Chapter 30

Dylan

D ylan's pacing in her room could surely wear the threads of her carpet. Inside of her mind, her wolf was doing the same. Since she dragged Serafine into her room to tell her everything, she replayed the conversation between Cole and Lupe through her mind a hundred times. Somehow, her best friend was calm while explaining where she had been, what she saw with Cole and the other student, and what she overheard.

"How did we not see Cole being behind this? I know I try to stay positive, but that dude has always given me the creeps. It's like he is more of a wolf than human, but that isn't possible, right?"

Dylan wasn't sure about that. She wasn't sure of anything right now. Hearing Lupe easily giving information to Cole shook her to her core. This was someone Dylan started looking up to since she was a fellow Shadowborn. Lupe had given her hope that her wolf would be under control before the end of the semester and that she might even learn different abilities to make her an even more formidable opponent.

Hunter cleared his throat, hearing Dylan lost in her thoughts, instead of responding to Serafine: "Not that I am aware. I've been around plenty of wolves throughout my life. I've killed many who lost themselves to their wolf. Not once did I see a wolf more in charge, and they were not a danger to the rest of the werewolf population."

"They are still dangerous, Hunter," Dylan said. If the wolf is somehow more in control, that is never good. The man's reasoning is no longer there to balance out the wolf's instincts. The wolf will just attack instead of understanding that not everyone has to die. My wolf and I gave Camilla the chance to reign her wolf in and take back control. She couldn't or wouldn't, and I will never know the answer to that one. Her wolf was unhinged, and there was no chance of her returning. If Cole has his wolf in charge, then we will have worse problems than I did with Camilla."

That was true, right? Dylan wasn't even sure what was going on with Cole. Nothing made sense. The conversation they overheard had nothing to give when it came to information on what they were doing to the students or why. What she saw was horrific. Somehow, Cole is able to perform magic. That was for the witches and elementals, not werewolves. Even the angels and fae. Werewolves did not have the magic they could summon to their hands and use against another. At least, from everything she knew about her kind. Shadowborns had different magic, but not something they could just cast like the other species.

"How was Cole able to use magic with his hands?" Dylan asked no one in particular while she continued to pace through the room.

"I wish we could ask Wilcox that question. She would know, right? Though if Lupe is involved, who knows what other teachers are too." Serafine countered.

Dylan threw her head back and groaned. "I DON'T KNOW! That's the problem. I can't imagine other teachers allowing this. I don't even know where Teowulf stands now. He is MATED to the enemy. How the hell do we know who a hero is and who is a villain?"

You are a hero, love. Jackson said through their bond.

The feeling of their arms wrapped around her through their bond helped settle her and her wolf down. Jackson pushed his confidence into Dylan as she thought that something to help them through this situation was more than she deserved. It wasn't like she spent her free time solving crimes. She had no idea where to even begin with this. She didn't trust a single teacher now, at least not a werewolf one. She hasn't exactly met the others to see if they would be a good resource to help her with this.

Could she trust another teacher? Wilcox knew about the magic that Shadowborns could wield within a pack bond. She might be a good person to talk to about this, though it would be a risk to ask any teacher anything right now. Lupe was a powerful werewolf—probably more dominant and powerful than the others because she was mated.

Ugh, this is a headache already.

Dylan sighed heavily. "If I ask a teacher anything about this, then I out myself for knowing what is going on with the students going missing and then killed. I can't really just give my position away. None of us can."

"So, what do we even know?" Serafine questioned. "I feel like we need to write this all down just to keep things straight."

Hunter shook his head. "Absolutely not. We don't need any evidence that we know about this."

Jackson nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I agree with that."

Serafine was on one of the chairs, while Jackson and Hunter were sitting on either side of the bed. Dylan flopped herself on the bed, facedown, making herself in between the guys. She wanted to punch something. The nervous energy building inside her only agitated her wolf. It was difficult to keep the beast calm inside of her when she wasn't even calm.

She rolled on the bed until she was face up. "We know Cole has a secret room under the library where he can complete whatever weird thing he is doing to these students. While there, he drills into the back of their neck and then uses the magic he possesses while touching their head. I don't know what that is doing since he chants in another language that I don't recognize. When he doesn't get the results he wants, he drills further. I assume he is getting close enough to the spine to access its fluids that connect to the nervous system or something, but I can't be sure. The place he drills into is right where the skull connects to the spine, too."

Hunter took over. "Then we know that Lupe knows about all of this. He met with her in her office and asked her to lend him her magic, to which she said no, and she is aware of everything that has happened and has done jack shit to stop it."

"Then we know that she is a Shadowborn that has unlocked more abilities than any other Shadowborn has. Lupe is also not to be trusted since she is okay with telling someone who has killed other students who is a Shadowborn to look into." Jackson finished.

Serafine chuckled. "I'd love to see Cole try to kidnap you. You are mated to two ranking wolves, one of which was trained to be an assassin for our kind. Then you are more dominant and powerful than most of the wolves here."

"Doesn't mean he can't get to me. That is the crazy part of a teacher being involved. I am not even safe in the damn classrooms. Lupe is strong enough to hold Jackson and Hunter in place while he takes me if they really want to."

The humor that went through the mate bond from Hunter had Dylan turning herself to peer at him. When he noticed her looking his way, he flashed her a grin. "Not necessarily, love. They would assume they have us beat in that department. But we are a pack with just us three. You are an Alpha, I am an Alpha, and Jackson is a Beta. In our small pack, that is a lot of power and dominance. It can quickly be turned to our advantage since it is three against two in Lupe's case. Unless she is mated to another that we don't know about."

Dylan found that suggestion to be hilarious. Something about Lupe having multiple mates just didn't seem like a possibility. The way she carried herself and even talked to her about mates had put Lupe in the "Doesn't have more than one mate" pile in Dylan's mind. Dylan pictured Lupe in her mind, especially when they were sparring. Dylan focused on her neck and recalled only seeing one mate mark. If there were multiple mates, they could not mark in the same spot, or the magic that bound the wolves together would not work, leaving an incomplete bond in both wolves. That would drive both wolves mad.

Isn't Lupe going mad, though? She is conspiring with students and allowing the deaths of those students to stay in her hands. Blood on your hands is not a good look for an academy professor.

"Lupe only has one mark and told me she only has one. I can smell lies. She didn't lie to me when she said that."

Hunter made a face. "Unless a wolf marked her in the same place as Teowulf."

Dylan shook her head. "Even Teowulf wouldn't be able to conceal his descent into going feral while an incomplete bond is there. Jackson was so ticked off of everyone male around me when your bond was just forming. Teowulf is too put together to have his mate walking around other males."

"Valid point."

"Okay, so Dylan would technically outrank her now in dominance and power because of you two?" Serafine pointed at the two men.

Dylan nodded. "In theory, but we aren't completely sure. I'd have to challenge her to know. I don't think I want to do that. Those abilities of hers make her terrifying to fight against. I can see why people fear my kind."

Serafine winced. "I guess that is a reason to fear your kind. But... are you able to do the things she can? If Lupe is the only person we know that can do those things, are we sure every Shadowborn is even capable of those things?"

Dylan shrugged. "I've asked about the things we can do and researched it a ton through our archives at home. I've never heard of someone my age doing things like she can. Maybe she is a descendant of a witch."

"Doubtful. Hybrids aren't really common. In Shifters, yeah. Not across other species, though," Jackson included.

Serafine growled. "Well, that throws that theory out the window." Then she sunk into her chair in defeat.

"We still don't even have a clue as to what Cole is doing. What is he looking for, and why can only Shadowborns help him with it? He killed two that weren't Shadowborns, though, so I don't know he did that," Jackson said.

Something in Jackson's words unlocked a thought in Dylan's mind. Cole wanted Shadowborns but killed two students who were not. Did Hazel and Gianna say they were after the full moon party because Dylan's reputation was becoming the talk of the school being stronger? That wouldn't make much sense since they despised her kind. Could Cole have dug through their family line and found diluted Shadowborn blood in their lineage?

Dylan was as strong as she was due to being from a long line of Shadowborn Alphas. Even diluted Shadowborns were known to have a Shadow Wolf if they happened to connect with another Shadowborn. Diluted blood meant the possibility was there and most likely would activate when they ended up mated to a Shadowborn. Dylan wasn't sure if Hazel and Gianna were in that small group. She wouldn't be surprised since there were a lot of things she didn't expect to happen here at the academy, like learning about more abilities she could have or ending up mated to two new mates. If Hazel and Gianna were diluted Shadowborns, that could be why Cole used them for his experiment. She had no idea why he would want them out of all the other students if they weren't.

" Maybe Hazel and Gianna were diluted Shadowborns. If that were the case, that would mean they had some shadow-born magic in their blood that could siphon. That is the only logical explanation I can come up with as to why he went after them and not directly after me. During the full moon run, he learned that I was a Shadowborn. If he is looking for people of my kind to do that, then it would explain why he is taking other students instead of me. Diluted would have magic but not power. I have all the power and magic of a Shadowborn, making me a harder person to attack. Especially with me already mated."

All three of their eyebrows were raised. This may have been something they didn't know about her kind. "If someone has Shadowborn blood somewhere in their lineage, then it is a higher chance they are mated to a Shadowborn and could have that blood amplified enough to unlock their Shadow Wolf."

Hunter smirked. "That explains why I had to eliminate a few people who had a similar power to you but were reported to be regular werewolves."

Dylan nodded. "Yeah. It isn't as uncommon as people think. Our numbers weren't always this small. There were just as many of us as normal wolves. There were mixed packs, not just solely normal and solely Shadowborn. I've even noticed another uptick in people being mated in my pack to those that aren't Shadowborns. My friend has two mates that aren't of our kind. This means her children will have a Shadow Wolf, but there is a greater possibility in the rest of her direct line of not having one unless they are mated to Shadowborns. It gets complicated the further the generations go. If Hazel and Gianna were dormant Shadowborns, that could be why Cole wanted them. It still held the magic he was seeking. It even explains his comment of them not having the amount of magic he was looking for."

Jackson's face looked as though a lightbulb went off. "That is right! He did say that. I thought he was just talking about the magic all of us have that helps with pack magic."

"Me too, until now," Dylan agreed.

Then, more of the conversation they overheard played through her mind. Dylan thought of lineage so much that the comment about threatening her family finally registered. Cole threatened to kill her family to make her agree to whatever he was planning. Would Cole go that far? He had to know that with her being an Alpha, there would be no contest. The thought of her family being threatened would do her in, and she would fold. Her family and pack were everything to her. She was to take over the pack when her father stepped down. That was her pack to rule, and she felt honored to know she was the heir who would take over. It was her people to love, rule, and guide. No one else's.

"Cole threatened my pack. He is going to come after me. When he does, and I try to fight, he will threaten my pack. I don't know if he has the means to get to my pack, but I sure as hell don't want to find out."

Hunter and Jackson growled. She felt through the bonds how they were getting possessive over her pack even though they didn't meet anyone inside of it outside of her. They felt the same way she did about her pack. It was theirs to defend, love, guide, and rule. The mere thought of someone threatening their people was sending their wolves into an explosive rage.

"Maybe I should go back home. Who gives a fuck if the rules state that I have to finish my classes. It makes no sense to me why I should sit here and allow someone to threaten my pack in my family possibly. If I remove myself from the equation, then there's no possibility of them being able to go through with that plan. If I am not here, then they cannot connect with me or threaten my pack family!"

Serafine violently shook her head. " No, that's an awful idea, Dylan. If you run to your family now, then they may follow you anyway. Who knows, maybe Lupe could enlist the rest of the school to drag you back here and have you in handcuffs to just deliver you to Cole!"

Dylan snarled at that thought. Her friend made a good point. If she ran away and Lupe came to bring her back, Cole would have had the greatest opportunity to capture her. Those staying here weren't much of a difference either. Here, she would be a sitting duck and waiting for him to seize the moment to capture her. At home, she would have her entire pack at her disposal to fight back. They would believe her as she told them that a crazed wolf was trying to kidnap her because of her being a Shadowborn. That was something common for their kind because they were so hated. They only talked to other packs that were okay with Shadowborn still existing. It still did not make sense to her why other packs believed her kind had been eradicated from the world. That was a problem to address later. It could be a tactic that would keep packs like hers alive, or it could be someone like Lupe keeping secrets to herself so she could feed people of her kind to Cole for this plan of his.

"Going home would mean I had my entire pack behind me. Here, I just have my two mates to keep me safe. At home, I have much more at my command."

"No, my love. The problem is here. We should deal with it on our own instead of dragging your pack into something they may not be equipped to handle." Hunter was now standing and making his way to be before her. "I know it seems scary just to sit here and wait for Cole to attack, but the chances are higher for us to defeat this than going home. What if more people are a part of his group than we know about? What if those numbers are greater than your pack? That means not only would he have you to help him complete his plan, but he would have a whole pack of strong Shadowborns at his fingertips. If he needs more power to complete his plan, you going home would give him everything he is looking for to complete it."

Her mate made a valid point. But another nagging thought crossed her mind. What if Cole was already planning on going back to her pack? Since he knew that she was a strong wolf in hand and that she was the magic he was looking for, her pack would have more people for him. He would have more deep thought to complete his plan if he would just go to her pack and kidnap them. Lupe had all the information he needed to do that. Would they go that far to complete whatever it was that they were planning? She didn't know. They were crazy enough to kidnap students and kill them. So why wouldn't they be crazy enough to attack her pack?

"I don't know what to do. If I go home, I'd have my pack to help me defeat them if they would come. If I stay here, I will leave my family exposed. I can't send a letter to them right now. What if Lupe opened it because it was addressed to someone in my pack? She has information like that. She has everything to give Cole so he can go to my family. I couldn't live with myself if I knew they executed that plan. If I thought of it, I'm sure they could think of it too!"

Hunter pulled her onto his lap and sat on the floor with his arms wrapped around her. Dylan could feel her wolf growing more restless, urging her to fight this. It would be a better plan just to find Cole and eliminate him so the threat to her family would disappear. She buried her face in his neck and tried to allow his touch and scent to calm her. It wasn't working.

It wouldn't stop there, Luna. Cole has killed for his plan. We don't even know what it fully is, but just because we kill the head of the snake doesn't mean the body wouldn't survive. He has friends that are strong enough to survive without him. Lupe is one of them. Jackson said through their bond.

Dylan growled, I am caught between a rock and a hard place. If I stay here, I could get captured and killed. If I go home, they could follow me to my family and then have more people to complete this horrifying idea!

We won't let anything happen to you. We are right here, by your side, and will do everything we can to stop this madman from completing his mission.

Dylan wanted to believe him, but it was too hard to accept. Either way, she could lose this battle. It wasn't even a head-on fight yet, and she felt like she was already losing. That feeling felt like a hard rock had hit the bottom of her stomach. It wasn't like her to lose. Seeing as though she didn't have enough information to understand what was happening and why it only made it worse.

So, what can we do? She asked them both.

She felt the wicked grin on Hunter's face form, I think I got an idea.

This should be interesting.