He continued, “I am here today to remind everyone of the importance of mating. Danger lurks in the dark, and I am here to shine a light on it. This message goes to the prey shifters. As you all know, they hold a special place in my heart.”
Nix scoffed, and one of her mates squeezed her wrist. She felt her men tugging on her, but she was frozen, rooted in place, to listen to her adoptive father.
“You are here at this academy for one thing. To solidify a match before graduation. To learn how to please alphas, who are much stronger and faster than you.”
He told them, “I do not wish to scare you, but I know you all have heard the rumors about unmarried prey shiftersgraduating and going out into the world, only to be snatched up and met with gruesome fates.”
Like sexual slavery, or cold-blooded hunting games and murder. But Kellan worded it as if prey shifters being unmarried was the reason this happened—not because of sick and twisted alphas feeling “untouchable” by the rules.
“Continue taking your seats.” Kellan waved students forward. “I know there is an academy dance tonight. I urge you not to let your classmate’s death deter you from creating a match with an alpha tonight.”
He was using Sarasa’s death to scare the females into finding alpha “matches.”
Nix’s fists clenched at her sides so hard, her joints gentlypoppedfrom the pressure.
“Do not be weary. We will soon have her killer in custody.”
“Who?” someone shouted from a second-row seat.
Nix felt her mates pulling on her elbow and waist, trying to drag her to the back exit of the auditorium. Her mates were strong alphas. She somehow took another step forward, causing her men to jerk forward when their tugging on her failed.
“We brought the girl’s body to show you the burns on her skin—”
“Dragons!” a female shifter shrieked.
“Expel the dragons,” another student yelled.
Ryker stiffened beside Nix.
“Collar them!” another person shouted.
Nix gasped at the crowd’s suggestion to use a shifter collar. The bewitched piece of metal could prevent not only shifting, but healing. It reversed immortality. Wounds could be fatal; strength turned as weak as a human’s.
While the shifter wore it, a collar stripped the shifter of all paranormal abilities.
It was cruel.
“Calm down, everyone.” Kellan assured the crowd, “Continue taking your seats. You are safe at the academy now. We will be exploring permanent expulsions for all dragon shifters going forward.”
“For now, ask the gods for safety against such violent beasts. Look at your classmate—” Kellan heartlessly gestured to the corpse in the cart. “—and thank the gods for protecting you.”
A voice in Nix’s head asked,Protecting?
“I have heard that some…odd things have been occurring at the academy, and I came in person today to assure you all that the dean has it under control. We know that some of the alphas in this school believe the females have begun stepping out of their place.”
Stepping out of their place?
Nix ground her teeth and managed to take another step forward as her mates tugged on her from behind.
“How is she…so strong today?” Bael gritted under his breath.
Kellan added into the microphone, “I want to remind everyone that there is an order and hierarchy for a reason. We understand that tensions have risen between the prey and predator shifters, and I am here to remind everyone that the prey shifters are not here to threaten predators—not here to take classes away from them or opportunities of any kind.”
He said, “The prey shifters are only at the academy to cater to you all. To learn how to help you. How to please you.”
Please.
Because that is the only value they see in us.
