4. Riley
Riley
The male behind the desk frowned as he peered at his computer monitor while I silently prayed Felix hadn’t fucked up somehow. My friend had assured me the fake records he’d added to the academy’s admissions system would pass muster, but if he was wrong…well, I’d be in deep shit.
The Shifter Council would lock me up faster than Felix could down a quart of beer.
Even though, as a shifter, I was eligible for a place at a magical academy, I highly doubted Moonfall Academy, the most elite school for male shifters in Europe, would have stepped up with an offer of a place for a hybrid wolf shifter.
Worse still, I was female. Not that anyone could tell. Felix’s human friend who styled hair for a living, had chopped off my gorgeous red hair and given me a cute pixie cut. Losing my hair had been deeply traumatic, but if I found Lorna, it would be worth it.
Having short hair was weird as hell. Every time I glimpsed my reflection in a mirror, it took me a moment to recognize myself.
Moonfall Academy accepted all shifters, not just wolves. Whereas most wolf shifters were muscular brutes, some, like avian shifters, were smaller in stature. I hoped nobody would question why I was slim for a wolf, but I figured my half-human heritage would explain the physical differences.
Felix and I had decided it was better to be honest about my hybrid status, as this provided an excuse for why I couldn’t shift.
I could shift, but not shifting was the only way to stop me from outing myself as a female.
Felix had even added me to the Shifter Council database under my fake name in case anyone checked.
All shifters, including hybrids, had to be registered with the Shifter Council at birth. Mom hadn’t registered my birth because she knew if she did, my father would find out I existed and track us both down.
Thanks to Tamara’s glamour, anyone looking at me in my human form would see a slight male with broader shoulders and slimmer hips than my actual body. Compared to a regular shifter, I would appear much leaner, but Felix said it was safer than me looking like a muscle-bound meathead.
At least if I appeared somewhat scrawny, other shifters were less likely to pick a fight with me. And if we sparred or touched, the disconnect between my physical appearance and my actual body would be less jarring.
“This is most unusual,” Mr. Beak muttered. “Your mother is human?” His lip curled in distaste. “Moonfall Academy does not usually accept hybrids.”
I remained silent as my gaze wandered, taking in the dark wood paneling and stacks of books crammed onto the overcrowded shelves behind Beak’s desk. There was a window, but since night had fallen, I couldn’t see much through it.
“Most unusual,” he repeated before grinding his teeth.
“I received a letter of invitation,” I said, hoping he didn’t ask to see this non-existent letter.
Several more minutes passed before Beak squeezed his hooked nose and sighed. Was he an avian shifter? With a nose like that, he could be an eagle shifter or some other large bird of prey.
It was impossible to be sure, and I wasn’t about to ask.
My wolf stirred in my chest and raised her head, ears pricked.
Now you wake up? The bitch had ignored me for the past week. Although, to be fair, that wasn’t unusual for her. She rarely overexerted herself.
“I feel it’s only fair to warn you our curriculum is unsuitable for less-powerful shifters.”
The subtext being that, as a human-shifter hybrid, I would likely end up dead before the first semester concluded, the unfortunate victim of more powerful shifters with a grudge against lesser magicals like me.
Well fuck them all. As soon as I figured out which shifter from here Lorna hooked up with and interrogated him about the last time he saw my sister, I was out of here.
The longer I stayed, the riskier it became.
And as Felix had repeatedly reminded me, my glamour spell had a shelf life.
Six months max before I reverted to my normal appearance.
The minute the effects faded, it would be obvious I was not male. The absence of a penis being the biggest clue.
Luckily, I didn’t want to be in this elitist shithole any more than they wanted me here.
Mr. Beak tapped away on his keyboard while I fidgeted.
My shifter ears picked up the sound of footsteps from the corridor outside. There was a loud knock, and then the door opened to reveal a tall, ridiculously attractive male wearing a cream shirt and navy-blue pants.
Much to my surprise, my wolf jumped up immediately. She spun in happy circles, whining with excitement.
I fought hard to maintain a neutral expression as Mr. Beak printed off some documents. My wolf’s reaction to the male made no fucking sense. I’d met a few shifters over the years, and she’d ignored all of them. What was so special about this one?
“Can I help you, Mr. Montes?”
The new arrival barely gave me a second glance. Was I that forgettable? I suppose I was now, thanks to my boyish haircut and glamoured appearance.
While I mostly avoided males aside from my sparring partners at the gym, I was attractive enough that heterosexual males usually liked what they saw. At least until I opened my mouth. Then they backed off.
“I’ll be heading home tomorrow, so I’ll have to miss some classes. Pack business,” the male said.
Mr. Beak didn’t look happy about that. I wasn’t sure whether it was the lack of deference to his position or the fact that a student wanted to skip classes. From what Felix had told me, students could visit the local town but couldn’t go home outside of the holidays.
That seemed rather draconian, but whatever. I intended to visit Trinity Falls as soon as possible but had no plans to explore the rest of the area.
After a brief dominance contest that had my wolf whining in desperation—for what, exactly, I didn’t care to ask—Beak huffed and lowered his gaze. Interesting that the male student was more dominant than a senior member of faculty. And also surprising.
Was this wolf shifter one of the mafia heirs Felix had told me about?
“Speak to Miss Damson in the morning, Mr. Montes,” Mr. Beak snapped irritably. “Oh, and while you’re here, Riley Scott is a new student, a human-wolf hybrid.”
My heart immediately dropped into my shoes. What a fucking dick. By announcing my less-than-desirable designation, he’d made it impossible for me to fly under the radar while I remained here.
The sneer on the shifter’s face as his attention slid my way said he clearly wasn’t a fan of human-wolf hybrids.
Great. Not that it mattered. If anything, such an open display of prejudice made it easier for me to ignore his obvious physical charms. The last thing I needed was to fall into bed with a handsome alpha shifter.
I had no intention of making the same mistake as my mother.
And possibly Lorna.
“Please show Mr. Scott the way to dorm number five.”
The shifter nodded, not bothering to conceal his annoyance at the request.
“You’re in room fifteen,” Mr. Beak added as he handed me a small packet, which presumably contained a key. “It will take some time to finalize your schedule, but my assistant will email over a preliminary timetable tomorrow.”
With that, Mr. Beak waved his hand in dismissal. No doubt as soon as he figured out a way to get rid of me, I’d be slung out of this stupid school.