King Hall (3 page)

I choked, scowling. “I’m not a Com!”

He snorted, looking me over again. “Yes, sweetheart. You are.”

“Actually, she’s not,” King Venclaire countered, breaking away from where he and King Kincaid were talking quietly. Each King stayed with their Prodigy the first day, going to their classes to get an idea of what their Prodigy’s day consisted of. “She’s a Shifter.”

Ezra’s arched eyebrows lowered and he turned from the King to me, again giving me a once over, but this time with the gentlest brush of his power. It was dark and seductive, probing, feeling my Shifter magic in verification before he pulled it back. “Shift.” It was a command.

I snorted this time. Flipped him off. He wasn’t my “to be” King.

Mr. Bertrand’s jaw gaped.

King Venclaire only smiled. “You remind me of someone, Ms. Ruckler.”

I bit my lip. It wasn’t wise to attract the attention of the Kings. Not that I hadn’t already a month ago, when all four had been dressed in their eerie, hooded robes for this year’s Awakenings. Mine had taken over ten minutes. A normal Awakening only takes a few seconds. I rolled my shoulders, shaking my head. “That’s surprising.”
Truth.

He nodded absently, his head cocking in his quiet perusal.

“What do you shift into?” Ezra asked suspiciously, closely watching the King’s interaction with me…and his almond eyes weren’t merely green. They were more a spring green, light and piercing, vivid against his mocha coloring. The simpering women here would fall at his feet.

“A wolf,” I grumbled in irritation, then turned back to Mr. Bertrand. “Seriously. I can’t fight him.” I waved a hand up and down Ezra’s frame, even poking his bicep —
hurt my freaking finger
. “He will murder me.”

Mr. Bertrand actually laughed. “The mat in the corner’s free. Good luck.”

I gawked as he and King Venclaire meandered in King Kincaid’s direction. Slowly, I pivoted, warily regarding Ezra. My assessment of being dead before lunch wasn’t too far off base.

Irritably, Ezra shook his head, stalking toward “our” mat. “What kind of training have you had?”

I gulped, and hurried to catch up. “Uh, none.”

“Perfect,” he muttered, facing me on the mat. “Try not to bleed too much.” A small curve of his wide lips. “Or do. Either way, I won’t mind.”

I ignored the Vampire’s comment while he stretched. My hands shaking only slightly, I quickly put my hair up in a ponytail. I rolled my shoulders and stretched my arms, glancing to Dominic, who had been paired with someone his own size. Being on time had merit.

Once Ezra and I were finished warming up, he gave no warning.

He lunged, using his Vampire speed.

“
Ugh!
” I grunted as my back hit the mat, my breath damn near knocked out of me.

“Get up,” he rumbled, still on his feet, his back muscles flexing with his rolling steps.

Gritting my teeth, I twisted, careful to not use my own miniscule Vampire speed. With a small portion of my Shifter strength, I dove. I didn’t care if his back was turned. It was probably the only way I could get a hit on him.

He turned at the last second, more than likely hearing me with his senses, but I still plowed into him. I wasn’t as agile as him to stay standing, so we both went down. He grunted this time when he landed on his back, and even though my forehead smacked against his shoulder, lying flat on top of him I still grinned with mischievous delight.

Until I was flipped. My shoulders slammed back on the mat. With a very heavy Ezra on top of me, I kept the grunt at bay, glaring up at him.

Spring green eyes glowered. “Good. You can’t beat me in a proper fight, so get dirty.” His nostrils flared, and he added, “You’re not scared anymore. You’re angry. That’s good, too, but don’t let it cloud your judgment.”

My glare didn’t disappear. “Shut up, and get off me.” He was like a freaking boulder.

Suddenly, his fangs lengthened. His voice was a mere whisper. “
Get out of my hold.
”

I freaked. This guy could seriously bite me. There was no way to get out of this. Panting hard from instant fear, I shoved anyway. The action got me nowhere. Trying to twist out from under him, heart pounding, I shouted, “Get off!”

He shook his head. “Calm down. Think.” Nice words, but his fangs were still out.

A deep wolf’s growl erupted next to us. “Get off my mate.”

Ezra blinked and tilted his face toward Dominic, who stood next to us, meeting my mate’s deadly gaze. Another blink. His eyes slid to Dominic’s neck, where my mate mark was, then to my neck, where Dominic’s mate mark was. Instantly, he was on his side of the mat and wearing a cool, blank expression. Like, one second he was a massive weight on top of me, and the next beat he instantly stood five feet away.

Dominic quickly lifted me to my feet, glaring, a definite growl in his tone. “When she tells you to get off her, then fucking do it.”

The two Kings had edged closer, but weren’t interrupting.

Ezra’s jaw seesawed back and forth, probably remembering all the rude comments he had already said to me, unknowingly offending the Prodigy Shifter’s mate. He surprised me, though; instead of apologizing, he stated bluntly, “She needs to learn to defend herself. That wasn’t a difficult position to escape from.” No fangs showed.

Dominic’s grip on me tightened, fairly vibrating.

All eyes inside the gym were now on the three of us, and I knew Dominic was on the verge of going after the Prodigy Vampire, so I held Ezra’s spring green eyes steadily, stating quickly and quietly, “Just keep your fangs away, and you can teach me, or whatever it was you were doing.”

Calm down
, I told Dominic silently,
I just wigged out.

Dominic’s gaze met mine, his dark eyes glowing, his hair falling around his cheeks.
You told him to get off. He didn’t. The prick hasn’t even apologized.

I don’t think he’s going to
, I replied calmly,
I don’t think that’s his style.

Dominic snorted, his hands skimming down my back softly.
You sure you’re okay?

Yeah. I’m good.

He lifted a finger and brushed it over my lips. Stared, as I gazed at his lips, but I remembered Ezra was still standing there. I peered away from Dominic’s perfect mouth to Ezra’s hooded gaze. “No fangs. We clear?”

Slowly, Ezra nodded, watching.

I nodded in return, agreement made, then smiled at my mate.
You can go back to your partner and I’ll continue getting my butt kicked.
My lips twitched.
Maybe you can give me a massage during lunch?

Dominic grinned leisurely, making me feel all warm inside as a tiny, rumbling growl resonated from deep inside his chest.
I can do more than that.

I laughed, pushing him back. “Get going.”

“Yes, my sweet and innocent love.” He bowed, but when he straightened, walking backward to his mat, his gaze slammed into Ezra’s, glowing harshly. “Don’t hurt her.”

Ezra cracked his neck. “No more than necessary.”

Dominic took a deep breath. Nodded once.

I tried not to gawk.

Dominic’s brows rose. “You have to learn. It won’t be easy.”

I gulped, staring wide-eyed. Alright, I got that. Slowly, I peeked at the Vampire who was going to bring the hurt on. This
so
wasn’t my favorite class.

As everyone’s attention quickly went back to their own business, Mr. Bertrand stated loudly and cheerfully, “Get used to your partner, everyone. The person across from you will be your sparring buddy for the next month.”

Closing my eyes in resignation, I sighed heavily…right before my back hit the mat, taken unaware and unprepared by a tormenting Vampire.

Where are you?
Dominic growled inside my head, bringing on a round of déjà vu.
Everyone’s already seated.

I’m almost there
, I hissed, running inside the administration building. I wasn’t about to tell him I had been ganged up on in the locker room. I had known it would come sometime today. The Shifter women weren’t at all pleased I had mated with Dominic. I had barely made it out of there without bleeding all over the place. There had been five of them. My face stung from the few bruises on my face, which were hopefully disappearing as I dashed down the hallway to Mrs. Jonas’s office where we were supposed to have lunch with her, the Kings, and the Prodigies.

Plowing into her office a few seconds later, I stopped dead, catching my breath. All eyes turned toward me. I quickly flipped my hair over my own right eye — the bruised one — and hurried to the empty seat next to Dominic. “I’m sorry I’m late. I got lost in the halls.”
Truth.
I had run down the wrong hall twice and went to an entirely incorrect building afterward, not used to the new section of King Hall I was now in.

Dominic stood, kissing my cheek before pulling out my chair for me.

I dropped my book bag under the table and sat, keeping my gaze down.

King Venclaire asked calmly, “Did you also run into a fist while getting here?”

Dominic stilled on his chair.

I closed my eyes, thinking very unkind thoughts about the King Vampire. “No, definitely didn’t run into any fists.” I had dodged
most
of them.

“Your right eye,” Ezra, directly across from me, stated bluntly. “It’s bruised and I didn’t put it there during sparring.” Their damn Vampire sight was annoying.

Dominic jerked my chin up, leaving me blinking. I could see him just fine now from both eyes, which meant…he objected, “There’s nothing wrong with her eye.”

I kept the sigh of relief at bay, smiling at King Venclaire and Ezra. “See? Nothing’s wrong.”
Truth.

Ezra raised a black brow and King Venclaire kept quiet. At least they weren’t going to blab or call me a liar. I would rather Dominic not know about me being bullied. He already worried enough.

I popped my neck, placing my napkin on my lap as a server brought a salad for me from the cart like everyone else had in front of them, and Dominic’s hand instantly moved to the back of my neck, massaging softly.

Across the table to my right, Pearl asked, “You’re Dominic’s mate? Lily Ruckler?”

“Yes,” I mumbled, trying not to groan as Dominic’s fingers worked their magic on my sore muscles. “And you’re Pearl Cooper.” I studied the guy sitting next to her. A Mage. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know your name. Are you Pearl’s mate?”

He nodded, smiling. He was the masculine equivalence to her feminine beauty. They fit. “I’m Gideon Brooks, and yes, I’m Pearl’s mate.” He stared at my hair curiously. “You’re a Shifter, but I’ve never met anyone like you before. Excuse me if it’s impolite, but I’d love to know what you shift into.” His accent was just as cool as Pearl’s. English accents rocked.

“A wolf,” King Kincaid stated, answering for me.

“Really?” Jack Collins asked. “In your shifted form, are you red, like your hair?”

“She’s beautiful in her shifted form,” Dominic specified bluntly, also not letting me speak. “A perfect red wolf.”

Pearl smiled, understanding what I already knew. He really did find me beautiful. Tiny and all. “What’s your mate gift? Ours is empathy.” She grinned with a twinkle in her eye. “We’ve found its uses entertaining.”

I almost choked on my drink, knowing full well what she was talking about. We had also been afforded empathy. We weren’t supposed to have two gifts, another oddity of my hybrid nature, so we kept the empathy strictly to the bedroom.

“Telepathy,” Ezra answered quietly. “They have telepathy.”

I knew he wasn’t unintelligent. Didn’t miss much.

“What’s it like?” Jack asked as he placed his fork aside, done with his salad, reminding me that I needed to eat my own quickly before the server took it away.

“It’s,” Dominic paused to chew a bite of his salad, taking his hand away from my neck to dab at his mouth with his napkin, “very helpful.” He left it at that.

I stuffed my mouth so as not to blab about how helpful it had been — many times — with my fearless wolf causing a ruckus during the month after my first shift.

“You know,” King Venclaire murmured, his lips twitching, “I heard the oddest conversation the other day.” He watched King Kincaid. “There was a fox seen taking on a mountain lion near your lands. Did you hear anything about that?”

My eye twitched.

Dominic choked on his water.

Christ.
My shifted wolf form was as small as a fox, another twist, which all four Kings knew specifically from my Awakening. Yesterday, I had wandered off from the group and met with a mountain lion Shifter who was traveling in shifted form to the King’s house. I hadn’t known the person and had acted instinctively to protect.

I hadn’t told King Kincaid and Dominic about that, and after we had shifted, bloody and tired, I had made the mountain lion Shifter promise not to say anything. And, yeah, we had been off Kincaid’s property. Out in the open. Unwise. King Venclaire obviously had spies around the place now that he was in town.

King Kincaid cleared his throat, not glancing my way, stating, “Yes. I did hear that. We’ve been having a few incidences with an errant fox.”
Lie.
His wolf growled quietly. “We plan to take care of any issues such as that better in the future.”
Truth.

I started to sweat. King Kincaid really didn’t sound happy. If he only knew half the “incidences” I had gotten myself into, I would probably be booted from the house.

King Venclaire snickered. “Sounds like a willful animal. Good luck taming it.”

I breathed slowly, but quickly inhaled my salad until I felt Dominic’s eyes on me. I rested further on my chair, glancing up. My smile was a smidge sheepish when everyone started talking again.

Dominic sighed heavily, bent toward me as he whispered against my ear, “Seriously? The mountain lion?” He nuzzled my neck, sniffing. “And tell me, babe, was it fun watching me fumble over my words at the press release?” His lips curved against my skin. “If cameras really turn you on, I’ve got one we can—”

I elbowed him, cutting him off, and felt my cheeks flush. I mentally stated,
Vampires have even better hearing than your dad, who’s right next to us, remember?
I stole a look across the table, and sure enough, both Vampires were staring, and I could have sworn King Venclaire was holding back a laugh.