Sliding in silently, I found Jillian fighting against a black-cloaked figure. She was bleeding from a gash on her head, and blood was pouring down her face, while one of her arms was hanging down by her side.
“Stop! Let her go!” I screamed and jumped at the cloaked figure, but before I could land, Jillian waved her hand, and I was forcefully pushed back out of reach. What the hell? Changing into my cat form, I dodged around the debris and hit the cloaked figure in their side, causing them to stumble across the ground.
“Lynx, NO!” Jillian screamed at me just as a flash of blue light hit me and knocked me across the floor.
Chains materialized out of the air and wrapped around Jillian, immobilizing her. I tried to get up, to help her, but my legs weren’t working. I watched in horror as the cloaked figure walked over to me, making symbols with his hands as he whispered frantically. A ball of black webs formed and seared into my skin, spreading along my fur. I felt my body convulse, and I silently screamed as my lungs were paralyzed in heat. I noticed Jillian crying, but she was fighting against the chains that bound her. A blinding white heat screamed behind my eyes and into my head. The last thing I saw before everything went black was the cloaked figure walking over to Jillian.
Noooo!
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Do Shifters shit in the woods or just on me?
Rez
Igasp for air, and tears silently pour down my cheeks as I’m pushed back out of Lynx’s mind. Closing my eyes to block out the memories, I quickly wipe them away and look at Lynx, finding him hunched down and gagging. The noise draws Professor Girdwood’s attention, and he hurries towards my table.
I don’t have time to digest what I just witnessed or what that means for us. “Ah. Nerezza, I believe? Have you been able to connect to your Familiar?” He eyes me suspiciously.
“Y–Yes, sir,” I sputter out.
“Great, you’re the first one. So tell us. What color was the Soul Bond aura that you saw?” He asks, looking all too smug.
‘Tell him it was sparkly white,’Lynx wheezes out.
“It was white and sparkly, kinda,” I say, looking at the stout man. Yeah, take that.
“Hmm. It’s impressive. That’s the highest level there is. Most of the time, we get a dark blue, green, or purple. Let’s test out this link, shall we?” He gives me a pompous smile, still not believing me, “Just to make sure you are properly linked to your Familiar.”
He steps back and beckons me to follow him to the back of the classroom where there’s a small obstacle course and various items.
I shoot a look at Lynx.‘Thanks a lot, Lynx. You couldn’t have picked a different color?’
‘What? I’m not lying. At least that’s what I saw when you connected and jumped inside my head.’
Irritated, I follow Girdwood to the back and stand next to him while he gives Lynx and me a smile with all teeth. It doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies at all. I shouldn’t be made to stand out in front of everyone just because I did what he asked. I should be praised and left the fuck alone. I hate being singled out. It’s bad enough I was pulled here and singled out by my so called peers, but now this tweedle twat is doing the same.
He must like pageantry because he turns around to address the class as I awkwardly stand there. “Familiars have long been used as power cells for magic users. When we bond with our Familiars, we can store extra energy and borrow it during times of need. Those times can be anything from a power boost for a spell or a last stand with the enemy. A Soul Bond runs much deeper. You are connected thoroughly. Who here can tell me the benefits of a Soul Bond?”
A few hands raise, but Girdwood calls on the sandy blonde man in the front row with a monkey on his shoulder. “Heist?”
‘Heist? Either his parents are mobsters, or he was named after the action of his conception. Geez, Rez. Who names these people?’Lynx scoffs.
‘Beats me. I’m as lost as you here.’
“Yes, Professor. The first benefit is the ability to control your Familiar's actions and thoughts. The second allows us to hold more power between ourselves and our Familiars. Still, that one is a slowly gained ability. The third allows us to control other animals or Familiars depending on what type of Familiar we have bonded with. For example, if you had a wolf Alpha for a Familiar, you would control the beta and omegas in their pack. The fourth is being able to see through your Familiar's eyes, get inside their head somewhat. The fifth and most rare is controlling an animal that has no connection to your Familiar,” he says confidently before he pushes his bangs out of his hazel eyes.
I roll my eyes, and I’m grateful the professor can’t see me, but I forgot I’m facing the class, and they certainly don’t miss it. The looks I’m getting definitely don't endear me to their hearts.
“Since Miss Taylor here thinks she’s completed the Soul Bond, we will test that connection now,” my unholy professor announces. I don’t mind being tested, but why do I have to do it in front of the whole fucking class?
‘Lynx, I know we’ve just gone through some shit, but are you up for this? I promise you cuddles and belly rubs after,’I plead as I look down at my best friend and apparentlyMate. Holy shit, that’s a lot to swallow. What’s my motto again? Ah, yes—bury it down until you can find time to deal with it.
‘I’m going to hold you to that, Rezzi-Bear,’he laughs.
For the next ten minutes, Professor Dip Shit has me run Lynx through the obstacle course, picking up certain items and swapping them out or giving them to me or a member in the class. I feel like shit that he’s being used as a damn puppet. He’s definitely getting pampered after this.
“Very good, Nerezza,” he murmurs, squinting at me like he can’t figure out what just happened. “Now, I want to test your capabilities and see what you can do with another pet that wanders around the grounds here. Go ahead and have a seat until he arrives,” he says as he writes something down on a sheet of paper and tosses it up into the air in a green puff of smoke.
