Page 25 of Fortune Academy: Year One
Olivia helped me up.“Do I have something on my face?” I asked. “What gives? Why won’t they let us get food?”
I was starting to get pissed off.
Olivia cast a nervous glance around the room and her nostrils flared. “It’s hard to tell over the food… but I think… I smell a spell.” She looked at a station tucked at the end of the line. “Let’s just eat at the dud counter. I’ve been eating there all week and it’s fine.”
I wanted to protest, but now that I paused to focus, Olivia was right. That hum in my chest had grown and it seemed to resonate with everyone around us.
This was Hendrik’s doing.
I wasn’t going to get this resolved by fighting off a bunch of spelled people. I’d face the bastard dark mage later. For now, I needed to get my energy reserves up, which meant food. “Yeah, okay,” I relented.
The dud counter wasn’t half-bad. It was the same kind of comfort food Jess and I would indulge in sometimes when we were in a hurry. I picked out an oversized slice of pepperoni pizza and Olivia got a grilled cheese sandwich.
Finding a place to sit was almost as much fun as finding a counter that would serve us. The cafeteria was so crowded and the long mahogany tables boasted cliques that had no intention of sharing a spot with us. My gaze raked over piles of shifters, dark mages, and a bunch of girls with perfected resting bitch faces which I assumed were Melinda’s crew.
We finally opted for a small lopsided table in the corner next to a trash bin. I slammed my tray down and glared at the rest of the room as if I could set the entire cafeteria on fire. “This is total bullshit,” I complained, then sat down and folded my pizza in half and shoved it into my face.
What can I say. I was hungry.
Olivia chuckled and elegantly took her seat. She took one half of the sliced sandwich and pinched it between her fingers before nibbling on the end. “So, who did you piss off?” she asked, her deepening dark eyes gleaming with excitement. “It’s got to be a dark mage. Make some enemies at the dorms already? I bet I can take her on.”
I took another gigantic bite of my pizza, leaving half of it remaining. I set it down and wiped my mouth with a napkin. “Him, not her,” I corrected around my mouthful. “Hendrik.”
Olivia had been taking a sip of her water when I’d said that and she choked on it. “Hendrik?” she gasped, setting the bottle down and gripping the weak plastic until it threatened to crumple and its insides overflow all over the table.
I scratched at the invisible runes on my arms. If only Kaito hadn’t bound my powers maybe none of this would be happening, but if he hadn’t... no telling what orientation or the Awakening Arena might have revealed. “I might have pissed Hendrik off at orientation,” I said with a shrug. “One of the wolf shifters is courting me and Hendrik didn’t like the idea of his ally being stuck with me. Apparently wolves mate for life, or some shit.”
Olivia leaned in, clearly captivated by the whole thing. “Which wolf shifter? The only one I’d imagine that Hendrik would care about would be the pack leader, but no way he’d be courting anyone, much less one of us duds.” She grimaced. “Well, no offense. You know what I mean.”
I scratched harder at my arm even though it was starting to burn. “Leader?” I couldn’t see Logan leading anyone out of a paper bag. “What’s the wolf pack leader’s name?” I ventured.
She pointed over my shoulder. “He’s actually right there.”
I turned to find Logan staring straight at me. He was his usual primal, gorgeous self. At least he wasn’t naked, but he still wore his blazer and tie over his bare chest followed by his loose-fitting pants that had my eyes roaming along the guiding lines of muscle. He pattered towards us, not wearing any shoes. “You have some nerve showing your face,” he growled.
I gave the last of my pizza a wistful look before getting out of my chair to face the wolf. “Excuse me?” I countered. “Since when do you talk to me like that? I thought you were courting me.”
Olivia gave a gasp, but I ignored her.
Logan was in a mood, apparently, because he shoved me against the wall and slammed both fists on either side of my face. Even though the cafeteria was packed, an immediate hush descended on our small corner.
Something in Logan’s eyes wasn’t right. Rage burned in him that didn’t make sense and every muscle in his body quivered as if he was resisting a shift. His mouth parted, taking in my scent as his nostrils flared. His eyes flashed up to meet mine. “You’ve been fucking the hunter,” he snarled. “I wascourting you until I found out you were just like the rest. A fuckingslut.”
I shoved him?—hard. Every ounce of my supernatural strength sent him flailing away from me and I was glad I had something to work with. This dud wasn’t a total loser.
“You know I’m not sleeping with Dante,” I said, keeping my voice calm as I lowered it so only he could hear me. “Remember? You were in my room all night. Nobody else was there.”
He blinked a few times as if he was confused, then shook his head. “No,” he snapped. “Hendrik told me the truth.”
A noise of frustration escaped me. “Logan, seriously. I’m not sleeping with him, and even if I was, it’s not really any of your business anyway. I didn’taskyou to court me!”
He straightened. “Don’t worry about that anymore. We’re done. I’ll leave you to my allies.” He glanced at Olivia and lifted his lip with a sneer. “Looks like you have a pet dark mage. Doubt she’ll be able to protect you from the wrath of Fortune Academy’s finest.”
My mouth parted with silent shock as he turned and left, revealing who’d been watching from the sidelines behind him. Hendrik, Orion, and a bunch of snarling wolf-shifters circled around us, making me feel hopelessly pinned between a wall and a mass of angry supernaturals.
Olivia edged closer to me. She hadn’t let go of her grilled cheese this whole time and she took another nibble as she assessed the situation. “Well, my guess is Hendrik’s spell has come to full effect and it was between you and Logan, but it’s affected everyone he’s come into contact with.” She narrowed her eyes. “It’s fascinating. I can see the tiny threads connecting everyone. It’s a powerful spell. Where did he get that kind of energy?”
I wanted to scream. From chopping off Dante’s hand, of course.
