Shadow Mate (Wolf Moon Academy Book 1)

by Jen L. Grey

  He was right. "Okay, see you tonight." I turned and hurried over to the restaurant, not wanting to be late.

  As I stepped inside, Bree's eyes met mine immediately. She waved me over to the booth they were sitting at.

  I took a deep breath and walked over, glancing at the older man beside her. He had to be close to my parents’ age, which surprised me. Whenever I thought of the council, I thought of older men hanging around, smoking cigars, and drinking whiskey. Though, don't ask me why.

  Except, this man was wearing a suit. He was fit and trim, and could almost pass for his late twenties, not his late thirties. He looked like an older version of Liam.

  "Ah, Ms. Davis." He stood and held his hand out for me to shake. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I’m Mr. Hale, and I've heard a lot about you."

  "Well, thank you for this amazing opportunity." I took his hand in mine and shook it twice before letting go. I held his gaze and smiled. "It's nice to be able to tell you to your face."

  His dark eyebrow lifted. "Well, you are even more intriguing than I expected." He motioned for me to sit down. "Bree took the liberty of ordering you a drink."

  "Thank you." I slid in across from them and smiled.

  "I can't stay long. Something came up, and I need to meet with the other council members upstairs." He glanced at his watch. "Duty calls, but I wanted to see how things were going and if you have considered any majors yet."

  "Not yet with the majors, but I have highly enjoyed the Shifter History class." He was making me nervous, so as always, I tended to ramble. "There was so much I didn't get a chance to learn back home where I attended a mixed high school."

  "Aah, so you went to high school with humans." He nodded his head and glanced at the ceiling. "That sounds about right. You're way too powerful for that. You stood up to my own son, which is saying something."

  "Oh, I didn’t mean anything by it. He’s your son. I never meant to disrespect you or him." This conversation was going in a strange direction after what I had just learned.

  "Sometimes, blood is overrated. I'm thinking you could be really useful to me." The smile that filled his face wasn't charming at all. It was creepy and almost vicious.

  "Thanks?" I had meant to say it as a statement, but it came out more like a question.

  "Of course. You know what?" he said as he stood. "Let's meet next week, just you and me. I'll make sure to block out more time. Think about what you might be interested in." He leaned over and kissed Bree's cheek. "And you behave. I'll see you soon. Love you."

  "Love you too." Bree hugged him back.

  As soon as he walked out the door, Bree squealed. "I knew it. You are something special."

  "He doesn't know that. He only talked to me for less than five minutes." That was strange. I had honestly expected more.

  The waitress came back and placed my latte in front of me. "Do you want anything to eat?"

  After that encounter, my stomach roiled. "No, but thanks." If I ate something now, I'd get sick.

  When the girl walked off, Bree leaned forward. "The one thing about members of The Blood Council is that they can see the strength in another wolf without much effort. That's why he's so willing to help you get a job somewhere in his administration."

  I should be happy. Hell, that's what every wolf's dream was, but something wasn't sitting right. This shouldn't be possible. My history lesson confirmed that a local alpha couldn’t have offspring stronger than them. There was no way I could be strong enough to be of interest to him. How was this even possible?

  Chapter Thirteen

  The last thing I wanted to do was get dressed up and go out tonight. In fact, if I didn't have a roommate, I'd be telling everyone I was sick and hiding in my room. Between all the shit with Liam, shifter history class, and the conversation with Mr. Hale, my mind was whirling, and I didn't know what to do.

  For the first time in my life, I felt utterly and completely alone.

  I couldn't call my mother because it would be nothing but various phrases of “I told you so, you need to leave, and I'm on my way to get you.” If I called Dad, I'd be getting him more in the middle than he already was. One night standing up for a new friend had changed everything, and my foundation was so wobbly from that chance encounter.

  Don't get me wrong. I'd had bad days or lows before, but not like this. I’d always had someone in my corner, rooting for me. Someone who I could ask for advice or solace. I couldn't come clean with Bree. That jerk was her brother whether it was right, wrong, or even indifferent. Of course, I couldn't tell Kai either. Tripp knew, but if our group started shattering, I might wind up even more alone.

  I'd never been a selfish person before, so this was pissing me off.

  There was a knock on my door. "Guess what time it is?" Bree walked in wearing a Wolf Moon Academy t-shirt. It was short-sleeved and had Wolf Moon at the top, displaying the standard logo of a wolf howling at the moon, and with Academy at the bottom. She wore a silver skirt with it, and her blues eyes popped with her glittery silver eyeshadow.

  "Yay." I tried to sound sincere, but it fell flat.

  "No, none of that." She lifted both hands up, and each contained bags. "It's time to get glammed up. Kai and Tripp will be here in forty-five minutes." She took a few steps toward me, and her mouth dropped open. "You're in pajamas."

  "I don't feel well." That wasn't a complete lie. Granted, depressed would've been the better word.

  "What's going on?" She put her makeup bags on the bed and sat next to me. "You were fine this morning."

  "It's nothing." I waved her off. Half of it had to do with her family, and I didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. It was obvious she still at least partially listened to her family’s directives. That's why she and Nate weren’t together more.

  "Spill it." She pointed at me and arched an eyebrow. "I'm thinking it has to do with my dad."

  She wasn't going to let it go. At least, her dad would be an easier conversation than one about her brother. "Yeah, you said he wanted to teach Liam a lesson so I figured I’d be here for a year tops, but it felt like he wanted to take me under his wing. That would require me to stay at least somewhat close to you all."

  "Oh, well it's because he realized how strong you are. It only takes a second for alphas like Dad and the others to see it. It's almost as if you reflect a piece of them back." She snorted and shook her head. "He's going to want you working for the family, which will make you an even harder lesson for Liam. Don't worry. He wants you working in more of an alpha position for The Blood Council, but that doesn't mean he wants you to have any influence over my brother whatsoever. He'll probably find you a district position or something. One where you report to a regional, which is still good. You'll have a very nice life."

  "And what about you?" She made it sound so natural to have politics play a part in every way of her life. "What's your future?"

  "I guess I deserved that." She sighed and stood from the bed. "I'm trying to figure all that out myself." She headed into my closet, and I could hear the hangers scraping over the rails. "I want to be with Nate, family be damned, but I don't really know how to make that work."

  Yeah, I didn't know either. "Would they really cut you off if you followed your heart?" There had to be something to it for Liam and her to be fighting it so hard.

  "No, they wouldn't cut me off, but I'd be a disappointment." She walked out of the closet, carrying a tank top that was pretty much the exact same shirt as hers only sleeveless, and a pair of blue jeans. "It wouldn't be nearly as big of a deal as if Liam did something that stupid."

  That felt like twisting the knife already stabbed through my chest.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Her face lined with worry, and she dropped the clothes on my bed. "What’s wrong?"

  "Yeah, I'm sorry." Even she didn't think Liam and I should be together. Granted, she had no clue he was actually my fated, but still. "My nerves are just getting the best of me."

  "Is it because of Kai?" A sly
grin crossed her face.

  "What? No." I hadn't told her about Kai’s and my date so she couldn't know. Hell, who was I kidding … Tripp knew.

  "No, I think it's great. I mean, sure his dad wants me and him to be dating, but he was never interested. It hurt until I met Nate." She reached over and patted my leg. "But he would be a perfect match for you, and he would even elevate your status more."

  "I don't care about my status. I know most people here do, but I'm here to learn." Well, that and to stay close to her brother. "And I had no clue you liked him. There's girl code about that."

  "Didn't you hear me? It changed when I met Nate." She patted my leg again and stood. "Now, I feel nothing for him. Well, that's harsh. I mean I care about him as a friend, but that's all."

  "But if you had a thing..."

  "God, no. Despite how hard his Dad pushed, Kai wasn't interested." She shrugged. "He's always been an odd duck but a sweet, caring, and polite one. You can't find much better than him."

  "Unless it's Nate." She was making me feel better. "Right?"

  "Back off. That one is all mine." She pointed at the clothes laying on the bed. "Put those on, and then we need to do makeup. They're going to be here soon."

  "Fine." I stood and quickly put the clothes on that she had laid out for me. I hadn't realized how low cut the top was until I put it on. "Whoa. Is this even allowed?" I pointed at my cleavage.

  "Uh... yeah. This is a college, not a high school." She rolled her eyes.

  "This college has a stricter dress code than my high school, so it's a legit question." It was a little crazy how it was so different here.

  "Okay, I could see that. But no, it's fine and absolutely perfect for a date. It's cleavage without having the girls looking like they could pop out any second." She motioned to the bathroom. "Come on, now it's makeup time."

  "You know, I can do my own makeup."

  "Nope, not tonight. This is date night makeup. I have a feeling you don't really know how that works." She grabbed my arm, pulling me into the bathroom to the small section that had a chair. "Sit, and don't complain."

  It was hard to do, but she worked faster than I expected. Within five minutes, she was done. "Now look. Then I'm going to add some waves to your hair." She pulled out a curling iron and plugged it in.

  I turned so I could see myself, and it looked like I was staring at another person. She'd worked my eye makeup similar to hers, but my emerald eyes seemed a little brighter than usual. She had painted my lips a deep pink, and my blush was just enough to pop.

  "See, you like it." She grabbed a hairbrush and ran it through my hair as she grinned at me in the mirror.

  "Yes, I do." She did better than I could ever do. "You have talent."

  "You can thank all the endless balls and dances I had to go to growing up." She rolled her eyes. "The makeup artist never had time to get to me with all of my mom's demands and complaints. Instead, I learned how to improvise." She grabbed the iron and started working on my hair. "And it's something that I enjoy doing."

  A few minutes later, there was a loud pounding on the door as she worked curls into the last little bit of my hair. "Well, I'd say we had perfect timing." She grabbed the hairspray and quickly sprayed the waves as another round of loud knocks sounded.

  "They must think we're deaf." She fluffed my hair and winked at me. "I'll get it."

  "Okay, I'll be right there." I watched as she left my room, and I took a deep breath. This was it. If I hadn't been resolved before, Bree confirmed everything that I had already been thinking. Tonight, I would focus on Kai and only him. I had to learn how to put Liam in the back of my mind and slowly work him all the way out of it completely.

  I let my thoughts wander to him for the last time. I embraced the pain and the memory of that brief but life-changing kiss. Then I straightened my shoulders and left the old Mia behind.

  After we ate, the four of us headed out the door to the stadium, Kai took my hand and tugged me closer. "You look gorgeous tonight." He had us stop, and his warm sandy brown eyes scanned me from top to bottom.

  "You don't look so bad yourself." His hair was perfectly styled in his usual messy way, and he wore the same kind of shirt as Bree. It clung to his chest in all the right ways and his jeans were almost the same denim shade as mine.

  "I'm really glad that you agreed to tonight." He took a step toward me, his eyes flickering to my lips. "The first moment I saw you, I wanted to ask you out. But after what you'd gone through with Liam and..."

  "Stop." I didn't want to hear his name. I wasn't supposed to be thinking about him. "It's fine. I'm glad you did."

  "Should we tell them we're watching?" Tripp's jovial voice was just loud enough for us to hear.

  "Yeah, yeah." Kai grinned and rolled his eyes. "I guess we’d better go join them. It could get awkward otherwise."

  Those words should warm my body, but the promise behind them didn't do anything to me.

  We hurried to catch up with the other two, and soon the stadium came into view.

  "Wait. We never got tickets." I'd been so preoccupied I hadn't even thought to be prepared.

  "We don't need any tickets." Bree slowed and bumped her shoulder into mine. "We've got a special section right in front, so it's no big deal."

  "I didn't realize that." The sun was setting, and the stadium lights turned on automatically. The parking lot next to it was full, and there was a crowd of people moving through. "Wow, it's more packed than I expected."

  "Humans always flock here. It's part of our allure." Kai frowned. "It's kind of stupid, but our games are always sold out. They want to get a chance to look at the campus."

  "Got it." I headed straight toward the huge line when Kai pulled me to a stop. "What?"

  "We go in the back." Kai nodded over to the doors that seemed to lead to the players’ area.

  "But I see some of our own over there too, and we aren't players." I had to be missing something or they were kidding.

  "No, the higher alphas and their families go through the shortcut." Bree began walking in that direction. "You're with us, so you can do it too. We stroll through the underground area, and it'll take us right to the front of our section."

  "Are you serious?" Tripp's eyes shone. "This is going to be so kickass."

  Tripp and the others were making small talk, but I couldn't get myself to focus. Something began tugging me toward the stadium. Sadly, I knew exactly what and who it was. Tonight was for me to move forward, so I’d just have to ignore it.

  It wasn't long before we reached the door, and I took a deep breath. I hoped to God I didn't run into him.

  "Hey, it's fine." Kai pulled me closer into his side and wrapped his arm around me. "You aren't going to get into trouble. Do you trust me?"

  That wasn't the problem at all, but I couldn't tell him that. "Of course." I forced a smile across my face.

  Bree walked over to the guard that was standing at the door.

  "Ms. Hale." He bowed his head ever so slightly and opened the door. "Mr. Thorn. It's nice to see you two and your guests."

  "Thanks." Bree breezed past the guard, and the three of us followed suit.

  When we entered, it looked exactly as I expected. The place had tall cement walls that were painted in the signature silver. We walked into a wide hallway that ran the entire length of the building, but the floor was carpet instead of concrete.

  "This way." Bree pointed to the left.

  My shoulders released all of their tension when I realized we wouldn't be walking past the locker rooms.

  "This is so damn cool," Tripp whispered as we hurried through the halls.

  "You don't have to be quiet." Bree snorted as we made our way toward our seating area. "Oh, and here." She pointed at two doors that we were approaching. "We can use these bathrooms and not those smelly, public ones."

  "Good to know." Tripp clapped. "I'm liking this."

  Soon, we came to the end of the wall, and Bree turned to the right. We followed behi
nd her as we appeared in the far corner of the stadium where the football players would run out. She took the stairs that were next to the opening, and then all four of us were in the student section. Bree walked over to the first rows of seats and sat down. "Come on."

  I hurried to sit next to her, and Kai took my other side while Tripp sat next to him. Now we waited for the game to start.

  "Hey, are you okay?" Kai placed his arm around my shoulders on the back of the chair. "You seem a little distracted."

  "No, I'm fine." I had to do better and focus on him. "It's just been a crazy day."

  "She met my dad." Bree leaned forward and arched her eyebrow at him. "You can only imagine."

  "Oh, dear God. Did he act like Liam?" Kai's body tensed.

  There was that stupid name again. "No, no he didn’t."

  "He actually offered to take her under his wing." Bree nodded as she patted herself on the back. "I knew she was something special when I met her."

  The crowds began to cheer and jump to their feet when the stadium started playing loud music. It wasn't long before the Wolf Moon football players ran out onto the field.

  "Woot." Bree grabbed me causing both of us to stand on our feet. "Go, Wolf Moon!"

  As I gazed at the field, my eyes zeroed in on him. His blue eyes were already settled on me.

  "See, this is the real college experience." Kai turned toward me and grinned. "All of this energy." His face was full of excitement as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him.

  My body stiffened for a second before I forced it to relax. I needed to focus anywhere but on Liam. Even as I thought it, my eyes went back to his.

  "It's time to play some football." The announcer shouted, making the crowd go wild.

  This was going to be an interesting game.

  "I can't believe how bad Liam is doing tonight." Bree shook her head and glanced at me. "Even during his freshman year, he was ten times better than tonight. And why the hell did they pull Evan out? We need him right now."

  The problem was me, which had me more excited than it should have. Liam kept watching me, and Kai wouldn't stop touching me. How was I supposed to move on when I knew he was struggling just as hard as I was? This was all fucking ridiculous. I had to get my act together. "I’ve got to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back."