I wake up to the fresh smell of pine. For a beautiful moment, everything is peaceful. I love sleeping outdoors, and waking up in the forest is wonderful. But then I feel a tingle of danger, as I catch the distinct scent of panthers close by. They’re quiet, moving slowly, which concerns me. If they were stomping around and talking, I’d know they’re not trying to sneak up on me.
I can’t shift quickly right after waking up, so I have to stay in my human form. I prop myself up on my elbows and stay alert to their movements. I can smell them coming closer…at least two of them, if not three. I’m in a small clearing, so they’ll have to reveal themselves before they get too near. But they could do some damage to me in my vulnerable state.
I curse myself for falling asleep without my pack nearby. I’ve been avoiding Tala and her endless dramatics, and Kaenan with his constant harping about “blending in.” But there’s power in numbers, especially for a shifter.
There’s a crunch of leaves, and I spot one of the panthers, dark brown, smaller than my wolf form, crouched behind one of the big evergreens to my right. They have the clear advantage, but I don’t think they’ll attack me so openly and so close to the school. I look at her directly, making it clear I can see her.
“Not very smart,” says a cool voice, right behind me. I spin around into a crouch. It’s the Alpha, in his human form, standing naked in the clearing. The other two shifters reveal themselves, in panther form, forming a triangle around me.
I realize I’m trapped and my heart starts to race. The scent coming off the lake must have masked the third panther. I raise my chin. Hiding my fear is as natural to me as breathing.
“Not very smart to attack a single shifter so close to the academy, and in broad daylight,” I reply, calmly. I stand to meet the third shifter’s gaze. The other two are in both of my blind spots, making me nervous. “What do you want?”
He comes close to me…too close, until he’s only an arm’s length away. I can see a long, pale raised scar along his bicep and shoulder. I don’t move a muscle. I’m outnumbered. All I have is my composure.
“You think that just because these witches let you into their magic school, you’re home free?” he snarls. It’s not a white-hot anger, but a frustration like low, burning coals. “I was there when your pack allied with the Houndsville wolves and attacked our stronghold in Arundel. We lost pack members in that battle and yet you’re roaming free in our woods.”
I have my own scars from that day, and do not regret them. There are no words that would address his anger. All I can do is return his gaze.
He moves toward me and I almost flinch, but he sidesteps and passes behind me.
“If we find you alone again, we’ll kill you,” he says, shifting back into a massive golden panther. He and his two packmates disappear into the woods.
I exhale. I’ll have to be more careful in the future. Maybe I should sleep indoors for a while. I wait until I’m slightly calmer, and shift into my wolf form. I take the long route back to the castle so I don’t run into the panthers again.
I shift back as I get to the entryway, and find my T-shirt and jeans under a bush. I start heading to Kaenan and Tala’s room, but then change my mind and go in the other direction, toward my own dorm room. I could use some downtime in my ownspace. I don’t want to be bothered by politics and arguments right now.
As I enter my room, I catch the strong smell of a witch’s familiar. And another smell, more powerful and difficult to place. It’s something otherworldly, mixed with a hint of cinnamon. I recognize it immediately as the smell from the witch I rescued. I’ve never smelled it before, but it’s what drew me to her in the first place. That’s when I found her being attacked by demonic spirits in the woods by the highway. She’s sitting at her desk, mulling over a black notebook. Doing something witchy, presumably.
“Oh! Hello,” she flusters, her cheeks turning red. I wonder if she’s always a little awkward, or if she’s uncomfortable around shifters. Sometimes witches are strange around us.
“Hello,” I respond.
“Um, we never got properly introduced before,” she stands. “I’m Magdalena Hall, but everyone calls me Maggie.”
She holds out her hand to shake. I take it. Shifters don’t shake hands as a greeting, but I’m familiar with the gesture. Her palm is soft and warm, and unexpectedly comfortable in my hand. The late afternoon sun hits our window fully, illuminating her deep red curls. She squints, wrinkling her nose in the glare. I have a strange feeling, unplaceable but welcoming, like the house of a relative you’ve never visited. It’s like the way she smells.
“Uh…what’s your name?” she asks, self-consciously.
“Oh. Rae Arun-” I pause, stiffening. “Just Rae.”
She must know all about my pack, of course, and the feud with the Hecate coven and the Cherry Creek panthers. Shifters take their last name from their land, and we’ve been exiled from our’s. Her mother is the Vice-Principal of Elmwood Academy. I’m sure she doesn’t want to associate with us.
With me.
She’s looking at me with a new expression, eyebrows furrowed, her pink-orange lips in a concerned frown. I feel a new sense of discomfort that I don’t like. I push it away. I’m used to not caring what anyone thinks, and I’m not going to start now.
I turn toward the door.
“Don’t go-” she says. “I mean, you only just got here.”
“I’ve got class,” I reply, closing the heavy wooden door behind me.
Maggie
My mother shows up suddenly in my dreams, holding a cellphone and looking at me with a severe expression.
“Magdalena, wake up, I need to talk to you.”
