Page 54 of Dead Wolf Walking (Bad Moon Academy 1)
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When myWitchesof Americaclass finishes, I’m more than ready to get out of this stuffy building. The constant streams of dust tickling my nose are annoying. I’m half ready to whip out a duster and go to town because it’s driving me crazy.
My hand hurts from writing so much and I really miss using computers to take notes. At this rate, I’m going to have a lot of studying to do because there are too many lines of witches to keep track of and all of their powers vary. Much to my disappointment, nothing was mentioned about mediums or necromancy. I half-hoped I’d find an easy answer to where this power came from, but, of course, things are never simple.
Complicated is almost too kind of a word when I think about my life.
Everett is waiting next to my bedroom door. I start toward him, a grin tugging at my lips when I see he’s brought beef jerky sticks.
“You’re trying too hard,” I say when he hands them to me.
My wolf is singing his praises in my head, but I ignore her. If she had her way, we’d skip the peak and jump straight to tying him down.
His eyes flash with warmth. “Don’t act like you don’t like it.”
I bite my lip to keep from smiling harder and open my door. I set my notebook on my bed, hoping it will serve as a reminder to study tonight. Grabbing a change of clothes—a loose fitting shirt, shorts, and my socks and shoes, I head into the bathroom to change while Everett prowls around my room. I make quick work of changing, checking myself over in the mirror before I head out. There’s no point in putting my hair up since we’ll be shifting.
What about our clothes?I ask my wolf suddenly, hand stilling on the doorknob.I don’t want to be naked.
We can carry them.
That’s a relief.
Everett’s holding up one of my bird statues and squinting at it. “This is creepy.”
I scoff. “It’s a raven.” Ripping open the beef jerky, I tear off a piece with my teeth to shut my wolf up. Only when I’m halfway through eating it does she stop snarling at me about snacks.
He squints at me then sets it down. Tracing a finger along the globe, he gives it a little spin. “It’s all very dark.”
“Are you judging me?” I ask around a mouthful of meat.
“No. Observing. What draws you to the darkness, Raven?” His face grows far too serious and his dark brown eyes are too curious. Then he grins. “It’s the cookies, isn’t it?”
Letting out a nervous chuckle, I nod. “Yup, you got me.”
For a minute there, I was worried he’d start prying into my past.
I finish the snack, and we head downstairs. He grabs my hand when I start toward the front door and drags me behind the staircase, down a creepy hall, and out of a small door.
The back of the property stretches before us. The landscape swoops down, covered in lush grass right until the place where a line of trees shoot from the ground and rise high into the sky. The leaves are all different shades of green, varying from one tree to the next, but the branches come together and make a canopy which blocks most of the sunlight from hitting the ground. It reminds me of the forest outside of Aunt Lou’s.
Rubbing my chest as we walk down the grass, I remind myself none of this is permanent. Once I can find a way out or meet all the requirements for release, I’ll make my way back to her. It’s only a matter of time.
“Why don’t the others explore the grounds?” I ask, suddenly aware of how alone we are. I don’t hear anyone else prowling around, not even with my heightened hearing. All the movement and shuffling about is coming from behind me, from within the academy.
Everett shrugs. “They do. I guess we got lucky and have the woods to ourselves.”
“Huh.” I frown. “It’s a little strange, don’t you think?”
“What do you mean?” he asks, glancing at me.
I point to the trees. “All of this at their disposal and they stay inside?”
“Well, it all depends on the day and what they have planned. It’s almost dinner time, and you know how your wolf gets. I’m sure they’re all impatiently waiting for dinner to be served or finishing up the last of their classes.”
There better be food left when we get back,my wolf says.
Chill. You literally ate something five minutes ago.
