Page 40 of Zodiac Hybrids

Moments like these were that I most loved about being a teacher. Watching my students learn and grow and discover themselves was always endearing, and I liked feeling like I’d had some positive bearing on their lives.

I took another bite of rice and chicken and chewed slowly as that all set in.

Was I in any way a positive influence on Lila’s life? From the moment she arrived in my class, I’d done nothing but intimidate and threaten her. I’d hurt her, I’d taken her innocence, made her cry, and at least partially put her in dangerous association with my half-brother. On top of that, I’d only treated her harshly without ever giving her a chance. Maybe that wasn’t fair. She was a charming woman who loved both science and the stars, and it would be better if I at least offered her some kind of friendship. An olive branch didn’t mean I was going to date her, but I could be her mentor. So long as I avoided transformation, there was no reason I would have to act on our one sided bond. It was simply a safe guard to assure she wasn’t entirely under Marcus’ influence.

After all, she didn’t even know our world existed until last month, and I’d been terribly unfair in my assumptions. It was her parents who had truly wronged her by leaving her in the dark, but now that the secret was out, it would be better to give her the information she needed, rather than leave her permanently on her guard.

That all sounded good and rational, but she still seemed prone to getting her hopes up, and being much nicer likely wouldn’t have been interpreted in a platonic and mentor way. This was a difficult situation to be in for a lot of reasons, and I was at a loss as to what kind of relationship we could reasonably sustain, her knowing what she knows, and me knowing what I know.

Considering Marcus was still being his usual shady self, I was likely the only magical being of any kind that she’d ever met openly. The rest of the class had registered their species makeup with the school, so I knew there were only a couple shifters and fae among this lot of mostly human club members, but none of them would have revealed that to her, and the full moon wouldn’t do anything to those types of full blooded shifters.

So long as no mistakes were made, neither my beast nor Marcus’ would be a problem tonight either. If it meant putting him in a headlock and knocking him the fuck out, I’d assure he stayed in his lane. She deserved to enjoy her first semester of college. Not live in constant fear. I’d ruined this whole experience for her, and it was about time I apologized.

Give her a chance, I repeated to myself with calm resolve.

The full moon tugged at my emotions, but it had none of the strength of the Capricorn Moon for me. I’d be in control. While a nagging tightness in my chest wanted to interact with her, I didn’t have anything like that insatiable need to eat her alive like I’d felt last month. Though none of us had stepped into the moonlight yet, so I couldn’t say if this was a calm before the storm. She was the only one who genuinely believed that she was human, and not knowing what she actually was made it difficult to predict what would happen on any given month.

Still, even if her pheromones were amplified under the lunar power again, so long as I avoided my triggers, it would be possible to keep my mind and my beast in check. Tonight, I’d start building that trust and start building a more adult, acceptable relationship. That was the only way forward. Keep her at a distance but in a way that was less cruel. That hadn’t worked anyway, so no reason to perpetuate failed intimidation.

At the end of our meal, I took a deep breath and stepped outside into the night. I closed my eyes and let the warmth of raw, unfiltered moonlight wash through me. It pulsed through my blood, yet did nothing more than tingle beneath my skin. I could feel its power prickling through me without being flooded with more than I could handle, and I used slow, measured breathing to center that magic in my core.

Standing in the full moon without changing was rare for a half breed of the Zodiac. It was something only an Alpha could pull off, and even then, only in limited situations. Any slip, and the Devil’s magic would take me. I was thankful to have not been born a Beta, who would have no ability to keep control, even under another star sign’s moon. My Alpha status made me a hunter, while Betas were prey, and Omegas were treated as borderline breeding stock.

Though what was so curious about Lila, who could take on the mark of multiple shifters, was that even in her records, no alignment or species was listed. She’d said her mother had applied to get her in, so I would suspect she would know what her daughter was when she signed her up. Lila likely wouldn’t have been accepted without something more compelling than community college transcripts, even if her grades had been quite strong.

Perhaps tonight, I’d find out more.

Marcus walked on ahead to the hillside where I’d already set up the telescope. It overlooked the hot springs and offered a rare clearing in the trees. He said nothing to me when he passed, but I could see the way the moon was pulsing under his skin too. The light scent of sage wafted sweetly in the air, trailing his presence. It was only under the moonlight or in moments of intense emotion and aggression that he radiated noticeable warmth or an Alpha scent. Otherwise, his vampire traits seemed to be predominant.

I couldn’t say what my own Alpha scent smelled like. I couldn’t smell it myself, and no one had ever told me. An unfortunate result of having never had a relationship. I wondered if Lila had picked up on it on our last encounter.

I glanced over my shoulder as the rest of the class stepped out of the restaurant, one at a time. Linda was an Omega Armadillo shifter, full blooded and born in the far south. She was aglow with lunar power, and her pheromones smelled of sweet vanilla. I had no draw to a non-zodiac shifter, however, and even if I did, her opposing elemental alignment was enough to harsh any interest I could have for her, even in her month of Aquarius. She was a sweet girl, even if she knew entirely too well the power she held over men. Most Omegas I’d met either reveled in the way they could manipulate suitors, or came to fear the way they couldn’t hide from them during a heat. Fortunately for her, she seemed to have mastered the former. She wasn’t someone I had to worry about protecting on a night like this.

Evelyn stepped out next. She was Fae, from some line of water fairies. She wasn’t imprisoned by the rules of the stars or the shifters. Though she was still of the devil’s design, and she fit in well at Graves. Aiden and Daniel were human, as was Sadie, and Rachel was a Beta wolf shifter, who would likely be out for a run later. They all were full bred and in full control of their gifts. I envied the ease with which they existed. Something Marcus and I would never have.

The one and only thing I would always share with my brother was a hybrid’s burdens.

Lila followed behind them all. She stepped into the moonlight next, and my heart fucking stopped.

Apples and Cinnamon. Lila was a warm apple pie on a winter day, and my breath was arrested in my chest as I took it all in. We hadn’t completed the mating bond, so I shouldn’t have been drawn to her so strongly, but I was thankful for the marks beneath her makeup that dampened her scent to other potential mates. I hadn’t noticed her natural spice on a normal day—maybe because she’d been sporting Marcus’ scar—but even on our initial encounter, her pheromones had been vague and alluring, with no clear scent. So what was different now? Was this because I’d marked her? No, I hadn’t smelled it earlier so that wouldn’t be enough. The full moon was the only explanation.

Her baiting scent was so intense, I might have thought she’d just shifted before my eyes, if not for the fact that she hadn’t physically changed from what I could tell. Could she be a Zodiac Shifter? A Virgo wouldn’t have much of a physical change, I’d assumed. I’d never personally seen a Virgo Shifter in form, so it was difficult to say. But if she was a Zodiac Shifter of the Virgo order, she would have to initiate the shift herself on a night like tonight. If she was a half breed, she’d have to be triggered just like Marcus and I.

Which was it?

The only respite I had was that our marks prevented anyone else in class from smelling that blatant, taunting fragrance on her. In a way, she was protected from predators now.

Other than the two predators who already had their sights on her.

I cleared my throat and focused on the telescope, trying to ignore the intense craving for apple fritters that was gnawing at my mind. Any question as to her human status was completely gone now. No human had a shifter scent. Neither did Fae or Vampires or Golems. There was at least a portion of her that was just like me. I only had to wonder how much.

“Let’s get started.” I said, to force my focus on anything but her. “Who knows how to find the North Star?”

Chapter 24

I didn’t even like apple pie, and yet it was all I could think about as Adrian started prattling on about Sadalsuud and Sadalmelik, the Beta and Alpha stars in the Aquarius constellation. You couldn’t even see the constellation of Aquarius this time of year, and the lesson seemed irrelevant when that perfect cinnamon heavy apple compote was bombarding my senses.

What the fuck. I’d not smelled anything like that last time she’d been under the moon. Why did she suddenly have a baiting scent? What had brought upon this sudden flaunting of pheromones, so shamelessly under the night sky? She wasn’t an Aquarius, so she hadn’t transformed into the most subtle of shifters. There was no reason this month should have been special. If she was a half breed animal shifter, she would currently be an animal right now. If she was a half Zodiac Shifter like me, she wouldn’t be forced to shift this month. If she was a full breed, she would have to initiate her shift, which she obviously had no clue how to do.