Page 45 of Dead Wolf Rising (Bad Moon Academy 3)

He studies me and sighs. “Of course.”

A soft hand clamps around my forearm. “It’s okay.”

I start to protest, but Blaze interrupts me.

“No, we can talk here.” He steps across the plush grass, looking at each shifter sitting around the bank of the river carefully as he walks to us. “I have a proposition for you.”

“Okay.” She swallows, and her fingers dig into my skin.

I shift closer to her, letting her take strength from my presence. “She already has a harem.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Blaze shoots a quick glance at Evelyn, who’s gone completely still. “I wanted to ask Raven,” he says, turning back to us, “if she’d be interested in becoming the official alpha of Peter’s pack.”

Her face sours, and she shakes her head. “No. Absolutely not. The guys that came with him were horrible.”

“A pack isn’t defined by their bad eggs,” Carter interjects.

Giving him a scathing look, I shush him. He curls his lip at me but shuts up all the same. A few brave birds swoop through the canopy, squawking as they twist and dive through the leaves and branches. Since we’re all in our human forms, I doubt they realize they’re surrounded by shifters who could eat them.

“Carter is right.” Blaze nods at him. “The entire pack isn’t like Peter. We can weed out the bad.”

“The entire pack had to have known what was going on here. I mean, what did they think was happening to the shifters over the years?”

Blaze wrinkles his nose. “Perhaps you are right…” He trails off, and his eyes stray to the trees, toward the academy. “What about a new pack?”

“A new pack,” Raven parrots.

“One stationed here, at the academy. I can give you land in exchange for you setting up a legitimate school here for changed shifters.” Blaze searches her face, and I give a soft, warning growl.

He ignores me.

Surprise shoots through the bond. None of us expected an offer like that. It’s enough to make me stop snarling at him and stare at Raven. Her lips purse, and she glances at the shifters she saved, lost in her own thoughts of what saying yes might mean. The conversations stop while we wait for her to decide. An entire minute passes.

“You don’t have to say yes now.” I pin Blaze with a look. “Right?”

His eyes flash yellow, but he grinds his jaw and shoves his natural instincts back. “Of course not. It’s a big decision. But I’ll need an answer in a few days, before I go before the council.”

She chews on her lip and nods. “Okay.”

“You should consider it. You’d make a great headmistress.” Blaze’s lips tip at the edges.

“Much better than the last headmaster.” I sneer at Erron over my shoulder, and he shrinks in his seat, shoulders curling in.

She’d be amazing, but she’s still in shock because she can’t figure out how to respond. I wrap my arm around her.

“We’ll give you our official decision in three days.”

Blaze’s jaw ticks, but he dips his head in acknowledgement. Apparently he doesn’t like me taking charge, but I am part of the harem, therefore I can step in when she’s overwhelmed. If he doesn’t like it, he can suck a fat one.

“Here’s my number. I’ll be waiting for your call.” He hands her a card, snaps, and his entourage rises. They flash away, well, everyone but Evelyn.

She places her hands on her hips and grins at us. “I hope we can be friends. Whoever said vampire and werewolves don’t mix well obviously didn’t know what they were talking about.”

A sharp howl rings through the trees, and she scoffs. “Grumpy fuck. I better go.” She blows Raven a kiss and flashes away.

“Well, Little Red, should we go see your aunt?”

Sucking in a hard breath, Raven slaps her arms around me and hugs me tight. “I forgot we were free.”

---