A smile touched my lips as the phone slid out of my grasp and I sank back into a dreamless sleep.
27
Raven
In the weeks since I’d arrived at Starfall Academy, my life had irrevocably changed. I’d gone from living on an isolated farm with only a few older witches for company to having a friend my own age and a possessive bear shifter determined to keep me safe.
The bear shifter watched me intently as we practiced defensive moves with a partner. Fortunately for me, my bear had assigned Glynda as my partner, so I was in no danger of losing a limb.
“What’s the point of learning this shit?” whined a witch whose name I didn’t know. “I can just use my magic if someone attacks me.”
My bear pinned her with an exasperated look.
“And what happens if, say, you can’t access your magic, hmm? How will you protect yourself then? Bore your attacker to death with a monologue?” Several people laughed while the witch flushed red.
“Shifters don’t have magic, so we already know how to fight in our animal forms,” a wolf shifter pointed out, flexing his muscles for the benefit of a few females watching. They all swooned, feeding his ego while I gagged.
“True,” Maverick conceded. “But what if you can’t access your animal because a mage has locked it down with magic? Do you know how to defend yourself without calling on your animal?”
The wolf puffed out his chest. “Of course.” He winked at the female wolf staring at him with heart-eyes.
“Okay, let’s have a demo of your fighting skills.” Everyone stopped pretending to practice their moves and shuffled toward the center of the room. My bear stepped onto the mat and waited for the wolf shifter to join him. The wolf was so busy preening and showing off for his legion of female fans that he hit the mat with an “oomph” before he even saw the attack coming.
“You’d be dead now if I were an assailant,” Maverick commented in a bored voice. “Never take your eyes off your attacker.” Several females swooned at the sight of my bear showing off his lethal moves while wearing a tight pair of shorts.
I fought to suppress my jealousy. Now wasn’t the time to let my magic out to play. Not after the damage I’d caused last time. The nasty letter I’d received from the school admin department had informed me yesterday I’d already accrued a demerit for the damage.
The wolf shifter coughed and dragged himself to his feet. Maverick hadn’t injured the wolf, but from the force of the punch followed by a roundhouse kick, he’d have a few bruises until his shifter healing kicked in.
The golden glow in the shifter’s eyes revealed his inner wolf was now pissed about being shown up in front of females. My bear obviously realized that too.
“If you shift, wolf, you’ll be running laps all night.” Maverick attacked again. This time, the wolf was ready, but it made no difference. The wolf was no match for the bear shifter. Our coach took him down with ease, incapacitating him in seconds.
“Dead again, wolf.” The wolf shifter growled but submitted.
Maverick jumped up and faced the rest of the class. “This is why we practice attack and defense without relying on magic or our shifted forms. Or any other defenses you have.” He shot a glance at the troll and merman. What defenses did those two have? I’d ask Glynda later. I bet she knew all about the islands’ species.
Maverick clapped his hands. “Get back into pairs and go through your moves again.” He turned his back on the wolf shifter, a clear sign of disrespect. The wolf shot to his feet, vicious claws fully extended from his fingertips. I tried to scream a warning, but my bear reacted so fast the wolf never saw him coming.
He pinned the wolf face down on the mat. Several students gasped as our coach sank his teeth into the wolf’s neck. All of us expected the bear to rip the wolf’s throat out. I knew from reading the student handbook that attacking a member of the faculty was grounds for that person to defend themselves to the death if necessary.
While killing a student wouldn’t look good on his résumé, Maverick would get away with it. There were too many witnesses to confirm the wolf attacked first.
To my surprise, Maverick bit deep but didn’t kill the wolf. Instead, he withdrew his fangs and sat back on his haunches, resting his weight on the wolf’s legs.
“Be aware of everything around you,” he told us in a steady voice. “Cowardly attackers may come at you from behind. If you listen hard, you’ll hear them. It’s easier for animal shifters, as we have superior hearing, but even witches and mages are capable of enhanced situational awareness if they have a familiar link.”
He threw me a subtle nod, and I frowned. Was he saying I could use my bond to Kenji to help defend myself? It made sense. Kenji would see and hear things I might not be aware of. Yes, he’d been a pain in myass so far, eating bacon in my bed and shedding white hair all over my uniform, but it was early days, and I had yet to learn the nitty-gritty of how the familiar-witch bond worked.
This afternoon would be my first Practical Magic lesson as a first-year student. I hoped the professor would help me with my familiar bond, but it all depended on whether Kenji could be bothered to show up. I wasn’t holding my breath on that score.
“Anson thought he could best me by taking me by surprise, but he forgot my animal works with me to keep us both safe. Just because I haven’t shifted does not mean my bear is asleep.”
The wolf shifter moaned as Maverick crushed his legs, making it more than clear who had won the fight for dominance. By the time Maverick stood, the wolf’s legs were black and blue.
“I can’t move,” he whined.
“Lie there and wait for your healing to kick in.”
