Defiance (Heart Lines Series Book 5)

by Heather Hildenbrand

  I cleared my throat, looking at one of the coffee ring stains on the desk as I spoke. “I appreciate everyone’s concern, and I want to assure you both I take my education very seriously. Since coming to school here last year, I’ve learned a lot about … myself and the world. I’ve grown up a lot, I guess you could say. This school and the friends I’ve made here continue to challenge me. Challenge what I thought I wanted from my life. The past couple of weeks have been a particularly rough time, personally, as I struggle to figure that out. I’m doing my best to get back to a routine. As for my classes, I apologize for missing them. I don’t intend to let it happen again.”

  The dean exchanged a look with my mother. Neither looked convinced, but to my mother’s credit, I knew she wouldn’t call me out in front of this guy.

  The dean, however, eyed me down the point of his nose. “Be that as it may, the policy on this sort of thing is very clear. Effective immediately, you are on academic probation, Miss Knight.”

  “I hardly think that’s—” my mom began but he cut her off.

  “It’s policy.” He swerved his gaze from her to me. “And while it might be standard procedure for you to run off and find yourself elsewhere, we expect our scholarship students to do that in the classroom.”

  “My scholarship is only twenty-five percent of my tuition,” I began, but the dean cut me off.

  “Be that as it may, rules are rules. If you miss a class, even one, in the next thirty days, you’ll be summoned before a disciplinary board and risk losing your funding or even being dismissed.”

  He shut up, and I knew it was my turn to respond. “I understand,” I said quietly.

  My mother was rigid beside me. And silent. That worried me. But the dean was apparently done with his little performance. As soon as I’d agreed, he seemed to relax. His shoulders fell a little and his expression warmed as he turned to my mother. “Samantha really has been an exceptional student up until now. We’re very proud as I’m sure you are too.”

  My mom stared at him for a too-long moment. “Yes,” she said finally, the single word crisp and full of meaning. But just in case he didn’t get it, she pushed to her feet. “I think we’re all set then,” she said.

  The dean sat back, a little put out. “Of course,” he agreed. And then almost as an after-thought, he stood too. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Have a good day,” my mom said, spinning on her heel without waiting for an answer.

  I hurried after her, feeling a little victorious, though I knew I shouldn’t. This was my fault. I’d screwed up by leaving and I needed to own that. But the guy was a—

  “What a jerk,” my mom said as soon as the door had shut behind us.

  Close enough to what I’d been about to say.

  I murmured an agreement, but she didn’t hear it as she rambled, mostly to herself, about the “nerve of that guy” and “of course I’m proud of my daughter. She’s my daughter.” I let her go and followed quietly behind her as we made our way back down the hall to the lobby where I’d left Alex earlier.

  He was still sitting on the same bench where I’d left him. Still pretending to read the same textbook. I smiled at the sight of him—the familiar cargos and boots. The fitted tee and short, dark hair. The definition of his muscles through his shirt sleeves. And the way his dark eyes flashed with the hint of danger and lust as he looked up at me across the room.

  My belly tightened.

  It took me too long to figure out my mother was talking to me again instead of herself. “Sam, are you even listening?”

  I whirled to look at her and found her expression clouded with irritation. “What was that?”

  She huffed. “I called your name three times.”

  I gave her my full attention—hopefully before she could see what had distracted me. This would not be the right moment for Alex to meet my mom. “I’m listening,” I said, “Sorry.”

  But her temper was already switched “on” and I knew my apology had fallen on deaf ears. She glared at me. “You better be taking this whole probation thing seriously,” she warned.

  “I am,” I assured her. “I promised to attend classes and I will.”

  “If you lose the scholarship money, we can’t afford to keep you here,” she reminded me.

  “Mom, it’s only twenty-five percent—”

  “It’s not about the scholarship,” she snapped and then sighed. “Your father is worried it’s not good for you to be all the way across the country alone. You’ve been so depressed…”

  She reached for a lock of my hair but I jerked back. “I’m not depressed anymore,” I said icily.

  My mother’s mouth tightened. “Yes. I can see that. However, I’m not convinced whatever this is,” she said, waving a hand at me, “Is an improvement.”

  The threat of losing my tuition and being forced home rankled me, but I left it alone. Of course they were worried. Up until now, I’d been the perfect student. I’d also had no social life so there was that but still. I needed to show them I was okay on my own despite the missed classes. “I understand,” I finally managed.

  “Do you? Because just now, you were zoned out like you weren’t hearing a word I was saying. Sam, this is important. This is your life.”

  My temper sparked at the emphasis she’d put on that last word. “I know, Mom. But that’s the point: it’s my life. Not yours. Not dad’s. And not Dean Harmon’s.”

  From the look on my mother’s face, I knew my outburst wasn’t helping. I sighed. “There’s a lot more going on here than you know.”

  “Like what?” she demanded, and for a split second, I considered telling her about the magic. Surely she remembered that bird in the park when I was young. I’d healed it—and she’d pretended as if it hadn’t happened.

  Now, I imagined the words tumbling from my lips and the look on her face. The shock, and then maybe, just maybe, the acceptance and love. Or support, at least.

  But I took one look at her stormy glare and lost all the courage I’d just summoned. “Like … I’ve met new people,” I said slowly, fumbling for the right words to end this stand-off peaceably. “People that were … different and unexpected. I’ve learned a lot about myself through them.”

  “You’ve met people?” Mom repeated sharply. Too sharply.

  Without meaning to, I cast a quick glance to where Alex still sat lounging on the bench under the window. This time, my mom didn’t miss it. She offered Alex a little wave and he waved back. “Oh, yes, I can see what you mean. He looks very different and unexpected,” she drawled.

  My eyes widened as Alex got up and started toward us.

  “Shit,” I said under my breath.

  “Language,” my mother hissed back.

  I held my breath as Alex got close, pasting a smile on my face to hide the panic. “Hi there, you must be Mrs. Knight.” Alex offered his hand. “I’m Alex Channing.”

  “Sam’s boyfriend, right?” My mom shook his hand and led him straight into a trap, smooth as butter.

  “Well, yes,” Alex said easily and my jaw fell open.

  “I see.” And damn if my mother didn’t look exactly like she did see. “And what do you have to say about Sam cutting class?”

  “I told her already,” Alex said, his expression solemn. “I love her, but if she doesn’t go to class, I’m not sure she’s the one for me. I respect a girl who fulfills her responsibilities and lives up to her full potential.”

  My jaw fell open even wider.

  My mother, however, smiled; a sugary, dreamy sort of smile I’d never actually seen on her before. I shook my head and considered pinching myself. My mother was never this accepting so quickly. “I couldn’t agree more,” she told Alex.

  I cursed under my breath again.

  “Language,” they both said in unison.

  I threw up my hands and wandered away to let them finish whatever the hell this was. They were still chatting when I gathered the nerve to approach again, but finished up when I got close. />
  Alex squeezed my arm. “I’ll let you two talk,” he said quietly and then strode off before returning to his bench.

  I turned to find my mother watching me, her eyes sparkling in a weird mixture of temper and smug certainty. “Dinner tonight. Bring Alex,” she said.

  “I don’t know if he can—”

  “Bring him. It’ll keep me from yelling at you again about this probation business.” She kissed my cheek and straightened. “Love you,” she added and then walked out.

  When she was gone, Alex rejoined me, the book I’d lent him tucked underneath his arm. “Well, that went well,” he said—way too cheerful.

  I glared at him.

  “What?” he asked, falling into step beside me.

  “Nothing,” I said through closed teeth.

  He leaned in closer and sniffed before backing away and wrinkling his nose. “Gross. Why do you smell like sauerkraut?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Alex

  Dinner with Sam’s mother was exactly what I expected. A lot of fishing questions directed at me about how long Sam and I have known each other, side-eye aimed at Sam, and passive-aggressive comments about whether or not I might have been the reason Sam’s attendance had slipped. I played my part well—thanks only to my years’ worth of intelligence and undercover training—but by the end of the night, I was exhausted.

  Sam laughed as I yawned while we sat at a red light in Mirabelle’s old Crown Vic—a gift while she was away, she’d said when we’d spoken to them earlier. I think she wanted to help us stay off the radar but this car was drawing all sorts of attention of a different kind thanks to the marbled paint job. Witches were officially the strangest people I’d ever known.

  I yawned again and Sam caught me. “Tonight was too much for you, I think,” Sam said from the passenger seat.

  I shot her a glance, brow raised. “I suppose it didn’t bother you at all,” I said and she rolled her eyes.

  “I know. I’m sorry. My mom is not for the faint of heart.”

  I laughed. “At least now I know where you get your temper from.”

  “Laugh about it now but just wait until you get on her bad side.” Sam shuddered.

  I smirked. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I’m a charmer.”

  Sam glared but there was no real threat behind it. “You can be,” she corrected. “But remember who you’re really trying to impress here.”

  “Babe, that is not something I can forget. Trust me.” I reached for her hand and made the turn into Harold’s neighborhood.

  Street lights disappeared and then the lines marking the two lanes vanished as well. Harold’s house had surprised me with its normalcy. After seeing Mirabelle’s place and getting to know Harold and all his quirks, I’d braced myself for weirdness, but the two-story cottage was so normal it was almost disappointing. Except for the location.

  I hadn’t even realized Half Moon Bay town limits extended out this far. But here we were, on a narrow, unmarked road in the middle of the woods and up ahead, one single house cast a gleam of light through the trees surrounding it. Between the location and Safar’s wards, I felt mildly confident we were well-hidden.

  My confidence disappeared as I took in the sight of dozens of pairs of yellow eyes all gleaming back at us from the darkness. I slowed the car, but there were too many to count. And I sure as hell wasn’t stopping.

  “Holy…” I trailed off, stunned and sick and tensing for a fight. My shoulder ached at the thought, but what else could we do?

  Sam put a hand on my arm. “Safar warned me about this. She says they can feel a pull here, but it stops where the wards start. They can’t get inside and they can’t detect me. See? They aren’t even looking at us. Just keep driving.”

  I did, but my muscles stayed coiled and taut. My knuckles turned white where I gripped the wheel and Sam’s hand tight.

  When we’d passed through the perimeter, and the magic of the wards rippled through me, I breathed out.

  Sam squeezed my hand. “We’re safe.”

  I didn’t argue, but my foot leaned harder on the gas as we continued up the driveway. The sick feeling remained even as the adrenaline and tension disappeared. We were going to have to deal with them eventually.

  And at the rate my shoulder was healing, I wasn’t sure I’d be ready.

  “Speaking of not forgetting … I haven’t forgotten your promise to fill me in on Edie’s phone call earlier,” Sam said quietly, and between her reminder and the wall of wolves we’d just driven past, all of the teasing between us vanished.

  I nodded because she had been patient even when I’d forced her to wait. Which wasn’t like Sam. Usually, she’d be doing everything she could to get me to spill whatever I was keeping from her. A sign that her mom and the shit with school was stressing her out more than she’d let on. It was the reason I’d introduced myself in the first place at school this morning.

  A distraction.

  Yes, I was her boyfriend—a cheesy word for whatever this was between us but I hadn’t thought of anything better yet—but I didn’t need her mom’s approval. I needed Sam to stop worrying so much. She was going to need her complete focus for what we needed to do now.

  “Let’s get inside first,” I said as we finally pulled up and parked the car around back of Harold’s house. “Everyone needs to hear this.”

  Sam gave me a questioning look but didn’t argue. We got out, and I felt the thickness in the air as we crossed from the car to the back door. Safar’s wards left a strange taste in my mouth. “You’re a Hunter—the very thing I’m trying to keep out,” she’d explained this morning.

  Made sense. Still felt weird walking through it.

  Sam didn’t seem to have the same problem.

  We made it inside without incident and I sent a silent prayer of gratitude to Safar and Harold both for giving us a safe haven while we worked everything out. But then I remembered Edie’s words from earlier, and I knew what we’d traded for safety from the werewolves.

  Sam wasn’t going to like it.

  Safar and Harold were at the table with a deck of cards between them. Harold grinned up at us but Safar’s face was expressionless as usual. “She guesses right every time,” Harold said, clearly awed. “It’s astounding.”

  I shook my head. I still didn’t have the full run-down on Safar’s gifts. But I knew better than to ask like some nosy asshole. She had warded us successfully and that was enough for me.

  Harold wasn’t so shy. But I wondered if the card trick was more about reading people than cards.

  “Alex has some news to share,” Sam announced without waiting. I smiled to myself. There was that impatience.

  “What is it?” Harold asked, still holding the cards but casually now like he’d already forgotten the game.

  I waited until everyone was seated and then relayed the phone call I’d had from Edie earlier today. By the end, Sam was pale and gripping the arms of her chair tightly.

  “The wards,” she said quietly. “It’s diverted them. Made me too hard to find so they’re—” She gave Safar a pleading look. “We have to undo them.”

  Safar frowned, but I cut her off. “No way, Sam.”

  “But we can’t keep letting others get hurt. We’ve traded our safety for theirs.”

  “And if we drop the wards, we trade again and make ourselves targets. You saw the dozen wolves hanging out by the property line when we drove in tonight. How long do you think I can hold them off if that happens?” She flinched but I held my ground. She had to know we couldn’t drop those wards.

  “Alex is right,” Safar said slowly, and I blinked in surprise that she’d sided with me. “Without the wards, RJ will find you and we can’t be sure you’ll be prepared for that. Not until after the merge.”

  Sam didn’t move. “Your wards are really keeping RJ from knowing our location?”

  Safar nodded. “Yes.”

  I whistled. “That’s some serious magic.”

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nbsp; “Safar is … special,” Harold said. Something about the way he said it rubbed at me. Like he knew more than he was letting on. I focused on him, careful not to let his unassuming appearance fool me anymore.

  “What about you two?” I asked. “Did you talk to Jin about gathering the witches?”

  Harold nodded. “They’ll be ready.”

  I waited and when he didn’t say more, my brows rose. “That’s it?”

  “What else is there?” he asked.

  “Details. Like how they’ll all be ready. How he plans to notify every witch in the western hemisphere without—”

  “Those details are not for you,” Harold said simply.

  “You can trust Jin,” Safar added and I scowled at the challenge in her words.

  “Of course I can trust Jin. I know that, I just—” I ran a hand over my face and let out a breath. “Everything is riding on this. We can’t afford to leave a single detail to chance.”

  “The wards will keep you safe until the moon is ready for us,” Safar said.

  “And after that?” I asked. “Can’t you keep them up during the merge?”

  She shook her head. “My wards cannot stand once Hina comes into her full power through Sam. A force like that is going to knock out any other spell-work around. But we will worry about that later.” She patted my hand, the picture of calm. I couldn’t decide if her clear lack of worry over it all made me feel better or worse. “For now, RJ remains unaware of our location. Sam is going to class, safe and protected and free from sick werewolves. Your arm will heal, and if not, when the merge is complete, Sam will heal you. Everything is under control.”

  I stared at her and even Sam’s eyes widened.

  “What?” Safar asked.

  “You’re keeping track of a lot more than I realized,” I admitted.

  Safar blinked. “Just because I don’t speak doesn’t mean I don’t hear.”

  Harold barked out a laugh and clapped Safar on the back. “Touché, my little friend.”