Academy Obscura - The Scorched Summer: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance

by Cassia Briar

  Caprice frowned up at us.

  I slipped the robe from my shoulders and let the shift begin. Don didn’t bothered to take off his clothes, he shredded them as he morphed into a gigantic silver wolf. A soon to be dead wolf.

  19

  Caprice

  I wanted to scream in frustration. Could we get a fucking break? I wanted one damn thing to go right—to be uncomplicated. Was that too much to ask? The ceremony was going so well until this guy challenged Angel. Now they were in the middle of the stone floor snarling and circling each other. My black-furred mate faced off with the silver wolf. Both enormous.

  A low menacing roar rumbled in my chest. Montrell stood behind my chair and firmly held my shoulders. I didn’t like this at all. Only yesterday I’d sworn to protect my mates, now I was being denied that promise. The rational part of me knew Angel had to do this on his own, he had to prove himself worthy. But the dragon side writhed and wanted nothing more than to incinerate the silver wolf.

  They attacked at the same second, charging, their jaws snapping at each others throats. Angel kicked, trying to swipe the other wolf’s belly, but he blocked and spun away. The retreat didn’t last long. He moved in a blur and rammed Angel’s side. The force sent them both sprawling on the hard stone floor.

  Angel was on his paws first and he rushed the silver wolf, going for his throat again. For a second, my mate had him pinned. The low rumble from Angel sounded like a warning for the other wolf to surrender. He didn’t take it. Using both back feet, his sharp claws scraped along Angel’s underside.

  My mate let out a pained groan as he was thrown off. Blood made his black fur glisten in the light, and red droplets landed on the grey stone floor. Anger sparked in me at seeing my mate hurt.

  Angel paid no attention to the wounds, but his emotions had shifted from furious to deadly calm. Montrell squeezed my shoulders feeling the change in energy too.

  The silver wolf leaped forward, his teeth grazing Angel’s neck. Angel used the other wolf’s momentum against him and tackled him to the ground once more. This time there was no warning, no second chance given to the challenger. In one bite, Angel tore out the silver wolf’s throat. Blood spurted everywhere as he spit out the mass of fur and gore. His bared teeth were smeared with red.

  The challenger gurgled and sputtered for what felt like an eternity. Finally his eyes lost their glow as life left him. His body morphed to human form. Only then did Angel slide off of him.

  I peeled my gaze away from the dead man. The gathered crowd had been quiet, intently watching the match. Now they howled as one, the sound echoed through the chamber. Angel joined in, and I could only assume it was a salute to the fallen. Or maybe a victory howl?

  As the noise died down, Angel came back to the dais, shifted, and wrapped himself in the blue robe. I glimpsed the deep gouges on his chest and stomach, and pinned him with a frown.

  “Nothing to worry about,” he said as he retook his seat and wiped the blood from his mouth.

  I highly doubted that, but didn’t want to argue with him in public. Montrell released me. He remained standing behind us like a sentinel. Bruno and Casparo appeared and covered the body in the middle of the floor.

  Angel raised his voice. “Do any others wish to challenge?”

  I balked at the idea. Angel was already wounded, he couldn’t fight again right now.

  The hall fell silent. Relief had me reaching for my mate’s hand, which he gave a reassuring squeeze.

  A commotion started in the back, drawing nearer as someone pushed through the crowd. Destiny emerged. Her wild eyes landed on the covered, lifeless form. She kneeled, reached for the fabric’s edge, and lifted it to see the man’s face. For a long moment, she simply stared.

  I felt concern and pity coming from Angel. Destiny obviously knew this man. Who was he to her?

  Destiny’s dark eyes lifted to us. Her expression held sorrow, resolve, and…relief?

  She licked her lips. “You killed my father.” The statement came out flat.

  “He challenged,” Angel said.

  Destiny nodded. Pain flickered across her face. “I’ll go tell my mother.”

  Angel inclined his head. “I call this ceremony to a close. Now we feast.”

  Josh, Gavin, and Heller had taken several others with them to search for the local Tromara pod. The nights slid by with no news from them, and now that the mating and Supreme Alpha ceremonies were over, I was growing restless. We needed to act. Now.

  After the assault on the Academy, the Tromara and old Council had gone silent. No more videos had been aired. Nothing from them. The quiet felt ominous. What were they up to?

  I took several trips out of the cave to go flying. The magical pouch Elena had given me was always on my person. As she’d promised, the strings expanded and retracted allowing me to wear it as I flew.

  Montrell accompanied me in his owl form, while I took to the open sky and turned invisible. The practice was good. I was getting better at maneuvering this gigantic body and wings. Now I longed to let the flame from my throat burn the Tromara to ashes.

  One night, before I landed, my dragon senses told me someone waited in the woods surrounding the clearing. A female werewolf.

  I shifted and fetched my stash of clothing as Montrell did the same. Unhurried, I dressed and slipped on the soft leather boots that the wolves preferred. Our hidden guest remained silently watching. I blew out a sigh. “Show yourself,” I said.

  Quietly, Destiny appeared at the meadow’s edge. “Those dragon senses are good.”

  “What do you want?” I searched behind her for the rest of her gang, but the forest remained empty.

  “I want to kick your ass.”

  Montrell moved closer, his alarm piercing through me.

  “It’s okay,” I said to him. “I can take this bitch.”

  Destiny shot me an animalistic grin. “Let’s do this, Council Queen. Same rules as before. No shifting. No magic.”

  “Bring it. You’re going down this time.”

  “Don’t get too cocky there, Dragon Queen.” Destiny chuckled with a growl.

  Montrell watched as I followed her out to the center of the clearing, my blood pumping. This had been a long time coming. I wasn’t sure which one of us needed this more—me or her. At the Academy she’d been the only one willing to spar with me. I was looking forward to using her as a punching bag. At the same time, she probably had a lot of pent up anger over her father’s death.

  Raising my fists to shield my face, I bounced on the balls of my feet. I was already warmed up from flying. Destiny bounded close and took a swing. I blocked her attacked and jumped back. She rushed me, pummeling my sides and forearms. Each blow landed with jolting pain.

  I danced away from her fists and ducked to avoid a jab as she followed me. Changing tactics, I stepped in close and took an upward swing at her. She blocked then punched my jaw. I spun, wobbling as dizziness overtook me for a second. Regaining my balance, I crouched low, my face throbbing.

  Fucking werewolves and their bones of steel.

  Destiny charged at me again and I tried for an uppercut. She shifted to the side to avoid my blow, then took the opening I left and smacked my cheek with her open palm.

  “Now that’s just insulting,” I said, rubbing away the sting.

  She grinned again. “I know.”

  I glared. Bitch.

  I lunged at her, fists flying as she blocked with her forearms. I landed a few good punches before she dropped down and her low kick swiped my legs out from under me. I went down with an oomph and stared up from the grass. Destiny’s face swam into view. Damn it! She always managed to toss me on my ass.

  Groaning, I started to rise. Destiny punched the side of my face, and my head smacked the hard ground.

  “Hey!” Montrell roared, sprinting over. “That’s enough.”

  I narrowed my eyes at the she-wolf. “What the fuck was that for?”

  “I want to make a deal with you.” She he
ld up her hands in surrender.

  “And punching me when I’m down will make me want to accept this deal?” I gingerly touched my cheekbone where a bruise was probably already forming.

  “I hope so,” she said.

  I gave her a bewildered look and stood up. “What do you want? Is this about your dad?”

  Her features darkened. “No. And don’t ever bring him up.”

  “Okay. I’m sorry.” Something deep and dark lingered there, but I didn’t want to know. It was none of my business.

  “I want in on the fighting. The missions. All of it.” Destiny glanced between me and Montrell. “You can tell Angel I’m a good fighter, then he’ll let me join. In exchange, I’ll teach you how to defend your lame ass.”

  “Now those are words to seal a deal.” I snarled at her. “‘Why would I do anything for you?”

  A faint vulnerability flashed in her eyes before her jaw set at a defiant angle. “Because I am a good fighter. You have no idea what it’s like to be an alpha’s daughter. My skills are wasted just hanging around on the outside waiting. And now that my father…challenged and died, my mom and I are at the mercy of the new alpha. He might,” she swallowed hard, “he might shun us. I need to prove myself worthy of being part of the pack. I-I want to someday join Ximena’s pack.”

  I blinked at her, stunned. She was practically begging. Her words might bite, but she was in a tough place and was turning to me for help, as much as that grated on her.

  “I don’t need your pity,” she said through clenched teeth.

  I straightened to my full height. “No, you don’t. But you’re right, I suck at fighting and need a teacher. You have a deal.” I figured I was out of my mind to let the she-wolf in closer to my circle, but for whatever reason, Montrell was happy about the arrangement. “We’ll train first thing in the morning.”

  Destiny inclined her head. “You got it.”

  “Let’s go.” I took Montrell’s arm and we walked back to the mouth of the cave. “What about that made you happy?”

  “If you can make allies of your enemies, Caprice, you’ll do just fine.”

  I supposed that was true. Thinking back over the year and my enemies, I realized things had changed quite a bit. Kyle Aimes was on the Council. Ms. Duinn had been given to the Tromara. Destiny was about to join my inner circle. I glanced up, and Montrell was one of my mates.

  “Do you forgive me?” I asked.

  “For..?”

  “For almost getting myself killed. For taking on Sebastian in dragon form all by myself.” Surely he hadn’t forgotten.

  He sighed. “I do forgive you. Just remember, you made a promise to never do that again.”

  “I’ll hold to that promise.” I cuddled closer to his side as we walked. My heart felt lighter knowing he’d forgiven me. All was right with my mates now.

  I entered my suite to the sound of giggles coming from the living room. What the hell? I rounded the corner and found May, Elena, Lana, Olivia, and Payton lounging on the couches and armchairs. I lifted a brow.

  “Oh, the queen doth honor us with her presence,” Elena said from the far chair.

  Lana barked out a laugh.

  No one made any move to straighten up or leave. I finally asked, “What’s going on here?”

  “Well,” Elena said, “since you’re too busy to visit us, we decided to visit you. And since there is no one to make an appointment with, we thought we’d just drop in.”

  Guilt welled in my center. I had been busy—worrying, pacing, and taking care of official business—and not spending time with my friends.

  “Caprice, what happened to your face?” May asked with a frown.

  I touched my tender cheekbone. “Uh, nothing.”

  Olivia piped up. “And she calls herself our friend.” She tsked.

  Her words twisted in my chest. “You’re right.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just there’s so much going on, and most of it’s official council business that I can’t talk about. So what’s up with all of you?”

  “Lots,” Lana said. “To start with Elena and May have joined the Omega Alliance. And,” she looked a bit sheepish, “we’re kind of here on official business, as well as wanting to see you.”

  “Oh?” I sank into an armchair.

  Lana continued, “We’d like the Omega Alliance to be recognized as a government organization.”

  “We were thinking as the Council Guard,” Olivia said.

  Payton chimed in, “Or the Queen’s Guard.”

  They all gazed back at me with hopeful expressions. They wanted to be a government organization? Guards? This group of women were my friends, and I loved them dearly, but they certainly weren’t military material. Neither were Nuri or Xavier. Gavin and Brody on the other hand…maybe.

  I shook my head. “You guys…I don’t see how that would be a good fit.”

  “Since Gavin’s not here to make the argument, because he’s on a mission, I’ll do it for him,” Olivia said. “When we started the Omega Alliance, we were set on bringing down the Tromara. That hasn’t changed. I know you doubt us, but we’ve been tortured and none of us broke. May, Brody, and others were integral to rescuing the survivors from Sebastian’s estate. We backed you in orchestrating the downfall of the old Council. We will continue to work for the same goals as you and the Council. Don’t you think it would make more sense for us to be united? Officially?”

  I let her words sink in. We had been through a lot together.

  Lana said, “Honestly, it feels like you ditched the Omega Alliance for the new Council as soon as you became queen.”

  My spine straightened and I was going to argue, but she had a point. That was exactly what I’d done. I used to share openly with the Alliance. We had brought down and exposed the old Council together. Why did I think I couldn’t trust them with council business? The supernatural community might recognize the royals and elected officials as the rulers, but that didn’t automatically mean I should rely on them more than on my friends.

  Besides, who was I to judge them? I was a nineteen-year-old queen and military commander with no experience. If they wanted a role, they should have one.

  “None of you have ever done guard duty,” I pointed out. “But, you’ve aided in missions, data collection, and other super dangerous operations. So, if you’re up for it, I will put a vote to the Council for the Omega Alliance to be our intelligence agency.”

  Five faces smiled back at me. Lana let out a whoop.

  “I’m not making any promises,” I said. They didn’t seem to care. That I would put it before the Council was enough. “Elena, are you sure you want to do this?”

  “You bet your ass I do!” She bounced in her seat. “Seriously though, besides you, I’m the only person here who’s actually killed a Tromara.”

  “Wasn’t that an accident?”

  She shrugged. “My magic was strong enough that his rebounded. I blocked his curse. He died.”

  “Okay, just I doubt the others will be so easy to kill.” I wanted to be the voice of reason. What they were getting into was dangerous. Of course they knew that, they weren’t stupid.

  The suite door banged open. Jaxon’s head poked around the corner. “They’re back. They found the pod.”

  20

  Caprice

  The vote was nearly unanimous. The only exception being Olin, but that came as no surprise. It was good to have Gavin and Heller back from their mission and the entire Council together again.

  “I hereby announce that the Omega Alliance is our official intelligence agency. Josh Graves has agreed to lead the organization.” I said. My earlier conversation with him had been a mixed bag. He’d informed me that the European Supernatural Council wouldn’t back us. We were on our own. At the same time, he’d agreed to lead the Omega Alliance.

  Who better to lead a spy agency than a spy? He sure knew what he was doing. Since the European Supernatural Council, who’d sent him here to spy on us, had decided not to join our cau
se, Josh had switched to our side. That was probably criminal and dishonorable, but I needed the best. This was no time to be picky about his service record.

  I continued, “Each of you may now find new recruits, have them vetted and sworn in. Kyle and Itzel, I’m putting you in charge of the magical oaths of new members. Jaxon and Liam, you will swear in the existing members. That can be done when we return from this raid.” I wasn’t sure where this new queen bossy-pants side of me had come from, but she seemed to know what she was doing so I let her have at it. “Angel, we’ll need your people to take out the Tromara pod. Montrell, Gavin, and Regina, you’ll join Josh and gather anyone else who is willing to fight.”

  The pod turned out to be several miles north of Missoula, in a secluded location similar to Sebastian’s remote estate in Oregon. We’d be able to take them out without drawing too much attention from humans.

  “We’ll head out at dusk,” I said.

  Olin cleared his throat. “We?”

  I suppressed a withering look. “Yes. We. I am going. Any other council members who wish to fight can as well.”

  “Well, I think that’s a terrible idea. While the other royals have heirs, you do not.” Olin pinned me with his stern gaze. “If something should happen to you, who will replace you as Council Queen?”

  “I don’t know. What was Isabella’s plan before she found me?” I asked.

  Regina said, “I believe she planned to live forever.”

  “Well there’s that,” I muttered. “We’ll work out the line of succession later. I’m fighting. I’m the only dragon we have.”

  “That’s correct,” Olin said, “and we should save you for the final battle, not these little surprise raids.”

  “That’s not going to happen.” I raised a hand to silence the old vampire. “This discussion is over. If you want something to do while we’re gone, figure out the succession.”

  “I will,” he said in a defiant tone.