Monster Awakened: Blood Moon Academy Book 2

by Demi Dumond

  “Oh, it’s not your work habits I’m unhappy with, girl. It’s your attitude. And forbidden magic?” He scrunched up his nose. “Right here on school grounds. In front of everyone. What were you thinking?”

  “The student body was in big trouble tonight, sir. Or hadn’t you heard? About the dragon?”

  “I know what’s going on at my own academy,” he snapped.

  “Did you know that the double doors to the courtyard were locked? From the inside?”

  The headmaster’s expression changed. “What are you saying?”

  “Well, there was a professor there. Professor Smythe. He pushed all the students out, locked the door, and then disappeared. In fact, not a single teacher exited with a fire alarm. Is that standard procedure?” I asked.

  “Hold on,” he said, taking out his monocle and setting it on the desk. “What are you saying? That a teacher locked all of the students outside on purpose?”

  “If the shoe fits.”

  “Well, did you see this particular teacher lock the door?”

  “Of course I didn’t. The place was pandemonium, there was a fire drill. In the dark.”

  “So, you’re accusing a teacher of putting students in harm’s way with no proof at all.”

  I sat silently.

  “How is it you even know about forbidden magic?” he asked, leaning forward. “Who told you that it even existed?”

  Uh-oh. I remembered Kiln’s secrecy spell. There was no way I was going to rat her out in front of everybody. Especially after she was the one who let us all back into the building. Of course, that was after I took out the dragon, but still.

  The headmaster saw me hesitate and his face turned into a scowl. I’d better say something. “Oh, you know me,” I said. “I don’t need other people’s help to get in trouble. And technically, I sort of saved the entire student body by taking out the monster in the forest. You should be telling me great job, Keira, you’re a hero.”

  And I certainly couldn’t tell him that I wanted to try to turn the dragon back into a student, or whatever it had been before, by using forbidden magic. Why add him to the list of people who also though it was a terrible idea?

  “I should be thanking you?” he asked.

  I nodded hopefully.

  “Well, I’m not,” he growled.

  “Yeah, I got that,” I muttered.

  “Look, Keira. I’ve had about enough of this nonsense. The next time you do forbidden magic, you’ll go to the dungeon for the rest of the semester. I’ll not have you encouraging students onto the wrong path.”

  My blood ran cold when I thought of the dark, horrible dungeon where Ian had nearly died. How could he treat students this way?

  “I thought I was going to get thrown into the dungeon if any other students got hurt because of the stupid prophecy I have nothing to do with. That’s the only reason I did forbidden magic in the first place. If that dragon eats a student, you made it very clear you’d blame me.”

  “This is exactly the point, my dear. You’ve been nothing but trouble since you set foot on this campus. I stood up for you and gave you a chance. A lot of good it did me. So, any more shenanigans out of you will result in incarceration.” He replaced the monocle and stared at me. “Are we clear?”

  “Yes.”

  11

  Keira

  “So much for my thank you,” I muttered, leaving his office and walking briskly down the hallway to get back to the student area of the Academy.

  “I’ll do it myself: Thank you, Keira, for saving all of the students from a rampaging dragon that already has a body count.”

  “Oh, you’re welcome,” I answered myself. “Really, it was nothing. Well, it was a lot. And it was fucking terrifying. And I probably pissed off the creature I really want to help, and I haven’t heard from him since in my head. But sure, at least the students are safe.” It was funny that I was the only one who was ever worried about the students. Well, funny odd, not funny ha-ha.

  Help me. I stopped walking. It was the dragon’s voice inside my head again. He was okay, for now, but it sounded like he needed my help. I dropped to my knees with the sheer emotion of it.

  The voice was back. And it was stronger and clearer than it was before. On one hand, I was relieved that he was okay. On the other hand, it felt like he was in trouble. And it was probably my fault.

  I sat in the hallway, lost in thought for a while. At some point, I was going to have to figure out what to do about everything. The headmaster’s threats, the dragon, the forbidden magic, all of it. Right now, the whole situation was just overwhelming.

  I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up. It was Rafe. He was the last person I expected to be hanging out in between the administration hallway and the dorms.

  He smiled at me and held a massive hand out to me to help me up. “Keira, are you okay?”

  I accepted his help. And wondered how he could smile at me like that after getting shot for coming to my defense not too long ago, when Malachai betrayed me and shot him.

  He was bare chested and glistening with sweat. He was wearing only athletic shorts and sneakers. As hard as I tried it was impossible to keep my eyes from dipping lower and lower from that chest to those abs and parts below.

  “I went for a run outside,” he said, “it helps calm me down.”

  I smiled up at him and tried to keep my eyes locked on his, because the way he looked right now was making me anything but calm.

  My heart raced and I swallowed, trying to beat back thoughts of wrapping my legs around his face. It didn’t help that even sweaty he smelled of sandalwood and ginger.

  Despite his massive frame and imposing muscles, he had a boyish smile. Those full lips could curl just high enough to accent that jawline into an irresistible force of panty-melting nature.

  “What you did out there tonight was amazing. Were you in Headmaster Crowe’s office accepting an award or something? I can see it now. Keira, student of the month.”

  “Sure,” I said, “something like that. If you substitute threats for an award.”

  His smile faded. “He threatened you?”

  I stepped forward and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “You took a bullet for me. That was honestly the sweetest thing anybody has ever done.”

  The smile came back.

  “I’m not saying I deserved what happened to me that night, because I didn’t. That doesn’t mean that I’m not bad news, though. I know you think I’m your mate, but you’re better off if you stay away from me. The Headmaster’s going to find any excuse to throw me in the dungeon. Or worse. And judging by Ian, the people around me are fair game.”

  Rafe put his hands on my shoulders and looked down into my eyes.

  No man had any right to be that hot. There was no denying the needy, animal attraction my body felt to him. The feel of his hands on my body thrilled me. He was so strong, even when he was being tender.

  “I can protect you,” he said earnestly.

  “No, you can’t,” I answered. “Not without getting hurt again. And I won’t let that happen to you. I’m tired of people getting hurt because of me.”

  I broke away from his grasp because I was afraid that the next time he tried to help me, he’d be the one bleeding out in a dungeon.

  And because I knew that if I was around him any longer, I’d be tempted to kiss those full lips, to feel those muscles wrap around my naked body.

  My mind knew that walking away right now was the right thing to do, but my body was putting up a hell of a fight. After all, he was the alpha that half the school wanted to jump on.

  “I’m sorry, Rafe,” I said as I sprinted down the hallway. I ran all the way to my dorm room, slammed the door, and fell in a heap onto the couch. I had to figure out what the hell I was going to do next.

  12

  Rafe

  My wolf snarled in frustration, pacing inside of me. One minute Keira was right in front of me, and the next she was running away.

 
My wolf howled with need. He wanted to throw Keira against a wall and mount her the minute he saw her tonight, alone and scared in the hallway.

  She saved the entire student body and then the headmaster threatened her? A low growl built in my throat. I wanted to protect her from everything.

  I slowed my breathing and told my wolf to chill the fuck out for now.

  Keira was all I had dreamed about for weeks. How could she not know what she meant to me? That she was meant for me? Why didn’t she feel the pull the way I did? How could I make her understand that I would gladly give my life to protect her?

  What she did tonight was badass. She protected the entire student body. The same student body that tried to kill her. No matter what she says, there’s no way a bad person would do that.

  I knew she was a good person. I knew it with every cell in my body. She was good despite the fact that she had endured nothing but bullies and prophecy bullshit since she got here. And threats from administration.

  I wanted to do something, to prove myself to her. How could I get her to open up and trust me?

  13

  Keira

  When I finally got back to my dorm, I took a long hot shower, trying to figure out what to do about everything.

  Between Malachai, the dragon, Ian, and Rafe, it was all getting too complicated.

  I couldn’t help but think of Ian and I the last time we were in this shower. I felt a rush of warmth between my legs at the memory, even though he wasn’t here.

  And Malachai. I laughed as I pictured him, right about now, looking through the much shorter pile of books in his closet. It was only a matter of time before he called me out on that, but it didn’t really matter. As far as sneaking around and betraying people was concerned, nobody beat Malachai. He’s lucky I didn’t let Rafe and Ian at him.

  And yet, something inside me knew that Malachai was trying to do the right thing, just like I was. And it never failed to get me into trouble either. Sometimes as frustrating as he was, it felt like we were fighting the same fight.

  After all, he came back with my obituary, to warn me. He could be living it up in the real world and instead he came back to this hell hole with this awful administration in order to try to find a way out. And he was working with Kiln. I still wasn’t sure what to make of that.

  Either way, I knew it was only a matter of time before the headmaster found an excuse, real or imagined, to throw me into the dungeon. Or worse.

  When all was said and done, I knew that I was in a race against time. So I toweled off and grabbed the stack of books that I stole from Malachai’s dorm.

  I decided to read in the common area, since that’s where the snacks were. I grabbed some chips and a soda for a long night of reading and got comfortable on the couch.

  I settled in and got to work. A little while later, there was a loud bang on the door. Which scared the shit out of me because I was reading a very juicy part of one of Malachai’s books.

  “I got it,” I said, loud enough for Ivy to hear. Then I opened the door and Malachai pushed his way through quickly. I shut the door behind him.

  “Hello to you too,” I said, “make yourself at home.”

  “We have to talk,” he said, noticing and then gesturing at the book in my hand. “That’s mine.”

  “No, it’s not. You stole it from administrative records. And then I stole it from you. That’s how stealing works.”

  He frowned. “Why?”

  I lowered my voice to a whisper. “So I could figure out how to help the dragon. And to figure out what’s going on at this insane academy and how to protect myself. The bigger question is why did you steal them and how much progress have you and Kiln made on figuring anything out?”

  Malachai ran a hand through his golden hair. “What you did tonight, well it was crazy. Kiln said that you shouldn’t have been able to pull off that spell. She said that the forbidden magic is going to start affecting you if you don’t stop using it.”

  “Sounds like you and Kiln talk about everything,” I said with a grumble.

  Malachai sat on the couch with a sigh. “You know I’m trying to fix this.”

  He sat on the sofa and I sat next to him. “I’m going to ask you one more time for all the information that you and Kiln have on forbidden magic. I deserve to know,” I said accusingly. “I was in Headmaster Crowe’s office and he asked my point blank where I got the forbidden magic idea from.”

  I let the realization wash over him and his eyes got wide. “You didn’t tell him, did you?”

  “Of course not. I didn’t rat anybody out.”

  “How did you avoid ratting her out?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I answered. “Start talking. I assume you’re only here because you need something.” The look on his face confirmed I was right. “And I’m not helping you until you come clean.”

  “Can I at least have a soda?” he asked.

  I pointed at the fridge. While he went over to grab a drink, I moved the forbidden magic texts that I had stolen from him back in my room before sitting back on the couch.

  When he joined me he took a big sip. Then I raised my eyebrows at him reminding him that he’s the one who was supposed to be talking.

  “I see you found the obituaries when you went into my room,” he began.

  I nodded. That was as good a place as any to start. “There were two of them.”

  “The other one was a woman who used to teach here. She and Kiln got suspicious and started wondering what was going on.”

  “Suspicious of what exactly?” I asked.

  “Being trapped here, the timeline, the magical wards keeping people from leaving. I mean, it kind of makes sense to keep tabs on the students. But not to the point where they’ll be killed trying to leave. And there’s no reason that teachers shouldn’t be allowed off school property.”

  I swallowed, thinking about what happened to Jack.

  Malachai slumped further into the couch. “So this other teacher, Mabel Jessup. She went to the headmaster to voice her concerns.”

  “Okay,” I said. “Then what?”

  “Then she vanished without a trace and without a word. Headmaster Crowe said she transferred, but Professor Kiln had her doubts.”

  “Doubts which were confirmed when you got out into the real world for an hour,” I said. “So Kiln has been helping you all along. Or you’ve been helping her, doing her dirty work. Stealing texts and researching prophecies. Why you?”

  “All this is forbidden magic. It’s related to dark magic. Not everybody can even pull it off. You have to be, well, how do I put this. On the dark side, like me and you. We have dark magic in our blood. Professor Kiln is trying to find a way out, but she can’t perform any of the Forbidden stuff to test out her theories. Headmaster Crowe very carefully screened every member of the faculty and staff to make sure that they couldn’t use that stuff.”

  “You’re a fallen angel,” I said, finishing the thought. “So you can.”

  “Yes,” he said. “And no. I mean I can, I’m just not very good at it. Then along came you. You’re picking all of it up so fast. So effortlessly. That has to mean that your background is…” He didn’t finish the thought.

  “Bad.” I did it for him. “Dark.” I thought back to the day I was admitted to the Academy. To the fight between Headmaster Crowe and Professor Kiln.

  “Hey, when I got here, Kiln and Crowe had a fight about me. The Headmaster wanted me here specifically because I had very little magic. He thought I wouldn’t be a problem. Kiln was worried about that stupid prophecy.”

  “Oh yeah,” he said. “I came in at the tail end of that. You can’t blame Kiln though, there was like an earthquake the day that you signed. It was weird.”

  “Yes, it was weird. Hey, does that mean you and I are the only ones here who can do forbidden magic?”

  “I think so,” he answered. “Kiln thinks so too.”

  “With me being better at this weird forbidden magic that she needs,
I take it that she sent you here to recruit me.”

  “Keira,” he said. “This is serious. They’re all dead. If we don’t figure this out, we’re dead too.”

  “Why didn’t you stay out there in the real world?” I asked him.

  “You know why,” he said, taking my hand.

  Ivy took that very moment to come storming out of her room. She went to the fridge to grab her own soda, but I could tell that she was mad. And that she had probably been eavesdropping.

  “You’re wasting your time, demon. Even if the world is ending, she’s only interested in guys who already have girlfriends,” Ivy said. She got to her door but didn’t go in. “Maybe not, I guess that doesn’t explain the vampire, does it?” Then she went into her room and slammed the door.

  She won this round, though. Malachai’s eyes snapped up to mine accusingly.

  “You and the vampire?” he asked.

  “Look,” I said. “He was sent to the dungeon. The one the headmaster is always threatening me with. I went to try to help him. And guess what? The door wasn’t even locked.”

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “What are you talking about?”

  “They stabbed him and left him on the dungeon floor to bleed out, Malachai. He was barely alive when I got there. Anybody could have just walked in and staked him in the state he was in. Bleeding them is the worst thing you could possibly do to them, Malachai.”

  Judging by the expression on Malachai’s face, he didn’t know that was going to happen. Then I thought it all the way through.

  “Oh shit. You’re the one who went to the Headmaster. You turned him in. Or lied about it, so you could get away. You’re the only other one who knew that somebody broke into administrative records. He paid for your crime.”

  “Our crime,” he corrected.

  “Does Kiln know you’re playing both sides?” I asked.

  “It was her idea,” he said. “And it worked.”