Page 17 of Fortune Academy: Year One
I quirked an eyebrow. “She sounds like she’s been busy.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, you could say that. In any case, I’m glad you found the Center Hall. Are you ready to go? Orientation will start soon and we can’t have you being late.” He offered his arm, then grimaced when he realized he’d pulled the stub of his amputated hand out of the folds of his cloak.
Choosing to walk stoically together, I stuffed my hands in my skirt pockets, feeling comforted when my touch ran across my conjuring stone. Dante was being friendly enough, but he’d still left me to fend for myself. “Is there a reason you couldn’t have picked me up this morning at the dorms?” I asked, trying not to sound like a scorned ex-girlfriend and failing. “The girls and I really don’t get along and I had to follow a wolf to this place.”
He chuckled. “I didn’t expect you to make friends with those girls.” He gave me a nudge with his elbow. “They’re competitive and petty. Even if you aren’t displaying your powers yet, a supernatural worth her blood can smell your power from a mile away.”
I tucked my chin against my chest. “Oh,” I murmured. I’d hoped to keep a low profile, but apparently supernaturals could... smell me. “I thought Kaito’s binds were supposed to help with that?”
He glanced around at the crowd, but no one was paying attention to us.
Right,secretbinds.
“Sorry,” I grumbled, then growled. “I just had a rough night. Did you know that the wolf shifter I mentioned slept in my room all night? He wouldn’t leave! Is there anything you can do about him?”
Dante surprised me by laughing. “It shouldn’t surprise you that a wolf decided to court you. Like I said, you smell incredible.”
I stopped in my tracks. “You said I smell. You never said that I smelled... incredible.”
A blush ran up his neck and he adjusted his cowl as he cleared his throat. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about it, the wolf, that is. If he’s courting you, then that’ll help your adjustment into Fortune Academy with the other students. If you decided to tolerate his attention, his pack will accept you and also protect you.”
While I liked the idea of having an army of wolves to set on Melinda, I didn’t like the idea of selling my body to one of their pack to build an alliance. “I’m really not that kind of girl,” I began, even though just being close to Dante made me want to run my fingers underneath his cloak and suck out his warmth like I had just the day before. Gods, something was definitely wrong with me.
Dante chuckled. “Wolves aren’t like that. Sure, they’re primal and passionate, but if he’s really courting you, then he’s just testing his boundaries. The relationship doesn’t have to progress any further than you want it to and you can still form that alliance.” He smirked. “It’s not like you’re going to marry him.”
I couldn’t believe that Dante was encouraging me to date a wolf.
I narrowed my eyes. “You sure you won’t get jealous?” I said, daring myself to test the waters with him. I felt like the hunter and I had come to an understanding with one another and he’d shown that I could trust him to some extent, at least for now. So far everything he’d told me had come true. I wasn’t sitting in a dungeon somewhere getting magically poked and prodded, although, I had a feeling that was coming next. It wouldn’t be anything though that the other students weren’t already going through, so it would be on my terms. At least, I hoped so.
He surprised me by taking my hand, which was awkward since he had to reach around with his one remaining good hand. “You bet your ass I’ll be jealous, but I’ll get over it.” When my eyes went wide, he tugged me closer to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. He leaned in close and I held my breath, wondering what he was going to say next. “You’re clever. If we keep up the pretense that I’m interested in you, then that’ll give me a good excuse to help you around the Academy and keep an eye on you.”
I swallowed hard. I hadn’t intended it to be a facade. I genuinely wanted to know if he was interested in me. He’d already invested so much time and energy into getting me settled and what did he get out of it? If he wasn’t interested in me... then he was getting something else, and I intended to find out what it was.
If Dante wasn’t interested in me, he made a good show of faking it. He smiled and kept me against his hard chest, his hard jawline looking irresistibly kissable up this close.
I mentally shook myself as we ventured deeper into the Academy’s Central Hall. I’d figure out what was going on. Maybe when I saw Kaito again I could learn more about the binds he’d put on me and if it could explain my... growing appetites.
I shrugged off the fear that I was a succubus and my powers were just now manifesting. There were worse monsters I could be, I supposed, but I wanted to be attracted to someone because of a genuine connection, not because something in me needed to feed.
The grand halls all ran together at the epicenter of the Central Hall, leaving me gaping up at a semi-circle of massive doors propped open. Inside was a room that seemed to have no ceiling and when we stepped through the entranceway, I gaped up with shameless awe.
“Wow,” I murmured, taking in the column spires that traveled all the way to a pinnacle at the ceiling’s skylight. “This place is incredible.”
Dante followed my gaze, looking up and admiring the view for himself. Then he brought my attention back down to the crowded chamber. “We have a large influx of students today. It’s good timing.” He removed the warmth of his arm from my shoulder? and nudged me by placing his hand on the small of my back. I hated the shiver that induced from me. “You’ll be able to blend in, but not if I keep hanging around you. I trust you can manage the rest of orientation on your own?”
I glared at him. Like I had really needed his help to get from the entrance to the center of the building. He had alternative motives to come talk to me and I didn’t like that he wasn’t just being straightforward with me. “I’d like to see Kaito again later,” I said, my words cutting harsher than I intended.
He nodded. “That can be arranged. Once you’re through orientation and have your class schedule, it’ll be excuse enough to see him. You’ll be assigned a guidance counselor, since Kaito is a bit higher rank, but you can invent a problem and request to see him, then it’ll all be legit.”
As much as I wanted to see Kaito sooner rather than later, Dante had a good point. I was tryingnotto draw attention to myself, so I’d do things his way for now and play along. “Fine,” I said and turned from him. I wanted to ask when I’d see him again, but I had a feeling he’d reappear whenever he felt like it and otherwise I would be on my own.
Don’t get too attached, Lils, I told myself.
I was here with a purpose. I was going to find out who and what I was, and then I was going to figure out how to protect myself from Monster Academy. I wouldn’t be able to hide forever and when they eventually found me, I’d be ready for them.
In spite of my resolve, I found myself peeking over my shoulder to see if Dante was still there.
He wasn’t.
