“You think that makes any sort of difference?” he asked. “He’s in a position of power, and were he to abuse that position, he could get seriously punished for it.”
“Abuse of power?” I asked, scrunching my nose. “Are you serious right now? Don’t you think regular rules go out the window the second you basically tell me to expect to get raped on a mission my Alpha is sending me on? Are you telling me there are no exceptions for situations like this?” I glanced over at his bed before I realized what I was doing. I wasn’t sure if I was making a point but it wasn’t a point I wanted to make. Any intimacy between Kazu-sensei and I was nonexistent. I just wanted a place to sit down, especially since I wasn’t used to wearing heels like these ones. “I don’t believe you. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think Rocky is the perfect candidate. He’s older, more experienced, would understand why I’m doing this —“
“It’s a highly classified mission,” Kazu said. “You couldn’t even tell him you’re taking a Scarlet mission because that would reveal too much.”
I shrugged. “He would understand,” I repeated. “As an elite captain, he would know that there was a purpose for what I was doing, even if I couldn’t go into detail. I wouldn’t have to worry about anything changing between us either. It would be a simple transaction…although I don't know what he would get out of it.”
Kazu scoffed. “Trust me, he’d get something out of it.”
“So, you’ll do it then?” I asked, looking up at him through strands of pink hair that had fallen into my face. “You’ll introduce us?”
“Absolutely not,” Kazu said, flashing his eyes at me. A warning, if I had ever seen one.
One I wasn’t willing to take.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll do it myself.” I took a step close to the door.
Kazu stepped in front of me so fast, all I saw was a blur of silver until I blinked and realized I was an inch or two from running into his chest.
“What are you doing?” I demanded, looking up at him with a glare.
“I’m stopping you from making a poor decision because you’re young, inexperienced, and you think you have something to prove,” he said.
“You’re the one who told me —“
“Not. With. Him.” The words were forced out of teeth gnarled together, and even in the darkness, I could see the flash of his canines.
“Then who?” I demanded to know, throwing my arms out. “I have one more night here. After the full moon, I go on the mission. And you’ve been insisting I don’t do that as a virgin.”
“Don’t go at all.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s not going to happen,” I muttered, trying to step around him.
He shot out an arm. “Because Dade is so precious to you?”
“Because I’m capable of helping my pack,” I shot back. “And yes, he is. And there’s nothing wrong with having people precious to me and being willing to do whatever I can for them.” I cocked my head to the side. “Now, unless you’re offering to take care of the problem yourself, please step aside so I can leave. I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.”
I hadn’t meant to say the words.
I hadn’t meant to imply anything by them.
Kazu’s eyes widened, and I must have caught him so off-guard that when I attempted to walk around him for a third time, he didn’t try and stop me.
Good thing too, because I didn’t want to stick around and see how he would respond.
Freya
Adrienne’s room was a single-person room but it was more spacious than the one I was given. The fact that she got her own room must have something to do with her rank within the pack. I still wasn’t familiar with the hierarchy here, especially when it came to human and wolf, but I knew captains only ranked below the Headmaster, and after them came their lieutenants. I didn’t think Adrienne was a lieutenant so she must have been a high ranking pack member.
I wondered how long she had been here, considering she was human.
She helped me settle in and insisted I take the bed. I wasn’t sure how comfortable I felt – sleeping in someone else’s bed – but after changing into my pajamas and turning out the lights, it was surprisingly easy for me to slip into unconsciousness. I just hoped my dreams wouldn’t involve desecrated bodies and shadows with sharp teeth.
Kent
The second Kent stepped onto academy territory, he knew something was amiss. Dawn started to creep over the horizon. As it was, the atmosphere was as tense as an archer’s drawn bow string.
Guards were there, patrolling the area, but there was double the number, more than the usual amount assigned during a full moon. He was one of the last to return, ensuring every wolf returned in their human form, appropriately attired and presentable.
Reedys hung back, taking a long drag of his cigarette. Kent stood next to his lieutenant, his eyes scanning the entrance for any signs of what had happened.
“Something seems peculiar,” Kent said.
Patrol kept glancing over at him and whispering, but so far, no one approached him.
Reedys grunted, blowing smoke through his nostrils.
Kent brushed his gloves fingers on the hilt of his blade, eyes narrowing on the dirt, when the sound of metal clanging with metal caught his attention. One of the human patrols approached him. He didn’t know her, but she wasn’t a lieutenant, which meant she had to be a ranking officer. High up if it was within her designation to approach him.
“Captain,” she said seriously. “There’s been a disturbance while you and the rest of the wolves were away.”
“A disturbance?” he asked as they made their way shoulder to shoulder inside the building. Reedys stayed behind to finish his cigarette.
“Erm…” The officer hesitated, eyes going to the stone floor.
“Yes?”
“A murder.”
Kent stilled. The officer was forced to remain in the hallway with him. Their shadows danced behind them on the walls, the low candles casting dim lighting throughout the hallway.
His first thought went to Freya. Concern prickled on his skin though he couldn’t explain why that was. It wasn’t as though anything had changed between the two of them. Just because the Headmaster had specifically required him to take her on as his ward didn’t suddenly change his opinion of her.
“Who?” he demanded to know, voice harsher than he intended.
“Lucy, sir,” she said. “Lucy Canavan.”
Sorrow pierced his chest but he didn’t show it. He locked his jaw. Lucy was someone assigned to Victor King’s watchful eye simply because she wasn’t an official student within the academy.
“When? What were the circumstances?”
The officer glanced behind her as Reedys made his way inside, shutting the door behind him.
“Perhaps we should go somewhere more private?” she suggested.
Kent wanted to disagree. He wanted answers now. However, he also knew there were ears listening, ears he didn’t trust the way he trusted Reedys.
“Fine.” He tilted his chin down.