by Lexie Scott
“What’s a shifter, exactly?” I broke the silence with the only question I couldn’t suppress.
All eyes were on me. I could feel the shock from Masie’s parents but didn’t turn to them. I didn’t want to hear the answer from them. I wanted the only person I trusted for the truth.
Masie’s shoulders dropped. “There’s so much you don’t know.” Her eyes searched mine, an unspoken apology in them. “Shifters are a supernatural species. You’ve heard of werewolves?” I nodded, and she continued, “Some of the stories are close to the truth, but the biggest difference is that not all shifters are the same. There’s more variety than just wolves.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Like other animals?”
“Exactly, there are several apex predators like bears, lions, other big cats, wolverines, snakes. But there are also some you might not think of like birds, and small creatures like ferrets, rats, or lizards.”
“Those are the ones you have to watch out for,” her dad added. “It’s easy to notice a bear or lion. But you could be walking around thinking you’re alone, and a hawk is watching you. Or you might be in your dorm, and a mouse is hiding in the wall listening to you.”
I cringed. I didn’t want anyone spying on me. What if there was a creepy boy that snuck into my room? “What? That’s terrifying and wrong. How do you stop that?”
“You’ll learn basic spells to protect you or reveal shifters,” Masie assured me. “You just have to remember that not everything you see is what you expect and to expect the unexpected.”
That was scary and slightly unhelpful advice. How can I expect the unexpected when I know next to nothing about this school and this whole new world?
“It’s best to assume you’re never alone. Someone can always listen or watch.” Her dad made my stomach sink.
“That’s awful.” I crossed my arms over my chest as if that could protect me from their words.
“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll have a witch roommate to help you, and the others will help you get to their level,” Masie’s mom added.
How was she so sure anyone would help me?
“Witches take care of their own,” she said proudly, unknowingly answering my question.
Masie rolled her eyes. “That’s something else you should know. The school encourages the three species to engage and unify, but if things are anything like they were when I was a student, then it will be pretty segregated.”
“Segregated? What decade is this?” I gasped.
“Things in the supernatural community are much slower to progress. They’ve been stuck in their ways for centuries.”
“Millennia,” her dad corrected.
I glanced at him for a second, repulsed by the pride in his tone. They were obviously fond of the way things were.
Masie looked to the ceiling like she was searching for help or patience. “You’ll likely find that the three groups stick to their own.”
“But my dad was a shifter.”
Her father cleared his throat, and her mother fidgeted in her seat.
It clicked then. Masie mentioned that her parents were traditional and didn’t support my parents being together. I assumed at the time that maybe it was a religious thing, or maybe my dad didn’t ask permission to marry my mom.
No, it was this. It was because my dad was a shifter, and they didn’t like my mom being with someone who wasn’t a witch.
I narrowed my eyes at them. Masie nudged my foot with hers and raised a brow. This was still a sore spot.
“Inter-species bonds and relationships aren’t common, but it’s not like it can’t happen,” my aunt explained.
“Bond?” I asked, and Masie rubbed her temples.
“I should have told you sooner. There’s too much.”
“But isn’t there a chance a could take after him too?”
Her mother’s lips pressed into a thin line and he frowned in the seat across from her. “Witch blood and shifter blood doesn’t mix well and one is always dominant, so it’s most likely you won’t take after your father.”
“Shifters transition during puberty, so you would already know by now.” Masie added.
I shouldn’t be disappointed by that. I had enough to worry about being a witch, but it would have been something to connect me to my birth father. It felt like they were pushing him away, only focusing on their family line.
“We’ve begun our final descent. We should be on the ground in the next five minutes.” The pilot’s voice filled the small cabin.
Great. We were running out of time, and I was just grazing the surface.
“Your mother never should have been with that . . . man.” Masie’s mother nearly spit the words. “Witches belong with witches. It’s that simple.”
I ignored her, staring out the window at the expanse of trees. Nothing but green in every direction. Aiden would be so happy.
“What’s done is done, Susan,” her husband said in a defeated tone.
“Yes, Robert, and look what happened,” she bit back.
“Stop it!” Masie snapped at them. “Saige has enough to worry about, and you two aren’t helping.”
Her outburst surprised me, but I was grateful she stood up for me. They were stressing me out, and I was already at my max.
Her father straightened in his seat. “I apologize, Saige. Masie is right. You have enough to focus on.”
I was curious what his wife meant about what happened. My parents died, but my dad said it was an accident. Did she really blame my dad’s heritage for everything?
The plane bounced as the wheels hit the ground, and my nerves shot through the roof. This was it. I was about to see my new school. The place I’d be living for the next year.
Once we stopped, the pilot stepped out and opened the aircraft door so the stairs could extend. I waited for the others to leave before standing and taking my suitcase. I expected to see another tarmac and airport, but there was only forest to the sides and grass below us. When I descended and looked back at the long, narrow field I realized we landed in the middle of nowhere. At the end closest to us was a huge structure with one tall door open, revealing another plane. It looked like a storage building. Was that for the school too?
“We should be back within the hour,” Masie’s father told the pilot. Maybe I could think of him as Robert now that I knew his name.
A black town car waited for us at a break in the trees. The three of them headed toward it, and I followed, swiveling my gaze around the surrounding forest. Were there any shifters here now? Were we being watched? Masie and her parents seemed unconcerned, so I pushed the thoughts away and hurried to load my bags in the trunk.
No one spoke on the short drive. I still had questions, but I took a cue from Masie and stared out the window. I could call her later and ask her everything I didn’t get a chance to, without the prying ears and judgment of her parents.
All the sorrow and confusion over missing out on knowing them my whole life vanished. They weren’t people I wanted to know. I was perfectly fine with this being our one and only meeting. If they still wouldn’t claim me and I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone my relation to them, then I saw no point in ever seeing them again.
“Here we are. Drexel Academy,” the driver announced.
I leaned forward. A tall stone wall and wrought iron gates slowly opened. Trees lined both sides of the road all the way to the first building, an enormous stone structure like a carbon copy of a castle, complete with turrets, narrow slits for windows, and a freaking parapet. I watched, waiting to see if armed guards appeared to patrol the area.
This was insane.
“Come on.” Masie nudged me, and I opened the door and stepped out with her close behind me.
“Mr. and Mrs. Stone, it is such a pleasure to see you again.” A polished man in a brown tweed jacket and tan slacks shook their hands. He was bald and, paired with his wide shoulders and bulking form barely concealed beneath his suit, intimidating.
“Headmaster Goldstein,
it’s been too long.” Robert shook the man’s hand, then turned toward me. “This is the student I was telling you about. Saige Williams is sure to make an excellent addition to the academy.”
The headmaster gave me an appraising once over before tilting his head up. “I’m sure she will live up to the standard you’ve set.”
His challenging glare wasn’t very effective since I wasn’t sure what the standard was, and no one had explained much of anything about what I should expect or what was expected of me.
“We trust you’ll take good care of her,” Susan said with a charming smile, and the headmaster gave her one of his own.
“Of course, we will make sure she gets the best education.” It was then that he seemed to notice Masie standing behind me. “And Ms. Stone, how nice to see you again. I wasn’t aware you assisted your parents with the scholarship students.”
I cringed at that phrase. Was that really what I was? Were they paying for me to be here? Was there a tuition cost? Were there other academies I could attend to learn about my powers? One not connected to my grand––Robert and Susan?
“She’s a special case,” Masie answered simply.
“Very well. Thank you all for taking the time to bring Miss Williams, but you can rest assured she is in good hands now.”
Susan seemed satisfied and returned to the car without a backward glance. Robert shook the headmaster’s hand and said bye before following his wife. He glanced at me as he passed and nodded once before opening the door.
Masie pushed my second suitcase next to me and shot a look at the headmaster before facing me. “Call me if you need anything.”
“I will.” I squeezed my phone in my pocket—the only connection I had left to my old life.
“Bye.” I could tell she wanted to say more, probably even hug me, but we were being watched, and it would have been strange for her to hug a random scholarship winner.
I took the handle of my other bag and moved toward the headmaster. “I’ll show you to the administration building. My office as well as the guidance, maintenance, and security offices are located there.”
His long strides forced me to jog to keep up with him. He led me up to the castle building. A symbol over the massive doors caught my eye. A five-pointed star inside a circle. Was that a devil sign? It creeped me out, but I didn’t have a chance to study it since he had already pushed the large doors open and stepped to the side to let me through. The swing shut behind us with a quick whoosh, delivering us into an open area also made of stone. The entryway felt cold and oppressive except for the plush red and gold rug and pictures hanging along the hall.
“This way.” He led me toward the back where another hall branched off to the right. “This is the guidance office. Your counselor will meet with you to go over your schedule, room assignment, and school rules. If you have any questions, please address them now so there is no confusion when classes begin tomorrow.”
Without another word, he turned and disappeared around the corner. I let out a breath, grateful for even a second to be alone. I rolled my shoulders and rocked my head from side to side, loosening my tense neck muscles before opening the door to the office and pulling my bags in behind me.
“Can I help you?” The woman sitting at the first desk asked without looking up from her computer.
“I’m a new student. Headmaster Goldstein brought me here and told me I needed to meet with my counselor.” He could have come in and made the introduction himself, but he seemed to have far more important things to do.
She stopped typing and looked me over. “Right, the Stone Student.”
“I’m Saige Williams.”
She ignored me, lifting a phone to her ear and pressing a few buttons. “Dallon, your new student is here.”
She hung up before the person could have possibly replied and went back to ignoring me. A few awkward moments later, a man in a plaid button-up and khakis appeared from another hall.
“Hi, Saige? Come on back.” He looked young, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties, and his clothes confused me. The woman wore a crisp blouse, and the headmaster wore a suit. Did he not have to follow a dress code? Or maybe he could be casual since it was Sunday. Did they have days off?
I struggled to pull my bags behind me, but I made it to the doorway where he stood. “Come in.”
He took one suitcase and rolled it inside before shutting the door behind him.
“Thanks.” It would have been nice if the headmaster offered to have them delivered to my room, or at least let me store them somewhere rather than dragging them around.
With a friendly smile, he waved me toward a chair in front of his desk. “Welcome to Drexel Academy, Saige.”
I sat. The office looked normal. Nothing that would have told me this place was for witches, shifters, and vampires.
“Thank you.”
“My name is Dallon Haddon. You can call me Dallon, most students do.” He shuffled a few papers around before finding a folder and bringing it to the front. “And it looks like you are a witch.”
Chapter 6
Words I never thought anyone would say to me.
“That’s right.”
He opened the folder and scanned the first packet of papers before sliding it out and turning it so I could read along. I noticed the star and circle again near the letterhead.
“What is that?” I pointed to the symbol, wanting to clear that up before my imagination took over.
“It’s a pentacle, and our school symbol,” he said without further explanation.
I tried again. “What does it stand for?”
“The five points represent the five elements our powers stem from, and the circle is for balance and harmony between the supernatural species.”
So no evil satanic stuff? Well, that was comforting.
He raised a brow as if asking if he could continue, and I nodded.
“This is a list of rules and expectations for students in your year. I’ll keep you with your age group rather than having you start at the beginning of the courses, so you’ll be quite behind.” He watched me for a reaction, but once again, I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t know what to think or feel. Was I one year behind? Two? Ten?
“Most students start with us after their abilities manifest, or in the case of shifters and vampires, at fourteen.”
So I was roughly three years behind. Great.
“There is a school rule that if you don’t pass your courses, you’re immediately expelled, so you must commit to getting up to speed with the rest of your classmates. Drexel Academy does not make exceptions—no matter who your sponsor is.”
His voice took on an edge. Bitterness? Judgment? Did he not like the Stones? That wouldn’t surprise me. On one hand, that made me trust him just a little, but on the other, it made me wary. What if more people found out who was behind my appearance here and did more than warn me about expulsion?
I curled the toes of my shoes into the thick carpet to steady my nerves. Once I got settled and I had a clue about what I was doing, I’d worry about that.
“I will do my best.” It was the only thing I could promise.
“That’s all I can ask.” He smiled, more relaxed. “Read these over tonight and bring the last page back to me signed.” He slipped the paper back into the folder and looked at the next one. “First thing tomorrow, you will meet Mrs. Hedgings for an assessment. Once you have the results, you’ll come back here so I can create your schedule.”
“Okay. Is there information on where and when to meet her?” I asked.
He continued to the next paper, turning it to face me. “Here is a campus map. You will meet here.” He tapped on the building in the very center. “Her room is on the third floor. Be there at eight.”
I made a note of the specific room number listed on the paper and agreed.
“This is the dorm where you’ll reside.” His finger moved to the second long building in a row of four. “All female students from ages f
ourteen to eighteen live in Bennett Hall. The males in your age group live here in Mannering Hall.” He tapped the building next to mine. “These two,” his finger moved between the furthest two, “are where the older students and bonded pairs reside.”
My brows pulled together. “Older students? I’m a senior, isn’t that the oldest?”
He gave me a look like he was waiting for me to say I was joking. “What do you know about Drexel Academy?”
I sat back. Could I tell him the truth? That I found out about it yesterday? “Not very much.”
He eyed me before giving a slight shake of his head. “We teach students from what non-supes consider high school and college. Our oldest students are twenty-one or twenty-two.”
My stomach dropped. “So, I’m not here for a year? I’m here for five?”
There was no way I could stay away from my family for that long. I’d learn as much as I could until next summer, then I was out of here!
“Some students prefer to go the non-supernatural route and attend one of their universities if their interests lie outside the majors we offer, but most students stay here.”
My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I had a sinking feeling my parents, Masie, Susan, and Robert would all encourage me to stay here and learn all I could since I was so far behind. But what about my birth parents? They left. They went to a normal university. Was that because they were an inter-species couple? Did they not have a choice?
My list of questions to ask Masie was already a mile long and just kept growing. I might never have all the answers I sought.
“Okay.” My voice shrank to a near squeak. Just getting here had sapped all my bravery and strength. I was overwhelmed and so tired. I needed a few minutes by myself, preferably in my special spot on the roof, away from everything and everyone. That wasn’t an option anymore.
“You’ll be rooming with a witch your age, so you’ll have someone to show you around and assist you as you settle in.”
Great. I had to share a room with a stranger. I’d have no peace or privacy while I was here. No space to adjust on my own.
