Page 23 of Untamed

Liking and wanting to kiss are now two officially different feelings. When he’s kissing, his mouth isn’t screwing anything up.

I brace my shoulders. “Alright. I’m ready. Give it to me.”

Ms. Ebon moves the paper in front of her and peers down at it. “As you heard on the first day, everyone’s classes are different. In fact, sometimes it’s not even a schedule in the traditional sense of the word. There’s not a lot of moving from one class to the next as you’re used to.”

This all sounds like a fancy way of trying to butter me up for when the real kicker comes. Like she’ll just slip in the bad news when I least expect it. My nails dig into my skirt.

She flicks her gaze to meet mine. “Jonah has requested that you go on outings together. You’ll be required to attend dinners and parties at the alpha’s house while you’re here since that will be part of your life when he takes his position in security.”

Dread squeezes my stomach. Just picturing the wolfpeers that I would have to see there…the same ones who made my school life miserable. “He’s trying to kill me.”

My advisor shakes her head. “Quite the opposite. Exposing you to the role you would be a part of is fantastic. To go along with that demand, we’ve put you in etiquette and social classes.”

I close my eyes. “You what?”

Ms. Ebon frowns, dribbling her fingers over my schedule. “Kinsey, you haven’t had the most luxurious upbringing. If you show up at the alpha’s house not knowing which fork is which or how to properly drink without offending anyone, you can’t expect to make a good impression.”

“He wants to...refine me? Like I’m some sort of Feral wolf?”

My advisor’s face hardens, and I realize I’m pushing my limit with her. “You will also take Pack History and political lessons so you’ll be able to speak eloquently in front of a room full of people. Jonah has also expressed an interest in helping you learn different security and enforcing techniques so that you’ll understand more of his role in the pack.”

I have to interrupt her there. “Okay, where’s the part where he gets to know me? Should I come up with something? I have a few things I’d like to teach him about the real world.”

“Your concerns are common. I can’t say that any of my students have ever expressed them as bluntly as you do, but we’ve already covered that, haven’t we?” She huffs, leaning back in her chair. “While you do these things together, he’ll get to know you. Spend the time training with him to talk about yourself. Spend the dinners showing him how you act in social situations. You don’t have to lose your entire self, Miss Walker. No one wants a cookie-cutter mate.”

She could’ve fooled me. My leg starts to bounce up and down. If he’s going to teach me enforcer things, maybe that means I can get a few shots in at him. Then, I can be alloops, I accidentally did that on purpose. Maybe it won’t be all bad….

Ebon continues. “In addition, I’ve made notes from your previous education in Lunar and have taken the liberty of enrolling you in some general science classes with a self-study in Botany. My hope is that we can get you out of Greystone Academy within enough time so that you can start your education at Brixton as soon as possible.”

I cock my head. “You got all that from my Lunar transcripts?”

She clears her throat. “I wish we had more opportunities for everyone’s tastes, but that’s not the case here. I’ll be your mentor in your self-study, so we’ll have to meet weekly on that as well. I have spoken to our landscapers, and they have agreed to give you a section of the grounds so that you can conduct experiments, or whatever it is that you want to do.”

She finishes unsure, as if her statement is more of a question. I have to say, out of all of that, this is the best news I’ve had. The forest, trees, plants, and flowers are my friends. In a perfect world, I’d run a greenhouse. Maybe a flower shop, but no, a greenhouse would be more my style. Once you get the flowers at a flower shop, they may be beautiful, but they’re already on the last leg of their life. If I had a greenhouse, I could grow different plants, sending them out to continue brightening the world.

“I think that’s the first real smile I’ve seen from you, Kinsey Walker.”

I blush. “I’m sure you’re right about that.”

“Just a hint,” Ms. Ebon says, leaning over her huge, wooden desk. “Open up about your tastes, what you’re passionate about. My aim isn’t just to get you and Mr. Livestrong together, it’s to get you to be happy about it too.” It’s her turn to blush. “Our happiness is of the upmost importance. Now….” She gets serious again as she pushes the schedule toward me. “You’ll have to excuse me. I need to read up on what the hell botany is so that when you show up and start spouting off technical terms, I’ll be able to keep up.”

She gives me a smile, and I pick up the paper and stand. I wouldn’t say my schedule is an entire waste. Only three quarters. I’m not sure what forcing Jonah and I together will do instead of giving us more opportunities to fight, but I’m willing to try.

I give Ms. Ebon a short wave before leaving the room. Something she said resonated with me. Part of this is getting him to know me more. I’m not going to hold back, that’s not my personality. I held back for too long, and that’s just not me anymore. It’s time to be the girl I was in my parents’ house everywhere. I’m not going to retreat into my shell in Jonah’s presence as I was prone to do in Lunar. It’s not happening. If he has to decide whether he accepts me or not, he might as well know the whole truth.

The hallway stretches ahead of me. A quick peek at my schedule shows that I could make it to one of the science classes today. Just as I’m about to find a directory, a door slams to my right.

Mia runs from the room. I catch her red face and glassy eyes. As she rounds the corner and out of sight, a guy walks out of the same room. He swaggers down the hall dressed in real clothes. His face is pure calm—the complete opposite of my new friend’s. His gaze barely meets mine before he saunters toward the exit, hands in his pockets.

I’d bet fucking anything that’s her mate.

I don’t think, I react. He’s tugging the huge doors open when I start running to catch up with him. He’s halfway down the steps when I take them three at a time, knocking our shoulders together at the same time he takes a step so he’s off-kilter. He stumbles forward, loses his footing, and has to pull off a true wolf move to save face so he doesn’t trip down the stairs.

I keep running. “Sorry,” I call out over my shoulder. “I’m in a rush.”

He mumbles behind me, but I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Dick doesn’t deserve my friend. What he deserves is a hell of a lot worse than almost falling down the steps.

I wait until a bright red car ambles down the driveway before walking back into the school. Science can wait because my friend needs me, and apparently I have a lot of upcoming socializing to do anyway. I better start preparing for it now.

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