Anila POV Professor Howl’s brows knitted together as he stared at the fog that accumulated from the crystal ball. I could tell something was wrong, but my nerves prevented me from speaking. I looked up at Xaden’s whose eyes were fixed on the quartz and his jaw tensed. The white fog swirling within the crystal ball never cleared. The room was so thick with tension, that I could cut it with a knife. I felt my nerves fray as I struggled to keep my calm. The blankness of the crystal ball put me on edge, and from the look on Xaden’s face, he was on edge as well. Professor Howl clicked his tongue, releasing the ball and allowing it to clear, before taking a deep breath and touching it again. The same exact thing happened. Fog so thick you couldn’t see a damn thing. The professor made a curious hum as he shook his head, looking at an equally perplexed Principal Rapport. It was as if they had an entire conversation with just a glance of the eyes. Great, as if I didn’t stand out e
Anila POV My lungs burned as I sucked in quick breaths, working to stave off a panic attack as Xaden’s eyes moved to Professor Howl, and a snarl came from his lips. “Release her from your hold, Professor! She is my mate!” “She could be a spy, Xaden!” Professor Howl snarled. If I had the ability to laugh, I would have. How could I be a spy if literally knew nothing other than what I had read in books and seen on TV? “She isn’t! I know she isn’t!” Professor Howl’s eyes narrowed, drawing a conceding sigh from Xaden. “She lived in a small town. She was treated like a prisoner at home. I literally had to break her out of her house to bring her here.” My eyes landed on Xaden’s deep forest green pleading gaze as he pulled me tighter to his chest as if he were afraid I would disappear. My chest tightened even more, and it felt like my lungs were on the verge of bursting. “That is enough,” Principal Rapport said, holding up his hand. “Professor, release her.” With a humph, the w
Anila POV My entire body stilled. Months? “And we don’t have an official class for that here. Most students came here fully prepared, with enough basic guidance from parents for the shift,” Professor Howl continued to explain, shaking his head, before turning his gaze to Xaden. “You know your responsibility now, don’t you?” “Of course,” Xaden stated without hesitation, “I’ll get her prepared, and teach her well.” His forest-filled eyes found mine, and I felt the anxious fluttering in my chest start to settle, “She is in good hands.” Before any more words were exchanged, Xaden’s hands squeezed my hand gently as he pulled me from the room. We descended the steps in silence, returning to the long, familiar hallway that seemed to run throughout the entire school. “So, can all shifters use magic?” I asked, curious about Professor Howl's words. I wondered how much magic I would have learned if my mom was still alive. “Not really. Bear shifters and werewolves have magical abil
Anila POV Outside the bedroom doors were golden plaques; one of which had my name on it. I knew right away that meant this was my bedroom. I was amazed at how prepared this school was for my arrival. I opened the door, and my eyes grew large as I stepped into the beautiful room. There was a full bed already made with a purple and black bedspread. The window that overlooked the campus had long silky, transparent purple drapes that reached the ground. There was a plush purple carpet in front of the bed and the floors were hardwood. There was a closet and a dresser along with a couple of nightstands beside my bed. On the far side of the room was a loveseat and an empty bookshelf. This was three times the size of my room at home. Sitting on my bed was a card that I reached for immediately. On the front of the card, it said: Welcome to Lunar Academy Anila Montgomery! My eyes grew large as I opened the card to read the inside. It read: You are beginning a new magical journ
Harley POV Anila Montgomery. I had been waiting for my mate since I first shifted at 19 years old. I thought that once I got my mate, I would be happy and that would be it. But I wasn’t anticipating my mate to have two other mates. One of which is my best fucking friend. As soon as Xaden claimed Anila, that was it for me. I was out, completely. I couldn’t stab my best friend in the back. It wasn’t in my nature. Zach, on the other hand, had no issue doing just that. I stared at the scene before me with disgust. Anila was pressed against the wall with Zach inches from her lips. Her eyes were closed, and she looked content being between him and the wall. She looked as if she wanted to kiss him just as badly as he wanted to kiss her. The philandering smirk on the werewolf's face made me want to crack his skull because he smiled at me like I was missing out on something. Despite backing off, I couldn’t help that insistent and annoying tugging in my chest, a voice that const
Anila POV I stepped back as four more girls rushed into the room with large and curious eyes. My heart was pounding rapidly in my chest as they all turned to face me. The first girl, with the feathers, stepped closer to me and reached her hand out for me to shake. “My name is Penny Penson, and I am your roommate!” She said happily. I knew I recognized her face. I raised my brows at her name as I hesitantly took her hand and shook it. “Penny…. Penson?” I asked, curiously. She smiled. “I know, it’s weird, right? My parents certainly have a sense of humor.” “It’s unique,” I told her honestly. “It’s nice meeting you. I’m Anila Montgomery.” “Oh, trust me, we know who you are,” Penny chuckled. “We got here earlier today, and we were out exploring when we saw you holding Damien West’s wand!” My eyes widened at her words. “I know everything there is to know about this school and the top students. I’ve been preparing for this school my entire life and I’m so excited to be
Anila POV The growling of my stomach stopped my words from escaping my lips. My cheeks flushed right away, and I held onto my stomach, attempting to silence it. “Sorry,” I murmured, embarrassed by the intrusive sound. Penny stood to her feet, laughing. “For what? Being hungry?” She asked, glancing at her phone. “Dinner will be served soon. Let’s go to the dining hall, and we can continue this conversation after” she said, motioning for us to follow her. I was grateful for the momentary distraction and subject change. I hadn’t even realized an hour had passed since I was trapped in the elevator with Zach. The memory caused my body to become incredibly hot. I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and stood with everyone else. Penny draped an arm through mine. “We are in this together, Anila,” she assured me. “Stick with us and you’ll never be alone.” I smiled, it was a nice thought having a group of girls that I could depend on and even consider my friends. I ne
Anila POV The amount of gasps around the table was alarming. “What?” Penny gasped. “Are you serious?” Both Sadie and Sally gasped. “No way!” Sage gasped. “Holy shit,” Becca gasped and then she burst out laughing. “And here we are, feeding you awful information about him.” Penny’s face was beat red when she turned to me. “Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry, Anila. You must think awful of us. Speaking about your mate like that,” she said, shaking her head, her blonde, red, and feathered curls bouncing around her features. “I’m sure he’s so much different with you because you are his mate.” “That explained why he looked so happy,” Sage said, nodding in agreement to Penny. “You don’t need to apologize,” I said, placing my hand on Penny’s arm to calm her. “I’m glad you told me this information. I only just met him, and I wasn’t really sure what to think of it all. It’s… a lot,” I admitted. “I can’t believe Zach would be so cruel as to fight Xaden for his mate,” Sally breathed, sh