Shifter Academy- an Impish Christmas

by Angel Leya

  “That was only the first half of the kiss,” Wes purred, leaning in again.

  He caught her breath away, chocolate mingling with hot breath and even hotter desires. Kenzie pulled him closer, listening to their bond sing, relishing his touch, his heat, against the bitter cold.

  “Me-ow!” Kenzie said when they finally parted, licking her lips. “Here kitty, kitty. Where have you been?”

  Wes chuckled. “Do you know how wild you drive me?”

  “Trust me, the feeling is mutual.” Kenzie winked. In more ways than one, some days.

  Wes shook his head. “Want to head back toward the center? I think there’s some booths we haven’t seen yet.”

  His eyes were bright, but the dark circles below them hinted at just how tired he was. Dang. When she got a moment, she needed to figure out how to fix him.

  “Maybe we should head back.”

  Wes’s brows furrowed. “Are you sure?”

  Kenzie gave him a lazy smile. “Yeah. I’m getting kind of tired. And besides, I think you owe me a few more candy kisses.” She pumped her brows a few times, eliciting a chuckle.

  “Oh, do I?”

  He nuzzled against her neck, whispering, “For you, Ms. MacLugh, I’d do just about anything.”

  Kenzie giggled.

  By the time Kenzie got back to her room that night, she’d forgotten all about the imp. She stowed her presents in the closet, deciding to wrap them later, and climbed into bed, a smile still on her lips.

  Her alarm bought her straight up in bed early the next morning, her heart racing. She’d been dreaming about Christmas disasters, shattered ornaments and gooey gingerbread men that covered everything. But it was just a dream.

  When she saw her closet door opened, her brows scrunched. She thought she’d closed that.

  She went to the door, noticing one of the bags tipped over, cellophane peeking out. Kenzie righted the bag, only to realize the cellophane had been ripped open, and all the German chocolates were gone.

  Brown fingerprints on the door, no bigger than a child’s fingers, told Kenzie what she already suspected. The imp had paid her a visit last night while she slept. It sucked, but if that was the worst of the damage, maybe the spell was beginning to wear off. The grimoire hadn’t said anything about that, but maybe the creator of the spell didn’t know. How much testing had they put into the thing? More than likely they stopped using it after they cursed someone.

  That’s what Kenzie was planning on doing, anyway, though not before making some very obvious “do not use” notes on the thing—preferably ones that didn’t disappear.

  Right after she redid some Christmas shopping.

  Chapter 17

  It was Friday, and Kenzie felt refreshed and excited. The visits from the imp had dwindled down to almost nothing, she’d gotten permission to use the Dome’s projector to air a Christmas movie—The Grinch, of course—and things with Wes were . . . decent. He was still tired and withdrawn, but their little outing the previous weekend had been just what the doctor ordered.

  And with the imp out of the picture, she didn’t need Trevor. He kept coming around, but she always had an excuse not to hang out. She felt a bit bad about it, but decided it wasn’t her problem. He was the one who’d built their relationship around a problem. Now that the problem wasn’t there, he shouldn’t be surprised there was no relationship. Of course, not being around him drove her almost as crazy as being around him. It didn’t help that he kept popping up in her dreams. Whatever.

  Mr. Suzuki—Ren—called Kenzie aside after math class.

  “You haven’t told Lita I’m coming, have you?”

  Kenzie shook her head.

  “Good.” He seemed on edge, his hand continually wandering to his pocket all through class, and even now. He chuckled when he caught Kenzie staring at his hand. “Sorry. My tails are all in knots. I just hope she likes it.”

  Kenzie nodded. An early Christmas present. She liked his style. “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

  “That’s good.” His gaze grew distant. “I told you I’m introducing her to the Turtles, didn’t I?”

  “Mmmhmmm.” Kenzie looked at the door, wondering how much longer he’d need her. Next class was coming soon.

  “I should bring snacks and pop for the show. You know what my favorite kind of pop is, don’t you?”

  Kenzie shook her head, her brows raised.

  One side of Ren’s mouth lifted in kind of deranged smile. “It doesn’t matter, as long as it comes in a one Lita.” He started laughing.

  Kenzie groaned. “I think you need to pop a chill pill.”

  “Too much?”

  Kenzie held her fingers together in front of one eye and squinted. “Just a little.”

  Ren took a deep breath. “Okay. I’m fin. Fangs a lot.” He winked. “You’re okay with the projector?”

  The corner of Kenzie’s mouth crept upward. “Yes. And Shana’s gonna help.” The kitsune barely spoke two words—at least not to Kenzie—but she could create nearly any technological wonder if she wanted to. Playing a video on the Dome was probably child’s play. And possibly borderline demeaning. Wes could’ve done it, but he’d declined. He’d been plagued by a series of headaches, and wasn’t much up for anything, let alone playing babysitter to the projector.

  Ren nodded. “Good. I’m leaving after my last class, but feel free to ring me if you run into any problems.”

  Kenzie thanked him, then left for her next class. She was late, but Nik’s mom was always a sweetie. She gave Kenzie a stern nod, but otherwise didn’t call her out. Kenzie gratefully slid into her seat, her mind ambling past the technical details of Chemistry Class as it pondered the party she was getting ready to throw. Food, lights, the movie. It was gonna be amaze-balls!

  The end of the day couldn’t come soon enough. She worked off some of her nerves during Defense Class, but still felt like she was wound tighter than a top when it was over. She ran to shower, then threw herself into the decorating. She had some time before the movie was scheduled to begin, and she wanted to set the scene as best she could. She focused on the atrium, as that had the best seating. They’d even brought in some chairs to accommodate more students, though Kenzie had a feeling plenty of people would be sitting on the soft grass.

  The plan was to have large swatches strategically around the open areas of the Dome, so people could watch from wherever they wanted to, but Kenzie made sure to pitch the benefits of the atrium when telling people about the event.

  The hour drew close, and students began to wander in. Kenzie smiled as she handed out brightly colored sugar cookies. More students were turning out than she’d expected. There was a buzz of excitement that ran through the drifting conversations. She was doing it. She was really bringing Christmas spirit to the Dome! She had no idea why people were so excited to watch the Grinch, but she didn’t care. This was her moment, and she was gonna shine.

  “Alright everyone,” Kenzie called to the crowd a minute before Shana was supposed to get everything started. She’d already let the kitsune into the back room to work her magic. “Thanks so much for coming out! I hope you all enjoy this little Christmas treat, and that we all find a way to spread the Christmas cheer. And now, for the show!”

  She lifted her hands, then stepped aside and made her toward the center of the Dome to see how everything was going. Black windows appeared in the ambient evening shade, then filled with a familiar image.

  Just not the one she was expecting.

  Kenzie’s jaw dropped as she watched Adam’s profile, sitting in a chair, patting his lap as he looked off screen. She hopped on a moment later, her lips eagerly pressing to his.

  Kenzie’s mouth ran dry, her mind reeling. She looked around, wondering how fast she could get to Shana. What was happening? “This isn’t the movie!” Kenzie called out, but the image didn’t waver.

  Movie Kenzie was moaning now, Adam’s hands wandering freely over her body. Some of the students made catcalls, causing here
-and-now Kenzie to grit her teeth. This wasn’t supposed to be showing. Where had the video even come from? She didn’t remember Adam ever setting anything up. But then again, she’d been trying so hard to fit in with the vampires—just long enough to get Myreen and Leif out—that maybe she hadn’t been paying attention. Her times with Adam had turned into a sort-of escape, in light of her problems there.

  But still, this video shouldn’t even exist! Just like the guy in it.

  Kenzie’s stomach sunk, and she began running back toward the atrium, trying to find Shana. She had to get this fixed! Movie Kenzie and Adam were getting far too cozy, and here-and-now Kenzie knew exactly what would come next. She’d already experienced enough humiliation, hadn’t she? The rest of the student’s didn’t need to see this.

  “What’s going on?” Oberon asked, and Kenzie jumped at his voice.

  “I don’t know!” Kenzie wailed. “Shana was supposed to— And then this started playing— But I don’t know how to stop it!”

  Oberon marched briskly toward the atrium, but moving through the body of students proved a little more difficult. Still he made pretty good time, and Kenzie stayed right behind him determined to ride that wave out, despite the glares and stares being shot her way.

  When they made it to the tech room, Shana’s head shot up, her eyes wide as she looked back and forth between Oberon and Kenzie. But what made Kenzie’s blood boil was the two mer standing with Shana. Helena and Lenore.

  There was a gasp from movie Kenzie, and here-and-now Kenzie looked at the screen with horror. Adam’s teeth were sunk in her neck. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, lips parted as she whimpered. Kenzie cringed and gagged as she looked away. She remembered that feeling all too well. Vampire venom was nearly addictive in its ability to make you feel . . . better. It didn’t help that it had a sensual element to it. All that had happened after she’d been marked by Wes, and though guilt ate at her, the venom made it somewhat . . . better. And she had her reasons to let Adam do what he did.

  Not that anyone at this school would care.

  “Turn. It. Off,” Oberon growled.

  Shana and the mer all turned white. Shana trembled as she hit the right controls and the screen blanked out, leaving the peaceful ambiance of night on the Dome’s surface. But it still carried the scars of Kenzie’s private moment, a moment built to protect herself as she sought a way to free those she loved. And yes, she’d enjoyed being with Adam, on a certain level, but she’d left him. Adam wasn’t her soulmate. Wes was.

  “She likes being bitten, does she?” came some guy’s voice from atrium. “Maybe you can make a shifter out of her yet, Wes.” There was some cackling and more catcalls, but Kenzie had only one thing on her mind as she sprinted toward the door and away from Oberon’s lecture.

  She ran back through the crowd of students, her heart jumping into her throat as she spotted Wes walking away from the atrium. No. He didn’t see that. He couldn’t. But even as he turned, and she searched his darkened face, she knew. She could feel the hurt radiating through their connection, which seemed to shudder, on the verge of snapping.

  “Wes!” she shouted, running toward him. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know where that video came from. I—”

  Wes held his palm toward her, his head angled away from her. “I can’t . . . I just can’t right now.”

  “But Wes!” Kenzie pleaded. “That was ages ago. That wasn’t real. What you and I have, this is real!”

  Wes grunted. “Looked pretty real from where I was standing.”

  Tears streamed down Kenzie’s face. “I told you I did stuff I wasn’t proud of.”

  Wes’s own eyes glistened, and his voice came out husky. “Yeah, but I never expected— I didn’t think I’d ever have to see any of that. I . . . I need some space.”

  “How much?” Kenzie croaked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe . . .”

  “Maybe what?”

  Wes shook his head and walked away.

  “It wasn’t real,” Kenzie pleaded, repeating the phrase over and over, her voice fading as Wes grew more and more distant. He took off his gloves and threw them on the ground, stalking through the gathering crowd as if they didn’t exist.

  The connection between them vibrated again, tugging at Kenzie’s aching heart, threatening to break it in two. There was a snapping sensation, and then the constant hum of connection she’d come to take for granted silenced. She liked to think that a single strand remained, tying them together in the hopes that the strand could be made whole, but Kenzie knew she was grasping at straws. He was gone. Worst. Breakup. Ever.

  Kenzie fell to her knees, sobbing into her hands. Soft fingers found her back, but Kenzie shrugged them off. She wouldn’t be made into some helpless puddle by anyone. She stood, wiping tears and snot from her face with her sleeve, then threw her chin up and shoulders back and marched to her room.

  Once behind a closed door, she fell into her bed and muffled her cries and screams in the covers. The door opened and closed, and a weight creased the bed next to her.

  Soft hands began stroking her back and hair, and June’s sweet voice started to hum a tune Kenzie wasn’t familiar with. How the crap had Christmas movie night turned into Kenzie porn night? Sure, her and Adam were fully clothed, but that didn’t make her feel any less exposed by that stupid video. At least it wasn’t one of the imp’s games. She hoped she never saw that stupid thing again.

  She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but Kenzie awoke with crust in her eyes and fear in her heart. Something was terribly wrong.

  June was gone, and Kenzie wasn’t sure whether to be sad or glad about it. But if trouble was coming, at least the gryphon was out of harm’s way.

  “You can hide, you can run, but helper’s playing time is done,” came a faint voice through the vent.

  “Come out!” Kenzie hissed as she neared the opening. “Come out and face me like the monster you are.”

  There was a giggle, and a thudding noise, and then white smoke began pouring out of the vent. No, not smoke. Kenzie coughed and choked on the thick air, the taste of raw flour thick on her tongue.

  Kenzie backed away from the vent and staggered toward the door as she tried to cover her mouth, her eyes squeezed tight and watering. She’d read somewhere that flour could suffocate you, and she didn’t want to find out if that tidbit was true.

  When she made it into the hallway, she shut the door behind her and took a deep breath. It was a rough intake, and she coughed and spewed for a long time before she was able to take a proper breath again. She turned down the hall and ran toward the guy’s side of the wing, somehow managing to find Trevor’s door. She knocked, lightly at first, then louder.

  “Hey!” Trevor hissed as he opened the door. “What the—?” His brows lowered as his eyes scanned over her. “Kenzie? What’s wrong?”

  Kenzie coughed, blinking against the flour still falling from her hair. “The imp. He’s back. And he’s out for revenge.”

  “Revenge? Why?”

  Kenzie shook her head. That was a very good question.

  Chapter 18

  Staring at the ceiling in Trevor’s room the next morning was . . . weird.

  She didn’t feel safe going back to her own room, or being by herself, and the breakup with Wes left her little other choice. She could’ve gone to June or Leya’s place, but what explanation could she give? She didn’t want to drag them into her mess. Not this one, anyway.

  Kenzie rolled onto her side, grateful that Trevor had played the gentleman and let her stay in his bed. He’d slept on the floor, right next to her, but now she worried if she tried to get off, she’d step on him. As it stood, his face was placid with sleep, almost angelic in beauty. Guilt washed over her as her mind turned to Wes, but she hardened herself against the emotional onslaught. It was he who had broken up with her, after all.

  “Kenzie? Hey sweetie, are you awake?”

  “Mom?” Kenzie whispered, turning away from Trevor to keep from wak
ing him. It was a good thing the words would come clearly through their connection, no matter how softly or loudly she spoke. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m sorry to bother you, but I had some exciting news and I just couldn’t wait to share.”

  “No worries. What’s on your mind?”

  “Well, you know Ren came over this weekend to surprise me, right?”

  Kenzie didn’t even bother to hide her annoyance. “Yes, mom.”

  “Did you also know he was going to propose?”

  Kenzie’s eyes flew open, and she found herself holding her breath. He’d proposed? They’d only been going out what . . . a year? Barely? Think of the kittens. Mom was obviously excited, and Kenzie didn’t want to ruin it for her. “Oh, wow! That’s great.” Lousy timing, but she was happy for her mom. Mostly. Although about now, she’d rather have a men suck talk-a-thon than a yay-you’re-getting-married! chat.

  “I mean, you’re okay with this, right? Ren said he talked to you.”

  Kenzie chuckled. If that was his way of asking permission, he was so far off the mark it hardly counted as trying. “Yeah, Mom. It’s cool. I’m happy for you.”

  “Okay. I know you like to sleep in on Saturdays, so I won’t keep you. I just had to share the news. Eeek! We haven’t picked a date yet, but I’m thinking June. A summer wedding would be so gorgeous.”

  “Yeah. Sounds good. Thanks for sharing the news. Oh, and remember, this doesn’t give you permission to sleep with him.”

  Kenzie could feel her mom spluttering, embarrassment flooding their connection. “Kenzie!”

  Kenzie smirked. “Bye, Mom.”

  There was a nearly audible sigh, and the connection severed, leaving Kenzie alone with her thoughts.

  Mom was getting married. To Mr. Suzuki. That would make Mr. Suzuki—or Ren, rather—her stepdad. Talk about weird. At least he already had the dad jokes down. Good thing she was practically an adult. She’d only have to endure his humor on visits and holidays.

  She wondered what that meant for her house, though. Gram and Mom had gotten side-by-side townhouses after Dad died. Would Mom sell hers to come live in Chicago? Would Mr. Suzuki quit teaching? Whatever. Not her problem to figure out, though the thought of Mom selling her house made Kenzie cringe. She had a lot of memories in that house. Breaking Kol’s family curse, getting her first real glimpse of the MacLugh grimoire, dinners with Gram and sneaking out of windows. It was also the place she’d been marked by Wes, right after his first shift . . . Kenzie bit back a sob. To heck with it. Burn the house, for all I care.