by S. L. Morgan
“A consequence?” I asked in confusion. “There’s no way. We took that thing off you, and everything should be normal now.”
“Jenna,” Ethan started, “your magic is potent, but you have no real control over it. You helped Dominic, but Dominic isn’t fully healed now.”
“I made it worse. Shit!” I said through gritted teeth. “And just like that,” I looked at everyone’s solemn expressions, “my magic goes away, and I’m left with my wolf, wondering where her mate is.” I looked at Dom, “Did I somehow spell your wolf out of existence? Change who you are?”
“You separated him from his wolf. It is not all your fault. It was part of the mark the evil used to—”
“Not all my fault?” I cut Ethan off, focusing solely on that word. “How do I fix this? I know I can fix this, and I have to.” Ethan went to talk, but I held my hand up. “I’m not finished. I feel back to normal thanks to the vamp compulsion.” I smirked at Lusa’s guilty smile, “I forgive you. It worked, and you used it in a safe environment.” I tried to tease given the BS situation we were in. “We need Dom’s wolf. This mark removal could have triggered this school to wake up and stop targeting supes on the outside and start coming after us. We need Dominic at one hundred percent, and I need my wolf mate.”
“Jen,” Dom rubbed my leg, “I can still kick ass and take names without the wolf, you know. I may have to go through a series—”
“No,” I rubbed my forehead. “You’re not even a shifter right now, much less the strong alpha we need to bring this evil down. We should be planning our attack, not trying to fix you because I screwed up.”
“This is where we must bring in the leprechaun, Melanie, to help,” Ethan confirmed.
I glared—for the first time in my life—at the sweet, handsome face of the pure owl shifter whom I loved like a brother. “Not an option. I will fix it. I will bring the wolf back. It’s just hidden from all of us. I will use my—”
“While we’re all in the habit of cutting each other off in frustration,” Vannah interrupted me, “I think Ethan’s right.”
“No,” I firmly said. “We’re not bringing that immature, spoiled brat in on any of this. You all have to let me try. My magic does work when I’m focusing correctly.”
“If that’s the case,” Vannah said, while Ethan studied Dom and me, “then what exactly were you focusing on when you removed the mark?”
“Getting it off him,” I answered in frustration. “I don’t know. It was critical to get that mark off him, and get Dominic out of pain, healthy, and strong again.”
“So, you didn’t focus on Dominic and the wolf?” Lusa stepped in.
“I don’t think so. I was overwhelmed at one point, and then I blacked out and threw up. You know all the fun stuff that comes with dabbling in dark shit.”
“You didn’t consider Dominic’s wolf,” Ethan stated. “Dominic’s wolf is what fell to the evil. It’s how the evil got to both Dominic and the wolf. It was working with both of them at the same time.”
“Well, I have to fix this. I broke him, and I’ll fix him, not a leprechaun we can’t trust, and especially one who’s waiting for an opportunity to save him from me.”
“This isn’t about your pride,” Ethan said. “Melanie can help you fix Dom’s wolf.”
“This isn’t about my ego, Ethan,” I snapped. “You do remember the hellish, childish things that tricky little savior of a fairy did to Dominic, right? She’s the reason we were forced out of the school. Her lies—” I stopped myself, took a deep breath to bring myself down a notch, and looked at Dominic. “What do you want? I’ll do whatever you thought no is best.”
“I trust Jenna,” Dominic stated. “I trust your ideas too, bud,” he said kindly to Ethan’s confused expression. “I just don’t trust the leprechaun.”
“Dominic, I am an oracle. I can see where things will help and won’t.”
“Oracles are known to miss on things once or twice, E,” Dom said. “You, yourself, didn’t pick up on this mark until I showed it to you. The sinister creature hid it from even an oracle. Let’s not forget about the oracle whose place you took, either. That one is out of here because it was wrong in trying to kill Jenna to solve the problem we were up against.”
“Okay.” Ethan nodded and looked at me, “If this does not work, you will trust me to protect Dominic, and we will use Melanie to help you with your magic.”
“Why can’t Vannah or you help?” I asked in annoyance.
“Because Vannah can only help encourage you to work on bringing your witch magic to the front. Your fairy genetics are so strong that Vannah can’t completely help you until you can learn to control those genetics and get through to the witch genetics that are intertwined with fairy—” Ethan stopped midsentence and sighed.
“Okay, I get it. So, a strong fairy is my only answer to unlocking my mutant magic. Let’s talk about all of that after I fix Dom, okay?”
The room stayed quiet for too long before I finally stood up and held my hands down to Dom.
“Let’s do this,” he said with a confident smile. “Don’t turn me into a frog shifter, please.”
“Funny,” I said dryly. “Let me focus.”
I gripped his hands firmly while I focused on searching for his wolf. I felt the magic return like it did when we went to expel the mark and dark residual energy off Dom. My wolf, electric blue again, was present and lent me her eyes. I found Dom’s wolf in some strange, voided area in Dom’s mind. It was like it was completely detached from him and in a world of its own.
My wolf internally howled, and Dom’s wolf ran toward her. I sighed in relief after finding Dom’s wolf so quickly, but God knew where in this abyss I was. It was bizarre, but what part of this whole shit show wasn’t. The wolves were reunited, and I felt energized as I saw Dom’s wolf grow fierce with strength and love for its mate that had freed him. That’s when I fully felt Dom’s wolf again, and relief washed over me. Dom was back, and so was his wolf.
“Oh my gosh,” I heard Lusa say, no longer feeling Dom’s hands in mine.
I reopened my eyes.
“Holy shit!” I said, looking at Dom in his wolf form. “Tell me he shifted.”
“He shifted,” Vannah said with a look of shock.
“What does that mean?” I asked everyone’s shocked expressions.
“You didn’t bring Dom and his wolf together. It can only be either Dominic or his wolf,” Ethan stated.
“What the hell does that mean?” I said, seeing the wolf that, moments ago, I wanted to hug after finding it. “Oh, my God!” I rubbed my forehead with clammy palms, my magic still present. “Wait. This was me thinking about wanting to—”
“Jenna, stop,” Ethan ordered. “No more.”
“He’s right. You’re like a loose cannon, just throwing around your magic and hoping it’ll work. It doesn’t work like that,” Vannah said as she knit her brows together and rubbed the back of her neck. “We need Melanie.”
“No!” I shouted.
“What happens to him if you think something irrational with your magic? You don’t control it, Jenna. It controls you, and you can hurt Dominic. Look at the bigger picture,” Vannah pressed.
“Where is Dominic now?” Lusa questioned softly.
“I can feel him with his wolf. He should be able to shift back,” I said, my heart racing at the consequences I was facing for wielding my magic like I knew what I was doing.
“The wolf has your blue eyes, Jenna,” Vannah said. “You have stuck him in this form. You must safely fix this, and you have to know by now this is dangerous with the way you and your magic are currently working. You need to find Melanie before you attempt to fix Dominic.”
“Fine,” I conceded, “as long as we can cover for him, we need to. I need time to prep Melanie before I trust her with any of this shit.”
“How do you plan to cover for the fact that in a couple of hours you’re supposed to report to Master Dominic, and he’s a wolf?” Vannah asked
.
“Get the other masters in here,” I stated. “I trust them. We’ll reveal all this dark bullshit to them. I’ll fill you in on the Guardians, and then I’ll go to work on Melanie. The master shifters will cover for Dom’s absence or come up with a good excuse for him being in his wolf form or off on a quest or whatever. We need to start with them. We need as many on our side to start planning to hunt down the source of evil at this school anyway.” I sucked in a breath. “We’ll involve the leprechaun when I’m confident I can trust her.”
“Let’s get to work, then,” Lusa said.
We all nodded in agreement. The first item on the agenda was to blow Scott, Ian, and Finley’s minds. Starting now, things were about to change for everyone.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I sat there, feeling like a total piece of shit, while Dom’s wolf rested his head in my lap, and we all waited for Lusa to get back to the room with other master shifters. I ran my hand through his silky fur, his massive wolf seemingly content with the plans we were about to make with his master-shifter friends.
“Why is Dom in his wolf form?” Finley asked after the door flung open to reveal the three who we had been waiting for.
Dom’s wolf popped his head up and snarled over at the questioning expressions on all of their faces.
“That’s why you’re here,” I said. “We have a problem.”
“Looks like Dom is about to have a problem,” Scott said. “First, he’s in his wolf form, and second, he’s holding secret college society meetings in his room? This is sure to get all your butts busted whether he’s the dorm master or not. What are you all thinking?”
“Seriously, Dom?” Finley crossed her arms and eyed him. “Nice way to show off, but we have a meeting first thing before our—”
“The room is protected by Jenna,” Ethan said. “This is one thing she has done well with her magic.”
“Her magic?” Ian questioned, looking at me and then eying Dom’s wolf. “Why does he have Jenna’s blue wolf eyes?”
“Did they merge? Is that why we’re here?” Scott asked.
“All of you need to shut up and sit down before I compel you to be quiet so we can explain everything,” Lusa said harshly. It was a voice I didn’t realize she could manage even if she tried, but she wasn’t messing around.
“Take it easy, Lus,” Scott said. “Fine. Spill it. What’s going on?”
We began to fill in the master shifters on everything from our jacked-up school of death, to me being possessed by that demon, and everything else up to the Guardians and what they were doing by handling all the supes and doing the jobs of the Elite Forces…everything.
They all sat in shock as if Lusa had compelled them, and after we breathed out the last bit of info-dump, the entire room fell silent.
“If Jenna’s crazy genetics of being part fairy, witch, and shifter caused this, why can’t she reverse it?” Finley asked.
“Jenna’s magic is hit-and-miss,” Vannah said while Ethan sat soberly, most likely reading each one of the masters to measure their responses. “She tried twice now, and it’s obvious that she needs to be trained in how to pull her magic and control it.”
“The magic controls her,” Ethan repeated for what felt like the millionth time.
“How do we get Dom back?” Scott questioned. “Why can’t the witch spell him back to join with his wolf and pull in the shifter genetics that were somehow separated or cut in half?”
“Vannah’s witch powers seem to be fading,” Ethan said.
“What?” Vannah and I said at the same time.
“How would you know? I never told you that,” Vannah said with confusion.
“Owl shifters can recognize energy and auras even before the one who carries them knows about them.” He looked at me, “I know Jenna is very powerful. I know that Melanie is powerful, and her powers will help Jenna because of that.” He looked at Vannah, “The energy is being taken slowly from the witches at this school. It is the darkness stealing these powers, but it’s not at a critical point yet.”
“So, Vannah could have helped Dom before this random piece of important information was revealed?” I asked.
“No,” Ethan answered. “Your magic is so powerful that it can only be altered by you, Jenna. What you have done, you must personally fix.”
“Okay, this is taking another crazy turn,” Lusa added. “Why didn’t you mention that magic is being taken from the witches before?”
“I was instructed by my authorities not to,” Ethan said. “Now, however, everyone needs to be prepared that when we do go to war, the witches may be turned against us or become as useless to us as Dominic is at the moment.”
Dom’s wolf growled in protest at Ethan’s assessment of his condition, prompting me to run my fingers over his snout. This was such a twisted situation that I’d put him in. “We’re going to fix it, Dom,” I reassured him.
“Fix it in an hour?” Finley asked.
“That’s why you all are here, aside from the fact that it was time to get all of you involved because there is a war that looms over this school, and there is a great possibility that the Guardians will come to destroy everything and end all of the threats once and for all, including all of us. I’ve made sure they would let us fix the problems on the inside so we could save as many innocent students as we can,” Ethan stated.
“What we need from you three is a cover-up for why Dom is either going to report in this morning as his wolf, or another excuse as to why Dom is a no-show until I can work with that idiotic leprechaun to fix him.”
“I still can’t believe she’s the only one in this entire school who can help Jenna,” Ian said. “There’s seriously no one else who can help her with these fairy powers?”
“No one that I trust. When it was revealed that Melanie would be the strongest to help her, I made sure that she truly was the only answer,” Ethan said. “No one else can help. The staff is not to be trusted, and the rest are very uncertain of their fairy magic. Some would also be overly jealous once they sensed Jenna’s powers, and they could harm Jenna instead of helping her.”
“But this twisted leprechaun—the one who made Jenna and Dom’s lives miserable by spreading rumors and snitching to her dad just to bring Dom down—she’s the person we ‘trust’?” Finley snarled.
“Take it easy on him,” I said. “Trust me, Ethan’s been through enough with us already doubting him.” I looked at Dom’s wolf, “Dom is locked into his wolf form because Dom and I—mainly me—didn’t listen to Ethan and tried to do it our own way. As much as I hate this, Ethan is right. I’m only making it worse on my own.”
Finley rubbed her head, “Well, if Jenna trusts the childish, backstabbing little trickster, then we all get behind her.”
“It’s obvious Dom’s willing to do this. His wolf doesn’t seem to be audibly or visibly pissed off about it,” Scott said.
“Now, what’s the cover-up?” I insisted. “If there’s anyone who can cover for him, it’s you three. You’re all trusted by IA’s staff, so what’s the plan?”
“First of all, where’s this evil creature who is supposedly feeding bad energy to the supes in the human population…you know, the one who can turn on all of us at any given moment?” Ian asked.
“I fly to areas where I think it might be, but I haven’t been able to find it. There are cloned areas of evil that aren’t helping me locate it. If I had found it by now, I would have asked Dominic to bring all of you in sooner to start planning.”
“You all should have brought us in from the beginning,” Finley barked. “I don’t know why you never did.”
“You were in on it,” I said. “That was the first time. Then, the oracle before Ethan wiped everyone’s memories from what happened with the school, hoping that the quieter it was here, the safer the students would be until it was time to act. Dom’s memories were wiped too, but that’s another personal story for a different time.”
“I bet his asshole dad was behind th
at,” Scott said. “Mark is such a—”
“Scott,” Lusa glared at him, “I know my dad didn’t approve of us, and he worked to make sure we broke it off in his own deceitful way, but I’m not going to sit here and listen to it.”
Dom’s wolf bared its teeth at his sister, and it was apparent that he didn’t agree with Lusa protecting his dad—the man who’d screwed with our lives since we were kids.
“Knock it off, Dominic. You don’t scare me,” she waved him off. “I don’t want to hear it. Period.”
“Back to the excuse for Dominic being the wolf?” I changed the subject to the pressing issue at hand.
“Alright,” Ian rubbed his hands together, leaning his elbows on his knees. “Dominic has the school already sold on sending kids on those random quests, and Samson is all about it.”
“Perfect,” Finley added. “He came up with the idea last night and took off in wolf form to get a scent on a new quest, or maybe we can say he went to check out an old one.”
“We’ve already been talking with Samson about different ways to get shifters to start graduating again, and quests were Dom’s suggestion to start motivating our units. Samson won’t question it even for a second. He’ll probably be happy about it,” Scott chimed in.
“Can you go out with Dom, Ethan?” I asked. “Maybe kill two birds with one stone? If you can get permission to go meet up with Dom to scout new quests, both of you can work together and use that excuse to go hunt down where the evil is brewing in this school. At least this way, we can take advantage of Dom being in his wolf form.”
“If I am with Dominic, I can’t protect you too,” he stated.
“I’m going to be with Melanie, remember?” I arched an eyebrow at him, “You trust her with me, so there shouldn’t be trouble for me, right?”
“I trust her with you. I don’t trust you with her,” Ethan said.
“I’ll make sure Jenna doesn’t kill a leprechaun,” Vannah said.