Big Bad Academy

I didn’t even know she had a test today.

She didn’t tell me.

“It was great,” Heather laughs. She sits back down and gestures for Lily to join us, which she does. “I didn’t realize how nervous I was until Barker dropped that paper in front of me.” She shakes her head. “It brought back so many memories of being a kid in school and not knowing whether I was about to ace or fail an exam.”

“How do you think you did?” Lily wonders.

“I’m pretty sure I did a great job, but you never really know. This is all new to me. I mean, obviously, I had some knowledge before I came here, but not much, and...well, it was exciting.” She smiles, and I realize that Heather feels proud of herself.

And I’m proud of her, too.

“That’s wonderful news,” I interject. “Barker isn’t an easy teacher.”

“You’ve got that right,” Lily rolls her eyes. “Most of the students hate her,” she whispers in confidence.

“I can understand that,” Heather says carefully. “Sometimes having a difficult teacher can be hard.”

“You’re being too nice,” Lily says.

“Maybe, but I think she does a good job preparing her students for their futures. I mean, some of them are going to go live in the human world and they’re going to need to know where they came from and how to stay safe. She teaches a lot more than just names and dates in her classes.”

“Yeah,” Gaston says, joining us. He carefully sets a plate of food in front of Lily and then sets one in front of himself and sits down. “She does a good job giving lots of information and facts. You can’t go wrong with facts.”

We eat the rest of our meal while comfortably chatting, and I’m surprised by just how smoothly everything goes. This is our first time sharing a meal with Lily and Gaston and even though I realize we haven’t actually mated, eating with Heather and my friends feels almost idyllic. It’s kind of wonderful, actually, and I’m really enjoying myself.

By the time we get back to the bedroom, we’re both full and happy. We go into my bedroom and close the door, and both Maple and Syrup throw themselves at Heather. They still haven’t quite gotten used to me, though, and Maple in particular eyes me suspiciously. Heather notices this and smiles.

“Don’t worry. He’ll get used to you.”

“I’m not worried,” I tell her.

“I was talking to Maple,” she laughs, and then she looks over at me. She smiles and then she moves across the room to me. Her scent is intoxicating to me, and evening time is both the best and worst time of the day. It’s the best because I get to be close to her, but it’s the worst because I can’t be with her, and honestly, that’s what I really want.

I look at her, and so many different things rush through my head, but what I say ends up being something neither of us expected.

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry I kidnapped you.”

“Flynn,” she waves her hand, as though it was nothing. “I know you have your reasons. Besides, being part of the academy has been really eye opening. Did you know that some shifters actually can create potions? Who knew? And there are herbal remedies for just about everything.”

I touch her shoulder and she looks up at me.

“I know about potions and herbs, Heather, but I do mean it. I’m sorry.”

There are a million ways I could have asked for her help, but I had to go with the most drastic measure.

“Flynn, I know why you did it. It’s okay.”

“I stole you away,” I shake my head. Watching her with her cats, and reading her books at night, and curled up studying for her tests makes me like her even more. She’s better than I could have imagined. She’s cuter and funnier and sweeter. She’s great with her pets and she’s wonderful with the shifters. Even some of the old grumpy wolves have started asking when the two of us are going to be mated, but I don’t know if that’s ever going to happen.

Because I like Heather.

A lot.

And I don’t want to do anything that could hurt her.