Immortal Academy- The Complete Series

by S. L. Morgan

  I felt tears in my eyes. This wasn’t the reunion I’d expected after Dom and I worked to get my inner wolf under control, and we finally came together again.

  “You didn’t do anything. Dominic, I love you. I swear this has to be that demon or my wolf is pissed off again. Shit, I thought I had this under control.”

  “I sense no darkness in you, and your wolf isn’t pissed. She’s perfectly normal—and you are with her. Being submitted and under proper control, you and your wolf somehow have discovered I’m not the one you’ll spend your immortal life with.”

  “Bullshit!” I snapped. I reached for his face as he stood perfectly still, eyes staring into mine. That’s when I really started sensing it for the first time. Dom’s eyes weren’t having that intense soul connection with mine. There were no blasting sparks of energy while pulling his face down for me to kiss his lips. “We’re true mates, Dominic Rossi.”

  Dom’s arms came around me tightly and pulled me into his hard body. “I hope you’re right,” he said and then his lips met mine with urgency. He groaned and reached his hand to steady the back of my head while his kiss became so consuming that I thought I might pass out.

  I gripped his cheeks, needing to pull away from his overwhelming kiss to catch my breath. Dom’s hand slipped down to rest on the back of my neck while his firm lips slowly traced down to my chin, onto my neck, and massaged over my collar bones. I rocked my head back, giving him all access to his girl.

  “I’m all yours, Dom. I have been since day one with you and me,” I panted, catching my breath and steadying my heart’s rhythm. His hands traced over the curves of my waist, and his lips kissed over my covered breasts, something that should have had me riding over the top and wanting more.

  Nothing.

  My eyes snapped open to the trees above our heads, knowing this was hot and sexy, but I should have been reacting more intensely than I was.

  “Open your wolf up to us,” I begged him.

  Dom’s wolf was instantly present, and that’s when I saw the horror of what Dom was talking about. There was no real draw to the wolf I had pronounced as my own once before. He was a strong alpha, but that was it. I didn’t feel the need or want to take any power or emotion from his wolf like I did before.

  Then there was my wolf. It was like she was immune to all of this. She was staring at Dom’s wolf as if it were her alpha, but that was it. The once submissive behavior and respect she held for Dom’s powerful black inner wolf was absent. She wasn’t being a bitchy little thing, either. She wasn’t hurt, pissed, or fighting. She was allowing herself to see the wolf, but there was no draw to Dom or this alpha we’d both accepted as our mate.

  “Shit,” I said through tears and Dom instantly pulled away from me.

  “It’s true,” he said, caressing my face. “I’m so sorry if that kiss was too much. I was selfishly trying to get you back, hoping at least you both would accept us. Oh my God.” He looked up at the trees for answers. “This can’t be real.”

  “Dom,” I said with determination. “You won’t lose us. Something’s screwing with us, but we’ll fix it. You can help me fix it like you helped me fix this rebellious wolf of mine.”

  “This isn’t something that’s fixed, Jen.” He exhaled. “You know how mates work. We can’t reprogram you and your wolf to accept me. It doesn’t work like that. I just don’t understand any of it. I feel it, my wolf feels it, but it’s like something happened, and now, you and your wolf have rejected this bond. I can’t force anything on you.”

  “Then how is it I know I love you?” I angrily wiped tears from my eyes. “Dominic, I love you so much it hurts. How can I feel that way if we’re not mates?”

  “Emotions,” he said softly. “You’re reacting on your natural emotions, not your shifter ones. Your shifter self does not see me as your true mate. Now that everything is settled with you, the wolf sees more clearly because she’s in a healthier state as your inner beast. Now that the shifter in you is corrected, everything else in your lives is falling into place for what’s right for you.”

  “But you said your wolf sees us as your mate.”

  “It’s happened before, where one desires the other as a mate whether or not that one true mate for them accepts it or not.” He ran his hand over my shoulder, “I believe I’m in the nightmare life now.”

  “How and when did you notice this in me? Is this why you faked the letter about Ethan to get me out here?”

  “The note was from E,” he smiled a sincere Dom smile. “It took a lot of convincing for him to stay back and let me come see you alone tonight. He misses you.” His expression tightened again, “As for noticing you no longer accepting me as your true mate, that was about a week ago when your thoughts stopped entering my mind. I thought it was nothing, that it was part of the process of helping you get your wolf under control. Then in the drill-downs, when your wolf disappeared before my eyes, I felt intense power come from you. I ended the drill-down, uncertain if it was going to harm you by grabbing your fairy-witch magic to finish the exercise. Tonight, after seeing you with Bradley, that’s when I was certain the wolf was silent to me. That’s when I was done putting you through this shit, and I knew I wouldn’t lose you. I had to be sure, though. I had to bring you out here alone to see if it was all true or not.”

  “My God,” I said over and over again. “We have to fight this. You said you would protect me, damn it!”

  “I was protecting you. Why else would I bust my ass to make sure I was your instructor when I learned Edgewater was pulling you into this stupid new class? I used freaking annoying-ass Kat to get information about how you were doing. Her jealous gossip was enough to send me over the edge, but she kept me informed while we separated you out and used isolation to get you focused on claiming your wolf like you have. Everything worked, but it all seemed to have come at the price of losing you in the end.”

  “We’ll work on this,” I said with certainty.

  He nodded, but I could see the defeat in his face. “I’ll do anything to get you back, but we need to figure out why you and the wolf are rejecting what was once true mateship between us. That, on top of you no longer wanting me, is the most impossible part for me to accept.”

  “It doesn’t happen, Dominic. I grew up knowing how shifters are. You don’t find your true mate only to wake up one day and realize it was some mistake. That shit doesn’t happen in our world, and we both know it.”

  “You’re different, Jen. You’re much more unique than the average shifter. Your other genetics may be coming into play now, and your wolf is adapting to who you really are.”

  “And that is?” I growled.

  “Someone who may not accept shifting mates like the rest of we shifters do. Do not take that the wrong way, Jenna, I’m serious. Think about it, your wolf has more power, she acts like an alpha, she’s never answered to my alpha commands—it’s as if since setting her mind into a healthier state, she’s learned there’s a more powerful mate to be your equal. Or perhaps, someone who isn’t an alpha. We also know the rules of that too.”

  “No two alphas are compatible mates,” I answered dryly.

  “Exactly,” he said and reached for my hand. “I’m so relieved you are healthier and stronger as a shifter now. It may have cost me the only one I’ll ever love, but if it means that it made you who you were meant to be—stronger, better, in control—the price was worth it in the end. Now, you and the wolf are balanced and will be so much better off at this school.”

  “I’m not giving up on us,” I reminded him. “I’m dead serious. This is some weird twist up in my genetic makeup. I won’t let me being some part fairy-witch screw up my life.”

  “I’ll do anything you ask to help, but I’m not certain anything will work.”

  “Well, if my wolf changed her mind once, then she can change it again,” I said resolutely.

  I got a bit of a smile out of Dom for that one, and I used this happier expression to my advantage and reached m
y arms under his and drew him in close again. “I don’t know if we’re going to keep the break-up between you and me going—probably should since I’m in the troubled kids’ classes and you’re the one beating the rebellious nature out of us. So, we might need to work around it all.”

  “I don’t give a shit what anyone at this school thinks. I’ve already lost you. If you’re willing to give me a chance to get you and that wolf back, then I’ll do whatever that takes.”

  “Well, then, at least we’re on the same page and not letting this beat us.”

  He licked his lips and sighed. “If we manage to bring these wolves back together, it’ll be a damn miracle,” he said with a subdued laugh.

  “You know,” I ran my fingers up the t-shirt he wore and ran my hands along his robust frame, “we could always go for it and force the bond…through other methods, of course.”

  Dom grinned. “That’s a great way to push a wolf shifter who’s rejecting me to the opposite end of the mate spectrum.” He bent to kiss my nose, “Let’s take it all one step at a time, and if somehow you grow tired of trying to accept something that isn’t there, I’ll respect your decision.”

  “Not going to happen,” I said with a smile.

  “I hope not because I might just kill the first person who comes along to take you completely away from me.”

  “Don’t talk like that.”

  “I felt that your wolf was drawn to the bear shifter tonight,” he said from out of nowhere.

  “Oh, please. She was only drooling over a freaking bear…a bear whose ass you kicked in drill-downs a few days ago,” I laughed. “She’d be an idiot to fall for anyone besides the strongest shifter at this school.”

  Dom nodded. “That’s why she won’t. Two alphas, remember?”

  “Stop!” I said. “We’re not going down that road. You saved both our asses on that vacation. I felt our closeness too. I felt you come in, hold me, and keep me safe until that demon released my wolf. You are the one, Dom. This damn school is probably screwing with us again. We need to fight past it.”

  He pulled me into a tight embrace. “It’ll be hardest on you, but I won’t stop trying to win you both back until you tell me to stop.”

  “It’s a deal. We’re not giving up.”

  “Deal,” he said with a curious expression. “Let me walk you back to your dorm before someone realizes we’re out here.”

  “Wait,” I said. “I don’t know what tomorrow is going to look like, but I can’t leave without a few more minutes of you and me making up for lost time.”

  “Damn, I love that you feel this way.” He brushed my hair off my shoulder, “There might be some hope in this after all?”

  I brought his face back to mine, and the next thing I knew, Dominic was kissing me like this was the last time he would ever have the chance to be this close to me. Forgetting the time, place, or who could walk down and catch us, we both slid behind the trees, lying on the ground and making this kiss begin the start of us bringing our wolves back together.

  Feeling Dom’s lips all over my skin gave me goosebumps everywhere. His hand glided under my shirt, and I knew he was testing my response to his daring exploration of my body since he knew I wasn’t accepting of him anymore. While it didn’t send me over the top, wanting to go crazy with him, it did do things to me that made me squirm beneath his touch, begging him to give me more than this make-out session.

  If it came down to us completely losing control and taking the sexual road, that wasn’t going to be a problem for me. He was my true mate whether or not this school seemed to be disrupting that between us.

  Chapter Fifteen

  I was the one to absently kill mine and Dom’s moment by no longer being able to continue on, feeling emotionless about what was happening. It started off well, then I fought the indifference of my wolf for him, and then I did the worst thing I could have done, shoved him off of me in absolute defeat. There was no mentally beating this feeling, this sensation of having zero interest or spark in me for him anymore—no matter what my heart seemed to think about him.

  Dom was amazingly cool about it, even though it was apparent in his eyes that everything he’d explained to me about my wolf no longer seeing him as a mate was coming into full effect. While this may have been a way for him to try and see if it was all true, I was using our reunion to make sure I kept him, and to make sure my wolf understood who her true mate was now that she was thinking like the true shifter side of me would.

  Dom was a damn trooper. Instead of sulking around, he was back up and kicking all our asses the next day in drills. I admired him so much, I just had no idea why I wasn’t able to click in with him anymore. Shit!

  “You’re all showing some fantastic improvement,” Dom addressed us before releasing us from his grueling workout. “Keep with this mentality, and you’ll all be back to normal routines in no time.” We turned to leave for the showers before Dom whistled to grab our attention. “After lunch, all are to meet in Crystal Hall Theatre in House Draugar. The dean has a guest speaker who wishes to address the students who’ve been pulled into these programs. Dismissed.”

  I gave Dom one last glance, but he was occupied by a clipboard some shifter chick had run over to him. He seemed fully absorbed in whatever he was reading, so I left him alone. Apologizing for being a distant bitch to him the other night for the millionth time would get both of us nowhere.

  I was famished and looking forward to getting back to my normal life. I knew that would help me. I was mentally shut down, going through this program, and I hadn’t been around any of my friends since the start of the school year. I was all sorts of screwed up in that department, and if I wanted to work on finding Dominic as my mate again, then I knew it would need to start with things going back to normal. I needed to adjust—so did my wolf—to the new way we looked at the world.

  The craziest part was I didn't agree with my inner wolf not seeing Dom as our mate, and I was in control of her. It was this horrible feeling of not having emotions like that around him. I guess this is what it felt like to fall out of love with someone. Who knew?

  I sprinted up to the line to grab the usual potato soup and stale bread. Damn, I hope I still like pie after this. If that craving and enjoyment went away, there would be hell to pay.

  “Mind if I join you?” Bradley’s voice hit me while I was shoveling a spoonful of soup down my throat. “Dang, girl. You eat like a male shifter,” he laughed.

  “You think this is bad?” I smiled across the table at him. Damn, this guy had eyes and a smile that struck me hard. “You should see me with real food…and pie, of course.”

  “I heard that about you,” he started in on his soup. “The shifter who could eat two pies in one sitting. Rumors false on that one too?”

  “I can neither confirm nor deny those allegations,” I laughed. “In fact, I think if we keep our crap together, heads down, and get through this stupid program, I’ll prove it to you. I might break my own pie-eating record.”

  “I’ll hold you to that.” He took a bite of bread while the other troubled students made their way over to our tables of isolation. “So, what are your thoughts on the dean’s guest speaker today?”

  “I don’t know what to think about anything at this school these days. All I know is that I’ll be studying late in the library again because I’m sure this is going to be a waste of our time, and of course, our instructors won’t give us a pass on lessons today.”

  “True,” he answered. “If you don’t mind, maybe I’ll join in again. I can get you up to speed and past the first lesson of the year on vamps if you want.”

  I rubbed my forehead. I would’ve rather had Dominic help me out, but he was most likely going to be doing more drill-downs during that time anyway. Someone always screwed up and pissed him off, so he was always out working their attitudes off in extreme exercise.

  “Sounds good,” I finally answered.

  “Time’s up. Everyone is to report to Crystal Hall. T
hat’s the only room on the third floor of House Draugar if you’re wondering,” the lunch warden who always made us feel like we were in prison announced to the troubled kids’ groups.

  We walked into the lavish hall, which was obviously named after the wonder and the beauty of the crystal—crystal every-damn-where. Even the candles in their lavish holders on the burgundy painted walls were crystal. Stadium seating again, and somehow, every dumbass beat me to the seats that hid in the back—glad I stopped for a bathroom break.

  “Hey, Jenna!” I heard my name from the front freaking row, and an arm was waving me down. “There’s a seat right here.”

  I glanced around, even though it would’ve been fine sitting next to Bradley, I did not want to be front and center for a guest speaker who was most likely here to rip into all of us for being the idiots of the school.

  The place was jam-packed with every bad kid in their respective groups. The crappy fairies, lame vamps, loser shifters, and the dud witches. Good names for how they all treated us outcasts these days.

  I turned and headed toward the front. “Thanks for this,” I said, sitting in the cushioned chair next to Bradley. “As much as I hate the front row, it’s better than being yelled at for standing in the back or sitting next to a group of chattering sprites.”

  Bradley laughed. “No problem,” he answered, “I saw you head off down the hall for a quick break as the mobs started coming in behind us. I figured I’d hold you a place just in case. We’ve all come too far to get yelled at for something as stupid as them not finding a place big enough to fit all of us.”

  “I second that.”

  My eyes roamed over the sweet, out-of-this-world sexy bear shifter. Wow! You could actually see his quad muscles through his khaki school-uniform pants. A quick scan and I saw he had biceps like Dom’s—how was it that muscles stretching short-sleeved shirts were a total turn on for me?