Fury

fury

T he door bursts open on my meeting with the coaches of the swim team, and I have to keep myself from reacting when Channing bustles in like she’s on a mission. She doesn’t acknowledge the two angry looking shifters; no, my assistant heads straight for me. When she approaches, I lean down a bit for her to whisper in my ear and this time, I can’t keep the emotions off of my face.

How goddamn dare that asshole set foot on my campus without speaking to me? I don’t care if he works for the fucking Kremlin .

Straightening, I look at the dolphin and shark in front of me with an irritable expression. “Gentleman, lady… we will have to reschedule. I have urgent business to attend to that cannot be put off.”

“Of course she does,” the bulky hammerhead hybrid grunts as he gives me a filthy look. “No respect at this place anymore for their money makers.”

Oh, today is not the day, and I am not the one, buster.

My wings pop free and my size grows as the gargoyle and gorgon inside of me unleash their fury at our mate being taken without permission. This isn’t the right arena, but fuck if I have a choice. I’ve never mated with anyone before and no one’s told me how to get them under control when they’re threatened. Des hisses as she pokes out from under my hair, doing her snake dance as I work to get a grip. “Marinus, I suggest you choose your next words wisely, because I’m going to give you a chance to retract that offensive shit.”

His companion sinks lower in her seat and he scoffs. “Fucking prey shifters are useless.”

“That remark violates HR Policy 467.2.3 regarding species-ism and derogatory language used towards co-workers,” Channing pipes up. “Since there are three witnesses to the infraction, you are being put on notice immediately. Dean LeCiel will sign the form for the file after she handles the emergency. Keep in mind, three infractions that violate hostile work environment policies are grounds for termination with revocation of any existing staff benefits, such as housing, tuition for children, and sponsorship for any events in the competition arena. You will not be reimbursed for any costs incurred after your employment is severed.”

I blink as a slow, evil smile creeps over my features. “Is that what you’d like, Marinus? Would you like to continue racking up infractions until you give me the perfect reason to let you go and ruin your career? I can and I will, especially since I’ve ignored the many unacceptable remarks you made during this meeting.”

“As if this… woman… has the guts to back you up when I sue those fancy pants off you,” he scoffs. “Your little pet there just said it requires witnesses.”

“All meetings in the Dean’s office are recorded for everyone’s protection now,” Channing says. “It was a demand made by the board after they learned of previous misdeeds committed under the auspice of ‘school business.’ Morgana had to sign a waiver to allow it to begin any time the door opens.”

She’s not wrong, and I wasn’t thrilled with having to do it, either. Once again, my ex’s bullshit caused me to get punished, and it chafed like a pair of burlap underwear. But I did it to satisfy the overlords that sent me here and keep the peace. In the Society’s headquarters, all I wanted was to flee and vanish from the media’s attention. I’m lucky I didn’t sign away anything worse than what I did—my state of mind wasn’t conducive to defending my rights.

“That’s true,” I finally add. “So your behavior has been fully recorded and sent to the cloud within the servers to the Society. I highly doubt I’ll get much push back if I choose to speed up your exit from this university. The way Magnus ran this place was a disgrace and we will no longer allow our employees, students, or alumnae to behave as they have been when representing State U. The thin ice we’re on with the eligibility committee forced our hands, but I’m in charge of getting it done.”

Marinus shoots to his feet, pulls off his ID, and throws it at my desk. His face is bright red with anger and I have no doubt my ex would have coddled him. The shifter is a former supe Olympian and one of the most famous coaches in the US. However, this display of temper isn’t even the worst of his behavior and I know the donors are tired of his name being all over the media. There will be backlash for letting him quit, but I’ll find someone easily as good and less volatile to help our students if it kills me.

“I’m done here. Trust me, when you lose me, you will be, too.” He spins on his heel, stomping out with his threat hanging in the air, and I can’t help myself.

I burst out laughing. My incredulity at the fragile male ego must be shared because once I really get going, Channing and Sylvan join me. The dolphin hybrid relaxes for the first time since she entered the room as she giggles in the high pitch tone of her kind and I have to wipe tears off of my face. Once I finally get under control, I clear my throat to speak. “Sylvan, I’m sorry about this. I truly nee d to go handle something. Please allow Channing to rebook your meeting about the women’s team later in the week?”

Her smile is broad as she catches her breath. “For the first time in years, I’m actually looking forward to that. Now that Marinus is gone, my girls won’t have to worry about a lot of things and for that, I appreciate you, Dean LeCiel. Do what you must, and I look forward to Channing’s call.”

Sighing in relief as she gives me another smile then heads out, I turn back to the elemental next to me when the door shuts. “I’m going to kill that fucking detective. He’ll wish he’d been born without balls when I get through running them through a grinder.”

She grins. “Before you ask, yes, Jackson and his team are on their way.”

Sometimes, my judgment of people is so very on par—it makes mistakes like Magnus even more infuriating.

“ Let’s go, then.”

There’s a fucking gaggle of press at the front of the station when we arrive, and that does nothing to soothe the anger coursing through my veins. This is a staged scene—someone made certain to drop the news that Lucas was arrested during class. I sit in the back seat, scrolling through my phone until I find Eli’s text thread.

Morgana: I want to know if the leak to the press originated from the State U Wi-Fi by the time we leave this building. If it did, I want to know the first post’s exact location and device ASAP.

Eli: Understood. Jackie’s not happy, either.

His gift for understatement is noted as I flick the chat away and look up at Channing in the driver’s seat. “I want to know who let that dick on campus without informing me. Once you find out, their ass will be in my office at nine a.m. tomorrow morning. I don’t care if I have to hire an entirely new goddamn security staff because of this; everyone on campus will know what crossing me gets them.”

Channing grins broadly. “Hell, yes. I hoped we might clean house in that lazy ass den of assholes. You’ll agree when I tell you the horror stories I’ve been privy to over the years.”

“We’ll deal with the immediate problem first, then you can brief me on the troubles with our security staff one by one.” I look out the window, reaching up to coax Des into hiding, so she’s not obvious in any press shots as we walk in. “You can’t win a war of a thousand cuts without getting blood on the ground and I’m going to smear it all over theat damn campus.”

My assistant grins again, hopping out to come to my side and open my door. I step out, my expression concealed by the dark glasses covering my eyes. Cameras and phones click as I hurry up the stairs to the door. Channing stands at the ready as I turn to look at the metaphorical vultures watching us hungrily.

“State U is deeply concerned by the aggressive tactics of the law enforcement in this community. Like any private entity, our grounds are not open to Draconian seizures of students without informing the university of their presence or intentions. We will take our concerns to both the Mayor, the Council, and the Society. Even magical law enforcement has limitations and today, they have exceeded what is allowable by the law. Thank you.”

A dull roar of questions echoes behind me as I enter the building. Channing follows me and within minutes of entering, we’re greeted by Rainier and Foley. They nod at my assistant and she ducks her head as she wiggles her fingers.

Huh. Interesting.

“The nerve of that son of a bitch,” Foley mutters. “Jackson’s going to have his badge before the end of this. They concealed the fucking arrest warrant because Eli’s spiders should have caught it before the ink was dry.”

Rainier grunts. “Pushed it through with a crooked judge—they only have his presence in the locker room, which is circumstantial. There’s not a shred of physical evidence that ties him to the murder. People will suffer when the boss gets done with them.”

My lips stretch into an evil smile as I listen. That sounds perfect, if you ask me. I want the people who went around me to invade my territory without my consent to learn a serious lesson about who they’re fucking with. If they don’t, I’ll never be able to keep the college a safe haven. Gargoyles crave the creation of safe spaces in their midst and I won’t be able to control my rage if I cannot protect my home.

“Good,” I reply as we head down the hall. “Channing has contacted the board, and I dropped a bomb in the press before we came inside. That should give us cover when we leave. “

“Do you think we’ll be able to bring Lucas home tonight?” Channing looks worried as she pushes her glasses up.

Foley gives her a charming grin. “Don’t worry, lass. Our boss never loses and this won’t be the streak breaker.”

My eyes narrow when she flushes again, but I don’t have time to give it more thought.

“He doesn’t have an option. If he fails my mate, I will tear him to pieces myself and deal with the fallout later. We all know I’ve done it before.” That stops all of them in their tracks and I pull off my sunglasses, shrugging. “What else can they do to me? Knock me off? With my mate facing a death sentence for murder, it wouldn’t be a punishment.”

“Hardcore,” Foley mutters as he rubs the back of neck. “You’re a hell of a woman, Morgana.”

Rainier jerks his chin at me as if showing his approval as well, and I cock my head at them. “Now that we’ve established I’m a badass, let’s go see what’s happening with Jackson and Lucas.”

“Right. Follow me,” Rainier says, turning on his heel and heading to an enormous door at the end of the hallway. He waves a card at a reader and we’re able to go through it, leaving me to wonder how he got clearance to wander through the station.

The Irishman winks at me, bobbing his brows when he sees my confusion. “Rain is fucking connected. There’s very little he can’t finagle with this kind of shit.”

“Good to know,” I murmur. “I’m sure it will be useful in the future.”

“When we break your boyfriend out of a supe prison?”

I laugh as the adorable hacker comes towards us. He’s carrying a bunch of devices and I assume he’s hard at work figuring out everything we need to help Lucas. “Yes, I suppose it would be very helpful if he had contacts in the prison system, then.”

“Rain has contacts everywhere ,” Eli says. “Jax doesn’t keep team members who aren’t at the top of their fields. The best hacker like me, the most connected ex-military, the trickiest motherfucker and?—”

“The scariest asshole alive?” Foley cuts in.

As if he’s been summoned, Kendrick appears out of the shadows, glaring at us with his arms crossed over his broad chest.

“Maybe not the scariest, but damn, he’s quiet,” I say with a laugh.

Hopefully, they’re not all blowing smoke up my skirt; Lucas’s future depends on it.