by S. L. Morgan
“Attention,” Dean Edgewater called out to the prattling voices in the room.
Immediately silenced.
“Wow,” he gripped each side of the podium and leaned toward the microphone that magically floated above it. “I’ll say, I’m impressed. Maybe this is a program we’ll put the entire school through. I don’t think we’ve ever silenced a group this fast. I’m proud of you.” He smiled out at us. “Speaking of proud, let’s bring out each of your instructors. They need no introductions. I’m sure you know them well.”
I watched as a tall guy with long black hair who was sporting a fancy suit walked out—vampire. Then a lime-green spiky-haired chick walked out with a lethal expression—crazy fairy. A woman who held herself with the supreme authority only magic users waltzed around with followed behind—witch. Then my eyes followed the one who stole the room as he walked across the stage in his all-black combat clothes. Damn you, Dominic. His good looks went on for days, and here I was, rejecting all that man up there…what the hell was wrong with my genetics? I was like a freaking mutant.
A laugh came from the bottom of the stage. My wolf hearing instantly picked up on the unfamiliar tone, leading my eyes over to a man with sandy blonde hair who was dressed in an all-black suit that put Dean Edgewater’s billion-dollar suits to shame. The man’s eyes glimmered in a light blue hue, and when he and I locked gazes, he didn’t shy away from it. Instead, the man smirked in some self-assured way, casually leaning against the wall.
“I ask you all to give your masters a round of applause for helping you learn the proper ways of behavior at our school,” Edgewater said, bringing my attention back to him.
Like any of us are going to applaud having our asses beat down by the masters since we started this school year.
I clapped anyway. The last thing we needed was to get busted for not appreciating the people who beat us down every day.
“Now,” Edgewater smiled widely at us like a supernatural celebrity was here, “it is an honor to have firsts at our school. Sadly, this first isn’t one that comes because a group of individuals wants to applaud the school but to set careful reminders of why you’re here and then encourage you to stay on the path you’re on. Allow me to introduce a person from the realm of a Guardian who is here to address all of you before we start looking to reintegrate you into the school.”
He turned to the man I’d locked eyes with. “Harrison Oxley, Guardian leader and protector of humans, please allow me to introduce you to our students.”
The man walked onto the stage, crossed it like he owned it, and nodded at Dean Edgewater, totally shocking me when he didn’t shake the dean’s extended hand.
I think I like this guy! I thought, loving how he totally brushed the dean off, making Edgewater look like the creepy asshole he was.
“And so here I am,” his raspy, yet kind of sexy voice started with a smile. “I must say, it’s an honor to stand before all the students who have gone to great lengths to be deemed the most troubled students at this place. Congratulations, your loved ones must be so proud.” He exhaled, making it completely obvious that he wasn’t happy to be part of this. It was more like it just had to be done, so he was doing it. He made eye contact with me. “Some of you might be thinking this very second, ‘This guy looks like he doesn’t want to be here. It’s like this is just something that has to be done, so he’s the one who has to do it.’”
Shit! He’s a damn mind reader too?
He smiled at me to confirm that thought, then became more serious. “First of all, Dean Edgewater,” he looked back at where Edgewater sat, legs crossed and with perfect posture, “Maybe you need to hit one of the training fields with your students to stimulate your mind so you can pay attention more in council meetings.”
Dean Edgewater flashed a smile of confusion, trying to hold his own against whatever point this man was trying to make. “My name is Harrison Oxley, folks.” He turned back to us, “If your dean of students, here, paid attention in our Elite Council, he’d also know my accurate title, which is Guardian Commander. I’m from a dimension that wasn’t named after the order of operations in your basic math class—Pemdas.”
I actually laughed at that name, among others.
“I’m glad that sounded like a joke, but since our dimension is far from a joke, I ask that you get your laughs out now because it’s all about to get serious.”
The room fell silent. It wasn’t hilarious that the place the guy was from was the initials of the operations in the order of math, it was the way he’d set it up.
“You all should be grateful that something came up with our emperor, and he was held back on business—the business we’re used to handling—you certainly wouldn’t have wanted to get this talk from him. We don’t do school visits. We don’t patronize any individual or being who messes with the human population. However, we’ve decided to step in and give you all a little history lesson about what we do and why we do it. Why? Yes, I heard that in all of your thoughts.” He grinned, “How about that? I may not crave human blood, play with elements, cast spells, or shift into an apex predator like all of you, but I will tell you there’s a lot more to mine and my warriors’ simple appearance. Not to worry, I’m not here to brag about myself—you don’t have nearly enough time for that.”
Who the hell is this guy, anyway? I thought with an internal laugh at how he held himself and spoke to us. It was actually sort of refreshing to see an adult not act all prim and perfectly proper at this insane school.
“I am here, wasting my extremely valuable time,” he went on, “to give you all some reasons as to why we’ve urged this school of all schools to hold their students back until they’ve learned to respect the weaker race out of all of us—the humans.”
I watched intently as the commander went on to insult Dean Edgewater’s beloved and most prestigious school and wondered if the dean would put the poor, arrogant man on his hit list. The smile coming off the dean was now plastered there and unwavering. Edgewater was pissed. I don’t think he expected his guest speaker to insult the hell out of his stupid school where he kept us all hostage.
“Now,” he turned back, “Master Rossi, is it?”
Dom nodded.
“Jump up here for me,” Harrison invited him to the podium. “You all may not have noticed, but we’ve had eyes on the inside, watching how Dean Edgewater would handle our suggestion of pulling the troubled students who might inevitably end up facing one of our warriors for disturbing a human on Earth. This young man has impressed me enough to have my men join him on Earth, going after those who can’t seem to blend in with the humans, and placing them in a new location where they are dealt with by your supernatural superiors.”
“Why wouldn’t your people just deal with them?” some pixie-voiced kid four rows back shouted.
Harrison narrowed his eyes with a devilish grin while leaning toward the mic. “Because our kind would kill them. Second chances are over as of four months ago. Does that answer your question, or do I need to have it written down and translated?”
“You’re good.” The pixie was stupid enough to think this guy was actually doing him a favor by being kind enough to answer his dumb question.
“Next interruption, and you’ll be escorted out. That goes for all of you, understood?” Dean Edgewater stood up and barked from his chair.
“Back to what I was trying to say.” He reached out, clapped Dom on the arm, and shook his hand. “You’ve handled the objective we gave your school well. The Emperor extends his gratitude, and you may receive the honor of shaking my hand now,” he grinned and winked.
Dom smiled back at Harrison, and you could see some badass spark of warrior energy bounce off the two. I settled further into my chair, watching the commander pull Dominic in, whisper something into his ear, and then silently dismiss Dom back to his chair.
“The other instructors will be replaced as we are not impressed with how they are handling the seriousness of your issues. You see, we understand that a sc
hool such as this academy has students who reflect their leadership in them.” He looked back at the dean’s death gaze. “Immortal Academy is the reason—as you already know, Dean Edgewater—that my men are working overtime to handle situations on Earth. You might strut around this place like you helped build it, but it seems as though you are doing a fantastic job of ruining it and everyone who comes through it.”
Harrison turned back to face us but was still pretty much curb-stomping the dean into the ground. Holy shit, this guy was holding nothing back as he blasted Edgewater in front of all his troubled students.
The Guardian Commander looked around the room. “It’s absurd that only one percent of the students who have graduated from this place have been successful in transitioning into human society. The others are the bane of my existence at the moment, and you have no idea what I’m used to dealing with.” He brought his annoyed expression back to the real reason it seemed like he was here… to roast Edgewater. “You should be embarrassed and disgusted with your staff, your students, and the alumni from this place. You will tender your resignation as dean of this school. You and I are meeting with the Elite Council after I’m finished here, and I believe,” he looked back out to all of us, “you all will be seeing a change of environment in your school.”
“Sir—”
“My name is Commander Oxley, Dean Edgewater,” the commander’s voice dropped into some lethal tone. “Are you proving my point in why your students are unruly by interrupting me too?” he said, glancing back at the extremely pissed off dean.
“I believe the time is up.”
I glanced over at Dom, shocked this was happening right in front of us. Dom maintained his composure, his face intently studying the dean and the commander’s face.
“And I believe your watch must be broken. I will determine when time is up. You lost the privilege of me taking you seriously after one of my men fell to three of your graduates. Do I need to go on about why I am using my personal time to address the students?”
“It sounds like you’re attacking our fine school,” Edgewater said, trying not to crumble under the commander’s stare.
“Congratulations, you can hear. At least something around here works.” He looked back at all of us. “It seems as though I’ve ruffled some peacock feathers back there, so I’ll make it short and sweet. We’re watching the school, and until we see some dramatic changes—changes like this young man back here made with his group of shifters—we’ll keep extending your years at this school and any other supernatural school out there. We will not tolerate our time being wasted by those we have made responsible for teaching students how to control themselves around humans. Your schooling will become more extensive and your pre-graduation panel more demanding than ever before.” He leaned into the mic, and for the first time since making eye-contact with him, I saw the face of a supreme warrior in his expression. “Your kind is small and weak compared to what my men and I deal with multiple times a day; however, you all have the potential to be great individuals if given the proper guidance. Make no mistake that the blame for all of this is placed squarely on the administration, but it is up to all of you to do better and to know precisely how serious the consequences of your actions are. Believe me when I say you do not want to have a run-in with me or any of my people, so take this warning to heart.”
“Commander Oxley,” Dean Edgewater spoke, but the man held up a hand as to finish and then deal with the dean for interrupting him…again. My fear for the man shifted to absolute respect and gratitude, knowing he was fixing one of the most significant problems at this school.
The commander exhaled. “This school is filled with fluff, and it will all end after today. Thank you all for your undivided attention.” He pointed to the pixie four rows behind me, “And to the kid with all the poignant questions, I’ll see to it that you join Dominic Rossi’s group to prove my point that excellent leadership develops excellent students. That’s all, you now may return to your lives as you know it at this most prestigious school!” He finished, then to my total shock, he nodded toward the burgundy curtains where four individuals dressed in black and red armored-like clothing walked out. “Gentlemen, grab the dean before he hurts himself. It seems I accidentally blew our afternoon lunch surprise for him by informing him that he’s on his way to a council session of his own.”
“This is preposterous,” Dean Edgewater said in a ridiculous, flabbergasted tone.
“Don’t make me embarrass you more than I already have, Darius.”
“I refuse to be treated—”
Commander Harrison rolled his eyes as the dean went to approach him aggressively, and he gripped the back of the dean’s neck, stopping the attack, and rushed him out of the room.
Daaaaaamn! These Elite Council people were no joke…but Dean Edgewater resigning? The creep I knew was ultimately behind the murders of the school, gone? I jumped up and even saw the smile on Dom’s face as he watched Edgewater get dragged off the stage.
We made eye contact for a split second before the entire room went into celebration mode, and I was in a tight bear hug from the sexy shifter who had been sitting to my left. Who cared what anyone thought, I’d give Kat a freaking hug right now. That commander came in and wiped the floor with the jerk I’d hated since day one at this school. Maybe—just maybe—things were going to level out, and this whole troubled kids’ program will have been all worth it in the end.
Note to self: After graduating, find Commander Harrison and hug him or kiss him—he’d fearlessly saved the freaking school like the badass he just proved himself to be. The fact that he’d singled out Dom and recognized his efforts had shown that the Guardian Commander didn’t mess around with who was good or bad. He called out the excellent leadership in Dom and then was calling for the dean’s resignation as we all filtered out of the room, following our instructors and hoping to find out more about this phenomenal change of events.
Chapter Sixteen
I was still in shock as I walked out of House Draugar after what that commander threw down right in front of us.
“Damn,” I finally said, not caring who was standing next to me. “I can’t believe that slimeball is out of here!”
“Silvers,” Dom said from behind me. “Watch the language, and careful of your words,” he ordered.
I wanted to turn around and hug him, but I realized that was his alpha voice, and my wolf wouldn’t respond to it if I begged her to. My elation over the dean getting slammed by the badass on the council was killed by the realization that this is precisely why things weren’t connecting with Dom and me.
Having my wolf in her place and both of us working together healthily was making me lose the only person I’d ever fallen for—my true mate. This new balance in me was just a small reminder of why we weren’t going to work as two sharing an alpha role.
What if it wasn’t the alpha streak in me that was forcing us to disconnect like this? I wasn’t one to get pushed around or fall at an alpha wolf’s mercy, but I actually did. Granted, my wolf and I were sort of jacked up when we both fell into the submissive role under Dominic, but he wasn’t pulling a hard alpha card on us either. He was anything but the bastard alpha I’d heard about in shifter couples. He was the exact opposite of that. I felt it and understood that immediately when he opened his wolf up to me.
Holy crap! That’s it!
“Dom!” I stopped, and he, the bear shifter, and three other shifters nearly ran me over because of my unexpected standstill in the hallway that exited this place.
“Jen?” Dom questioned, and I was shocked he wasn’t using the Master Dominic ‘Silvers’ label he’d placed on me as my instructor. “What’s going on?”
“You okay, Jenna?” Bradley asked as Dom caught my arm before walking over the top of me after I’d suddenly stopped.
I watched the quick glare Dom slanted over to the bear shifter. Bradley cowered away as if he’d cussed the master shifter out, and then he gulped as if he’d said some
thing totally out of line. Whoa. I guess that’s what it’s like to be under the influence of a strong alpha. It was intense that Dominic’s emotions emitted the dangerous energy that he was going to kill a freaking bear if the guy said one more word.
“I’ll see you both later,” Bradley said with a nod to Dominic and a nervous smile to me.
“That was a BS move,” I said to Dominic. “You don’t have to be a dick, you know.”
“You need to watch your mouth. You’re not in the clear like you might think. I didn’t do anything but answer you and get annoyed the shifter interrupted you before you could respond.”
“That’s not what happened, and you know it.”
Dom sighed as we turned to walk outside. God dang, I couldn’t handle him being a total asshole like that. That wasn’t the Dominic I knew I was in love with.
“Silvers, a word,” Dom used the voice on me. “The rest of you go shift and meet us on the dove trail. We’ll do that obstacle course to work out any nerves that may be worked up after this afternoon’s assembly. Get to it.” He looked at me and folded his arms. “Listen, I told you it’s not going to be easy for me to accept any of this. Bradley, that bear, is attracted to you and you are to him. I can sense it, and it’s normal, I guess. For me? It’s going to take a lot of work not to put him in his place for speaking to who I see as my mate, not his.”
I felt horrible for Dominic. This wasn’t his fault. I had to remember how I felt, being jealous and pissed about Kat! If I could’ve pulled an alpha move like Dom did with Bradley and practically make Kat pee her pants any time she annoyed me, letting her feel the rage I held for her, I know I’d have done the same thing.
“He’s harmless. He’s cute,” I admitted, “but he’s not you.” I ran my hand along his arm, only to see him close his eyes.
“I’ll apologize to the shifter. It was uncalled for. I’m sorry to you as well. This whole situation sucks, but I’ll get myself under control. This obstacle course should serve to help all of us unwind some. I’ll see you later.”
