by Casey Morgan
I tried to ignore the bad feeling in my stomach and also pulled out my supplies. Class started normally, and I took notes for about half an hour before the class turned into self-study for a quiz that was to take place later that week. Both Angie and I were grateful since this was an opportunity to just talk about any materials that we didn’t quite understand.
The nerves that had previously been radiating off of Angie slowly dissipated.
“Ms.Thrushmoor,” a voice called out.
I turned to see Professor Goldwin approaching our table with an unreadable expression. I braced myself but was only greeted with a small smile.
“I believe that around now, you should be able to find a new focus object,” he stated softly, so the other students in the classroom wouldn’t hear. “I will eventually want my wand back, and I believe that you are more than capable of moving past using it.”
I nodded back in response, and the professor returned to the front of the classroom to begin writing a new potion recipe on the board. I made a mental note to write down the new recipe later and instead focused on what Professor Goldwin had told me. I definitely agreed with him. I did need to find a new focus object for my magic, one that I could truly call my own.
The professor wasn't pressuring me, although he obviously wanted his wand back, so there was no real need for me to feel nervous. However, my nerves were not agreeing with my brain and decided to kick into gear. It was just another thing to stress about. But if this was the reason that I was feeling so nervous earlier, then I couldn’t really complain. If this was truly all that was going to happen, then there wasn’t anything for me to feel awful about.
“You good, Ruby?” Angie asked, glancing up from her own notes.
“Yeah,” I sighed, “Just thinking about everything I have to do this week.”
“I feel that! I’m kind of far behind...”
We both laughed. I was so thankful for Angie to be back in class. I never really realized just how much I needed her until she was back sitting beside me.
I looked back up at the board to begin copying the new potion down when something crashed in the back of the classroom. Along with everyone else, my head whipped backward to see what was going on. My heart leapt into my throat as shouting reached my ears.
Cade was in the back of the classroom. It looked like he had brought in some new potion supplies for Professor Goldwin and run into Jasper. He and the bear shifter were standing and in each other’s face. The loud commotion had been the potion supplies slamming into the floor. I could hear them yelling at each other and getting more and more worked up.
At one point, Jasper pushed his hands against Cade’s massive chest, and the alpha glared back. The anger in his amber eyes caused the whole room to go still.
Before things could get out of hand, Professor Goldwin scurried over towards the two boys. “Young men,” Professor Goldwin chided, “Stop this foolish behavior immediately.”
Both of them turned to face the professor and nodded their heads apprehensively. I suddenly felt as if I could breathe again, and the tension in the air dissipated, even if it was just a bit. I turned my head towards the front once more and kept taking notes.
“Ruby...” Angie whispered.
Without looking up, I responded, “Yeah, I know, they’re being loud.”
“No... Ruby...”
“What?”
“They’re walking over.”
“They’re what?”
At this point, it felt as if I would never finish my notes for this class. I looked up and saw both Jasper and Cade walking over towards my table. When they arrived, I was overpowered by a sense of confidence from both boys.
Jasper leaned in towards me, placing his body as close to mine as possible without touching.
“Hello?” I asked, feeling both nervous and annoyed. “What do you guys need?”
“Ruby, Cade here is saying some pretty outlandish things,” Jasper whined. “He’s claiming you as his girl.”
Before I could even speak, Cade broke into the conversation. “I’m alpha,” he growled. “I can claim her as my girl, it’s my right.”
Jasper jumped back and practically hissed at him. “Not without Ruby’s permission!”
“What makes you think that I don’t have her permission?” Cade snapped, folding his muscular arms in front of his chest.
“She would never give you permission because we’re in love!”
Two things happened immediately after that proclamation. First, my stomach dropped, and I felt myself reeling. Love? In love? Who was he to declare my feelings and speak on my behalf?
But before I could manage to speak myself, Cade threw his fist directly into Jasper’s face. The bear shifter went flying backward and crashed into my table. He threw himself up and lunged at Cade, taking him out at the legs.
The two boys began to claw at each other on the ground, rolling around in an attempt to get the upper hand while the whole class stared, including Professor Goldwin. I couldn’t tell who was winning, as their limbs were constantly moving and slamming into each other.
Professor Goldwin started yelling in the background to move out of the way. Angie managed to pull me back and away from the two boys as they both suddenly shifted.
Jasper stood on his hind legs in his giant, white polar bear form and roared at Cade, who was slouched, ready to pounce as a massive gray wolf. They began to fight once more, slamming into tables, breaking glass beakers, and knocking potions of various colors everywhere.
The stakes were higher this time. In their respective animal forms, both of them could deal a lot of damage, and the wounds went beyond superficial.
Professor Goldwin ran up to the two of them and tried to get them to stop, but he was swatted away by the swift movement of Jasper’s back leg. The little professor fell back quite far, and a few students gathered around him to make sure that he was okay.
At that point, I felt myself stand up from my seat with heat blooming in my chest. How dare they? How dare they act so petty and disrespectful. Not only were they now injuring other people, but they were still speaking on my behalf. Who were they to decide what I wanted? Who were they to claim I was in love? Or that I belonged to someone? Anger began to fill me.
“I belong to no one!” I screamed.
The two of them stopped fighting to look at me.
I continued to yell, “I am no one’s property and won’t date either of you if you keep acting like children!”
I could feel the anger boiling in my blood, my body began to heat up. Energy flowed through me and ebbed into every nerve. Before I could open my mouth to scream again, I felt a shift. Something inside of me clicked, and all of a sudden, I felt my feet flip out from underneath me and I was airborne.
I had shifted. I had shifted for the first time. I had shifted for the first time into a bat!
Both Cade and Jasper quickly transformed back into their human forms and joined the other students in staring at me. I noticed that the two boys and Angie were all smiling and clearly happy for me.
Although I was still somewhat angry, I felt happiness also begin to fill me. I loved the feeling of flying, and I was proud of myself for shifting. For a while, it was just pure bliss.
The strangest thing was that the body of the bat felt like it was mine all along as if I couldn’t have ever not been a bat. But there was a small pulling at the back of my mind, I felt as if I could feel this belonging to another form as well. Maybe, just maybe, I could transform into something else.
Pushing more energy around me, I felt my form change and elongate. Suddenly, I was back on the floor.
I heard all the students in the classroom all gasp.
I moved and stretched and quickly realized what I was... a snake. Before I could really process that I was a snake, and how that grossed me out and how creepy it was, my fellow students began to talk.
“Did she just shift into two things?” one student gasped.
“That’s so rar
e,” another commented.
“A witch shouldn’t be able to shift into more than one thing.”
Finally. Finally, I was getting some sort of recognition. Pride swelled up within my entire being, and I felt truly happy.
If two forms was impressive, three must be considered incredible. I felt that I could transform again, I really did. Not only did I want to escape my snake form, but I wanted to see what this third shift was. I concentrated my energy and felt my form change.
Cade yelped with joy.
I could barely believe it myself, but there I stood in full form as a wolf. It felt so perfect, so good, so self-satisfactory. I felt as if I had not only proved myself to my classmates, but I proved myself to myself. I could do this! I could definitely do this and more.
With pride building up within me, I willed myself to transform back into my human form. With a grin on my face, I slowly picked up my clothes and redressed myself. In this moment, I was a badass. All the students knew it too. I could hear them talking as I finished redressing.
“That’s insane, I’ve never seen a shifter do that.”
“That was so cool!”
“I didn’t know Ruby could do something so badass.”
When I finally recollected myself, I turned to look at Angie. She shot me a proud and soft smile from where she stood and waved me over. I quickly joined her in order to escape the now tense silence that hung over the classroom.
Professor Goldwin was helped up by the students that had rushed to help him. He glanced around, eyeing me with amusement. He then shot a glare at both Jasper and Cade.
“Class is released early,” he announced. “I need to go to the nurse to make sure everything is still in place.”
At the announcement, everyone in the class turned to collect their things. I hugged Angie in excitement, and she hugged me back.
“I’m so happy for you!” she said. “I knew you could do it! I just knew it.”
“Thanks, Angie,” I responded. “I feel amazing.”
“Let’s go outside and play. I never get to play with anyone cause I’m a cat, but we could run around and have tons of fun!”
I nodded with enthusiasm, “Sounds great! Meet you out there!”
Angie took off outside to find us a spot to place our stuff, and I hurriedly packed up all of my things and rushed to join her. But a soft grip on both my shoulders held me back. I turned around and saw both Jasper and Cade, glancing down at me, seemingly waiting for me to say something.
“Yes?” I asked.
“Ruby...” Cade started.
`“We demand to know who you’re dating,” Jasper interrupted.
I laughed and turned back around, brushing their hands off my shoulders. I walked towards the door and stepped into the hallway. I turned back once and shot them both a smile.
“I’ll think about it,” I teased, “I’ll let you know.”
Chapter Eleven
Angie and I had had a lot of fun shifting and messing around after class, but I soon found myself pretty tired and decided that the two of us should probably take a break. We made our way back to the dorms, and I threw myself on my bed.
“Ruby, you okay?” Angie asked.
“Yeah, I feel great!” I responded.
She sat down on her bed across from me. “It must be surreal... shifting for the first time.”
“It might take a while for me to get used to it, but for now, I can shift, and that’s all that matters.”
Angie hummed in agreement, “There’s no way that Headmaster Thorn can kick you out now. You’re going to ace whatever trial he gives you.”
I laughed. “I hope so! I still want to practice more tonight if that’s possible?”
“Of course, Ruby. But you should lay down for a bit and rest.”
“Trust me, I don’t plan on moving for at least an hour.”
I took the time to rest and allowed myself to think about the events that had taken place in the last couple of days. With Angie’s embarrassment issue being mostly resolved, the only thing that I was still concerned with in regards to her condition was her control problems. If we could just figure out how to make it easier for her to control her shifting, than that would be a lot of weight off of my shoulders. I was just so concerned about her.
My mind then drifted to Jasper and Cade. Their behavior in class was absolutely ridiculous. I honestly could barely believe that they both had the audacity to claim me as their own and fight over me. I was the only person who could make that decision, and I barely had the chance to speak on behalf of myself.
They were both attractive men, there was no doubt or discussion to be had in regards to that. Both of them were also obviously invested in me as well. I began to wonder if there was any way that I could play the situation where I wouldn't be tied down to either of them but still have the benefit of them both being interested in me. I could also gain a lot of information from the two of them with my succubus necklace, and I had done so before. From test information to shifting practices, I could learn so much.
Shifting was a whole other mind consuming issue. Yes, I could shift now. I could run around and play with Angie, no problem. Whatever test Headmaster Thornhill threw at me, I should be able to handle without much of an issue. But there was still that small pulling at the back of my thoughts that he had something awful planned. Maybe, just maybe, being able to shift wasn’t going to be enough to pass his test. The thought quite frankly scared me. There was no way that I could leave Ironwood now, not after everything that I went through.
With all of these thoughts eating at my mind at once and the physical toll of running around the lawn with Angie washing over me, I decided to rest my eyes. I couldn’t remember what I was actually dreaming about, but I did recall all the pent-up emotions that I was holding within me manifesting themselves. Before my unconscious mind was too deep in my troubling thoughts, someone shook my shoulder slightly.
I opened my eyes slowly to see Angie smiling down at me.
“What time is it?” I asked groggily.
“Almost midnight,” she responded.
“What? Weren’t we going to run around some more?”
“We still can, darkness shouldn’t stop us.”
I laughed and threw myself out of bed, completely forgetting all about the negative emotions that had been in my dream. I opened our dorm window in preparation and smiled at Angie, who was already in cat form, ready to chase me around campus. With a smirk, I shifted into a bat. The shifting process was still a new sensation for me, and it took a second for me to steady myself in the air.
Once we were both ready, I flew out of the window and into the cool night air. The fresh air and the euphoric feeling of being airborne in my new form made me so happy. I had a lot of troubles, but being able to mess around with Angie made me forget a lot of them.
I tried flying closer to the ground in order to interact with Angie more often while we played. I enjoyed swooping down towards her and then turning sharply to return to the sky. We played like this for a while. Eventually, it became less complicated and energetic and was just the two of us moving in the same direction. I took the time to enjoy the clean air and the cool breeze.
That is until something big from above me swooped towards me.
I was barely able to dodge the figure and fly to the side. The need to defend myself and protect my new form coursed through my veins. I turned to fight whatever it was that had swooped down at me only to see a larger bat. I was significantly smaller than it, and it probably thought that I would be easy pickings. I flew away from it, preparing myself that if it gave chase, I would have to fight it off.
To my displeasure, the big bat did chase after me. However, it flew ahead of me and then dove beneath me, doing circles and tricks in the air. For a moment I couldn’t believe it. This bat was definitely another student and was probably just trying to play with me. And taking into account the way that they were messing around with me, they were probably friendly.
<
br /> After it was clear that I had figured out that the bat was a student, it began to fly towards one of the high towers on campus.
I gazed down to see Angie watched the entire exchange. For a moment, I felt guilty about considering following the bat, since the two of us had come outside to play together, but I saw Angie give the slightest of head nods and then take off back towards the dorm.
Curiosity swelled up inside me, and I followed the bat. Both of us approached the high tower and flew inside. A lot of different possibilities had come across my mind while approaching the tower, but none of them were what I saw when I got inside. The large bat quickly shifted, leaving a young man in his place. I transformed as well and took in the sight before me.
It was Red-Eyes, the boy I had seen in the hallway my first day here. His face was sculpted to perfection, his sharp cheekbones, long jaw, and full lips were entrancing. The boy walked towards me with a smirk, towering over my smaller figure as he licked his lips with a bright pink tongue.
“If it isn’t Ruby?” he teased. “Gem of the night?”
I laughed under my breath. I was shocked to see that it was him, but also grateful for the opportunity. I had been curious about the vampire, and this was as good a time as any to get to know him.
“A bit unfair, isn’t it?” I quipped back.
“What’s unfair?”
“You know my name, but I don’t know yours.”
Red-Eyes took a few steps back and bowed at the waist, “I’m Blaise Connor, it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
I mockingly returned the bow, “Likewise.”
After the formalities were over, I took a step closer to him and looked him over carefully. I realized then how little I knew about the vampire, and how much I did want to know about him.
“So,” I questioned. “Are you a bat shifter too?”
Blaise laughed, his voice deep and resonate. “No, no, no. Little Gem, you know so little. Vampires can transform into bats, snakes, and wolves.”
Shock flowed through me. My body started shaking slightly. “Really?”
