ALEJANDRA.My time with Roshan has left me exhausted. I’m not sure how much progress we made today, but I was actually able to cause an earthquake without being upset. I also made it rain, which brings a whole new meaning to ‘make it rain.’ I still have a long way to go, but with his help, I’m confident things will work out. The only problem is… Forrest is Alpha. He needs to get back to Shifter Academy. It’s important. I know it is. He’s told me how vital going to school there is for the future of the pack. Instead, he’s stuck in a bubble with me in a jungle in Sri Lanka. “We need to talk,” I say to Forrest, sitting down on the couch beside him. He’s reading some sort of fae history book and that warms my heart. He’s so supportive of me. He closes the book and angles his body toward me. “What’s up?” “I think we need to go back to Shifter Academy.” Once the words are out of my mouth, I can feel how right they are. I’ve never thought that staying here was a good idea. “You need to
ALEJANDRA.I rub my sweaty palms on the skirt of my dress.I shouldn’t be nervous. There really is no point to be. I guess… maybe I’m scared of rejection. What if Roshan doesn’t like my idea or… What if he isn’t willing to come with us? What if he wants to stay here in the happy bubble forever?“I don’t want to hide,” I start out. My voice comes out strong considering how nervous I am. “My mates… they have a duty too. Forrest is going to be Alpha one day. And Alpha Romano has been here with us too. But we can’t just stay here.”“Did you not hear what I said about fae who leave here? They usually end up dead, your mother included.” Roshan’s eyes go wide as he pleads his case with me. “Please, Alejandra. I beg you. I lost Mary Ann, I can’t lose you too.”“Come with me.” I scoot close to him, putting a hand on his forearm. “Come back to Shifter Academy. I still need to be trained and you’re the only one who can do it. I want to reintroduce the world to the fae. I want to fight for my
ALEJANDRA. As we are getting ready to leave, a few elders show up at the castle. They try to talk me out of leaving. They try to tell me just how dangerous the outside world is. But I inform them that I, of all people, know just how dangerous it is. I have had threats on my life from the wolves—and they’re my own people. So I understand where they’re coming from. The elders were alive to see what happened with the war firsthand. The fought alongside their friends and family. And they experienced loss like I never have. I couldn’t even imagine the horrors that they’ve been through. The only loss I’ve experienced is when my mother’s parents died. I didn’t know them very well. We only saw them a handful of times throughout my life and I was only a small child when they passed away. I think I was barely old enough to understand what death was, I just knew it made my mom really sad. But what the fae went through during the war—that is impossible to comprehend. Because ninety percent o
ALEJANDRA. The whole auditorium starts talking loudly all at once, so Alpha Romano has to stop talking for a moment.I get it. This is big news. Huge news. They thought our species was gone. And it was a tragedy—a lesson to all supernaturals. But it’s not true.Once the auditorium quietens, Alpha Romano starts speaking again.“Alejandra is a special girl. Not only is she half wolf, but she is also half fae. I hope that you will all treat her, as well as the other fae, with respect while they are here. They have come to learn with us and socialize with us,” Alpha Muatio says. “Today, we offer the fae peace for the first time in over a millennia. There are those out there that still seek to destroy the fae. It is our duty to protect them. And to my pack, this is an order. You will protect the fae.”Chills break out on my skin and I realize the order is for me too.A lot of eyes turn yellow in the auditorium and I’m certain that if I looked, my own eyes would be yellow too.“As fo
ALEJANDRA. We’re going back to school today and, ironically, I don’t dread it. I’m actually kind of excited because I know the other fae will be there. I won’t be that weird girl that smells funny. I’ll be… that fairy girl, which is kind of cool.And now they’ll know I’m not a slut. I’m just a fairy queen. And the fairy queen always has a harem to protect her.At lunch, nothing happens. I guess… I expected something to happen. It seems like every time we go into the dining hall something bad happens. Like somebody gets punched or I cause an earthquake. But it was completely uneventful. I mean, I sit with my mates and the other fae sit with us. Bridget and Amal are nowhere to be seen. When I ask Ryland about it, he just smirks and says they wanted some alone time.I guess I can understand that. They just met yesterday and they have all these crazy feelings for each other that Amal probably doesn’t understand.After lunch, I don’t go to wolf lessons with the guys. I go to fairy les
ALEJANDRA. As soon as class is over, I head home, wanting to freaking hide.Roshan says that tomorrow we are going to be working on our powers more, but that we’ll be doing it outside. Which is a relief because the last thing I want is to cause more damage to Shifter Academy. At this point, they need to start sending me bills to pay for all the damage I’ve caused.“That kind of stuff happens all the time,” Desmond tells me, as we sit on the couch that night.Forrest, Phoenix, and Puma are out shifting. They like to allow their wolf out for a run to let off steam and they haven’t been able to do it since the last full moon. They didn’t want to scare any of the fae while we were in Sri Lanka, and I get the feeling if the fae saw them shift, it would’ve scared them.“People blast holes in the wall with their freaky fairy powers?” I raise an eyebrow.He laughs. “No. But we’re shifters. Our tempers run high around the full moon. There have been a few shifters who have punched holes i
ALEJANDRA. Forrest is distant this morning, and I can’t help but think it’s because of what happened last night.My face grows warm when I think about last night. Who knew that Desmond was so… enthusiastic.I liked it. A lot.But I try to keep those things out of my thoughts unless I remember to keep the wall up. I don’t want the guys knowing everything, even though I have a feeling they know exactly what I’m thinking by the amount of raised eyebrows and smirks I’m getting during class from them.Remember the wall.My mind is a freaking fortress.Nothing is getting out.Not even the fact that I really liked it when Desmond pulled my hair.I hear Puma snicker behind me and I realize… yep… my fortress totally cracked.It’s hot in this classroom. It’s definitely hot. I fan myself with my book, trying to think of anything except sex.The problem is… we’re reading a really boring book in English and the teacher wants us to spend the class period reading. Yep, turns out even shif
ALEJANDRA. After what happened with Ryland, Roshan dismissed class. He knew I was too upset to really keep training. My mates took me home and Desmond made a huge dinner with a ton of comfort foods. We ate while watching some silly movie. And now that I’m feeling better, I know that Forrest and I need to talk. Apparently Forrest is on the same page because he asks the guys if they will let us talk alone for a bit.“How are you doing after today?” Forrest puts his arm behind me, playing with my hair. He’s probably trying to distract me from how bad I feel, which is sweet.“I just feel guilty for hurting Ryland.” I sigh. “I can’t believe I did that. What if I had killed him?”“Didn’t Roshan say that the light blast couldn’t kill somebody unless that is your intent?”I nod.“Then don’t worry so much. We’re supernatural. We’re not as fragile as humans are.” He continues to run his fingers through my hair, probably messing it up, but I can’t bring myself to care right now. That feels