Secret Wolves: Supernatural Shifter Academy Series

by Bailey, G.

  A horrible idea occurs to me. What if my parents, like Silas’, found out about what the humans were doing, and were snuffed out? Could that be what happened to them? And what about the others’? It’s all too much, and I suddenly feel like I want to cry. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Me neither,” Silas says quietly, looking away from me. “And the worst part is--” But he stops himself, and I see a hint of color in his cheeks.

  “What is it?” I ask.

  “If this was all planned,” he says, voice barely above a whisper, “then how do I know any of it is real?”

  “What do you mean?” I find myself reaching out to touch his arm, and a spark passes between us. Silas meets my gaze, his eyes smoldering, and I’m very conscious of how close we are on the bed.

  “You,” Silas replies. “Us. Any of this. What if it was all just a plan? Is it all just a game to them? What if the Academy wanted us to meet, to become friends? Did they want me to have feelings for you, too?” There’s a long pause as the meaning of his words hits me. I think back to what Hawthorne said, my heart fluttering in my chest. Silas’ eyes go wide as he realizes what he just said. “I’m sorry,” he says. “That was… forget I… I didn’t mean to--”

  “Do you have feelings for me, Silas?” I ask quietly, my hand still resting on his arm. The thought of breaking the contact seems impossible.

  The silence in the room grows almost unbearable, and I’m unable to tear my gaze away from Silas’. A truth I’ve been dancing around for a while--possibly since the beginning--is looming over me, and I feel like I’m on the brink of something.

  “Yes,” Silas replies, his voice heady. “Ever since that first day in the dorms. But I couldn’t--I mean, I didn’t want to… presume. Or ruin what we had. I just feel like you’re mine and I would do anything, anything to keep your heart.” Tentatively, almost shyly, he reaches out to touch my face. His hand is warm and steady, and I find myself leaning into his touch. It feels like there’s a fire burning in my stomach as I look up at him, this dark, thoughtful dragon shifter who risked everything to find out the truth about my past.

  “Silas,” I say quietly.

  His lip twitches in a small smile, and then he kisses me. My head feels like it’s going to explode, his soft lips gentle against mine, the fire in my stomach now a raging inferno. In what little kissing experience I’ve had, I’ve never experienced anything like the passion I’m feeling right now, as his other arm wraps around me, pulling my body close to his.

  Finally he pulls away, his eyes searching mine. “Boots?” he murmurs.

  “Don’t stop,” I reply, and within moments my lips are on his again.

  Chapter 23

  I wouldn’t have thought I would end up sleeping well , but for the first time since the assembly, I find myself sleeping soundly. Having Silas next to me is comforting, and even though we’re cramped in the little dorm room bed, the feeling of his arms around me is enough to make it all worth it. We stopped kissing sometime later in the night and fell asleep, which I’m glad of. There’s no use denying now that I do feel something for Silas, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s a connection that’s lasted ever since I first met him. What this means for the future, I can’t say, but I feel safe in his arms. My mind is still in pieces over what he told me, but in the shelter of my dorm room, I’m able to put thoughts of experiments and conspiracies out of my mind.

  The first thing I become aware of when I awake the following morning is the fact that Silas is no longer in bed with me. Groggy, I sit up in bed and see that light is streaming in through the window, and the sun is already high in the sky; it’s a Saturday, which means no classes, although activities have been fairly limited ever since the new security measures went into effect. Brow furrowing, I peer out the window to the clock--it’s almost eleven AM.

  Slowly I get out of bed and get dressed out of my pajamas, wondering if maybe Silas has already woken up and gone to the bathroom. I take my time dressing, then return to sit on my bed for another few minutes while I wait for him to come back. It’s quiet in the dormitory, and I can hear the sounds of the other students beginning to move about. Still, nobody comes to my room, and after another spell of waiting, I pull out my phone and send Silas a quick text: Hey, where’d you go?

  The message arrives but remains unread. Maybe he left his phone in my room…? But upon checking, I see that none of his stuff is here; he must have dressed and left. Sighing, I leave the room, glancing around at the other girls in the hallway as I make my way down to the common area. He might have gone down there to meet me, although why he wouldn’t wait for me, I have no idea. Maybe guys are just strange about these things.

  The common room is bustling, but there’s no sign of the tall dragon shifter anywhere, and I begin to feel the first stirrings of unease. Silas still hasn’t opened my message. Not wanting to wait any longer, I approach the first boy who comes down from the dorms and ask, “Excuse me--did you happen to see Silas Aconite up there?”

  “Silas?” The boy frowns. “Now that you mention it, no. He didn’t come to bed last night. Hey,” he adds jokingly, “maybe whatever got that Brody kid got him, too.”

  I give him a thin smile but don’t laugh. Stop it, I tell myself. You’re just being paranoid.

  Am I, though?

  My worry only grows as I leave the dormitory building and begin to wander around the campus, asking the people I pass if they’ve seen Silas. Those who even know who he is tell me that they haven’t seen him since last night, and his dorm room is shut and locked. I make a sweep of the campus, eventually ending up in the academic building, and begin to prowl the halls, uneasy as I look for Silas. I send him a couple more texts as I go, both of which go unread. The academic building might as well be deserted on a day like this, and it soon becomes clear that I’m not going to find him here.

  Feeling a lump forming in my throat, I wander back outside, scanning the quad once more for any sign of Silas. There’s none to be found. Horrible scenarios are already drifting through my mind, and all of them revolve around what he told me last night. Is it paranoid to wonder if someone saw him in Mrs. Fairbanks’ office? And what about his speculation that his parents were killed because of their suspicions? The campus suddenly doesn’t feel as safe as it once did, the tall doors and yawning corridors seeming to glare down at me everywhere I turn.

  My feet are taking me in the direction of the faculty offices before I’m really even aware of it. I’m gripping my phone until my knuckles turn white, my eyes flitting in every direction as I go. I want--no, need--to talk to someone. It’s as I’m passing the registrar’s office that I notice Mrs. Fairbanks isn’t at her desk. Could she have stepped out for something? I pause at the door, peering in, my eyes drawn toward the large file cabinet in the back of the room. Could there be more information there that Silas didn’t see? Would it be worth looking to see if there’s something on my parents?

  But a familiar voice snaps me out of it. “Millie? What are you doing in here?”

  I turn around to see Samantha watching me from just outside the door. How long has she been there? “I, ah…” I swallow. “Listen, Samantha, I--” I lean in closer to her, and my eyes must betray my panic, since she looks a little taken aback at my expression. “I think Silas Aconite might be missing,” I tell her, the words sounding ridiculous even as I say them.

  She frowns. “Why would you think that?”

  “He wasn’t in the dorms today,” I say, talking quickly. “I’ve already looked everywhere on campus for him, and there’s been no sign of him anywhere. Everyone’s saying he didn’t come to bed last night.”

  Samantha’s eyes dart up and to the left for just a moment before her expression softens and she chuckles. “It’s all right, Millie. Silas is fine.”

  “Really?” I stare at her. “Where is he?”

  “He was admitted to the infirmary earlier this morning,” Samantha replies. “Stomach problems, I think.”<
br />
  I blink. Part of me wants to believe her, but the other part is hung up on her brief hesitation before she answered me. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, he’ll be fine,” Samantha says, giving me a thin smile. She doesn’t say anything else.

  “Can I see him?”

  “No,” she says, a little harshly. “Sorry, Millie,” she adds. “It’s against school rules.”

  “Since when? I thought students were allowed to visit the infirmary.”

  “They are, most of the time,” she replies. “But it’s our policy to keep students with unknown conditions isolated from the rest of the school. I’m sure you can understand, given how… on edge everyone has been, lately.”

  “Unknown condition?” My eyes narrow. “I thought you said he was having stomach problems.”

  “I… yes,” she says. “Yes, stomach problems. But we don’t know what caused them,”

  There’s a pause.

  “I want to speak to President Hawthorne.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible,” says Samantha.

  “Why not?” I demand, face flushing. “Is he suddenly not taking visitors?”

  “There’s no need to get angry,” Samantha says, her patience unnerving. “President Hawthorne is a very busy man, and this isn’t a matter of concern to him.”

  “What do you mean, it’s not a matter of concern?” I ask desperately. “What aren’t you telling me? Where’s Silas?” I can feel my heart hammering in my chest as we size each other up for a moment. Part of me wants to push further, but another part already knows it would be a waste of time. She knows something, I think. There’s something she’s not telling me. Samantha just keeps watching me with that unnerving look on her face, to the point where my shoulders slump and I let out a defeated sigh. “I guess I’ll just wait for him to get better, then.”

  “You should do that,” says Samantha, still with that wan smile on her face. “And Millie,” she adds as I turn to go, “you should really relax. It looks like the stress is starting to get to you.”

  * * *

  “What do you mean, he’s missing?” asks Hunter, his arms still crossed in front of his chest. The four of us are standing in the shade of the dormitory building, a ways away from the other students.

  “That’s what you’re worried about?” counters Landon. “Not the part where we were all experimented on as kids?”

  “Come on,” says Shade. “Silas has always been paranoid. It runs in the family. Millie, I’m sure whatever he found wasn’t--”

  “No, listen to me,” I protest. “He said he found proof--documents. Records. And now he’s vanished off the face of the earth, and the faculty won’t help me. Doesn’t that strike you as a little suspicious?”

  “Maybe a little,” Shade admits.

  “Are seriously none of you worried about the fact that, if he wasn’t lying, this means the five of us were part of some kind of… conspiracy?” Landon asks, sweeping his arms out. “Does that not bother any of you?”

  “Obviously, it does,” snaps Hunter. “But if Silas is missing, then we have more urgent things to deal with.”

  Landon blinks. “Damn. I think that’s more words than you’ve ever said, Hunter.”

  “Not now, Landon,” I say. “Guys, come on. We need to focus here. Samantha was lying to me about where he was. Why the hell would they stop letting students into the infirmary all of a sudden?”

  Shade purses his lips. “I guess you have a point.”

  “Look,” I say, my tone pleading now, “I know none of us have known each other for very long. But if what Silas was telling me is true, then think about what it means for the rest of us. If we were all used by the humans when we were babies, and now we’re all here at the Academy, what does that mean for us? What if these disappearances have something to do with it?” I cross my arms. “And even if they don’t, that doesn’t change the fact that, as of this morning, another student is missing. One of us could be next. I don’t know about you guys, but I want answers. Answers that the school isn’t giving me.”

  Landon sighs, scuffing his foot against the ground. “So what are we supposed to do, then? Form an angry mob and storm Hawthorne’s office?”

  “Like that would help,” mutters Shade.

  “Okay, thanks. Got any ideas of your own?” Landon fires back.

  “I might have one,” Hunter pipes up, and the rest of us turn to look at him. He sighs, raking a hand through his red hair, and then says, “I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but… I might be able to get us into the faculty offices tonight, if you guys really want to dig deeper into this.”

  “How?” Shade asks incredulously.

  “My dad’s a board member,” Hunter reminds him, and thanks to a few lessons, I know board members are the leaders of our community and come from old families in the shifter world. Mostly people refer to them as royalty, as they might as well be. That’s why people call Amelia the prince and princess of the academy. “I might be able to get a hold of his keys. Might.” He shakes his head and sighs. “Amelia will kill me if she finds out.”

  “Better her than the school,” I point out. “This is the kind of secret that could make the academy fall.”

  Hunter just stares at me. “You don’t know Amelia.”

  “So are we really doing this, then?” asks Landon. “Are we going to look for information in the offices?”

  “It’s our only option right now,” I reply, turning to look at each of them in turn. “Listen, you guys… I know this is crazy. And I know it’s probably not what you want to be doing right now. But Silas needs help--I can feel it. And there’s something the Academy isn’t telling us. That said, though…” I swallow. “If this isn’t a risk you want to take, then I’ll understand.”

  There’s a long pause, and none of them speak. Then, finally, Shade meets my eyes, the ghost of a smirk appearing on his face. “I don’t know about the rest of you,” he says slowly, “but I like risks.” He turns to me, straightening up and crossing his arms. “So when do we go?”

  Chapter 24

  Waiting for the day to end is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Even though I’m with the others for most of the afternoon, I find myself constantly looking around, seeing an enemy in every staff member I see, wondering who the next kid will be to inexplicably vanish. Most of all, though, I’m worried about Silas, and about what breaking into the faculty offices will mean. I don’t want to endanger any of these guys, or get them in trouble… whatever that would entail. I’m not sure I want to think about it.

  At one point, Hazel comes to join us, but I resist the urge to tell her what’s going on. I think she picks up on the fact that something is strange, because she keeps glancing at me with a worried look in her eyes. Still, the last thing I want is anyone else getting involved in this. And besides, Hazel wasn’t named in the documents that Silas found. This doesn’t affect her, at least not yet, and she shouldn’t have to be dragged into it just because she was kind to me on my first day at the Academy.

  By the time dinner rolls around and it gets dark outside, I feel like I’m about to go crazy with anticipation. I’m aware that what we’re planning could land us all in deep shit, and as much as I don’t want to risk my place in this newfound home, I want answers more. And besides… what if this isn’t as much of a home as I once thought it was?

  We decide to wait until it’s dark out, when most of the faculty has already gone to bed. In spite of my concern that there would be monitors in the dormitory, it’s empty when I finally creep out of my room and into the hallway, doing my best not to make the old floorboards creak as I move. At one point I hear footsteps on the stairs, and I find myself paralyzed with fear until a bleary-eyed, confused-looking student passes me. My nerves are all frayed, and by the time I make it down to the common area and out to the front, the smallest sound is enough to make me jump.

  The others are waiting for me when I step outside. They all look uncomfortable and vaguel
y nervous, but looking into their eyes shows me nothing but grim determination.

  “I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” Hunter mutters as we begin to make our way across the quad to the academic building. “If my dad finds out-”

  “He won’t,” Shade says, waving him off.

  “How do you know?” Hunter hisses. “What if someone walks in on us?”

  “Then just tell them you wanted a secret place to make out with Boots,” Shade says teasingly.

  It’s hard to tell in the dark, but I could swear I see Hunter go a bit red at the thought. “Whatever.”

  “Guys, can we focus, please?” asks Landon as we come to a stop outside the administration side of the building. “We’re not--”

  Shade claps a hand over his mouth.

  Landon struggles for a moment before he notices what has the wolf shifter’s attention: a light has come on in one of the upper rooms. “Shit,” I hiss, and the four of us press ourselves up against the side of the building. We’re in the shadows, but the light shines like a beacon in the darkness, and it’s all I can do not to panic and make a break for it. My mind is racing: what if they see us? Shade’s jokes aside, how on earth are we supposed to explain this away? What will they do to us?

  Relax, I tell myself, closing my eyes. You knew there was a risk when you decided to do this.

  Unthinking, I find myself reaching out and grabbing Landon’s hand as we wait in tense silence in the shade of the building. He looks surprised, his eyes meeting mine for a moment, and then he grins, giving my hand a squeeze. His touch is both comforting and electrifying, and for the next several seconds I just try to focus on the feeling of his hand in mine.

  What feels like an eternity later, the light upstairs finally goes off, and I let my breath out in a whoosh.

  “We have to be careful,” whispers Hunter. “I think they heard us.”

  “Go slow,” I whisper back, nodding at the door. “You have the key, right?”