Shifter Academy- an Impish Christmas

by Angel Leya

  Wes grinned so big, she just had to throw a light jab into his arm.

  “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

  Wes shook his head. “I have someone I want to talk to about it first.”

  Kenzie’s head snapped his way. “Like who?”

  Wes just smiled bigger. Was he toying with her, or was there a very special surprise waiting for her beneath the Christmas tree? Oh, Kenzie didn’t care. She was just glad he was hers again. Although a ring—if that’s what he was referring to—would certainly make things a little brighter.

  But do I want it? The question lurked in her head, lending ear to her earlier worries. Was she too young? Was she willing to spend the rest of her life with this guy, having hardly looked around? The answer was a jingling yes. She’d tried life without Wes, and it was awful. Sure, she was young, but Wes was the only guy she could see herself spending the rest of her life with. And even if they got engaged, they could take their time getting married. She did love to torture him.

  She practically floated to the Dining Hall, unable to wipe the silly grin from her face. If anyone asked, it was because they didn’t have Defense Class today. That was reason enough to be smiling, right?

  The Dining Hall was filled with the scents of a jolly spread—turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, and so much more. The kitchen staff had really outdone themselves for this.

  Trevor got in line behind them, a big smile on his face.

  Kenzie leaned around Wes. “You’re awfully happy. Did you get a date to the New Year’s Eve ball?”

  Trevor shook his head. “No, better than that.”

  Wes put his hand on the small of her back, nudging her forward. Whoops. She’d almost forgotten she was getting food. And the line had moved while she wasn’t paying attention. “Spill.”

  Trevor looked around, then leaned toward them. “I found her.”

  “Her?” Kenzie squealed, then shushed her voice and tried again. “Her, her?”

  Trevor nodded.

  Wes shook his head. “Good luck, man. If she’s anything like my selkie, you’re gonna have your hands full.”

  Trevor nodded, a mischievous look in his eyes. “I’m more than ready for it.”

  Wes’s brows raised, but he didn’t say anything more. Kenzie pinched his waist, and he pulled her into his side and gave her a peck on the head.

  Leya was waiting for them at the end of the line, and she rolled her eyes. “Ugh. You two are too cute together.”

  Kenzie let Wes go to pick up her tray and sauntered toward their table. “Well, someone in this group has to be.”

  Leya didn’t answer, and when Kenzie looked back, she saw Leya smiling and giving a small, flirty wave to someone. That other someone just happened to be a beet-red Brett.

  Kenzie nudged Leya in the ribs. “What are you doing?” she asked out of the side of her mouth.

  Leya shrugged, finally sitting down. “I’m going to be graduating soon. I think it’s only fair he knows I’m still interested.”

  June, who was already at the table, chuckled. Wes took his place beside Kenzie, and Trevor sat between him and Jesse. It was a great group to be a part of, and Kenzie was so excited to have Trevor among them.

  “So, is she coming to the school?” Kenzie asked Trevor, picking up on their conversation again. The whole group knew about his dream girl, and all eyes riveted to him.

  Trevor shook his head. “I’m not sure. There are some . . . complications.”

  “Is it Oberon?” Kenzie asked. “I thought he was more open to trying out more selkies.”

  “No. Not Oberon. I don’t want to say too much, but I’ll be working on it over Christmas break.”

  Jesse grinned. “You sly dog.”

  “I think you’ve got me confused for yourself,” Trevor countered, and the table erupted with oohs and uh-ohs.

  “We’re not throwing down, are we?” came another male voice. Nik. Juliet was just behind him, and they made themselves comfortable at the table.

  Wes smiled. “No throwing down necessary. We all know who the big cat is.”

  Laughter erupted again. Kenzie was going to miss these guys during break. The girls were all wearing their bracelets, and Wes had his cuff. Jesse refused to wear his dog collar, but that was his loss. Kenzie couldn’t be prouder of the group of friends she’d made. And she wanted to spend the rest of her life protecting people like them. She needed to talk to Ms. Heather before she left. Her schedule would need to change if she wanted to get on the Healer track.

  “Ooh, I’ve got one more gift for everyone, now that you’re all here,” Kenzie said, handing cards around the table. “But you have to wait to open it.”

  “When should we?” Jesse asked.

  Kenzie shrugged. “At least wait until I’m out of the room.”

  Leya threw Kenzie a skeptical look, but they all tucked their cards away and dug in. The food was as good as it smelled, and Kenzie happily stuffed her face. And more goodness would be waiting at home. Seriously. Best. Christmas. Ever.

  Kenzie and Wes were the first to leave the table, but as they left, she heard laughter erupt, and she looked back to see a wide-eyed Trevor covered in red and green glitter. Kenzie covered her mouth to muffle her own laughter. Trevor fixed her with a stare, pointing at his eyes and then at her.

  Kenzie let her laughter out. Yep, she had no doubt Trevor would be getting even over that glitter bomb card. After Christmas break.

  WES CLOSED HIS BEDROOM door behind them, then pressed Kenzie to the wall, fitting his lips with hers. His fingers tangled in her hair, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. Okay, so maybe they’d be marrying sooner rather than later, but for now, she’d enjoy these surges of passion.

  “What was that for?” Kenzie asked, breathless as Wes drew away, but wishing he’d stay for more.

  Wes smirked. “I’m going to be at your Mom’s place for over a week. I figured I better get some kisses in now, while I still have the chance.”

  Kenzie pulled him in for another long kiss. “You know, I’ve gotten very good at sneaking around over the past year or so.”

  Wes buried his hands in her back pockets, leaning his head against hers. “About that . . .”

  “Uh oh.” Kenzie pulled back so she could look into his troubled eyes.

  “I’m worried about you.”

  Kenzie lifted a brow. “I thought we agreed I can handle myself.”

  Wes nodded. “Yeah, but Adam’s not just anybody.”

  Kenzie let out a long breath. Wes was right. Oberon had Ren trace the video back to its source, but there was nothing to find. Whoever had sent the video did a good job pretending to be a ghost. But Kenzie knew the only person who would have something like that was Adam. And Adam wasn’t just a vampire anymore, but an ursa-vampire hybrid. Maybe the only hybrid left, besides Myreen. Hopefully. And if Adam was spiteful enough to send a video of him and Kenzie making out to the school to try to disrupt her life, who knew what else he was capable of?

  “What do you think he wants?” Kenzie asked. She chewed on her lower lip, her foot taking to tapping.

  Wes pursed his lips, but sighed. “I think he wants you.”

  Kenzie wanted to deny it, but she had a feeling Wes was right. “What do we do about it?”

  “Stay together. Stay alert. And wait for his next move, I guess.”

  Kenzie nodded. Adam was a certifiable genius. She wasn’t sure waiting for him to solidify his plans was such a good thing, but what else could they do? “Have you told Oberon?”

  Wes nodded.

  “Good.” At least they weren’t alone in this.

  Wes’s lips enveloped hers again, this time a little more possessive, a little more protective. Their bond seemed to tighten, and she could feel all his love pouring through their connection. She hoped her own was pouring back into him. If they wanted to thwart Adam’s plans, she and Wes would need to do it together. And she wanted him to know just how much she needed and wanted and trusted him to be t
here with her.

  But for now, they would enjoy Christmas, their friends, and each other. Tomorrow’s problems would come soon enough, and with all the incredible people at her side, Kenzie was hopeful they’d be ready for them.

  “So, about Christmas next year . . .”

  Wes chuckled, brushing his lips against hers. “As long as you don’t turn me into an imp again, I promise to help.”

  “That’s all I ever wanted,” she said, as Wes laid another kiss on her that sent her to shivering.

  Really, she couldn’t ask for more.

  THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading An Impish Christmas!

  I hope you'll consider taking a moment to leave a review. It helps me, as an author, to determine what kinds of stories my readers want more of, and how I can make them even better.

  Thanks again (doubly so if you leave a review ;), and here's to more enchanting shenanigans!

  Keep reading for an exclusive sneak peek from the next Shifter Academy book, The 9 Tails of Ren Suzuki by Jesse Booth.

  Preface

  Greetings, my friends. I’m glad to have you here, and hopefully, you are excited as well. My name is Ren Suzuki. If you’ve had the privilege of hearing about me in other capacities, that’s excellent news. At least, I hope it’s excellent. I guess that all depends on what you’ve heard, exactly, and from whom you’ve received such information. If you’ve been talking to Oberon Rex, there’s probably a hint of truth to what he’s said about me, but he’s also extremely biased and has spent a good portion of his life antagonizing me.

  For those who know nothing about me, prepare yourself for something life-changing. Prepare to be blown away as you hear from me, a kitsune shifter, a math teacher, a master tinkerer, and a spectacular storyteller.

  For comparison’s sake, if I were a mountain, I’d be Mount Cleverest. If I were a bank teller, I’d open you a funny market account. If I were a doctor, I’d be a surgeon because I’m about to touch your heart. Don’t worry, I’ll avoid your lungs, kidneys, and intestines. Maybe not your funny bone, though.

  Ah, I see you’re interested in learning more. You’re like a cute, little bunny, nose twitching eagerly as I, the nine-tailed fox, hold out a carrot for you to munch on. Not just one, carrot, mind you, but nine. And each one will pack a different flavor, you’ll be begging for more.

  Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy The Nine Tails of Ren Suzuki.

  -Ren Suzuki

  Math Teacher, Master Tinkerer, Spectacular Storyteller

  (Mount Cleverest, Bank Teller, Surgeon)

  Tail One: Ready Phaser One

  T

  here once was a young, handsome kitsune boy by the name of Ichika. But there was once another even handsomer kitsune boy by the name of Ren. And nobody really cares about Ichika, or that he could make his pectoral muscles bounce at will, or that his hair was so perfectly styled, or that his fingers graced guitar strings like stream water over polished stones. Also, nobody really cares that all the female students at The Island fawned over him.

  Especially not me.

  Ahem. Like I was saying, there was once an extremely handsome kitsune boy by the name of Ren.

  One day, this extremely handsome Ren was sitting handsomely in kitsune mastery class. His teacher, Professor Sleekfox, was taking attendance. Her dark hair was cut short, a few inches above her shoulders, and her bangs were curled in front of her forehead, as if wrapped around an invisible rolling pin. But the angles of her face gave her a look of beauty that could not be ignored, and I… I mean Ren had to stop himself from staring.

  She went alphabetically down the list with a pencil, marking which of the students were present. All eight of the students were.

  “Ichika Nakayama,” she called in her soprano voice. Her eyes rested on the body-builder student, who flexed his bicep as he lifted his arm and waved all studly-like, his lips forming a confident half-smile. I swear, a light pinged off his pearly-whites like a lens flare in a sci-fi movie.

  All five of the girls in the classroom sighed dreamily in unison.

  Ren threw up a little in his mouth. Justifiably so. Surely you have, too, just now.

  Moments later, Professor Sleekfox got to Ren’s name.

  “Ren Bazookie?” She didn’t even look up at him. (I did say the attendance list was alphabetical, right? Hmm. Maybe that wasn’t his last name…)

  Just another name on a piece of paper, Ren thought to himself. Out loud, he said, “Presently present.”

  Professor Sleekfox finished marking attendance. It didn’t take long, in all actuality. There weren’t too many kitsunes at The Island. (It wasn’t as if they had a mermaid seer to find potential candidates. I wonder what that would be like? (…cough…Delphine…cough.)

  “Today is the day,” Professor Sleekfox announced as she got up from her desk, revealing a tight neon workout suit that shouldn’t have been allowed in any classroom with a few pubescent boys. Ren, being the perfect gentleman, cast his gaze toward the nearest window as she continued speaking. “You’ve all been preparing, no doubt.” Ren glanced back at her, curious at her words. Her dark eyes landed on Ichika once more and she sent him a wink. He laced his fingers together behind his head, flexing again while gracing the classroom once more with his smug smile. This time, he added a cool nod.

  And again, Ren threw up a little in his mouth. And so did you. Right?

  All around Ren, the admiration in the room was almost audible. He could barely stand it.

  He had to shatter the sickening spell Ichika was casting. It was a civic duty at this point.

  “What’s today?” Ren asked loudly. The students sitting near him jumped at the sound of his voice, then cast him annoyed looks. It was just a front — Ren was brilliant enough to know precisely what this day was.

  Professor Sleekfox blinked a few times, crackling static electricity between her fingers in irritation. “Today,” she said, glaring at Ren with piercing eyes, “we are playing the Phase Game.”

  Of course. The Phase Game. A sly smile crept along Ren’s face.

  Today really was the day. Today was the day that Ichika Nakayama would lose. Today was the day Ren Bazookie would win.

  EVERY MOMENT OF Ren’s life had been aimed for this situation. Every failure and success at performing the phasing ability unique to kitsunes had occurred for the Phase Game.

  Picture dodgeball, except instead of teams chucking balls at each other to get them “out,” it’s a one-versus-one battle where the contenders don’t dodge away from said balls, but phase through them instead. For every successful phasing through a ball, the individual gets a point. For every unsuccessful phasing, the individual loses a point. And ends up with a gnarly welt.

  Sound fun? Well, it is. But unless you’re a kitsune like me, you wouldn’t live long enough to tell the tail… Perhaps I’m wrong, though. Maybe you’d have a ball. Or a few of them.

  The game was already set up in the school’s gymnasium. Black lights had replaced the fluorescents. Illuminated on both sides, neon-colored balls waited to be thrown.

  On the far wall, a magnetic board showed the tournament format. Four games were set in round one, to match the eight total kitsunes in class. Ren frowned as he saw that he was not set to spar with Ichika in the first round. He’d hoped he could kick the varmint out his very first game. That would twist his tails in a knot quicker than a rope maker with twine.

  But no. Ren was listed as facing Yuya Morita — the only other boy in the class, and a fat one at that — while Ichika was set to compete against Hiriko Sano. And they’d been chosen to go first. Ren and Yuya were in the bottom bracket.

  Go figure.

  It didn’t really matter. At least this way Ren would be able to see Ichika’s strengths and weaknesses.

  “Ichika and Hiriko, you’re first up,” Professor Sleekfox said as she walked to the mid-line of the gym. Even in the dimness the black lights provided, it was impossible to miss her in her neon-pink exercise pants. Not that Ren was staring or anythin
g…

  Don’t judge. He’s fifteen years old, for crying out loud.

  The contestants met her at the middle of the gym.

  “Okay, you two,” the professor said. “Remember, there’s only one rule to this game: electricity manipulation is not allowed. If I detect even a hint of static being focused, it will result in immediate forfeit of the game and permanent disqualification for the rest of the tournament.”

  The gymnasium door opened, knifing a blade of light into the darkened room. In walked Rose Lewis, the head healer of the school, and an extremely talon-ted harpy. Hehe.

  “We have a healer on standby,” Professor Sleekfox said. “Just in case somebody gets hurt. This means that shots to the… more sensitive areas of the body are free game, but they don’t give or take away additional points. A hit is a hit. Keep in mind that if you phase back to your solid form as the ball is going through you, it will get lodged in you. Not only does that hurt like a golden dagger embedding itself into your body, but it will also count as a hit.”

  Just a side note — I once phased through the exterior wall in an effort to beat my gryphon friend, Oberon Rex, back inside the school. It was all well and dandy until I unphased too soon. My foot remained on the outside, while the rest of me was in a classroom inside. Except for the part of my leg that had reformed within the wall. Yes, it did hurt terribly. I’m sorry if this tangent about the wall was boring. I’m sure you’ll get over it.

  Professor Sleekfox had a hand on both contestants shoulders, muttering something inaudible to them. Probably last-minute pointers. Or maybe a sad attempt at humor to impress Ichika. Unfortunately, a lot of kitsunes just don’t have funny bones. Me? I’ve got a couple dozen. And I’ve never broken a single one. I hope you find that humerus.

  Whatever was spoken, Ichika and Hiriko marched opposite directions to the far ends of the gymnasium while the rest of us stood against the wall. Rose the harpy was with us, her arms folded in annoyance, as if she had one hundred other things she could be doing. Which she probably did. Professor Sleekfox was on the other end. “Each game lasts three minutes. On your marks, get set…” She lifted a neon whistle to her mouth and blew it.