Chapter 3
Vincent cursed out loud and took Mallory into his arms. She had passed out right in front of him, and even though she had said what was needed, he had to carry her up to her room. He didn’t know that her room was upstairs and accidently walked into the one that had the grandmother.
“What are you doing with Mallory?”
“I am taking her to her room. I will be back to give you your medicine.”
The older woman with narrowed green eyes looked at him for several moments. She was weighing his character, and he could see the beast in her eyes. She may look like a weak old woman, but Vincent would have bet that the old woman could have shifted and killed if she was so inclined.
“Looks like you gave her valerian.”
“I did. It will help with the rash.”
She nodded and pointed toward the stairs. “First one at the end of the hall. You’ll see it. She doesn’t listen to me. I tell her that she needs to take care of herself.”
He thanked her and moved up the stairs. The woman in his arms was light and felt good there. He was sure that it was because she wasn’t supposed to be there. Vincent had always known that he had a propensity for the things that he couldn’t have. For some reason, that’s what made him tick.
The room was right where the grandmother said it would be, and he was amazed at how different it looked than he would have imagined. It was pink walls and frilly bedsheets. It didn’t look like the room of an eighteen-year old dragon shifter. It looked like something else, lost in time from long ago. He didn’t know what to say or what to think.
As he set her down, he looked to the wall that was covered in books. It was clear that this woman had a lot of time on her hands, but he told himself that he wasn’t supposed to care. This was Balthazar’s mate. He was not supposed to be there. It was just inviting trouble. But where was her intending mate in her time of need? Why wasn’t he there to take care of her like he should have been?
Vincent went back downstairs and got the medicine that Mallory said was needed. He had promised that he would do it, and though he was supposed to hate her, he’d made a promise and intended to keep it. The old woman was happy to see him, sent him for a few things as well, and he left wondering what in the world he was even doing there. It felt wrong, and Vincent told himself that he was going to have to ignore it all. It was what he would do for any of his students…right?
***
Hand-to-hand training was set to start. It was one of Vincent’s favorite times, because he got to see what everyone was made of. They had learned to shift and shoot fire, learned to use their new forms to the fullest of their abilities, but they now had to train their other form. The human form was weaker but could cause just as much damage when used in the right way.
Vincent didn’t do most of the training. His assistant Nathan took over most of it, but there were several times that Vincent had to take over for the day. Vincent was preparing for another one of those days, and once he got to the subway terminal that was going to take him to one of his stores, he prepared himself mentally for what was to come.
After he got off, the greeter at the shopping mall waved to him and held the door open. Everyone knew Vincent and he tried to keep up appearances. To the human world, he was a rich and successful business owner. He owned half of London and most of the underground as well. It was all his for the taking.
Vincent felt ready for the day, once he’d walked through what was his. He took the elevator down from his office and it opened up at the threshold of the Academy. Humans didn’t see anything and wouldn’t be allowed off the elevator. For Vincent, though, he got off in the main hall and looked around. Students were bustling about.
The Shifter Academy was for shifters of all ages. They had some that were as young as two or three, all the way up to adults. Some were found later to have powers and never knew what they were, until they were forced to shift from an emotional spike. People got hurt, humans found out, and Vincent wanted to stop all of that from happening. The Academy was there to teach shifters how to navigate the world in a way that was safe for them, as well as the rest of their species.
What he hadn't realized when he got into his first class was that the seniors had decided to take a page out of the human’s playbook and had organized a skip day. Vincent was not aware of it and the only person in his class was obviously not aware of it, either.
“Mallory. Of course, it would be you.”
She looked at him a little confused, and he waved her off.
“Why didn't you skip like everybody else? You’re a senior, aren’t you?”
Mallory shrugged. “I figured that I needed all of the practice I could get since I couldn’t get anyone to help me out.”
It seemed like a pretty good answer, and Vincent decided that since the both of them were there, they might as well get something out of it. He told her to get dressed and they would start sparing.
“You want me to spar with you?”
She was incredulous. He could hear it in her voice.
“Are you afraid?”
Mallory said that she was and for some reason, that sort of honesty threw Vincent off a bit. He was so used to everyone puffing up their chest to make themselves look better. He wasn't used to the truth. How strange was that?
“There is nothing to be afraid of. I won't hurt you too badly.”
“Maybe I'm just worried about hurting an old man.”
