Page 32 of Mortal Shift
The list went on, and continued over the page. Each race had a number next to it—it wasn’t so much a list as an index, which made sense, if this was a history of. I gnawed my lip for a moment, wondering if there was one in particular I should start with, or if I should just start from the beginning and work my way through. My eyes scanned down to ‘Shifters, 982’ and with a shrug, I flipped the book to that page. Made sense to learn as much about the species of the guy I was shacked up with as possible.
It was fascinating reading, to say the least. More than once I snorted out loud in disbelief—enhanced healing, increased life expectancy, heightened senses—and wished I’d had the foresight to bring a notepad and pen. Next time. And there was absolutely going to be a next time, because if I wanted to survive this place to graduation, then I needed to learn everything I could.
I froze mid-sentence and leaned back in my seat.
“What’s wrong?” Ling asked from across the table.
“I’m losing sight of what’s important.”
“Learning enough to stay alive long enough to graduate is pretty important.”
I narrowed my eyes at her.
“What?”
“No, nothing. I just…well, I was just thinking that. But it’s not.”
Her eyebrows inched higher. “Staying alive isn’t important?”
“Stayinghereisn’t important,” I clarified. “I’m supposed to be getting out of here. My mom is locked up in a mental hospital and I need to make sure she’s okay. Darkveil is a distraction.” I slammed the book shut. “And one I don’t need.”
“But you don’t have a choice about being here. You’re Cole’s fated mate. I’m sorry, I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true.”
“I don’t remember telling you who my mate was.”
She gave me a shrug and a sympathetic smile. “It’s all round the academy. I’m sorry. Stuff like this, well, it doesn’t happen.”
“Right. Because shifters don’t imprint on humans.”
“Because his father’s the most important shifter in the country, and his future is already mapped out for him. Or at least, it was.”
I got up and paced a few steps, raking my hand through my hair.
“Well, he can go right back to having those choices, because this isn’t my world, and I have no intention of staying here. My mom needs me. End of. Family comes first. What?”
I added that last in response to the weird look she sent my way, and she exhaled slowly with a shake of her head.
“That’s just a very shifter thing to say.”
“No, it’s a very human thing to say. Because I’m a human. And humans care about their families.”
“I guess.”
“Ling, I’m not a shifter.”
“How can you be so sure?”
That stopped me dead in my tracks, because it was one hell of a question. “I’d just know, right? Like, I’ve never burst into fur or had the sudden urge to sniff someone else’s butt.”
She snorted, and then glanced at my hands. “Easy way to know. How’s your hand?”
“Huh?” Then I remembered the wound Ryker had put there. Vividly. Seriously, what an asshole. I was supposed to be his student, and it hadn’t even been my fault. But then, what did I expect of a man who didn’t believe in fair? I glanced down at the wound, and the scab that was already settling in, and waved Ling off. “That doesn’t mean anything. I’ve always been a fast healer.”
She arched a brow and said nothing.
“Some people heal faster than others,” I insisted. “That’s normal. And anyway, it wasn’t deep. He was just making a point.”
“Maybe,” she conceded.
