Page 33 of Dead Wolf Falling (Bad Moon Academy 2)

“I’ll be right up,” I say over my shoulder then turn back to Alice. “Do you want to meet again?”

One cockroach.

“Okay. Maybe later this week?”

Another disgusting bug means yes.

“Who are you talking to?” Everett takes a few steps down, so I leave her and dash up to meet him, tugging him back to the first floor.

“A ghost named Alice.” There’s no point in lying. We’re in this together, and I have nothing to hide from them anymore, especially not after telling everyone about my abilities.

“It’s not safe to run off by yourself like that.” His face lines with concern.

I smile and link my arm with his. “You being worried about me is kind of cute, you know.”

He wrinkles his nose. “Cute?”

“Hot, incredibly sexy? Macho?”

This gets a laugh from him. “Yeah, yeah. You’re okay though?”

“I’m good, but I need to stop here.”

The little plaque marking the headmaster’s office makes me unreasonably angry. I want to rip it off and find a way to shatter it. Headmaster? What kind of headmaster sits back and watches his students die? Cowers in his office? I tune into my supe hearing. His heartbeat is erratic. He’s scared. Too bad, so is everyone else and not one but two of his students have died in the last forty-eight hours.

I open the door and head in. The secretary is nowhere in sight, so I march straight to his door and wrench it open. His heart is pumping so hard now it sounds like a kick drum. He’s not sitting at his desk, so I walk around it and squat, glaring at Erron who’s curled beneath it. His eyes widen.

Omega fear, but his cowardice is all his own. A good omega wouldn’t hide,Joan’s voice is laced with disgust.

“Raven,” he says in a breathy voice. “You’re all right.”

“No thanks to you,” I growl.

“Is it over?”

What is he talking about? Then I remember all the other missing shifters the guys mentioned. He knows what’s happening every year too? Worse yet, he lets it happen. I’ve never been much for violence, but I grab him by the shirt collar and drag him out from under his desk. Everett takes a step forward, eyes darkening when he realizes how angry I am.

“You don’t get to hide from this Erron.” I release his shirt, and he thuds to the ground.

“Please, you have to know I can’t stop this.” He moves to his knees, scooting toward me.

I step back. “How do you know you can’t stop it? Have you even tried? Or have you just been cowering in your office like a good little boy?”

Everett presses into my back. He doesn’t intervene, nor does he try to take charge. I’m his luna, as they say, and he’s only showing me he supports me. I don’t need to lean on him, and frankly, I’ve never wanted to be that girl, but knowing he’s here to support but not take charge softens some of my heart, and I lightly shift my weight toward him.

“I. I. You don’t understand, the alpha ordered me to—”

“The alpha isn’t here, and innocent people are dying. Are you so weak you can’t break those orders when he’s not around?”

Every type of shifter maintains free will when the alpha is not present. A good alpha commands respect. The pack knows he will take care of them, so they follow his orders. A bad alpha demands respect, so people usually follow out of fear. Either way, he had a choice to make as the alpha wasn’t present.

“He chose wrong,” I respond to Joan out loud.

The color drains from Erron’s face. “Please, Raven.”

“Quiet.” I send a wave of luna power with the word, and he whimpers, dropping his forehead to the ground.

“Luna?” His voice is shaky.

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