“You been spying on me, babe?” His muscular arm folded tighter around me and he dragged me against his hip.
“No,” I whispered. “It was plain to see.” My knee brushed against his thigh and a deep noise left his throat.
He released a heavy breath. “It’s nothing to worry yourself with, Vega.” He released me then splashed a wave at me in the same movement.
Bastard!
I spluttered, lurching back as he swam away toward a huge rock jutting up from the middle of the pool. I headed back to shore, rejoining Tory, annoyed with myself that I’d tried to make some effort with him.
“You okay?” I murmured, not wanting to draw attention to the fact Tory wouldn’t go anywhere near the deep pond. I didn’t want to give wolf boy any more ammo against her.
She nodded, a smile etched into her cheeks that only I had the laser vision to see through.
“There's only one sure way to know if you're a wolf!” Seth’s sharp tone sent a tremor through me.
He stood up to his waist at the far edge of the pool, an inch away from giving the whole woodland a glimpse of his magic wand.
“What’s that?” Tory called, folding her arms.
“Both of you howl,” he commanded, pointing to the sky.
Tory and I shared a glance and we both remained silent.
“Shut your eyes and howl with all your might,” Seth commanded, but neither of us were ready to make a fool of ourselves like that.
Shall we dig holes and sniff each other’s butts too?
Seth shrugged when we didn’t respond. “Fine don't bother. But howling can bring out the change so it's up to you.” Seth turned and strode up the bank, his bare ass staring me in the face as he marched out of the water.
Tory sighed. “One howl.”
Seth didn't answer.
Tory cupped her hands around her mouth and I mimicked her, gazing up at the wide blue sky beyond the treetops.
“A-wooo!” we called together.
Some of the wolves joined in and we continued on despite the fact it felt pretty ridiculous. I didn't sense anything wolfy happening to me so I looked down at Seth who was stood near the edge of the clearing.
“You're not wolves,” he growled dismissively. “So you don't run with my pack.” He leapt toward the trees and morphed into his beautiful white form once again. My heart stuttered as the rest of the pack tore after him, those in human form shifting into wolves as they charged away into the forest, their pounding footfalls rumbling through the air.
My mouth fell open and my heart stuttered to a halt as they left us in the middle of the The Wailing Wood who knew how far away from the meadow.
“Asshole!” Tory shouted after him as we gathered up our satchels.
I retrieved my Atlas, locating us on the map with a groan. “We're practically off campus.”
“Great,” Tory sighed as she stalked off ahead of me into the trees. “Just goddamn great.”
I SAT ACROSS from Professor perfect-manicure Prestos who had been assigned as my Liaison while she tap, tap, tapped away on her keyboard. We’d had a thirty-five second conversation during which she had let me know that she intended to conduct this relationship via email after this meeting. She had zero interest in giving up her personal time to me a couple of evenings a week and was confident that sending me worksheets and corresponding online would be more than sufficient to bring me up to speed.
Aside from the fact that I was clearly not invited to spend more time with her than absolutely necessary, she did seem to know what she was talking about and had been forthright, if a little short, with the answers to every question I’d had.
She was currently in the process of sending me at least fifty emails containing information on everything from the history of Changeling Fae to news articles about our birth parents to resisting Coercion and even casting it: If I could learn to Coerce some of the asshole students in retaliation to their efforts against Darcy and me then I was definitely up for that and Prestos had encouraged a fighting back attitude which I appreciated.
From the example sheet she’d given me to peruse while she worked, I got the feeling that this was going to work out well for both of us. Though she clearly didn’t want to be directly involved with me more than absolutely necessary she was more than happy for me to contact her with any questions - strictly online - and the information she’d provided was thorough and easy to understand. I just needed to stop by her office every now and then so that she could sign off on our lessons together so that it looked like I’d physically attended. Simple.
She’d even given me a credit card with access to my sizeable stipend, emailed me a map and shuttle bus timetable for the local town and thrown in some advice on the best shops there for free. And judging by her outfit, her advice was well worth taking.
We were going to get on just great.
“Okay then, Tory,” she said with a flourish as she hit send. “I’ll have a meeting with you after The Reckoning once you earn your official spot in the Academy and we can discuss the new classes which will be added to fill in your timetable then. Other than that, I have a date in town and I’m already running late.”
She got to her feet and I followed suit as we moved towards the door.
“Well I hope you make him work for it,” I said, eyeing the tight fitting black dress she was wearing with a smirk.
“I always do, don’t worry,” Prestos replied with a grin before locking her door and strutting away from me in her three inch heels.
Well that was a lot less painful than I expected. What to do with my evening of freedom?
After spending half the afternoon traipsing back through the woods soaking wet and missing most of our following class, I had no desire to face The Orb for the dinner rush where no doubt all of the Heirs would be holding court and laughing about Seth’s prank.
I made my way down the steps of Neptune Tower where the brief meeting with Prestos had been held and looked up at the sky where the sun had begun to set. It was just eight-thirty and I wondered if I should try to contact Darcy. We'd had a Coercion practice session with Sofia after our last class of the day and I already felt slightly more confident at fighting it off but now I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
The campus was massive and there were countless places we hadn’t seen yet. I opened my satchel to search for my Atlas to call my sister but after a good few minutes of rifling through I had to accept that I’d forgotten it back in my dorm and I gave up with a sigh.
The evening was warm, a breeze filled with the memory of summer washing around me.
I crossed the path which led back towards The Orb and headed the other way, following the curve of the hill into the trees which marked the edge of The Wailing Wood.
I hesitated, after spending so much of the afternoon in those trees I wasn’t exactly keen to go in again but if I went the other way I’d have to pass The Orb and all its merry occupants. Where we’d grown up there was very little in the way of forests or any kind of nature at all. It was all stone and steel, urban and boring, the idea of heading into the silence beneath the trees was tempting enough as an alternative to any further interaction with my classmates today.
I glanced over my shoulder, making sure no Heirs or anyone else were coming my way but the path behind me was totally clear.