Page 24 of The First Year

“The only reason we were all upright, and I mean all of us, was because of you and that squeeze bottle,” Desi burst out. “I am so angry I could kill someone. Thank the Goddess the regular teacher wasn’t here. He would have let us all drop.”

She wasn’t wrong.

But all I could do for right now was get them hydrated and send them on their way with full water bottles. Maybe Odin or Sol had some better ideas to make the situation better for Roxy and Desi and the others because I felt horribly inadequate.

Chapter Twenty-One

Odin

After the incident at PE a few days before, Sol, Evander, and I were trying to figure out how we could start a sea change here at Marked Blood. Not one of us were criminals, at least not that I’d ever heard of, but we were treated as if we were. We were victims at worst and survivors at best, and if they were all so afraid to have us roaming the general community, there were going to have to be some kind of improvements.

Sometimes it just felt like school, like a strict academy, but then they did something like the marching in the sun. Walking the fenced area happened often, but not when it was that hot. Shifters were stronger than humans, but most of us had been weakened, at least temporarily, by the attacks that put us here.

And, frankly, we were veterans of the war. That was the description we should be wearing proudly. Although most of us had not signed up for it but been drafted or volunteered by our packs, we had honorably fought, with little training, almost no equipment, and few supplies in many cases. Our reward? Confinement under the supervision of a faculty and staff with varying degrees of sadism. To be fair, some were fine, and I’d heard Mr. Haley was coming around since Roxy had spoken kindly to him. Other students had taken up her method, and now the ogre was much improved. Who knew he was feeling undervalued and disrespected? But some, like Mr. Xexus who had been the one who set the PE plan for the day, were just mean. They got off on bossing people around, loved power, and my wolf wanted to tear out their throats. I actually thought it sounded like a good idea, but there were enough security and staff around, wearing weapons, that I probably couldn’t take out enough of them to do any good.

Yet.

“Odin?” Desi slammed into me in the hallway outside my last class before lunch. “Have you seen Roxy?”

Instantly alert, I grabbed her by the shoulders, keeping her from falling. “What do you mean? Didn’t you have homeroom together?”

“And one other class, but she wasn’t in either. I’m scared. Also, you’re hurting me.”

I released her and apologized. “I’m sorry. You caught me off guard. When did you last see her?”

“Breakfast. She was going to make a quick stop on the way to class, so I went on without her. But she never showed up. Where could she be?”

“What stop?”

“Her room, she said. She forgot something for class—didn’t say what. But she never showed.”

I closed my hand around Desi’s elbow and towed her out of the flow of traffic and into an alcove. “Did you have a chance to go to the rooms and look for her?”

“I was going there now, but I ran into you.” Literally. “Odin, what if something has happened to her? Since that yard march the other day, she hasn’t seemed as strong. Oh, she’s faking it, but I can tell. I need to find her.”

Hell, I should have known she was in trouble. That girl could reallyfake it until she made it. Which was what we told her to do. “We didn’t mean for her to hide her problems from us, just the staff.”

“Did you tell her that?”

I thought about it. “Actually, no. I thought she’d understand but…” But I was an idiot. We all were. “You go ahead to class so you don’t get in trouble.”

“What about you? If you don’t show up, you’ll get—”

“Demerits. I know. But I don’t care. I have a lot of them already, what’s one or two more?” At some point, I’d have enough they’d do something serious, but that wasn’t important right at this moment. My priorities were clear. “Go to class and I promise we’ll find her.”

“Okay but if you don’t, at lunchtime, I’m going to start searching and not stop until I know she’s safe.”

I gave Desi a quick hug. “That’s why you’re such a good friend. Now…go!”

She darted back the way she’d come and I stayed in the alcove and, facing away from the hallway, pulled my phone out of my pocket and texted Sol and Evander.

Roxy missing all morning. I’m going to look in her room.

Their replies came back fast. Sol first.On it. I’ll check the library.

And I’ll sneak around admin and see if they’ve got her there for some reason.

Cell phones were forbidden for most students, including us, but they sure came in handy.

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