Kane's Fate Chapter 2

I regained control of my body just before I crashed into the much smaller people ahead of me. A low growl rumbled in my chest as I whirled around to see who had pushed me, and my gaze fell on a guy I assumed was a fellow student.

He looked about the same age as me, and his short black hair was smoothed back from his face with copious amounts of a sickly sweet-smelling gel. He wore name-brand clothes I could have never hoped to afford, and his nose was so high in the air I wasn’t sure how he could tell where he was going. Two older men walked on either side of him, and they did their best to part the students like the Red Sea for the asshole in the middle to make his way through.

“Out of the way, meathead,” one of the men grunted as I eyed the black-haired student with another quiet growl.

“Go around, asshat,” I shot back and clenched my fists at my sides. “Manners exist here, too, you know.”

My heart slammed against my ribcage as the young man, who was obviously the leader of this little posse, looked me in the eye, and I felt the slightest glimmer of recognition before he turned away and laughed.

“That one isn’t worth our time,” he said to his companions, and he waved them past me before he glanced over his shoulder. “Probably can’t even control his magic yet.”

“I don’t need to,” I replied through gritted teeth, and I started to follow him when a soft but firm grip took hold on my bicep.

“He’s not worth it, man,” a male voice advised. “Just let it go.”

I turned around to see another twenty-something dude in ripped jeans, a faded Nirvana t-shirt, and a pair of Chuck Taylors that looked like they’d seen better days. One of his ears was covered in piercings, and the other had an industrial bar shaped like a screw. His auburn hair was shaved on the sides with a longer section in the middle that flopped down over one eye, and he shoved this part back and then reached out his hand.

“Auden,” he introduced himself with a grin. “You must be the guy from Colorado. I heard we had a transplant in our class.”

“Kane,” I said as we shook hands. “Yeah, I feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t know everybody.”

“Nah, I don’t know everyone here, either.” Auden shook his head and looked around. “Some of us just went to the same high school over in San Francisco, which is how I know Seth.”

“Is that the douchebag with the entourage?” I asked with a thumb over my shoulder.

“That’s him,” Auden chuckled. “He’s got money, in case you couldn’t tell, so he thinks he’s the best thing to happen to this world since Betty White. She’s a lot cooler than him, though.”

“I don’t think that takes much,” I scoffed. “So, what do you know about Meloria?”

“Same as you, I guess,” he said with a shrug as we started to follow the rest of the small crowd. “I activated, so I have to come here to figure out what the hell I do with this magic.”

“Sounds about right,” I laughed. “What kind of—”

“I’m a pusher,” Auden answered and then grinned at my clueless expression. “I’m telekinetic, bro. I can push things around. I’m not that great at it yet, but my dad can push some big stuff. That’s why he works construction for the Concurem’s engineering team.”

“That’s badass,” I said. “My dad is MMDS, and my mom writes for the Radar.”

“And they’re shifters?” He raised a confused eyebrow. “Seems like weird jobs for shifters. You take an animal form, right? I don’t know a lot about the other categories, but I’ve picked up a few things from the guys at my dad’s job.”

“Oh, well, they’re charmers,” I explained after a brief hesitation. “Spells and all that. I don’t know why I’m different. My brother’s a charmer, too.”

I wasn’t sure why I was comfortable spilling my guts to this guy I’d met only minutes earlier, but my instincts didn’t flare up like they had with Seth. I felt like Auden and I had known each other for ages already, but I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was my instincts, or maybe I was just pumped to have a friend in the magical world to talk to. All my buddies back in Durango were human, and I hadn’t been able to tell them anything about my family magic issues. I’d even used the same story my mom had come up with for my boss about my aunt’s death and needing to take care of her estate to explain my sudden, long-term disappearance.

“That’s weird, dude,” Auden said and pursed his lips. “All my family are pushers, so it wasn’t any surprise when I activated.”

“Yeah, we definitely had the surprise part in spades,” I muttered.

“Maybe we’ll learn about it in class,” he offered with a smile. “What kind of animal do you turn into anyway?”

“A white tiger.”

“That’s so fucking badass,” he gasped as he shook his head. “I can’t believe it.”

“Wait, why?” I wondered.

He opened his mouth to reply when he was interrupted by a woman’s voice, and it echoed between the brick buildings as we entered the campus.

“Welcome, Meloria students!” she announced through a bullhorn. “Please, come this way, into the Medius.”

The woman stood at the top of a short set of stairs that led into the central building at least four stories tall with large glass windows. Rose bushes lined the outside of the building, and Auden and I followed the other students up the stairs to the inside.

“Holy shit,” Auden breathed.

While the exterior had been plain but freshened up, the inside of the building looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Security officers scanned each student with a small tablet before they were allowed to enter, and dozens of gadgets, magical potions, and plants covered the walls around us. Upon closer inspection, I realized the plants weren’t still, either. In fact, they shifted with us as we shuffled in line to have our retinas and palms scanned.

“Turner, Kane,” the tablet declared. “Activation confirmed.”

“Go ahead,” the security guard said with a nod.

“Smithson, Auden,” the mechanical voice intoned. “Activation confirmed.”

“Looks like we’re the real deal,” Auden joked as he caught up with me.

We walked past a long hallway that extended on either side and then through a set of double doors into a large atrium. I could see the other three floors around us, but the ceiling in this room spanned the entire height of the building. Tables and chairs were scattered around the space, and a cafeteria-style bar took up the entire back wall.

The smell of tomato sauce and meat instantly filled my nose, and I inhaled what I hoped was the scent of lunch. I hadn’t eaten since dinner last night, and I had no qualms about eating cafeteria food.

“Find a seat wherever you like,” the woman called out over the din of arriving students. “Anywhere is fine.”

After a few minutes, everyone seemed to have found their seats, and the excited chatter had quieted to whispers. Then a few adults entered the room behind us, and they spread out around the tables with cautious eyes on the students.

“Do you know who she is?” I asked Auden in a soft voice, and I gestured to the woman with the bullhorn.

“I can’t be sure, but I think--” he started.

“Good morning, Meloria students,” the woman said and cut him off. “My name is Elaine Canmore, and I’m the dean of the Meloria Academy. I will oversee your professors, classes, sporting events, and any other happenings on my campus. We have twenty-eight new students this year, and you will be learning alongside magical persons of your same type of power.”

“Damn, so we won’t be in any of the same classes?” I whispered.

“I don’t know.” Auden frowned and shook his head. “I don’t even know any other pushers.”

“Learning with similar students has always been a fruitful way of providing the best education for our students, which is the most important part of this academy,” Ms. Canmore continued. “With that said, I understand most of you do not know the types of magic that surround you right now. You’ll be learning the most about yours, but we will teach you about others here as well. First, we have seers.”

One of the adults walked toward the front of the room and stood next to the dean. She was an older woman, maybe in her late sixties, with long gray hair and a tie-dyed shirt, and I got a strong Woodstock vibe as she waved to the students.

“Seers are able to access visions of the future,” the dean said. “You will be with Mrs. Noble.”

“Just call me Wendy,” the hippie teacher added with a grin.

“Of course,” Ms. Canmore said and nodded to another teacher. “Mr. Danforth is the professor for our projectors.”

Suddenly, said professor’s eyes glazed over, and a ghostly version of his body burst forward and glided over to the dean with a reckless smile while most of the students gasped with surprise.

“Astral projection.” The professor did a quick bow as we all looked at each other with wide eyes.

“Thank you, Tom,” Ms. Canmore chuckled and shooed his ethereal form back to his body. “Next, there are charmers, who are the quintessential magical person. They can cast spells and create potions, and they will be led by Victoria Knight.”

A long-legged woman strode to the front of the room and offered a half-hearted wave to her future students before she turned on her stiletto heel and walked back to the wall with her arms crossed over her ample chest. She looked like a super model, but her attitude made me grateful to miss out on being a charmer.

“Moving on,” the dean said with a grimace. “Pushers have telekinetic ability, and your professor is Hudson Schultz.”

The man who jogged up to the dean looked hardly a year older than we did. He had neon green hair with punky spikes and wore black jeans and a Guns n Roses shirt.

“Yo!” He held up his hand in a rock-on sign, and everyone laughed when Ms. Canmore shook her head as he stepped back down.

“Connectors are our empaths,” the dean continued. “Your professor, Sophia Green, will be here in the morning. We also have our naturalists, who have the ability to use elemental magic from earth, air, wind, and fire. You will be led by Bradley Stone.”

A serious-looking gentleman in his forties straightened his tie as he strode to the front of the room and bowed to the students.

“Finally, we have our shifters,” Ms. Canmore said and looked around the room. “They are able to transform between a human form and an animal form. Your professor is Renzo Pearson. Mr. Pearson, can you come up here?”

“Ah, Mr. Pearson isn’t here,” Wendy replied as she tapped her fingers on her temple. “He’s doing some research.”

“I see.” The dean took in a deep breath and refreshed her wide smile. “I’m sure you’ll meet him later on then. Now, a few rules about the campus. When there is class the next morning, we have an evening curfew of ten PM. All students are expected to be in their dorms by that time each night. No magic is to be performed off school grounds, though you are allowed to go into Linsville during your free time. Do not, under any circumstances, bring a human onto the campus. Meloria has stayed out of the human world’s eye for generations, and anyone who jeopardizes that puts us all at risk.”

I glanced around the room, but no one batted an eye at the dean’s rules. I’d never really considered why we kept our existence a secret before, and it didn’t look like this would be the time or place to start.

“At the end of the semester, we will be holding our annual Bellator competition,” she continued. “The Bellator will require a conglomeration of tools and skills you will learn in your classes, including physical, magical, and intellectual stages. Everyone will compete in the Bellator, and the victor will be given a special status for the second semester.”

“Might as well give me the crown now,” Seth snickered from a few tables away.

“Don’t count your chickens before they hatch, Mr. Weaver,” Ms. Canmore chided him. “I have a feeling this year’s Bellator will be unlike any other.”

A few of the students started whispering to each other as Seth sat back in his chair with a small pout on his arrogant face.

“We’ll see,” he muttered, though I wasn’t sure if anyone else heard him.

It seemed we had some sort of connection that tuned me into his frequency, even if I didn’t particularly give a shit to hear it. I wasn’t sure why, and I decided I’d have to figure out a way to get rid of it.

I had no reason to be friends with that asshole.

I tore my gaze from Seth as Ms. Canmore raised her hands to silence the room again.

“We’ll be showing you to your dorms now, which are also divided by your category,” she said. “Wendy, please take the seers.”

Three students rose from their seats and followed the hippie woman out of the cafeteria toward the dorms. Next, Stone led four naturalists out the door, and Ms. Knight took a surprising six charmers with her. Then Auden followed Hudson and three other pushers, while Danforth guided three projectors outside.

“Hudson, go ahead and take the shifters with you,” Ms. Canmore called out. “Since their dorm is so close. I’ll take the connectors.”

“You got it, Ms. C.!” the young telekinetic professor agreed as he waved us over.

But my relief at staying with my only friend was quickly dashed when I saw Seth rise from his chair, too.

“He’s a shifter, too?” I groaned.

“Looks like it.” Auden grimaced and patted me on the shoulder. “Sorry, buddy. Hopefully, you won’t have to share a room.”

“Oh, God,” I muttered as we followed Hudson out into the bright afternoon.

“Alright, fellow pushers and, uh, shifters, I guess,” the professor chuckled. “You have officially seen the Medius, which is where you’ll find your professors’ offices, the cafeteria, the bookstore, and the general store. Surrounding the Medius are the dorms for each class of magic, as well as the professor dorms over there. A few of the teacher assistants also stay in those dorms. On the south side of the Medius is the quad, and sometimes the whole campus meets there for announcements and stuff. Past the quad, you’ll find the classroom building.”

“Is it easy to find our classes?” a pusher girl asked with a worried look on her pretty face.

“For sure,” Hudson confirmed. “First years are on the first floor, next year you’ll move up, and so on and so forth. Anyway, the rooms are numbered, and your schedule will be delivered to your dorm room by tonight.”

“Do we have roommates?” I wondered with a sideways glance at Seth, who was whispering with another shifter.

“Nah, you get a room to yourself,” Hudson said. “Next to the classrooms is the sports field. There are a few teams you can join in your second year, but the only things you’ll really be doing there this year are training and the Bellator. And we have arrived!”

We stopped and looked up to see a three-story building about a quarter of the size of the Medius. A few Latin words were carved into the stone above the door, but I had no idea what it said.

“Inter mutanda constantia,” Hudson said and pointed to the lettering. “Steadfast in the midst of change. Pretty cool phrase for shifters, right?”

“Yeah,” I agreed with a nod. “Pretty cool.”

“Alright, go unpack and organize and all that jazz, and everyone will meet back in the cafeteria at five to eat,” he advised. “See you then!”

With that, the young professor skipped over toward the building next to ours with Auden and the other pushers in tow, and I offered my new friend a solemn wave and waited until the rest of my fellow shifters had walked inside.

Then I took a deep breath and followed them in.

Just like the Medius, our dorm was technologically high-class. The shared living room had three large black leather couches around an electric fireplace, a huge smart TV hung on the wall above it, and about a third of the room was devoted to a gathering of desks with a few bookshelves on the wall.

The five of us walked around in awed silence as we examined the fancy kitchenette with its high-tech espresso machine and touch-screen fridge, and the cabinets were filled with dishes, snacks, and a few microwave meals. It was about a thousand times better than my dorm at CMC, and I hadn’t even seen my room yet.

The others continued to check out the shared space while I walked down the hallway to see six open doors. Each door had an electronic panel on the wall next to it, and the outline of a hand was featured on the screen. I gently pressed my hand into the outline, and the screen lit up as it scanned me from palm to fingertip.

“Turner, Kane,” it said in a mechanical voice. “Room secure.”

“Guess this one is mine,” I said to myself as I walked inside.

A full-size bed with a black blanket was parked in the corner, and a simple desk with a lamp sat directly across from it. A smaller smart TV hung from the wall opposite the window, which gave me a garden-level view of the Medius, quad, and the edge of the pusher dorm. A small closet and bathroom combo was tucked away in the corner, and I was relieved I didn’t have to share that with my fellow shifters.

“I didn’t see anything for special geriatric diets in the kitchen, Turner,” a voice sneered from the doorway.

I turned around to see Seth with his arms crossed over his chest and a wicked grin on his face.

“Why would I care about that?” I asked.

“I heard you just activated,” he said and glanced over at the other shifters. “A bit of a late bloomer, huh?”

“Barely,” I shot back with an eye roll. “Go find someone else to talk shit to, Seth.”

“Oh, that’s right, you don’t know how to shift and fight me yet,” he laughed. “Guess you’ll just have to deal with me then, huh?”

“You think I need to shift to fight you?” I took a step toward him and watched the hairs on his arms stand up.

“Boys, boys, all that alpha male shit is unnecessary,” one of the other shifters cut in with a high-pitched giggle. “Seth, you still have to pick a room, so go on now.”

Seth looked over at the girl and narrowed his eyes before he stalked down the hall to find his own room. Then the shifter girl walked into view and leaned against the doorway.

She was small, maybe five-foot-two and a hundred pounds soaking wet, but her large breasts added at least another twenty pounds. And she knew what her assets were. The tank top she wore was skintight and dipped into a low V to reveal plenty of cleavage, which left hardly anything to the imagination, and her Daisy Duke jean shorts hung on her hips and exposed a two-inch gap of flat caramel-colored abs. Her dark hair was twisted into cornrows that fell down her back, and her bright green eyes watched with amusement as I looked her over.

“See something you like?” she asked after she licked her full lips.

“I, uh, y-yeahhhh,” I stammered and cleared my throat. “I mean, thanks for getting Seth off my back.”

“He’s a prick,” she replied with a shrug, and then she walked into my room and plopped onto the bed. “I’m Demi Finch.”

“Kane Turner,” I said.

“It’s nice to meet you, Kane,” Demi cooed as she looked me up and down. “Do you work out? I heard there’s a gym in Linsville. I’d love to be your workout partner.”

“Uh, no,” I said and dropped my duffle bag on the floor next to the closet. “I got all these muscles when I activated.”

“Nerd turned sexy stud?” She raised her eyebrow.

“I guess that’s accurate,” I laughed. “I mean… I got all big after… yeah. Sooo… Do you, um, need help with your bags or anything?”

“Hot and a gentleman?” Demi giggled as she rose from the bed. “What a nice change of pace. No, sweet thing, I do not, but thank you. I’ll let you get unpacked. See you for dinner?”

“Yeah, uh, sure,” I agreed. “See ya.”

Demi sauntered out of my room, and my gaze dropped to her well-rounded ass that peeked out from below her short shorts. She knew she was smoking hot, and she flaunted it well.

I had to shake my head to focus on the task at hand, and then I unpacked my charger and plugged in my phone. It had been dead since I passed out on the plane, and I knew my mom would be freaking out if I didn’t tell her I made it here alive, no thanks to the hired driver.

As the phone lit up with power, the repetitive dinging of incoming text messages sounded like a whole new song.

Did you make it?

Hello?

I will drive down there myself.

Dad said I have to give you 24 hours, but that’s it.

I’m about to report you missing.

I laughed as I punched in a response to my mother.

Sorry, phone died on the plane. Made it to my dorm. I’m unpacking now, then I’ll call you.

Her reply was almost immediate.

You better.

I shook my head and set my phone down to finish charging while I hung up my shirts and folded the rest of my clothes. I tossed the spare pair of shoes into the closet just as someone knocked on my door, and before I could respond, Demi burst into the room with a grin.

“Hey, Kane!” she squeaked. “I just wanted to introduce you to the only other girl in our dorm.”

Demi made a dramatic pouty face before she yanked another girl into my room. Her friend was a few inches taller with long blonde hair that hung in loose curls next to her freckled face. She tucked a strand behind her ear as she looked up at me with dark blue eyes, and she smiled to reveal a small dimple on her cheek.

“Madison,” she said in a soft voice. “I think it’s really cool you aren’t scared of Seth. A lot of people are.”

“He’s just a bully.” I shrugged. “I’ve dealt with them my whole life.”

“I find that hard to believe,” Madison murmured as she eyed my large biceps.

“I have a big brother who is a bit of an ass.”

“You mean, a donkey shifter?” Demi laughed.

“Naw,” I chuckled. “He’s a charmer.”

“I bet you could knock a bully out with a single punch,” Madison said as her eyes lingered on my bicep.

“Uh, maybe,” I said and offered a half-smile. “Never tried it.”

“They were all probably scared of you,” she continued in a breathy voice while Demi rolled her eyes from behind.

“Not exactly,” I chuckled. “I wasn’t always this, um, size.”

“And he doesn’t even work out,” Demi added with a smirk. “He’s one of those nice guy late bloomers.”

“Oh, nice,” Madison breathed. “Do you want to walk with us to the cafeteria? It’s almost time for dinner.”

“Uh, sure, I’m just going to call my mom,” I said and then mentally smacked myself.

Nothing like making sure you sound like a mama’s boy on day one.

“Oh, my God, that’s so sweet!” Demi gushed as she grabbed Madison’s arm. “We’ll wait for you in the common room!”

They pulled the door shut behind them and giggled their way down the hall to the common room while I scratched my head in confusion.

I’d never in my twenty-two years of life had women giggle and fawn over me the way these female shifters were, and I had no idea how to handle the attention, so I decided to ask Auden what else he knew about shifters and why he’d been so surprised about my animal form.

For now, I needed to check in with my mom before she had a coronary, so I tossed the rest of my clothes into the dresser drawers and pulled my phone off the charger.

It seemed like she picked up the moment I tapped her name.

“Well, thank God,” Mom sighed. “I was so worried! You can’t do that to me, Kane!”

“Sorry, my phone was dead, and I was too busy worrying for my life to charge it in the car,” I said with a grimace. “Who picked that driver anyway? He was a maniac.”

“Oh, you must have had Perry,” my dad chuckled in the background. “He’s a spitfire, but he’s one hell of a charmer.”

“He must have put some kind of protection spell on the car,” I muttered. “I don’t think we would have survived otherwise.”

“Probably,” my mother agreed, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “So, have you made any friends yet?”

“Mom, I’ve been here for less than a day,” I reminded her. “I met a guy from the pusher dorm, but that’s it. Well, other than the shifters in my dorm, obviously.”

“Oh, a pusher.” Dad’s voice took on a tone I didn’t recognize. “That’s… nice.”

“He’s cool,” I said. “Anyway, we’re all about to go have dinner. I’ll text you before I go to bed.”

“Okay, honey, just be careful and listen to your professors!” Mom urged me in typical motherly fashion.

“Will do,” I replied with a laugh. “Love you, guys.”

“Love you, too, son,” she said.

We hung up, and I stepped into the bathroom to make sure I didn’t look like a wreck before I went to dinner. I still couldn’t get used to my bodybuilder muscles and towering height, but my pale blue eyes were just as strange to see.

I shook my head as I walked out of the bathroom, slipped my phone into my jeans pocket, and opened the door to the hallway. I could hear Demi and Madison whispering in the common room, so I pulled the door shut behind until I heard a click. I turned around to see the panel on the wall showed the picture of a lock, which then faded back into the hand outline.

Fancy.

I walked into the common room, and the girls jumped up from the couch to join me.

“Where did the other two go?” I asked as I glanced around the otherwise empty dorm.

“Seth and Vic?” Demi shrugged. “They left already. I think they already knew each other.”

“Yeah, Vic’s older brother is friends with Seth’s sister,” Madison confirmed.

“Okay, then just the three of us,” I said.

“Which is perfectly fine with us,” Demi purred as she looked at me.

A blush warmed my cheeks before I scuttled toward the door.

The two girls giggled and gossiped the whole walk to the Medius while I glanced around the campus. The dorm buildings all looked the same, though they each had their own phrase above the doors. I decided at some point, I’d take a look around and see what each of them were.

When we reached the cafeteria, I noticed Auden sat by himself at the same table we were at earlier. I didn’t like the idea of my new pal sitting alone, so I grabbed a tray, breezed through the line, and plopped down across from him.

“Um, Kane?” Demi looked at me with a slight waver of disapproval in her eyes. “Don’t you want to sit with us over there?”

“I’m just going to sit with Auden,” I said. “You’re welcome to join us.”

“That’s okay,” she replied and offered a half-smile.

Then she and Madison sashayed a few tables over, and I looked at Auden with an arched eyebrow.

“You know everyone thinks you’re supposed to hang out with your own magic class, right?” Auden chuckled.

“That’s dumb,” I muttered as I picked up my fork and cut off a hunk of cheesy lasagna. “We’re friends.”

“Yeah, we are,” he agreed. “Just don’t be surprised when people give us dirty looks for hanging out.”

“I’m not worried about them.” I shrugged and shoved the bite into my mouth.

The Italian-style entrée was delicious, and I continued to plow through my meal until the hairs on my neck stood up.

Someone was watching me.

I turned slightly to scan the room when my gaze settled on a pair of gray eyes. The girl blinked when she realized I’d seen her, but she didn’t look away. Her chestnut brown hair fell over her shoulders in waves, and her pink lips looked plump and inviting.

She finally turned away and joined in a conversation with the people at her table, and I realized there were actually quite a few more students in here now than there had been earlier. I looked around the room and wondered how our numbers had suddenly tripled.

“The second and third years are here, too,” Auden said when I turned back around and opened my mouth. “Including the super hot chick you were just ogling at.”

“I wasn’t ogling,” I scoffed and shoveled more lasagna in.

“Uh-huh,” he laughed. “Oh, there’s Ms. Canmore.”

The dean strode through the full cafeteria and made her way to the front of the room. Then she cleared her throat, and all the students silenced their conversations.

“Good evening, students,” she greeted us with a warm smile. “I hope everyone has found their dorms to be accommodating. I’ve asked a few of our professors to talk to you about the Bellator and how to prepare, so I expect the full attention of our first-years and a modicum of respect from our older classes.”

She dipped her head, and several professors I hadn’t seen yet joined her at the head of the cafeteria. I zoned in and out as they droned on for what seemed like hours, but I got the gist.

The Bellator would be comprised of four parts. The first would require magical skills, which made me a little anxious since I had no idea what magic I possessed besides shifting, and the second would need a combination of magic and physical strength. Based on my new muscles, I had the physical strength, but I was still clueless on the magical stuff. Next would be some kind of intellectual stage, though the professors didn’t reveal much more than that.

The final stage would test physical, mental, and magical abilities, and they weren’t keen on giving those details either, so it felt like a bunch of half-information had been handed out by the time Ms. Canmore resumed her position in front of us.

“I don’t think I learned much,” I whispered to Auden.

“Except that we’re going to have a lot of shit to learn,” he said with a grimace.

“That will be all for this evening,” the dean declared. “I suggest getting a good night’s sleep tonight as we will begin your classes at eight o’clock sharp. Your schedules should be in your dorm by the time you return. If you have any questions, please see your primary professor.”

“I haven’t even met my primary professor,” I said with a smirk. “He wasn’t at the meeting earlier or the dorms.”

“We could always swap numbers in case I need to ask Hudson anything for you,” Auden offered as he pulled out his phone. “He spent most of the afternoon watching music videos in the common room and practicing his air guitar.”

“Of course, he did,” I snickered.

We exchanged numbers as the cafeteria began to empty of students, and we followed the crowd out the front doors of the Medius. Small groups of each magical category split off toward each corner of the campus, and Auden and I stuck together until we parted ways at our own dorms.

I walked slowly toward the building and paused to read the Latin phrase above the door again.

Steadfast in the midst of change.

Then I heard soft female voices giggle behind me and prepared myself for another Demi-Madison onslaught, but instead I turned just in time to catch another glimpse of the gray eyes and bronzed skinned beauty before the mysterious girl walked right past me into the dorm.

She was a shifter, too?

Images of her half-naked body flitted through my head as she glided inside, and I blinked a few times before I followed her and her friends into the building. They veered to the right, and I heard the ding of an elevator just before they stepped onto it with another fit of giggles.

I shook my head and headed for the hallway.

“Did you figure out how you’re going to beat me at the Bellator yet, Turner?” Seth sneered as I walked through the common room. “I mean, once you figure out how to shift anyway.”

“He still doesn’t know how?” The other shifter I assumed was Vic threw his head back and barked a laugh. “I thought with an extra year, he’d be a pro at it.”

“There’s a right time for everyone,” Madison said as she patted the seat between her and Demi on the couch. “Would you like to join us?”

“I think--” I started.

“No, I’m sure the old man needs his rest,” Seth interjected. “Wouldn’t want to throw out your back in class tomorrow, right?”

I bit back a reply about breaking his back as my predatory instincts sent flames of fury down my spine. I could easily rip this asshole to shreds like I had the would-be rapist in the alley, but I didn’t think the Regimen would be as easygoing on a second murder.

Although, Seth didn’t need to know that.

“I’ve killed for less, Weaver,” I said in a low voice. “Don’t test me.”

I saw a momentary flash of panic in his eyes before he cleared his throat and drummed his fingers on the arm of the couch.

Demi and Madison looked at each other with mixed expressions of excitement and fear. They practically radiated heat, and I could smell their cake-like scents from across the room.

After a few moments of tense silence, I turned on my heel, headed to my room, opened the door with the handprint sensor, and eased it shut behind me. Then I leaned back against it with a sigh.

I’d spent most-- okay, pretty much all-- of my life being the scrawny nerd who couldn’t run fast enough to get away from danger, but now that I’d activated, I had the balls to stare down the worst asshat on campus. Was it my predator instincts that helped me? Or was I just on some post-activation high?

My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see a text from Matt back in Durango.

How’s the aunt stuff going?

I rubbed my temple at the thought of faking a human conversation about my nonexistent aunt’s death. It wasn’t easy going through the motions after I’d activated, but I didn’t want to raise any suspicions back home.

It’s alright. Wishing for an Xbox though.

I hadn’t even considered bringing the console with me when I’d packed for Meloria, but it would have been a nice getaway.

Then my attention was caught by a sheet of paper on the floor. It looked like someone had slipped it under my door, so I picked it up and flipped it over to find a list of classes with room numbers.

“Meditation?” I mumbled to myself as I scanned the list. “Defense of the mind? Oh, hey, history sounds familiar.”

I chuckled to myself before I folded up the paper and stuck it in my backpack. Then I sent another text to my mom, pulled up my Spotify playlist, and hit play on my Asking Alexandria playlist. As the electric guitar and screaming of “Into the Fire” began to fill my room, I kicked off my shoes and swapped my jeans for gym shorts, and then I laid on my bed and texted Auden about our class schedule. Unsurprisingly, we had no classes together, but we shared the same breaks.

I wasn’t sure when I fell asleep, but I thought it was sometime between Linkin Park and Breaking Benjamin.

The next morning, the alarm on my phone beeped incessantly until I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and turned it off. I had an hour until class, so plenty of time to shower, get dressed, and grab some breakfast first.

I sent Auden a text to meet me in the cafeteria, and then I jumped in the shower. My mind flashed back to the shower I’d taken just a few days ago to clean blood, sweat, and grime from my skin, and I subconsciously dragged my finger across the pink scar on my belly.

Not the time to get lost in thought.

Instead, I finished washing up and toweled off before I pulled on some fresh jeans and glanced through my shirts. We’d had to go shopping on my birthday for clothes, not because my parents wanted to give me a gift but because I was way too big for all my other clothes since my activation.

I’d just planned to get a stack of band tees, but my mom had other ideas, so now I owned a mixture of polos and button-ups in the mix. I sighed as I picked up a blue and gray striped polo and tugged it over my head. She would kill me if I didn’t at least wear one of the nice ones on the first day of class. Making a good first impression or something.

Then I slid my feet into my Sanuks, grabbed my backpack filled with pens, pencils, and notebooks, and walked into the common room. Demi and Madison were happily waiting for me, while Seth and Vic had already followed the older shifters out the door. I tried to find the gray-eyed girl in the mix, but I couldn’t see her anywhere.

Demi, Madison, and I walked outside while they chattered on about the classes we would all be taking, who the professors were, and when we’d get to meet our mysterious Professor Pearson.

I glanced over at the pusher dorm, but I didn’t see any sign of Auden, and he still hadn’t answered my text.

Maybe he was already there.

I trailed along behind the shifter girls and into the Medius, where it seemed nearly the whole academy had already arrived for breakfast. The cafeteria was buzzing with conversation, and I skimmed over the crowd in search of my wild-haired buddy, but Auden was nowhere to be seen.

“Come on, Kane,” Demi said as she gave me a gentle nudge. “Our table is over there.”

I let the girls guide me to the table of first-year shifters, and Seth narrowed his eyes as his gaze flicked between the two beautiful ladies on either side of me.

“Decided to sit with your own kind this time, huh?” he snickered.

“Nah, I usually don’t sit with shitheads, but I decided to make an exception for you today,” I shot back.

Seth glared at me before he looked down at his plate and dug into his pancakes.

As I ate my own breakfast, I glanced up every time the door opened, but my pusher friend still hadn’t made his appearance. It seemed weird for him to be late the first day of class, even after I’d texted him, but when I checked my phone, I still had no answer.

I looked over at the pusher table, and I was even more confused when I realized only one first-year was sitting there. Her head was down as she ate her breakfast, so I couldn’t see her face, but I was pretty sure she was one of the people who’d walked with us to the dorms yesterday. Either way, she was alone when she should have had three other first-year pushers with her.

What the hell was going on?

I sopped up the last of my syrup with my pancake and set my fork down. I needed to figure out what was happening, and I had a feeling the girl would have some kind of answer for me.

As I started to rise from my seat, I saw the dean march to the center of the cafeteria with a scowl on her face, and something told me I was about to get the answer I was looking for.

“Attention!” Ms. Canmore thundered. “I want everyone’s attention now!”

The whispered conversation ceased almost immediately, and a hush fell over the room.

“What’s going on?” Demi asked under her breath.

I shrugged and kept my gaze on the dean.

“We are missing three students this morning,” Ms. Canmore announced in a low voice. “Who knows where the pushers are?”