by Kat Cotton
But I couldn’t. For some stupid reason, Ren’s opinion of me mattered.
“Hey, I don’t hurt animals, okay. I use cruelty-free shampoo even though it’s expensive...”
He walked to the door, ignoring me.
“...and those extra dollars make a world of difference to paupers like me.”
He slammed the door.
Jerk.
Double jerk.
I changed into my sweats and went downstairs, marching into the boys’ dorm. Luckily, Lucas sprawled on his bed, reading. He loved shifter romance way too much.
“Get up,” I said. “We need to train.”
“Training doesn’t start for another hour.”
“We’re starting early.”
“Okay, okay.” Lucas stood up and stretched. “I applaud your enthusiasm but...”
“But I need to punch things. Now. I’ll meet you in the scholarship room.”
I got things set up while I waited. We only had the basics in our training room. The school gym had the best equipment but, on a Sunday afternoon, it’d be crowded. And me going into angry training mode to work off my frustration would definitely not keep me off the radar.
I put down training mats and when Lucas walked in, I threw the boxing pads at him.
“Let’s train.”
I loved the thwomp of my fists and feet hitting that pad. Every kick and every punch drove the thoughts further out of my brain. I became just body parts slamming into the pads.
Five minutes later, Lucas wanted to quit.
“I know you’ve been working out lately but what’s got into you today?”
I shrugged. “Nothing.”
“A Ren Worthington shaped nothing, I bet.”
I heard a giggle behind me and spun around. Britney stood in the doorway.
“Is this a private session or can anyone join in?”
“Join away, and give me a break.” Lucas throw off the pads. “Cherry has a ton of frustration in her today.”
Britney put on the pads. At first, I went easy on her. A tiny girl like her would be knocked into the wall if I kicked at full strength. But, heck, she moved like quicksilver. I’d aim a kick at her and, before my foot connected, she’d be behind me and I’d go stumbling to the mats.
I moved faster and faster, trying to keep pace. Every kick or punch that landed on the pads felt like a victory. I wouldn’t give up. I had to push myself harder and faster. I would not lose.
We only stopped when Mr. Norton clapped his hands. Then I turned to see everyone else had arrived.
“Phoar, that was hot,” Mark said. “We need more chick fights around here.”
Britney and I both spun simultaneously, giving him death stares.
“I mean that in a totally respectful, non-creepy way.”
Whoa, we’d made the war demon back down. We high-fived.
“I don’t want to ruin all the female bonding going on here but we’re working on less physical stuff.” Mr. Norton put the pads away in the cupboard. “Time for a history lesson.”
We all groaned. History lessons, that is history of the paranormal at Edgewater, sucked balls.
ON WEDNESDAYS WE HAD our midweek math test.
The math teacher returned Ren’s test paper with a smile. “Well done. That’s a drastic improvement.”
I rested my head on the desk to hide my smile. Ren might hate me but I glowed to know I’d achieved something.
Ren didn’t look at me, didn’t acknowledge my help, but even if he wanted to talk to me in class, it’d be the worst possible thing I could do. I slid my own test paper into my bag. I’d scored a decent mark even though I’d slacked off on my own studying.
That night I settled into my amazing bed, bone weary from training.
I reached that good part of almost-sleep, thinking about that awesome parfait again. Maybe this weekend I could take Britney. I’d have my first payment from Mr. Worthington by then and, even though it’d be a huge dent in my money, I owed her.
A weird scratching jolted me out of sleep. The moon shone through my window, bright enough for me to see my room. I never had problems seeing at night. I had the night vision of a cat but I liked the moonlight.
My room looked empty but the scratching continued.
I couldn’t place the noise. Why the hell didn’t they have Lucas doing this? He had super werewolf hearing.
I moved to the wall. That noise was most definitely coming from Ren’s room. A horrible, spine-shuttering scratch.
I couldn’t just burst in there. He might be going to the bathroom or getting a glass of water and I’d look like an idiot. But if he got attacked and I hadn’t done a thing about it, I’d be dead. I could hide in the shadows from intruders but not from Ren.
I grabbed the swipe card and tried to steady my breathing. Sneak into his room at night was the thing I’d feared most about this job.
I tiptoed down the hallway, not sure if that helped. If it was vampires, they’d know I was coming. They’d sense my heartbeat.
Before easing Ren’s door open, I turned off all the hallway lights. I didn’t want to be seen slipping in there.
I peered around the room. Something definitely lurked.
Slipping into the shadows, I hoped to avoid their attention.
The shape hovered at the end of Ren’s bed. Not moving, just lurking. What the hell was it? Not a vampire, that much was clear. No smell of blood or rotting meat or other vampire smells. The creature hadn’t sensed me which seemed unusual for any kind of paranormal creature with superior senses.
I moved closer. Even if I couldn’t be seen, most creatures would react to my smell or my warmth or my heartbeat. But that creature didn’t move. I wondered if they were faking it, luring me closer.
Then they twitched and made a noise like they were suppressing a cough. That noise sounded definitely human. A human threat I could deal with.
Then it struck me. Succubus. I knew nothing about succubi. Lucas would know. Again, I wondered why they had me doing this, not Lucas.
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a succubus. Waves of lust floated from that creature, thick enough to slice.
Did I want to be here for this? If the succubus started doing succubussy things, I didn’t want to see it. My contract said to protect Ren’s life, not his life force. After all, he was a teenage boy. He wasn’t likely to pass up on string-free sexual favors even if they were of the non-human kind.
There’d been no guidelines around sucubussing.
How did you even stop succubi? Would I have to physically intervene? Yikes, this might get too personal for me. There could be nudity and bodily fluids involved.
The creature shuffled again. If I woke Ren, he’d be safe but I’d have to reveal myself. I moved closer. I could smell that succubus now.
A strong, cloying perfume.
That perfume.
I shook my head. The creature was no succubus. Angela Blackstone sat on Ren’s bed.
Chapter 13
I gasped. Angela turned but she couldn’t see me. That didn’t matter when I tripped over the leg of Ren’s computer chair, sending it hurtling. The edge of the chair slammed the desk, knocking down books from the shelf. I crawled deeper into the shadows.
“What the...” Ren sat up, scratching his head. He blinked a few times then stared at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry.” Angela jumped off his bed.
Ren switched on the bed light and, oh my, that was some skimpy sleepwear Angela had on.
“Why are you in my room? Why are you both in my room?” He rubbed his eyes.
“Both? Huh?”
“You.” Ren’s gaze turned to me. I’d curled up in the shadows under his desk. “And her.”
Angela followed his gaze then stared blankly.
“Baby, are you having a nightmare? There’s only me here. But don’t worry, I’ll comfort you.” She threw herself onto the bed beside him.
Oh heck, I did not want to be i
n the room for this. I so did not want to be.
“I’m not having a nightmare and I don’t need you to comfort me.” He jumped up, leaving her alone on the bed. “Let’s start with why you’re in my room.”
“I thought I’d surprise you.” Angela shuffled over on the bed, making herself comfortable.
“I don’t like surprises.”
“Well, since I’m here anyway, we might as well make the most of it.”
“How did you get in my room?”
Angela pouted. “That’s my secret.”
Ren picked up his phone. “I’m calling security unless you’re out of here in thirty seconds. You know the rules. They have to make an official report if you’re found in a guy’s room after hours. And that report gets sent to your parents.”
Angela jumped off the bed. “So what? You think my parents are against this?”
She moved closer to Ren but he backed away, coming closer and closer to the desk. Blocking me in.
“Your father got you the swipe card to my room?” That cold edge returned to Ren’s voice.
Angela didn’t answer but her giggle said it all. Wow, it was really unethical for her father to give out Ren’s card like that. So much for Principal Murphy’s faith in the Blackstone family.
She moved closer to him until all I could see were Ren’s legs and Angela’s legs. Angela’s foot twisted around the ankle of her other foot. I’d never noticed what weird feet she had before.
“Angela, I’ve told you this before. I’m not interested in you. I will never be interested in you. You and I are not going to happen. Do you understand?”
Angela sighed and moved away. “Are you gay? Because I’m okay with that.”
“Huh?”
“You think your father is going to accept a gay son? You need to have a cover, you need to be seen with a girl, and hey, I’m a girl. Babe, I’m also open to possibilities if you want to team up.”
Ren pushed her away. “I’m not gay. And I’m not your boyfriend.”
“Well, what are you then?”
I thought Ren would get mad but he laughed. “Your thirty seconds are up.”
His phone beeped as the number rang.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I am. So, go. Now. Scat, and next time you try to get in, you’ll get a nasty surprise. Maybe you should try chasing after Oscar or Blake instead.”
Angela slammed the door as she walked out. She obviously didn’t care about waking everyone else up.
“Well, that was odd,” I said, getting out from under the desk.
“Now you can explain why you’re here.” Ren folded his arms.
“I was going to the study room to get some snacks and I heard a strange noise.” I marveled at my ability to improvise. “Your door was open.”
He frowned as though he wasn’t sure whether to believe me or not.
“The study room is locked up at night.”
“Really.” I hoped my shocked surprise fooled him. “I was on my way there so I didn’t know. That’s mighty unfriendly of them. Well, I should go let you sleep.”
Before I could leave, he blocked.
“She couldn’t see you.”
“She probably has poor night vision. She should eat more carrots.”
“It’s good enough to let her watch me in my sleep.”
“You know, that’s really creepy. Maybe add some extra security to your room. From a different company. It’s probably not the first time she’s been in here, either. I mean she looked like she knew her way around.”
I tried leaving again but he didn’t move.
“You haven’t explained.”
“Explained what? She didn’t see me. Maybe she was too busy making heart eyes at you to notice or care. I don’t know. Maybe ask her that.” I really hoped he didn’t do that. “Now I’m really tired, so I’m leaving.”
“Thanks,” he said in a voice so low I barely heard him.
“Huh?”
He let go of my arm and turned from me. “For trying to save me. Even if it was a half-assed attempt and didn’t really do much good, at least you tried.”
What was with this guy? Couldn’t he just be constantly bad so I could hate him? The best thing to do would be leave. Who’d have thought it was just Angela making that scratching sound. Wait... yep, it’d been a definitely scratching and scraping. Would she make a noise like that if she just wanted to watch him sleep?
I walked to the window and opened the blind.
“What are you doing?” Ren asked. “Weirdo.”
I reeled back. That noise hadn’t been Angela. Scratch marks covered the glass and pieces had been gorged from the window sill, not just from the wood but the stone around it. Whoever had done that, couldn’t have been human. Our rooms were on the top floor and it was sheer drop to the ground.
Something had been after Ren, something maybe even more dangerous than Angela Blackstone.
Chapter 14
I figured Mr. Norton would want to know about this as soon as possible so I headed to his office before breakfast.
I filled him on what had happened. Both about Angela and the scratches.
“It’s probably best if you don’t tell the others about Angela.” He ran his hand though his hair.
“Why not? She’s the creepy stalker. And she’d have no problem telling if it was someone else.”
“Does that mean you want to put yourself on the same level as her?”
Damn. I couldn’t argue with that but moral high ground really sucked.
“Okay, but in return, I want all my black marks removed.” I folded my arms. “Back to ground zero.”
Mr. Norton nodded. Yes. I finally had a clean record. Then I remembered something else.
“Ren has powers. He has to. Otherwise how can he see me?”
“That’s something you don’t need to worry about. I wouldn’t mention it to anyone either.”
I shrugged. “I guess. But his dad surely knows about them. He knows about me anyway. He knows about people like us.”
“Maybe not, but people can be funny about that kind of thing. It’s very complicated. Those old money families have strange relationships with paranormals going back centuries. There might be some paranormal blood in the family but it may not be strong, not strong enough to talk about.”
“Like me?”
“Not like you. You have undeveloped powers. They’re there, but they’re blocked. With Ren, who knows? It’s not as though his father would ever get him tested.”
“I think you’re missing one of the most important parts,” I said. “The scratch marks.”
“I hadn’t forgotten. Now I think you need to get to class. I know I do.”
Arrghh, I hated it when he kept things all vague like that. He definitely had been thinking something about my powers and he definitely knew more about Ren than he said. There’s no way he’d tell me before he was good and ready, though.
When I got to class, people whispered around me. I’d gotten used to that. Of course everyone gossiped. The poorest girl in the school suddenly moving to the elite floor. I’d ignored all the questions but this wasn’t keeping me under any radar. I’d have been able to win the radar high jump the past few days.
Then I realised it wasn’t my name they were saying. “Angela Blackstone” more like it. Surely they didn’t know about her being in Ren’s room.
“Do you know anything?” Eri whispered to me. She loved gossip. “You’re up there amongst them now.”
“I’m not exactly friends with Angela. Why?” Hopefully the mix of surprise and curiosity I tried to show worked.
“She’s been suspended. No one knows why.”
Yeah, I did but I wouldn’t mention that to Eri.
“How long for?” Not having Angela to worry about would be one less thing off my plate.
“Two weeks. Apparently, she was laughing about it. Said her parents would taking her to Europe on a skiing holiday instead of being in boring school.”
/> Wow, nice to be some people.
“The worst thing is that she won’t be here to organize the dance.” Eri sighed. “Even if she is a bitch, no one organizes things like she does.”
That was the least of my worries. School social events weren’t on my agenda. I’d do practically anything to avoid them.
I got through the day without too many people “accidentally” stomping on my feet or smashing into me. Since I’d moved upstairs, it seemed people suddenly became mighty clumsy around me.
After class, I had to tutor Ren.
I wasn’t sure if I should mention the Angela incident or not. I didn’t want to remind him I’d also been in his room last night so I kept my mouth shut. He didn’t bring it up either.
“Why were you checking my window last night?” he asked as we packed up.
Why was he asking me that? He must’ve seen the scratches. I’d noticed them in the moonlight and he had the light of day to check them out. That only meant one thing. Those gouges had somehow been fixed. But they’d scored into the stone work. That was no easy fix.
“Just wanted to check Angela hasn’t set up any kind of monitoring system. But it was dark. Did you see anything?”
“Nothing.”
I shrugged and smiled as I left the study room but it made me wonder if Mr. Norton had known about things before I told him.
After that, I had a busy night. Training, more training, and study.
I’d just settled down to sleep when my watch beeped. Another bollocky drill. Surely Mr. Norton could think about our education and our need to sleep instead of sending us running through the forest all the time. I was half tempted to ignore it. So, I’d miss a drill, what would they do about it? I’d get a lecture and then I’d say I was sorry.
I’d get black marks. I’d get all the black marks. I couldn’t ignore that drill no matter what. And there had been something outside Ren’s window.
Chapter 15
Light flashed through the trees. Luminescent green and blue.
“Tarragon’s attacking. This should soon be over,” Lucas said.
I shivered, hoping he was right. A fierce wind whipped around us, freezing me to the bone. I wrapped my arms around myself, burying my hands in my armpits to keep them warm. Then I huddled in the shelter of a tree, using it for a wind break.
