Chapter 70

Zora

I left my first new training session with Valentin in a shit mood.

I was annoyed to no end that I couldn’t make myself shift in front of Thorne. Fucking dickwad would probably hold that over me. But, Mona was even more pissed.

I don’t understand, she spat in the back of my mind, pacing. He’s not even our mate anymore. Why does he have this hold over us?

Hell, if I know, I grumbled back. I looked down at my hand and focused on the feeling of dirt under my paws. My hand immediate shifted into a paw, fur sprouting from my skin down to my elbow. With a clench of my fist, I was fully human again.

I don’t get it either, I mused as I left the locker room. I was back in my day clothes post-training and had about an hour until my first class. My curls were wet and pinned back in a braid behind me. I shrugged my bag higher on my shoulder as I walked across campus to the cafeteria.

I don’t even like Thorne, I continued my thought. If I’d been embarrassed to shift in front of anybody it’d be Valentin. I have a raging crush on him.

Glad you’re finally admitting it, Mona wolfishly chuckled. But this shifting business is peculiar.

Do you think it has something to do with the bond rejection? I asked her.

Perhaps, she mused. Some kind of sub-conscious nerves?

I sat on that thought as I reached the main lawn of campus. Did Thorne make me nervous? Kind of. Well, yes, actually. My secret was the least safe with him. He was in the castle when I was there. His mother was my mother in a way. If anyone knew who I was, it was Thorne Blythwitch.

But there was something else, laced between the nerves. A sort of disappointment that I couldn’t pin to any one moment. It wasn’t disappointment that he broke our bond. It wasn’t disappointment that he hung out with Kairos and his merry band of douche-fucks. It was almost as if I was disappointed in the fact that he didn’t really know me.

That makes some semblance of sense, Mona added. He barely gave you a chance to look at him before he was breaking the bond. I’d imagine that would be a blow to your ego.

But not yours? I mused.

Mona scoffed. I am an ancient High Magikal being. Nothing will blow my ego down.

Noted, I snorted back. But maybe you’re right. Maybe it’s disappointment in that he doesn’t see me as worthy of his time. Or strong enough for it.

That would be a good reason as to why we can’t shift, Mona said. Why give someone our strongest form when they think we are weak?

I shook my head with a sigh. God, this wolf shit is exhausting, I breathed towards Mona. Does it ever get easier?

Did you miss the part where I said “ancient High Magikal being”? Mona said back with another wolfish chuckle. It never gets easier. Only more complicated.

I didn’t dignify that with a response as I continued my way across campus. I was almost to the cafeteria when Loren came barreling across the campus with her arms out. She was calling my name like a psycho, causing everyone to look at her as she went.

“ZORA!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. She lunged herself at me and I caught her in a flourish. We nearly toppled to the grass but managed to stay on our feet for the most part. I push Loren off me, gingerly, then hold the buzzing woman in my arms.

“I have news!” she squeals.

“Okay, okay,” I half laugh. “Seems like half the campus noticed.”

Loren’s still jumping up and down as she drops her voice to a whisper only her and I can hear. “I felt something,”

I blink at her. “Okay?” I draw the word out.

“Like something!” she whisper yells. “Something mate something!”

“Oh. Oh!” I exclaim. I get why she’s so excited now. “Wait, what? With whom? I thought you said no one current enrolled is doing anything for you.”

“They’re not,” Loren said. “But there’s a bunch of students transferring from another Alpha Academy today. I ran into one in the cafeteria while I was waiting for you and I had to come tell you!”

“Okay, okay,” I tried to place my hands on her shoulders to calm her down. “What’s he like? Do you know his name?”

Loren stopped moving immediately. She frowned then cast her eyes towards the ground. “Their name,” she started, quietly. “Is Ani.”

“Ani,” I repeated, trying to get my singular brain cell to work. “Ani. Okay, I’m following. What’s their story?”

“Well,” Loren rubbed at the back of her neck. “They – um – she said she’s a transfer with a bunch of other students. Something about their dorms being at capacity due to a fire. And well, we have space, always. So they sent the students here for the rest of the semester until the dorms are repaired.”

I paused. New students? I hoped they wouldn’t hear anything about my stellar reputation on campus. The last thing I needed was more assholes digging around me.

“Okay,” I said for the millionth time. “And why do you think she’s your mate?”

“Um, she,” Loren made sure to emphasize the word. “Touched my shoulder as she passed. And I felt that sort of electricity. Not like static shock but, like, more. And I think she felt it too. She was like breathless after she touched me.”

“Wow,” I breathed. I broke into a grin. “This is amazing Loren! See, I told you there was someone for you. She was just at a different school.”

Loren fidgeted and cast her glance down again. “You don’t care that she’s a … she?”

“Not at all,” I said before putting my own hand on Loren’s shoulder. She tipped her head up to look at me. “Just care that your happy is all.”

Loren broke into a wide smile. “Thanks, Zora. You really are a good friend.”

I tried to not let my lies show on my face. I quickly changed the subject as I saw a mass of people walking towards the Admissions Hall. I jerked my chin.

“Those the new students?”

Loren turned over her shoulder and looked. “Probably,” she grabbed my hand and yanked me towards the building. “Come on, let’s go look!”

I laughed as Loren tugged me along. Once we got closer, I spotted a crowd gathering around a lavish black car near the Admissions building. It was the same kind of car I’d been brought to school in. My eyebrows knitted as I stared at it. Was my mother on campus for the new students?

The door to the car opened and I immediately felt my stomach drop. It hit the ground in front of me and shattered into a million pieces. I couldn’t stop staring as a woman got out of the car. A cheetah print heel hit the ground and I cringed at the memories of the shoes clopping around the castle for the months I’d been there before going to the Academy.

I followed the long, olive legs up to the equally dark olive stomach then up to the short black bob that curled under the woman’s angular jaw-line. Gold eyes pierced me from across the crowd. It parted as she walked further out of the car. Then it was just us.

“Fuck,” I breathed.

The woman’s lips curled up into a snakelike smile. As if she was ready to strike. She stepped close enough to me that I could feel her rotten, sour breath hit my nostrils as she spoke.

“Hello, sister,”

Besides me, Loren was buzzing again. “Oh my god,” she said. “Welcome to campus Princess Amara!”