Rising Fate (Wolf Moon Academy Book 3)

by Jen L. Grey

  I hurried in front and took one step up to the landing at the front door.

  Let me go in first. Liam grabbed my hand, pulling me behind him, and stepped into the house.

  The first smell that hit me when I entered was mothballs. It was so strong that I almost gagged. We made our way down a short hallway that opened to a small living room to the left and a kitchen to the right.

  The cushions of the worn, black leather couch were cut open, and polyurethane foam was thrown everywhere. The old television was toppled over and broken on the ground. The walls were the same white color as outside but were dingy with dirt.

  We turned toward the kitchen to find a small round table for two toppled over with two matching chairs broken on the floor. The aged, yellow-stained cabinets were wide open, and all over the grainy tile floor lay broken pieces of dishes and glass.

  "Holy shit. They ransacked this place." Liam waved us down the hallway where there were three doors. The one to the right was a tiny bedroom. A full-size bed sat in the center of one wall, but the mattress was on its side as if they were searching for something under it. A small dresser sat on the other side with the drawers open, and all of the contents had been dumped on the floor.

  To the left was an office that was only large enough for a desk. Just like the bedroom, the drawers had been opened, and paperwork was scattered across the floor.

  Directly ahead was a bathroom that had a small toilet and stand-up shower. It seemed to be left intact.

  "They were looking for something." Liam shook his head as he took it all in. "And with the amount of mess that they made, it doesn't appear that they found it."

  "What do you think it was?" I glanced around, and my stomach turned when I saw a puddle of blood on the office floor. "Holy shit." I pointed in that direction.

  "That's not good," he said as he frowned.

  I walked into the room, and the metallic scent hit me hard. I glanced around at all the papers on the ground. As I studied them, I discovered most of them were newspaper clippings about my dad's death along with blueprints of the university buildings. "Why didn't they take all this?"

  Liam's eyes followed mine. "Probably because they figure he'd already shared the information with the rebellion and it wasn't what they were looking for."

  For some reason, the blood kept grabbing my attention. It looked as if he had been standing in that spot to block them from the bottom drawer. I bent down and glanced in the drawer, but it was empty. Why would he be right here instead of somewhere else?

  "What are you doing?" Liam's brows furrowed as he watched me.

  "He was standing here against a wall in front of this drawer." There was something here. I knew it. "He could've stood anywhere, but he was right here."

  I ran my hand inside the drawer when my finger hit a raised part in the back. It was raised just enough to be able to grab. Going with instinct, I clutched the raised part of the drawer and lifted up. The wood lifted with my hand. "The bottom comes out."

  "What?" He gagged from the stench of the blood. "God, that's fresh."

  I couldn't focus on the scent or I wouldn't be able to figure out the secret compartment, so I pushed it from my mind. I pulled the bottom out, and Liam gasped.

  "There's something on the paper." His eyes widened. "He had a hidden compartment."

  I picked up the paper delicately and my breath caught in my chest when I saw what was on it. He had drawn the altar that we'd found after we got back from our trip over fall break. His rendition resembled it perfectly with the original Blood Council symbol in the center. Right next to it was written full moon.

  "He was figuring out what they were using it for." That had to be what he was alluding to a few weeks ago when he told me there was something that he hadn't told anyone.

  "And tonight is a full moon." Liam winced. "Do you know what that means?"

  "We're going to be sneaking out and watching what happens tonight." There was no way in hell I was heading to the rebel camp tonight. We were going to find out whatever the council was trying to keep secret from everyone.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Liam and I hurried out to the others. I'd placed the drawing back where the professor had hidden it because I had a feeling that was what they were searching for.

  "We need to head back now." I was afraid that others may come back to search through the house again, and it was safer there than with me.

  "What's wrong?" Evan asked as he and Micah hurried to the front of the house.

  "We'll tell you when we get back to the dorm." Liam's words were rushed as he tugged me toward the woods. "Right now, we need to get out of here and fast."

  "Okay." Bree nodded, following Liam and me as we retraced our steps.

  It felt like it was taking twice as long to get back. When we were only about two miles away from the campus, I linked with Liam. Let's tell them here so there's less of a chance of anyone overhearing.

  Okay. Liam scanned the area to make sure we were alone.

  I stopped and turned to face everyone. "The house was torn apart inside."

  "Torn apart how?" Evan focused on my face as if he could figure it out that way.

  "They ransacked it. The cushions were sliced open, the dishes were smashed, and every drawer in the kitchen and office were dumped out.

  "Do you think they found what they were looking for?" Bree took a deep breath as if preparing for my answer.

  "I don't know." The image of the puddle of blood flashed into my brain. It was so vivid it was like I could smell his blood again, which made me gag. "But he was injured."

  "And we found something else." Liam wrapped his strong arm around my waist and pulled me into his chest. "It was in a secret compartment in the bottom drawer of his desk."

  It felt wrong to feel so safe in his arms when I knew the professor was somewhere injured.

  "A secret compartment?" Micah arched an eyebrow.

  "Yeah, it's hidden so no one can find it." Simon smirked.

  "Not funny." Sherry side-eyed him.

  "What was in it?" Evan ignored the others as he glanced from Liam back to me.

  "It was a drawing of the altar we found that day." I closed my eyes, forcing that picture in my mind instead of the blood.

  "With full moon written next to it." Liam mashed his lips.

  "There's a full moon tonight." Evan glanced at the sky as if the moon would appear overhead.

  "Then, we need to go there and watch what happens." For once, Micah seemed confident with his words.

  "We need to be careful. There's no telling what or if they found anything in the professor’s house." Liam glanced around and sighed. "We need to get back and get some rest. Most of us have been up for twenty hours now."

  He was right. We needed our rest or we could make stupid mistakes. "Let's go. We'll meet up at six tonight in Evan and Liam's room so we can all spray down and get over there before it gets completely dark."

  "That sounds like a plan." Bree rubbed her hands together.

  With our plans in place, we turned back toward the school and hurried through the woods.

  Our group ran through the forest and was able to make it back into the stairwell without any problems. As we climbed the stairs, a door from the sixth floor opened.

  Shit, there was no way we could all hide. We stopped in our tracks as a student and an older man stepped into the stairwell. Their skin was a paler shade, similar to Evan, and the older man was taller than what most likely was his son.

  "Ah, what do we have here?" The older man pulled his gray slacks up around his waist and then grabbed his gray jacket, pulling it back down over his large belly. "The heirs and their toys?"

  Great, another alpha prick to contend with.

  "Why don't they smell?" His son sniffed the air as if he tried to get our scent. "That's weird."

  "We were testing out a new product." It was the only thing that came to my mind. "And you proved it worked. So, thank you." I forced a smile which probably l
ooked strange on my face. We didn't need to draw more unwanted attention to ourselves.

  "Oh, neat." The younger guy took a step toward me and took another huge sniff.

  A low growl emanated from Liam's chest. "Back the fuck off before I make you."

  "Whoa, I thought your dad was kidding when he said you found your fated." The older man grabbed his son's arm and yanked him back. "But apparently, he wasn’t."

  "Look, this is a top-secret project we were working on, Mr. Kohl. One our dads want to keep secret." Evan cleared his throat and brushed past me so he was blocking me from their view. "So we don't need anyone to know, we were trying to make sure we were undetectable."

  "It's because of those rebellion losers, isn't it?" The son nodded his head. "We're going to hit them so hard they won't see it coming."

  His dad laughed and patted the guy on the shoulder. "I told you the council was innovative. It's nice to see we're building weapons to use against the weak. Don't let us hold you up."

  My stomach dropped, but I forced my legs to continue to move up the stairs. This wasn't good. I hoped we could make it to Liam's without being caught again.

  The seven of us rushed even more so, and when I saw Liam's door, my heart began to return to a normal rhythm. The seven of us rushed into the room as the distinct smell of Mr. Hale and Mr. Rafferty hit our noses.

  "Did you know our dads were coming?" Liam asked as he glanced at Evan.

  "No, but it's faint. They aren't here any longer." Evan shook his head. "You all go change in your rooms and hide the clothes you have on."

  Liam rushed to his room, scanning everywhere as he went.

  "I don't have any clothes here." Bree pointed to the door. "I'll have to go back to my room to get some."

  "You can wear some of mine." I grabbed her hand and pulled her in the direction of Liam's room.

  "They've been all over the place." Liam walked into his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans and a black shirt.

  "Do you think they're coming back?" I rushed to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer, looking for my jewelry box I'd hidden. When I opened it up, the pendant my mother gave me was still in there.

  "There's no telling." He shook his head. "I bet they were hoping we'd be gone long enough for their scents to be gone."

  "Maybe." At this point, I was thinking they didn’t care anymore. Something wasn't sitting right with me. The other alphas coming, Professor Johnson vanishing, and them coming into our rooms with no regard, it all appeared suspect.

  I grabbed two pairs of black yoga pants and two white shirts before throwing one set at Bree. "The pants may be a little long on you, so you might need to roll them up."

  "At this point, I don't care." She ran into the bathroom and arched an eyebrow. "I may be desperate to change my clothes, but I don't need to see my brother in his birthday suit."

  "Don't worry. I feel the same way about you." Liam called as he went into the walk-in closet and shut the door.

  A small laugh left me as I quickly changed.

  "Is it safe?" Bree asked from behind the closed door.

  "He's changing in the closet, so you're good." At least, this moment felt a little normal.

  Both doors opened at the same time, and the three of us headed back out to the living room.

  Evan was already sitting on the couch, and the others had gone.

  "Nothing seemed out of place." Evan glanced in our direction. "How about in your room?"

  "The same, but dad's scent was everywhere." Liam frowned.

  "Even in the bathroom." Bree plopped into the recliner. "Good thing I had my phone on me."

  She was referring to the burner phone the rebellion had given her, which was a very good thing. There was no telling what they'd do with that kind of information. "I wonder if they found what they were looking for."

  "The spray is still where I'd left it." Evan shrugged his shoulders. "So we might not ever know."

  "Yeah, right." Liam rubbed a hand down his face. "We both know they'll use it to their advantage. Whatever it is."

  "Well, right now, we need to rest." We had a long night ahead of us and needed to make sure we didn't make any stupid mistakes.

  "I'm going to nap out here." Evan turned and lay down on the couch long-ways.

  "And if you guys don't mind, I'm going to stay here too." Bree glanced at the floor and chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm kind of afraid to be alone in my place right now."

  It was sad when your best friend was afraid of her own father. "Of course, that's fine."

  Even though it wasn't technically my place, Evan and Liam had never made me feel like it wasn't.

  "We'll keep a lookout." Evan smiled at her as he turned on his side, facing the door.

  "Sounds good to me." She grabbed the lever on the recliner and leaned the seat backward.

  "Come on." Liam took my hand and guided me into the bedroom. "Let's cuddle and get some rest."

  At that moment, it sounded like heaven.

  A knock on the bedroom door startled me from my sleep. It'd taken me awhile to finally fall asleep even wrapped in Liam's arms. I yawned as I called out, "I'm getting up." I turned and looked at the clock. It was after six, so we needed to get moving.

  "Can't we just stay here?" Liam's breath hit the back of my neck with each word, making my body warm.

  Now wasn't the time, no matter how much I wanted him. "I wish, but maybe one day we won't be rushing to get somewhere."

  "My life has never been as hectic until I met you, but I also have never been this happy." He kissed the top of my head and released me.

  "My life was pretty calm too before coming here." It was crazy to think how much had changed. I went from going to a human high school and trying to blend in to coming here, finding my mate, and learning about a life I never knew I had.

  I picked up the clothes that had the scent neutralizing spray all over them and put them back on. The spray was still working, and my clothes were dry, which was a win-win for me, especially since it was going to be down below freezing tonight.

  Liam hurried into the closet where he'd changed earlier and emerged with his same clothes too. He raised his arm and sniffed it. "That's so strange."

  It really was. A wolf always relied on its nose, so for something to not have a scent, it was a little disorienting. "Let's go check on the others." We needed to make sure we got out there before the council. They had to be linked with the altar having the original symbol on it.

  I headed to the door and opened it up. The smell of pizza hit my nose, which caused my stomach to growl.

  When I walked into the living room, Bree was eating in the recliner she'd slept in, and Evan was mid-bite on the couch. Micah, Simon, and Sherry were sitting at the kitchen table with seven boxes of pizza piled in the center.

  "Whoever brought this is my savior." I grabbed a paper plate next to the boxes and three pieces.

  Liam was right behind me, and he joined Evan on the couch, leaving the other recliner for me.

  A tense silence filled the air as we all ate. It didn't take long for all of us to finish since we were anxious and edgy. Whatever we saw tonight, there was going to be no coming back from it.

  "Let me go change." Bree jumped up and went into our bathroom. I finished up my last slice right when she came back into the room.

  "Let's get going. The sooner we get there, the better," Evan said as he stood and stretched.

  Micah hurried to the door and placed his ear against the frame. He paused a moment and nodded his head. "There aren't any noises."

  "Let's be careful. We don't need to run into anyone else this time." Liam opened the door and glanced both ways. He turned toward us and motioned us on.

  My heart raced as we ran down the stairwell. With each floor we hit, more anxiety flooded me after what had happened earlier. When I reached the ground level and made it into the trees, adrenaline pumped through me.

  Evan hurried to the front of the group and waved us on as we stayed with
in the trees. I tapped into my wolf, allowing her to take over partially. Too much stuff was running through my head, so I relied on her to get me there safely.

  As we got close, the buzzing feeling under my skin took over once again like the day I had found this place. We're getting close.

  Yeah, we are. Liam paused, allowing me to catch up with him. What's wrong?

  That weird electric feeling is washing over me again. It was strange. It didn't hurt but didn't feel good either. It was painfully pleasant if that even made sense. How could I explain it if I didn't understand it myself?

  The closer we got, the more it ran either across or under my skin. It was so intense I wasn't sure which one it was. It felt like my skin being rubbed in two different directions.

  Evan slowed and pointed to a section of large trees with thick underbrush.

  We're here. Liam took my hand and hunkered down as he walked along the brush to sit down far enough away so that the other five had room.

  I settled beside him and looked through the greenery. We were about twenty feet away from the altar but could see everything perfectly.

  Bree scooted close to me as Sherry, Simon, Micah, and then Evan filed in. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was close to a quarter after seven, so there was no telling how long we'd have to wait.

  A noise came from several feet away, causing my eyes to pop open. I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep, but my head was on Liam's shoulder. I sat up just in time for the four council members to appear before us.

  They moved slower than normal, and just like Mr. Hale, they all appeared to have aged several years in a short span of time.

  "The full moon rising tonight is in our favor." Mr. Hale lifted his head toward the sky, glancing at the moon right over our heads.

  It had to be close to midnight.

  "Let's get this over with." Mr. Rafferty's skin seemed paler than normal as he headed to the altar and kneeled on one of the silver paw spots.

  The other three followed suit, each one taking a silver paw, leaving the ruby one open.

  Was my dad meant to be part of this? Was this what he was talking about when he said he needed to change something before I was brought into this world? It was hidden, and apparently, the members knew exactly what to do.