I could not believe I was staring down the same guy who’d accosted me in the library. The feeling of contentment from thirty seconds ago was fading fast.

Ejiro quirked an eyebrow and offered a brusque, “We’ve already met,” before striding past all of us and out of the common room.

I exhaled a silent sigh of relief. I’d half expected pointing fingers and accusations, but luckily, he didn’t seem to want anything to do with me.

Shane turned to me, flabbergasted. “When did you meet Ejiro? We could barely get a ‘hello’ out of him all week!”

I debated for a second, then decided I should just tell them the truth. I was a terrible liar, anyway, and Shane and Darius already thought they knew my animal hadn’t “emerged” yet. Hopefully, that explained the not smelling like a Shifter thing. If not, I was in huge trouble if everyone around me could smell it. But when I was done relaying the story, no one seemed suspicious.

Darius sniffed. “That sounds like exactly something Ejiro would do,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “Always one for first impressions. He practically bit my head off when we met last week. You should just ignore him.”

I still couldn’t shake the feeling of Ejiro’s penetrating gaze, but I tried.

“Anyway, we were talking about the party?” I said, pushing brightness into my voice. “I’d very much like to go if you’d all go with me.”

That got a yes from everyone, even Zel, though it took some not-so-gentle nudging from Shane. Zel seemed to be a man of few words, but he had plenty of grudging looks and sullen expression to go around. Some of the boys insisted on changing first, and I remembered my clothing situation. All I’d managed to snag were a few nondescript T-shirts and jeans, and I was wearing the last clean set I had.

“One problem,” I said, more to myself than anyone, but of course, they all turned to me. I gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t really have anything to wear.”

Zel looked directly at me for probably the second time ever. “I’m curious as to why a Suzuki didn’t come laden with luggage.” Except it didn’t sound curious. It sounded like an accusation.

I started to give the same excuse I’d given Heather, how may family was so very eccentric and traditional, but the “F” word still had me a little raw inside. Not wanted to risk another show of tears I shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

There was a beat of awkward silence, then Shane, of course, came to the rescue.

“No worries,” he said, hopping up and pulling me to my feet. “A staff member came by with a huge package while you were out. I’m sure it’s got everything you need!”

Curious, I hurried to my room, promising I wouldn’t be too long. The “package” turned out to be a huge trunk next to the bed, and when I flipped it open, I found Shane was right. It did have everything I needed. There were several sets of clothes to change into, ranging from jeans and blouses to skirts and dresses, complete with a few selections of sneakers, flats, and heels. There was a very fashionable school uniform: a fitted black blazer with golden buttons and the Brighthaven crest stitched onto the breast pocket, and several pairs of matching skirts and pants. There was even a little bag of toiletries.

Huh, this school really does take care of everything.

After a super-fast shower—in the en suite bathroom, which was just as over the top as everything else—I changed, thinking only about how good it felt to finally put on some fresh clothes. Especially seeing as they all fit perfectly. I went with a lavender blouse and a swishy skirt that hit my shins, glad to be out of denim for the first time in weeks.

I looked myself over in the mirror. It was remarkable what a change of clothes could make. I didn’t just look more like I belonged here, but I felt like I could pull it off. Like this wasn’t going to be so bad. Not every person at this school was like Ejiro, or Zel; I knew that already. Still, I couldn’t get Ejiro’s intense eyes out of my head for some reason. The way he looked at me…

He was the only one who seemed to know I was out of place. Luckily, no one believed him, and I’d do everything I could to keep it that way. Satisfied—with my resolve and appearance—I headed back to the common space with the guys.

Before I even closed the door behind me, I heard the low growl of Zel’s voice. And my name.

“Alexei, I mean it,” he was saying. “Stay away from Makiko. If she’s living with us, she can’t be one of those random women I see sneaking out of the dorm in the morning.”

Alexei’s response was a cool, “I’m surprised you saw that.”

Zel scoffed. “You aren’t nearly as stealthy as you think you are. And good luck trying to out-stealth a jaguar, anyway.”

Alexei just said, “I promise nothing in regards to Makiko,” and left it at that.

I felt a flush rise up my face as I realized the dragon thought I was hot. In any other circumstance, that would be a literal dream come true. But casual sex had never been my thing, and a relationship was not an option, not with all my secrets. The thing that stuck with me most, though, was Zel. What was with him, playing the part of the protector? Alexei was a flirt and gave off strong playboy vibes, so his reaction made sense, but I thought Zel didn’t even like me. He had barely said two words to me, and even then only glared at me like I was a threat.

Deciding now would be a good time to make my presence known, before someone said something I didn’t want to hear, I closed my door firmly, loudly, and walked into the room.

Alexei was on his feet by the fireplace, giving me an appreciative look. “My, my, don’t you clean up well.”

I smiled my thanks, but my eyes darted to Zel. The green-eyed jaguar shifter said nothing, just purposefully looked away. I was so confused. Did he hate me or not? I was spared having to answer by Shane bounding into the room with a more reserved Darius on his heels. Both of them had changed, and of course, they both looked perfect. Shane went casual with black jeans and a rather form-fitting t-shirt. Darius was playing the part of tiger royalty with a blazer fitted with golden trim.

“Are we ready to go?” Shane asked, clapping his hands together like an excited camp counselor.

Alexei and I started for the door, but Zel asked, “Should we wait for Ejiro?”

Darius snorted. “Like he’d wait for us? Come on already.”

I wondered where exactly Ejiro could be. I had that little twinge again, that feeling of being watched, but it disappeared quickly. As we converged at the door, Shane in the lead, both Alexei and Darius offered me their arms. Shane grinned back at me, eyes full of encouragement, and Zel brushed past the three of us, muttering something I didn’t care to hear. Three out of five roommates who liked me wasn’t bad, especially when they looked like this. Laughing, I took both their arms, and we left the tower together.

…

The assembly hall, was massive with the signature stained-glass windows and cavernous ceilings. A long red runner trimmed in gold split the two halves neatly, matching the many tapestries around the room. They depicted lectures, graduation ceremonies, even what looked like some confusing sporting event with half the participants in animal form, but each one had a fiery phoenix somewhere, overseeing the action. Even the mural on the ceiling, another devastatingly beautiful piece of art I fully intended to come back and stare at, was centered around a phoenix, wings spread over all the other animals like a protector. It occurred to me I should be surprised, but I’d literally seen a dragon this afternoon. A phoenix wouldn’t be that far-fetched.

I sat between Darius and Shane, Alexei having given up a spot beside me for a seat next to a girl he seemed to…know. I was happy to sit next to Shane, though, who seemed determined to speak to everyone he could. It was a stark contrast to the silent cats on my other side, coolly ignoring each other.

There were more students here than I’d initially thought, though the hall was by no means full. It was clear a lot of Shifters liked to be on campus for the early arrival week. Looking out over the sea of faces, I was very glad I’d asked them all to come with me. It was good to have a buffer of familiarity. When the students got too overwhelming, I turned to the dais up front. On it was a row of older people, obviously the professors and staff.

A beautiful, stern-faced, older woman with fiery red hair pulled into a no-nonsense bun and a striking, almost hawkish face stood up. Immediately, a hush fell over the students. She moved with an otherworldly grace to the podium.

“Shifters,” she said, hardly raising her voice. She smiled down at us. “Students. Welcome to your first semester here at Brighthaven Academy.”

She went on to discuss the legacy of the school and how she hoped we would fulfill our truest potential and go on to be credits to our Shifter communities. Yeah, no pressure or anything.

I leaned over to Shane and whispered, “Who is that?” as quietly as I could. It could be a risk asking questions, but he was definitely the most helpful.

“That’s the dean, Professor Adar,” he murmured, managing to hardly move his mouth. “She’s been here forever. She was the dean when my brother was here. Apparently, she’s super nice as long as you stay on her good side.”

Well that was somewhat reassuring. I looked back at the stage as Adar continued her speech, finishing with a grand, “Let’s have a wonderful semester!” Her voice was cheerful enough, but her eyes said, or else.

As soon as it was over, the freshman all dispersed into the quad for the first night’s party, ignoring an older student’s announcements about safety and decorum.

Near the central lake, there were tables laden with food and drink, complete with tablecloths and fine china. Fairy lights were strung throughout the trees and floral centrepieces with candles sat upon each little table. It was impossible to take in everything at once, much as I wanted to.

By the time I had finished my gawking I realized my escorts had vanished. Shane was sucked into a conversation with some other Shifter boys, and the two cats seemed to have fallen away. My stomach gave a rather audible gurgle and it was only then I realized just how starving I was. I had been living off of trail mix and granola bars for the last several weeks and now there was a feast lined up in front of me.

I beelined it towards the food, snagging a plate and trying hard to balance wanting to eat everything at once and trying to maintain some level of expected decorum. I forced myself to go slow. Standing in line to grab some of that delicious looking salad I overheard two Shifter girls whispering. Probably just some school gossip, I thought with a roll of my eyes, but then I heard one of them say the word “human” and I couldn’t help but listen in…

“Did you hear about that recent massacre with that human family a few weeks ago. Where was it again? Some small town in Maine,” one was asking in a hushed voice.

My stomach dropped. I was definitely nowhere near hungry anymore.

“Yeah. Apparently, they never found the bodies,” the other girl said in a scandalized whisper. “It was horrible.”

My vision began to tunnel as my heart sped up. Oh, my God. Are they talking about my family?