Chapter 17

17

One misstep and they’d have me.

I didn’t have time to waste on running from them, especially when every breath I took fought against the rock in my chest. Stumbling to a halt as another coughing spasm ripped through me, I bent and tried to ride it out. Stupid flu.

Luckily, I hadn’t needed to run very far. My gaze snagged on the plaster sculpture of a fairy on the wall. Melia had taught me well. I’d have to remember to buy her something to thank her for the bit of information. Information that as an underclassman I wasn’t supposed to know.

The fairy statues marked a network of secret passages running though the castle, accessed by a single word known only to a few. I wasn’t sure who else knew about them outside of Melia and me, but I banked on the secret, muttering the word under my breath and watching the stones melt away to reveal a passageway into what looked like the bowels of a cave.

It took another half breath for me to slide inside the dark, musty passageway and say the spell word again. The wall was back in place and, ears perked, I listened to the hasty rush of footsteps on the other side of the stone. They passed on by and soon nothing but silence greeted me.

Of course, my coughing fits subsided the moment I was alone. That’s how my luck was running.

But the silver lining, I thought as I made my way back to the hospital ward, was that the shifters I sensed hadn’t been Kendrick or anyone from the Grimaldi pack. More than likely those two second-year boys were pawns. Pieces being moved around the board in a bigger game, working for someone else who wanted something from them.

But exhaustion made it difficult for me to follow my train of thought for more than a minute.

Back in the hospital ward, I flopped down on the bed, covered in cobwebs and out of breath to the point where I could have sworn I had just run a marathon. I needed to talk to Detective Wilson. He should know what I’d seen, what I’d sensed. It might help him with the investigation.

Odds were good he already knew what I’d tell him, but still.

Fumbling on the nightstand for the cell phone I’d brought with me, I dialed the number and listened to the ringing. He had said to call him anytime, right? Hopefully he wouldn’t be too pissed. Midnight had come and gone hours ago.

“What?” Wilson barked out after four rings.

“I know it’s late,” I began at once, my throat sill sore but nothing like the acid burns it had felt like originally. “But I saw something strange and I need to tell you about it.”

“You sound terrible.”

“Because I feel terrible.”

Wilson sighed and there was a sound of papers being rustled in the background. Not asleep, then. “Miss Alderidge, I’m working, in the middle of another case. I know you probably have nothing else to do this late at night, because sleep is out of the question, obviously, so you thought you’d call your old pal Wilson for a chit-chat. I, however, have work to do. Important work involving saving lives.”

Someone was a little grumpy.

I pushed a hand through my hair, spider webs sticking to my skin. “I understand you’re busy,” I said. “Just listen. Tonight, my glamour spell failed and I sensed shifters in the school. Again.”

“Let me guess. You decided to follow them.” It wasn’t a question.

I might not know much about Detective Wilson as a person, but we’d spent enough time talking that I recognized the hint of amusement in his tone. The paper-shuffling in the background had stilled.

My lips lifted in a smile. Good. I had his attention. “You guessed right. I saw two second-year boys trying to break into the exchange students’ quarters a few minutes ago. Near where we found Professor Reeds’ body. They’re the shifters.”

“And what were they doing?” Wilson asked.

“They were attempting a B & E, if I had to guess. They had no other reason to be there and one of them was trying to get the door open. When they became aware of me, they chased me. Obviously I got away. But I’m telling you because I think it’s worth looking into.”

Wilson hadn’t told me of any leads in the case—I didn’t expect him to—and I liked to hope this would be a new avenue for him to explore. One that may result in a clue at least.

Another sigh let me know exactly what he thought of my late-night antics. “Are you scared they will find you? What I’m asking is, are you somewhere safe?”

I debated lying and telling him I was fine. Was this what it felt like to be normal? To be mortal?

“I’ve got the flu and I’m holed up in the school’s hospital ward. It’s not the safest place in the world and if they catch my scent, they may try to come for me here,” I told him. “Unless you think Nurse Julie will be enough to keep me out of harm’s way.”

“Okay, well, stay where you are,” Wilson said. The papers shuffled again, folders being tapped against a hard surface. “I’ll send help. I won’t be able to come myself but someone will be there soon to keep watch. Do you understand me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Stay where you are, Tavi, because if anything happens to you, I won’t be able to fucking forgive myself.”

Detective Wilson ended the call with a click, and I leaned back against the thin and uncomfortable hospital pillows, still wrapped in my now filthy blanket. I pushed it off of me and let it drop to the floor. Yup, muck and grime covered the fabric thanks to the walls of the passageway.

The life-saving passageway, I tried to remind myself.

I was too weak to defend myself if those boys caught my scent and tracked me down. I knew it instinctively. Even though I was scared the shifters would find me…what could I do?

And did their presence here have something to do with me? They were second-years, yeah, but I didn’t remember seeing them before. Except…

The bullying, with Chase and Xander. I’d seen them then but nothing about them stood out.

Those kinds of thoughts automatically spiraled. Were there shifters infiltrating the school, hiding under a glamour and pretending to be students, looking for me?

But why would they then try to break into the exchange students’ dorm? Why would they be killing people?

The answers were right there, I knew. Like having a word at the tip of my tongue I couldn’t quite grasp.

Nothing made sense to me but I had the sneaking suspicion that a few more hints, one last push, and I’d have the answers.

My mind automatically drifted to Mike and I growled, shaking my head to clear it and immediately regretting the action. Mike had nothing to do with any of this outside of being a huge prick with dubious taste in members of the opposite sex.

The night progressed and I ended up passing out despite my valiant attempt to stay awake. My fever returned worse than before, and although I finally kicked the sore throat, the mucus drainage left my belly upset and growling in protest.

I spent the next several days drifting in and out of consciousness thanks to a draught Nurse Julie coaxed me to drink, something smelling overwhelmingly of lavender and other earthy herbs I couldn’t recognize.

There were times I woke up to her changing my sweat-soaked sheets. Other times I woke up to see a man I didn’t know sitting in the visitor’s chair next to my bed. Young, his disheveled brown hair hung over his ears in a wave of oak and maple, his eyes a robin’s egg blue with a bit of yellow around the iris. He wore a gray blazer and black jeans. He didn’t bother me. If anything, his presence was a comfort because surely he was the help Detective Wilson had promised to send.

Someone from his own pack. It made the man trustworthy, in my eyes, because the last time Wilson called in his mates to help, they’d been instrumental in taking down Roman.

Three days of torture and the fever finally broke. Though my limbs still ached and the rest of me didn’t feel much better, I woke up to sunshine and Julie bustling through the door holding a tray. Her blue wings flickered at the sight of me, her lips rising in a smile.

“I knew today would be the day,” she told me. “I had a gut feeling about it. See? This is why you always trust your gut. You can go now.”

But I knew she wasn’t talking to me. That last part was directed toward the same brown-haired man seated at my side. He met my eyes for the first time, his gaze warm and inscrutable, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head.

“I’ll excuse myself,” he said. “Check in with Wilson. Don’t you worry, Miss Alderidge. I’ll be watching you. Nothing is going to get through me.”

Nurse Julie watched him walk out, shaking her head lightly and chuckling.

“What?” I asked her. Probably looking like something someone unclogged from a drain. I hadn’t washed my hair or body in days and my tongue and teeth felt fuzzy.

Julie’s focus returned to me and she walked over to set the tray down on my lap, clucking her tongue. “I’ve always been one to appreciate a good-looking man. Especially a good-looking wolf. He gets my blood pumping, if you know what I mean. I’ve been trying to warm him up but his attention has been completely on you, kiddo.”

I knew she said it as a joke, but there was just enough truth beneath the statement to have a real smiling gracing my face. “I didn’t get a good look at him. I’ll have to take your word for it.”

The tray held a decent-sized breakfast consisting of fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and several strips of bacon. I hadn’t been able to eat during my illness and now that I finally felt better, the food smelled like heaven. My stomach gave a rumble of approval. It seemed to be ready to ingest again.

“I don’t want you to push yourself,” Julie said. She settled into the now empty chair and watched me eat.

I shoveled a forkful of eggs into my mouth. “What do you mean?”

“I mean I know you, and I know how you react to these things. You’ll think these days you spent here, these days of inactivity, will put you behind and your teachers will take it out on you. Meaning you will have to push extra hard to catch up and try to regain whatever ground you think you lost.” She shook her head. “It’s not the case, I assure you. I am putting you under strict orders to take things slow because your body is still recovering. And certainly no games of Capture the Scroll. Nothing to push your heart rate up too high.”

“You got it. I’m not in the mood for games right now.” I swallowed the eggs, nearly groaning at the delectable taste, and moved on to the bacon next. I’d never tasted anything so delicious.

“The school work?” Julie pushed.

“I’ll take it easy. I promise. Pinky swear.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it,” she joked, reaching out to smack me on the leg, repeating my own words.

I finished the entire plate of food, letting it settle in my stomach. Julie had been right about the food. Right about my desire to catch up. Way too many days of inactivity, and how could I be sure none of my teachers would try to punish me for not being in class? I couldn’t take her word as a guarantee. Especially not with Hoarfrost. Surely he’d removed a ton of points away from me already for missing his classes.

Another hour passed before Melia came to see me, racing through the door with a wide smile on her face, hair wild around her head.

“What do you have?” I asked, gesturing toward the bag she toted over her shoulder.

“Why, this little thing? This is all the work you’ve missed. Did you think it was pleasure reading?” She smiled, shaking her head.

“One could only hope.” I blinked. “Are you sure you didn’t need to bring a dump truck? How could a few days add up to so much?”

Melia shrugged. “Who knows. But don’t worry. I’ll sit with you this weekend and help you get caught up.”

“Oh, right. I guess it is Saturday. I lost track of time.” Still, having Melia’s offer to help on the table was a great relief. “And please don’t waste your time on me. You have your own stuff going on.”

“This is the first time Julie and your friend with the pretty eyes have let me in to see you, you know,” Melia said with a sniff. “I’ve been trying for days to get in. Your nurse said you needed rest and not to disturb you.”

Sounded like her, for sure. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t have been good company, though. I spent most of the time asleep.”

“Okay, I feel a little better about it, then. You can be a real pain in the ass when you don’t feel well. I speak from past experiences.” Her stern expression didn’t last for long and soon melted into a gale of laughter.

She stayed to chat for a few more moments before running off to grab her own breakfast, promising to be back as soon as possible.

Good thing I was sitting down for my next visitor, otherwise I would have fallen over from shock.

I certainly never expected I’d see Mike peeking around the corner. He stopped in the door, rooted to the spot, as though trying to decide whether this was a good idea or not.

Some men were handsome. Some had inherent power, evident in their hero swagger whenever they walked into a room. Mike possessed both of those in abundance. Muscular and athletic, he moved with an easy, preternatural grace. You knew just by watching him he was someone important.

Would averting my eyes give my nerves away? Probably.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. Then cleared my throat at the phlegm-y sound. My luck the first thing I said to the man was ruined by the phlegm.

“I’ve been worried about you,” Mike said after a time, keeping his hands behind his back. “I heard you weren’t feeling well but I didn’t know it was bad enough to warrant a trip to Nurse Julie and an extended infirmary stay. Did you take a vacation? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

“Yes, a vacation accompanied by pain and suffering,” I agreed sarcastically.

Today he wore, instead of his usual school uniform, a shirt of vibrant green the same color as his eyes. The V-neck showed me an enticing view of golden skin, the short sleeves leaving his muscled arms bare.

I wanted to eat him. I wanted to kill him.

I wasn’t sure what to say, what to feel. A flash of anger reminded me of how I’d felt the other day, seeing him with Persephone’s arms wrapped around his neck.

Yes, maybe go with kill.

“Thanks for coming to check on me.” I tugged the blanket higher, hoping in the dim light of evening he wouldn’t see something different about me. Or that I was working on day four of no shower and no toothbrush.

If he kept to the door, and if I remained in bed, the distance might be enough for me to fool him and keep him from seeing the real, wolfy, disgustingly dirty me.

I hadn’t chanced using up another vial, what with the flu keeping me in its grip.

“You shouldn’t come too close,” I warned. “I might still be contagious, and trust me, this isn’t something you want to catch.”

He didn’t need the warning. He stayed where he was. “Look, Tavi…”

The goose flesh on my skin wasn’t from a chill. I was actually nervous. Nervous to hear what he had to say. So I waited. And waited.

“I’m really sorry,” he said finally, shaking his head, his focus on the floor in front of him. “I’m sorry for everything between us. I’ve been worried about you and I realized I’ve said some stupid things.”

I almost felt sorry for him. “Why would you worry about me?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Because it’s so rare for one of us to get sick like this.” Ah. So it wasn’t really me that he worried about, only how odd it was that I fell ill. “And after the big fight we had, well, you’ve been on my mind a lot.”

I had? Was that a good thing or a bad thing? I still didn’t know quite where I stood with him. “There was no need for you to worry about me,” I said, finding myself inexplicably leaning toward him. I didn’t realize I’d moved until my foot fell off the side of the bed and I blinked down at the traitorous appendage.

“Yes, there was. There is. I mean—” He took a step into the room.

My eyes must have widened because he stopped there, not coming any closer, hands still behind his back. I resisted the urge to fiddle with my hair. I hadn’t showered or changed my clothes since I’d got there, and more than likely I still had cobwebs and dirt smeared along my skin and in my hair.

“I appreciate your worrying about me but I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” I told him.

His brows drew together. “It’s not fine, Tavi. I hate the way we left things. Then you get sick and come here, I don’t even get to see you in class. No chance to try and explain myself…”

I swallowed my tongue to keep from saying anything nasty, because the words were bubbling up for sure.

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “Okay? I’m sorry we got into a fight and it made you question…me and how I feel about you. I swear nothing is happening between Persephone and me—”

“I really don’t want to hear about it,” I interrupted. My stomach surged and those eggs suddenly felt way too heavy.

“You have to listen. We were only there at the same time because she cornered me and was trying to talk me into a date. Nothing is going on. I don’t want her.”

My heart thumped against my chest. “You don’t?” I asked, blinking.

“No.” Mike shook his head emphatically, raising his gaze until our eyes met. “She’s a nice person and I might, in some circumstances, consider her a friend, but that’s all.”

He thought her a nice person? Huh. “I might have seriously questioned your intelligence if you did fancy her,” I joked.

Something in my tone changed him and his face lit in a brilliant smile. “Right?”

“I mean, you are free to like whoever you want, of course.” I pressed my lips together, trying to cover my definitely too eager smile.

“I just don’t want anything to come between our friendship,” he said hurriedly, taking a single step forward into the room. “You’re too important to me. You’ve always been there for me, since day one, going above and beyond. You actually care, unlike a lot of the people here. Not about my title or my bloodline, but me. You care about me.”

My cheeks warmed under the praise. “I think you should flip it around. You’re the one who rescued me.”

“I like to think we rescued each other. You’re a good friend. I can’t lose what we have. I don’t want to lose you.” He fumbled behind him and drew forward a foot-long box. “I, ah…this is for you.”

“Where have you been hiding that?” I laughed, and at least this time it didn’t bother my throat. The sound ended on a snort I didn’t bother to hide.

Mike shrugged and stepped forward to place the box on my nightstand. My nerves skittered at his nearness. “I got you a little something. It’s nothing, trust me. Something I thought you would like to lift your spirits.”

“You really shouldn’t come too close.” I dragged the blanket higher to hide the lower half of my face. My wolf practically purred at his nearness, but I knew my breath had to be rank.

“If you want me to stay away then I will. I’m not worried,” he insisted. “Open it and see what you think.”

I could tell he was nervous to see what I’d say about his gift. Hmm. Curious. Adorable.

I shifted enough to grab the box, struggling to keep the blanket high at the same time. Why couldn’t he have texted ahead and given me time to clean up? More than likely I smelled worse than I looked. I’d been battling a fever, after all. “What is it? What did you do?”

He hadn’t bothered with wrapping paper, opting instead for plain brown paper. I knew the shape of the box. I’d purchased enough shoes to recognize it. Ripping through the paper, I let it drop to the floor, revealing a shoe box. He got me shoes?

Not just any shoes.

My heart flipped over in a joyous somersault.

Lifting the lid, I saw the brand spanking new pair of Converse All Stars sneakers. Except these weren’t black and white like my old ones. They were done in shades of black and purple and blue like the sky at twilight, with little white dots for stars.

Mike lifted his left shoulder, shifting from foot to foot as he watched my reaction. “I know you love the style,” he said. “And those are your favorite colors. Aren’t they? Oh jeez, what’s the matter? Why do you look sad?”

I rubbed at my eyes when tears stung them. He’d done this for me. He’d apologized, and not only apologized but put a lot of thought into a gift for me. Something he’d known I would like. I had really needed a new pair of sneakers; my other ones were worn to the point where I had a hole in the right sole.

“Nothing.” My voice sounded wet. “You’re right, those are my favorite colors. You know me so well.”

My answer eased something in him and his smile lost the tension at the edges. “I like to think I do. I am sorry. About Persephone.”

Did this mean I had to get him something in return? “I might have overreacted a little,” I admitted.

“Just a little?”

I chuckled. “Okay, I said some nasty things too. I hated fighting with you.”

A tiny hint of my magic ignited inside of me the longer he stared and my heart ticked faster. Like a spark bursting to life.

“Let’s both promise not to do it again.”

Yes, absolutely. “That’s an easy one to make. Yes, I promise. I’m sorry too.” I hugged the sneakers against my chest, warmth spreading out from the area. “So tell me what I missed while I was sleeping. Anything exciting?”

“How long have you been here?”

I grimaced. “Since Wednesday.”

Mike’s frown deepened, and he averted his gaze. I knew something was wrong. “Well…”

“Oh, just tell me,” I said. My fingers pressed into the shoe box. “I know that look. Something bad? Something shocking?”

“Well, Thursday night, a student turned up dead and half-eaten outside the school.” He leaned away as though disgusted with what he’d just said, then grimaced. “I’m sorry, I know it’s gross, and there’s no good way to tell you.”

The news was like a sonic boom straight through my system.

Thursday night. The same night I had found those two boys in the hall trying to break into the exchange students’ rooms.

Holy shit. I’d been in the right place at the wrong time.

“Tavi, are you okay? You’re white as a ghost!”

I didn’t hear Mike through the ringing in my ears. The latest dead body could have been mine.