Academy of Shifters: Werewolves 101

by Marisa Claire

  I wrinkled my nose. “Um, no. I was thinking more like allies. In the war against… whatever it is that’s happening here.”

  He nodded slowly. “A crime-fighting duo. I like it.”

  “Exactly.” I smiled and tweaked his lapel. “You’re a born sidekick.”

  His eyes darted to my hand. I started to pull it back, and then hesitated. I knew I shouldn’t ask what I was about to ask—he was practically engaged—but I also thought Victoria would understand why I needed to. I had to record over the sensory memories of Daniel Helms’ hands.

  I chewed on my lip. “It’s pretty messed up that the only people we danced with tonight were our pervy teachers.”

  He chuckled, soft and low. “Yeah.” And now he bit his lip. “You want to fix that?”

  I nodded, my throat suddenly tight as my hand came to rest on his shoulder. He rested one hand lightly on my waist and lifted our other hands into the air, and our feet began to move in a halting waltz to the silence of the Great Hall.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, hoping he understood that this wasn’t me putting the moves on him.

  He shrugged. “What’s one waltz between a hero and her sidekick?”

  “Ow! Watch it!” I yanked my bare toes out from under his shoe. “I thought cats were supposed to be graceful?”

  He shook his head, biting the corner of his lip. “Nah, that was all you. Typical canine. Always getting underfoot.”

  My forehead fell forward, and I let out another embarrassing laugh, that kind where you make a farting sound with your lips and accidentally get spittle on your date’s lapel, but you’re both too tired to really care.

  Um, Remi? He’s not your date, remember?

  I lifted my head and inched back, putting a more appropriate amount of space between our hips.

  The mischievous smile faded from his mouth, and he cleared his throat. “I was actually asking what we should tell Victoria about the dean’s list.”

  I turned my face away from his, taking in the creepy, abandoned remains of the Halloween masquerade—the buffet tables lined with stale desserts and cold hors d’oeuvres, the spiderweb-style streamers hanging from the balconies, the giant bats soaring on either side of the chandelier. Half of this I hadn’t even noticed before. All I’d been able to think about was whether Professor Helms was going to notice me.

  I shivered all the way down to my core.

  “The truth about that, too,” I said firmly. “If someone’s out to hurt her, then she has to know.”

  Laith nodded. His hand gave mine a little squeeze.

  And that was when it hit me.

  No prickles.

  My eyes darted from our clasped fingers to my hand clutching his shoulder to his hand gently holding my waist. And I guess I must have forgotten not to gasp out loud.

  “Whatever it was,” Laith said slowly, “I think it ended when we kissed.”

  There was no use denying it then. He had felt the prickles too.

  Or something.

  I forced a nonchalant laugh. “We must have scared it away.”

  He gave me a rueful smile. “Should make life a lot easier, huh?”

  I stared down at his shoes, which had finally stopped landing on my toes. “How long—?”

  “Since the first time we shook hands.”

  I snorted. “Is that why you’re such a grouch?”

  “Don’t flatter yourself, Poodle. My piss-poor attitude pre-dates you by at least eighteen years.” He laughed, but it turned into a loud yawn.

  His hand fell from my waist, and he twirled me one more time before taking a long step backwards, still holding onto my hand. He squeezed it once, and then his fingers loosened. I let it drop back to my side.

  “I don’t know about you, St. James, but I could sleep for the next twenty-four hours.”

  My eyelids sagged, but I couldn’t resist one more shot. “Isn’t that about average for someone like you?”

  Laith groaned and spun away from me on his heel. “Enough with the cat jabs! You’re on your own now.” He stalked a few paces away and then swung back around, his eyes heavy but concerned. “You okay with being alone now?” He came closer, pointing at the couches along the wall. “Because if you’re not, we can sit right there ‘til the sun comes up.”

  His words made my heart flutter, but the thought of the couches made my skin crawl with memories of Helms. I wanted the night to end as far away from anything that reminded me of that monster as possible.

  Laith’s brow creased. “Now what?”

  I followed his gaze. A small pair of headlights was bouncing up the driveway. They came around the loop and disappeared in front of the building.

  “Who could that be?”

  “Oh. Duh,” he said, smacking himself on the forehead.

  He jogged back over to the entrance, just as the double doors swung open again. Victoria came in, carrying a rumpled overnight bag, followed by the pale, lanky, bespectacled bear-guy that Xander and Kanze had dubbed Creepy Crayon—aka none other than Jake Powell. He carried a bag like Victoria’s in one hand, and dragged an enormous rolling suitcase behind him with the other.

  A third figure appeared, this one short and round, her arms laden with cardboard boxes that hid her entire head, except for a shock of electric blue hair. She tottered through the door and Jake shut it behind her.

  Victoria’s face lit up when she saw me and Laith—mostly Laith, obviously.

  “Hey, babe,” she said through a yawn. “You waited up for me.”

  They kissed each other on the edges of their mouths and shared a quick hug.

  “How was the Halloween party?”

  Laith glanced at me and laughed uneasily. “Oh, it was a night to remember.”

  Victoria squinted at him. “Sounds like I need to hear about it. Just let me get the new girl settled…” She leaned in and whispered, “Late bloomer.”

  The new girl wiggled her fingers in greeting around the edge of a box.

  “I can help her,” I blurted, excited for the chance to be as unlike Winter Davenport as humanly possible. “You and Laith go ahead and catch up.”

  “Perfect.” Victoria beamed at me. “She’s going to be in 2J. It should be unlocked.”

  I walked over to Jake and the new girl, reaching for the rolling suitcase. Jake pushed it toward me, and as soon as my fingers closed around the handle, he was stumbling toward the guy’s stairwell.

  “Goodnight, Jake!” Victoria called. “Thank you for your help.”

  He waved a hand over his shoulder and disappeared.

  “That dude is so weird,” Victoria muttered. She looped her arm through Laith’s. “Now, tell me about this night to remember before I forget to stay awake.”

  I turned toward the new girl, tugging her—wow, incredibly heavy—suitcase. “Hi, I’m Remi, do you need me to carry—”

  The cardboard boxes slammed to the floor with an echoing thud. The blue-haired girl standing over them clasped both hands over her lower face, stifling the high-pitched shriek emanating from her mouth. The suitcase handle slipped out of my hand and another loud thud filled the room.

  No. Freaking. Way.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  I woke up to soft yet insistent knocking on my door.

  Rolling away from the sound, I came face to face with two dozen bars of bright light blasting through my blinds. I tugged my pillow over my head, solving both problems at once. Or so I’d hoped. But the knocking only grew louder.

  So help me, if that’s Hickoree…

  Growling, I tossed my pillow aside and threw the covers off. I snuggled into my fluffy white robe, which was kind of like wearing my bed wrapped around me like a burrito, and so took some of the sting out of waking up. I quickly lashed the belt around my waist and checked the lapels to make sure everything was tucked in properly. No need to start the day with a private peep show for whoever had dared to disturb my slumber.

  My money remained on it being Hickoree, that improbable come-from-
behind winner of last night’s bizarre Halloween plot twist contest. She had still been talking a mile a minute when I finally had to excuse myself—and by excuse myself, I mean I shouted “Goodnight, can’t wait to hear more tomorrow!” and literally ran out the door. But I stayed long enough to learn that Hickoree had hated Keller Parks because her creative writing professor would only let her write about her truth and not magic, and she had given him quite a surprise. Victoria and Jake had to do a little memory re-adjusting on that poor guy—all shifters are basically Manips when it comes to non-shifters.

  Which makes us all creepy as hell actually.

  But I didn’t tell that to Hickoree. I didn’t tell her any of the many unflattering things I’d learned about Gladwell Academy last night. Hickoree was going to be the most enthusiastic student in their thirty-year history, so I didn’t see much immediate danger for her of making the dean’s list.

  Whatever that even means.

  But when I opened the door a crack to tell her to please let me go back to sleep, it wasn’t Hickoree’s overeager face waiting for me. It was Victoria, two steaming to-go cups of coffee, and one paper sack that I didn’t need the scent-sight to know was full of bacon, egg, and cheese croissants.

  Victoria smiled way too big. “I come bearing gifts!”

  I swung the door open all the way and Victoria slipped past me, setting her gifts on my tiny dining table. As soon as the door clicked shut, she threw her arms around my neck.

  “Remi, I am so sorry! Laith told me everything. I just can’t believe it.” She pushed me out to arms-length, but still clung to my shoulders. Then her eyes widened in horror. “I mean, I do believe it! Of course I believe it! I just meant—”

  “Victoria, relax,” I said, taking her by the shoulders too. “I get it. I can’t really believe it either.”

  She let go of me abruptly and turned toward the table. “Do you want to sit down?”

  I chuckled. “I think that’s supposed to be my line, but sure.”

  We dropped into the seats and Victoria unpacked the croissants while I took a life-giving gulp of hot coffee. Sitting at the table felt weird. I normally just flopped down on the couch to shovel food into my mouth if I wasn’t just eating in the cafeteria with the nerds.

  Oh, crap. There’s another weird thing from last night I’ll have to deal with today.

  Victoria handed me one of the croissants wrapped in crinkly butcher’s paper, and I sank my teeth into the melty, crunchy, flaky goodness. “Mmmph. This is everything I needed. You are an angel, Victoria.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Victoria’s eyes tightened and she looked down at her own croissant. Instead of stuffing it in her mouth like a normal person—meaning me—she tore off a tiny piece to nibble on.

  I swallowed my bite and took another swig of coffee to steel my nerves. “So… Laith told you everything?”

  She sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I’m kind of reeling. I don’t know what to think anymore.”

  I cringed. “I understand, but listen, you have to believe me, it didn’t mean anything. I didn’t know how else to cover up the mess he’d made, and so I just said it, and he did it, and, honestly, it was awful, I swear. I’m glad I’ll never have to do it again!”

  Victoria tilted her head and squinted at me with… amusement? Was that right?

  “Remi, I’m talking about finding out that my name is on a list of students to be turned over to some sort of secret society. Are you talking about the kiss?”

  Heat flamed over my face. I stuffed the rest of the croissant into my big mouth so I’d be stuck chewing for the next thirty years until Victoria and Laith were happily married and living in some big fancy house in Dallas or something.

  Come to think of it, where do shifters live?

  Victoria laughed. “Have you been worrying about this all night?”

  I nodded, my cheeks bulging like a guilty chipmunk.

  “Remi…” Victoria sighed. “Okay. I guess we can do this part first.”

  I kept chewing.

  Victoria took another dainty bite and a sip of coffee. Then she just stared at her croissant for a long time, making several false starts at speaking.

  I kept chewing. Wow. I might die eating this thing.

  Victoria took a deep breath through her nostrils and placed both palms on the table as she slowly exhaled through her mouth. “I haven’t been honest with you, Remi. I didn’t think of it that way because I’ve been lying to everyone every day for so long, but when you asked me in the woods if Laith and I were serious, and I let you think we were, like, getting married someday or something…” She winced and shook her head. “That was too far. And I see now that it may have been really unfair to you. And to Laith.”

  I swallowed with an audible gulp, leaving my mouth too dry to speak. But whatever was coming next, she apparently needed me to ask, because she had grown quiet, staring once again into the seemingly infinite mystery that was her breakfast, or lunch, or whatever this was. What time is it anyway?

  “I don’t understand?” I finally croaked, reaching for my coffee.

  Victoria stood up and paced my tiny kitchenette, stepping over my lifeless ball gown again and again until I finally stuck my foot out and snagged it out of her way. She locked her fingers behind her head and did the breathing exercise again.

  “Victoria?”

  “Laith isn’t my boyfriend,” she blurted, but at my fridge instead of me. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I don’t want a boyfriend. And I should never have asked Laith to help me keep that a secret. Or I should have let him stop when…”

  When what?!

  My heart beat wildly against my ribs. My skin prickled—shift prickled, and for the first time in two months, I felt that dizzy, blood-rushing thing obscuring all the logical thoughts in my brain. I gripped the edges of the table and slammed on the brakes.

  This is not about you, Remi.

  “Victoria…” I stood up and touched her closest arm, which was now folded tightly across her chest. She was shaking.

  “I understand if you hate me,” she said quietly. “I see now that I may have been causing you unnecessary pain.”

  “What?” I squeaked. “No. I don’t know what you mean.”

  She gave me some serious side-eye shade. “You haven’t acquired a taste?”

  “No! No way! Laith? Me? Never! He’s such a jerk!” I backed away, shaking my head.

  “Okay.” She shrugged. “If you say so. But he… well, never mind.”

  He what?!

  Victoria turned toward me. “I’m sorry, Remi. Even if I’ve totally misread the way you blush every time he walks by. You still shouldn’t have had to spend any time last night worrying what I was going to think about some crazy hot kiss you two shared on top of Dean Mardone’s desk.”

  “Crazy hot?” I yelped. “I didn’t say anything about it being crazy hot.”

  “No.” She lifted her eyebrows. “You didn’t.”

  I slumped back into my chair, mind reeling. Apparently, that mortifying moan of his was real. I didn’t even know what to think about that. The last twenty-four hours had been… a lot.

  Without a thought, I reached over and grabbed Victoria’s croissant and began chomping ravenously away.

  Victoria laughed and nudged my shoulder. “Now you’re stealing my breakfast, too?”

  I dropped the croissant in horror. “Why am I such a terrible person?”

  “It’s fine. You deserve all the croissants, Remi.”

  Spoken like the truest of friends.

  Victoria sat back down. “And anything else you might be craving either.” She lifted her hands defensively. “Just saying!”

  I guzzled down the last of my coffee and set the empty cup down. It fell over.

  “You want my coffee, too?” Victoria pushed it toward me.

  “No!”

  That was a lie. I totally did.

  Victoria leaned across the table and touched my hand. Then she yanked it away, as if he
r revelation had put some sort of glass wall between us. I reached over and grabbed her hand.

  “Hey. You don’t have to be afraid. I’m not going to assume you want to join my reverse harem or anything.” I narrowed my eyes playfully. “Unless you do?”

  She squealed and buried her face in her hands. “No! I mean, no offense. But I…” She bit her lip shyly. “You remember when I said I missed the food in Texas?”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Uh-huh?”

  She blushed. “I miss the person who makes the food.”

  I grinned. “And I’m guessing that’s not your mom?”

  She shook her head. I could see she was biting back a grin.

  “That’s really great, Victoria. I’m so happy for you.”

  And for me…

  I mean, what? No. Cut that out. Laith Brighton is still… a long way from being boyfriend material. A very long way. Remember the poor elk?! And then there’s the whole thing where he can manipulate brains, just like the guy who manipulated your brain. Even if he can’t, even if he wouldn’t do that… it’s still in him. That’s a lot to process.

  “But I’m going to need you to see through what you started,” Victoria said, cutting off my rambling inner monologue, suddenly all business-like.

  I cocked my head. “What do you mean?”

  She lifted one eyebrow. “You kissed Laith to explain away his mess and draw Mardone’s attention away from me, right?”

  “Right,” I said slowly.

  “Well, then, it’s time for us to switch places. Or else what was the point?”

  “I don’t think I’m following…”

  She sighed. “Listen, I am not the least bit afraid of Lenore Mardone. She’s the lowest-ranking Dean, only got promoted from Professor two years ago. As a mountain lion, her opinions hardly even matter to the others. They’re just required by the Board to have a fully representational staff.”

  “Wait, I thought they were the Board. The Gladwells and the three Deans.”

  “Definitely not.” Victoria laughed, and even though she didn’t mean it cruelly, it made me feel very young and naive.

  How should I know how school administrations work?