Page 7 of Dead Wolf Rising (Bad Moon Academy 3)

Aw, Rave. I love you too!

I know what you’re doing,I tell her.While your distraction is working, you’re going to make me fall to my death. Thank you for trying though.

With a drawn-out sigh, she says,fine,and retreats to her corner of my mind.

Hey, Joan? I love you.

A soft chuff is all the acknowledgement I get. I worry I’ve hurt her feelings, but Brayden suddenly appears in front of me with a small lantern.

“Hey.” He holds the light up, casting dark shadows across his features.

I squeal and slap his chest as my heart tries to jump out of mine. “What is wrong with you?”

Giving me a funny look, he lifts his thumb and runs it over my cheek. “Perhaps I like the way you smell when you’re frightened.”

“I can’t believe I like you.” I lean my hip against the wall and press my hand into my chest as though it can help steady my heartbeat.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to insult me.”

“She is.” Draco steps past me and shoulder checks his brother. “Don’t be an asshole.”

Brayden twists his mouth to the side and hums. “Bit late for that.”

Carter’s soft laugh draws my attention. I expect to find him pinching the bridge of his nose like he usually does when he’s fed up with someone, but he’s wearing a boyish grin.

“It’s nice to know some things never change.”

Draco tosses a scowl in his direction, which only serves to make Carter’s smile widen.

“Are we going to stand here all day or are we going to finish checking out this creepy place?” Everett braces his hands on the walls and peers down at us. “Adler and I are getting a little claustrophobic.”

“Speak for yourself, pup.”

Brayden cackles, then slinks into the dark room behind him.

The dungeon smells like mold stuck in the corners of a shower wall, and the air is damp. Like somehow the basement flooded, and while they cleaned it, it hasn’t had a chance to dry. The last time I was in this dungeon Jinx had just killed Morris. I can see farther into the room as Brayden moves deeper into it. A small corridor with five prison cells stands at the end of the room. The iron bars and ancient locks have me wondering if we somehow transported back to the medieval ages. Grime covers the floor, and I cringe at the thought of breathing in stale feces and urine.

“Why does the school have a dungeon?” I ask, sliding my gaze toward Carter.

His arm brushes against mine, and he stares at where Brayden is now standing inside of one of the cells, spinning around with the lantern and casting shadows about.

“This wasn’t always an academy. This was once the home of the pack alpha. The Olympic pack alpha. This is where he kept shifters who disobeyed him.” Carter’s knuckles brush against my arm, so I turn to meet his gaze. He studies my face like it’s a puzzle he can’t solve, so I soften my features and smile at him, letting him know I’m not mad.

Adler was right, I am grumpy, but I can’t continue to take it out on other people. Not when Bea being gone is my own damn fault.

“Prison for them not listening seems a little extreme.” I look back to the cell.

Carter hums. “Well, I guess it was either imprisonment or death. Some punishments may seem cruel to you. They’re considered a mercy for shifters.”

I shake my head but keep my thoughts to myself.

To Joan, I say,I guess I just don’t understand why killing someone for not listening is acceptable.

Joan makes a small noise.It is our way. There are certain things an alpha cannot let slide. Someone challenging him over and over and over? That threatens the safety of the pack. If the challenger is not strong enough to win, he must be eliminated or the pack will suffer. There can never be peace when dissent lives.

Frowning, I head toward the cells.

Brayden is sitting on a metal bed with the lantern at his side. “I have to say, this is probably one of the grossest places I’ve ever been.”

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