Page 108 of Dead Wolf Walking (Bad Moon Academy 1)
“I’m going for a run while you all figure your shit out. I’ll be back later,” I say and spin on my heel. “You know where to find me.”
* * *
Everett
Raven shutsthe door behind her and all but three seconds pass before things get real.
“Have you gone completely mad?” Draco steps into Carter’s space. “What were you thinking?”
“Someone had to tell her,” Carter grinds out.
“You didn’t think, for one second, that by telling her you may have put a target on her back?” I ask.
They both glare at me.
“She already has a target on her back.” Carter shoves past Draco and crosses the room. “It doesn’t matter, anyway, it’s done.”
“Now we have to deal with the consequences. Nothing about the plan is guaranteed. We had steps to follow to gain her trust,” I say with a frown.
“Not telling her would have made things worse. If she found out at the end, do you think she’d still be willing to help?”
“We don’t even know that she is now!” Draco’s fingers curl into fists. “I’ll do damage control tonight.”
I glower at Draco. “By the way, what was that?”
He sneers at me. “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean, asshole. You get the first shift?” I step closer to him then think better of it. My wolf is begging for a reason to fight, and Draco’s already on his shit list.
Draco walks to where the shattered remains of my tumbler are and kicks some of the broken glass, looking down at it before giving me a pointed glance. “Do you disagree with my reasoning?”
“I know I need rest. I think Draco’s plan makes the most sense, Everett. You may not like it, but you need to shift. Go kill a deer or something, then you can have tomorrow night’s shift.”
I tune out when Carter starts talking about a lead he found on some shunned witch. All I can think about are those fingerprint shaped bruises on her neck. The way her eyes slightly closed when Draco touched one of them and how she hid them from me earlier behind the scarf.
“Everett, take it outside,” Draco says when I start to growl.
“Fine.” I stomp to the door and rip it open before storming down the stairs and out the back of the academy. I’m not doing it because he asked; I’m doing it because I need to get away from the both of them before I do something I’ll regret. As soon as I’m outside, I shift, shredding my clothes and howling at the early evening sky. Then we notice a deer and my wolf and I race into the trees.
Time to kill.
* * *
Raven
Runningin my wolf form without her presence is annoyingly difficult. First of all, I don’t know how to operate these legs very well, and second of all, no one is here to help me figure it out. I stumble around like a woman in six-inch heels, looking too similar to a baby calf, and slowly make my way through the woods.
After another ten minutes of stumbling around, I find a steady but slow pace and stick with it. I could have run on two legs, but part of me was hoping if I shifted again she’d show up and berate me for not knowing what I’m doing. Of course, she doesn’t, though.
Nothing is ever easy.
I’m nearing the spot where I met Adler the other day. I search the trees, trying to spot the giant bird. My eyes clash with his, and I chuff when he tips his head and chitters. Grabbing a sack, he swoops down from his perch high in the trees and lands in front of me.
He shifts, and this time, I don’t look away. My wolf doesn’t comment like I expected her to. No snappy words about how well-endowed he is or how we can use his abs as a washboard.
His eyes flash with humor. “I brought pants,” he says, rutting around in the plastic bag. He tosses a folded shirt at me then yanks on pants.
Shifting, I stay crouched and pull the shirt on. It’s big, and when I stand, it covers my ass and hits mid-thigh. The soft cotton smells like Adler: sandalwood and musk. Strong and mysterious.
