I rolled over with a groan and tucked my head under the pillow to hide from the sunlight. At the second beep from somewhere in the direction of the nightstand, I re-emerged in search of my phone.
It took four blinks to focus on the text from Eliana thanking me for last night. I shook my head and put the phone back on the nightstand without responding.
Hanging out with someone who didn’t piss me off by just existing had been nice. That she hadn’t left until after two hadn’t bothered me until now. Whatever type of creature I was, I liked my sleep. However, the sun and my brain had other ideas. Within fifteen minutes, I gave in and got out of bed.
Another long day stretched before me. Out of the blue, I wondered what my mom was doing. It felt weird thinking about her, now. Even though she’d only been gone a week, so much had changed in my head since she’d left. I didn’t miss her like I probably should have. It was hard to miss someone who had lied to me and didn’t want to be around me anymore. Mom was so unlike Eliana.
Thinking of Eliana, I picked up my phone and sent her a quick text back.
It was nice having the company.
Her reply came almost right away again.
Do you want a ride to the Academy tomorrow for check-in?
That’d be great.
I’ll see you at seven, then.
Sighing, I grabbed some clean clothes and went downstairs to shower before breakfast. Not that I needed to bother. No one came knocking on my door, and I spent the day focusing on assessments again.
By the time I finished, I was looking forward to going to the Academy in the morning. Anything was better than sitting at home, studying alone.
Heading upstairs for the night, I changed into my pajamas and turned off the lights. The brightness of the waxing moon lit my room as I made my way to the bed and curled under my blankets. I really needed to get curtains. Shutting my eyes on that thought and how I’d get to town to buy said curtains, it didn’t take me long to fall asleep.
Anger woke me. I opened my eyes, my gaze sweeping the room. The moon’s light had moved from my bed to my floor, letting me know I’d been asleep for a while.
My temper was a pain in my ass during the day, but this was the first time it ever bothered me while I slept. I exhaled slowly, trying to relax, and closed my eyes again.
A noise reached my ears. The soft brush of footsteps. I held my breath, trying to hear more. The sound came again. Downstairs. In the kitchen. Someone was in my house.
“Hell no,” I said, flipping back the covers.
I flew down the stairs, the thump of my steps loud in my rush. Not loud enough to block out the sound of my quarry escaping out the kitchen door, though. I almost swore as I rounded the corner and mashed my hand on the light switch. The sudden burst of light illuminated the room just in time to catch the screen slamming shut. I raced out onto the porch but saw nothing. Whoever had been in my house had neatly fled.
Going back inside and flicking on lights, I went from room to room, checking everything. Nothing looked out of place. Who had been in my house and why?
I studied the kitchen again. A tuft of white hair on the latch of the screen door caught my eye. I plucked off the fur and held it between my fingers, my anger flaring. Since arriving at Uttira, I’d only seen one pale canine.
“Bitch,” I breathed.
Aubrey was a dead dog walking.
While I listened for the sound of Eliana’s car, I paced the entry and continued to plan what I would do or say to Aubrey when I found her. Currently, I was leaning toward the doing rather than the saying. But, I would need to be smarter about exacting my revenge within Girderon’s halls. I couldn’t just attack the moment I saw her.
Controlling my temper wasn’t my strong suit, though. Not even for the few seconds it would take to look around for giants who might take offense at me punching Aubrey in the face. Chances were I’d end up face-flicked before the day ended.
The sound I’d been waiting for cut my plotting short. If you could call seven hours of plotting short. I hurried to the kitchen to grab my jacket and my bag before returning to the entry. I yanked the door open just as Eliana got out of her car.
“Let’s go,” I said, rushing toward her.
“You don’t need to bring a school bag,” she said. “I promise. There’s never any notes to take and everything’s online homework-wise. It’s an either-you-know-it-or-you-don’t kind of system.”
I opened the front passenger door and got in. A large shadow moved across the hood, and I leaned forward to look out of the windshield at the sky. A griffin circled high above.
Eliana got in and noticed what held my attention.
“Yeah, sorry. He’s following,” she said with a shrug.
“Whatever. Let’s just go.”
She started the engine and gave me a hurt look as she pulled away from the house.
“Are you mad at me?”
I took a calming breath.
“Nope. Aubrey broke into my house last night, and I need to get to school so I can punch her face in.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yeah. I did it once already. I just need to make sure there’s no giants around to stop me this time.”
“Not that. About her breaking in. Did you see her?”
I snorted. “I found white dog hair on the door after I came running downstairs, and the chicken fled.”
Reading doubt in Eliana’s lack of response, I launched into a defensive explanation of what I considered a logical and foregone conclusion.
“Think about it, Eliana. Aubrey’s the only one who’s had an attitude toward me since the moment she saw me. I mean, who else would sneak into my house in the middle of the night and snoop around my kitchen?”
The shadow passed over the car hood again.
“Megan, maybe we should talk about this later,” she said hesitantly.
“Why? There’s nothing to talk about. I missed seeing who was in my house by half a second because I wasn’t sure what had woken me up, and it made me a little slow getting downstairs. But when we get to school and I confront her, you’ll see.”
A scream, very much like an eagle’s, cut through the sound of the engine before the griffin sped off in the direction of the school.
“What’s his deal? Does he follow you everywhere?”
Eliana made a face.
“Pretty much. Um, you should probably know his hearing is crazy sharp.”
“What? You mean he was listening to us?”
“Yeah. And, I don’t think he liked what he heard.”
“Big deal,” I said. I wasn’t letting Oanen stop me this time.
“What do you do when you don’t like something?”
“Punch it in the face.”
“Exactly.”
“Wait, are you saying he’s going to punch me in the face?”
“Of course not. I’m saying he’s going to react like he typically does.”
I frowned and thought of the time Oanen did more than just impassively watch me.
“He’s going to throw me on my bed?” I guessed.
“What?” Eliana squealed, half in shock and half giggling.
“I don’t know. How does he normally react?”
“When did he throw you on a bed?” she demanded, grinning like a crazy lady.
“When I first met him. I thought I was dreaming and punched him.”
“In the face?” she asked in disbelief.
“As you just pointed out, it’s my typical reaction.”
She shook her head and slowed down, having reached town.
Even though she wasn’t scolding me or wearing a judgmental expression, I felt the need to defend what had occurred.
“He was fine. Maybe a little annoyed with me. He picked me up, carried me inside, tossed me on my bed, and told me to stay where I belonged.”
“And you did?”
“Again, I thought it was a dream. I went to sleep and figured out it wasn’t a dream the next day when I saw him again by the magical barrier that sent me flying.”
“Ouch,” she said sympathetically.
“Yeah, it wasn’t fun. Now, about his reaction?” I asked as she turned into the Academy drive. The gates opened as soon as she approached.
“Lectures. Long, boring lectures about safety, responsibility, you name it. He likes to lecture.”
“And I like to ignore, so it’ll be fine,” I said with a grin.
Eliana turned to the right, pulling around to the side of the Academy. Not many students had arrived yet, so it was easy to spot Oanen in the mostly vacant parking lot. With his arms crossed and a scowl on his face, he stood waiting for us in Eliana’s chosen parking spot.
“Told you,” she whispered.
He stepped back as she pulled forward and turned off the car. Through the windshield, his gaze remained locked with mine. Did he honestly think he had any right to lecture me on anything? He unfolded his arms, the material of his shirt pulling tight across his chiseled chest for just a moment, and moved toward my side of the car.
As soon as I opened my door, he was there, crowding me.
“You heard someone in your house, and you went running downstairs? Where’s your common sense?”
I shouldered my bag, mildly annoyed.
“Hold on. I never claimed to have any common sense. I have anger issues. The two usually don’t work well together. And what difference does it make to you?” Gravel crunched behind us as another car arrived. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
His gaze flicked behind me a second before he clasped my arms.
“Keep your hands to yourself,” he said with a low warning.
“I was about to say the same thing.” I threw off his hold moments before my anger reared its head. Not at Oanen, though. I turned and faced Fenris and his group of girls.
“Why’d you break into my house last night?” I demanded.
Fenris scowled. Jenna and the other girls’ gazes darted to Aubrey.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Aubrey said. She reached for Fenris’ arm and snuggled close to his side.
“How did you know I was talking to you, Aubrey? I was looking at Fenris.”
The girl’s face flushed scarlet, and her lips curled back to show her teeth.
“Stay away from him. He’s mine,” she snarled.
A hand slipped over my clenched fist, calling attention to the fact that two strong arms gripped me, and I was struggling to get to Aubrey. Eliana’s small hand on mine did wonders to ease some of my anger. Enough to hear what Oanen said next, anyway.
“You need to take care of this.”
Fenris sighed and pulled off his shirt. The view wasn’t as nice as when Oanen removed his, but it still elicited a yearning whine from Jenna as she looked at Fenris. With a snarl, Aubrey turned on the girl and lashed out. Her claws left red welts on Jenna’s cheek. Despite Eliana’s hold, my temper surged again.
Fenris unzipped his pants, turned before showing anything interesting, and collapsed into a wolf. He sprinted away with a howl, leaving behind a pile of clothes and his girls.
Aubrey turned on the other girls, snarling as she slipped from her sundress and stood naked in the parking lot without an ounce of inhibition. I wasn’t a prude, but I wasn’t an exhibitionist either.
Collapsing into wolf form, Aubrey howled and ran after Fenris. A moment later, the other girls stripped where they stood and chased after the pair.
Oanen’s hands released me.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, my anger fading to confusion.
“Desperation. Aubrey knows Fenris’ mate run will happen soon and is doing everything she can to keep her scent foremost in his nose.”
“Eliana, you know better,” Oanen reprimanded her softly.
“If they don’t want people to talk about it, they shouldn’t make it so public.”
“A mate run? What’s that?” I asked Eliana.
“When his kind reaches a certain age, the urge to run out and mate hits hard. Overwhelmingly hard, I’ve heard. And, it’s nothing like when the human boys get horny. Fenris can’t just go out and have a good time. Fenris’ kind mate for life. Whoever he picks in his moment of weakness is who he’s stuck with forever.”
“Ugh.” The idea of him stuck with Aubrey for the rest of his life sent a surge of pity through me.
“Yeah,” Eliana said in an equally sympathetic tone.
“Are you two done?” Oanen asked.
“Almost.” I walked over to Aubrey’s sundress and thoroughly stomped it into the dirt. Adjusting the weight of my bag on my shoulder, I turned back to the pair waiting for me.
“Now I’m ready to go inside.”
“Seriously, you don’t need your bag,” Eliana said, not commenting on the dress.
“I might.” I took a step toward the school.
“What’s in it?” Oanen asked.
“A change of clothes in case I get bloody.”
He plucked my bag from my shoulder and tossed it back into the car.
“No fighting today.” He stood, arms crossed and biceps bulging, before the door so I couldn’t pull the bag back out.
“Who do you think you are? You can’t tell me when not to fight. I fight all the time. Why do you think I’m here?” I said, exasperated.
“The clothes stay in the car,” he said.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Fine, but if I end up needing them and don’t have them, you’re going to be on the receiving end of my temper next.”
A howl cut through the air followed by four more.
“Come on. Let’s get inside before they come back,” Eliana said with a tug on my hand.
I gave Oanen one last glare and followed her inside. A few students already walked the hall, and I heard singing coming from the pool.
Adira waited for us in the main entry.
“Good morning, Megan. I was hoping I could talk to you before your first session.”
I shrugged and said goodbye to Eliana before following Adira. It didn’t escape my notice that Oanen stared after us a moment before following his ward.
As soon as we reached Adira’s office, she went behind her desk, and I took a seat.
“I saw you completed all your assessments. I must say, I’m impressed. It usually takes more time for students in your situation to gain the focus needed to see what needs to be done.”
“What’s my situation?”
“Alone in a strange, new world.”
“Ah. Yeah, well, I have no car to go anywhere and was bored.” I shrugged.
“Regardless, you did very well. You’ve mastered the requirements to graduate from human high school. That means we can focus specifically on your Girderon requirements.”
“Which are?”
“To master your control of yourself around humans.”
“Perfect. Considering where I lived before coming here, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“As you pointed out to Oanen in the parking lot, you have little self-control.”
“Wait a minute. I pointed out I had a problem with common sense because of my temper. I never said anything about self-control.”
We both knew it was a weak objection to the truth. When my temper flared, I didn’t have control or common sense.
“Fine. What do I need to do? And if your answer contains the words ‘visualize,’ ‘find your center,’ or ‘breathing technique’ forget it. Been there. Done that. It doesn’t work.”
“The humans were trying to help you with something they couldn’t begin to understand.”
“I don’t know, some of them gave my anger their best efforts.”
“It’s not just anger. It’s part of your abilities.”
“Hold up. My anger has something to do with what I am?” My mind raced, trying to think of any mythological creature known for anger issues or general grumpiness. Trolls, giants, brownies, dark elves…there were more grumpy ones than not. I’d need to do some research and compile a list.
“Stop trying to guess who you might be. It will distract you from who you are,” Adira said, interrupting my thoughts.
“You’re talking in circles.”
She smiled serenely. Instead of calming me, it had the opposite effect.
“And, you’re annoying me,” I said flatly.
“I know. But, I’m not making you angry. Do you see the difference?”
“Not really. I still kinda want to wipe that smile off your face.”
The natural abrasiveness I channeled when annoyed didn’t faze her.
“Pay attention to your emotions. Break them down and ask yourself why you’re feeling the way you do in any particular situation. By analyzing each feeling, you can start ruling your emotions instead of letting them rule you. Gaining that level of control, before your true form emerges, will—”
“True form? You mean this isn’t what I really look like?”
I could feel panic welling up inside me. Everything else they’d thrown at me, I’d taken with a grain of salt. But this? Hearing that I would physically look different melted a sane portion of my brain.
“Breathe, Megan. I showed you my true form on your first day here. Yet, here I sit in the form you find the most familiar. The fact that you will have another form doesn’t mean you must use it.”
I stood and gripped the back of my chair.
“I don’t want to be late for class.”
Adira sighed. “Very well. Run away, Megan. It doesn’t change a thing. I will see you at the Fall Festival.”
“I’ll pass. I don’t do well in crowds.”
“Attendance is required. Unless you’re not interested in leaving Uttira. Ever.”
“Why did I ever think you were nice?”
She smiled, not cruelly but as if she thought I was the funniest thing ever. We’d see how funny she thought me at the festival.
Turning on my heel, I stormed out the door and came to an abrupt halt at seeing Fenris leaning against the wall in the hallway.
