Moriko POV

Sheer awe coursed through my veins at the sight of the dragon. I’d never seen an actual, living, breathing dragon before!

Instead of landing like I thought, it opened its huge jaw and let out a mighty roar before diving straight for the lake in the middle of the school grounds. To my immediate shock, Darius was walking us directly towards the creature. Sure, I thought the dragon was beautiful, but it was also…well…a dragon. Not that Darius knew this, but my tiny, fragile human self didn’t really mix with such a dangerous Shifter.

But Darius didn’t seem fazed or even mildly impressed. “Someone just loves showing off,” he muttered as we kept walking.

If I was a dragon I’d show off all the time, but it was clear Darius was only gently teasing. Whoever the dragon Shifter was, perhaps the two of them were friends. I didn’t have time to puzzle it out further when out from the crystal-clear water emerged…yet another absolutely heart-stopping young man. There must literally be something in the water here with the Shifters, because damn.

He pushed back his wet, silver hair and trudged up the bank, looking like he was in the middle of a dramatic photoshoot. He was much taller than Darius, and moved with an almost otherworldly grace as he made his way toward us.

Darius scoffed and called out, “Alexei, if you’re done showing off?”

The dragon—man?—Alexei rolled striking gray eyes. “Don’t get your tail in a bunch, cat.” He waved his hand, dismissing Darius entirely, and then those eyes landed on me. “And who is this lovely creature you’re with?” His voice was honeyed and warm, as if dripping with gold. “Aren’t you going to introduce me?”

Darius bristled, at the dismissal, but said, “This is Makiko Suzuki, and you’d do well to show her a modicum of respect. She’s rooming with us in the early arrivals suite.”

I waited for the reaction I was learning to expect when people heard that last name, but Alexei’s expression hardly changed. He took my hand and brushed a kiss over my knuckles with a charming wink.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said before releasing me. “I’ll see you back at the dorm.”

With another winning smile Alexie turned to saunter away. Even dripping wet, he managed to make it look like he was on a runway. I suppose when you’re a dragon, that kind of confidence came easy. I wondered if that was why he didn’t seem to care about the family name. So far, he’d been the only one not to question me about it.

I looked away from Alexei’s retreating form and back to Darius. Tall, handsome, piercing green eyes. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t totally overwhelmed by all the gorgeous guys. My “serious trouble” alarm was pinging again like crazy. I’d come to this school to lay low, away from the human world, but I was quickly learning that Shifter society was so much more glamorous than I could have imagined.

…

We had mostly finished the tour and were heading back to Wayward Tower when we passed a magnificent building. It was polished white stone that shone in the sun and made the stained-glass windows that much more striking. But the true eye-catching bit was the roof, with a statue of a sleeping dragon wrapped around the spires. Its head hung down high over the door, one eye partially open set with ruby, as if it were watching and would come to life at the first sign of trouble. Below it were carved words in what I could just make out, was Latin.

“Knowledge is the greatest treasure,” Darius translated, nodding up at them.

“It’s…incredible.”

“It’s the library,” he said, like that made an ounce of difference. “You’ll get your textbooks there. I’ll admit I’ve been procrastinating in getting my own.” He chuckled and started to walk away, but an idea started forming in my head.

I latched onto that. Anything to learn more about this place. “Oh yeah?” I said, going for nonchalant. “What are our first classes going to be, anyway?”

He gave me a strange look. “Well I’ve signed up for Shifter History I, Alchemy II, Interpretive Shifting, Tracking and Scent Navigation, Modulating Predator Behavior, and Shifter Renaissance Art,” he finished with a shrug. “For the cultural credits.”

I must have looked as dumbfounded as I felt, because his frown deepened. “Don’t you know what you signed up for yet?”

Trying to navigate myself out of the weeds yet again, I said, “You know what? I actually forgot to check. I better do that now!”

Maybe I could get ahead of some of the questions before the semester started, and take a look at what information I could find in the library. Maybe I could even get some intel on the Suzuki family so I could stop looking like a complete idiot every time their name was mentioned.

“You can just drop me off here,” I said, turning toward the library, eager to start my research, but he touched my arm.

“I could join you,” he started, insistence in his tone, but I stepped back.

“Actually, I’d really enjoy some alone time,” I said, giving him a sheepish smile. “I’m a huge book nerd after all.” I really hoped that was in keeping with my persona, but he only smiled. “I, uh, I don’t mean to insult—” but whatever apology I had been planning died at the sound of Darius’ laughter.

“You don’t have to apologize for wanting alone time, Miss Suzuki. I am a tiger after all,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll see you back at the dorm. I look forward to the pleasure of your lovely company again.” He offered up a cocky smile and turned back toward the tower.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I headed into the library. I’d been lucky so far, but it was going to take more than luck if I was going to keep this up and stay safe. Now let’s see what I can find here…

It took my eyes a second to adjust from the brightness outside, but when they did, I stopped in my tracks. It was as pristine as the outer grounds. Mahogany shelves lined the walls, interspaced by the signature stained glass the academy seemed to love so much. The glass threw rainbows over the endless rows of books. The tiled floor beneath my feet depicted the school insignia in white and gold, a BA wrapped in vines. Above me on the ceiling, which looked so much higher than it did from outside, was a mural of animals and mythical creatures from all over the world.

The library was fairly empty, except for a cute, small girl with honey-brown skin and a bright purple ponytail behind the huge help desk off to the side. I cleared my throat and she whipped around, a huge grin on her face at seeing another person.

“Hi there,” she said, her tone as bright as her hair. “Is there anything I can help you with?”

Snooping would be harder with an escort, so I shook my head. “Oh no, it’s fine. I don’t need any—”

“You sure?” she asked. I was taken aback a little by her exuberance, and she must have seen it on my face. “Sorry, it’s my first day at my student job for the school.” Her chagrin lasted all of two seconds. Her excitement bubbled back up in her smile. “Maybe I can help you find your textbooks?”

Giving in, I walked over to the desk. I couldn’t think of a valid reason not to let her help, since that’s probably what any student would do. She bounced over to the computer and started typing.

“Name, please.”

Internally, I sighed. “Makiko Suzuki.” The second it was out of my mouth, her eyes widened, but she didn’t say anything. I decided to just get ahead of it and said, “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

She typed for another second or two before speaking up. “I wasn’t going to say anything mean. I know what it’s like when people have assumptions about you based on your family history.” Her eyes got a little sad and I believed her. But just as fast, she brightened back up. “You shouldn’t listen to them. Brighthaven is a place for all Shifters!”

As charmed as I was by her bubbly spirit, I winced internally at her words. I wasn’t a Shifter; I was a regular, human girl. Brighthaven was not the place for me.

“Oh, I’m Sameera, by the way,” she said, hitting one final button. A printer started whirring somewhere. She told me she’d be right back, and she entered the office behind the desk. The door was open, so I could see her grabbing my books out of a cubby hole. It wasn’t as huge of a stack as I had been expecting. Makiko, hopefully, wasn’t as academically ambitious as Darius.

She came back and handed me the books, along with the class schedule. As much as I was dying to start poring over the texts, I could do that in my room; I was here for a reason.

“Hey, are there any computers somewhere in this huge library?” I asked.

Laughing, Sameera pointed me in the right direction. “All the way back and on the right; you can’t miss it. And I hope I see you around once class starts!”

“Thanks,” I said. “Me too!” And to my surprise, I meant it.

I found the computer lab as easily as she said, but as I walked in, I got another of my funny feelings, like I had before I turned onto our street the night of the disaster. Stopping I looked around, but no one was there. Shaking off the paranoia, I resumed my mission.

…

Almost an hour later and nothing. Googling the Suzuki family led to a lot of rumors and mystery. All I could tell for sure was that they were an elite Shifter family, one of the oldest and richest. Greaaaat, so much for lying low.

I also couldn’t find anything on what they were known for shifting into, only more rumors. Some said dragons, others phoenix, and some even said sphinx. But the creepiest aspect? No pictures. None!

Who gets away with no pictures anywhere on the internet? I couldn’t even find an Instagram for Makiko. Who are they anyway? Sighing, I sat back and rubbed my eyes. I suppose this only benefited me. If no one knew the Suzukis well all that meant was anything I said would be taken as the truth. As long as I could keep up the air of “creepy rich mystery,” I may be able to pull this off and be safe, at least for a bit.

That shiver of discomfort returned, the feeling of being watched, like something bad was going to happen. My head snapped up and I saw another young man nearby, around the corner at the next bank of computers. How long had he been over there and why hadn’t I noticed him before?

He unfolded his tall frame from the chair. He had lovely night-dark skin with bright blue eyes, like two sapphires set in an ebony statue. He was coming towards me. My heart pounded furiously. Did he know Makiko? Was my cover completely blown? He looked aggravated with me, but I couldn’t think what I could have done to possibly offend a man I had never met…I hope I had never met.

His handsome face ended up only inches from mine as he slammed a hand down on the desk beside me.

“Something smells off about you,” he growled, baring his teeth, “You don’t belong here.”