Page 3 of Ethereal Shifters

“Gwen,” Rhodes softly warns. “Trust me and put it on.”

I search his eyes. This is Rhodes…and he wouldn’t hurt me. It’s just a tracker, and I’m sure my Nexus could break it if she wanted to. “Fine, I’ll wear it.”

The moment I click the bracelet on, it feels strange but not painful. “Good.” The tension in the room seems to fade. “Gwen, you will have personal lessons with Tutor Hank. He has a way of connecting to our Nexus that’s unusual. We’ve brought him in specifically out of retirement to guide you and help you connect directly in a dreamlike state to your Nexus.” She points at the old man sitting in a chair by Finnegan.

Dream chats with my Nexus? While she is pissed at me? “I don’t think that’s an excellent idea.”

“Well, lucky for you, you’re not a tutor then, Gwenieve,” Tutor Jettie replies.

Tutor Hank stands, using a walking stick to aid him, and he hobbles over to me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Autumn. We’ll begin our lessons every evening, straight after your last class. You can meet me outside this room. I prefer to choose a new place for our lessons each time. You have nothing to fear from this old man. I want to help.” After that, he just walks out of the room, and several of the tutors leave with him.

I clear my throat. “So, am I free to leave the academy, then? I’d like to go?—”

“No,” Tutor Jettie states. “No one is leaving the academy for the next six months. We are completely locked down, and alltechnology has been taken away. We feel it’s better and safer for everybody, and it is a direct order from our alpha.” It’s true then. Six months. “You’re free to go now. Your first lesson is with Tutor Hollis. I’m sure you know him well enough that you don’t need an escort.”

Hollis laughs low. “She knows I hate her, and I know this is all pointless. Leopards don’t change their spots.” He stands up and walks past me. “But the one good thing about all this is no more pretending to be some untrained, useless girl. I can throw you in the deep end now and know you won’t cry.” I glare at him as he storms past me. Rhodes looks furious.

Finnegan and Alek come over, and Alek touches my arm. “What did he say, then?”

“He told me how much of a jackass he is,” I mutter. “I’m just going to go back to my room and get my Nex dagger before class. I’m sure I’ll be needing it.”

Alek and Finnegan say goodbye before I leave with Rhodes. He is silent until we are halfway up the stairs. “That’s not the brother I know.” He stops me halfway up. “We all fucked up, and he is apparently continuing to do so. I can’t stop him, but I want you to know it’s not real.” He groans. “But it doesn’t matter right now. Only that you’re safe.”

“I can defend myself, you know, if anyone tried to attack me,” I offer. “Even the Vian aren’t really a threat to me.” Except their king and their prince.

“I know you can. That’s not the point.” He touches my cheek, and I suck in a breath. “You shouldn’t have to fight alone. You’re mine.”

I search his eyes. “You’re mine too.” A student pushes past us on the stairs, and I remember where we are and step back. Rhodes takes my hand and walks me back to my room. I touch his chest at the door. “I need a moment alone in the bathroom, and you can wait here.”

He leans into me, his face inches from mine. “What if I just don’t like being apart from you?”

I shake my head, opening the door and sliding into my room, hearing his laugh as I shut the door. I should have kissed him…right? Maybe. I don’t know. I go into the bathroom, and as soon as I shut the door, I black out. It feels so swift, like blackness swimming over my vision. When I open my eyes, I’m standing in the middle of the bathroom, and there’s a cut on my palm that makes me wince, and my finger tip is smothered in my blood.

When I look up, my eyes widen, and my heart feels like it stops. There’s a message written on the mirror in my blood.

“Severi is mine. Do not hurt or refuse him. Find Onyx before he ends up dead.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I hiss. “You can talk to me and not do this shit! What do you mean before Onyx ends up dead? And Severi?Really?He is apsychopath, and you can’t just tell me to not hurt him!” I find wipes under the sink and clean my hand first before attacking the glass. No one else can see this. “Talk to me for fuck’s sake! Not creepy like this message. I knew watching Harry Potter’s second movie would rub off on you. They usedcatblood, though!”

She still blocks me out, and I realise that it’s because she wants to get her own way and that way involves my enemy, who she must think we are going to see again soon.

Chapter

Two

It’s raining and my rejected mate is making us stand in it longer than necessary for his own sadistic pleasure. I focus on the thick grey clouds instead of him and Rochelle talking on the platform under a huge black umbrella. The sea smacks against the cliff side, and the waves almost feel as violent as the being watching from my one eye.

Rochelle walks away, taking the umbrella with her, and my shoulders drop in relief, mostly because my Nexus stops her hovering around too. It’s weird when she won’t speak to me, and after the creepy message, I don’t trust her. I’ve never trusted her though. Hollis stands in the pouring rain, his blond hair soaked and strands dripping onto his forehead as he surveys the shivering crowd. He crosses his arms, the leather of his clothes tighter than usual, thanks to the rain. Annie huffs next to me. “An hour run and now thirty minutes standing in the rain while he does nothing. Tutor Hollis’s classes are always the worst.”

“It’s because of me. I’m sorry.” I gnaw on my bottom lip.

Howard leans into my side. “He was always like this, apparently. Strict is an understatement, and he has the record for most deaths in class.”

Annie pales. “We won’t die. He wouldn’t let that happen…not in front of his mate. Or to his mate.” I don’t bother telling her that she shouldn’t be too certain of that. In fact, I’m certain my death would please him even more than a class full of his students freezing in the rain. Those wicked green eyes lock onto mine, and he smirks. Taunting bastard. Annie clears her throat. “Just ignore him.” Easier said than done when we are linked by the Gods, by this mating bond and all the messed-up shit that comes with it. I can’t escape him anymore than he can escape me.

I glance up at the window where I can sense some of the others. Finn and Alek are together, and they’re watching the class from a full-length window on the third floor. I can’t see much of them because of the streams of sunlight shining, but they are deep in conversation, and I’m tempted to test the mind thing with Finnegan and see if I can speak back to him.

“They’re quite obsessed,” I mumble and shake my head when I remember who I’m speaking to. “Sorry, Annie, I’m here talking about mates and shit, when…you know. I’m sorry, I know you probably don’t want to talk about mates, and I wasn’t being sensitive to that?—”

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