How the hell did this happen?

I have no idea, but you should stop it. Ejiro’s voice came crystal clear into my mind.

You should stop it!

We glared at each other for a second before one of the guys cleared his throat. Crap. Right. We weren’t alone.

“Could you guys give me a minute?” I said, my voice a little louder than it should have been, and I couldn’t tell if it was the edge of hysteria building inside me or that I needed to be sure I was speaking out loud. “I just need some fresh air,” I finished.

From the way they all looked at me, I could tell they didn’t believe that for a second, but thankfully, they got up to head to their rooms. Darius paused to glare at Ejiro, then turned back to me, his expression hard.

“Just yell if you need us,” he said, and I knew the threat in his tone wasn’t meant for me.

Shane gave me a sympathetic, but worried smile and squeezed my shoulder on his way past. Alexei muttered something about other people having all the fun.

We need to talk. I glared at Ejiro.

He rolled his eyes. No really?

His gaze strayed toward the fireplace, and I turned to see Zel standing there with his arms crossed. He’d been so quiet I hadn’t even realized he had been in the room with us the whole time. He said nothing, just looked from me to Ejiro and back again before turning and heading for his bedroom. What is up with him? He almost seems jealous.

Deep, masculine laughter rang through my head. That one couldn’t be jealous of anything. He’s like a freaking lamp post.

I was so annoyed he could hear all this. Determined to make it stop, I got up and made my way out the door, taking the stairs two at a time. I could hear Ejiro following me close behind.

“What the hell happened in there?” he demanded as we burst into the quad.

It was a lovely day outside, with the sun shining, birds chirping, and a couple squirrels chasing each other through the flower beds. Laughter rang around the quad as students headed into the library, probably to get their books. Books for the semester that was about to start, that I could not start with that wolf in my head!

“Well I have no idea!” Couldn’t he tell I was just as clueless? Pulling out the only other strange thing to have happened recently I asked, “Do you think it could have something to do with the attack last night? Should we speak to someone? The...dean maybe?”

Immediately he stopped. “I don’t want to involve any teachers.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re being a stubborn baby,” I said, hoping to goad him into it, but it only pissed him off and that, in turn made me angrier. Whoa.

This time, it wasn’t so much as a shared thought, but the shared realization that maybe we could also read each other’s emotions. This was so weird.

And now I’ll have to be careful about what I think. That would only add a new layer of complication to my plans.

Careful about what?

“Nothing,” I said, trying to empty my mind with zero confidence that would actually work.

What was it they said about thinking of pink elephants? Could I fill my mind with that instead? Panic was steadily rising, and I didn’t trust my ability to keep my mouth—my brain—shut. We had to fix this. I turned and walked faster. Shane had pointed out the dean’s office on my first day here; I could find it again.

“You can’t be serious about wanting to speak to the professors about this,” he growled, easily keeping pace with me.

“Well you can always read my thoughts if you want to know how I really feel,” I snapped, “but I cannot handle this right now. There’s enough going on in my life without you in my head! Don’t you want to get rid of this?”

“Of course,” he said, “but I don’t trust the faculty to help.”

“Oh really?” I demanded. “So why did you come to this school in the first place?”

He stepped in front of me, stopping me in my tracks and shouted, “My parents didn’t give me much of a choice!”

You don’t get to yell at me! The thought was automatic, and I doubted he’d listen, but when he spoke, his voice was at a normal volume. No less angry, but he it surprised me that he had actually listened to me.

“I come from a line of Alphas. And every damn Alpha goes to Brighthaven, like it or not,” he explained. I almost felt bad for him, until, of course, he killed that emotion. “But I only trust my pack, not a bunch of random Shifters from every fur and stripe.”

He’s ridiculous and so snobby, I thought, forgetting for a second he could read my thoughts.

And you’re naïve, and probably responsible for this whole mess.

“As flattered as I am you think I have that kind of power,” I said, voice dripping with sarcasm, “this isn’t me! Now get out of my way so we can figure out what it is and how to make it stop.”

I stepped around him and started walking again, but he sidestepped in front of me. I barely managed to keep from smacking into him. Fuming, I changed course, just for him to keep doing it. We probably looked utterly ridiculous chasing one another around.

You are a child! I made sure it was thought loudly.

He smirked. “I’m a wolf. I can do this all day, princess.”

Dammit! I looked away because I was afraid I’d punch his stupid face if I kept looking at it—especially when he scoffed at the thought—I realized I’d hardly managed to get halfway across the quad. He was herding me back toward the dorm!

Trying not to think before I did it, I took off running to the right. I knew he could catch up, so I turned sharply, straight for the main building. I thought I was going to make it before his fingers closed around my arm, jerking me to a halt just outside the doors. Using his hold on my arm, he spun me around and pulled me close, bright blue eyes blazing.

“We are not going to the professors,” he growled, “and that’s final!”

I glared up at him, a retort ready on my lips, but his eyes shifted behind me, and I heard his voice say, Oh hell.

“And what exactly,” a kind but stern voice said, “don’t you want to be going to the professors about?”

I don’t think I’d ever been so glad to be stopped by a teacher in my whole life. I was grinning with triumph as Ejiro’s face darkened like a storm cloud. Caught like a well chastised puppy, his grip slackened on my arm before letting go.

…

“So let me make sure I have this right,” Dean Adar said, folding her hands on the desk.

Ejiro and I sat across from her in her office, a big, circular room done all in red, orange, and gold tones, with portraits lining the walls. Portraits of…her. In one, her bright orange eyes blazed with fire. In another, the flames rose behind her, and in another still, she was cupping a raging fire tornado in her hands, lips smiling slightly like she held a secret. Ah. The phoenixes from the auditorium… They were all her.

Took you long enough. Ejiro scoffed mentally. I kicked him under the desk.

I had painstakingly recounted the incident in the woods the other night, about Ejiro finding me going the wrong way from orientation and us tripping in the woods on the way back. I wanted to bring up the shadow wards, but what if doing so caused her to look further into my story and she uncovered the truth. I was so nervous; this was so far beyond me and ever since the attack, I’d been feeling strange. I had to believe all of it was connected.

You better not say a damn word. Ejiro didn’t even realize how much I was in agreement with him on that.

I just rolled my eyes. I wasn’t about to let him know that. I’d say whatever I damn well pleased, and I hoped he felt that.

Adar cleared her throat. “Not to interrupt…I suppose you are still communicating telepathically.”

“Is there any way we can fix this?” I asked, some of my desperation creeping into my voice. Beside me, Ejiro was stone-faced. Fine by me, I had no problem asking for both of us. “Was it some magic we didn’t realize we were casting?”

That made her chuckle. “No, my dears,” she said. Her eyes twinkled with a mixture of interest and amusement, I wasn’t sure I liked. “No, this is far deeper and more powerful magic than any of our simple rudimentary alchemy.”

Ejiro and I shared a look and for once we didn’t need the weird, powerful magic to tell us we were equally confused.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” Ejiro asked, his voice wary.

Dean Adar leaned across her desk, fixing us with a serious look, but I could still catch the hint of…was that mischief in her eyes?

“Mr. Chizoba, Miss Suzuki,” she said, her tone turning mysterious, “it appears the two of you are bonded.”

“What does that mean?” I squeaked.

“To but it bluntly,” she folded her hands together over her desk. “You are mates.”