Page 29 of Dead Wolf Falling (Bad Moon Academy 2)

“Sometimes there isn’t a good answer to why bad things happen, Layla. Life is a fucking hurricane of misery sometimes, but if you find the right people, they can be your life raft.”

Aunt Lou was mine after Mom died.

Carter opens his mouth to say something, but the bathroom door opens. I stumble and Layla catches me in a hug, her tears soaking through my shirt in a matter of seconds. I pat her back awkwardly until she sniffs and pulls away.

‘I’m sorry,” she whispers, eyes red from crying.

“You shouldn’t apologize for having emotions,” Carter cuts in, stepping closer. “There’s no shame in crying.”

She glances at him, forehead wrinkling and a fresh wave of tears filling her eyes, but she blows out a hard breath and blinks them back.

“I’m okay, I promise.” Her smile doesn’t reach her eyes. “So, how are we taking this bitch down?”

I laugh. “That’s more like it.” Sliding my gaze to Carter, I lift an eyebrow. “Well, professor? I seem to remember you mentioning research. How can we help?”

His lips curl. “I have a few books in mind.”

Draco groans. “Great, we’ll just banish the demons with a book.”

“It works for the Catholics,” Brayden says with a sigh. “May as well give it a try.”

* * *

After findinga good fiction book for Bea to read and making sure she’s comfortable, I head to one of the oversized chairs on the first floor of the staff library; picking up one of the books Carter set down, I start leafing through the pages.

“We’re looking for anything demon related. I don’t know a lot about them, but once we read about the various types which have been cataloged and researched, we can narrow down the list from there,” Carter says.

Everett grumbles something about finding a needle in a haystack, and Adler chuckles, grabbing a book for himself.

“If Adler can do it without complaining, so can you.” The corner of Carter’s mouth quirks.

With a heavy groan, Everett scowls at his friend then slides his gaze to Adler. “You and he can’t get along, I’ll be the fifth wheel.”

Adler and Carter share amused looks, and I clear my throat. “Technically, there are six of us. So you can’t be a fifth wheel unless I’m the sixth wheel.”

“Touché,” Everett says, picking up a book at random and flipping it open. “It’s still a bad idea for them to be friends, but I’ll allow it,” he says, winking at me.

Carter chuckles and shakes his head. “It’s almost like he thinks he’s the one in charge.”

“Are all alphas this controlling or just him?” Adler asks with a small smile.

“You say controlling; I say practical.” Everett looks at him over the book. “Now shh. I’m trying to focus.”

I watch Adler as he begins to read again, there’s a little bit of hope written across his face. It’s not obvious if you don’t know the man, but it’s the same look he got when the night would begin to slow at the bar and there was a good chance we’d get out of there early.

Draco and Brayden are sitting next to each other, both leaning forward and resting their forearms on their legs as they scour through their books. They haven’t even looked up, so I’m not sure if they’re still feeling conflicted about Adler’s presence.

As if sensing my attention, Brayden lifts his eyes from the page he’s reading and smirks. “Slacking already?”

Squinting at him, I settle back into the chair and start at the beginning of my book. After a few minutes of reading, my eyes stray to the stack of books. There are a lot, and I’ve only made it a few pages. If only there were coffee. Mornings are never the same without bean brew.

I hear a throat clear, and I slide my gaze to Brayden, whose eyes are alight with laughter.

Slacker,he mouths the word, and I roll my eyes. Whatever. Determined to prove him wrong, I stick my nose back in the tome and read. A few hours and fifteen microbreaks later, I slam the book shut with a growl. Carter places his finger on the page he’s reading and gives me a pointed look.

“The book didn’t do anything to you, Raven.” He sounds like a professor so much right now.

It’s kind of cute.

---