Page 55 of Laid Bare

I massage the stone around the base of my horns, a headache coming in hot. My customary three-piece suit feels too tight today. Too constricting for the anger surging through my veins.

There’s going to be so much damn fucking paperwork to do today and fires that will need extinguishing. Especially once the other students catch wind that Bailey is involved in the death of another student.

On top of that, my own mate won’t even look at me. Won’t even come close enough for me to examine her and make sure there aren’t any pressing injuries that need to be taken care of. The way she’s treating me is a far cry from how she clutched at me like a lifeline back when Hudson injured her.

I deserve it, but it doesn’t hurt any less.

Halfway through Professor Simmons' second tirade of why the others are to blame, my phone lights up, the shrill ring cutting him off. The familiar name of my best friend flashes across the screen, making me wonder just how quickly he found out about the situation.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear the man has others who report back to him about the happenings in my academy. Then again, I wouldn’t put it past some of the teachers who are doing a good job of hiding their distaste for Bailey to have made the call so quickly.

I keep my eyes planted firmly on my disheveled mate, not missing the way she tenses as I greet the caller. “Councilman Cassian, what can I do for you?” Normally, we’re not so formal with each other, but I know this call is in a professional capacity, not one best friend calling the other.

“Headmaster Stonewell, I hear there’s been an incident involving our curiomancer.”

Shit. If Cassian is anything, he’s definitely a straightforward type of angel.

“You’d be correct. But you should know, it was a case of self-defense on her part, and she wasn’t the one that actually injured the student, resulting in his death. It was her bodyguards who had to step in and do their job, protecting her just like their contract demands.”

Cassian is quiet on the other end of the line, obviously thinking his next words through. I can guarantee he’s debating if I’m just blowing smoke up his wings because she’s my mate or if my words are the truth.

Before he can formulate a reply, I continue. “The professor in charge of our combat class is a witness to what happened. He’s more than willing to give you a full recounting on how this whole situation snowballed into what it is now.”

Bailey, who’s been listening raptly to every word I’ve said, seems to deflate before my eyes. I’m one-hundred percent positive she thought I wouldn’t defend her. But what she doesn’t realize is that I’ve already made that mistake once, and I refuse to do it again.

“I’ll take your word on this, Jasper, for now. But I expect you, Miss Foss, the Acheron brothers, and this professor to be in my office in thirty minutes. There are too many conflicting stories happening between all the phone calls I’ve received and this one here with you.”

Not exactly the worst-case scenario, but with how well I know Cassian, he plans to have a truthsayer there to uncover what led to this event.

“Of course, Councilman. We’ll see you in thirty.”

Standing up, I slip my phone into my pocket before buttoning my jacket. There’s a slight tremor in the floor as I round my desk, positioning myself in front of Bailey, but far enough away she won’t be spooked by my presence. She tenses again at my closeness and refuses to look me in the eye, her gaze fixed firmly on my chest. My tail flicks in agitation, but I don’t let it show otherwise.

“As I’m sure you’ve all heard, we’re being summoned to the councilman’s office.” My wings twitch from where they hang loosely behind me, and I pull them flush against my back. “Take a moment to get yourselves cleaned up, but Bailey, I advise against healing yourself unless you have any life-threatening injuries. It wouldn’t look good on your part to show up looking like nothing has happened when there’s a student being shipped off to the morgue.”

The gritting of her teeth is audible in the silence of my office, but she doesn’t make a move to snap back at me like she has previously. Progress, maybe, but I doubt it.

“Professor Simmons, you’re also being requested at the meeting. You’ll head over with me, and Bailey, Zane and Bane will escort you there.”

She takes those words as the end of the conversation and storms out of my office, her Pegasus and two bodyguards hot on her heels. There’s a sad sigh from Turner as he watches her go. If I didn’t know the bear was mated, I’d growl at him for the way his eyes are trained on her. But I’ve met his mate, and she’s a wonderful woman.

“Poor kid has a bad rep, and she didn’t even do anything wrong.” He clicks his tongue and shakes his head. “It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, I hope you know. The talk amongst the other students is bad, and if you don’t nip it in the bud sooner rather than later, you won’t have just one dead student. There will be more. Possibly even Miss Matthews herself.”

With those words, he heads toward the door, but before passing over the threshold, he stops and looks back at me. “I’ll be back in twenty. I just want to check on my mate.”

I give him a single nod, observing the tense set of his shoulders as he disappears down the hall.

My desk chair creaks, on the verge of breaking when I throw myself back into the seat. Only my chair is the least of my worries. My mind is firmly on the truth in every word Turner spoke. I knew her being here would cause issues after the reveal of her nature. But that isn’t her fault. Not in the slightest. I’m the one that advocated for the students who showed animosity toward her kind to be allowed to stay here.

In my head, these students who were born of a later generation than those who were around during the curiomancer genocide would think differently. Have an open mind toward her. But I’ve been painstakingly proven wrong. And it’s too late to ship them off to another academy.

The most I can do now is put out stricter rules and hope everyone abides by them. It’s the only way I can protect my mate here without giving away that’s what she is to me. It would be construed as blatant favoritism, drawing an even larger target on her back.

Before I realize it, there’s a knock on the door jam, and Professor Simmons is standing on the threshold, torn between staying there and stepping inside.

I take the decision from him, getting and brushing past him into the hallway outside my office. He follows behind, and the moment we step out onto the front steps, a shimmer overtakes his form. One second, Turner the man was standing there, and now, in his place, his alpha bear, large in stature and white in color, rests on all four paws, waiting to follow me to Cassian’s office.

As I launch myself into the sky, I’m assaulted by the images of Bailey limping into my office, injured, all because I thought I was doing the right thing. But it seems nothing I ever do is right where she’s concerned.

---