Page 26 of Mortal Shift
“You still haven’t given me back my schedule,” I said coldly.
“Your point?”
I crossed my arms across my chest, scowling. At least he’d moved on from denying it.
“How the hell am I supposed to get to lessons if I don’t know where I’m going?”
“Well, you’re in all the same lessons as me. So I guess you’ll just have to stay close, won’t you?”
My mouth popped open in horror. Bad enough I was stuck with him in lessons, and sharing a room with him, but now he wanted me by his side constantly, so he could make lewd jokes about me to his friends?
“Fuck you,” I snapped.
“That’s not quite begging…yet. Come.” He snapped his fingers and strode away, and I stared after his back. I could not believe this was happening to me. But we had another lesson, and I was already in one instructor’s bad books for showing up late. I didn’t need to add to it. Cursing my ridiculous luck, I stalked along behind him. Just because I had to follow him didn’t mean I was going to walkwithhim like a well-trained pet.
As our little entourage strode through the windy hallways, I noticed more than one person bowing their head in deference to Cole. What the hell was that all about? I opened my mouth to ask, but decided he didn’t need me inflating his ego even further, so instead I pretended not to notice the people stepping out of his path as he moved.
He led us through a set of doors and out into the academy’s grounds. The sun was shining—or, I supposed, not the sun but rather some sort of enchantment—and the immaculate and well-kept lawns were bathed in warm light and for a moment I was absorbed in their beauty. And then my attention jerked back to Cole.
“What are we doing out here?” I asked, because bad as it was to be late for a lesson, I was pretty sure skipping one was going to be ten times worse.
“How did you wind up with a mate who’s such a pussy?” Jax asked Cole.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Guess I was just unlucky, but I’m sure he’ll find his courage eventually.”
Jax’s lips quirked and he made an odd noise like he was trying to stifle a laugh, and Cole glared at him. I smiled quietly to myself. Score one for the human. Then my smile creased into a frown. Neither of them had actually answered me.
“Fine, then,” I said, stopping in my tracks. “Guess I’ll just head back inside and ask someone else for directions.”
Which, come to think of it, was exactly what I should have done in the first place instead of following Cole around like an unwanted puppy.
Cole spun round with a snarl.
“We’ll catch you up,” he spat at Jax without taking his eyes from me. “Bothof us.”
I folded my arms across my chest as Jax hurried away. “Unless you’re planning to throw me over your shoulder, that’s not going to happen.”
“Don’t think I won’t,” he said, voice dangerously low as he stalked toward me. I threw a nervous glance around, but aside from some figures in the distance, we were alone. Great.
“You wouldn’t dare,” I said, fighting to keep my legs from backing up.
“You don’t know the first thing about me.” His scowl darkened as he closed the gap between us so that he was just inches from me, and something almost tangible crackled between us.
“I know you’re an arrogant asshole who likes to throw his weight around and help himself to other people’s stuff.”
His laugh was bitter and left me wondering what I was missing. Was there more to him than his brash attitude, some hidden depths I hadn’t noticed before? I searched his eyes.
Nope. Pretty sure I’d summed him up perfectly. Just another pampered rich brat who thought he was better than the rest of us.
And seriously, what was I even doing here? Let them play their stupid power games. Let them fight over who was better or faster or stronger—and let them leave me the hell out of it. It was pretty damn clear I didn’t belong at Darkveil. I’d had more people threaten me in the last twenty-four hours than I had in my entire life, and considering some of the places I’d lived, that was saying something. They were supernaturals, for crying out loud, creatures out of mythology and fairy tales, and I… I was just me. Ordinary.
And I had a mom out there who needed me. I might not have a boatload of psychiatric training, but she needed me to support her. To look out for her. I didn’t even know the first thing about where she was. And that needed to change.
I squared my shoulders and ignored whatever Cole was saying. I was done here. Time to put this craziness behind me. Zane might have brought me here, but I could make my own way out, and what better time than now, when everyone was on their way to lessons? I could see the perimeter wall in the distance. And if I could see it, I could climb it.
“And if you—What are you doing?” Cole’s voice turned puzzled halfway through whatever he was ranting about, and he turned, following the direction of my gaze.
“Leaving,” I said.
