by S. L. Morgan
“I’m getting right on that, Master Dominic.”
I walked hard, stomping my frustration through my feet into the ground. No amount of pep-talks prepared me for how I’d feel being treated this way by Dominic. I was isolated from him, and now, the school had isolated me from everyone else by putting me in this group of troubled kids. As much as I wanted to lash out, I knew I needed to do everything in my power to stay positive. Keeping the demon in its cage depended on that.
12
To say that back to school week was an unsettling nightmare was an understatement to describe how my second year at this school was shaking out. I thought I’d hated this school my first year in—that was a cakewalk compared to what I was dealing with now.
A month into this new, troubled-students’ curriculum had me on edge, always pissed off, and irritable beyond belief. Last year, I couldn’t handle my friends because they were so deep under the academy’s influence, and now, I was lucky if I could hold down a conversation with any of them without going off.
I tried to resort to late night meditations, but Kat—my favorite roommate of all time—apparently couldn’t sleep without reminding me about who I was at this school.
“It’s so crazy, right?” Her high-pitched voice forced my eyes open and snapped me out of virtually humming out loud to show her I was in deep meditation.
Nothing worked with this chick. You’d think she was smoking the fairy dust at this place. She wouldn’t shut up or take a breath between sentences of reminding me how I was part of the troubled kids of the school.
“Right!?” she said again. Ignoring her was never an option. The whole saying about how if you ignore someone who is antagonizing you, they will go away? Not happening with this fairy-dust snorting bitch.
“Right? What are you talking about?” I glared at her in her bright pink, velvet nightgown, hair in pigtails.
Yes, this chick was definitely on the dust.
“Think about your rise to popularity here, dating Dominic, you two pretty much all over each other on summer break, and now seeing how he’s iced you out for the last month, you must be so humiliated.”
“You bring all of this up…” I exhaled. I wasn’t going to curse, so I had to stop myself from saying the next word that was about to come out of my mouth. This pink nightmare sitting across from me was a snitch, and I wasn’t giving her anything to report back to Dom—my new jerk of a warden—or anyone else.
“Go on,” she pressed with her slimy smirk.
“I really need to unwind, Kat.”
“I want to know how you’re doing it. Most girls would cry themselves to sleep every night. You know, losing the one they thought was their true mate.” She dramatically sighed and pulled her pillow into her chest. “Gosh, Jenna, not even bringing up the fact the administration separated you from all your friends, what does it feel like losing your true mate?”
“Why do you care? You hate me, I hate you. I’m not in the mood to go into bestie talk about my personal feelings.”
“I know it bothers you,” she pressed.
“Of course, it bothers me. This school has bothered me from day one. It’s a joke.”
“How are you doing with the fact that the school doesn’t allow the troubled students to eat whatever they want?” She curled her nose, “I’ve seen the soup and old bread you all eat. Just enough to keep you going, I guess.”
“Just stop talking. I was done with this dumbass conversation from the moment you opened your mouth.”
“Well, I’m only trying to figure out how you’re doing it.”
“No, you’re trying to get a rise out of me so I’ll be in this program for the rest of my immortal life after I go over there and knock you out. Give it a rest, and go to bed.”
“Would you be mad at me if Dom and I went to the Ageless Ball together?”
“You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”
She cackled, and I narrowed my eyes at her. In all honesty, Kat was gorgeous. Tall, perfectly polished body, hair that was so healthy it almost glowed in its black color, and when she shifted into her panther, it made my wolf next to her look like a mangy mutt.
“You’re not going to the ball, you know that, right? The program you’re in doesn’t allow the troubled ones to attend any extracurricular activities.”
“I wasn’t told any of that,” I snapped. Wait…now I wanted to go to these lame events? This whole new program was definitely screwing with my brain.
“Well, that’s because you’re not allowed to go. Word has it that the troubled ones get to help serve food and clean up after the event.”
I kept my thoughts to myself about the last time I went to this event. I needed to shut out the horrors I saw and the terrible feelings of wishing it would happen again so Kat’s demise would be permanent and not Jess’s.
“Fine. Can I just meditate and go to bed? Rossi wants us up at 3:00 a.m. for drills since we all got busted yesterday for a kid mouthing off to him.”
She pulled her sheets back and scooted under them. “Have fun with that.” She wiggled her head into her pillow. “So, I guess that means you’re cool with me going with Dom to the ball?”
“I really don’t care who goes to the stupid dance with Dom. We’re over if you hadn’t noticed that yet. Besides, I doubt he’d ask you.”
She licked her lips with a dream-like smile. “He already did. We’re going as some king and queen from the British Tudor Dynasty.”
“Good for you. I’m out.”
I rolled over, listening to Kat go on and on about how she would dress for the event. How it felt when she and Dom started getting close after she took Lusa’s advice and stopped bugging him…all of it.
My stomach twisted in knots. I wanted to throw up and risk whatever the punishment was for smacking this girl for sweeping in and taking Dominic, but that wasn’t the reality. This was all on Dom. What the holy living hell? I couldn’t try to figure out this new turn of events if I tried.
Everything Dom and I had shared seemed as though it had never even happened. At least, that’s what I saw in his eyes whenever he took the sunglasses off and ripped into me for something.
I felt and saw nothing. My inner wolf stopped picking up on him and his wolf being our mate two weeks into his BS training. Even when he shifted into the black, all-powerful wolf, there was nothing. My wolf fell into his routine, and even though I kept up with Dom in wolf form, I stopped trying to compete with him days ago.
We were like strangers to each other now. My friends were in that same boat too. Even Lusa. I was in self-preservation mode. If I allowed myself to think about everything I’d had before my second year started being stripped away from me like the cruelest possible joke of all time…I would seriously lose it.
I knew I had that dark spawn locked up inside me, and when I got upset about anything, I felt like I was feeding the thing, making it that much easier for it to break through the magic walls I had it locked behind. Thank God my wolf didn’t head back to the thing to gather energy to kick everyone’s ass for where we both currently were, but I sensed that she was distant to everyone now too.
As for Dom, she was already submitted to him after everything he did to get her under control on our vacation, so with him taking advantage of the submission he and his wolf held over both our heads, she just followed along. Truth be told, I think she learned her lesson after falling into the demon’s trap, not only that, but I also had a mental grip on her now.
That demon was off-limits no matter how pissed we both were, and even if the wolf in me wanted to go for that dark power again, she didn’t have time. We both were in constant drill-downs or studying for classes with professors who seemed to hate us troubled students as much as Dom did. We were an embarrassment to the school, and they were making it obvious with workouts, basic instruction in our classes, and putting us on cleaning duty during our free time for anything and everything the school required.
This school had turned into a prison
, and we were its victims. A low and annoying buzzing alerted me to my 2:30 a.m. alarm, which happened to be Bug. Yes, Kat actually came in handy with her happiness for my tortured life here. She was the one to let me know that my Bug was actually an alarm clock as well as a tour guide. So, I gave my tiny buddy a job, and he seemed much happier since I involved him more than just tossing the map aside after I figured out where I was going. The only downside to turning my Bug alarm on was the fact that I wanted to smash his buzzing little butt because I hadn’t slept all night—again.
“Everyone down. You’re pushing until I say stop,” Rossi—my new name for my former boyfriend—ordered us, his brown eyes hidden behind his usual sunglasses.
“You’re an asshole,” some shifter named Gabe popped off while we were in the middle of pushups. “Why don’t you get down here and push with us?”
I glanced over at the kid who must’ve mentally gone off the rails for calling out a master shifter like this from out of nowhere. Gabe was usually quiet. I was initially surprised he was in this program in the first place, but now I was beginning to understand why.
“I’ve been watching you. Gabriel, is it?” Dom knelt next to the kid who stopped pushing as soon as Dom spoke to him. “I didn’t tell you to stop pushing. Get back to it.”
“The name’s Gabe. I haven’t answered to Gabriel since I was three,” the lion shifter stupidly responded.
“Gabriel,” Dom said slowly and resolutely. “That’s exactly what you’ll be called by me since your brain seems to be functioning at the three-year-old level.” Dom looked around, and his eyes fell on me as I watched him deal with this kid who seemed to have snapped. “Got something to add, Silvers?” He looked at me in that dismissive way I hated. “Didn’t think so. Pay attention to your instructions before you and Gabriel are prohibited from shifting for the next two months.”
I put my head down and went back to counting how many pushups I’d achieved.
“I think you like picking on the weaker ones,” Gabe kept on pushing our instructor. “It’s like you get off on it.”
“Everyone up,” Dom growled.
We stood in unison, not wanting to be punished for this moron losing his damn mind.
“What makes you think I’m picking on weaker shifters, Gabriel?”
Gabe’s face was red with anger, and I knew it was because Dominic found his new name for the idiot kid.
“Because all you do is stand around while we’re forced to do triple the work of the other shifters. You’re enjoying punishing us and watching us work harder than all of you pansies.”
Pansies? What a freaking dumbass!
“Get to the front,” Dom snarled. “You and I are going to play a little game. You like games, right, Gabriel? That’s why you’re here. Screwing off in class, shifting outside of school policy, busted your first day on your virtual summer vacation. Stupid games, but games, nonetheless. So, I think I’m in the mood to play a little game with a punk, you in?”
“If I don’t?”
“Well, I would simply think you were afraid I might win,” Dom said in some weird tone.
“I’m down,” the blonde-haired shifter snapped back. “What’s the game, Master Dominic?” he said in an insulting tone.
“The game is this. Since you think I sit around with my thumb up my butt—because that makes a lot of sense—” I watched Dominic’s eyebrows shoot up in humor and disbelief. “And because you’re trying to act like you’re my equal by speaking out of turn, I’m going to prove I don’t pick on weak individuals. I’ll do exactly what I ask of them.”
Dominic looked out at all of us, and if everyone else was thinking what I was, they were praying that this was not going to affect us too.
“Starting now, we will all be doing up-downs as a unit. You know, one push up, stand, jump, down, pushup, and up again. We’ll be doing this with Gabriel helping me lead all of you.” Dominic held out a hand, inviting the idiot shifter up to the front of our rows of formations.
“Listen,” Gabe said while Dominic folded his arms and stared harshly at the kid.
“Go on?” he cocked his head to the side. “What is it? Would you like to add another workout to the routine? Perhaps the one I just came up with wasn’t fun enough for the entire class.”
“We don’t need to do this.” He looked out at us apologetically. “Sorry, everyone.”
“Nah,” Dom shook the kid’s apology off with a shake of his head. “If there’s one thing that drives me more insane than anything, it’s people picking on the weaker person. That’s called bullying.” He looked at Gabe. I swear I think the kid was about to cry, and Dominic hadn’t even started our drill-down yet. “I don’t appreciate that insult. I don’t tolerate bullies. In fact, I despise that nature in any creature. So, to prove I don’t bully your precious little selves, I’m going to do this drill down with you.” He glanced around, “I’m craving a good workout, and I ate pretty good before getting out here, so I’m good to go until dinner tonight.” He smiled at Gabe, “Let’s get to it.”
That was the final word before all of us looked like a bunch of rejects, trying to keep up with Dominic’s flawless form in this drill-down exercise. Dear God, I wanted to die about an hour into this crap. I was going to risk getting locked into this school’s troubled students’ program for eternity because I was seriously going to kick this kid’s ass for starting something we all knew we wouldn’t be able to finish.
The sun was beating down on us, and I lost track of time after I heard the other kids—the good kids—as they headed off to class after lunch. Five out of our group had dropped. They got a warning from Dom, and then they were back at it, all of us struggling to keep up with Dominic. Shit! I was never going to question where this guy got his muscular body from again. He was insanely powerful, and even though sweat was dripping from his soaking-wet hair, he was going on like he craved this sort of crap.
The sun was moving behind the trees when everyone in the group—all but Dom and me—fell out of the drill-down. Dom’s eyes met mine, ignoring Gabe, who was throwing up off to the side where everyone else was gasping for air. I would say this was torture, but our head master was doing this right along with us. My wolf was encouraging me to end this so I could move tomorrow, but I was determined to beat the guy who’d shattered my heart and soul.
I pinched my lips together, my arms and legs numb, my lungs burning, and I dug deep for more inner strength. I set my wolf mentally aside. She wasn’t in control of me wanting to prove to Dominic how stupid he was for letting me go. That’s when my other genetics kicked in without warning and juiced me right up. I felt renewed, restored, and energetic. I smiled at Dom’s blank expression and challenged him further by going faster.
Oddly enough, Dom ended the drill-down right then and there. “You’re all done for the day. Shower up, change, and report to your designated dining tables. We’ll discuss this drill-down situation tomorrow.”
I was the first to blast out of the location and hit the showers. Once relieved of the endless drill, I was starved, and the stale, disgusting bread and soup crap we ate sounded so good I’d actually compare its glorious sensation to eating a pie. Damn, I missed pie.
After Dom doing what he did today to prove he wasn’t a bully, I freaking missed him so much it hurt. I hadn’t allowed myself to think about him in so long because part of me knew that I might crumble under the emotions I had for losing him…us. Grief was certainly not an emotion that I wanted the demon to have access to, so just like I’d been doing since I got back to this joke of a school, I shoved my negative feelings away.
13
The Ageless Ball came and went. Instead of being mandated to serve everyone there, I was rewarded for good behavior by Dean Edgewater, and I was able to spend that night in the library, catching up on my homework and doing extra credit in hopes to get the hell out of this program.
In fact, I was doing so well on the lame good-behavior program, that I was able to study during free t
ime while the other kids in my troubled-shifters group were out with Dominic doing drill-downs—all of which Dominic now participated in. Dominic and I may have gone our separate ways, but he hadn’t changed into some stupid robot like I’d thought at the beginning of this ridiculous program. Instead, and without using my wolf instincts to discover it, I was reminded of who he really was.
He was a badass. That was obvious to everyone at the school, and to me with every thought of him I had. He played the douche-Dom game well, but he was still Dominic Rossi. The guy I fell for—true mates or not—due to his sense of loyalty and his ability to prove he wasn’t the god everyone thought he was on campus. He wasn’t into bullying. He’d made that clear numerous times—mainly with those programmed human idiots who’d hurt Ethan—and he was making that perfectly clear to our group. Whatever he requested us to do, he now did along with the group. He was proving that he wasn’t going to require us to do something that he couldn’t or wouldn’t do.
Dominic held to his master role well. He never once let down his guard, and he commanded us like we were all going to war with him someday. He was a fierce leader, and I was starting to understand why he was pushing us hard and why it seemed he was the biggest master shifter jerk on campus. It was the loyalty in him. He wouldn’t allow any of us to fail. It sucked, but I could finally see how he was handling us. He was a genius, but I already knew that, and now here I was, daydreaming about past times with him.
God, I missed him.
“Hey, Jenna,” Bradley, the sexy and rebellious bear shifter in our group came up to the corner I sat in, studying. “Mind if I join you?”
I smiled up at his handsome face, looking into his bronze eyes. Damn, he was gorgeous.
Keep it under wraps, Jenna.
“Sure. I’m studying about the vamps, so I might whisper a bad word or two.”
He set his fairy lore book in front of my opened one and glanced at my pages. “Why vamps don’t need blood to survive?” He cracked a smile that hit me like Dom’s used to. “Wasn’t that the first lesson we learned after getting our books this year?”
