Bewitched: A Paranormal Academy Romance Read online

“Move toward the First Ring,” the answer came from the equipment and the soldiers looked at each other. They were visibly confused but they didn’t wait. With guns in their hands and helping the injured, they started moving away from the current hiding.

  “Can you walk?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then move. The ferals will soon return.” Ferals? They belonged to legends and myths. What were they doing here? The shifter soldiers didn’t bother waiting for me so I hastened after them.

  “What happened?”

  “We crashed,” one of the injured soldiers replied, not looking at me.

  “But why?” It didn’t add up.

  “Ferals.”

  It was all they had to say on the matter. From over the forty men, fifteen survived. I asked for a gun. They refused naturally, claiming that I was as bad as the ferals. I’d fight back if not the total exhaustion. My head didn’t seem right too. The sun didn’t set, it just stayed in one place. The temperature of the stale air didn’t change either. This land seemed frozen in time.

  Another attack came when the First Ring came into our view. It was raised to keep away the Lesser Evils, including the mythical ferals. If we only reached it…

  The ferals came at us with full force. Hundreds of them. Guns responded to the threat. I tried to shift but my body was too weak, which was weird. In a wolf form, I’d heal faster. This place messes with me. We’d stand a chance if only the ferals appeared but this wasn’t our lucky day. With the ferals came the hooded ones. The soldiers focused the gunfire on them but to no avail. The hooded ones used magic to fend off the bullets.

  “Use enchanted bullets!” a call came from one of the soldiers but no one responded. They have no enchanted bullets. Whatever they are.

  The golden light of the First Ring shone invitingly. It was so close and yet so far away. When the soldiers started screaming, I knew the end was near. I felt no regrets, nor did I fear what was coming. I was totally not right in the head.

  Flash.

  Another one.

  The familiar sound of … helicopters? I noticed two in the sky. They rained bullets at the ferals and the hooded ones. But it was not all, in the chaos a car appeared. I am having the strangest nightmare ever. The car plowed through the ferals without mercy. The hooded ones fled. Although their eyes were veiled by darkness, I could feel how their stares prickled my skin. With the arrival of the reinforcement, my escort gained momentum and pushed the enemies back.

  “To the car!” Someone shouted. A good idea…

  A man, no, a guy of my age exited the car. He wasn’t a soldier. His black sharp suit ill-fitted the circumstance. But I melted inside just by watching him. And that green eyes.

  “What’s this?” he snarled.

  “The Moonless, sir,” a soldier who stayed with me replied. “We were ordered to take her back, sir.”

  “The Moonless?” His beautiful green eyes transformed into two pits of jaded venom. I hated this guy already. “Whose orders?”

  “Officer Reiner's dead, sir. He contacted the base.”

  The blonde tsked, annoyed, then gestured the soldier to take me to a landing helicopter. What a jerk.

  Chapter 3

  The soldier was keen on getting to the helicopter because he happily left me behind. I was fifty feet from the machine when the blast swept me off the ground. My ears rang, my eyes tried to wink away the flash. I touched my body, searching for wounds. I seemed alright… Hands grabbed and shoved me into the car.

  Scents attacked me but everything was wrong with them. A blend of exotic and rich perfumes masked their natural odors of shifter bodies.

  “Do you like it?” a nice voice asked. In my muddled state, I had no idea what the voice asked about but I nodded.

  “Get her off my knees.”

  I remembered that voice. My eyes snapped open and I sobered up. Did another helicopter just explode? All of sudden, the gravity of the situation dropped on me. I survived a crash and the ferals’ attack. I found myself inside the car with … four guys? What’s wrong with me?

  “Who are you?” I asked, wiggling my ass between the green-eyed toxic blonde and a black-haired man with a grin and strange red eyes. Strange but enticing. “And what about the rest?”

  The man in the front passenger seat looked into the mirror and shook his head. Does he have white hair or were my eyes damaged in the explosion? No. He had paperwhite hair. Did he dye it? Because this hardly looked natural. He glanced my way, leaving a strange stirring in my stomach.

  “You didn’t even help the soldiers,” I said after they’d failed to answer my previous questions.

  “We weren’t even meant to be here, kid,” the red-eyed shifter said.

  “I am not a kid,” I huffed.

  “No, you’re the Moonless,” the blonde said with derision. “We should leave her in the Badlands. Father will never approve of this.”

  For a second, I thought another helicopter appeared right above us. It did not. It was the heart in my chest. Who were these people?

  “She must face the judgment,” the white-haired said, not looking at us.

  Wide-eyed and utterly speechless I sat between these monsters until we reached the First Ring. Its golden light washed me over, easing the fear that they might leave me behind.

  They visibly relaxed as well. A substantial part of my confidence returned so I asked, “what were you doing there?”

  These four were so out of place with their sharp suits and fancy car. What was their deal here?

  “None of your business,” Mr jerk replied.

  “We were running an errand for our father,” the red-eyed one said.

  “Shut your trap, Ryder.”

  Ryder sighed, unbothered by a threatening tone of the green-eyed jerk.

  “You’re boring, Rocco.”

  “Be quiet,” the driver said and strangely, the two guys fell silent. Who the hell is this? I tried to get a better look at him but whenever my eyes lingered too long, I sensed his attention on me. I didn’t like it. That intensity in his eyes. Because of this, I haven’t realized that the landscape has changed outside the car. The sky wasn’t black anymore. It was gray and sunless. From time to time we passed a shrub and we drove on an actual dirt road.

  “Is this Shifter Island?” I asked, forgetting the driver’s instruction.

  “Didn’t you hear what Hunt said?” Rocco hissed. “Shut up.”

  “You shut up.”

  A wolf inside me howled, willing to get out.

  “Gabriel,” Hunt said.

  “On it,” Gabriel replied, and suddenly my mouth filled with something disgusting. I gagged but nothing come out. I could breathe but not talk. I saw Rocco’s face go beetroot red. His body shivered with rage. I smelled his wolf so close to the surface it made mine roar with anticipation.

  “We’re about to pass through the Second Ring. Focus.”

  The mountain range appeared out of nowhere. The road seemed to cut into it. Now, if I only could get this thing out of my mouth, I tried to scoop it out with my fingers. It didn’t work. What did he put there?! Soon, my attention was on something else. We were approaching a tunnel…

  “Eyes open.” A cold tone in Hunt’s voice didn’t inspire confidence. “If there is an ambush it will happen before we enter the tunnel.”

  The sudden acceleration pressed me into a seat. My eyes watered and my stomach flipped over. What kind of speed was this? The surroundings blurred and my body begged to end this. The darkness came to life as we entered the tunnel. Hunt didn’t slow down. Either the tunnel was perfectly straight or that guy had suicidal urges… The light arrived without a warning and at first, I believed we crashed. But it wasn’t that. The Second Ring stood right above us, its magnificent and intense light radiated with hope…

  As we were passing it, I looked to my right side. The time seemed to come to a still. I saw a lone figure standing before the barrier. Its black eyes were focused on … me. Impossible. He must be more than a hundr
ed yards from us.

  Time accelerated, with it the car. We left the Second Ring behind speeding on the normal road. The sky was blue with only a few clouds. We arrived on Shifter Island! Deacceleration sucked because there was no warning given. If not for Ryder’s quick thinking, I’d smash into the windshield. Hunt stopped the car in the middle of the road.

  “Gabriel.”

  Gabriel nodded and the strange slimy substance in my mouth vanished.

  “You’re dead fucker!”

  I froze because Rocco said exactly the same thing at the same time. I had enough of them. While I shivered with rage, Ryder laughed and Rocco exited the car. Gabriel squinted my way, his intense violet eyes seemed to measure me, then he too left the car.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Your ride with us is over,” Hunt said.

  Ryder got out of the car and I followed him.

  “Who are you guys?”

  “Nobodies,” he said with a mischievous smile. He was the worst liar in the world. Not that I saw anything beyond Alaska.

  Hunt was true to his word. Helicopters appeared in the sky a few moments later.

  Chapter 4

  Out of ten helicopters, only one descended nearby. The rest continued toward the Second Ring. We didn’t hear them but our bodies picked up the tremors of explosions. All nine machines turned into the balls of fire soon after crossing the protective barrier.

  “Holy fuck!” Ryder exclaimed. “This can’t be the hooded ones’ doing. They can’t cross the First Ring.”

  I felt sick. So many people dead. All the soldiers who came to take my … me. Everyone was dead. It seemed so unbelievable it was difficult to comprehend the scope of the tragedy. You’re forgetting one thing, Cora. They are enemies. Didn’t you want revenge? I reminded myself. That was true. So why did I feel bad about all those soldiers?

  “This is all her fault,” Rocco aimed his finger at me. He stood close enough for me to inhale his scent, which obviously was masked by perfumes. “They died to bring her here.”

  “I didn’t ask for this!” I snapped back.

  “She has fire in her,” Ryder said amused. Was he not bothered by the situation? “I was not given a choice.”

  “Show me the summons,” Hunt extended his hand toward me. A cold panic seized me, then my fingers spied a letter inside the pocket of my shirt. My warm fur was gone in the crash. As well as my bag. But somehow, the letter has remained with me.

  Hunt accepted it with a poker-face and his divine golden eyes only slightly contracted upon seeing the content of the letter. Rocco saw it too and his expression became troubled. Ryder didn’t look our way. His attention was on the Second Ring. Maybe he does care? Gabriel was not here. He approached the helicopter and my heart tried to squeeze itself through my throat as the flash of an earlier explosion appeared vividly in my mind.

  “This can’t be,” Rocco said. “The alpha king would never agree to bring the Moonless scum back to the island.”

  “His imprint is legitimate,” Hunt said.

  “This changes nothing,” Rocco countered. “It must a print error.”

  “A print error?” Ryder laughed. “Do you even hear yourself?”

  “Let’s settle this right here and now,” Rocco seethed with rage, one step from shifting into a wolf.

  “Rocco,” Hunt said unperturbed. “Take her to the helicopter and fly straight to the main port. Wait there for me.”

  Hunt and Ryder got into the car and drove away without a further explanation. Rocco stood for a while, contemplating. I didn’t need telepathy to know his mind, his dilemma. I was his enemy. And no matter his clan, he was the enemy of mine. Every single one of the soldiers that came to pick me up was my enemy.

  “Get to the damned helicopter before I change my mind and snap your neck, pup.”

  This crossed the line. I started to shift when another presence appeared behind me. I reined my wolf in time.

  “That is some impressive control.”

  Gabriel’s eyes held not a hint of amusement. The rigidness in his posture didn’t suit his noble face. Then a glimmer flashed in his eyes and he gestured toward the machine.

  “We better get out of here.”

  With that, Gabriel left us. My blood boiled, every cell screamed with a desire to tear Rocco apart. They saved you, the rational part of my mind reminded me. I tsked, which mimicked him unwittingly, and strode toward the flying machine.

  *

  “She cannot enter Shifter Island,” Rocco said as the helicopter left the ground.

  “Leave this to Hunt,” Gabriel replied, and his gaze locked on the beautiful landscape beneath.

  “She. Is. Here,” I snapped, clenching my fists. The scents inside exposed the two shifters. Indifference was emanating from Gabriel while pure hatred came from Rocco. But this much you can gauge without smelling them.

  “So what?” Rocco asked and I found no amusement in his voice. The fur on my neck bristled and a wolf in me stirred once more.

  “Give her space, Rocco,” Gabriel said suddenly. I didn’t see this one coming.

  “She must know her place, Gabriel.”

  “Hey! I am here, you know.”

  “You’re the Moonless and it’s akin to have no voice whatsoever,” Rocco replied.

  Our eyes met, hostility crashed against hostility. I’ve heard of a lake in Italy with naturally green water. For a brief moment, I thought I made a deep dive into such a lake. Rocco was a stupid name, but its owner, though a full-fledged asshole, was dangerously attractive. This kind of magnetism was especially perilous. I saw no visible point in time as of when my glances stayed a little longer on his face and my thoughts have become a little too unordered. Snap out of this, Cora. He’s bewitching you. I managed to break this unhealthy connection between me and the green-eyed fucker. He’s an enemy, a member of another clan. Despite being thrown out of Shifter Island, the shifter’s law still bound us.

  Rocco’s lips parted and a scowl crossed his face. He wished to say something, another nasty remark perhaps. He fell silent instead ... why is he so tense so suddenly? I looked through the window and my heart missed a beat. Entire towns abandoned and overgrown were scattered in all directions.

  “What is this place?”

  “Shut your mouth,” Rocco hissed. Asswipe.

  “Don’t you dare to speak to me like this!”

  We glared at each other once more and Gabriel said, not peeling his eyes from the other window.

  “Are you two for real?”

  I was. Alpha heirs had their reputation to uphold. If I let a mere bodyguard get away with an insult like this and others heard about it ... my reputation would take a huge hit. I just couldn’t let go...

  “You’re forgetting I am the heir to my clan,” I softly growled, a voice of a wolf strong in me. “While you…”

  “Look there, Rocco,” Gabriel ignored my words.

  Though he didn’t mean me, I did also peek and saw hundreds of military vehicles and aircrafts going the opposite direction. The blood drained out of my face and slowly understanding soaked my mind. This is for real. I almost died. Twice. If not for these four appearing out of nowhere… I could no longer pretend it was nothing. I was a tough female shifter who would face any challenge the forests of Alaska throw my way, but the ferals and the hooded ones were too much.

  Rocco and Gabriel talked about the scale of the military response while I allowed my mind to drift. A technique I’ve learned from my father. It was designed to find inner peace. The tension between my shoulders was unbearable and for the first time in my life, I hesitated. I’ve known only my clan and the dangers that dwelled in Alaska. Shifter Island with its tens of enemy clans or the ferals, all of this existed in stories and even there – barely. My father has been reserved with information. Great, dad. It would’ve helped to know what to expect. Badlands. Ferals. What’s next?

  Chapter 5

  The flight took anything from a couple of minutes to hours. Up there my
mind lost track of time but upon landing my feet on the ground have never felt so good. Then it hit me, the breeze coming from the sea was so powerful it left me speechless. I’ve never experienced anything this rich and wild. Alaska was a harsh, unforgiving place. It possessed beauty difficult to notice and put into words. The sea was different. I needed no words to describe the miraculous sight in front of me.

  The helicopter lifted into the air and shifter soldiers appeared from the buildings.

  “Please, follow us.”

  We did so without a word until we reached a large house. We were offered food and drinks and asked to wait. I took a spot by the window that overlooked the sea. Was this the Shifter Sea my father once had spoken about with Edna? I sighed in an un-alpha heir way. Rocco stirred and my eyes dropped. I expected him to say some nasty comments but nothing came from the hateful mouth of his. I am so close to entering Shifter Island. I can almost feel its slow heartbeat.

  An hour later the door slid open. Hunt appeared in presence of Ryder and severe-looking soldiers.

  “They’re still alive,” Ryder grinned. “Tell me, Rocco. How was the flight?”

  “Get lost, idiot.”

  “We cannot use this port,” Hunt said. “First-Level Protocol is activated.”

  “What does it mean?” Of course, no one bothered with answering me. They stood in silence for a good moment before Hunt turned to me and his golden eyes seemed to x-ray my thoughts. I blanked my head just in case. Telepathy was impossible but yesterday I’d thought the ferals belonged to legends. Better safe than sorry.

  Hunt placed my summons on the table and stabbed it with his fingers. Tension and silence threatened to crush me.

  “This summons was never issued by the alpha king.”

  I felt the cold sweat running down my neck. What’s going on here? I knew it was too good to be true. But didn’t they say the alpha king’s imprint was legit? I told him so and looked away. I couldn’t stand his stare. It was dissolving me inside. He was handsome and his body was beyond anything I’ve seen in my clan. But too much sweetness was as bad as not enough.