Page 75 of Faerie Marked

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Melia made room for me on her bed and we snuggled together under the blankets. It was a different sort of acceptance, I realized now. I thought being surrounded by people at the party had been a major change for me. A milestone of growth. But sleeping with Melia’s arm around me,withoutmy potion spell hiding my truth, it was a different sort of realness. One I would have never expected and one I knew I would be eternally grateful for.

She saw the real me and she didn’t run. No, she stood beside me and offered to help.

Most people simply weren’t built like Melia.

It was more than luck pairing me with her as my mentor. My last thought before falling asleep was: perhaps destiny or fate or whatever luck governed the universe really did have my back.

I met Detective Wilson at the gate in the morning still wearing my clothes and cast from the night before, the sun beginning to peek through the trees with a golden glow, illuminating frost and tiny icicles. A knock on the iron with a small touch of magic had the gate swinging open to accommodate his car without me having to push.

He drove through and with a glance over my shoulder to make sure we truly were alone, I bid the gates to close again, accompanying the request with another pulse of magic to seal them against anyone else The twin iron structures topped with the academy logo swung slowly closed and locked behind the car.

I gestured to the left with my good hand, toward the small lot with empty spots. Wilson parked among the other vehicles and walked toward me with supernatural grace, looking every bit the predator. His breath expelled in a great white cloud in front of his face. Taller and more imposing than I remembered, and his steely eyes speared through me as he asked for a quiet place for the two of us to talk.

I led him to the library and the private study room accessible only to the upperclassmen. I’d never been inside before but Melia had given me her code, stating how the rest of the students would be too tired from partying all night to bother using the room and we’d be safe to talk there. I locked the door behind us and fixed it with a ward spell too. My paranoia had to be good for something, and with the wolf in me fully exposed, at least I wouldn’t have to avoid moonlight now. Or mirrors. Or garlic. Or quartz crystal.

Just everyone else in the castle.

Detective Wilson stood by the window, studying the swirling woodwork of the old oak molding. It wasn’t until he turned around, staring at me fully, that he stopped moving. Literally ceased all movement and turned into a living statue. His nostrils widened and he drew in a deep breath.

“Well,” he began in his gruff voice. “You’ve been hiding things from me, Miss Alderidge. Do you care to explain?”

He’d caught my scent with ease. Mytruescent. I tried not to shuffle my feet or fiddle with my clothing. Anything betraying my nervousness. I had nothing to be nervous about, I reasoned. I had information to help him close this case. It would have to be enough to keep him from turning me in.Quid pro quo.

“Yes, I have been hiding things.”

“What are you?” he barked.

I wasn’t wearing my spell, and my paranoia had ridden me for so long, forcing me to act as though nothing were wrong, it almost felt good to come clean. Again. To at least make the decision to trust someone.

I didn’t give him the same story I’d told Melia or Nurse Julie the night before. Detective Wilson got the abbreviated version limited toneed to knowdetails without the emotional backstory. But it was refreshing to get it out there to someone who was like me. Someone who understood the details of wolf pack law the way he would.

Wilson would not condemn me and return me to my uncle, not when he heard what I had to say. I had to believe. The more I spoke, the more the knots inside of me eased until the words came easier.

I finished my story as Wilson took a seat at the table with his hands folded in front of him, fingernails neat and trimmed, and a black stone ring around his right thumb. The intensity of his gaze did not mellow the longer he stared.

“As I’m sure you’re aware,” he began gruffly after I paused for breath, “this isn’t the first time a shifter has used the academy to escape a pack. Pack culture is patriarchal and notoriously hard for women in general. Especially anyone who is even the least bit different. Most halflings are killed on sight.”

I took the seat across from him. “Nurse Julie told me the same thing last night.”

The corner of his mouth quirked but I saw the attempted smile did not reach his eyes. “I can tell you from experience. My own pack, the one I left before I transferred to my current position, lost a bunch of good kids because of their hatred. A few of them were half-Fae.”

“Wait a minute.” I peered back at Detective Wilson. “You make it sound like it’s more usual thannotfor half-Fae, half-werewolf children to be born.”

Detective Wilson swallowed a laugh, shaking his head. Looking at me like I was a stupid kid. “I wouldn’t say it’s common. But it happens. I’m sure you’ve heard about the promiscuity of the Fae, so definitely not unheard of. I can tell you I lost a very good friend from my pack because he was different. Not half-Fae, but gay and half-pixie. You can imagine how wellthatcombination went over with the pack elders. I’ve been searching for him ever since. I take whatever cases come through the academy because I’m still hoping to come across information about him.”

“Look, Detective Wilson.” I placed all my cards on the table. “I’ve had a few experiences lately leading me to a certain truth. The killer is a shifter.”

His eyes narrowed. “How do you figure?”

I told him my suspicions, stopping only when he interrupted me with a rude swear word. “I knew it.” His hand curled into a fist and beat once against the top of the study table, jolting the pewter candle holders in the center. “I knew there was something screwy about this case. Iknewit.”

He had good hunches, then, and I had to wonder just how far Headmaster Leaves had gone to stymie the detective in these recent cases.

“Do you have any idea what to do?” I asked him.

“I’m still thinking. You’re telling me the shifter is killing off top students and you’re next. You honestly believe what you’re saying?”

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