Rebels and Runaways: Eden Academy Book One

by Grace McGinty

  When the guy was screaming in agony, Monster shifted to Wendigo. I nearly fucking pissed myself. I wasn’t proud of myself, but when he shoved his clawed hand into the guy’s chest, ripped out his still beating heart and ate it, I fucking turned and ran out of that hellhole faster than I’d ever run in my life.

  I sucked in a breath. Could I expose Mouse to that every day? I looked at where she was, snuggled into Sammie’s chest. God, they were such a beautiful couple. “Do you want him?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t even know him.”

  That wasn’t a no. I looked over at Flint, because he had history with Monster too. “Are you okay with this?”

  He was frowning, his eyes moving between us. “He is… wrong. When the other fighters, like the meanest assholes in the scene, speak about him, it's with something between fear and disgust. But I don’t know much about him other than that he had our backs the night I escaped and that he has a really brutal right hook.”

  Sammie just shrugged too. It was too much. I’d only just got the girl, it was too soon to have to share this connection, the mate connection, with someone else.

  But I wanted her to be happy. And if that meant seeing how this panned out, then so be it. There was only one thing for it. We’d have to meet face to face. I just had to hope we wouldn’t regret it.

  The night was moonless behind the heavy cloud. The temperature had dropped again, I wondered if it would snow early this year. I’d dropped off Flint and Mouse safely into Eden, parked my truck up the road a bit, and ran the fenceline, careful to avoid the sentinels that guarded the boundary. I walked to the section of fence that ran behind the sports field, my senses on high alert.

  Even so, I was surprised when Monster stepped from the darkness. He moved silently, like he was made of the darkness.

  “Little Alpha. It was brave of you to come alone. Or stupid.”

  His voice was rough, like the smoke damage from being burned alive had permanently injured them. I bared my teeth at his words, but he held up his hands placatingly.

  “I wondered when she’d tell you and I’d find you out here.”

  My whole body was so tense that I nearly vibrated with it, but I kept my face calm, neutral even.

  “She’s been busy with her Pack.”

  “She’s my fated mate,” he grunted. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. I understand if you want to challenge me. I… I won’t contest it.”

  He’d just lay down and let me tear out his throat? I really stared at him, the darkness no limitation for me. His whole face seemed to be dragged down in sadness, and maybe a dash of hope, like he wanted me to kill him?

  Fuck, I was getting soft. “Do you mean to harm her?”

  His face twisted. “Never.”

  I lifted my chin. “The others? Flint and Sammie? Will you be able to share her with them?”

  He was silent for too long, and I shook my head as I moved away. He wasn’t right for Mouse, wasn’t right for us. He didn’t care that she would be heartbroken without them, even though she hadn’t known them that long. She loved hard and fast.

  “Wait,” he barked out. “Sharing my fated mate doesn’t come easy. You must know that, Little Alpha. But I am trying.”

  “Just Alpha if you really want to be part of our Pack,” I snarled, though I tried to tamp it down.

  He shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had an Alpha. I’ve almost forgotten what to do.”

  I shook my head and sighed. “I’m not going to lord it over you, man. I just need to know that you’ll respect me, respect her and the relationships she’s created.” I stopped, but the need for honesty in this moment was more important than my pride. “Watching her with them is hard. Watching her with you would be even harder. But this isn’t the damn Dark Ages. She’s not a prize for us to piss on and claim. She is ours to love, and if that means sharing her with a beast literally soaked in blood, so be it.”

  He nodded, staring off into the darkness. I shook my head. “We’ll meet you at the Morning Glory diner on the highway outside of Pack lands. You know the one?”

  He snorted. “Yeah, with a name like that, it's pretty memorable.” His mouth tipped up on one side, not a smile, but not the abject blankness of a man who had nothing anymore either.

  “We’ll meet you there tomorrow at eleven.”

  He cocked an eyebrow. “Not Dark River? I thought for sure you’d want the backup.”

  I stifled a chuckle. “Let’s just say none of us are ready for that shitshow.”

  He nodded again. “I’ll be there,” he murmured softly and disappeared back into the darkness, completely silent like he’d never been.

  That was creepy as shit.

  33

  Carmen

  Was it weird to be nervous? I was nervous. I’d had to lie to Enit about where we were going, and I hated doing that. But she wouldn’t understand. And then she’d tell Christopher and he really wouldn’t understand.

  I was wearing a pretty dress, which was weird in itself, but for some reason I’d wanted to look nice and sweet today rather than the badass ball buster that I usually portrayed. I wanted to look like someone's fated mate. So I’d borrowed one of Enit’s floaty little dresses, and paired it with a pair of high top sneakers.

  When I’d knocked on Flint’s door, he’d just whispered ‘wow’ and then kissed me until I’d had to reapply my lipgloss. Then he’d kissed it off again. Now I sat in the backseat of Sammie’s SUV, my knee bopping like I was driving to a fight. Flint slid his hand up my thigh and squeezed it gently.

  “You know, I could take your mind off it? You in that sweet little dress makes me want to do filthy things to you just to dirty you up.”

  I flashed a grin before giving him a mock stern look. “Behave. I’m not reapplying my lipstick again.”

  He just waggled his eyebrows. “The lips I’m thinking of kissing don’t have any gloss on them… yet.” He winked and my whole body flushed. I’d been so worked up about this whole Monster thing after telling Bobby about it. It didn’t seem right to make love with the guys until we sorted the whole thing out. I was kind of regretting my decision now though, because I wanted to climb Flint like a tree in the back of Sammie’s car.

  “Keep it in your pants, Fireball. We’re here,” Bobby said, though the tight whine in his voice told me he wasn’t impervious to my arousal.

  Sammie slid the car into the near empty parking lot, just a couple of beat up cars and a single motorbike making up the diner’s clientele. Bobby climbed out and opened my door for me, which made me feel a bit like a princess. It was definitely the dress.

  “Hey, do you think if I twirled, this dress would fly out?” I whispered.

  Bobby laughed as he spun me in a circle and the skirt fluttered out. I actually giggled as I pushed it down. I don’t care how badass you are, a fluttery skirt was still fun to twirl in. Fight me.

  Sammie opened the diner door for me, and I kissed his cheek as I went past. Bobby led the way, and Flint pinched my butt as he followed in behind me. Sammie quickly caught up with me, grabbing my hand.

  “You’re so fucking beautiful. I’m a lucky bastard. You’re more than a prize though, remember that.”

  I squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

  He kissed my temple, and we walked to the back of the diner. Monster was in the corner booth, and there was not another diner for six booths. I got it, I really did. He looked intense. His hair was a tad too long and mussed like he hadn’t brushed it in ages, and it curled in dark brown waves around his ears. His beard had gone a day or two past five o’clock shadow. His clothes were well-worn and he just had this air of wild danger about him. Strong, dark brows gave him an angry set to his face. His jaw was strong and tight, and the longer I looked at him under the fake fluorescent light of the diner, and out of the shadows of the forest, the more I realized he was actually kind of handsome.

  He looked up at us, dipping his chin at Bobby, making my Alpha huff an amused sound. Th
en his eyes snapped to mine and I felt like I was drowning all over again.

  “Carmen,” he said softly.

  “Hey Monster.” I frowned. It didn’t seem right to call him that. “Do you have an actual name?”

  He frowned. “I did once, but I don’t remember it.” He cocked his head, like he heard something outside. “I have been Monster for as long as you’ve been alive.”

  I chewed my lip and slid into the booth opposite him. Sammie slid in beside me, and Flint slid in beside Monster. Bobby grabbed a chair and pulled it up at the end.

  I shrugged. “Fine. Doesn’t seem like a very good name to yell out during sex, but how would I know?”

  Bobby’s head whipped toward me. “Mouse!”

  Flint laughed, staring down at the menu like he was going to order the entire freaking thing. I just grinned.

  “As you can see, no one calls me Carmen, except Flint. Everyone calls me Mouse.”

  Sammie chuckled. “Monster and Mouse. You guys sound like a children’s book.”

  Flint snorted a laugh. “Except when we say the Monster wanted to eat the Mouse, it’s definitely not safe for a kid’s book.”

  Bobby reached over and punched Flint, and Monster just looked at us in bewilderment. I cleared my throat. “Uh, sorry. Have you ordered?”

  He shook his head. I looked down at the menu, not really seeing it but not knowing what else to do. We were silent for a bit until the waitress came over with a coffee pot.

  “Coffee?”

  I pushed my mug toward her and she filled it up, eyeing the rest of the guys warily. Flint was wild, and he gave off a pretty intense vibe, and although I knew Sammie was a sweetheart, he was dark and tattooed and looked like he’d just climbed off a Harley after murdering someone in the woods.

  Bobby was the most clean-cut of us all, but sensitive humans could find his Alpha aura a little unsettling.

  And Monster was, well, Monster.

  I gave her a bright smile. “They’ll have coffee too, thanks.” I looked up, my eyes flicking between Flint and Monster as I tried to act natural. “I think I might have pancakes.”

  They were basically an institution in my household, along with cheese fries and Beatrice’s lasagna.

  That seemed to finally kick off everyone ordering, until we got to Monster. “I’ll have the steak. Rare.” The way he growled it sounded so ominous that the waitress paled and scuttled away.

  Flint laughed as he downed half his boiling coffee in one mouthful. “I’ll have flesh, bloody,” he growled in mock imitation of the man next to him, and I had to admit, Flint had some big brass balls.

  Monster narrowed his eyes at Flint, making Sammie tense beside me, but then his lips quirked. “Only meat satisfies the hunger. It’s either rare steak or hearts. I can’t imagine you’re volunteering to be my lunch.” He watched him swallow the rest of his coffee. “Doesn’t that burn?”

  Flint just grinned. “Fire Djinn. Flame resistant.”

  “But not fist resistant,” Monster growled. Or maybe he joked.

  Was that a joke?

  Bobby leaned back on his chair. “Did the Wendigo just make a joke?” He gave us another small smile. Maybe he could fit in with us.

  As if we all just thought the same thing, the mood at the table grew awkward again. I fiddled with my coffee mug, and then sucked in a breath.

  I was Carmen fucking Baxter. I would take this situation by the testicles and show it who was boss.

  “We should talk about it. About the fact I’m your fated mate.”

  Monster went so still, I worried he was going to bolt. I watched him blink at me slowly, then nod. “Okay.”

  Well, way to give me something to work with. “When did you realize that it was me?”

  I remembered that connection, when I’d been looking down at him in the ring, staring down into the abyss of his eyes. The absolute sadness that consumed me, but was really just an echo of his own loneliness.

  “First time I saw you fight. You were around seventeen, maybe? Not long after I arrived. You were fighting this slimy little fucker who kept hitting you in the breast and taunting you about taking it like a man. I wanted to climb into the ring and rip out his tongue.” He shook his head. “An extreme response, even for me.”

  Bobby growled. “Evan Munch. Fucking slimeball. I heard he got jumped at the back of a bar a few towns over. Snapped his hands in…” Bobby trailed off as it dawned on him.

  Monster shrugged. “I tried to tell myself it was because he was hitting a woman. But I knew she could hold her own. No, what I felt was more consuming, more territorial, more everything. I knew she was my fated mate.”

  Oh for fuck’s sake. I had two fated mates, and both of them had known for years before they deigned to tell me. How damn annoying.

  “Why now?” Sammie asked, his tone gentle but his eyes suspicious.

  Monster was saved from answering by the waitress returning with the food. She hesitantly flitted around us, trying very hard to be unassuming. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live like that, knowing you were so vulnerable to literally everyone around you. I knew I could defend myself in both my human and wolf forms. But this scared little rabbit? She had no defense.

  Unless she was a secret badass. You really couldn’t assume these days.

  When she finally ran away, all eyes turned back to Monster.

  “They disbanded the fight ring. I left. I made it three towns over before the bond was trying to drag me back. I made it to Calgary until it got overwhelmingly bad and I had to return.”

  I sat back in my seat. “You were going to run?”

  He grunted, stabbing at his steak with his fork. It was nowhere close to rare, and he seemed disappointed. He didn’t look up as he muttered. “You deserve better than being tied to a Wendigo. I will dirty your soul with mine.”

  Well, fuck. Wrap him up and stick a bow on his ass, because I was going to fix this sad, lonely man purely with the force of my sarcasm and vagina magic.

  Bobby groaned, because I'm pretty sure he knew my determined look by now. I cocked an eyebrow in his direction as I stuffed pancakes in my mouth, and dared him to protest. We all ate in silence for a bit, because Morning Glory made some pretty decent pancakes, until it got too much for Flint.

  “How old are you exactly if you can’t even remember your original name?”

  Monster shrugged. “About two hundred or so. Give or take. I don’t exactly have birthday parties.”

  I dropped my fork onto my plate. “Holy shit.” His eyes were downcast again and I reached out to touch his cheek. “How old were you when you became Wendigo?”

  He looked up into my eyes again. I realized his eyes weren’t black, but a shade of blue so dark, that there was only the odd flash of blue when the light hit them right. “Twenty-five.”

  I wanted to ask him all the questions. How much of his story was rumor? How much was fact? Did they really burn him alive? Had he really been alone for two hundred years?

  Instead, I cocked my head to the side. I wondered if… “What were you before you were Wendigo?” The legends of the Wendigo were pretty hazy. No one liked to talk about them, because they were considered bad luck. And saying their name would invoke them or some bullshit.

  “Wolf shifter.”

  I sat up like I’d been electrocuted. Bobby whistled through his teeth. “Well, that makes sense, I guess.”

  Sammie picked up a fry and held it out to me. “Seems kind of mean of your Moon Goddess to put a couple of centuries between you and your fated mate though. Unless you being a Wendigo was the plan all along, and that seems kind of mean on her behalf too.”

  Monster lifted a shoulder like he was used to the idea that the Moon Goddess hated him.

  Well, if she hated him, then she hated me too, and I refused to believe that.

  34

  Monster

  I hadn’t spent this much time in other people’s company in decades. I was shunned by all other packs, other pe
ople, even humans avoided me. But not this sunny girl in a bright yellow dress, with three men who would jump in front of my teeth for her.

  Fools, Hew grumbled.

  Wati had been oddly silent this whole time, but I appreciated it. The human to Carmen’s left, Sammie, held out a fry to her and she ate it from his fingers. So casually, like I wouldn’t kill to feed her. The Ifrit, fuck Flint, I had to call them by their names, fidgeted beside me. He looked tired, deep bags under his eyes.

  Probably from too much fucking with your mate.

  I wanted to tell Hew to shut the fuck up, but I knew it would only egg him on. Besides, I didn’t want to slip and let her know that I actually spoke to the evil spirits that inhabited my body. If only a good exorcism would get rid of them.

  Hew snorted, and Flint shifted beside me again. I poked at my steak, forcing myself to cut and eat it. It tasted like ash in my mouth, but it helped to keep up pretenses. He watched my careful precision with eagle eyes, and I cursed the Moon Goddess for gifting my mate a lover who was purely made from my one true weakness. Fire.

  She really did hate me.

  If you keep cursing her, you might feel her real wrath, Wati finally piped up, and I clenched my hand beneath the table.

  “So how would this work? No offense man, but I can’t imagine them letting you into Eden Academy.”

  “Brody won’t let him in Nîso. The elders are still superstitious,” Bobby said apologetically, but he didn’t need to be. No one knew the old superstitions with as much painful clarity as I did.

  My heart, which I’d assumed was long ago turned to dust, thumped heavily in my chest. “You’re considering it?” I couldn’t keep the hopeful note out of my voice.

  Bobby shook his head. “You don’t know her yet, but you should know it was never a question. But if you hurt her, or them, I will fucking tear your heart out and send you to hell myself.”

  I had no doubt the little Alpha could do it too.