Chapter 0011
Chapter 11
The telltale growl of a predator grows louder as it approaches from the darkness. I urge my feet to run, but they refuse. I try to force out a scream, but it won’t come. The only thing I can do is breathe heavily as panic grips me My legs begin to tremble under the weight of my fear.
“Don’t move,” A voice whispers from behind me. I want to respond that I couldn’t move even if I wanted to, but words fail me. I hear a whoosh behind me and then a huge dog appears at my side, growling aggressively back at the predator lurking in the shadows. The dog moves to stand in front of me protectively, its thick black coat shining in the moonlight. It edges forward, snarling and snapping its jaws. Then I see it, bright blue eyes emerge from the shadows. Coming out to challenge my protector. It’s at this moment that I realise these are not just big dogs, they’re freaking wolves! Why are there wolves here? My mind goes back to the books I’d fead. The originals were soulbound to the wolf spirits. One of the gifts of a Grey was shapeshifting. These are not just wolves, they’re Greys. They’re people, and one of them wants to kill me. I have a sneaking suspicion I know who the murderous wolf is. “Mason,” the name slips from my mouth as I think it. At my voice the snarling stops. The wolf I suspect is Mason stares at me with curious eyes before letting out a whimper and disappearing back into the shadows. I scan the darkness for any trace of him but he seems to have gone
“How can one girl cause me so much drama in such a short amount of time,” the voice of Mr Collins snap
I look back to where my protective wolf was, wondering if he might bite Mr Collins in the ass for me, but the wolf is gone. In its place stands Mr Collins. He was my protector. Great. I don’t even have the strength to come up with a smart–ass reply right now. I stumble towards the fountain and sit on its edge, working to catch my breath and process what just happened.
“Mason really wants me dead doesn’t he?” I whimper.
“Mason has some issues but I don’t think he’d actually kill you, I think it’s more likely that he’s trying to scare you away. I’ll deal with him tomorrow. You need to get back to your room and keep your door locked,” Mr Collins instructs.
“What good is that going to do?” I snort, “he practically turned it into wood shavings earlier. Just take me home, back to the human realm. I don’t belong here,”
“I can’t do that, you are exactly where you should be,” he responds, his tone softer than usual. I glance up at him and see concern in his eyes. There he goes with his Jekyll and Hyde act again. He pulls out his phone and appears to send a message to someone before he comes to sit beside me on the stone ledge with a drawn–out sigh. “Josie, I can’t promise things are going to be easy for you, but I can promise I’m going to do everything I can to keep you safe,” he says. His use of my name makes my breath catch in my throat. We sit in silence for a few moments, staring at the moon.
“Did you really just turn into a wolf?” I shake my head in disbelief that those words just came out of my mouth. It is not something I thought I’d ever ask someone.
“Yes, and you will be able to soon. Our powers start to manifest in our eighteenth year and we usually gain the ability to shift into our wolves by the age of twenty,” he tells me. I burst into laughter at his words. What the hell is happening here? This morning I woke up as a normal human, just like I have done every single day for the last eighteen years, and now I’m in a different realm, in a magic school, with magic powers, and at some point in the next fourteen months I’m going to start turning into a wolf! Oh, and let’s not forget my multiple soulmates and that I might be the reincarnation of one of the originals and here to save the world! Happy freaking Monday! “What’s wrong with her?” I hear Theo ask. I guess he just magicked himself here from somewhere. I laugh harder. “I think the shock has got to her, she’s having some kind of trauma response. It’s not unheard of in these situations. Pick her up, I’ll put her to sleep until it passes. Stay with her until I’ve dealt with Mason,” Mr Collins
1/2
Chapter 0011
tells Theo and I know I should protest, be outraged at him, but I no longer care. This whole thing is hilarious. Theo scoops me up in his arms and I continue to laugh.
“Josie, you will sleep until this passes,” Mr Collins‘ words float Into my mind and spread throughout my body, soothing it like a balm until all I feel is peace.
When I wake again it’s still dark, there’s steady breathing behind me and a warm body pressed up against mine. A heavy arm is draped over my waist, holding me protectively. My instincts somehow know it’s Theo. I hate to admit that he brings me so much comfort. I’m not used to this. I don’t let people get close to me like this, and I’ve only known him for a few hours, but on my humongous list of shit to overthink, this scores low. I relax into his hold, I need more sleep before classes tomorrow. As I’m drifting off back to sleep I notice that it’s not just Theo’s and my breathing I can hear, there’s someone else in the room with us. I peek my eyes open slightly and in the corner of the room, I see the silhouette of a person watching me with glowing blue eyes.
