“To a hairdresser. You need to cut your hair if you want to look like a teacher and not a rogue hunter. The new fancy clothes aren’t enough.”
Noah’s eyes bulged. “No one touches my hair.”
Grace offered him a lopsided grin. “We’ll see about that.”
Grace had a hard time concentrating during the weekend while going over the lesson plans with Noah. His long blonde hair was beautiful, and Grace felt sorry when it was cut. His new messy short haircut made him look hotter and modern-looking. The new clothes and his haircut helped Noah fit into the professional environment that her grandfather had established at the academy. It would also help Noah look like a real professor to the other students.
Meanwhile, she managed to find the time to turn the attic into a bedroom for Noah, since he wasn’t keen on sharing a bedroom with another teacher. Maybe it was for the best. That way, she could always find an excuse to see him.
With the help of two male students, she assembled a bed and rearranged three shelves to create a private corner for Noah to sleep. She also found space in the wardrobe to hang his new clothes and cleared a few drawers for him to keep his belongings.
With the news spreading about a new substitute teacher, all the students were curious to meet him. The other teachers met him in their mess hall when Grace gave Noah a tour of the premises. Noah didn’t seem interested in making new friends and liked to spend his time in the attic, looking at the sky or reading.
Grace sat beside him and peeked at the cover. “It’s sunny outside. The guys are playing games, and the girls are grilling meat and making refreshments. Don’t you want to join us?”
“Vampires aren’t fond of sunlight,” he mumbled with his eyes on the page.
“Yet here you are, basking in the light,” Grace noted.
Releasing a sigh, he looked at her. “My wolf side likes sun, but I don’t like to mingle with people I barely know. Plus, I’m catching up on my reading.”
Resting an elbow on the sofa, she lowered her head against the palm of her hand. “It’s not a workday, and you have your first class tomorrow. Don’t you think you should be reading the lesson plan once again?”
“I’m sure I can handle a defense class just fine.”
“Have you ever taught anyone how to defend themselves?”
Noah huffed. “Shouldn’t you be outside, having fun with your friends?”
“I don’t like you being here all by yourself.”
Noah frowned. “It’s my problem, not yours.”
“I’m your guardian.” She smirked.
“More like a shadow,” Noah muttered.
Grace frowned and got up. “I’ll leave you alone. No need to be rude.”
Noah didn’t bother to speak again, and Grace faced the exit. Twirling around, she gazed at him one last time. “Are you sure you’ll be fine in here?”
“I’m used to being alone.”
“Well, that’s sad.”
Noah raised his head and turned to look in her direction. “Didn’t you use this attic as your place to be alone? Were you sad or relieved when no one bothered you in here?”
“It’s different. I have friends to talk to when I don’t want to be alone. You didn’t have anyone.”
Noah’s eyebrows knitted together. “Didn’t have anyone?”
Grace beamed at him. “You have me now.” Waving goodbye, she twirled and left as her heart exploded with an unknown type of excitement for saying something like that to Noah.
She was curious about the face he made after her statement. Yet, she didn’t dare look back. Instead, she left him alone with his book. She would have plenty of other opportunities to spend time with him and get to know him.
Chapter Nine
GRACE
That Monday, Noah had decided to disregard the lesson plan and go back to the basics of self-defense. Not only that, he chose the football field to supervise the exercises instead of the gym.
After fifteen minutes of running and side to side hops, Noah made the students do one hundred push-ups.
“Vampires are fast, faster than werewolves and a lot faster than wizards and humans. You need to be prepared for everything, and you need to practice your speed and reaction time.” Noah paused and turned around to pace back to the end of the line, where the students kept raising and lowering the body using their arms. “What I saw today was a bunch of lazy students who could barely run for fifteen minutes at full speed.”
Silence. No one dared to say anything as they did one hundred push-ups before swapping with their partner.
“You were attacked last week. It seems you were lucky to escape with your lives,” Noah continued to lecture.
Grace ignored Noah’s voice as she watched her friends count. As always, Michael was the first to finish in record time.
Getting up, Michael smirked and winked at her. Grace kept her face straight and wrote his name on the sheet. Rising her eyes, she noticed that Noah had stopped walking and was squinting at Michael with a puzzled expression.
One by one, the werewolves finished first, followed by the wizards and the only two humans in the class.
“Five more minutes of running,” Noah shouted when everybody was done.
They ran around the football field, a few muttering their discontent with the class.
“Miss Delacroix,” Noah called.
Grace frowned at him as if he had lost his mind. He had never called her by her family’s name. Nevertheless, she rushed to his side, hugging the notebook when she stopped in front of him.
“Yes, Mr. Keith.”
Placing his hands behind his back, Noah’s lips became a straight line. “I’m not sure what to do with you. You attend a few of the classes, but you don’t need to do the same exercises as your classmates. Are you sure I don’t need to teach you anything?”
“I’ll try not to feel offended by your question. To answer you, I’m normally my grandfather’s substitute teacher. I grew up in the academy, and I’ve been training since a young age. I’ll be taking the elite hunter exam next summer, and that’s the only reason I attend the Advanced Weapons Training. Two people are often better at supervising the fighting routines and make sure they learn the correct movements. I’m here to assist you, not to be bossed around by you.” Grace pulled her lips up into a sarcastic smile and decided to turn her back on him while finishing her notes.
Noah’s voice felt closer to her neck as he leaned down and spoke lower. “I’m also here to protect you. I would feel a lot better if I had confidence in your fighting abilities.”
Grace’s heart pounded as a shiver run up her spine and down her arms. Then, her brain registered his words. Spinning around, she asked, “What do you mean with being here to protect me?”
“Your grandfather is concerned about the attack on the academy. You should be, too.”
“This isn’t the first time that someone from the Dark Conclave tried to attack us.”
“I would feel better if you took a few hours of your day and allowed me to test your abilities.”
Grace’s eyebrows knitted together. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good.” He gave her a stern nod. “Now, I’ll need your help, so put down your notebook. They’ll have to do pair work, and they’re short on one person.”
“Okay, no problem. I normally team up with Andrea when there’s pair work.”
Forty minutes later, the class was over, and everybody dragged their feet to the locker rooms.
That night, at the academy canteen, Grace found out that Noah wasn’t among the favorite teachers.
“I mean, he’s hot. Crazy hot,” Lori said as she played with her food. “He’s the hottest teacher in here, but he’s too strict. We barely made it out alive to the next class.”
Grace smirked.
Andrea lowered her voice as she spoke to the other students at the table. “Even Michael complained about the class, and he likes to show off how fast and what a great fighter he is.”
&
nbsp; “Why didn’t you stop him?” Lori asked Grace.
Grace recoiled in her seat. “Why me?”
“Technically, you’re the headmaster when your grandfather isn’t here. You also taught us when he wasn’t here. What changed? Why did your grandfather hire a sub?”
“I think the headmaster is concerned with the academy’s safety,” Grace replied.
“Hush,” Lori ordered as she looked behind them.
“What’s wrong?” Andrea asked, peeking in the same direction. “Oh, crap!”
Grace turned back and saw Noah with a tray of food.
“Why is he eating with the students? There’s a mess hall for teachers. Didn’t you tell him?” Lori bombarded Grace with questions.
Grace nodded. “He likes eating here. Looks like the other teachers ask too many questions.”
Andrea smirked at Grace. “You’re going to do it again, aren’t you?”
“What?” Lori questioned.
Grinning, Grace got up with her tray of food and sauntered to where Noah was seated. She put down her tray across from him.
Noah raised his eyes from his plate.
Grace spoke first as she folded her arms and leaned back in the chair. “You know, the teachers’ dining area has better food.”
“Is my presence disturbing you and your friends?”
“No, but the other teachers might feel offended.”
Noah scoffed. “As if I care what they think about me.”
“Do you care what the students think about you?”
He shrugged. “Did you come here to see if I’m feeling lonely?”
“Are you?”
“Not really.”
“Still, you shouldn’t eat on your own.” Something hit against her back, and Grace turned her head to look at the friends she had abandoned at the other table. “Do you miss me already?”
Lori waved and winked at her. “We’ll be at the library after dinner. Meet us there.”
“Will do,” Grace answered and turned her attention to Noah. Sucking in a breath, she grinned at him. “Are you feeling proud of yourself?”
Noah frowned. “About what?”
“About your first day at work.”
Noah leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Do they hate me already?”
“Let’s say you aren’t one of their favorite teachers.”
“Good. I’m not here to make friends.”
Grace arched an eyebrow but didn’t dare to voice the question that crossed her mind. “Very well. I guess we’ll need to practice your people skills.”
Noah grabbed the utensils and looked at his plate. “What’s this supposed to be?”
“Grilled meat, rice, and beans,” Grace answered, using her fork to point at the items. “We have thematic food weeks. We are eating human food this week. Tomorrow, it’s pasta with cheese.”
“I can recognize human food. We also eat rice, pasta, cheese, and even hamburgers. What I meant to ask was, what type of meat is this? It’s dark and salty.”
“Boar. Straight from Alorya’s hunting reserve. A few of us were hunting last week and brought the game with us.”
“It smells funny.”
“Just try it. Maybe you’ll like it.”
Grace’s smile dissipated when Noah faced her again.
“Aren’t you afraid of what others might say if you eat with me?”
“What do you mean?”
Sighing, he shrugged. “You don’t need to pretend to care about my well-being. You can ignore me outside of the classes.”
“Is my presence bothering you?” Grace wondered.
“I’m not very good at small talk.”
“That’s okay. I’m good at it.”
Noah offered her a lopsided grin.
“Plus, I’m being a good guardian and preventing you from eating alone,” she added.
“Maybe I want to be alone.”
“You can always eat in the teachers’ mess hall if my presence is disturbing you,” Grace said, fluttering her eyelashes and grinning widely.
Noah gave his full attention to the meat, using the silverware to cut it into tiny pieces. “You didn’t come to the attic after the classes.”
“Were you waiting for me?”
He momentarily stopped what he was doing. “No.” Then, he put a piece of meat in his mouth and chewed. Swallowing, he added, “Not my favorite.”
Grace giggled. “You should have chosen the mushroom hamburger.”
“Are you vegetarian?” Noah asked, looking at her plate.
“I don’t hunt for sport. If I kill an animal, I make sure it’s to feed people. But I also don’t eat red meat if I can prevent it. I do eat chicken and seafood.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Noah’s lips. “You’re peculiar, Grace Delacroix.”
“Is that a bad thing, Mr. Noah Keith?”
“I’m not sure yet.”
Chapter Ten
GRACE
Two more days went by, and Noah seemed extremely focused on pushing the students to their limits. Exhaustion was apparent when they left Noah’s classes. The majority wasn’t pleased, and Grace was the one they complained to.
On the third day, Noah decided to test their weapon abilities after a warmup. The class took place at the gym. Perhaps, because it was raining heavily, and they couldn’t use the football field. Nevertheless, shooting and fencing were the favorite pastimes among the hunter apprentices. Grace’s classmates were pleased to know they were practicing with weapons that day. Competing against one another was exciting to them. Grace knew that Noah was more interested in evaluating their skills than allowing them to have fun. Grace used that opportunity to show off her aiming ability with a bow. Even if Noah didn’t seem impressed with anything or anyone. She and her classmates seemed to be average for his standards.
After the class, Grace had a meeting with the house staff. The meeting was short because her grandfather called. It had been a few days since he’s last news. She was eager to know what the council was going to do about what happened and if they were willing to let Noah stay.
After saying hello and asking Grace how things were going, Vincent talked about what had been discussed so far. “A committee has been assigned to investigate what happened and how the vampires were able to cross the borders.”
“I’m glad they are taking this seriously,” Grace said.
“The other students might have been killed. Several important kids are attending our school. I have important friends, too. I’d be offended if they didn’t investigate and tried to find what’s going on.”
“Are they coming here to investigate?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” She mused, “It rained since the attack. In fact, it’s been raining for a few days now. I’m sure there isn’t much evidence left.”
“We did our job. We retrieved the weapons left behind, and Noah has information about the leader of the assassin unit. The weapons will have DNA, and the remaining attackers might be identified, so we can link them to a Dark Conclave fraction or a rogue guild.”
“We also need to know who’s their target,” Grace reminded him.
“We already know.”
“Me.” Grace sighed and closed her eyes momentarily.
“It will be all right, honey.”
“Is the council willing to protect a mere hybrid like me?”
“You are my granddaughter. Why wouldn’t they want to protect you?”
“And my other family? What did they say?”
Vincent cleared his throat. “It doesn’t matter, child. You are my family, and I love you enough for them. You are my top priority. Now, how’s our guest behaving?”
“Exemplary,” she assured him.
“And the classes? Is he following the plans with ease?”
“He’s been improvising, but I’ll write you a report about the exercises and methods used.”
“Are his methods valid, or does he have no idea of what he’s doing?”
> “He knows what he’s doing. He’s not doing anything you wouldn’t approve. Don’t worry. It’s more of an evaluation of their abilities than anything else.”
“As long as he keeps the pups busy and in shape,” Vincent said with a sigh.
“You sound tired. When are you coming back?”
“I’ll stay a few more days. We need to gather more information and wait for the vampire community to give us some answers. We are working with them.”
Grace nibbled on her bottom lip. “What about Noah?”
“What about him?”
“Did they allow him to stay?”
“I’m still dealing with that. He did a few jobs that didn’t make him any allies among the werewolves. But, he’s famous, and they know that he’s a valuable resource.”
“He’s not a resource, he’s—”
“I know,” Vincent cut her off. “I’m doing the best I can to make him a part of our family.” He paused for a moment. “Are you still sure?”
“Yes,” she replied promptly.
“What about him? Has he shown signs that he knows?”
“No.”
“You might be mistaken, honey.”
“Maybe he’s different from me. He’s a hybrid. We have no idea if it was the same way with all the hybrids,” Grace theorized.
“Or maybe he knows but doesn’t want to do anything about it. Men like him have different moral standards and don’t care about love and mate bonds.”
“He glows, Grandpa. He’s mine.”
“Tell him then and see how he reacts.”
“I want to know him better.”
Vincent paused again, which meant that he was thinking about what to say next.
Grace beat him to it. “Don’t worry about me. Just worry about convincing the council to let him stay here with us.”
“What if he doesn’t want to stay?”
“Then, we’ll let him leave.”
“Are you ready to perform the severing ritual if he doesn’t want to stay and doesn’t acknowledge your bond?”
“What other choice do I have?” Grace asked.
“I want your happiness. I knew that one day you’d find your mate. I wished it was someone else. Someone with better morals, a good family background, and less death in his past. But we can’t choose these things.”
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