Page 24 of Unshaken

“Micah Jones. Nice to meet you.” Her hand hovers for a minute, like the world itself is waiting with baited breath for them to touch. Rodyn looks down, and then clears his throat.

“Rodyn Larrieux, but I am sure you already know that considering you have somehow found a way to bedazzle my brothers.” He smiles brightly, inclining his head instead of being polite and shaking her hand. His hand instead finds Sasha’s arm and he splays his fingers possessively over her to make a point. Ty leans away pulling out his knife in disinterest, I can feel his disappointment in Rodyn through our twin-dar. I would lose interest completely if Micah wasn’t here. He is obviously trying to get a rise out her, to embarrass her even, but Micah just shrugs.

“I wouldn’t say bedazzlement is in my magical repertoire, I will be sure to look it up though. I don’t want any of that to rub off on you.” I laugh out loud then immediately cut it off as she continues. “I assure you, whatever you heard is not true, your brothers’ free wills are intact.” She smiles and sits down. If she would let me kiss her I would. She’s so classy.

Rodyn is clenching his jaw so tight, I could have sworn I heard something crack. “Ms. Jones, I only have eyes for one woman. What you do with my brothers and them with you is none of my business!” he bites back.

“Really? Is that why you attempted to get rid of me last night?” Micah folds her arms over her chest, her eyes shifting to the students at the back of the group. “You should really consider the company you keep Mr. Larrieux. You never know when one of your own might stab you in the back,” Micah replies with the same amount of bite. I am so in love with this woman.

“Is that a threat?” Sasha gasps. If she could drape her body any closer to my brother’s she would be a boil on his ass. “Do you know who you are talking to, bitch?” She bares her teeth, like she wants to leap over the table and attack my girl. Oh, I would love to see her try.

“Bitch. How creative,” Micah tsks, not even a little bit bothered by Sasha at all. “Take my words however you like.” Micah looks at Rodyn, whose face is turning slightly red. She’s pissing him off, but he is refusing to do anything about it. Reacting means caring, and he is fighting hard to maintain his unaffected façade.

“You have no idea what you’ve walked yourself into, Light Guardian,” Rodyn hisses. “You don’t concern me, in fact, you’re not even on my radar.” He nods his head. “You survived the night. I’m glad. I’ll just find more creative ways to entertain myself when it comes to you.” Rodyn smiles just as Professor Star walks in. Her walking stick clinks against the marble flooring, announcing her arrival to the room.

“Now, I definitely think that was a threat.” Micah taps her chin and leans over the desk, and Rodyn doesn’t even realize that he has leaned in to meet her. Her lips are so close to his, their breath mingles together as she whispers her next words.

“Keep coming for me if you like, but I won’t spare your little friends or your betrothed. So, when you are ready to talk about what this is.” She gestures between the two of them with her dainty index finger. “Then I will be waiting, Mr. Larrieux.” She falls into her chair, and Sasha yanks at Rodyn’s blazer sleeve to get his attention. Rodyn blinks, as if he was under a spell, and moves away from us without a backward glance. He doesn’t say anything about the fact that Micah literally said she would kill anyone that came at her again, including Sasha. Fucking cupid just landed on my chest and shot his love tipped arrow straight to my heart. My feisty sunshine is everything.

“Come on, Rodykins, let's find our seat,” Sasha says as she looks over her shoulder, eyes throwing daggers aimed at my sunshine. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to wear those eyes as earrings. Fuck her and my greedy-ass Mother.

“I’m going to kill her,” Ty says to break the silence between the three of us as we watch the group disburse to find their seats.

“Get in line.” Micah and I both say at the same time. We both turn to look at each other.

“Jinx.” Micah winks offering me a bright, beautiful smile.

I swear, I just came in my pants.

Sixteen

MICAH

“Today in Magical History we are going to focus on our magical lineage. In order to understand our history, we must examine our bloodlines to truly understand our nature. Some Witch covens in particular are very strict about the purity of our kind. The magic that flows through our veins must remain untainted with the blood of other Supernaturals or humans for us to maintain the strength and potency of an individual coven's magic. Wolves, Vampires, and Demons all vary in their ideals, and in turn hybrids have been born of those unions. Hybrids, let me be clear, are very rare indeed. It’s almost a little taboo, but it does occur. Often bloodlines become diluted due to breeding with a mere human, and in that case the child born of that union will never be as strong as their parent. Most covens, unfortunately, rid themselves of these children.”

I sit back in my chair listening to Professor Star’s lecture, trying to remain calm after the childish confrontation with Rodyn. Despite my agitation, I have to admit it feels good to finally sit in class and not under my father’s heavy tutelage. To be amongst my own magical peers, to learn alongside them makes me feel for the first time that I belong. That no one is going to look at me like I am too much of a freak. Yes, they see me here as an outsider, that is apparent from their taunts when they call me Light Guardian and the battle royal outside my house last night. But that’s OK. I am made of stronger stuff, and I am still standing. I am here. This is my first day of many more, and I am going to soak in as much knowledge as I can.

Professor Star leans heavily on her walking stick. As she talks, the words appear on the white board magically for us to write notes and follow along. I can feel Trys watching me as I write down everything in front of me, taking notes as fast as I can. She has her back to us as the class falls into various conversations and whispers about God knows what. Probably about me and what went down before class began. I can tell it is starting to get to Professor Star by the way she keeps tapping her cane harder, as if it is a way to channel her anger. With a swipe of her hand Professor Star erases the information on genealogy and Supernatural hierarchies, clearing the board completely as half of the class groans.

She tsks, turning slowly. “I want to remind you all that this is not a social hour for you to sit and chitchat amongst yourselves. I will not rewrite those notes again, so if you didn’t get them, tough. Gossip on your own time. Not mine. Everything you do at this Academy should be taken seriously, as if your lives depend on it. You know as well as I do, that it does. If you have a problem with what I just said, leave and fail.” Professor Star’s hand points unerringly at the door as she eyes everyone with a sweeping gaze, her frown morphing into a bright smile as no one moves or says a word, the room is absolutely silent. Then she turns again, and the notes commence. Damn, I think I like her already.

She is petite, with skin so pale that it practically glows, her salt and pepper hair is a mess of wild curls on top of her head. Her rose-tinted and pink star-shaped glasses, and her clothes are a nod to the hippy days of the sixties. She is a hodgepodge of earth tones, and her tunic and skirt hang loose from her frail body frame.

Out the corner of my eye I can feel every time Rodyn tries to look back at me. At one-point Trys waves to him in a not-so-subtle attempt to call him out about it. In our first meeting, Rodyn has shown me that he is an asshole. I could see he was fighting hard to ignore the tug and pull to me. He didn’t need to treat me like shit, though. When he first approached, I was pissed off at myself for even acknowledging him at all. As he got closer, I wanted to throw myself in his arms, which was weird because I didn’t have the same reaction to Ty and Trys. Thinking about it though, I think that has everything to do with the fact that they instantly connected with me. Rodyn is trying to reject me all together. Well, he can have his betrothed, I didn’t ask to be Tethered to him either. So, fuck him. As long as he stays in his lane, I will stay in mine, and we can both move on with our lives. That thought alone has me rubbing my chest, as I looked down at my notebook to take more notes, I can tell he is doing it as well.

“So, for today’s exercise we are going to test your blood to find out your lineage markers. With this test you will find out exactly who you are.” A few students in the back groan, and Professor Star chuckles.

“Patrick Edgewood, you’re the Alpha of your pack of Wolves. But your lineage isn’t 100 percent guaranteed. You could have a little Vampire or Witch mixed in there, and you would never know,” she says matter-of-factly. I glance behind me, and he scoffs at her in disbelief.

“I’m all Wolf through and through, Professor,” Patrick replies, and then proceeds to howl and the other pack member in class howl with him.

Professor Star stamps her cane down hard to get everyone’s attention before she begins to give us more instructions. “If someone from your table can come up and collect the items I have pre-made for this demonstration, that would help these old bones immensely.” She claps with a smile.

Ty springs to his feet at the same time as Rodyn does and they both eye each other as they make their way up to the front of the room. The tension in the air is heavy between the two of them, and I know that has everything to do with the knowledge that Rodyn did plan to have his underlings kill me. My blood boils with the knowledge as well. The fucking gall. He hadn’t even met me and decided I didn’t deserve to live.

“I promise you this, brother, if you—” Ty's angry words are cut off quickly, snapping me out of my train of thought. The entire class has gone quiet, watching the confrontation unfolding between them.

“Gentleman, handle your disputes outside my classroom please. I am sure you don’t want this to be reported to—” Rodyn holds his hand up reassuringly, stopping the Professors words. I guess he doesn’t want Mommy to know he is causing a disturbance in class. Ugh.

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