Page 6 of Ethereal Shifters

“No, you’re fucking not, and you can’t judge them from just that. They—” I stop. I almost tell him they died to save me, that I killed them, and my father didn’t run. That they kept my secret until the end.

“Gwen, can’t you see that…” He stops as Rochelle crashes into him, flinging herself across his body. He doesn’t wrap his arms around her, and his eyes never leave mine. A bitter taste lingers in my mouth as she cries on his shoulder, her blonde hair blowing in the wind. What a pretty couple they make. He is not mine.

They make me want to be sick.

My skin turns to ice, and my blood freezes as I see him wrap an arm around her. The urge to let my Nexus out to end her is tempting. Thankfully, Alek is picking me straight up out of the sand into his arms, and I don’t have to look at them for a moment longer. “Hi, you ok? What the fuck happened?”

I clear my throat as he pulls his cloak around me, and I breathe in his scent. How the cloak is pure comfort. “My Nexus has a new power, and I didn’t know about it. She can melt metal and use it like weapons to attack. I was hit in self-defence, and I fell into the sea. Hollis pulled me out.”

Alek doesn’t bother hiding his surprise. “Hollis pulled you out? I thought you might have tried to drown him. I took my eyes off the match for a minute to answer a student’s question, and when I turned back, everyone was looking over the cliff, and I felt your fear. It’s good you have a new and rare gift. Trained, it will be a brilliant defence for you. I can help you train to use it.” He looks away from me and to Hollis. “Thank you for diving in for her.”

“She’s my student. Couldn’t let her drown when it happened in my class,” he says, implying he wouldn’t have jumped infor me otherwise. That’s all I am to him, a student. Nothing. “Don’t be late for our next lesson. I’ll improvise with non-metal barriers. Any other powers you want to surprise your tutors with?”

“None,” I say coldly. “I can walk, Alek.”

“Can doesn’t mean you’re going to.” He turns away from Hollis and Rochelle. “And Hollis is a fucking liar. He would have jumped in for you no matter what. His own—” He stops and sighs. “I shouldn’t really be saying anything, but his best friend drowned in a car crash when a Vian attacked them both in Glasgow. The Vian hid in the car and drained his friend, and the fight made Hollis drive the car off the cliff side and into the sea. Hollis barely managed to swim out. His friend was Rochelle’s mate.”

His best friend was Rochelle’s mate?

His best friend drowned?

“Is that how they got close?” I barely say the wordclose.

Alek sighs. “Yes. Rochelle was a mess when her mate died, and Hollis stayed with her to make sure she could get through it. Her parents are gone, and she only has a young nephew, who is in the boarding school in Starlight.”

“I didn’t know she had a nephew,” I admit. I’ve hated her for so long that I didn’t try to know her.

“Yeah, I can’t remember what his name is. Maybe…Eli? He’s about four years old now.” He carries me into the academy, and everyone stares at us. Alek just steps past them and to the stairs, only putting me down by my room. “I have a class, but I can find someone to cover if you want me to stay with you?—”

“I’ll be alright. Thanks for the lift.” I watch him. “But I could have made it.”

“You’re too stubborn. Get some rest and I’ll see you in about an hour for your last class with me. I’ll come and walk you over.” He leans in like he is going to kiss me, and then he doesn’t. Myheart pangs as he kisses my forehead instead and walks away. Alek wants me to remember something, and until then, it’s clear he isn’t going to cross any more relationship lines with me after what he said in the forest…after we crossed a line because of the potion. I wonder if he thinks about that moment a million times a day like me? But what is it he wants me to remember?

I go into my room and I’m surprised to find a furious mate of mine waiting. His enormous arms are crossed as he stands in the middle of the room like he owns the very academy. Finnegan is way too big, too much, for my small room. Especially when he looks mad.

“Who the fuck pushed you off the cliff? A name, Sun, because they are dead.”

Chapter

Four

“Nice to see you too, Finn.” I shut the door behind me. “You can just say hello next time. How did you get into my room? Isn’t it locked to anyone we don’t invite in?”

He comes straight up into my space, gripping my chin gently and looking at my cheek. Fury burns in his blue eyes. “Did he hit you around the fucking face too? Tell me who did it, now, Sun.”

“It was an accident.” I try to push his arm away, but it’s like hitting a rock wall. “Don’t go all alpha on me.”

“Plenty of people die from accidents. That list is going to include whoever did that to your face. Now tell me a name.” He isn’t kidding.

“Finn,” I mutter. “I’m telling you to leave it. It was sparring, and it was a fair fight until my Nexus lost control. It was my fault. I have a new power to do with metal. I can somehow melt metal and turn it into daggers. My Nexus used this new power to melt the protective bars and attack him. When defending himself, he accidentally hit me, and I went flying off the cliff. Hollis jumped in and pulled me out.” I clear my throat. “I’m not good at being vulnerable, Finnegan, but I’m asking you not totake this further. I want to be normal; I want a chance at that, and if you kill him, no one is going to spar with me, and I won’t be able to be normal here. Just please don’t.”

“Alek told me enough through here that I know it wasn’t all accidental.” He taps the side of his head. “He never communicates with me, so I knew it must have been serious, but I wasn’t prepared to see you like this again. I can’t fucking breathe when you’re hurt, Sun.” He sighs and lowers his hand from my chin. “I’m not good at relationships because I’ve never tried to be in one before. I’m listening, and I won’t kill him.”

My heart races. “Thank you. I really appreciate that.” I tuck my wet hair behind my ear. “And I’ve never tried a relationship either. I never let anyone close before now, and I’m not used to it. I guess we are all learning here.”

“Good thing I’m a fast learner. Especially when it comes to you.” He goes into the bathroom, coming out and handing me a towel, which I slide over my shoulders, and then he goes to my chest of drawers and starts opening them.

I watch him for a second before asking. “Do you have any, you know, issues with personal space? That’s my drawers.”

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