Nate’s face turned the color of a tomato. “You listen here …”
“No, you won’t be teaching the class today.” Professor Shaw marched in donning his usual all-black clothing. He kept his eye on the new student as he strode to the center of the classroom. “A word to the wise, don’t get on Ms. Wright’s and Mr. Jackson’s bad side either.”
“I was just trying to be pleasant.” Nate’s voice cracked a little on the last word.
Professor Shaw tapped his index finger against his lips. “I find that hard to believe.” He made his way over so that he was standing in front of me. “But let me be clear. If you upset any students in my class, there will be severe consequences. You’re fortunate that I’ve allowed you into a higher-level class seeing as you’re just a freshman. However, that benefit could be taken away at any time.”
“I understand.” It sounded as if the words were forced out, but at least, he was put in his place.
“Now, this is a pilot class, and as such, I’ve hand-selected the students here.” He lifted both hands out and smiled. “As you can tell, it’s a smaller class as a result.”
Ever since we’d walked in, I’d been caught up with the douche head. Although now that he’d mentioned it, I realized it was half the size of the last class I took with him. There were a total of ten of us in the class this semester.
“One thing that must be promised is that you won’t discuss anything you’ve learned outside this classroom.” He paused making eye contact with each one of us before continuing. “If it does occur, there could be dire consequences.”
I wasn’t quite sure whether to be excited, alarmed, or nervous. At this point, if I had to settle on one, it’d be alarmed yet curious.
When no one commented, the professor turned and headed to his whiteboard. He wrote ‘Half-Breeds’ on the board.
My stomach sank, and my chest felt heavy. Flashbacks of the dead teenager crowded my brain.
“There have been some recent discoveries about half-breeds. One that is very concerning, but we will get into that later.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “All that you need to know is that there are several leaders that are very concerned about this growing epidemic.”
“Epidemic?” Jess’s brow furrowed and she bit her bottom lip.
“Yes, we will get into this later. However, there are severe ramifications for an interracial relationship, especially if children occur.” Professor Shaw glanced out the doorway and paused.
When I followed his gaze, there stood Isadora. I had never seen her outside her office, so this was a change. I hoped that she wasn’t here for Rage and me.
“Good morning, Professor Shaw.” Isadora entered the classroom and scanned the area. “Is this the new class you recently requested from me?”
“Oh, yes.” Professor Shaw grinned and took a deep breath. “I informed them that they were the guinea pigs for this and that we’d have a more in-depth review of supernatural races. Although, I was just about to let them leave because I don’t have the books yet to distribute.”
“Then please don’t let me hold them up.” Isadora gave a cold smile and motioned to the door. “Everyone have a good rest of your day.”
Rage clambered out of the desk and waited for me.
I kind of didn’t want to leave. Something odd was going on, but it wasn’t like we were going to figure it out by staying. I slowly climbed out of the desk and took Rage’s hand. “You ready?”
“Hell, yeah.” Rage was tense from the Nate altercation.
“I can’t believe we get out early.” Jess grinned and headed toward the door. “Maybe we can watch a movie together.”
Jess rambled on, but I couldn’t pay attention to her. My eyes stayed on Isadora and Professor Shaw as we exited the building.
Something didn’t feel right. I wasn’t sure if Isadora and Professor Shaw were working together on this one or if Professor Shaw was teaching something she didn’t approve of. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter. I just hoped more problems didn’t fall into our laps.
Chapter Seven
As we made it outside the main building, someone yelled at us.
“Hey.” Nate’s now too familiar voice stopped us in our tracks.
“Just ignore him and keep moving.” Jess nodded her head in the direction of the girls’ dorm.
“Hell, no.” Rage turned around facing the douchebag. “I’m not going to run away from a wannabe alpha.”
“Is he a wannabe when he’s here at this school?” Jess arched an eyebrow.
She did have a valid point. Only the strongest attended Bloodshed, so it wasn’t like he was an omega or anything. “Is he worth it?”
“Worth it? No.” Rage growled out. “But it’s a necessity to kick the punk’s ass so he realizes his place as a freshman.”
“Then we do it together.” I spun around to face the asshole too.
“Dude, why are you pushing this?” His buddy from class grabbed his arm, trying to pull him away.
“No, they can’t act like they’re better than us.” Nate lifted his chin and bared his teeth. “We’re all elites here.”
Cole’s dark chuckle rang in my ears. “I’m so glad that I got back in time for this.” He appeared on the other side of me, and together the three of us stared down the asshole. “A whimpering pup is dying for attention.”
“Why don’t you stay out of this, bloodsucker?” Nate stepped in our direction. “This is between me and them.”
“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Cole wrapped his arm over my shoulders to point back and forth between me and Rage. “These are my peeps, no matter their race.”
“You know what?” This was exactly what the jackass wanted. “He isn’t worth our time. I mean, what do we have to prove?”
A sparkle shone in Cole’s eyes. “Hell yeah. Everyone here knows we’re badasses.”
Rage was tense, but when I laid my hand on his arm, he relaxed a little.
“I didn’t realize you were willing to share her.” A cruel smirk spread across Nate’s face. “I’d like in on that deal.”
My feet moved of their own accord toward him.
“Someone seems eager for that deal.” He winked at me and chuckled.
As soon as I was in range, I reared back and punched him square in the jaw.
His head jerked back, and then I kneed him in the crotch. He fell to the ground in the fetal position.
I squatted next to him and growled. “Just because I have friends from different races, and I’m not the least bit interested in you, doesn’t mean you get to act like a jerk.”
Damien grinned as he appeared beside me. “Sorry I’m late, but it looks like Raven has already taken care of the problem.”
“Hell, yeah, she did.” Cole slapped Damien’s arm. “I bet he won’t be messing with us again.”
When I stood, arms wrapped around me, and I leaned back into my earthly solitude.
Rage kissed my cheek and chuckled. “Well, as fun as this may be, I think we’ve wasted enough of our time on this dickhead.”