Page 19 of Forsaken

Either way, I don’t have anything Greystone on me, and I’m not about to change.

I huff, shaking my head. Before I can turn around, Ms. Ebon says my name. I stop, and she stares into my eyes. “Regardless, the plan is still the same, yes?”

“Yes,” I growl out before spinning on my heel and returning to my luggage while the two black cars come to a stop in front of where we’re standing.

“This is bullshit,” Nathan mutters.

“Total bullshit,” I agree. I watch as the drivers get out of the vehicles. “Listen, let’s just get in the cars. If we don’t show up with our uniforms, what are they going to do?”

The word punishment flashes through my mind. Alpha Richard isn’t known for having a soft heart.

Nathan puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me away from the nodding group. “You shouldn’t make waves. What if they keep us locked up in this house on the alpha’s property instead of seeing our mates? What good will the trip to Daybreak even be, then?”

My hands turn to fists, anger and defiance slicing through me, each one volleying for the top spot. “This was about returning to something normal,” I tell him. “If it is my last time at Daybreak, I sure as hell don’t want to spend it with my Greystone Academy uniform on.”

The huge doors open to our right, and Lydia Greystone’s assistant walks out with a handful of garment bags. Both drivers move up the stone steps and take a pile each before returning to their cars and placing them in the open trunks.

I guess our decision’s been made for us. I shouldn’t have expected anything different.

Nathan stalks ahead, scooping up his luggage, along with my own, and moving toward the last car. He helps the driver place the bags in the trunk before opening the back door and waiting for me.

The nerves I’d felt before have receded. In their place is a black hole of unjust, echoing around the dark space.

I walk down the steps and slip past him to scoot over the seat. The other three Daybreak members head toward the other car. Nathan and I have pretty much established ourselves as the leaders of Daybreak Pack at Greystone Academy. It’s as if we have tenure or something.

The Daybreak driver gets behind the wheel while we wait for the other car to load up, then starts the two-hour journey home. I watch him for the first twenty minutes or so. He never peers back at us, nor opens his mouth to have a discussion.

Even Nathan is oddly quiet. He fidgets at first, then settles into the seat calmly. We don’t utter a word out loud in case the driver is a spy, but he eventually texts me. Bet I can get him to say something before the end of this trip.

Me: Haha. Doubtful.

Him: Oh, it’s on.

He sets his phone on his thigh, screen down. I glance over casually, not trying to bring any attention to us.

The next thing I know, Nathan starts laughing maniacally.

I peer over at him, brows pulled together. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was losing it. “Sorry,” he says. “I was just thinking of that virgin sacrifice we had to do in class the other day.”

I press my lips together, peeking to my right to find the driver quickly averting his gaze. “Yeah, that was crazy.”

“I felt bad for the Feral wolf we stoned, though.”

“Mm-hmm,” I respond, not exactly sure I should be going along with this, but what the hell. “Honestly, my favorite class is Dating 101. I can’t handle all the dark stuff.”

Nathan gets a faux dreamy look on his face. “Like when we made Valentine’s for our mates? You always were the softy.”

I narrow my gaze at him playfully but play the part. “It’s better than the scare factor they use on us. Remember when they led us out into the middle of the forest and left us there? They dressed like Feral wolves and scared the shit out of us all night.”

Nathan has to press his lips together to keep from laughing. His eyes shine. “The worst part about that night was not having any toilet paper.”

I chuckle. I can’t help myself. For the last half hour of the trip, Nathan and I make up stories about Greystone Academy. Pretty sure we’re just trying to make the other laugh with the ridiculous things that come out of our mouths, but it’s a bonus that the driver is getting uncomfortable. The worst part happens when I realize we actually start telling real stories. No, we didn’t have to stone a Feral girl, but we did do a project on how love fires in the brain. Like love is a science or something.

Nathan and I both snap our mouths shut as soon as we enter Daybreak Pack territory. A feeling runs through me, skittering over my pale skin. It’s an awareness of where we are. As shifters, we’re supposed to be able to sniff out our kin and find them anywhere. I wasn’t prepared for the feeling of home that would sit in the pit of my stomach.

I haven’t been any place that felt like home in a long time.

My phone buzzes, and I peek down at the screen. Nathan’s text reads, Are you okay?

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