Page 15 of Wolf Unseen

When I thought back, my first impression of the guy had been a total headfuck because, for a split second, I thought he was female, which was dumb. There was no way the kid was female. Not here, at an all-male academy.

Was he even a wolf shifter?

“Hair the color of fire? Green eyes like emeralds?”

I frowned, taken aback by Tate’s poetic turn of phrase. My friend was not a poet. He read boring business textbooks and listened to political podcasts for fun.

“Who are you and what have you done with Tate Montes?” I asked, my eyes narrowed in confusion. Then I smirked. “Is this the same dude your wolf has a crush on?”

Tate shook his head and rubbed a spot over his breastbone as if it pained him.

“No. Maybe.” He growled and clenched his fists. “I don’t know.”

I frowned. This wasn’t like him. My friend had more control over his emotions than most wolves, so seeing him unravel over a random student was…concerning.

Before I could quiz him on his reaction, Tate turned and sprinted away. His sudden departure took me by surprise, which gave him a few seconds’ head start. By the time I reached the trees, he’d already shifted and disappeared, leaving nothing but a pile of shredded clothing.

My wolf lunged forward, eager to chase after our friend, but I forced him back down. Tate clearly needed to let off some steam, so I turned back toward campus.

If meeting a dude he found attractive had triggered an existential crisis, he’d have to deal with it on his own or book a therapist.

I had my own issues to deal with, like figuring out why my wolf was also acting weird over the same student.

9

Riley

After several days of being treated like a leper, I’d made zero progress on identifying anyone linked to my sister’s disappearance. News of my hybrid status had traveled like wildfire. Each time I walked into a classroom, the whispers began.

Does he even have an animal?

Is he a charity case?

He looks too pathetic to be a shifter.

What a fucking joke. Moonfall is supposed to be an exclusive academy!

Frankly, it was petty and annoying. Did these idiots not understand that they were no better than me? Sure, they didn’t have a human parent who’d done the bare minimum to keep them alive, but I was still a shifter!

The lesser magicals like wood sprites, dryads, and trolls ranted online about their poor treatment at the hands of the mages and witches, but full-blooded shifters were no better with their elitist attitudes.

I had an hour before my self-defense class, so rather than napping in my room, I was busy stuffing my face in the canteen. Or at least that was the plan until I walked in and saw how crowded it was.

Naturally, everyone stopped talking and stared at me the moment I crossed the threshold, but I pasted a bland expression on my face and pretended I hadn’t noticed.

A few shifters moved out of my way as I headed toward the hot food counter. Did they think they’d catch a nasty disease if they inadvertently touched me?

Idiots.

At least my glamour was holding up. Nobody had pointed at me and accused me of being female yet.

Thank the goddess for small mercies.

When I reached the front of the line, I chose a hot beef roll with extra-spicy mustard. A girl could never have too much spice. The hotter the better as far as I was concerned.

Since I had no friends here, I made my way to an empty table at the far end of the room and sat with my back to the wall so I could watch the other students. It took a while, but eventually everyone stopped staring at me and returned to their conversations.

As Felix had said, wolf shifters were in the majority at the academy, and I’d spotted at least three distinct groups hanging out together between classes. Feline shifters were the next largest group, mostly encompassing lions, cougars, leopards, tigers, and other big cats.