blurted, “They brought in Poseidon?”
Drew crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. “So, you don’t like the big water guy?”
“No, he’s an arrogant, bossy, self-righteous bastard,” I muttered.
Drew chuckled. “You mean like you?”
I growled. “I don’t know what your problem is—”
He stepped toward me, eyes flashing. “You don’t know? You’ve been a jerk since we were kids.”
I shook my head.
“You don’t remember?” Drew asked.
“No,” I said. “I don’t know what your problem is. We grew up together, played together as pups. And over the last few years, you’ve had some chip on your shoulder. I don’t know what it is.”
Drew snorted. “You really are a pompous ass only concerned with your own importance.”
I shook my head. “I’m trying to get you to explain it. Right here, right now.”
“You had to be the golden boy, every time. My dad used to lecture me on ‘why couldn’t I be more like Lucan Masters.’”
“So? My uncle lectures me on every goddamn thing, and you don’t see me complaining.”
Drew stared at me. “You killed our birds.”
“Your what?” I scowled, trying to remember. Drew’s dad had offered to teach me falconry when I was younger. They’d had a pair of gorgeous red-tailed hawks, and Drew and I had learned to care for them—feed them and train them. “Kor and Alda?”
He snarled, “Yes. You were supposed to feed them, but you couldn’t be bothered to care for anyone but yourself . . .”
“Hold on,” I said, waving my hand. “When was this?”
“Just before Christmas when we were twelve.” Drew glared at me. “I’d gone to my grandmother’s, and you promised you’d feed them.”
I tried to remember what’d been going on that year. “You mean when my parents were killed?”
Drew sighed. “This was before that. You went to that chick’s party instead of taking care of the birds. When I came home, they were dead.”
“Jenny’s?” I asked. “I fed them before I left. I made sure they were okay.”
“No, you fucking didn’t. When I came back from my grandmother’s, they were dead.”
I stared at him, honestly confused. “No bird dies that fast of hunger. Were they injured?”
He shook his head. “No. They were whole and fine, just not living.”
“Did you check their feed?” I asked. “Were they poisoned?”
“By you?” He growled.
“No. I loved those birds as much as you did. I wouldn’t have done that,” I said. “When I got home from Jenny’s, my dad said I wasn’t allowed over to your place anymore. I never knew why.”
He blinked, his anger overridden by his own common sense for once. “You fed them?”
“Yes,” I insisted.
“Did the feed smell off to you?”
“No.” My brow furrowed. “I don’t remember there being anything different. My wolf nose would have noticed it.”
Drew leaned against the stone wall, his gaze on the floor. “Who would poison our birds?”
“I don’t know, man, but it wasn’t me.”
He looked up; mixed emotions surged across his face. “I believe you. I don’t know why, but I do.”
I nodded. “We’ll have to find out. Someone sabotaged our friendship, and I want to know who.”
Drew offered a hand, and I grasped his forearm. With a tight nod, we shook.
I glanced back toward the headmaster’s office and asked, “What’s going on in there?”
“You don’t listen, do you?” Drew asked, but his tone was teasing. “Sasha and Molly are getting bodyguards.”
“Why?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Sasha stood up for Molly,” Drew said. “She knows Molly didn’t attack your pack or her brother.”
I rubbed my head. “She said there was someone after her brother.”
“Yes, that’s true, and he won’t stop unless Sasha does what he wants.”
“And what does he want?”
Drew opened his mouth but then closed it. “You should talk to Sasha about this.”
“Yeah, last time I tried that, she got my pack hurt,” I muttered.
“She didn’t think he’d do anything in front of witnesses,” Drew said with a sigh. “Sasha wouldn’t knowingly put your pack in danger.”
I frowned.
“Hell, she wouldn’t put anyone in danger. That’s why she’s in there trying to help this kid.”
I blinked. She was helping this kid shifter. Why? Did she feel something like pack for her?
Drew jerked his head toward the door. “Larkin can’t let Molly go free unless she shows the Council and the parents that she’s taken measures to protect the students.”
That made sense. If one spirit shifter could go crazy, then why not the other? And as much as I disliked Poseidon, he was a good warrior. “Why is she helping the kid?”
“Because she’s a good person,” Drew growled.
“I mean other than that.”
Drew laughed. “Her baby bro’s got a crush on the girl. She’s basically family.”
Family. Pack. Maybe Drew was right. Maybe I’d taken this too hard. Maybe Sasha didn’t intend to get my pack hurt. I needed to talk to her.
As if hearing my thoughts, the door to the headmaster’s study opened and out marched Molly, the brown-haired chick, Poseidon, and Sasha.
“Holy fuck,” Poseidon whooped. “Look who’s here!” He smacked me on the shoulder, and I winced. “How are ya, wolfy?”
Drew snorted behind me, and I rolled my eyes.
They were all staring at me—Poseidon, the new chick, Molly, and Sasha—so I kind of felt like I had to answer. Even though the last thing I wanted to do was talk to Poseidon. “I’m fine.” “
“Good ol’ boy,” Poseidon said as if he was my father.
He was taller than me and built heavy on the muscular side, but he wasn’t that much older—maybe twenty-one if I remembered correctly. He’d left Thornbriar directly for training as a Council guard and had done well for himself, from the looks of it.
“This is Vera,” Poseidon continued. “She’s got guard duty on young Molly there, and I’m in charge of this hellcat.” He winked at me. “Not that I mind.”
Drew and I both bristled. “That’s our mate you’re talking about,” I growled.
Poseidon laughed. “Oh boy! The wolf pup’s gone and got himself mated to a spirit shifter. Isn’t that a hoot?”
“Fuck off,” I said, turning to Sasha. “Can we have a word?”
Her arms crossed over her chest, and she raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you’re talking to me now?”
Poseidon chortled as if this was the best joke he’d heard all year.
I snarled, then took a breath. “Please, Sasha.”
Her eyes went to Drew behind me, which I hated, but she nodded. The others moved farther down the hall, giving us some space.
Poseidon stayed right where he was, watching.
“Go away,” I growled.
“Are you sure you’re going to be safe with her?” he asked.
“She’s my mate,” I said. “She won’t hurt me.”
He snorted but wandered down the hall to stand with the rest.
“Sasha—” I reached for her arm, and she glared at me. I huffed. “I’m sorry. I know you didn’t mean to get my pack hurt.”
She narrowed her eyes.
Fuck. I shouldn’t be the one apologizing here. But she had approached me before, and I’d basically told her to go to hell. “I’m sorry.” I didn’t know what else to say.
She sighed. “Of course I never intended anything like that to happen.”
I nodded.
“And my brother was hurt worse than all of them.” She grimaced. “And you never once came to check on him.”
I blinked. “I did. Every time I was down there, I asked the nurse—”
“You didn’t check on me.”
“I was there every day, checking on my pack,” I said. “All of my pack—you and your brother and all the rest.”
Her forehead pinched as she considered what I’d said.
“We’re mated,” I said. “And we need to make this work.”
“Why?” she asked.
I looked at her. “Because you’re mine.”
She snorted. “That’s where you’re wrong, Big Bad Wolf.” She pushed past me. “I belong to myself and no one else.”
“You go, girl,” Poseidon said with another laugh.
Sasha ignored him, taking Drew’s hand and stalking off down the hallway. Poseidon strolled after them, looking carefree and unconcerned.
I’d forgiven her and she treated me like this? What was wrong with her? She had been the one to get my pack in trouble. She’d hurt me and mine, and when I apologized, she ignored me? What the hell? Anger swirled in my gut as I stared after them, and I snapped at the kid when she touched my arm. “What?”
Molly’s brown eyes widened, and she flinched. “I . . .” She bit her lip.
I sighed. Somehow, she was pack. My mate had taken this girl under her care, and I needed to make an effort. “I’m sorry. Molly, is it?”
She nodded.
“Go on,” I said, forcing my lips into a semblance of a smile. “What is it?”
She smiled back, and I could see the hint of her usual bubbliness there.
“She’ll come around. She feels just as bad about your pack being hurt as you do.”
I huffed. “How do you know that?”
“Because she’s got a good heart. She doesn’t believe I did this, and she fought for me when no one else would.” Molly looked down at the floor. “Well, almost no one.”
“Do you like Sasha’s brother?” I asked.
Molly’s face flamed. “Well, yeah, as a friend, you know.”
I held back my laughter. Save me from young pups in love. “Well, thank you, Molly. I hope she does.”