Blood Legacy (Wolf Moon Academy Book 2)

by Jen L. Grey

  "No, I am; they want me there." I glanced around the dorm and noticed Bree's luggage in the corner. I hadn't expected her to come home yet. "Bree?" I took a deep breath, but her scent wasn't heavy in the room. She had to have left the house at least an hour or so ago.

  "She's not here?" Evan hurried through the living room and turned down Bree's hallway. He knocked faintly on the door. "Bree?"

  Silence was the only response.

  "What am I supposed to do? Especially if your friend is here." Sherry glanced around the room, taking it all in.

  "Hang out in my room." I pointed down the hallway next to us. "Bree won't bother you there." That probably wasn't true, but at least Sherry wouldn't be just hanging out in the living room by herself. "If you do see her, just tell her you met us while traveling and came back to tour the school."

  At least, that was believable.

  "Maybe she should come with us too." Simon stared at her like he was afraid to look away.

  "Having her go with us would be a horrible decision." Liam's brows furrowed, and he shook his head. "Honestly, I wish Mia would stay behind."

  "They're going to try to scare us, aren't they?" Micah took a deep breath as if he was preparing for battle.

  "Yeah, they are." Simon ran a hand through his hair. "And dammit, I don't know what the hell to do." He stomped his foot on the floor.

  At this very moment, he reminded me of a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.

  "We go in and stay united." Liam glared at Simon. "Do you get it? If they think we're fracturing, they'll try to divide us even more."

  "But..." Simon lifted a hand in the air.

  "There aren't any take-backs." Evan's voice was deep and low as he stared Simon down.

  "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Simon had that crazed look in his eyes that he got when he felt like he was losing control or things were changing.

  "He means you helped us with her escape," Liam pointed at Sherry, "and we didn't force you. It's time for you to stop dancing the line and finally pick a side."

  "But they're the members of the council." Simon pointed at the door. "We can't go against them."

  "We already have." Micah huffed. "So, you need to own it and move forward. Otherwise, you're essentially giving her back to that city douche." Micah nodded his head in Sherry's direction.

  "Fine, let's just go." Simon turned toward Sherry. "Are you going to be all right here for a little while by yourself?"

  "I don't think I have a choice." She shrugged as a yawn overtook her.

  "My room is the door down this hall." I smiled at her. She had to be tired given how much healing was going on in her body. "You can even lock the door and take a nap if you want to."

  "But it's your room."

  "No, it's fine. There are towels in the bathroom, and you can wear whatever you want from my closet. Go relax and get comfortable. We shouldn't be gone that long.'

  "Fine." She smiled at me. "Thank you." Then, her eyes stopped on Simon. "Are you coming back too?" She reached over and touched Simon's arm.

  He jerked back like her touch stung. "Uh... yeah." He winced as if it pained him to say it. "I'll be back with them."

  "Uh... okay." Hurt flashed across her face as she walked down the hall and into my room.

  "Let's go." Evan rushed out the door and toward the elevator. The four of us followed behind.

  It didn’t take long before we were walking across the campus toward the gym where the council worked on the top floor.

  "What do you think they're going to do?" Micah's body was tense, and worry lined his face. "They can't really do anything, can they?"

  "No, here in the next year, they have to hand the council over to us." Liam took my hand in his and pulled me next to him. "A council can't rule longer than twenty-five years. This year will be the end of their reign."

  When we reached the building, Evan yanked open the doors, and we all piled into the elevator. Within minutes, we were out of the elevator and walking into the council room.

  The room wasn't what I had expected. The walls were blood-red, and the silver curtains pinned to the sides of the windows allowed a lot of light to enter the room.

  There was a large wooden table in the corner where four chairs were placed on one side. Each council member sat in one, and we faced them head-on while standing.

  Mr. Hale and Mr. Rafferty sat in the two middle seats with Mr. Green next to the eastern alpha and Mr. Croft on the other side of Liam's father.

  For a moment, the nine of us were staring each other down. Once again, it struck me how their fathers looked so young. It didn’t make any sense.

  “Is there anything you’d like to tell us?” Mr. Rafferty arched an eyebrow as his focus landed on his son.

  “Oh, yeah.” Simon lifted a hand as he pointed at the council. “We decided to come home early. Hope you don’t mind.”

  “Is this some kind of joke to all of you?” Mr. Green’s eyes widened as he gaped at his son.

  “Nope, not at all.” Simon smiled at his dad. “We met some people, took in the sights. Did you know that California’s cool in the evening this time of year?”

  “Aw, man.” Micah chuckled and shook his head.

  “It’s cool in the evenings all year round.” Mr. Green’s face turned a shade of red. “You grew up there.”

  Mr. Hale slammed his hand on the desk, cutting straight to the point. "We'd expected your trip to be a memorable one, and this one most definitely was but for all the wrong reasons. Now we’ll have to fix everything you messed up."

  "I disagree with you." Liam released my hand and took a step in front of me. "We met with each regional and city alpha and learned all about the welfare of our people."

  "Your trip wasn't meant for you to learn about their welfare." Mr. Rafferty's voice was so angry, it was almost a rumble. "You were there to meet the leaders and see the sights."

  "In other words, it was supposed to be a superficial trip?” Micah snickered, but there wasn't a smile on his face.

  "Oh, come on, Son." Mr. Croft's skin matched Micah's. His eyes weren't golden though but black. There was a cunningness to him that Micah didn't have. "This was just a political move to get you out in view of the packs. There was nothing more to it than that."

  Mr. Rafferty stood and leaned over the table. “All you had to do was play the part like we raised you to do.”

  "But Dad, we saw people living and working in horrible conditions … women being abused." Micah took a few steps toward his dad as if he was delivering unknown horrible news.

  "Enough!" Mr. Croft yelled, effectively cutting off Micah from saying anything further. "That is none of your concern."

  "Like hell, it's not," Simon said as he moved to stand beside me. “We deserve to know everything. It’s pretty damn clear that you’ve been keeping secrets from us.”

  Never in a million years would I have expected Simon to be on the same page as the rest of us, but here he was, standing strong next to me.

  "We have a right to know what we're getting into when we step into our roles." Liam arched his eyebrow. "And I pray to the gods that none of you had a clue about how our people were being treated."

  "Our people?" Mr. Green asked as he stood and began laughing as if he was a madman. “You’ve got to be kidding me. They’re our servants, doing whatever we tell them to do.”

  When he did that, I realized how similar he and Simon looked. Simon looked like a slightly younger version of his father.

  “Whether you like it or not, we will be ascending the council within the year.” Liam stood tall and glanced at each one of the council members.

  “You still have much to learn, Son.” Mr. Hale’s words were harsh. He stood, moving around the table and heading straight to Liam. “And I expected so much better from you than this. There is only one person that I can think of who would be the cause of it. Hell, she manipulated you to take her on the trip after I told you specifically not to.” His eyes landed on me.
<
br />   “I wanted her there. So, leave her out of it.” Liam’s voice turned deep with rage.

  “Or what?” Mr. Hale shook his head as he wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I told you she would make you weak, and now look at you.”

  “He hasn’t become weak at all.” Evan crossed his arms as he stood next to me. “Maybe you were afraid she’d open our eyes to what you’re trying to hide.”

  “What? Let me guess, she’s your mate too.” Mr. Rafferty snarled at his son.

  “No, she’s a friend.” His jaw twitched as he ground the words out.

  “That’s even worse.” Mr. Rafferty’s face filled with such hate. “I’ve taught you to be strong.”

  “Your version of it.” Evan dropped his hands to his sides.

  “Is this what you really want?” Mr. Croft arched an eyebrow at his son. “For a girl to come between us?”

  “It’s more than that.” Micah’s forehead lined, and he looked at his dad like he was someone he didn’t know. “Not only did she save my life, but I saw how mistreated our people are out there. It’s not good to turn a blind eye to it.”

  “You will do what we say.” Mr. Green lifted his head, looking down his nose at us. “That’s how it’s always been and will continue to be.”

  “What are you so scared of?” I should have been quiet, but these were the assholes who’d killed my father. And now they had the audacity to threaten my mate and friends. “That they will stop listening to you or become more than you?”

  Mr. Hale reared his arm back before launching it right at my face. Before it could connect, Liam caught his hand, preventing it from hitting its intended destination.

  “You will never do anything like that ever again.” Liam’s eyes glowed as his wolf took over. “If you think our relationship is strained as it is, the next time you try something like that, I won’t think twice about hurting you.”

  “You value her over me?” Mr. Hale tried pulling his hand from Liam’s grasp, but he couldn’t.

  “Hell yeah, I do.” He dropped his dad’s hand, causing him to fumble a few steps back. “If you want us to be the doting heirs we’ve always been, then you need to stop this charade. Whether you like it or not, you need us.”

  “Maybe we don’t.” Mr. Green bared his teeth at us.

  “What would happen if all the packs learn that the heirs weren’t interested in taking over the council?” I was playing with fire. “There is already civil unrest out there, do you need to stoke the flames even more?”

  The four members grew quiet as my words sunk in.

  We turned to leave, but I stopped before I reached the door. “Oh, and we have a new student who needs to be enrolled tomorrow.”

  “No.” Mr. Hale ground out his words.

  “If you want to keep up appearances, it’ll happen.” Simon nodded at me. “The ball is in your court.”

  “Dammit.” Mr. Rafferty picked up his chair and threw it against the wall.

  “Fine.” Mr. Hale’s eyes met mine. “I hope you realize what you’re doing.” He glanced at the heirs. “What you all are risking … all because of her.”

  I hoped we did too. Something was going on here even though I wasn’t sure quite what.

  “I don’t think there is anything left to say,” Evan said as all four guys surrounded me, and we walked out of the room together.

  As we exited through the building, my phone dinged. I pulled it from my pocket and saw a message from Bree.

  Hey - Meet me out in the clearing behind the education building. We need to talk where there are no prying ears.

  "I need to go meet your sister." It was a strange request. We normally met in our dorm.

  "Well, it could be a trap. We're going with you." Liam turned around and faced the others, waiting for a challenge.

  "Sherry is back in your room." Simon glanced at the girls' dorm.

  "She's safer up there hidden than out here potentially in sight." Liam patted Simon on the shoulder. "And they know we won't behave if they act out right now."

  "Fine, but it has to be quick," Simon growled.

  The five of us stayed in human form as we rushed to meet Bree.

  As we drew closer to the clearing, I felt something buzzing in the air. Something I couldn't quite put my finger on. “Do you feel that?”

  “Feel what?” Liam squeezed my hand, which he was holding in his.

  “There’s an energy in the air.” It was as if the air was rubbing my skin, causing friction to fizzle throughout my body.

  “I don’t feel anything.” Liam glanced around.

  “You know how the air charges right before a lightning storm?” That was the only way I could explain it. “The air feels kind of like that now.”

  “I don’t feel a damn thing.” Simon glanced up, looking at the sky. “And I don’t see or hear any lightning.”

  “Dumbass, she was trying to explain it.” Micah chuckled. “She wasn’t saying it was about to storm.”

  “Maybe it’s your nerves, Mia,” Evan said, but he winced like he didn’t believe his own words.

  We stepped into the clearing, finding Bree in the center alone. She turned and crossed her arms. “I didn’t expect to see all five of you here.”

  “We’re kind of a package deal now.” Simon shook his head. “I’m not sure if I like it though.”

  “I wanted to talk to you, but maybe it should be another time.”

  The friction seemed to be getting worse, but I tried to focus on my friend. “No, it’s fine. They can be trusted.”

  “Even Simon?” Bree furrowed her brows.

  “He’s fine.” Liam took a deep breath. “What is it?”

  “I was asked to come here on behalf of the rebellion.” Bree straightened her shoulders as she said the words clear and slow.

  “Is this some kind of joke?” Liam narrowed his eyes.

  “Maybe our fathers are testing us.” Simon spun around, looking for a sign.

  “No, I went back to Nate’s home, and his pack isn’t doing well.” Bree took a deep breath. “And … I learned that most packs aren’t doing well. I decided to take a stand, and Mia, they want you to stand with them too.”

  “You do realize you’re asking us to betray our families? All of us.” Evan’s voice was slow and clear as if he was trying to make her think it through.

  “I do, but our dads aren’t following through on their oath.” Bree lifted her hands. “There are people without homes, people whose children get taken away from them, and even people who can’t eat. It’s getting worse and worse over time. We have to do something.”

  The air was charging even more, and at this point, I was in pain.

  Mia, what's wrong? Liam turned to me with so much concern in his eyes.

  I… I don't know. I focused on the air and began moving with it toward whatever source it was rushing from.

  “Mia?” Bree yelled after me, but I couldn't stop.

  The five of them followed me as I walked through some trees.

  “No, we can’t go in there,” Micah yelled at me. “It’s off-limits.”

  Even though I heard his voice, my legs were now moving on their own. I climbed over the chain fence and hopped down on both feet. Something kept pushing me forward.

  The five of them caught up to me as I stepped into another small clearing. Right in the center was a cement circle that was at least twenty feet around.

  “What the hell is this?” Liam glanced around.

  “I don’t know.” But I was determined to find out. I walked straight to it as the energy increased and circled the area.

  “I feel it now,” Evan said as he walked around the clearing, scoping out the area.

  My eyes landed on the design that was drawn into the cement. It was the same one that was on my pendant. Four silver paw prints, and on top of them was one paw print drawn in red. “It’s the original council’s emblem.”

  “Holy shit.” Simon’s eyes widened as he saw it too.

  “What h
ave our parents been up to?” Micah searched for something in the air as if the energy was so thick it should be visible.

  “Whatever it is, it’s definitely not good. This energy doesn’t feel natural.” I glanced at Bree. “I’m in. I’ll join the rebellion.”

  The four of them nodded their heads as well.

  “We’re in.” Liam glanced at his sister. “What do we do next?”

  A huge grin spread across her face as she said the next words. “Get retribution.”

  We were going to war, and finally I’d get all of my answers even if it killed me.

  The End

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  About the Author

  Jen L. Grey is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, and Fantasy genres.

  Jen lives in Tennessee with her husband, two daughters, and three miniature Australian Shepherd. Before she began writing, she was an avid reader and enjoyed being involved in the indie community. Her love for books eventually led her to writing. For more information, please visit her website and sign up for her newsletter.

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  Also by Jen L. Grey

  Wolf Moon Academy

  Shadow Mate

  Blood Legacy

  Rising Fate

  The Royal Heir Trilogy

  Wolves’ Queen