Deadly Alliances (Dark Shifter Academy #5)

Chapter 14 Ashlyn

My heart beat to a thrilling tune as I crept along the dim hallway.

I looked over my shoulder for the sixth time to make sure no one saw me leave the avian common room. I didn’t have to go very far, but under the circumstances, the distance seemed astronomical. Each step that I went undetected felt like a huge milestone.

I stuck to the walls like glue as I made my way to the large supply closet south of the avian common room, my senses keen to the slightest sound or shifting of shadows. I just hoped the others would make it okay. Those from other wings had farther to go, and with the guards patrolling the halls at night, they’d need more luck than I did. If even one of them was caught, we’d all be in serious trouble.

The moment my hand touched the knob, I peeked over my shoulder again, then swept in silent as a ghost. I gave myself a second to regulate my breathing before I let my gaze fall to the students already huddled inside among the racks of cleaning supplies.

They all relaxed when they saw it was me, and I smiled at the group reassuringly, registering who all was in attendance.

Brett was there, of course, sitting beside Niko. His parents weren’t particularly powerful, but they were wealthy phoenixes. And as Niko’s best friend—aside from Tobias—he was an obvious choice.

Jackson waved a hand at me, flashing that sexy grin that had been hiding under the new regime. He had been my first pick. After our little talk the other day, I knew he was someone I could trust. And considering his father was sorta the godfather of the shifter mafia, I knew he held tremendous sway over the other were families.

Petra Adder gave me a chin nod, her face a mask of indifference and black eyeliner. She was my recruit as well. Yesterday, I watched her stand up to a guard who had worked one of her nagas into collapse despite the fact that she was little more than half his size, then lit a cigarette right in front of him only to have him snatch it and stomp on it. I didn’t know much about her family, but she was hands-down the leader of the nagas at this school, and I had to assume she at least had connections beyond these walls.

When my eyes next fell on Letti, my smile fell. Niko had told me he was going to approach the mermaid, and though I trusted his judgment in considering her, I was surprised to see she’d actually come. But I was grateful. We needed a mer on our side, and Letti’s parents were nobility. I managed a small smile of appreciation at her, and she returned it with one that said she felt as out-of-place as she looked.

Then there was Leya, whose knees were bouncing nervously as she sat crossed-legged. I had my reservations about her, too. She was a notorious gossip, but for whatever reason, Niko insisted on bringing her in. Something about her parents being respected healers. And at this early stage, any support was good support.

“Thank you for meeting with us,” I began. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to sneak out, and I appreciate every single one of you taking the risk.”

They all nodded, and having all their eyes on me made me feel suddenly self-conscious. I’d never been one for public speaking, never viewed myself as a potential leader of anything. Hell, even in group assignments, I always just floated along, letting someone else run the show. Yet here I was, hosting a secret meeting where the stakes were much higher than my grades.

I cleared my throat. “I think we’re in agreement that what’s happened to our school since General Dracul took over is a nightmare.”

Petra scoffed. “No joke. They raided my cigarette stash.”

Jackson elbowed her with a wry smirk. “Don’t worry. I got you covered. My stash of paraphernalia is well hidden.”

“Sweet,” she said with a nod of appreciation.

Leya rolled her eyes. “That’s really all you care about? One of the guards forced me to do a sim after I spent all morning healing other students who failed. I was so exhausted, I nearly got my wing ripped completely off. Harpy healing can do a lot of things, but it can’t reconnect tissue. I was almost mutilated for life.”

Petra bristled, narrowing her eyes at the harpy who was being entirely too loud. “No, that’s not all I care about, but defending my nagas constantly is exhausting, and being denied of nicotine only makes it worse.”

“Maybe it’s a sign that you should stop,” Leya commented. “It’s a nasty habit.”

“So is talking as much as you do,” Petra countered. “Maybe you should stop.”

“Hey, we didn’t bring you guys here to fight each other,” Niko said, his voice quiet but commanding. “We brought you here to stand up against the tyranny that you’re all suffering from.”

Leya and Petra both shrank slightly, sufficiently humbled. I was glad Niko was here. He was so much more patient than I was, and I needed someone with his level-head to balance my hot temper.

Letti raised her hand. “And how do you propose we do that?”

“By forming an official shifter council,” I replied.

She gave a derisive laugh, proving she was still the same old Letti. “You want the six of us to be a council? How is that going to change anything? We’re powerless against the general.”

“Not us,” Niko corrected. “Adults. Hopefully one from each shifter species. Each of you have parents that either hold positions of power and respect or have connections to those who do. If you can get them to agree to forming such a council, they can reclaim the school and put it in the hands of someone more appropriate to lead it.”

Everyone sat in silence for a moment, letting that sink in.

“I’ll talk to my dad,” Jackson spoke up first. “He’s not really one for conventional authority, but seeing as he already runs the hound families, he might be inclined to accept such a position. And with his connections to mao and ursa families, he’d probably know the right people to talk to.”

“Perfect,” I said, looking hopefully from one face to the next.

“The obvious choice for the mers is Queen Anali,” Letti volunteered.

“Wait, isn’t that Kendall’s grandma?” Brett asked. “Do you think she’d actually agree after her grandson defected to the vampires? And even if she would, how would we even get a hold of her?”

“My mother is one of her administrators,” Letti said matter-of-factly, flipping a lock of hair over her shoulder. “I can easily relay the suggestion to her, and I have no doubt she’d be thrilled by the idea. She’s deeply ashamed of Kendall’s choice. Her loyalty is and always will be to the mer, and I’m certain she will see as easily as I do that a council of shifters is what’s best for the mer.”

My brows flickered with surprise. Maybe not quite the same old Letti after all. Niko made the right choice in trusting her.

“I got someone in mind for the nagas,” Petra said. “I’ll make some calls and get back to you.”

“Okay,” I said slowly, hoping she would elaborate further. But she didn’t.

Brett shifted where he sat on the floor, accidentally bumping into a mop that was propped up behind him, and it fell and hit Leya on the head.

“Ow,” she complained, rubbing her head.

“Oh shit, sorry,” he said with a grimace, grabbing the mop and attempting to prop it back up. Once it was in place, he turned back to the group. “I don’t know how much sway my parents have, but I could probably get them to lend some financial support. I think the more obvious suggestion would be your dad, Ashlyn.”

“Wait, what?” The suggestion was such a shock, I wasn’t sure I’d actually heard him correctly.

“Yeah, he’s the most respected of all the phoenixes,” Brett said.

I shook my head. “No way. My dad is loyal to the military, through and through. The council should be made up of people who have no affiliation to the military.”

Brett shrugged. “I guess you have a point.”

“That would count my parents out, too,” Niko interjected. “They’re not military, but my family have been friends with Draculs for generations. Chances are they’d side with the general.”

“That might be, but they’re a better dragon option than the general himself,” Brett countered.

Niko tipped his head in agreement. “Well, you have a point there. I’ll see what I can accomplish with them. I’ll need to find just the right timing, which will be even more difficult considering how little I get to talk to them.”

“In the meantime, we can keep brainstorming alternatives,” I said, then turned to Leya, giving her an expectant look.

She blanched slightly and fidgeted, still rubbing the spot on her head where the mop handle hit her. “Well, my parents are well-known in the harpy community—you might have seen them on Real Shifter Housewives.” She beamed with pride for a moment, then frowned when no one fed into it and continued. “But the best candidate is Maya Heather. She’s the most respected harpy in the world. That’s why she was chosen to teach here.”

My stomach clenched with doubt and anxiety. “I don’t know about a teacher. How do we know she wouldn’t go straight to Dracul?”

Leya shot me a flat glance. “Are you kidding? She hates what the general’s doing more than anyone else. Do you have any idea how many students she’s had to heal from serious injury in the last week?”

No one answered. We all knew she was right. Some of the people in this room had been among those students.

“Trust me,” Leya said. “I’ll talk to her. Even if she declines the offer, she’ll keep our secret. She doesn’t want anyone hurt by the general.”

I nodded, exchanging a worried glance with Niko, who only nodded in return.

“Well, that leaves a kitsune,” he said. “Anyone know of a kitsune with powerful parents here?”

Brett straightened, flashing his teeth in an excited smile. “Yes! I have just the person. And she owes me a favor.”

Niko cocked his head at Brett. “How many favors are you owed?”

Brett shrugged. “If I told you, I’d have to kill you.”

Niko and I rolled our eyes in unison.

“Okay, guys. Let’s reconvene tomorrow night.” Niko's deep voice echoed through the supply closet. “Remember to watch your back, and don’t mention anything about what we’re doing here.”

There was a general murmur of agreement before the students started leaving one by one—just in case there was a guard patrolling. Niko and I waited until everyone had left.

“Well, I think that went surprisingly well,” he said, leaning against the door once we were alone.

I scooped my arms around his waist, savoring the feel of his hard muscles under my touch. “As long as we can keep them from biting each other’s heads off, we should be good.”

He chuckled softly, then leaned in to brush his lips over mine.

The kiss was pitifully brief, and I chased his mouth as he pulled away.

“We should get back,” he whispered.

“But I never get to see you,” I cooed with my best pout, tugging at the fabric of his uniform at the base of his spine. “And we’re already here. We should make the best of it.”

He reached behind him and gently took hold of my wrists to pull them forward. “As much as I want to pin you against the supply rack and fuck you senseless, we shouldn’t push our luck.”

His words lit a fire in my core, making my whole body ache for him. “You really shouldn’t say things like that if you’re not going to deliver,” I groaned, pressing my forehead against his firm chest.

“Sorry,” he said. “It’s just a miracle none of us has been discovered already. And if we want to keep this place a secret for future meetings, we can’t have loud moans and screams of ecstasy alerting the guards.”

I turned my head up to face him and frowned at him. “Why are you torturing me?”

He snickered. “Okay, I know. Come on, you should go before I lose my resolve and get us both in trouble.”

“Ugh, fine,” I relented.

I stretched up on my toes to steal one last agonizingly brief kiss, then cracked open the door, checking the hall was empty before the two of us crept out of the closet.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

I froze on the spot at the barked accusation from behind me, panic crystalizing my veins. Shit, shit, shit.

Niko grabbed my arm and forcefully turned me around to face the guard that was storming up the hall toward us. “I found this one sneaking around near the kitchen. Said she was trying to get a late night snack. Can you believe that? The nerve of these spoiled kids.”

The guard’s eyes scanned both of us up and down, and it took me a few seconds to realize what Niko was doing and spur myself into playing along.

“What? I was hungry?” I complained with a shrug, hoping that if he saw my fear, it only made our story more believable.

Niko jerked me roughly, and I shot him a scowl—did he really have to play the part so dramatically?

“I’m escorting her back to her dorms,” Niko said to the guard with a convincing asshole tone.

The guard looked between us one more time, then finally nodded. “Good work. Carry on.”

“Come on, let’s go,” Niko growled, tugging me along beside him down the hall as the guard continued his patrol in the other direction.

I peered over my shoulder as we rounded the corner, making sure we were out of earshot, then whispered, “Did you really have to be so rough?”

He shot me a playful smirk. “I had to make it convincing.”

“Sure,” I deadpanned, even though my pulse was still racing.

We made it back to the entrance of the avian dorms without another confrontation, and we parted ways without another word for discretion’s sake. We had gotten very lucky. I only hoped that luck remained on our side throughout our little coup because I wasn’t so sure Niko’s act would work a second time.