by Cali Mann
My eye caught on Drew coming in the far door. “Thanks, Nancy,” I said and pushed by her in Drew’s direction.
He looked up and saw me coming toward him, then spun right back out the door again. I shoved my arm through my backpack strap and, balancing my plate precariously, hurried after him. By the time I hit the hall, he had already disappeared. Dammit. I grimaced. It wasn’t like I even knew what to say to him. Sure, I used you to get attention, but you knew that going in. No, I didn’t mate with Lucan on purpose, and yes, I still care about you too much to mate with you. I sighed. Nothing I hadn’t already said. But I hated him feeling like I’d just been using him to catch a bigger fish.
I stumbled up the stairs toward my room. Might as well eat and get a shower before trying to tackle anything else. The suite was empty, so I dropped down on the couch and dug into lunch. It was just as amazing as it smelled.
Pulling open my backpack, I grabbed the phone. No message from Chuck yet. I hoped that maybe he hadn’t heard. Who knew where that guy got his information from and when he’d use this against me? I was going to need help to protect Alex, and I didn’t want to use anyone anymore. Would Lucan’s pack help? Pack was important to them, but what could they do against a trained assassin? Didn’t Thornbriar have its own security? Could I go to the headmaster? But Chuck had gotten in before to take the video—what was to stop him from getting in again? I had to do something, and I only had so much time.
I headed to the shower. No way was I going to the rest of today’s classes to get gawked at. I’d call Molly and check on Alex, make sure she had him hidden away for the rest of the day. Then I’d hide out in my room as well.
30
Lucan
I’d expected the news to spread fast, but I hadn’t thought my uncle would arrive at Thornbriar before dinner time. Now he was demanding to see Sasha and me in the headmaster’s office. I knocked on Sasha’s door.
I hadn’t even known where she stayed, and it aggravated me that I’d had to ask someone. She was my mate, and I didn’t know where she’d gone. After we’d come back from the woods, she’d disappeared without a word. My wolf grumbled. That wasn’t what mates did. They stood strong with their alpha when he had to discipline the pack.
Sasha didn’t come to the door, so I knocked again louder.
I listened and finally heard feet shuffling across the carpet. The door cracked open, and Sasha’s sleepy face appeared.
“What’s up?”
“We’ve been summoned,” I said.
Her eyes narrowed. “By who?”
“My uncle is waiting for us in the headmaster’s office.”
“Tell him to fuck off.” She started to push the door closed, but I shoved my foot in the gap.
“We don’t have a choice.” I gritted my teeth. “He’s on the Council.”
Her lip quirked. “Yeah, I met him.”
“Come on,” I said.
“Oh, alright.” She opened the door and turned back to the room. “Give me a minute. I’ve got to get dressed.”
She wore an old tee shirt and undies, and as I followed her inside, I wanted to toss her on the bed and take her again. Those ass cheeks would fit so perfectly against the palms of my hands. But I shook my head. We didn’t have time for that. Wolf whined.
After crossing the lounge, she entered a bedroom. She left the door open and dug through a dresser drawer. “How did your uncle find out so fast?”
“He’s on the Council. They know everything.”
She froze, then looked over at me, her eyes thoughtful. “Will your pack do anything for you?”
“Yeah, I guess. That’s what it means to be pack.”
“Can you send them to watch over my little brother Alex?” She straightened, grimacing. “I hate to ask, but if the Council knows, then someone will try to hurt him.”
I moved closer, frowning. “Why?”
She nibbled on her lip as she studied me. Deciding if she could trust me.
How could she think that I wasn’t trustworthy? I’d risked my whole future by mating her. The greater pack my uncle ruled might not accept me as alpha because I was mated to a spirit shifter. What if she went mad? What if she killed us all? “This is Thornbriar. There are guards and security. The headmaster would never let—”
“He’s already been here.” She wrapped her arms around herself.
“Who, Sasha?” I came forward and pulled her into a hug.
She sighed, leaning her head against my chest. “Can’t you just trust me that my brother’s in danger?”
Now, if that didn’t feel like a kick in the balls . . . trust her and send my pack into unknown danger? Or admit that, despite our bond, I didn’t know her well enough to trust her? Especially where the pack was concerned. We might not have been a full pack here, but the way I ruled these guys would prove to my uncle whether I’d be ready to take the reins when I graduated.
“I believe he’s in danger.” I kissed her forehead. “But I’d like to know what I’m sending my pack into.”
She pulled away. “They just need to keep near him. He’s only ever targeted Alex when he’s alone.”
I frowned. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.” She nodded fiercely. “They just can’t let him out of their sight.”
My wolf clawed at my insides. He was ready to run off and protect her brother himself. Our mate had requested it. But I also needed to protect her. If this guy was willing to hurt her brother, wouldn’t he come after her too? I wished she’d tell me what this was all about, but mating was new for her too. It would take us time to learn to rely on one another.
I pulled out my cell phone and mobilized the pack. “Where is he?”
She gave me the spirit shifter Molly’s phone number and said her brother was with her. I handled it while Sasha got dressed. My eyes strayed to the open door, wanting to be with her. My wolf didn’t want to let her out of our sights.
After I’d made the arrangements, I turned to see her strut out of the bedroom and my jaw about hit the floor.
“What are you wearing?” I’d meant to ask her whether we should talk to my uncle about her concerns, but the thoughts fled my mind at the sight of her. She wore a shiny red blouse that clung in all the right places, skintight black jeans, and black boots. Her blonde hair floated around her shoulders in a kind of golden halo.
“Don’t you like it?” she asked with a grin.
I swallowed and shifted my cock around in my jeans. My dick was ready to tell her how much he liked it.
“Perhaps a little overdone for meeting my uncle?” I suggested gruffly.
She flicked open another button at the top of her blouse, exposing more cleavage. Her revealed bra was raven black.
“I just want to make sure they know what they’re getting.”
“Getting?” My breath stuttered in my throat.
Tossing an arm around my shoulders, she said, “A red hot niece-in-law.”
Fuck. My uncle was not going to be happy. He was already furious about the mating, and Sasha was going in there guns a-blazing. But I couldn’t help being proud of my mate. She didn’t lack for confidence, and she didn’t take shit from anyone. That was the way an alpha should be.
“Thank you,” she said, kissing me on the cheek, “for helping with my brother.”
I pulled her against me and kissed her properly.
My wolf howled happily, but human me was frankly terrified. Sasha was more than a handful all on her own, without the rest of the world and what they’d think of our mating. Deep within, I couldn’t help worrying that I’d done wrong by my pack. But my wolf hadn’t given me any choice.
31
Sasha
The heavy wooden door to the headmaster’s office was closed when we arrived, but, despite its thickness, we could hear yelling through it.
I winced and glanced at Lucan. “Your uncle is pissed off, huh?”
He sighed. “It was my choice to mate you.”
It hadn’t seemed l
ike a conscious decision in the woods. In fact, we hardly knew one another. Yet, Lucan shouldered the responsibility anyway. I kind of admired that about him.
“You ready?” I asked with a salacious wink.
He chuckled and pushed open the door.
Councilman Masters and Headmaster Larkin spun to look at us. His green eyes, so like Lucan’s, were full of fury, and even the cool, calm headmaster was shooting sparks. Damn.
I laid my hand on Lucan’s arm, and I could feel him bristling beside me. Keeping my voice firm, I asked, “So, we heard you wanted to see us?”
Headmaster Larkin sighed. “Come in, you two, come in.” She gestured toward the couch across from two armchairs.
Guess we get the comfy seats today. We strolled over and perched on the edge of a rose-covered couch. One hand stayed on Lucan, letting his warm presence solidify me, and the other gripped the smooth fabric of the sofa.
Councilman Masters glared at me. “You said you wouldn’t mate,” he roared.
I forced a cheerful smile. “I said it’d be unlikely for me to find a mate here at Thornbriar.” Then I turned to Lucan and squeezed his arm. “But I did.”
“From what I hear, you found two,” the headmaster said.
“Yes,” I said, swallowing hard.
“You little hussy,” the Councilman snarled. “You’ve ruined my nephew’s life.”
“I hardly think it’s ruined,” the headmaster said. Her voice was cool, almost glacial, but her foot tapped impatiently on the floor.
“He’s alpha of the pack,” Lucan’s uncle sneered. “He needs to be strong, unfettered, not weakened by a mad spirit shifter.”
The headmaster snarled, and I blinked at her. Maybe she was on my side after all. She’d certainly made me feel less than welcome in the beginning.
“Sasha won’t go mad,” the headmaster said, “if she mates.”
“Entrapping my nephew to ensure her sanity!”
Lucan stood and faced his uncle, his hands closing into fists at his sides. “I wasn’t coerced. I chose to be her mate. My wolf chose her.”
The councilman gestured toward Lucan. “See what she’s done?”
Lucan growled.
“It is done, Councilman,” the headmaster said. “It cannot be undone.”
The Councilman grumbled, his eyes darting from Lucan to me. He was furious, but like Larkin had said, there was nothing to be done.
“I need to talk to Lucan alone,” he muttered.
The headmaster glanced at Lucan, and he nodded tightly. She pressed her lips together and gestured for me to follow her from the room. I squeezed Lucan’s arm before leaving.
After she closed the door behind us, Larkin turned to me. She studied me and sighed. “You had to go and choose Lucan Masters, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. I didn’t see what choice had to do with any of it. If I’d had my choice, I wouldn’t have mated at all.
She led me into the small, narrow office next to hers. Full of papers, it was neatly organized, with a desk and a rolling office chair. There was a tiny window at the end that peered out over the front drive. Larkin sat in the chair, and I paced to the window.
“Whose office is this?” I asked.
“Ms. Finch,” Larkin said, picking up a stapler and turning it over in her hands. “Newest faculty members get to be where I can keep an eye on them.”
I gave a small smile.
“Are you worried about Lucan?” she asked.
“No.” I ran my teeth along my lip. I wasn’t worried about Lucan. He could handle his uncle. I was scared for Alex, though. I didn’t trust the pack to handle an executioner. My brother was going to get hurt, and it was all my fault.
Her eyes followed me as I paced the floor. “What are you concerned about, then, Sasha?”
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head.
The headmaster crossed her legs and picked at the papers on the desk. “When the Oracle asked us to allow spirit shifters into Thornbriar, many of the faculty and staff were against it.”
“I’m not surprised.” I wrapped my arms over my chest and continued to pace. “We’re dangerous.”
Larkin smiled. “The Oracle doesn’t seem to think so.”
I met the headmaster’s eyes. “You trust her?”
“I do.” Her eyes fell to her lap.
“But they don’t make it easy for you, do they?”
She looked up, her eyes sharp. “You care a lot about your brother.”
“Yes.”
“I had a brother once,” she said. Her shoulders slumped. “He was born a spirit shifter, under the old Oracle. They killed him.” She pinched the fabric of her skirt. “Sometimes, I wish he’d been born at a different time or place.”
“I’m sorry.”
She nodded. “That’s one of the reasons I’m determined to give spirit shifters a chance here at Thornbriar. Because of the Oracle and how she’s proved they are safe, and because of my brother.”
I gave her a small smile. And here I was hell-bent on destroying everything she was trying to do to save my brother. My stomach twisted into knots. I should have been supporting the trial, not trying to ruin it. I ran my hand through my hair. I was tired of hiding, tired of using people, and tired of lying. I looked at the headmaster. Could she help? Was there some way she could martial the defenses of Thornbriar against Chuck? Would she?
“Headmaster,” I began and nibbled at my lip.
She waited, her hands patiently folded in her lap.
“My brother is in danger.” I swallowed. “I was threatened by someone before I came to Thornbriar. Destroy the trial or my brother dies.”
32
Sasha
Larkin’s whole body stiffened in her chair. Sympathy disappeared from her face, and a hardness fell over her features. “You’re a spy?”
I frowned. “Not because I want to be.”
“You’ll have to leave.” Her tone was short. She’d decided almost instantly—after all we’d just shared.
“No, you don’t understand.” I lifted my hands. “He’ll kill Alex.”
“We will protect your brother.”
“You can’t. This guy, he’s really . . . powerful.” I stopped short of admitting who Chuck was. If I did, wouldn’t I just put the headmaster’s life in jeopardy, too? He was an executioner, after all. “Besides, I thought you wanted to give me a chance.”
“I have to think of the safety of the other students.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
I kicked myself. Why had I thought I could trust her? One sorry story about a lost brother and I was spilling my secrets? I glared at the headmaster. “Was your spirit shifter brother even real?”
She opened her mouth to answer, when loud banging and voices came from the hall. We looked at each other and moved to the door. Larkin opened it at the same time her office door opened, revealing Lucan and his uncle.
Two younger female students looked back and forth between the four of us, both of them dressed in their school uniforms with their hair in ponytails. They reminded me faintly of my suitemates.
“Headmaster, a spirit shifter’s gone mad and attacked some other students,” one of the girls blurted.
“An attack?” the Councilman roared. The tension lines around his face deepened, and he seemed to loom larger in the doorway.
Larkin held up her hand and frowned. “Sasha’s here.”
“No-o,” the other girl stuttered. “It was the other one.”
“Molly,” supplied the first one helpfully.
I shook my head. There was no way that sweet little Molly could have hurt anyone. She wasn’t old enough for the spirit madness to have hit yet.
“Now they’ve gone and hurt someone? What kind of school are you running here?” the Councilman said.
Larkin ignored him and focused on the two girls. “Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“They did,” the girls chorused and gestured to the headmaster’s office door.
“W
e didn’t think to answer it,” Lucan said, concern etching his face. “Sorry.”
“Where are they?” The headmaster was already moving down the hall.
“The infirmary,” said the first girl and then she turned to me. “You’d better come too, Sasha. One of the victims is your brother.”
Fuck. I dashed after the headmaster, and Lucan and the Councilman followed. I guess the pack hadn’t been able to protect Alex as well as Lucan thought they could. Why had I ever left him alone?
We ran through the hallways and down to the infirmary. The headmaster threw open the door, and we all slammed to a halt behind her.
“Headmaster.” The gray-haired nurse who’d been there when I’d come the first time stepped forward, looking grim.
“What happened?” Larkin asked, glancing toward the waiting room chairs where Molly sat between two Academy guards.
I strolled over to her, and the guards stopped me. “Fuck off,” I snarled, “she didn’t do anything.”
They looked between me and the headmaster.
Larkin sighed. “Let her talk to her.”
I sank down on my knees in front of Molly. “Hey, kid.”
She lifted her head, tears wet on her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to hurt them.”
“Of course you didn’t hurt them,” I said, taking her hands in mine. “You couldn’t have.”
Molly blinked. “But they say—”
“They don’t know jack shit,” I muttered. “Now tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know,” she said, wiping her eyes. But her voice sounded braver. “I woke up in the courtyard, and they were all around me. And there was so much blood.”
I squeezed her hands.
“Alex was there, Sasha, and he was hurt so bad.” Molly gulped. “I like your brother. I wouldn’t—” She shuddered.
My heart sank. Alex was hurt, and I needed to be with him. But—I glanced at the headmaster—I needed to figure this out for Molly, too. “What’s the last thing you remember before you woke up? Do you remember going to sleep?”
