Academy of Beasts XXXII

by Becca Fanning

  “With everything that’s going on and the core council so busy, I’m really going to need your help with studying. When I get the time to study, anyway.”

  “Say nothing more. I’ve already made you copies of my very organized notes from the classes you’ve missed.”

  Giggling, I send her an appreciative glance. “Thank the gods you're a nerd. You’ve saved my academic ass on many occasions.”

  Beaming proudly, she lifted her shoulders. “Glad I can help. I may not be able to help with the hunt for evil warlocks but I sure as hell can help you pass your classes.”

  “A great service to the community.” Amusement fading, I sighed. “Seriously. Thank you.” I surveyed Priscilla’s dorm room again, wondering what it would be like to stay in one on my own. That never crossed my mind before. I’d always been happy staying at the manor. It was awesome, extravagant even. There was no denying that we enjoyed perks the other students didn’t. The dorms sure didn’t offer a cleaning service and a personal chef. Yet, I was starting to see the appeal.

  “What is it?” Priscilla asked with a little laugh. “You’re looking at my room as if you haven’t seen it a hundred times.”

  “That’s because I’m wondering if I’d be happy living away from the manor.”

  “Are you nuts? You guys have a personal chef. I wish I had a Mooney creating gourmet meals for me here in my dorm room. I have to settle for cafeteria food.”

  Grinning, I shrugged. “It was just an idea.”

  “Because you’re afraid of how your current relationship status with Dracus is going to affect your living situation?”

  “Precisely. I’m sure everything will work, though,” I murmured, more to convince myself than Priscilla. Deep down, I was worried.

  “Are you okay, Fiona? I don’t mean only with the Dracus situation. I mean, with Dante and Demetrius. Everything. How are you dealing?”

  Gazing out the window, I pondered. “I’m mostly angry.” Sure, I was a little afraid. I had no delusions about Dante not coming after me. He developed quite the grudge against me during the shifter-slayer war. But my anger overshadowed my fear at this point. “I’m angry that he would do something so horrible to his brother, angry that he’s hurt and killed so many and still wants to do more damage. I’ll find him and make sure he gets his comeuppance.”

  Priscilla’s eyes were steady on my face. A slight frown marred her expression. “What?” I asked.

  “Don’t be reckless because you’re angry, Fiona.”

  I scowled at her. She was saying nothing but wise words, but maybe I was too emotionally overwhelmed to hear them. It was really because of Dante why Dracus and I were in the position we were. I’d be reckless if that’s what it took to find him.

  As soon as I set foot in the manor, a pack of angry shifters descended. I’d barely gotten one foot through the door when I felt the fury. It swirled in the air, prickling my skin. I almost did a one-eighty to hightail it back to the dorms. I wasn’t in the mood for an exchange of angry words with anyone.

  “There she is,” Ren growled.

  “Fiona, where the hell have you been?” Theo stood with his fists on his hip, wearing a reprimanding frown.

  “What does it matter? Dad?” I snickered. He really did look like any angry parent, which was hilarious because Theo was such a goofball most of the time.

  “Answer the question,” Enrique demanded.

  I glared at him. “You need to stay quiet.” I turned to give Ren an equally seething look. “You too. After the debacle yesterday, you two had better stay out of my way.”

  Ren’s cold stare had no effect on me because I was so furious. He opened his mouth to say something, but Jasper arrived.

  “Everyone, take a breath. It’s barely six in the morning. Way too early for all of this.” Just when I thought he was the only one of them with a little respect for my privacy, he turned to me with a smile. “Fiona.”

  “Jasper,” I mimicked.

  “Where were you last night?”

  Growling, I threw my hands up and brushed past him. “All of you need to mind your business.”

  One foot on the first step, I paused when I heard a cool baritone. “This isn’t about your business. It’s Council business.”

  Swallowing, I slowly turned back around. Dracus stood beside the antique grandfather clock, hands behind his back. His expression matched his tone. Cold. I couldn’t even bear to look at him. Not when he was back to being the Dracus I’d met when I first got to the academy. We’d made so much progress, he and I. Over time, he had learned to relax a little. He’d become warmer, more expressive of his emotions. All of that progress had been erased, it seemed. It was all my fault, and I felt horrible.

  “Dracus, you’re back.”

  “Answer the question, Fiona. Where were you? You didn’t request for any time off. Therefore, you should have been present to carry out your duty as a council member. As an equal part of this team.”

  It took great self-control not to roll my eyes over him, throwing that in my face. Yeah, I complained a lot about not feeling like an equal part of the team, yet I’d shirked my duties when I was needed most. I knew it looked bad, but the pettiness was so uncalled for. “I spent the night at Priscilla’s. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

  “That’s not good enough. You should have requested the night off.”

  “Well, you weren’t here for me to do that, were you, Dracus?” I threw back as coldly as he was treating me. I saw the other guys’ ears practically perk up. Curious glances were exchanged among them.

  “You could have mentioned your planned absence to any of your other counterparts since I was absent.” Dracus’s gaze flickered to my bag. “I assume it was planned.”

  “Yes.”

  “That makes your absence even worse. This isn’t a dictatorship, Fiona, you’re entitled to your personal time. All you have to do is ask. And don’t mistake my words to mean you can abuse the situation,” he added with raised brows. “After all, we are dealing with a crisis. All hands are needed on deck.”

  We had a stare down while the others watch us with confusion. “I got it. Anything else?”

  “No.”

  “So, will I be punished for shirking my duties or what? Let’s get this over with. I have classes in a couple of hours.”

  Theo’s brows shot up to his hairline, and his eyes widened.

  “I feel like we’re missing something here,” Enrique said.

  “You think?” Jasper hissed.

  As always, Ren’s penetrating stare was fixed on me as if he could somehow see into my soul to get the answers to what transpired between Dracus and me. I ignored him― mostly because I was still pissed about his behavior with Radolf.

  “No punishment. This is your first warning. Your only warning. Don’t let it happen again.” Before he walked off, Dracus added, “You missed training this morning. Don’t miss another.”

  Struggling to keep my temper and the flippant, sarcastic remark on the tip of my tongue suppressed, I pursed my lips. Inhaling, I nodded. “I won’t.”

  Dracus marched off, and I went on my way. Hanging on to my maturity by a thread, I avoided stomping up the stairs like a child throwing a tantrum. I even managed to close my door gently rather than slamming it. Proud of myself, I blew out a breath and turned the lock. I knew one or more of the guys would arrive soon to press me for information. Marching to the window, I locked it, blocking off Ren’s alternative entrance too. Satisfied that I’d have at least two hours to myself, I flopped onto the bed.

  Chapter 5

  Going back to my normal routine hadn’t worked as I thought it would. I was sure that throwing myself into training to get stronger to face Dante while juggling school and council duties would take the edge off. My schedule was packed yet being busy didn’t take the edge off. I was still anxious, moody and plain miserable.

  “Still that time of the month?” Twinkling green eyes smiled at me.

  Jaw clenched,
I threatened. “I will slice off something important.”

  Enrique glanced down at the blade I held dangerously near to his crotch and howled. I scoffed. Unbelievable. The guy didn’t even take threats seriously. Not that I’d ever really hurt him. I just admired his ability to find humor in everything. If I adapted his attitude, maybe I’d be a little less stressed.

  “I’m sorry. I know you hate when we’re all up in your feminine business, but I had to ask.” He snagged my chin and gave my face a shake. “You’ve been Miss Crabby Pants lately. And that’s not you.”

  I couldn’t help smiling in my bad mood. “Crabby pants?”

  “Best way I can think of to describe your mood.”

  “Try vicious,” Jasper said, rubbing his arm.

  “I’m sorry, Jasper. I swear, it was an accident.” A minute ago, I accidentally did that thing where I lost control and sent everyone flying across the room.

  He smirked. “I know, I’m not talking about you kicking our asses physically. I’m talking about the way you almost bit my head off this morning for saying hi.”

  Lips pursed, I gave him a sheepish look. “I didn’t do that.”

  “You did that,” Theo declared. “I was there. You almost bit mine off too.”

  “Maybe she’s spending too much time with Mr. Crabby Pants over there.” Enrique hiked a thumb over his shoulder at Ren. Theo and Jasper snickered their amusement.

  Picking up a pair of throw knives from the weapons cabinet, he swirled them around his fingers. “Screw you, cat.”

  Glowing, Enrique returned, “Back at you, dog.”

  “You guys,” I warned, “don’t.” The last thing we needed was more tension. Hence, I needed to apologize for being a bitch to everyone the last couple of days. Groaning, I hung my head to massage the bridge of my nose. “I’m sorry about my behavior you guys.” None of them deserved to be snapped at for the slightest thing. “It’s just…” I sighed. I wasn’t ready to talk about Dracus with them. “I’m sorry,” I repeated. “Can we just get back to training?”

  Theo and Enrique exchanged glances. “We can’t help noticing Dracus has been missing from training, and… every other activity except hunting down Dante.”

  “Of course, you noticed,” I shrugged, “His absence is pretty hard to miss.”

  Jaser lifted a brow. “I think what Theo wants to ask is, do you know what’s going on with him? He won’t talk to any of us. But he always talks to you.”

  “Have you guys forgotten the whole Demetrius situation, and him being pissed at me? He hasn’t spoken to me either.”

  “Is that it?” Ren joined the group. “Is it only about him being angry about you lying?”

  I gazed at Ren for a moment. No, it was more than that. I wanted to tell them, but I didn’t feel comfortable discussing it. Maybe if we weren’t all romantically involved, I’d be more comfortable. “Sure, that’s it. It’ll probably take a while for him to come around. You guys saw how angry he was.” Hopefully, my overwhelming sadness didn’t resonate in my words. Maybe it did because as the others walked away, Theo lingered.

  He studied me for a moment before asking, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “Positive,” I answered cheerfully.

  His eyes narrowed and suspicion flickered over his face. “Let’s get back to it then.”

  “Great. And you guys need to stop going so easy on me.”

  Every head whipped around and a chorused, “We don’t,” echoed in the gym.

  Hands on my hips, I took in each innocent expression. “You do. With Dracus absent, you guys handle me with kid gloves.”

  Ren had the decency to not hide his guilt. “Okay, fine, you have a point. But what do you expect us to do? We don’t want to hurt you.”

  There were nods of agreement. Huffing, I scowled. “I expect you to throw your punches like men, that’s what I expect. Now, come on, attack me,” I demanded with enthusiasm.

  I received looks that screamed: you’re crazy.

  Ren’s brows shot up. “I believe Dracus has created a monster.”

  It wasn’t Dracus’s fault. Sure, when I saw how my skills improved with training, I wanted more. I wanted to be better just so I could keep up with the rest of them. But what drove me presently was my need to be able to hold my own against Dante. Even though the rest of the council and the witches were all in this with me, I had a bad feeling it was going to come down to me facing Dante… alone.

  I heard the guys talking before I rounded the corner into the dining room.

  “Hey, where did you say Dracus was this morning?” Theo asked. “He’s always been such a stickler for Fiona’s training, I didn’t think he’d miss a whole two days.”

  “He claimed to have gone out on council business,” Enrique answered. He didn’t sound pleased. He and Dracus sure had a lot of tension between them lately.

  “That’s vague,” Ren observed. “Jasper, what do you know?”

  “Why presume that I know anything?”

  “Because you’re always the one conspiring with him.”

  “We do no such thing.”

  Ren snorted rudely. “You two boy scouts are always up to something.”

  “Well, this time we’re not. I know nothing about Dracus’s whereabouts,” Jasper returned. Irritation oozed from his words.

  I stopped and continued to listen. Jasper and Dracus did indeed conspire a lot in secret. I hadn’t forgotten what Demetrius revealed. That they’d consulted with him about my powers. Sometimes, it was like they had their own little club of two. It was expected, I suppose. They were the most intellectual of the bunch. Real nerds… very hot, alpha male nerds. Both seemed to have a wealth of knowledge, even about the most random things. It made sense that they put their brains together from time to time.

  “Show yourself, Princess, we know you’re there.” Enrique chuckled, and I rolled my eyes.

  Of course, they knew I was close by. Huffing, I stepped into the dining room. “Have I told you guys how annoying and creepy it is that you can smell me? Damn your animal noses,” I grumbled, taking my usual seat. “It’s cool. I do have the power to cloak myself, maybe I should do that more often.”

  “Don’t even,” Jasper scowled. “You walking around here unseen would be even creepier.”

  Rolling my eyes, I reached for a dinner roll and took a bite. “Oh, so you guys can spy on me,” my eyes narrowed in Ren’s direction, the king of spying on me, “but I can’t return the favor? Talk about double standards.”

  Theo chuckled. “Since you heard what we were discussing just now. What do you think?”

  I shrugged. “I think nothing, Theo. There isn’t a thought in this head at the moment.”

  “Yeah, right,” Enrique playfully nudged me with a shoulder. “You must have an opinion on Dracus’s secretive behavior lately. Aren’t you the least bit suspicious?”

  “Nope.” Lie. A big fat lie. Of course, I was. Well, not so much suspicious as I was curious. I trusted Dracus. Still, I’d love to know what he was up to when he disappeared. Maybe he just left to get away from me and he told the guys it was council business so they wouldn’t ask questions. Who knew? My curiosity burned. But I wasn’t going to entertain a conversation regarding Dracus’s agenda. I didn’t dare give him another reason to resent me.

  Unconvinced expressions were seen all around the table, but I ignored them all. “Everything looks great. Mooney has outdone himself once again.” I rubbed my hands together and eyed the platter of steak.

  “Fiona, you must be worried about what’s going with Dracus. We’re a team. He’s supposed to share with us. Remember that strange comment he made about the Officials owing him favors. Something isn’t right.” Theo stroked his chin thoughtfully. I turned to glare at him.

  “Look, Dracus is furious enough with me. I’m not about to risk giving him another reason. Leave the man alone. Let him sneak to wherever he wants to in secret. Mind your business. All of you.”

  “Thank you, Fiona. That�
�s great advice. You all should take it.”

  I almost gave myself whiplash turning around to gawk at Dracus.

  Chapter 6

  He sauntered to his spot at the head of the table and casually took a seat. He was utterly cool and regal, his expression giving nothing away. Typical. All eyes were glued to him. Maybe the others were wondering how much he heard, just as I was. Thank the gods I hadn’t said anything offensive.

  “So, you’re just going to show up from wherever and we’re just going to happily share dinner as usual?” The full intensity of Enrique’s scathing look was on Dracus. He didn’t even bat an eyelash. Tension crept in, elevated and diffused. The only way to describe the energy in the room was that of a bunch of caged animals, crouched and ready to attack.

  Stress eater that I am, I grabbed another roll and took huge nervous bites while I studied each face. Please don’t fight. Please don’t fight. I mentally begged the guys to keep their cools.

  “I was hoping to get a few bites first at least,” Dracus drawled. “I’m starving, but since none of you can wait. As I said this morning, I was out on council business.”

  “Alone? Last I checked, you’re not the only member of the council.” A sliver of hurt was in Jasper’s voice.

  “I didn’t mention it to anyone because the Officials requested that I attend the meeting off campus alone.”

  My curiosity peaked. The guys had a point. What was up with Dracus and the Officials? Usually, I would have asked. Right now, it was probably best if I stayed quiet.

  “Naturally, I had every intention of sharing with the rest of you once I got back. It isn’t my fault they requested I show up alone.”

  Ren, who had been glaring daggers at Dracus, visibly relaxed. “Still, you should have told us where you were going. What if you were being lured into a trap or something? We wouldn't know where to find you.” I knew he trusted Dracus implicitly, too. So did Jasper and Theo. They too relaxed. Enrique was a different story. Anger and suspicion still radiated from him.