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

It isn’t crazy to wonder. He did appear out of nowhere.Having Joan validate my feelings grounds me. She’s never steered me wrong. Not even about the harem stuff. She knew all along what would happen, and she did her best to find me the perfect matches.

“Little Red.” Brayden’s deep voice brushes over me. “I’m not a ghost.”

“Anymore,” Draco says with a huff.

The twins exchange a tense look, but the moment passes when the corner of Draco’s mouth quirks.

“You did stalk her in phantom form.”

“It was one time!” Brayden tosses his hands into the air.

“Technically it was more than once,” Carter says from behind me. “It’s natural for her to distrust you. And Draco. He did bite her after all.”

I glance over my shoulder and he gives me a small nod. Trusting the twinsisa bad idea. They’ve both done shady things, but for some reason it hasn’t fazed me. When I woke up and found out I’d been dragged to the academy, I’d been angry, but the emotion faded quickly. I’ve grown so used to my life being turned upside down, it’s hard to muster the energy to react rationally.

The bond flares with strength, and I glance at Everett. The connection between us grows taut, and I know he’s the one sending me mental waves of courage.

“I’m fine.” I shake my head and stop walking, staring at the three-story mansion with a slight frown. “As fine as I can be,” I correct, biting the inside of my cheek.

The fates must hate me. I’ll have to remember to bitch slap them whenever I die, because the cards they’ve dealt me fucking suck.

Assholes.

Chapter 3

RAVEN

You know when you’ve been around people for hours on end and all you want to do is crawl in your bed and be alone? With nothing but absolute silence surrounding you? The quiet of the academy is almost loud. There’s nothing comforting about the silence.

The front door opens without a creak and we file into the foyer. The guys fan out behind me, their muscles bunched and ready for a fight. Now would be the time to say something reassuring, but there are no reassurances I can offer.

Heading up the stairs, I make a beeline to the ballroom. The last place we’d seen Jinx inside. I bat away a cobweb and step through the door, my shoes squeaking on the marble. The decorations are scattered around the floor. Like someone had started to clean but had to run out in a hurry.

I take another step, glancing at the stage in search of the demon spirit.

Cold air brushes over me and a familiar raspy voice whispers through my mind.

Alicccccce

For fuck’s sake, not this creepy bitch again.

Joan! Be nice. She was murdered.

My wolf grumbles some not so kind things under her breath, but I don’t have time to scold her because Alice appears in front of me. Her dark eyes are like twin saucers of despair, stringy black hair hangs down in front of her face, and her head is tilted to the side.

That has to hurt.

Not now, Joan!

“Alice? Is everything okay?” The ghost shuffles forward, slowly closing the distance between us.

“Who are you talking to?” Adler asks, cupping my elbow with his hand. “Who’s there?”

I meet his intense stare. “Alice. She was the maid.” Flicking my gaze to Brayden, I see his eyes widen and search the room.

“She’s here?” His voice is colored with disbelief.

The last time he’d seen her was when he tried to save her from Jinx’s attack, only to be killed as well. If it hadn’t been for Death intervening that and claiming him, Brayden might not be here now.

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