“You’ve been keeping him prisoner down here!” exclaims Landon. “Why?”
Samantha glances back at Silas, who has gone still, his eyes clamped shut. “He poked his nose where it didn’t belong,” she replies. “We’ve needed a shifter for some time now. Especially now that this one is no longer with us.” She nods coldly at Brody’s body. “A shame, too,” she mutters. “He was strong. I thought he would last longer than he did.”
“What are you doing to them, you insane bitch?” Shade demands, lunging forward, but I grab hold of his wrist.
“That’s none of your concern,” Samantha replies. “Now, if you would be so kind as to stand where I can see you all, I would appreciate it. This doesn’t need to get uglier than it already is.”
“Like hell,” I snap.
“I’m telling my dad about this,” Hunter says, his eyes wide. “Whatever this is, it can’t have been sanctioned by the board.”
“How terribly naive of you to think so,” Samantha says, her black eyes turning on Hunter. “It’s unfortunate that you’ll have to die, too, Mr. Ash. But your father will understand.”
“What are you saying?” asks Hunter, his eyes going wide. “Does my father--”
“Don’t listen to her,” snaps Shade. “She’s trying to manipulate you.”
“Manipulate?” asks Samantha. “No. I don’t need to manipulate you. You’re nothing but a bunch of first-year students who can barely transform. And you, Ms. Brix,” she adds, turning her dark gaze on me, “I expected better from you. Really, I did. It’s a shame that you had to keep pulling on this thread. But,” she says, her tone businesslike, “that’s the reality of the situation. Close the door behind you, Mr. Ash. You aren’t going anywhere.”
Hunter turns to the door, but hesitates, and once again I find my body acting before my mind has a chance to catch up. The cool presence of my magic is rearing up inside me, and I barely have time to visualize my wolf form before I’m transforming, lunging at Samantha from across the room. But even as I land where she was just standing, she’s disappeared, manifesting on the other side of the room. “Come on, Ms. Brix, you know I can teleport,” she says. “Now let’s put the toys away. There’s no need for this to get violent.”
“Too late for that,” says Landon as he shifts into his siren form.
Shade follows suit, letting out a snarl as the three of us surround Samantha.
Hunter stays back, his eyes closed in concentration, his hands clenched into fists.
“Really?” Samantha says, laughing. “I’ve been at this school for twenty years, guys. But,” she continues, letting out a disappointed sigh as her skin begins to turn red, “if you really want to get nasty, then so be it.” And with that, she lets out a burst of energy that’s enough to send me sailing off my feet. I strike the back wall with a groan, pain shooting through my body.
“Millie!” yells Landon, and moves towards me, but then he’s being lifted up in the air by some sort of telekinetic spell and launched across the room in the other direction.
Shade, still in his wolf form, charges for Samantha, and actually manages to get close enough to her to swipe at her with his claws, but once again, she blinks out of existence and reappears right next to me, staring down at me with her bright eyes. Her hands begin to glow with energy, and I clamp my eyes shut, bracing myself, but that’s when Landon lets out another siren song, the shrill frequency enough to drag her attention away for a split second. She sets her jaw, looking like she’s struggling against the siren magic, and begins to advance on him, momentarily distracted.
Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I visualize my vampire form and feel the fangs burst out of my mouth, my stature going humanoid again and my strength and agility shooting up. I dart across the room, slamming into her from behind and knocking her off her feet.
“How’s that for nasty?” I yell, shoving her shoulders onto the ground the same way Amelia did to me all those weeks ago.
A pulse of energy explodes out of Samantha’s body, and it scorches me enough to make me yell in pain. It’s searing hot, like being set on fire, and it’s all I can do to stay standing as the pain courses through my body.
Landon yells again, at a louder volume this time, and I can see that he’s putting everything he has into the song.
Samantha growls in frustration and turns back to him, but not before Shade charges across the room and clamps his strong wolf jaws onto her arm, tearing clothes and flesh into ribbons with an aggression I’ve never seen in anyone before.
I glance over my shoulder at Hunter, who is still cowering in the corner, trying desperately to transform but still having no luck.
Samantha begins to chant under her breath, her black eyes starting to glow with magical energy, and Landon’s eyes go wide for a split second before his scream is suddenly silenced, as if his voice has been plucked from his body. He puts his hands to his throat, eyes wide, and my heart sinks when I realize she must have hexed him somehow.
“Shit,” mutters Shade.
Without the distraction of Landon’s powers, Samantha is free to send a bolt of energy flying into Shade, who yells in pain and collapses on the floor, struggling to get back to his feet even as the magic sinks into him. He’s losing concentration, and a moment later, he’s shifting unwillingly back into human form, gritting his teeth in a desperate attempt to stay a wolf. But it’s no use. Within moments he’s a guy again, pinned to the ground by magic.
Landon is still struggling to get his voice back, his hands clawing at his throat as he is silenced by an invisible magic, and Hunter remains behind me, as feeble as ever.
Fuck, I think. It’s just
