Page 10 of Starlight Mates

He pauses for a second, scanning the crowd. “We start the day at eight a.m., and we finish the day at seven at night. You get a break in the middle of the day for an hour lunch. Weekends are yours to do as you wish, but not only do we train your bodies, we give you information on our enemy and how to defeat them. Now more than ever, it is important that we have rangers who are smart and capable. You must go into a battle and not fear the outcome. Fear is not allowed in a ranger’s heart by the end of the academy.”

Edvard glances at me for a moment, but I spot the look. “Even your Nexus bonds will shadow in comparison to your life as a ranger. It will become your first responsibility over everything else. This is not an easy academy, as I’m sure you’ve been made aware. Life, it can quickly end and especially when you fight our enemies. If you die here, it is still better to die in the academy than in the hands of the Vian.” He straightens his shoulders. “As for your powers, we will test them individually to see how best you can use them.”

I’m avoiding that test.

“But for the first month, we’ll be focused on your bodies and mind. Then we’ll work on your Nexus gift. Any problems, you come to me. But be warned, if you waste my time, you will notlike the outcome.” He waves a hand towards the back of the group, and I see cars waiting. “Create a line and leave. Welcome, trainee rangers.”

The crowd cheers, but my eyes drift up, locking on Aleksander, who is glaring at me. He sneers before looking away. He is going to make the next three years hell.

Chapter

Six

Iwake up and stare at the cobweb-speckled white ceiling before turning over in my cream sheets until I’m tangled up, staring at the other side of the room. Annie is fast asleep, face down, and her hand is still gripping her phone. She was talking with her mate long into the night after FaceTiming him to show him the tiny room we have. I don’t have a phone, and I have no idea what time it is. The sun’s not risen, so it must be early.

I climb out of bed, glancing at the white double dresser and opening the drawers to find them all empty. My side of the bedroom is pitiful, plain, and without my bag, I don’t have anything to put in here. Annie already has a poster of the Bear God, not quite sure yet why she does, and a colourful knitted blanket spread across her quilt. She has a black dog teddy snuggled up with her, even when she tried to hide it from me to begin with. I quickly stretch my arms up, washing away another nightmare I can’t quite remember.

Something was weird about last night, though. My wolf is content, and usually after a nightmare, it’s a mess like me. I know it came out slightly in my sleep last night, crawling out ofmy chest and trying to play games. It does that sometimes, but still, I don’t like it.

Yesterday ended up being exhausting, but I still don’t regret making this choice. After the ten-minute drive of silence and the driver speeding like a mad man, we were dumped outside a castle on the cliff edge. Everyone was given a backpack by older rangers, and then we were given a brief tour and another lecture about the importance of the castle’s hallowed grounds.

I go over to the window and look out across the sea. In the darkness, the water almost reflects the starlit sky. This far north, the stars are so bright, and they are no doubt the reason the city is named Starlight. I have to admit to myself, I like the beautiful castle I can now call home for three years even if it’s not what I truly want. I want to escape, but I’m not stupid and I doubt I’ll get far with these runes on my wrists. As long as I can keep my Nexus under control, the years should pass quickly and then I’ll be free. Three years to control the wolf in my chest and make sure no one knows exactly how much of a monster I really am? Fuck, maybe I can convince my mates that I don’t want to run so they’ll take the runes off.

The castle is right on the edge of the city, nestled on the tall cliffs that almost look like they are going to fall and take us all with it. I noted straight away the thick walls that line the castle’s ground edges and how they are covered in runes. I won’t be able to escape that way. Jumping into the sea isn’t an option either because I hate the water. I’m pretty sure that the sea would not let me die that easily and we’d be thrown around in the waves for years until some poor sailor found us.

I rub my face and go into the shared bathroom, humming the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack I overheard playing in Annie’s mate’s apartment. The bathroom has a door on either side, and we share it with two other people in the room next to uswho I haven’t met. Thankfully, there’s no one in here, and I lock both the doors before staring at myself in the mirror.

“I look like shit.” I look pale and weak. My mates were right about that. My mother always said I was too weak for the monster inside me. My father claimed the opposite. I knew my mother was right. The only thing they agreed on was they hated Nexus and the rules we all must follow to survive.

My dark hair is a mess of tangled knots and frizzy from the rain yesterday. There is a red bag on the floor with my name on it, and I tug it open, finding a hairbrush, toiletries, towels, and every basic thing I could possibly need. There are three other bags in here with Annie’s and two other girls’ names. I quickly clean up, have a shower, and dry off, hanging my towel over a towel rack on the back of the door, before getting dressed in the clothes that were in the rucksack. They’re tight fitting, almost a thick material, and all black. They cover me from my wrists to my upper neck, not an inch of skin left, and I find thick gloves in the bag too. I don’t put those on, choosing to leave them. The clothes stick to every inch of my curves, and there are five sets in the bag, making it clear I can only wear these in the academy for lessons.

Finally, I pull my hair up into a high ponytail and make a single braid. My mum used to tell me to always have a braid in your hair for good luck. I’m definitely going to need luck today. I walk out, only to bump into Annie, who is yawning. She looks far less chipper than she usually is. “Morning?”

She frowns. “Coffee.” A long groan echoes from her.

I try not to chuckle. “I’m gathering you’re not a morning person?” When she rubs her eyes and still looks miserable, I step aside. “I’ll get out of your way.”

She passes me by, grumbling under her breath. “We need a coffee machine in here and asap.”

Waiting by the window, I keep mapping out all of the exits I can see and storing every bit of information. The frosty lawn is quickly filling up with people as the sun peeks out in the distance, throwing orange and yellow bursts of light across the tops of the grey stone castle and its many, many towers. There’s a haunting mist coming in off the salty sea, and as I pop the window open to let some air in here, I let myself breathe it in. The view is peaceful, even if my fear of the water dampens it a little.

My Nexus doesn’t feel the same fear. She can see the beauty, just for a second, through the haze of destruction, and she likes it.

Even when I hear doors opening and shutting, I find myself waiting for Annie because she has been nothing but nice to me so far. I spend my time looking over the timetable of lessons after making my bed and hers next. First lesson, training with Hollis. Brilliant. Second lesson is marked as history, but it doesn’t say with who, and the third is Alek. Sounds like a fun-filled day with people who hate me.

My stomach rumbles loudly, and I clamp my hand on it. I’m definitely going to need food. Nothing on the sheet says anything about food, but the first lesson isn’t until eight, so we must be able to find somewhere for breakfast before then.

The door is knocked twice. Not knocked but banged like the place is on fire. Immediately I sense one of my mates outside. I pull the door open. I wasn’t expecting anyone—especially not him. Finnegan. My eyes widen as they climb up his impressive frame, over his thick chest and shoulders, and to his hateful eyes. My wolf practically purrs in my chest. It has a favourite, but I wish it didn’t.Why is the scary mate your favourite?Finnegan easily fills the doorframe like a damn tree, and a sexy one at that. He looks tired and angry though. I arch an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

He frowns at me, looking me up and down. His jaw tightens and his eyes turn an impossibly dark shade of blue. Like the blue of a deep ocean, something we were never meant to see. “Your clothes are too tight. You will be a fucking distraction to every male here.” I blink, not expecting that. I don’t think he planned to say that…compliment. Was it a compliment? Maybe. He growls and shakes his head. “Fucking Nexus.” He glares at me, angrier than before. “Stay the fuck out of my head.”

I cross my arms. “What? I’ve not been in your head.” I try to shut the door, but he wedges one huge foot in the gap and steps closer to me, nudging the door open with his shoulder. He crosses those gigantic thick arms of his like he is copying me for a joke, and it’s only then I notice a tattoo on his forearm, a rune that I’ve not seen before. There’s a dragon wrapped around it. It kind of looks like the letterB.

He leans down, his voice low and menacing. “I hear you all fucking night, whispering to me, and then you pull me into your nightmares. I don’t care if you have bad dreams. Figure out how to deal with them yourself, but stay out of my head. It’s a shit power to dreamwalk, and I am not your saviour. Do it again, and I’ll make your life hell in here.”

Dreamwalking…was that what I was doing? Fuck. I didn’t even know I could do that. I dread to know where I got?—

No, I won’t let myself remember or think of that.

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