Chapter 4
With my orgasmic chocolate tucked away in my pocket, I looked forward to an opportunity to get back at Orion. I wasn’t sure when or how it would present itself, but I knew when it did, it would be glorious.
Until then, it was probably best to avoid the Demigod.
I had kicked him in the balls, after all, and I didn’t want to get trapped by the Demis again.
They’d found a way to feed off of my Virtue bond with Orion, even though it wasn’t fully established.
Sleeping with Kaito had enforced the connection and brought me closer to accepting my destiny.
Now it was as if the universe was pushing me to seal the deal with all of my mates, and it became increasingly apparent which ones were meant to share my soul.
Although picturing myself in a heartfelt relationship with Orion, Dante, Logan, and especially Hendrik made me wonder what kind of crack the universe was on.
It had gotten Kaito right, at least. I enjoyed being around him, even if it was a bit taboo since I was a student, but he didn’t seem to mind, so neither did I.
But Orion, well, he was an asshat Demigod who wanted to play games.
Dante had spent a year on the outside, forgetting I existed, while on some sort of “mission.” Logan was going to hate me more than he already did once I figured out how to make his life miserable in order to pay back my debt to Hendrik.
Speaking of the Dark Mage, he was the least likely to bend to my will and seemed to enjoy toying with me on a daily basis.
I was his pet, as far as he was concerned, and nothing more.
When I figured out how to bring him to his knees, he would be begging me for mercy.
Yeah, I’m romantic like that.
I wrapped my thin jacket around my shoulders as I hunched and disappeared into a plethora of students.
My morning walk was usually accompanied by the warm glow of what passed for morning in the pocket realm that Fortune Academy occupied, but with the time shift and further burrowing into the space-time continuum, Fortune Academy was experiencing some unfortunate side-effects, such as winter-like conditions that made my nipples want to fall off.
I still didn’t quite understand all of it.
Fortune Academy lived in its own little realm.
Exactly “where” we were was a mystery, although rumor had it that Fortune Academy ran alongside the Hell realms—courtesy of Sonya, the first to combat Calamity.
Apparently she was close to the witches who founded this place: Renee and Evelyn.
If that was true, it made sense that Fortune Academy always had a healthy warm glow and it never got cold—at least until now. Who knew Hell could keep things so nice and toasty warm?
With another wave of Calamity on its way, Fortune Academy needed to pull itself away from the other realms. The way my newest professor explained it was that the Calamity was shoving all the realms together and they didn’t quite fit, which caused ill side-effects like supernaturals losing their memories.
If we wanted to regain our memories, rather than regress further into whatever plans Calamity had in mind, our pocket realm needed to get the hell out of dodge.
There was worse to come as the Echoes swept through our realities, especially if there wasn’t a champion to dampen the blow of the third echo that was well on its way.
We didn’t know what would happen this time, but it wasn’t going to be anything good.
Kaito’s research estimated anything could happen, from full-out world destruction to acid rain to kittens learning how to talk—which sounded pretty adorable.
I hoped it was that one. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t know until things progressed further along.
Until then, I would focus on me. It was far too much pressure to think about saving all the realms. It was already bad enough figuring out how to get rid of Hendrik’s debt in order to keep Olivia alive.
She had faith that the Academy wouldn’t let her die, but I didn’t want to put that to the test. They let Hendrik get away with a lot and I was sure he would weasel out of any blame if she died from lack of magic.
He’d be able to spin it in a way that left him blameless.
So, one step at a time. Right now I needed to play along and that meant getting even with Logan.
He’d stepped all over me my first few days at the Academy and then humiliated me in front of Hendrik and the Demis. He deserved to be dethroned.
The long walk had quickly cooled me off and I shivered against a biting breeze.
Snow dusted the streets and showcased trails of shoes and paw prints.
I heard the clamor of the sports arena before I turned the corner.
It was the one place that would be alive with warmth and excitement on campus.
Everyone was anxious by an entire year getting skipped.
Instead of allowing the students to acclimate, we’d been expected to just jump ahead and keep up.
“No time to waste with Calamity on the way,” the Dean had said.
With a sigh, I continued past the arena and ventured into Central Hall in search of the signup sheet. Miss Williams hadn’t been very specific, but I had a good idea where I might find it.
There were a handful of advanced classes held in Central Hall itself, each with a designated sector divided by supernatural types.
The shifters were paired together in this building—both panthers and wolves—only because the professors could keep a close eye on them.
The classes elsewhere would be separated into wolves or panthers with ample space between them.
They fought like cats and dogs—literally.
Such a cliché.
Luckily with a game soon underway, the shifter classes were nearly vacant. I left the gathering of students from the main hall and ventured down shifter territory hoping not to be spotted. Shifters tended to be territorial. Go figure.
I kept an eye out for other students as I ventured deeper into the shifter sector.
If there was a signup sheet, it would likely be buried at the end of the long halls well out of reach of the other students.
I thought I was going to make it unimpeded until a mewling came from around the corner.
I dove into an empty classroom, closing the door as much as I could without making noise.
“Can you believe Logan? He’s been such an ass lately,” came a female voice with a soft purr to her words. A panther shifter? Why would she be talking to Logan?
“More so than usual, you mean?” asked her companion.
I peeked through the doorway to spot a brunette with long graceful legs that put mine to shame.
Her slitted green eyes made her look like a mystical creature come to life.
I recognized her as the star of the panther sports team.
Petunia Panther, which was the most ridiculous name I’d ever heard, but now that I saw her up close, I had to admit it suited her.
She was known for the iconic purple streak in her hair as well as her aggressive moves against Logan—uncommon for a panther shifter and often the arena’s favorite spectator action.
Off the field, the panthers got owned by the wolves, but in the arena where the numbers were evenly matched, it was an entirely different story.
I crouched and held my breath as they passed. The other girl wore fighting shorts and a sleek tank for the sports arena. As a shifter, she really didn’t need to wear anything, but even I grudgingly admitted it looked good on her.
Nope. Not jealous of how gorgeous she is, or the fact that Logan rolls around in the arena with her.
“He told me not to play today. As if he can just boss me around. The nerve of that guy.”
Her friend scoffed. “What a douche. Good thinking to signup right before the game. I wouldn’t put it past him to erase your name.”
“He would, wouldn’t he?” she agreed. “Even if it takes magic, he’d find a way.”
“Total douche.”
They continued to badmouth Logan as they sauntered down the hall, leaving the path to the signup sheet wide open.
I waited a moment to make sure no one was coming, then darted down the hall and found the signup sheet wedged between two classrooms. Logan’s name, among other notable wolf shifters, proudly stood above a bold line while the panthers scribbled their names beneath it.
All the slots were filled, so I would have to erase someone’s name to make room for mine.
I was sure that wouldn’t earn me any favors, but I knew exactly who to replace.
“Sorry, Petunia. I’ll be the one rolling around with Logan today.”
Grabbing the pencil attached to the board by a wire, I cradled the Blood Stone as I took the eraser end and worked at her name before replacing it with my own.
A tingling swept through my body as the magic used me as a conduit to change the listing.
I winced, wondering if Petunia would have felt it too.
If I was lucky, she’d just walked outside and would be too numbed by the winter winds against her slut-exposed outfit to notice.
Satisfied, I hurried out of the shifter’s sector and rejoined the students as they trickled towards the arena.
I’d been to the sports arena a handful of times.
At first it was in an effort to spot Logan.
He played in the games, but he disappeared into the team’s lockers immediately after and managed to make himself disappear.
The arena sat astride Central Hall and was a favorite among the students.
When the shifters weren’t playing violent games, the Demis were playing gladiator with volunteers—although not so much lately since they were struggling with their powers.
Yet another reason why the collective of students hated me.
Take away their orgies and bloodbath shows?
Yeah, I was definitely not popular around here.
That fact was accentuated by the wide berth as I approached the arena’s entrance.
I’d wisely kept my exercise outfit hidden underneath my uniform.
The black leggings underneath my short skirt only made it look like I was trying to stay warm in the new winter-like conditions.
If the students figured out I actually intended to play, they would murder me before I even thought about walking inside.
The entrance to the locker room wasn’t hard to find, although I swallowed hard when I saw there was only one door with the massive palm reader pad, which meant this was a co-ed changing area.
Shifters weren’t shy and male and female alike had no problem changing in front of one another.
Shifters spent the majority of their time outside of the classroom naked as it was.
Petunia said goodbye to her friend and flashed a toothy grin at her fans before she pressed her palm against the reader.
Her eyes went wide when nothing happened.
She took it off and pressed it on again, slapping against it with an angsty groan.
“Logan!” she screeched before throwing her head back with a high-pitched roar that definitely wasn’t human.
She shifted, bones cracking and splitting what little there was of her outfit into strips before she barreled out, no doubt heading back to the signup sheets to find out who she needed to murder.
Yep, I was so dead.
When she was gone, I waited a few moments to see if I could sneak my way into the lockers, but there was no such chance. I had a full audience as I shifted my bag and approached the pad.
Here goes nothing.
I raised my hand and waited for the magical sensor to register my participation.
A soft click sounded, and then the door popped open. A few students gasped and I hurried inside, closing the door behind me.
I sure hoped this worked, because I’d just pissed off a creature with claws.