Chapter 15
It was the equivalent of igniting a bomb.
The three coven members and two vampires stood in front of Raffe’s parking spot, looking ready to toss shade at my mate when he was already struggling with everything else.
His hot anger sizzled into me.
Supreme Priestess Olywn edged toward the car. She made a faint duck face, her high cheekbones sharp, and scanned me with her emerald eyes that were so like Slade’s.
That wouldn’t go over well with Raffe.
“What the fuck is your problem?” His neck corded as he moved slightly in front of me. “Do you think I would harm her?”
“What do you consider taking her from campus?” Olwyn countered, straightening her shoulders. The breeze blew a stray piece of light-blonde hair that had fallen from her bun into her eyes. Normally, I had a hard time believing that this woman was Slade’s mother, but with her face tense and lines creasing her forehead, I could see now that she was older.
My blood jolted, and that damn presence that plagued me swirled uncomfortably in my chest. I wasn’t in the mood for fighting. All I wanted to do was head inside the apartment and just be and see Cat-Keith. “I don’t see how staying on campus could be considered safe.”
Lafayette chuckled. “Because I’m here, making arrangements with security to keep an eye on things, and the priestess is setting up perimeters to ensure that, even when people from her coven visit the campus, she’s alerted.” His golden eyes twinkled as he stared down his nose at me. His gelled, light-brown hair didn’t budge despite the windy day, and he didn’t look as stressed as Olwyn. I wondered how old he actually was. He appeared to be in his thirties, but after meeting Warin, I knew how inaccurate that might be.
“I’m with her.” Keith nodded his head toward me. “A fucking student on this campus drugged her, and you witches did some sort of spell to prevent us from getting to her when we heard her screams. So, being off campus with Raffe is probably the safest place for her.”
Silence.
My shoulder blades tensed, and I waited for Keith’s head to start spinning to prove he was possessed. Any second now, he’d laugh at us for even considering he’d be on my side.
Instead, Raffe moved beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back. “Exactly. She was with me the entire time, and she’s my mate. If anyone can protect her, it’s me.”
That presence inside me flinched, and without thought, I turned to Raffe and said, “I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
“Thank you for saying that so I didn’t have to.” Hecate held out her hands toward me. Her thick, wavy hair swayed with her movement. “What is it with wolf shifters thinking a woman can’t protect herself?”
The muscle in Raffe’s jaw twitched, so I stepped closer to his side. My nearness calmed him marginally, though his stare shot daggers at Lafayette and Olwyn.
“In fairness, Raffe saved her several times, including her first day here when someone was spying on her in the woods.” Adam shoved his hands into his jeans pockets.
“So?” Hecate narrowed her jade-green eyes at him. “Things have changed since then.”
“Did she not know what she was when she got here?” Zella rocked back on her heels, her arm brushing Lafayette’s while she turned to him. “Dad, you were the one who first experienced the draw of her blood. Right?”
Dad?I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from reacting. This whole supernatural aging thing confused the hell out of me. They could pass as siblings rather than him being her father.
“Not the first, but the first to survive.” Lafayette’s nose wrinkled. “Unfortunately, the first vampire died at Raffe’s claws and teeth.”
The memory of Glinda and Warin informing me of how wolf shifters dealt with a vampire’s first loss of control flickered through my mind. Even though I understood that Raffe had reacted out of fear of seeing his fated mate hurt, I wondered if Edward had lost his life because of my special blood. He’d been in control until I’d come snooping around.
I pushed away that concern and focused on the biggest issue. “Should we be talking out here?” However, I couldn’t fathom a place where everyone would be comfortable, especially with how divided these three species were.
With all the mist and cloud cover, it seemed close to twilight, despite the time being a little after three in the afternoon. Humans were out and about, though they gave us a wide berth, with not even a handful heading toward the parking lot for after-class jobs and activities.
“Don’t worry.” Slade kept his arms close to his sides and spoke quieter than usual. His face was still swollen from whatever the Veiled Circle had done to him, and I appreciated him that much more. He tried to smile but grimaced. “Mom and Hecate cast a diversion spell, so no one can hear us.”
Of course, I should’ve known that I could trust him to make sure things were handled. He’d always taken care of me, even when I might not have understood his methods. “Right. I’m still getting used to all this.”
Raffe’s hand clung tighter to mine, and the icky sensation of jealousy filled our bond.
Despite everything, he felt threatened by Slade. Part of me was annoyed, but between the way I’d made him feel since he’d found me and what had happened with his father, I understood him feeling insecure. After all, he might lose everything because he’d chosen me.
I also couldn’t turn my back on Slade, not after he’d risked his freedom to help me.
“Everyone is tense and tired.” I had no doubt that Supreme Priestess Olwyn had been up all night, worried about her son. “Slade should be in bed resting.”
“So should you,” Raffe rasped, his concern swirling in my chest. The deep edge in his voice had a shiver running down my spine.
“You’re right.” Olwyn scowled as if agreeing with Raffe caused her tremendous pain. “But you need to tell us when you’re planning to take her off campus. The worst thing any of us can do is make the secret society think she’s siding with the wolves. In fact, it probably would be best if she stayed with me at my house, away from everyone.”
Hot anger pulsed from Raffe. “She’ll be with me every night. Besides, one of your most trusted was behind her capture. She’s no safer with you than me.”
“But she is.” The supreme priestess sneered. “If they think she’s aligned with your kind—”
“Don’t forget your priestess and vampires kidnapped your son.” A growl laced Raffe’s words, indicating he was losing control.
This had to end now. This was my life and future that everyone was trying to decide on my behalf. “As much as I love how everyone is weighing in on my safety …” I placed a hand over my heart, noting that the vampires hadn’t offered their assistance, which was for the best. My blood had a mind of its own. “I want to sleep in my bed in my apartment where all my stuff is. Being apart from Raffe will only distract us, and the secret society already knows he’s claimed me as his mate.”
Raffe bobbed his head cockily.
Yeah, he wouldn’t be gloating in another second. “I refuse to give the secret society more power. I will live my life the same as always, but that doesn’t mean I won’t be smarter and more cautious. Raffe can’t be by my side all day long—he has a few different classes—but luckily, at least one of you is with me in every class. The only thing that might be challenging is Saturday mornings.”
“Saturday mornings?” Lafayette’s brows furrowed. “There’s nothing happening on campus then.”
“Nope, but I volunteer at the local animal hospital.” I wrung my hands together. The fact that I’d missed last Saturday just hit me, and I’d bet the people there were worried. I needed to call them and apologize for not showing up. But what excuse would I give? Being kidnapped was a huge red flag and would bring me more unwanted attention.
“You’re working?” Olwyn’s jaw dropped. “You can’t work while taking classes.”
Her bringing up my scholarship agreement shocked me. In class, I often overheard people talking about their jobs off campus, usually at a shop or coffee bar, so many students did have jobs. “Other students work off campus, and my grades are good. Besides, it’s volunteer hours.”
“But it’s stated in your scholarship that you can’t have a job,” she replied, and Lafayette’s head jerked toward her. She clamped her mouth shut.
“That’s not a normal clause.” A vein bulged in Raffe’s neck. “Which forces the question as to why it’s in her agreement. Did you recognize her abilities when she came here for her admission interview?”
My attendance here was stranger than I’d realized. “I didn’t have an interview. Hell, I didn’t even apply. I just got an acceptance letter in the mail.”
Raffe rolled his shoulders, his hand trembling on my back. He growled, “And Dad and I weren’t warned about any of this? How did you know about her?”
For a second, I swore the supreme priestess’s face paled, but then she squared her stance like she was readying to fight. She ran a hand over her navy suit. “Skylar’s acceptance wasn’t something a wolf-shifter royal needed to weigh in on. The decision involved school academics and the board voted to invite a bright, young, promising student with amazing grades to join us.”
“How?” Adam snorted. “There wasn’t an application to go over. There wasn’t anything to vote on.”
“Unless …” Keith snorted. “Someone completed the application for her.”
My head went dizzy, and the world stilled. “But … why would anyone do that?”
“That’s what I want to know, and furthermore, why didn’t Vapor inform me or my father?” Raffe’s lip curled.
Vapor? I had no clue who that was, but now wasn’t the time to ask. Besides, I didn’t want to lose focus on getting the answers I’d wanted since getting the acceptance letter in the mail.
“Vapor wasn’t there when the vote happened,” Supreme Priestess Olwyn replied. “It was just the two human board members, me, and Demetris. I completed the application on Skylar’s behalf because, after what I learned about her from my coven members, I knew she needed to be here.”
The more she talked, the more the information didn’t make sense. Fog filled my mind like I was in a dream. “Someone from a coven saw my magic fritz?”
“They overheard a wolf shifter talking about how a woman’s presence calmed him, and he felt compelled to allow her to help him while in animal form.”
“Wait.” Hecate gasped. “That was Skylar?”
Keith shook his head. “That’s impossible. Wolf shifters are more cautious in animal form. No one would let a human come close to them, no matter how attractive she was or how calm she made them feel.”
A deep, vibrating snarl came from Raffe, and the icky feeling of jealousy flared in my chest.
“Dude, why’d you add the attractive part?” Adam shook his head like that was the important detail.
Not wanting to derail the conversation, I snuggled into Raffe’s side, making it clear we were together. “I did help a wolf in the woods once, but still, how did you all figure out it was me?”
“Dear, it wasn’t that hard when we learned where it happened. Your house was closest to that location, and when we checked it out, we saw you and sensed that you were more than human and not in control of your ability. That’s why we wanted to bring you here. When we learned you’d attended a two-year community college and graduated valedictorian, it made it that much easier to bring you here. The stipulation of you not taking a job off campus was to keep you nearby where we could watch out for you.” Olwyn placed her arms around her stomach. “I’m sorry, Skylar. I should’ve explained this to you when you arrived, but you were struggling and so clueless about our world that I didn’t want to put too much on you—”
“Did you know what I was?” My blood fizzed, and I couldn’t see straight. Not only had the supreme priestess kept so much from me while pretending to be a friend, but she’d also manipulated me. Little had I known that she’d been aware of me and had let me struggle until I’d made a mess of things on my own.
“Let’s go to your apartment so we can talk alone. Even though the humans can’t hear us, it’s clear we’re getting upset and could cause a scene,” she suggested.
Raffe laughed humorlessly. “You aren’t going anywhere with her alone.”
How much worse could this day get? Yes, I was free from the underground bunker, but Raffe might have lost everything, including his pack, while I’d learned that the coven members I’d relied on had kept important information from me. At least Raffe had never pretended to be my friend while manipulating me. He’d merely pretended to hate me while secretly wanting me. That was marginally better, right?
“You can join us.” Olwyn waved a hand dismissively. “As well as Slade. But that’s it.”
In other words, she didn’t want to be alone with Raffe and me.
“You say that like you have a choice.” Raffe sneered.
There was no way in hell I was going anywhere without Raffe. I didn’t want to hear any excuses.
I also didn’t want to be like all the teachers and principals who’d made snap judgments about me and hadn’t bothered to hear my version of a story. I refused.
“Lafayette, I’ll let you know if we need anything else but do work on placing more guards around the perimeter and more supernatural reinforcement in the woods. The rest of you are free to do whatever you normally do at this time.” Supreme Priestess Olwyn turned on her heels and marched toward the women’s apartments, not bothering to see if Raffe, Slade, and I followed.
It wasn’t like we had a choice. She was going to my room.
“Man, do you want us to come with you?” Keith asked, arching a brow. “It’s not like the supreme priestess has any authority over us.”
I didn’t like that idea. I wanted answers, and if we fought with her, I’d remain clueless.
“Mom won’t talk if anyone joins,” Slade murmured, sounding pained. “It’s best if you two come alone.”
Raffe huffed and rolled his eyes. “Unfortunately, I agree with him. But you two can join Lucy in Josie’s room. That way, you’ll be close by if we need you.”
“You got it.” Adam saluted.
I smiled. Adam had always been a nice guy who went with the flow.
Zella gave me a little wave, and she and Lafayette headed toward the student center.
But Hecate came to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. “I’m glad you’re back and safe.”
“Me too,” I sighed.
She winked and headed toward the woods. Adam and Keith were already halfway to the apartments.
Slade waited for us. “Are you two ready?”
“Let’s get this over with.” Raffe scowled.
As the three of us slowly walked toward the apartment building, I moved so that I was walking between the two guys.
Twenty feet from the double doors, Slade bit his lip. “Please listen to her. Give her a chance to explain her decisions. She wasn’t sure what to do.”
A horrible thought hit me right in the chest. My blood ran cold.