22. Riley
Riley
Iscanned the questions on the worksheet and rolled my eyes.
Why is consent in sexual relationships important? Because non-consensual sex is rape.
If a partner says no, how can you tell if they mean it? My pencil tore a hole in the paper as I scribbled my answer in the box. Because they are not at all aroused and try to attack you in a non-fun way.
What is the penalty for rape? Castration, followed by a life sentence in the magical penitentiary where the rapist gets ass-fucked daily by lots of angry porcupine shifters would be my recommendation, but it’s actually three to six months in the penitentiary.
Simon peered over at my answers and winced.
“Wow, you have some strong views on consent.”
“Consent is nonnegotiable,” I snapped, more loudly than I intended, because several shifters sitting nearby turned around.
“I like it when they scream,” a particularly ugly honey badger shifter sneered. “It turns me on.”
Goddess save us all from such rampant toxicity. Shifters like him were the reason females like me needed to learn self-defense.
Ignoring the honey badger dickwad, I finished the rest of the worksheet and sat back in my chair feeling depressed. Honestly, I pitied the poor females who discovered they were mates with this lot. Most of these fools had barely evolved from single-cell organisms.
“The full moon party is this weekend,” Miss Raven reminded us as she collected the worksheets.
I saw her frown when she read a few of the scribbled answers from my peers, and I dreaded to think what bullshit certain shifters like the honey badger had written in response to questions like: Describe how you can tell if a potential partner is aroused as opposed to terrified? I shuddered.
“Now, I know the prospect of mixing with females from Moonrise Academy is exciting, but please remember to get your partner’s clear consent before sexual activity takes place!
” Several of the shifters who still thought consent was optional rolled their eyes when Miss Raven turned away to check the clock on the wall.
“For this week’s assignment, I want a one-thousand-word report on the benefits of a mate bond. I’ll expect your report in my inbox by Sunday evening, not later than eight p.m.”
Loud groans filled the room. Saturday night was the full moon party, which meant most of the shifters in this classroom would spend Sunday sleeping off the effects of an all-night party with too much elkwine.
But not me.
While I planned to go to the full moon party because I figured most of my suspects would be there, I had no intention of partaking in the revelry, even if my wolf was excited about it, contrary to her usual apathy around the full moon.
After waiting for everyone to leave, I filed out of Miss Raven’s classroom, my stomach rumbling as I headed toward the exit.
Visions of the juicy steak I looked forward to eating made my mouth water in anticipation, and I was so caught up in my little fantasy that a meaty hand thumping down on my shoulder nearly gave me a heart attack.
“Are you going to the full moon party, Scott?” snarled a wolf shifter I didn’t know. The lecherous gleam in his beady little eyes told me this wasn’t a friendly inquiry.
“None of your fucking business,” I snapped, shoving his hand off me.
Like most entitled male shifters I’d met in my life, being given the brush-off offended his sensitive ego.
“It is my business if I want to fuck some respect into a mouthy little hybrid,” he sneered, slamming me into the wall.
“Sorry, but I don’t need to fuck you to confirm you’re not my mate,” I told the wolf with a smirk. “My inner wolf says you’re way too ugly for us.”
“I would never mate with a pathetic hybrid cunt like you,” the wolf sneered. His eyes glowed gold as his shoulders bulged. Oh dear. The idiot was about to go full fur, in direct contravention of school policy.
But as much as it would have amused me to see the idiot get expelled, he would likely tear my throat out before I could file an official complaint. Which meant I needed to get the fuck away from him.
“Look, dickhead, as flattered as I am by your desire to fuck me, I am not into guys like you, so perhaps your attention would be better spent on getting a haircut and taking a shower so at least one shifter agrees to give you a pity fuck.”
I thought it was sound advice, but apparently the idiot wolf disagreed. He roared in anger and gripped my throat hard enough to cut off my oxygen.
Just as black spots floated across my vision, I thrust my thumbs into the wolf’s eyes hard enough to blind the asshole.
He yelled in pain and immediately released me.
Wheezing hard, I used my palm to strike his chin, which threw him backward.
One last vicious kick between his legs sent him to his knees.
He threw up all over the floor, which killed my hunger pangs stone dead.
“Stay the fuck away from me,” I said before spitting in his face and leaving him lying in a puddle of vomit.
“Nice work, little dude,” Tobias said with a smirk as I shot outside and gulped in a lungful of fresh air. He followed me, his shirt hanging loose from his tight black pants. His amused smile widened as I glared at him.
“Did you just stand by while I got choked out by that asshole?” Stars, my neck ached, and knowing my luck, I’d have visible bruises for at least a day.
The stench of vomit clung to my shirt as I stomped off toward the trees. Hopefully it would fade if I stayed outside for a bit.
Tobias jogged after me. “You looked like you had everything under control,” he said when I stopped under the shelter of a large oak.
A fine drizzle fell from the leaden sky, filtering through the leaf canopy over my head. As the rain dripped down, soaking my hair, I regretted not wearing a jacket.
“I did, but it would have been nice to avoid this,” I grumbled, pointing to my neck. Tobias frowned. His eyes glowed pure gold for a moment before he turned away.
“You’re right,” he said with a sigh. “I’m sorry, I should have stepped in.”
I froze in surprise. While his relaxed attitude to the shifter’s attempted assault irritated the fuck out of me, I wasn’t lying when I said I had the situation under control. The incapacitated tool I’d left behind was proof of that, so hearing Tobias apologize took the wind right out of my sails.
“But fear not. I’ll look after you at the full moon party, little dude.” He beamed. “No shifter will give you a hard time while you’re under my protection.”
“Um, what?” Having him trail around after me like a noxious smell would seriously hamper my investigation.
“Yeah, my buddies and I run the full moon parties, so everyone knows not to piss us off, and as my special guest, no one will dare harass you or your female wolf.”
Fuck my life. “No!”
He stepped back, confused. “No?”
“No, I don’t need you to protect me! I can protect myself!”
“Look, little dude, these parties are wild and bad shit sometimes happens. I’m trying to help here!” The asshole ground his teeth in annoyance at my refusal to accept his services as my unofficial bodyguard.
I’d wager he assumed I would fall over myself in gratitude, but I wasn’t born yesterday. An alpha wolf like him didn’t offer protection to a shifter like me for no good reason.
He would expect something in return. Something I might not be comfortable giving.
And besides, now that I knew he and his buddies ran the full moon parties, it put them at the top of my persons of interest list.