Page 14 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

“See?” Shelly pointed at her mate. “Told you he was a badass.”

Gabby’s eyebrows raised when Liam didn’t laugh the Egyptian off. “I’m itching for a good fight, pharaoh,” Liam said in a voice Gabby had not heard from him before. The usual playfulness was completely gone, replaced with ice. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a worthy opponent.”

“Now you’re pissingmeoff,” Elias growled. “Do I have to show you once again just how worthy I am?”

“And on that note,” Tara said, “I think we need to all retreat to our separate corners and gather what we need.”

“Agreed,” Aston said, speaking up for the first time.

The door to Headmaster Terrick’s office opened, and Professor Frost walked out. She smiled at them as she walked over.

“Ra, Shelly, and Gabby,” she said, “I’m headed back to Crimson Academy if you’re ready.”

“Yes, professor,” Ra said, not giving his mate time to say something different.

Frost opened a portal and nodded at the others. “We will see you all on the training field,” she said and then stepped through.

Shelly gave Tara a hug and, once again, grabbed Gabby’s hand and tugged her along.

Gabby glanced at Tara. “We’re going to have to do something about this.” She lifted the joined hands. “It’s annoying as hell.”

“Nothing is as annoying as hell is. Believe me, I know.” Shelly tossed her hair over her shoulder and started to pull Gabby through the portal but paused at the sound of Tara’s voice. “Hang in there, Gabs,” Tara said. “I promise her annoying tendencies are eventually outweighed by her loyalty as a friend.”

Gabby nodded and dropped her eyes to the ground. She’d never had a nickname, at least not oneworthhaving. Her parents had called her many names, but few of them had been endearing.

“See you soon, babe,” Liam called out.

Gabby didn’t acknowledge him as she and Shelly crossed through. She’d decided it was best not to give him a reaction. It pleased him entirely too much.

Once Gabby, Ra, and Shelly were back at Crimson Academy, Gabby noticed that professor Frost was already walking down the corridor. She’d opened the portal on the floor of the dormitories, which meant she’d have to go downstairs to get to the quarters of the professors. As usual, the professor was thinking of her students before herself. That was why Frost would always have Gabby’s loyalty, but even with that, Gabby held back her affection for the woman.

“We’ll see you in a few,” Shelly said as she released Gabby’s hand.

“Sure,” Gabby replied before starting off in the direction of her room. It was located across the corridor on the girls’ side.

“Hey, Gabby.” Shelly’s voice, having takena serious tone, caused Gabby to turn to face the blonde drill sergeant. “You remind me of Tara when I first met her a long time ago in a park in my hometown,” Shelly said. “She was broken, too. Perhaps for different reasons than why you are broken, but you have the same pain lurking in your eyes that I sometimes still see in hers.” Shelly paused and stared intently at her.

Gabby was frozen. She couldn’t even look away from the girl who dared to look past the wall Gabby had placed between herself and the rest of the world. How had Shelly seen past it in the first place? Had being around the two girls for a short amount of time already worn down Gabby’s defenses that much? And now what the hell was she going to say? How could she respond to such frankness without either telling Shelly to go jump off a cliff or begging her to be her friend and not abuse her the way her parents had done her whole life?

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told Tara, and yes, I remember it verbatim. I wrote it down afterward because it was so awesome. Also, I realize I am not humble, and I don’t give a crap.”

A smile almost formed on Gabby’s lips. How could anyone not smile at that?

“I know that you are already attempting to push Tara and me away. Okay, so this isn’t completely verbatim. I’m adding some stuff because it’s obvious that your reasons are different from Tara’s reasons. Nonetheless, you don’t want us close. That’s just too damn bad. It won’t work. Once I decide I want someone to be my friend, then it’s going to happen. You should just accept the situation. It will make life easier for all of us.”

Gabby waited for her to say more, but Shelly simply stood there, staring her down as though challenging her to contradict anything she’d said. For some reason, that challenge seemed to unfreeze Gabby’s tongue. “How could you possibly know anything about me? You just met me.”

“I’m damn good at reading people.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m not broken. I’m not in need of rescuing, and I don’t need some girl-tribe to take me in like a lost puppy.” Gabby’s words were not gentle. They were practically spat toward the girl who dared to bare Gabby’s soul, in front of her mate, no less. She looked at Ra, who was simply standing beside Shelly, gazing at Gabby with tenderness. She hated it. “Maybe you should leash your woman.”

Ra shook his head as he ran his hand down the back of Shelly’s hair. It was an intimate, loving gesture that Gabby so desperately wanted from a man who looked at her the way Ra looked at his mate. “She isn’t in need of a leash. But you are in need of friends. She is not the only one who can see that.”

Chapter 5

Jax waited until everyone had left Terrick’s office except the royals and headmasters. He stepped into the middle of the room. “Zuri and I need to speak with you all,” he announced.

“Why do I get the feeling that we aren’t going to like what you have to tell us?” Nasima asked as she crossed her arms in front of her. The air around her began to swirl, and her long, flowing dress blew about as if it was giving a visual cue to the air queen's mood.

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