by May Dawson
“Didn’t we get enough of each other in the library?” Rafe asked, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the doorframe.
“Since you revoked my speaking privileges…” Maddie flashed him a tight smile. She didn’t seem to feel any rancor. But then, Rafe dished out discipline with such genuine affection for the cadets I thought they had to see how much he cared about them, even if they didn’t exactly appreciate the way he showed it.
Eliza had been like that too. She’d been someone to look up to when the men in my pack never set much of an example.
“Come in.” Rafe jerked his thumb behind him, stepping out of her way. “Make it quick. We’ve got PT in the morning, and Lex and I have big plans for you all.”
“I’m filled with dread,” she promised him. She stepped into the dorm room. The movement brought her scent to my nose—the faint soft floral note of her perfume, the sweet, earthier scent of her body—and my heart hitched, the way it always did when I saw her, before my brain caught up.
As much as my brain ever caught up.
There was another faint scent on her body, a male’s, and my nostrils flared, trying to pick up the thread. I bit my lip, forcing myself to let it go. It didn’t matter who had been so close to Maddie. It was none of my business.
Maddie glanced at me, catching her lower lip between her teeth. When her bright blue eyes met mine, tension seemed to shimmer between us.
“I have a two-part question,” she said.
“God help me.” Rafe muttered.
“First, I wanted to ask if there was some other way I could make up the weekend,” she said.
Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Come on, Maddie,” I said. I didn’t want her stuck here for the weekend.
While we tried to present a united front, I’d told off Rafe behind closed doors. Jensen had provoked her into the fight. Rafe shouldn’t play into Jensen’s hands, punishing Maddie for something she probably hadn’t started—no matter how it looked when we walked in.
But I added, “You know you’re not going to help anything by arguing.”
“I’m not asking for a get out of jail free card,” she said. “I take full responsibility for making a stupid decision.”
“I don’t think we have the same definition of full responsibility,” Rafe muttered.
“I’m worried about my family,” she said. She started to go on, but whatever else she was trying to say was lost as Rafe cut her off.
“We know,” he said tightly. “Northsea, the rules exist for a reason.”
She shook her head, her face suddenly closed-off. “I’m not trying to get out of anything. I just—”
“You just need to suck it up and deal with your weekend on restriction,” Rafe said. I’d rarely heard him sound so angry. He was always so even-keeled.
Maddie, Jensen, Penn…these kids were driving Rafe crazy.
“Then part two of my question,” she said. “Can I talk to Lex for a second? Alone?”
Rafe looked to me, his eyebrows arching. He didn’t need words to say I told you so.
I told you that your inappropriate relationship with her was just going to spiral into more trouble.
I shook my head, even though it felt like I was betraying Maddie when she looked at me that way. She didn’t need me; she needed the academy.
Her jaw tightened in frustration. “Fine. I guess I’m on my own here then.”
She headed for the door, her long blond braid swaying back and forth across the small of her back in that tight white shirt. My chest tightened. I didn’t want her to feel alone.
“Get back in here,” Rafe said. “What the hell are you doing? Coming and going from our room like you own the place?”
She turned at the doorway, a frown written across her face.
“You shouldn’t feel alone,” I told her. “You might not like the rules. But whenever it matters, we are here for you. Your whole team is.”
“If we didn’t care about you, Northsea, we wouldn’t bother,” Rafe said. His usual icy calm was back. “You have more potential than the average cadet. You could be an incredible leader in the packs one day. But first, you have to grow up.”
His words sounded harsh, then after a second, he added, “And stay out of trouble so you can see those babies soon.”
“Yes, sir,” she murmured, and for once it didn’t sound like the word burned on her lips.
Her gaze went to me, and she seemed to falter for a second. “Good night.”
“Good night.”
Rafe’s gaze followed her to the door, then flickered back to me. He gave me a disapproving quick shake of the head.
Well, that was weird. Something was up with Northsea, and I wondered if she’d really come in here to talk to us about restriction at all. But maybe she was genuinely rattled about Piper’s pregnancy.
“I’m calling in a favor,” I told Rafe when she’d gone.
“Oh?” The look he gave me was loaded.
“I want you to make up an excuse to let Maddie off restriction this weekend.”
He fixed me with a hard look. “I thought you were going to be neutral. Not let your feelings for the girl get in your way.”
“I’m not,” I said. “Whoever it was, I’d say this was too harsh. She’s worried about her sister. What if something happens to Piper?”
Rafe rolled his eyes. “Unlikely. This doesn’t have anything to do with your attachment to her whole pack, does it?”
That was low. Rafe knew me well enough to know I had no real ties to my own pack, at least besides my kid sister and a handful of friends. I certainly wouldn’t be going home this weekend like most of the cadets at the academy, who were celebrating having survived their first month. I did my best to stay away from my father.
“I’m calling in my favor from Raleigh,” I said.
“You’re calling in Raleigh?” Rafe’s lips pursed in a whistle. “I figured you’d bank that favor for a much more worthy cause. You’re not doing her any favors by coddling her.”
“You’re not doing her any favors by being an asshole,” I said.
Rafe rolled his eyes. “It’s never bothered you before. Are you going to the Hunters’ academy with us?”
“Why?”
“I think you need a break from Northsea. From here. Come on…it’ll be good to see Will.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Because you’re being an idiot. You might manage to convince yourself this isn’t because you’re hung up on Maddie, but you’re transparent,” Rafe said. “You need to let go, man. And you need to let her hurt. It’s the only way she’s going to learn.”
“She’s right that this is all ridiculous,” I said, even though taking Maddie’s side wasn’t going to sway Rafe. He was going to dig even deeper, but I couldn’t stop myself as my irritation overflowed. “They’re assholes to her, and we don’t help, and then she reacts, and she gets into trouble—”
“Because she’s got no discipline. It’s a frustrating situation, yes. She needs to bide her time. Self-discipline will save her life in the field.”
“Being able to trust us might save her life,” I shot back. “Right now, we’re losing that faith.”
He shook his head. “She needs to know there are rules and consequences and that the princess doesn’t get everything she wants. The academy can unlock her potential…but that starts with breaking the spoiled attitude.”
“I’m with you,” I said, even though I didn’t think Maddie was that spoiled. She’d been adored by her sister and her sister’s mates growing up, sure.
But Rafe knew about the rest of her life only in the broadest strokes: she’d been kidnapped at a young age, raised by the coven while her sister tried to shield her from their ‘father’s’ abuse, and betrayed by her birth mother. He didn’t know how many cracks there were in her shine. Her impulsive, happy-go-lucky, outspoken demeanor was real—but it wasn’t her only side.
I added, “I
’m just saying. A little mercy might get through to her too.”
“We see this differently. But you told me you’d let me take the lead because your judgment is compromised.”
I regretted admitting that now. But maybe it was true. I ran my hand through my hair.
He sighed. “Come with me to the Hunters’ academy. You need a break from her, and she needs a break from you.”
“I’m barely around her.”
Rafe said, “You mean well. But you’re just hurting her worse every time you—”
He broke off, his jaw tightening, and he crossed his tattooed arms over his chest. Without the tie and blazer, his tall, muscular form looked imposing.
“What?” I demanded. “You quit at the end there. I know you have something you want to say.”
“It’s actually something I don’t want to say, but I think you need to hear,” he muttered. Then, in his usual tone, he went on, “Come on, Lex. I’ll make you a deal. She can have her phone, so she doesn’t have to stress out about if Piper’s all right. If something goes awry, she can set up a plan with her sister’s mates for someone to bring her home. I’ll tell her tomorrow. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed.
Rafe rubbed his hand over his face. “You’re acting as stupid as she is, you know.”
“I can’t wait to see you fall for someone,” I shot back. “You don’t know what it’s like.”
His eyes tightened at the corners. Maybe I was wrong. Rafe might have fallen for someone, somewhere along the line.
“Oh, I get it,” he said. “Love makes you stupid.”
Chapter Four
Maddie
There was an eight-hundred-pound log cuddled to my chest while I did sit-ups with my team in the mud.
“And up,” Rafe called. He was doing the same thing under the log he shared with Jensen, Lex, and Tyson, and he didn’t seem to be breaking much of a sweat. “And up.”
I bit my lower lip hard as I struggled up again. My abs ached so much that I could barely force them to contract. But I had to keep going, because otherwise I’d be letting down Silas and Penn, to either side of me, and Chase down at the other end of the log. This wasn’t even punishment. This was just the happy start to our morning.
Personally, I preferred chocolate-glazed donuts, a latte, and checking social media on my phone first thing in the morning, but what I wanted didn’t matter here.
We finally shelved the logs and formed up to run again, but Rafe’s eyes sharpened on me. He frowned, then stalked toward me, his every movement full of his usual predatory grace.
When he ran his hand over the back of my neck, butterflies sparked in my chest. I turned to him wide-eyed.
His fingers wrapped around the chain I wore around my neck, pulling it tight against the side of my neck as he yanked it toward him.
My hand flew up to catch the chain as it burned against my skin. Suddenly the tension released as the chain snapped.
He flipped it around to hold the long silver rune-pendant in his palm. “What the hell is this?”
“A necklace,” I said.
Rafe’s glowering eyes fixed on my face. “No kidding. You know you aren’t supposed to wear jewelry in uniform, right?”
What about Jensen’s nipple ring? I’d seen it sparkling as the sunshine caught it when he was shirtless and sweaty from volleyball.
Well, I’d just keep that thought to myself.
“Let me answer that for you,” Rafe said, his voice still heated. “You do know that, because it’s in the student handbook you got back on day one. Which you were told to read.”
There was no great comeback for that one.
Rafe studied it again, frowning. “What are these runes for?”
“It’s like a beacon,” I said. “The pendant alerts my family when I’m in trouble.”
He made a show of looking around the clearing, as if he expected them to show up. “Well then, I expect they get constant pings, don’t they?”
“I have to call on them,” I said.
He leaned toward me, so close my breath caught in my chest. That almost-cruelly perfect mouth over his chiseled jaw hovered close to mine. “You know here’s a ban on magic at the academy, outside of your defensive magic class. There should be a ban on it throughout all the packs.”
“That’s a matter of opinion,” I shot back.
“There’s nothing good that comes out of magic,” Rafe warned me.
Anger tightened my chest. I hated that I couldn’t convince him he was wrong; magic, like everything else in the world, could be used for good or evil. The narrow mindedness of the packs was maddening.
He dangled the pendant on its broken chain in front of me. “If I catch you wearing that in uniform again, it’ll be a very bad day for you, do you understand me?”
“Yes, sir.” I took it from him, folding it in my fist, and headed to rejoin the rest of my team.
Tyson dangled from the pull-up bar, then flexed himself up, the long, lean lines of his athletic body on display as he cranked out a series of pull-ups.
Jensen was on the bar beside him, his sweaty t-shirt clinging to his shoulders as his body bobbed up and down rhythmically, the muscles in his biceps and shoulders rippling.
Lex had apparently taken this opportunity while I was getting yelled at to take the team back to the pull-up bar. Maybe he’d been distracting them to give me privacy while I was chewed out.
Sometimes I thought Lex was looking out for me, and sometimes I thought he hated me.
It was hard enough to tell anyone the story about ‘my father’s’ message. A pit opened up in my stomach every time I tried. I wanted to still trust Lex, but last night, I couldn’t get either of them to listen to me.
“Northsea,” Rafe said, his voice very soft.
Shit. But wait, there’s more… I turned back.
He stood there thoughtfully, his arms crossed over his chest. “Come here.”
I reluctantly closed the distance between us again. Rafe crossed his muscular arms and glanced away into the woods as though he’d find strength there. Then he turned to me, fixing that dark gaze on me.
“I’m rooting for you,” he said evenly. “I hope you’ll find your place here at the academy.”
“Thank you,” I said uncertainly. That was unexpected.
“I know you think I’m hard on you. But you’re strong enough to take it and smart enough not to make these stupid mistakes. I want to see you succeed.” His quiet tone left no doubt he meant it.
His words lit a warm glow in my chest and made me want to squirm at the same time. I didn’t know what I was supposed to say.
“But,” he added, “magic is banned at the academy for a reason. And if I find out you keep practicing it, now that you’ve been warned—more than once—I will go to the dean and have you expelled. Do you understand me?”
The warmth in my chest flickered out. “Yes.”
Thank Cain I hadn’t blathered to him last night about the mysterious message.
His gaze held mine. “Get out of here.”
I rejoined my team just as Chase pulled himself above the bar one more time. His powerful, muscular body swung with his motion, his biceps and lats rippling. When he jumped off the bar, he was all grace, despite his size. He clapped my shoulder with his hand as he stepped next to me, and I smiled up at him.
But no matter how much I made myself smile, Rafe’s threat lingered as we ran the long route back to the main campus.
I was taking a quick shower, running my hands through my sweaty hair, when I heard someone come into the bathroom.
“Penn?” I asked.
“Just me,” Silas said, as if he belonged in the bathroom with me, and I almost laughed. Silas certainly did march to the beat of his own drummer, but I loved that about him.
“What are you doing in here?”
No answer. I pulled the shower curtain to one side, but he was already gone.
I’d dropped my broken necklace on the counterto
p by the sink while I showered. I frowned at the silver chain pooled on the white counter and leaned out of the shower until I could pick it up.
The chain was whole again.
I headed into my bedroom and dressed in a hurry, yanking my school uniform over my still-damp body. One of the guys was showering when I opened the door again. Steam swirled out into my room, and I breezed through it toward the guys’ space.
“Hey!” It was Chase’s deep, sexy growl of a voice.
“There’s no reasonable expectation of privacy anymore,” I reminded him. “We’re all friends. This is basically our living room.”
“Maddie,” he said. “A man needs one place he can fart without worrying he’s offending a woman—”
“I highly recommend the hallway right outside Rafe’s room,” I said, feigning nonchalance as I slipped into their room.
Anxiety hammered my heart against my chest. The only times I’d seen Silas use magic had been to help me—to heal my ankle, to repair my necklace. I didn’t want him getting expelled for my sake.
“Is Penn already gone?” I glanced around their room.
Silas knotted his tie as he looked into the mirror behind their door. “Yes. He headed to breakfast without waiting for any of us. And he says I’m being weird.”
Yeah, that was my fault too.
I hoisted myself up on the edge of his desk, crossing my legs primly at the knee because of that damn ridiculous skirt. The shower was still running. We had a minute of privacy.
“Silas,” I said softly. “Close the door.”
He looked at me in the mirror, his eyes widening, and then he moved to the door. As soon as he pushed it shut, he leaned against it, sticking his hand in one of his pockets. His hard-angled, lean body seemed like such a contrast from his often-dreamy demeanor.
For some reason, it popped into my head that when he stayed at the door, he was keeping as much distance as possible between the two of us.
“I wanted to talk to you about magic,” I said carefully.
“Ah,” he said. “Good. I’ve figured eventually you’d want to discuss the witches’ traps and the necklace that opened—”
