by Lexie Scott
I tapped Hannah’s thigh. “Who are they?”
She glanced over to the small group then out to the guy on the field. “Those are the Sorcerer's Society kids. The ones I told you about. Those must be three of her boyfriends. The other two are probably playing.”
Seeing them together was different from what I imagined. The guys didn’t seem jealous or in competition. They were a unit. She looked really happy. Huh.
My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I pulled it out. Masie. “I’ve got to take this.”
Hannah nodded, and I climbed down the metal bleachers to the grass and headed away from the field so I could hear without the crowd cheering in the background.
“Hi, Masie,” I answered.
“Saige, how are you?”
I moved to a nearby tree and leaned against it. “Overwhelmed still.”
“I’m sorry I haven’t called you back sooner. Things with my parents have been a little crazy.”
That wasn’t really an excuse to ignore my calls or texts all week. She dropped me off in a new world and vanished.
“What’s going on?”
She sighed. “You coming back into their lives was unexpected. They want to be more involved.”
“They want to know me?” I asked, somewhat surprised.
“Not necessarily. They want your teachers to send them weekly progress reports, and they want to be included in any decisions made about you or your education. I guess they found out Mrs. Hedgings is tutoring you, and they weren’t pleased.”
I nearly laughed. “Why not?”
“There’s some history between them, apparently. I’m not sure about the details. Headmaster Goldstein isn’t giving in to their demands, though. He insists the staff is more than capable of watching out for you and your education. He said they’re overstepping as sponsors. I think he’s suspicious about your real connection to them and is pushing for them to confess. Little does he know they're the most stubborn people on Earth.” She sighed. “Don’t worry about any of that though. I’ll make sure they keep their distance.”
I didn’t necessarily want a relationship with the people who chose to ignore my existence for the last seventeen years, but if there were things they could tell me about my mom, I wanted to know.
Then again, Masie could probably answer any questions I had.
“I want to know more about my parents. You guy dropped a bomb on me, and I never got to ask you––”
“I know. I’m so sorry about that. Nothing about last weekend went how I imagined. Well, I never really thought it would happen in the first place.”
“Masie,” I cut off her ramblings. “Please, can you tell me about them? Why they left the academy? What happened to them?” My fingers ached to work on a braid, but I needed two free hands.
She sighed. “They were both more interested in building a life together in the norms’ society than staying where there were so many expectations put on them from outside sources. Your dad wanted to be a writer, and your mom was an Earth witch with a strong specialty in vegetation. She wanted to grow her own flowers and open a shop.”
I could almost picture them. It sounded like a quaint, happy life they had planned. What went wrong?
“They didn’t agree with the prejudice against hybrids and mixed bonds, obviously, and didn’t want to raise a family where they knew they would face discrimination. They had friends who felt the same way, and after they graduated from their fourth year at Drexel, the group of them left.”
“Where did they go?” I wished she was here now, so we could have this conversation face to face.
“Seattle.” She sounded so sad. “Their group was mostly interspecies couples, and they kind of formed their own pack or family there. I was still in school, but during breaks, I went to visit them. They were all so happy, Saige. I wish you remembered that time, but you were too young.”
“Their friends.” I was almost afraid to ask. “Where are they now?”
She cleared her throat. “Most of them are dead.”
Some part of me expected this. Like I knew what the answer would be, but I still felt sick. “What? How? Why?”
“Accidents, like your parents’.”
That didn’t make sense. What were the odds so many would die young in accidents? “Is that really what happened, or is that just what people were told?”
“You’re too smart for your own good, sweetie.” She sighed. I could hear in her voice this wasn’t easy for her. “The car accident that took your parents was caused by their brake line being cut. Their best friends were killed in a house fire caused by the gas on the stove being left on. Another family was killed when their car went off a bridge. Most of the accidents were easy to explain away, but when I stepped back and looked at the bigger picture, it was easy to see that they were connected. Someone was targeting and killing them.”
I covered my mouth, holding in a gasp. “But why?”
“Because of what they were. Who they loved. They were breaking the rules, and a lot of people had a problem with that.”
“But they left. They were starting over.”
“I know. People didn’t like that.”
“Do you know who?” I couldn’t believe my parents were murdered, along with so many others.
“You cannot ever repeat this information, Saige. I’m serious.”
“Okay.” I could feel the gravity of her words.
“I believe it was members of the council. Have you heard about them yet?”
“Yeah, they’re the governing body over the supes.”
“Right, I think they were the ones who wanted your parents and the others killed. They didn’t want hybrid children around. They still don’t know enough about hybrids to understand their powers or the full extent of their abilities. They fear them, so they had them killed.”
But Theo? He was a hybrid. And me. “Then why didn’t they kill me?”
It was such a morbid question. One I never thought I’d ask.
“They thought they did. You were supposed to be with them that night. At the last minute, Amber called and asked one of their friends to watch you. They were going to dinner with friends, but you got sick. It was a miracle you weren’t with them. Their friend called me the night they died, and I came and picked you up. I knew it wasn’t safe for you to stay in Seattle with their new family. I couldn’t take you to my parents either because they’re too connected to the council. You would be noticed, so I called your godparents and drove you across the country to Pittsburgh. Jason had just gotten a job out there, and I figured you would be safe. It was far away, and they were norms. No one would think of looking for you there.”
I closed my eyes. This was too much. Too horrible. “Masie, I’m so sorry. I can’t believe you did all that.” And while grieving her sister and brother-in-law.
“I did what I had to do to keep you safe. Jason, Melissa, and I agreed that as long as you didn’t show any powers or shifter traits, we would treat you as a non-supe. While magic is passed down, there’s never a guarantee a child will have powers. We just prayed you wouldn’t.”
I understood now. I got why they hid my past from me. I didn’t know if I would have done anything differently if I was in their shoes.
“I’m truly so sorry that we kept you in the dark, but it was the safest plan we had.”
“I know.” I wanted to hug her and soak in her comfort. “You did your best in an impossible situation. I love my parents and my siblings. I’m grateful for the life you’ve all given me.”
She choked back a cry. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I’ve lived every day wondering if I did the right thing. If Amber and Peter would be disappointed in me.”
“No, Masie. I’ve had so much love and happiness in my life because of you and them. I might be behind the others here, but I’ll eventually get there. I’ll be safe here.”
“As long as you don’t tell anyone, Saige. You have to keep your past a secret.”
“I
know. I will.” There was no way of knowing if anyone was still looking for me, or if the council still wanted me dead. There were hybrid students here, so maybe things had changed, but it wasn’t a risk I wanted to take.
“Do you need anything? More clothes? Anything for your room?”
I debated asking for a new blanket or something to add color to my side of the dorm, but it could wait.
“I think I’m okay for now.”
There was a sound in the background, and I could hear her talking to someone. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll do better about replying to your messages and calling you. If you think of anything you need or want to know, just reach out.”
“Bye. I love you.”
“Love you too.” She hung up, and I pushed my phone into my pocket.
The game was still going, and I watched from my spot at the players and the students in the stands. Life was carrying on for them. Everything was normal. They didn’t just find out a huge missing piece of their history.
I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. After the whole adopting and witch announcement, not much could shock me, but finding out that my parents were murdered, and I should have been killed with them, was a lot to swallow.
And it was another thing I couldn’t talk to anyone else about. It wasn’t just a matter of trusting my new friends. This was huge. My safety could be in jeopardy if the council found out I was alive. If the wrong person overheard . . .
I couldn't think about what might happen.
And Robert’s warning about not knowing who or what might be around to listen played in my mind. I couldn’t risk it.
After composing myself and filing the new information away with all the other recent life-changing news, I headed back to find Hannah.
Nothing I learned was actionable. I couldn’t find the person responsible for my parents’ death. I couldn’t search out their friends to see if there were more survivors. I couldn’t ask too many suspicious questions.
There was only so much one person could do, especially while I was isolated in the middle of Montana. The most important thing was to do what I came here for. Learn. Master. Control.
Someday, I would get all the answers.
“Everything okay?” Hannah asked when I sat back down.
“Yeah, just my aunt checking in.”
She smiled and pointed to the scoreboard. “You missed Malik’s try.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I know you spoke words, but I have no idea what you said.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “A try is like a touchdown. He scored his team five points.”
“Oh. Good!” I tried to match her enthusiasm but fell short.
“The match is almost over. The guys will probably shower, then we can walk with them out to the shifters’ fields. Are you ready to see their animals?”
Up until now, I was. Or at least, I thought I was. But now that the time was here, I wasn’t so sure about seeing a tiger. A mountain lion and honey badger made me nervous even though I saw them once before. It had been so brief that it didn’t really sink in.
“I hope so.”
She laughed again, and the match ended. Our guys’ team won, and we cheered for them as they waved and ran off the field.
“Here we go.”
Chapter 18
Excited energy filled the air as we walked on the faded path through the edge of the forest, my coral Converse kicking up dirt. Daniel, Malik, and Sai pushed each other, laughed, then shoved back until we arrived in the open field twice the size of the rugby pitch.
The three of them sprinted to the far side and disappeared behind the trees.
“What are they doing?” I asked Hannah.
A few other people hung around, but I didn't see any animals. Were they shifters or just trying to avoid the rest of campus?
“Undressing. They aren’t generally worried about modesty—most shifters aren’t—but I told them not to get naked in front of you. At least not until you’ve had more time to adjust.”
I laughed. “Thanks for that.”
The last thing I wanted to see was my new friends in the nude. Even with my budding crush––or fixation—on Sai. It was just too weird for me to imagine ever being comfortable with that. I wasn’t sure I would ever get used to this particular part of their—our—world.
“Why don’t they have amulets that keep their clothes on?” Malik told me about that on my first day.
She shrugged. “It requires a really powerful spell, one I can’t do yet. It takes two or three witches. One of them has to be Fire, and another has to be Earth. Plus, they’re used to it. Most of the shifters have clothing stashed throughout campus, and as long as you replace it, they don't care if someone else borrows it. It’s like some unspoken shifter code.”
Huh. I guess with a concentrated population of shifters it wouldn’t be a big deal, but once they graduated and moved on it would probably become a necessity.
Interesting. The spell to allow vampires to walk in the sun seems a lot harder than keeping clothes on, and they learned that one as children. Seemed backward, but what did I know.
“There they are.” Hannah pointed toward where the guys had gone, and in their place stood a tiger, mountain lion, and honey badger. All standing in a line staring back at us.
“Holy shit,” I breathed out, and I swear the tiger chuffed, making me scoff. “Did Sai just laugh at me?”
He stepped forward, lowering his head down then up again.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
Hannah burst out laughing. “Come on.”
She tugged me forward, and they met us in the middle of the field. Even though I knew these were my friends, I couldn’t overcome my instincts to be afraid. Wild animals that could easily hurt or even kill me were circling me. I fought to remain calm and pretend like I wasn’t completely freaking out inside.
They stayed a few yards away for a minute or two, just watching us watch them. Hannah was talking to them, but I was too focused on tracking the predators’ movements to listen. This was real. My human-looking friends were now animals. How did it work? Were they still them, or did their animal side take over? Were they thinking and feeling like they normally would?
Daniel stepped closer and sniffed me. I glared down at him. “That was rude.”
Hannah hadn’t stopped giggling the entire time. “He’s getting your scent. He’ll be able to recognize and find you now.”
I cringed. I didn’t like the sound of that.
“It makes playing hide and seek in the woods a bit more challenging for us.” She smirked. “He’s a cheater.”
She was looking down at his animal form with so much love and admiration. How could he not know how she felt?
The honey badger came closer to me, and I realized how dumb I’d been to think he was a skunk. He was bigger and the white fur created a little funny line on his head. I couldn’t help the giggle that escaped at the hairstyle.
His eyes met mine, and I could see the question in them. He wanted to know why I was laughing at him.
“It looks like you have a bowl cut.”
Hannah doubled over. “Oh. It does. It totally does!”
Malik turned and hit me with his tail, and I composed myself. “I mean, you’re a very handsome honey badger.”
He walked off, and Sai took his place, rubbing his long body against my leg. I hesitated, nervous again, but he turned his head and his eyes met mine. This wasn’t just a wild cat. This was Sai. I could sense him in there.
“You’re beautiful,” I whispered and slowly reached down to touch his fur. A low purr came from him as I worked my way up his body and rubbed behind his ears.
“You found his spot!” Hannah grinned as the purrs got louder.
Sai lifted his head and licked my cheek.
“Ah.” I almost fell to the side but caught myself. He was so strong and powerful. I could feel it in the way he moved. “Nice kitty.”
He looked at me and chuffed again, m
aking me laugh.
Daniel leaned against Hannah while she rubbed under his chin, making low guttural sounds of approval. We were spoiling them.
Malik made a noise from where he’d wandered off, and Sai and Daniel both reacted at the same time, charging toward him.
I gasped, expecting them to run into him, but he took off in another direction. They had to turn to catch up.
“What are they doing?”
Hannah stepped next to me. “Just wait.”
I held my breath as Daniel pounced from several feet behind Malik and his lithe, graceful form took to the air before they tumbled on the ground like a ball of limbs. That had to hurt one of them, but Malik snuck out from under his friend and took off running. He was faster than I expected but no match for Sai who seemed to be teasing him. He zig-zagged behind Malik, so every time he glanced back, Sai was out of his line of sight. Hannah laughed and pointed at them.
“They love messing with Malik. He acts so tough, and he can be terrifying when he needs to be, but Sai is built for speed and longer distances than him. Honey badgers aren’t really supposed to run all that much.”
I needed to do some research about the guys’ animals. I wanted to know everything about them. Their strengths, weaknesses, and habits. Then I could compare them to how the guys acted. I couldn’t wait to ask questions.
“When they’re in this form, do animal instincts take over, or are they in control?” I figured Hannah would know the basics.
“They’re always in control and aware, but there are instincts that they don’t try to suppress, like Daniel smelling you and Sai rubbing on you. Neither of them would do that normally, but in these forms, it’s natural.”
I nodded, glad they wouldn’t suddenly slip into wild animals.
“They’re one with their animal forms if that makes sense. It’s still them. There isn’t a tiger’s soul living in that body too.”
That was at the root of most of my questions.
“It’s fascinating.” All the werewolf movies and books had it wrong. Well, some of them were closer to the truth. They weren’t forced to shift based on the moon or a curse. They could change at will, and they weren’t at the mercy of their animal. It was just another side of them.
