10
Ben
My whole bodyshook with anger as Raven walked away from me. How could she not feel the connection between us? I had tried to stay away but I couldn’t resist her pull. She seemed to call to me and I knew it was my job to keep her safe. I wanted to deny it, but the mage called to me in the way only a mate can call to a shifter. She was mine and I would protect her at all costs.
“Looks like your claim is going unrequited,” Remi said.
I glared at him. “You want a formal challenge? Cause we both know how that will turn out.”
Remi’s upper lip curled. “Careful, dog. Just because you have a pack doesn’t mean you’re better than me.”
“You want to try me?” My muscles tensed. If he wanted to keep fighting, I’d fight him. Human form or animal. Day or night. He threatened my mate, and he deserved whatever pain I could cause him.
“Why don’t we let the girl decide for herself? First one to claim her wins,” he said.
“You’re both disgusting,” Makayla said. “She’s not a chew toy.”
“She’s my mate, I can feel it,” I said.
Remi cocked an eyebrow. “If that’s true, then why did she run off from you?”
“Because she doesn’t know it yet,” I said.
“Are you serious, Ben?” Makayla asked. “I’ve never heard of a shifter with a mage for a mate.”
“I’m telling you, it’s true,” I said.
“What’s all the commotion over here?” Dr. Green looked from me to Remi. “Looks like someone has earned some time in confinement.”
“No,” Remi and I both said at the same time.
“Just a misunderstanding,” Remi said, wiping the blood from his mouth.
“Getting warmed up,” I said.
Dr. Green lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “Don’t let me find you warming up in the cafeteria again or it’s confinement for both of you.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Yes, Dr. Green,” Remi said.
The headmaster walked away, and I returned to glaring at Remi.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Remi said. “Until she’s marked, you know she’s fair game.”
“She has zero interest in you,” Makayla said.
“For now,” he said. “I’ll admit I came on a little strong.”
“If you value your life, you’ll stay away from her,” I growled.
“Neither of you are getting this,” Makayla said. “You’re acting like cave men and youbothscared her away. She doesn’t want anything to do with either of you and it’s not your choice anyway. It’s hers.”
She turned and walked out of the cafeteria. I almost called her back, but I knew she was right. That wasn’t going to change anything, though. I felt the mating call when Raven was near and until she was marked as mine, I would have little control over how I responded. She called to me and she called to my wolf. When Raven was around, my wolf had more control than the human side. With her around, I wasn’t stable - I was dangerous.
The bell rang and the remaining stragglers in the cafeteria headed toward the door. Class started in five minutes and it wasn’t a good idea to be late. This school might be for the most talented supernaturals, those with the most money and power, but that meant the stakes were higher.
Any toe out of line resulted in confinement. And the horror stories about what happened in those hidden chambers were the stuff of nightmares. It wasn’t that the time spent there resulted in your death, it was the fact that the students who ended up serving even one night in confinement had a history of gruesome accidents before they graduated. As if the punishment acted as a magnet for trouble.