Jace
Hopefully, Heath had bought his partial truths about their reason for exploring the tunnels. The last thing they needed was for Heath to get curious, and start nosing around. He was smart enough to potentially discover Clarke’s identity and reason for being here with sufficient clues.
Keeping Clarke’s secrets were paramount. It would probably be best to avoid the tunnel for a couple of days until he was confident that Heath had removed the spell. Risking exposure could jeopardize everything.
Sexual desire was a component, but it was togetherness and routine that the animal craved most. He needed the soothing structure and emotional security of shared meals, sleeping next to each other, and their scents mingled in one living space.
Clarke knew he was feeling the strain of being unable to feed the bond. She felt guilty for no reason. Clarke was also suffering, and hadn’t created the untenable circumstances they were caught in.
Jace’s parents checked in every day. Their unconditional support and calming influence made the distance from Clarke bearable. They understood the demands of his animal side, and that keeping distance from his mate would be akin to torture.
The love and staunch support of his parents helped a great deal. Still, he didn’t know how long he’d be able to play this game without having the refuge that the tunnel offered.
When they were able to touch freely away from prying eyes, Jace felt like he could actually breathe. There was comfort in simply being able to talk without watching every word, or wondering who might be able to hear them.
At least making habitats for feral cats would give them a viable excuse for being down there for more than a few minutes at a time, even if Heath forgot to cancel the alert immediately.
Clarke was also an animal lover, and would help regardless.
She and Charlie had donated both time and money to animal rescues in their area.
On his way back to the training center, Jace texted Clarke to meet him behind the dorms in their usual spot after classes. She replied that she would see him then.
As students began to arrive for the last class of the day, Jace had a notification from admin that Dean Stanhope was calling a staff meeting the following afternoon.
This was not the regularly-scheduled monthly meeting, which would take place in two weeks.
Jace idly wondered what prompted that, but he would find out the next day.
Clarke was standing in the shade of an elm tree when Jace reached the meeting spot.
“Is everything ok?” Clarke asked. “You look irritated.”
“We need to avoid the basement for at least a day, possibly two. That makes me cranky,” Jace said. “It’s our spot, and we just found it.”
“What happened?” Clarke asked. She looked tired, and kept shifting on her feet.
“Heath had spelled alerts for activity in the caster basement on nights and weekends,” Jace explained.
“He knows people were down there Saturday and Sunday,” Clarke realized.
“Yeah, and it was unexpected. I hope I didn’t give anything away.
He asked me to check the caster basement, since Heath knows that Ray wouldn’t care,” Jace said.
He told Clarke about the rest of the conversation, and that he’d volunteered her to help with the feral cats, as well as keeping an eye out for any casters and elementals wandering where they shouldn’t.
“Professor Halston has no reason to suspect you of hiding anything, and it makes sense that you would be surprised by what he wanted to talk about,” Clarke said. “I don’t think we should worry about that unless he starts asking uncomfortable questions.”
“True, and I can’t change how I reacted,” Jace agreed.
“You know I don’t mind helping with the cats and students,” Clarke said. “I’m looking forward to that part. The timing sucks, though. I fell in the bathroom this morning, and banged my knee against the toilet. So, no running for me, for at least a couple of days.”
Jace was instantly suspicious. Anyone could slip on wet tile, but something about her expression told him it was more involved than that. “What happened?”
“The bath mat slid out from under my feet,” Clarke answered. It was clear that she wouldn’t elaborate further.
“How bad is it? Let me see,” Jace said, and bent to kneel in the grass.
“Don’t you dare,” Clark said in a low, mean tone.
“Pretend to tie your shoe, then stand up. We are in full view of at least a dozen students, and a few groundskeepers. I adore how protective and thoughtful you are, but lifting my pantleg to check my boo-boo will draw attention. No one seeing that would think ‘friendly coworker’.”
“You’re right,” Jace grumbled as he tightened his shoelaces.
His concern for Clarke had obliterated logic. He could have blown their cover. At least Clarke was using her brain, since his seemed to be on the fritz, or taking a back seat to his primitive instincts that insisted on caring for his injured mate.
“I hate the thought of you being hurt, and want to reassure myself that you’re ok.”
“My knee aches, but it isn’t serious,” Clarke said. “I’m going to relax for the rest of the afternoon. We can meet in the basement tomorrow night. If Halston says anything to you, tell him we were patrolling for delinquent students, and deciding on the best locations for cat habitats.”
“Nope, not gonna happen,” Jace said with a frown. “You should not be marching down those stairs until your leg is better, no matter how badly I want to spend time with you.”
The stairs were solid, with metal handrails, but a fall would be dangerous. A weak knee could cause her to lose her balance.
“I’ll see how I’m feeling tomorrow, and promise not to push it,” Clarke said.
“Thank you, that makes me feel better. Get off that leg, and rest,” Jace said. “I’ll see you at the staff meeting tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. Do you know what that’s about? I was surprised when I read the notification,” Clarke said.
“No clue, but we’ll find out soon enough.”
Jace watched her limp to the powered dorm, worried, and trying to hide it. He wished he could help, but too many people were around at this hour.
Everything in him rebelled at being unable to monitor her recovery personally. Forcing himself to turn away, Jace walked to the shifter dorm.
Clarke texted that she had some mild swelling in the knee, and was icing it with her leg elevated. The junior and senior prefects had noticed her limping, and volunteered to check on the younger students, so she could rest her leg. That alleviated some of Jace’s concerns.
He still felt there was more to the story of Clarke falling in the bathroom.
Mitch had already targeted her, and might be taking this further than verbal insults.
Knowing that he couldn’t fix this for her without confronting the elemental monitor, it made sense that Clarke would keep her mouth shut.
That was logical, but Jace didn’t have to like it. He called his prefects to his office, asking them to watch for abnormal activity around the elemental dorm. If Mitch was attacking Clarke, having a witness would be the best way to stop it.
“We’ll be happy to, sir,” the junior prefect, a beaver shifter, said. “I spend a lot of time in the pond, and will stay close to the elemental dorm.”
“Some of us can exercise close by, and run laps on the paths behind the dorms,” the senior prefect volunteered.
“Thank you,” Jace said sincerely.
None of them asked for his reasons, or seemed bothered by the request. He appreciated their trust and unquestioning loyalty. Having eyes on the elementals helped ease his mind.
Knowing he was doing what he could to protect his mate, Jace went about his normal routine. Other than three students attempting to ambush him for extra credit, it was a peaceful evening.
Tuesday, Clarke texted on breaks. She told him that her knee was stiff and sore, but better than the day before. He appreciated that she knew he needed that honest communication to keep from fretting constantly.
When everyone gathered for the staff meeting, Jace was surprised to see the chief maintenance engineer, head of security, kitchen supervisor, and head groundskeeper present. He didn’t know what this heralded, but it would not be a typical meeting.
Clarke did seem to be moving with more ease, meaning she was already beginning to recover. That was a relief. Jace sat down next to her, and Russell took the chair on her other side.
Instead of making inane chitchat like usual, the assistant librarian looked serious, staring across the table at the other monitors. His manner seemed rather protective. Interesting. That gave Jace the impression that he was not alone in suspecting Mitch of foul play, and causing Clarke’s accident.
“Thank you for rearranging your schedules to attend this meeting,” Dean Stanhope said when everyone was seated. “I have an announcement that will affect all of us to one degree or another.”
After a brief pause, he continued, “Mars and Venus will be hosting the next annual Regional Intercollegiate Evolved tournament, which will be held during spring break.”
Everyone was surprised to hear that. But it was Heath’s reaction that drew Jace’s attention. He looked alarmed, and possibly concerned, more than anything else.
Each region held a tournament every year. Upperclassmen from every evolved institution would compete. This region had seven participating universities.
There were several athletic events, but also contests that would showcase a variety of talents and strategic thinking. Some were theatrical performances geared to display the scope of a power. Competitions were tailored for every classification of evolution.
Students applied for entry, planning their performances months ahead of time. Scouts and recruiters from military agencies, sports teams, and businesses would all be present. These tournaments could make and break dreams.
Hosting this tournament would take a tremendous amount of effort, explaining the presence of non-academic staff.
Potentially hundreds of thousands of spectators and entrants would descend on Clementine for the occasion.
While it would be a daunting task, Jace didn’t understand why the news would cause Heath anxiety. It didn’t make sense.
“The location of each tournament is usually scheduled years in advance,” Wayne Sterling, second in the hierarchy in the powered department, mentioned. “I thought Alabama was hosting this year.”
“They were supposed to, with us hosting the following spring,” Dean Stanhope confirmed. “However, a recent earthquake has compromised the foundation of the stadium. It may not be repaired in time for the tournament.”
“I thought that was a minor quake,” the chief maintenance engineer said.
The dean nodded at him. “It was. But it must have exposed a pocket of natural gas,” he said. “Four days ago, there was an explosion under the stadium that collapsed a third of the seating. Therefore, we swapped. Alabama Evolved will host the following year.”
“Is everyone ok?” Clarke asked.
“Yes. Fortunately, the stadium was empty at the time of the explosion,” Dean Stanhope said.
“At least no one was killed or injured,” Russell said.
“Yeah, if that had happened during a sports event, the results would have been catastrophic,” Jace said.
A few staff members murmured their agreement, expressing relief at the lack of casualties. Heath watched each speaker intently, like he was searching for something under the surface, but didn’t comment.
They didn’t have earthquakes in this part of the territory often, and most were minor. But the meteor bombardment that reduced Earth’s population by nearly half, had changed the planet permanently. Tectonic plates had shifted on most continents. Previously dormant volcanos had become active.
An intense discussion ensued about the preparations that needed to be made. The sheer number of details needing to be addressed meant there would be many more such meetings.
Most of the responsibility would fall on other staff members. Jace had participated in a tournament, but hadn’t worked one. The last time Clementine hosted was before he had begun working at Mars.
Jace, Clarke, Mitch, and Ray were tasked with student housing. Every vacant dorm room would be utilized. Temporary, prefabricated housing would be set up around and behind the dorms.
Mitch was scowling, clearly disliking the idea of having more work to do. Ray actually seemed engaged for a change. But he could be faking interest to stay out of trouble with his superiors.
The meeting went on for over two hours. With so much to cover, that wasn’t surprising. Jace’s attention kept wandering to Heath.
The caster professor frowned intently as his fingers flew on his tablet, taking detailed notes. That seemed odd to Jace since the professors would have the least amount of involvement. Their primary responsibilities would be coaching their participating students.
They would be doing so regardless of the location of the tournament. Perhaps Heath was using the time to prepare for future classes.