Shadow Mate (Wolf Moon Academy Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  A low growl emanated from his chest as he let go of my hair and grabbed my bag, tossing it to the ground. He grabbed my ass and lifted me up so I could wrap my legs around him.

  In that moment, I forgot everything—what he had done to me, where we were, and how I had somewhere else I needed to be. The only thing that mattered was his touch and how very badly I needed him to own me.

  A loud thud sounded as a door opened and shut above. Within seconds, footsteps were pounding down the stairs, breaking us out of whatever haze we were in.

  He dropped me back on my feet and scooted back away.

  My wolf whimpered in pain, and my heart hurt, which was asinine. I should've known that wasn't him giving into our bond, but the bastard should’ve known better than to kiss me. It had only kicked off the cementing of the bond. He’d only made it that much harder for both of us.

  "Is there a problem?" Evan's icy voice came from behind me.

  I spun around and faced him. Neither Liam nor I could be trusted together, which sucked hard. We were both at the mercy of our bond even though we wanted to fight and deny it. "No."

  "She was trying to apologize for that night at the party. Like that would make it all better." Liam's face scrunched up. "You interrupted before I could tell her that there were no take-backs or do-overs." His cold demeanor slipped back in place.

  It was almost as if I had imagined the intimate moment that we both shared.

  "What did I tell you?" Evan arched an eyebrow and somehow came off like an iceberg.

  "I..." I was floundering, and both assholes were letting me. This isn't how fated mates treated each other. Maybe fate had it wrong for us. "Don't worry. I'll make sure to steer clear. I hadn't meant to run into him here … I'll just be going." I reached for my bag and turned on my heel, rushing to the door.

  A hand grabbed my arm pulling me back and turning me around. The buzzing already told me who it was.

  "You weren't dismissed." Liam's eyes were back to the dark blue that almost appeared black.

  At least this version I understood. I took a deep breath, steadying my heart. Though I refused to cower. "I didn't ask for your permission."

  "I wanted to clear the air so there isn't any miscommunication going forward." He took a step toward me, but his eyes dilated as he glared into my eyes. "Never kiss me again. Got it?"

  "Don't worry ... It wasn't memorable anyway." My heart felt as if it shattered into pieces, but he would never know he broke me. I jerked away, breaking his hold on my arm, and lifted my chin in the air. "Now I know why that rumor is going around."

  "What rumor?" He moved to grab me again, but I dodged it.

  "That you're a horrible lay." I opened the door and forced my voice not to break. "A kiss is an indication of how someone is in bed, and let's just say you're not that much better than subpar." I turned away and walked down the hallway.

  "Hey." Liam's voice was low with warning.

  A growl laced Evan's words. "Leave her alone. You're letting her get into your head."

  "No, I'm not," Liam growled in response.

  Yeah, I didn't have time for that crazy. I rushed down the hall and found my classroom relatively easily. As I entered, Tripp waved me over to the only empty seat, which was right in the front middle section. As I slid into the desk, I arched an eyebrow. "What happened to the back row?"

  "I got here later since I had a class right before." He rolled his eyes. "So it was slim pickings. Just be glad we got to be next to each other." His eyes narrowed on my lips. "Umm, your lipstick is all over the place."

  Great, I looked like a clown. I unzipped my backpack and pulled my handheld mirror out. Luckily, it was a pale pink, so it wasn't super eye-catching. I wiped the smudged lipstick from my face and put my compact in my backpack.

  "Welcome." The professor strolled into the room. He was an older gentleman, probably in his sixties, but was dressed impeccably. He still had a full head of black hair, and he tugged at his red polo shirt as he set his briefcase on the ground. "My name is Professor Johnson." He glanced at his watch and clapped his hands. "And class has now officially started."

  I glanced around, wondering if I recognized anyone. The only person that looked familiar was Gertrude from comp class earlier this morning.

  "Many of you probably are wondering why you would need to take a class about shifter history." The professor went to the whiteboard and picked up a dry erase marker. "All of us take it for the exact same reasons that humans take their history class. We should know about our heritage and learn from our past mistakes."

  "Mistakes?" Gertrude snorted and shook her head. "What is there to learn? It's all in the past."

  "I'm glad you asked that question." Professor Johnson placed his thumbs through the belt loops of his khakis. "It's important to learn about the past mistakes so, going forward, we don't make them again."

  "And things happen in cycles." I remembered that from high school. "Wars happen every ten to fifteen years just as pandemics happen every so many years."

  "Exactly." The professor's eyes lit up at my comment. "So, if they are happening cyclically, then we should know the triggers and look for the signs so we're not ill-prepared."

  "But that's all human stuff." Tripp leaned back in his seat and winked at me. "So not really relevant to purely shifters."

  "You don't think we had a part to play into it all?" The professor chuckled. "We have shifters in political places throughout the world and make army supplies. Some shifters would even encourage war. But what we all should know is there are no true winners." He waved a hand in front of his face and shook his head. "We're getting ahead of ourselves. Right now, we need to learn the fundamentals of our wolf hierarchy. In order to do that, we must start from the beginning."

  "Is this a bible lesson?" Tripp chuckled.

  "No, but it does sound like it." The professor laughed.

  I liked him. He seemed to be down to earth and a regular person, unlike a lot of the people who worked and attended here. He made me think of a kind grandfather.

  "Do you all know why The Blood Council exists?" He arched an eyebrow and turned, writing those exact words on the board.

  "Wasn't it because we found we were stronger together than apart?" A guy in the back row lifted his pen in the air.

  "Yes, that's exactly what it was." The professor then wrote north, south, east, and west on the board. "Around two hundred years ago, all the regions had their problems whether it be crops, materials for clothing, etc. So each region sort of fended for themselves. Even the packs within those regions didn't help one another. Instead, they were trying to take care of their own."

  "That doesn't sound like a bad plan to me." Some girl called out in the back.

  "No, it doesn't, but unfortunately that's what caused the problem to worsen." He turned back to us and smiled. "Instead of working together as a community, we were broken and fragmented. Instead of sharing resources a pack or region had in order to gain items they needed, no one talked to one another. In fact, the problem kept getting worse and worse."

  "Though someone must have figured it out." That could be the only thing he was getting at.

  "Yes, and that someone was the person who lay in the center of the four connecting boundaries." He drew the state of Kansas on the board.

  "Wouldn't they have all the resources needed since they were smack dab in the center?" Tripp leaned forward and placed his elbows on the desk.

  "One would think that. Hell, I bet they all did, but in fact, they were the worst ones off. They suffered from every limited resource affliction." He wrote the word ‘Overseer’ on the board. "She left her pack behind and went to each region speaking with all the alphas throughout."

  "She?" The same guy in the back parroted.

  "Yes, she." Professor Johnson wrote she on the board and underlined it twice. "She was able to secure the strongest alphas in each region to come together and begin addressing each resource limitation that each group had and how we could spre
ad supplies amongst each other. It took a while; each pack had been so segregated that the alphas traveled throughout their region. They met with each pack to determine what the whole area needed and what they could provide in exchange."

  Even though I had heard a shorter version of this, I had never learned the details. And it was badass that a woman got the whole thing going.

  "When they met again a year later, they began devising a plan on what could be accomplished."

  "A year later?" Gertrude's forehead wrinkled with confusion. "Why would they wait so long?"

  "Well, you have to remember back then, there were no cars, phones, or anything like that." The Professor smashed his lips together as if he was trying not to smile. "So it required a lot of leg work and shifting while still catering to their own packs’ needs. They couldn't leave them high and dry. So in 1918, The Blood Council was created."

  "Wait, wasn't that the year of the Spanish flu?" Tripp pulled out his textbook and flipped through the pages.

  "You are correct, young man." The professor nodded. "And as I said earlier, shifters are involved in every piece of history. We were one of the main reasons so many humans survived that tragedy."

  Now, this was brand new information. "How so?"

  "Because we were the doctors and nurses tending to the sick." Professor Johnson began pacing in front of the class. "We were naturally resistant to the virus, thankfully, but that's not always the case. So we stepped in and helped in any way we could."

  "Why? They're just humans." Gertrude wrinkled her nose in disgust.

  "Whether you like it or not, Miss..." He paused and tilted his head. "What's your name?"

  "Gertrude Williams." She straightened her shoulders like she was proud of her name.

  "Doesn't she know Gertrude is an old lady's name and Williams is super common?" Tripp shook his head and arched an eyebrow as he leaned toward me. "She shouldn't be so proud."

  "You do realize we can all hear you?" The corners of the professor's lips tilted upward.

  "Oh, damn. Sorry." Tripp lifted a hand up and glanced at Gertrude. "I didn't mean to be that blunt if I knew you could hear."

  He was full of shit, but I wasn't going to call him out on it. She was yet another student here with a chip on her shoulder.

  "It's not accepted." Gertrude glared at him.

  Tripp shrugged and leaned toward me. "I really don't care."

  "As I was saying…" The professor chuckled and headed back to the board. "You must remember that we are in fact half-human. Our wolf is what makes us different... stronger. But we must take care of our human side just as much if not more than our animal. If we let the animal rule too much, we become power hungry and have no remorse." The professor glanced down at his watch and sighed. "Damn, time’s up already. Thankfully we have a whole semester to get through everything."

  The last few sentences ran through my head over and over again. Could that be what's wrong with this college? Maybe even Liam and his buddies? They're all letting the power-hungry side of their wolf through. Could the council not be about taking care of their members any longer and more about personal gain? I had to be wrong, but these thoughts nagged at the back of my mind. I guessed only time would tell. However, I had a feeling that I would figure out the answer sooner rather than later.

  Chapter Ten

  I stood from my desk, heading straight to the door.

  "Hey, wait up," Tripp hollered after me.

  "You afraid Gertrude might kick your ass?" With the way she had been shooting daggers at him, I wouldn't be surprised. I paused in the hallway, letting him catch up.

  "What? Hell no." He shook his head but glanced over his shoulder. "Is she behind me or something?"

  "Nope, but that proved you are." Despite what had happened before class, Tripp already had me smiling. He was a breath of fresh air to be around.

  "I could totally see her doing a sneak attack, and that wouldn't be cool." He shook his head. "Where are you heading to?"

  Pins and needles prickled my subconscious, and my eyes looked to my left, meeting Liam's gaze. All four of the heirs stood together, and there was a tall, blonde girl hanging off of Liam's arm. She was rubbing her finger along his chest and leaning against him, talking into his ear.

  I wanted to run over there and pull her off him by her hair, but I refused. I had received his message loud and clear. He was making a point to let me know there was no way in hell that we'd be together.

  "Mia?" Tripp's voice was full of concern, and he followed my gaze. "Shit. Come on." He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the doors.

  I hadn't even realized I'd stopped walking. I was letting Liam get to me, and that's what the sick prick wanted. "Yeah, sorry."

  Liam's jaw clenched, and he pushed the girl off him.

  "What's your problem?" The girl frowned and straightened her shoulders. "You found me. It wasn't the other way around."

  "You don't think we can change our minds?" Simon chuckled as he arched an eyebrow.

  Liam ignored it all and locked in on Tripp's hand touching me.

  He could have a girl touching him all over. However, when he saw a friend of mine touch my hand, he wanted to act like a high schooler all over again. It was complete and utter bullshit.

  Thankfully, it wasn't long before we were outside.

  "What the hell was that about back there?" Tripp shook his head and dropped my hand. "That guy is weirdly obsessed with you. But he wants to be mean. Those are the type of guys who abuse their girlfriends."

  I would say impossible, but that wasn't entirely true. Despite us being fated mates, he still would want to control and dominate me. Unfortunately, that didn't sound too uncompelling in some situations. Seriously, what was wrong with me? I hate him, and he doesn’t want me. "He is just grouchy because I won't cower to him. It's no big deal. It's nothing more than that."

  "Sure, live in denial. It can be a nice place to hang out." He shook his head and sighed. "I'm scared for you."

  This conversation needed to change now. "I'm meeting Bree at the restaurant if you want to go."

  "Hell, yeah." He winked at me. "I'm glad you invited me so it would be less awkward when I followed you."

  "So in other words, you were going to follow me around like a lost puppy?" There was something so endearing about him.

  "More like a fierce wolf that is searching for a pack." He pounded his chest. "I'm too strong to be a pup."

  "We'll go with that." I began moving in the direction of the restaurant. It took every ounce of self-control that I had. I wanted to turn around and claim Liam, but that would be the worst thing I could possibly ever do. I had to somehow get my wolf and my heart resolved that I couldn’t be with him.

  "I'm so glad we're getting lunch." Tripp rubbed his stomach. "I'm starving."

  "Me too." If it hadn't been for all that drama, my stomach would have been rumbling.

  When we entered the restaurant, Bree was already sitting down with a huge latte in front of her. Luckily, she had found a booth even though the place was packed.

  As we approached her, a grin spread across her face, and she pointed to Tripp. "I had a feeling he'd be in tow."

  "So... you were thinking about me, huh?" He slid into the seat next to her and smirked. "In case you didn't know, I'm single."

  "And you've now told me that twice in the last twenty-four hours." Bree patted his shoulder and shook her head. "I'm not interested. I've found my true mate."

  "Oh, damn ..." He jumped from his spot and slid in next to me. "Where is he? I didn't know."

  "He goes to another university, so you're safe." She snorted and shook her head. "And even if he went here, he knows where we stand. He wouldn't be too upset that you took his spot unless he was joining us and wanted to sit there."

  "Well, he's a damn lucky man." Tripp frowned and picked up the menu. "All the good ones are taken."

  "You know Mia is right there beside you and single." Bree arched an eyebrow.

  "Hel
l no ..." He shook his head no so hard I was surprised he didn't break his neck. "Not after the way your brother is all creepy over her. Don't get me wrong. She's hot as hell, but I'm afraid of that crazy."

  "They pick on people. It's nothing." Bree waved it off and took a large sip of her coffee. "That's what they are supposed to do. Instill fear. And they're good at it; obviously."

  "I don't know." He shook his head. "You didn't see..."

  Nope, I wasn't letting him go there, so I cut him off. "What are you getting for lunch?"

  Her forehead wrinkled, and her eyes went to Tripp. "What do..."

  I knew the perfect way to distract. "We're sharing appetizers, right?"

  "What? You’ve gotta be joking." Bree's mouth dropped open, and she tapped her fingers on the table. "I may love you, but I don't share food even with Nate."

  "Not even your mate?" Tripp's voice was loud. "Wow. And I thought the bond overrides everything."

  "Shh..." Bree leaned over the table with her pointer finger in front of her lips. "Shut up."

  "Why?" His forehead creased, and he glanced at me. "What's her problem?"

  "No one except us knows." I lightly punched him in the arm. She should've known better than blurt it out with him sitting here.

  "But why?" He lowered his tone and leaned forward. "It should be a celebration.'’

  "My parents nor brother would never approve." She frowned as she glanced at the table. "He's never going to be a strong alpha. My mom and Dad didn’t marry their fated but rather their chosen. It’s hard, and you’ll never be as happy or content, but Dad says we always put duty before ourselves. Sometimes fated mates don’t help your family get ahead."

  That was horrible. Your fated mate made you stronger, and it wasn’t natural to fight it. Maybe Nate could be a great alpha if he and Bree were able to bond together as they should. It was sad that this was what her parents had taught her and Liam. No wonder he was so angry all the time.

  "Hey, what can I get you three?" A waitress appeared out of the crowd who had to be in her mid-twenties.