Eternal Academy

CATALINA

Over the next few days, Mateo and I fell into a sort of routine. Every morning he met me outside my dorm so we could walk to class together.

We’d eat lunch in the library, occasionally going over homework assignments, or he’d read while I ate.

The only problem was that the more I hung out with him, the more I felt drawn to him. I’d even had a very R-rated dream involving him and rope.

There was something about him that called to some part of me. A deep connection that wanted to be close to him all the time. I wasn’t sure how he felt, though.

He treated me like any other person would treat a friend. But I wanted to be more than friends. And now that today was Friday, I planned to discover his true feelings for me.

Right now, I was at the arena to meet Lucien. The arena where the war games were held was easy to find.

It was the size of a school’s football field with a high stadium. Not to mention all the cheers and growls that could be heard. I shivered. It was like walking into a zoo.

I couldn’t believe the school was okay with this. Shaking my head, I entered the dome-like structure.

The stands were filled with people, more than I expected to see on a school day. It didn’t take long to notice the fans were mostly girls, though. I rolled my eyes. Typical.

As I stood near the steps, I realized I had no idea who I was looking for. I didn’t know what this Lucien guy looked like. Maybe I should’ve taken Mateo up on his offer.

My spirits brightened just thinking about him.

“Are you lost, baby girl?”

I did my best to hold in a groan.

“Are you a cliche, baby boy?” I asked, turning around. My head cocked to the side, eyes widening. This male was sexy.

Forest-green eyes stared back at me. Medium-length black hair, strong jawline, a slight five o’clock shadow, and very kissable lips.

Lips I was now envisioning doing very inappropriate things to me. Was he a student or a teacher? Whoever he was, I wanted to climb him like a tree.

A low rumble filled his chest as he circled me. “Ahh, you must be the new girl.”

My face scrunched in confusion, then horror. Oh God, don’t tell me this sex on legs was Lucien!? “Lucien?”

He spread his arms out wide. “The one and only.” Stepping closer, he grabbed a lock of my hair. “This is different.” I stepped back, making my hair fall from his grasp.

So far, he was the only one to point my hair out. Maybe everyone else just assumed I dyed it. How else would I have pink and purple pastel-colored hair? No one would believe I was born with it.

I crossed my arms, glaring at the man whore. “I was told to meet you here.”

He nodded. “I need you to get in uniform.” At that moment, I noticed the tight tank and black shorts he was wearing, adding more to his sex appeal.

The man oozed confidence and gave off an alluring scent of pine and lemons. But underneath that sex appeal, I could sense the predator, warning me to stay away.

Only it was begging me to get closer.

I exhaled. “For what?”

“You’re on my team, of course.” He winked. Without another word, he started heading down the stairs. I stumbled after him, confused as hell.

“I wasn’t planning to play,” I mumbled.

Sparing a glance over his shoulder, his nostrils flared. “You smell…” He shook his head.

“Never mind. If you plan to sleep in the werewolf dorms, then you’ll be joining this game.” Ahh, so this was the Knighting thing Abigail had mentioned.

I shifted my neck from side to side, shaking out my hands. “All right, let’s do this.” The next time he looked back, his eyes were full of pride.

The ‘uniform’ he mentioned was merely a piece of cloth they tried to make pass for shorts, and a sports bra.

I got dressed in the women’s locker room, along with Amber, Piper, and the red-headed fae from lunch and two others.

The entire time, they all glared at each other. Damn, these bitches came to play. I hadn’t seen Piper since my first day here.

“Good luck out there, Pinky, Nick is going to eat you alive.” One of the fae girls smirked, shoving past me and heading out the door. I shrugged.

Hell, he might not be the only one, considering I didn’t know how to shift and was playing with a bunch of animals.

Amber walked up to me, patting my back. “You’ll do fine. Just don’t touch the ball.”

Ok then.

I shuffled out behind her, praying my face made it out in one piece. I could survive losing a leg or an arm, but my face was my money-maker.

We made our way out to the field to stand with the boys. Lucien watched me with a curious look. His eyes lingered on my legs.

I could feel the heat from his stare doing things to my body. I tugged my shorts down more. He snorted, facing the front as the fae walked out.

My eyes zeroed in on the guy in front as a gasp left me. If I’d thought Lucien was sex on legs, this guy was a meal on wheels.

Long silver-gray hair pulled back into a neat ponytail at the nape of his neck, piercing grey eyes, and oh my God! Was that a lip ring?

I could almost feel my excitement dripping down my legs. His eyes snapped from his glaring contest with Lucien to me. He inhaled deeply, then smirked.

What was with these guys and sniffing? Unlike Lucien, he was wearing a light pink shirt and white basketball shorts.

"Hi, little wolf.” My eyes widened. I hadn’t seen his lips move. Did he just speak in my head?

“Nick,” Lucien growled. Nick ever so slowly dragged his eyes from mine. “Are we going to play, or would you rather eye my teammate all day?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. He didn’t have to put me on blast like that. But that growl was sexy.

Nick laughed, cracking his fingers. “Let the games begin, mutt.”

Someone blew a whistle, and a ball came out of nowhere. Lucien sprang for it, shifting into a large black wolf. At the same time, Nick shifted into a golden lion.

I stared at the two, mesmerized. They were huge! And almost as gorgeous as their human forms.

The rest of the teammates shifted as well, while I stood there awkwardly. This is great, Catalina, what have you gotten yourself into now?

The sound of growls and snarls surrounded me. God, where was a bench when I needed one? How many points until the game ended?

From the corner of my eye, a golden streak zoomed past me. Nick was running full speed to the other end of the field, ball latched between his powerful jaws.

I watched, fascinated by the strength and beauty of his beast.

Something slammed into me from behind and I hit the ground with an oof. A rather large red fox looked back at me, a snarl on her face.

Without a doubt, I knew it was the fae from the lockers. Oh, that bitch was going to get it.

I jumped up, running full speed after the red-tailed bitch. My legs carried me with a speed that surprised me. I’d never run this fast in my life…though I also never run.

Within seconds, I was a few inches from the fox. I grinned. Extending my hand, I reached out for her tail, hoping to grab it and toss her to kingdom come.

My hand brushed her fur when something slammed into me. It tackled me, causing us to flip several times due to my speed. I winced when my head smacked against the ground.

A heavy weight lay on my chest, strong paws pinning me down by my shoulders. My eyes opened, coming face to face with Nick the lion.

His hungry gaze scanned my body as if checking for injuries. Then he cocked his head, letting his tongue flap out. “I like having you under me, little wolf.

I growled, shoving at his chest. “Get off me, pervert!” He grinned— or snarled; it was hard to tell with all the sharp teeth.

Leaning down, he dragged his tongue from my chin to my forehead, as I squirmed the whole time.

Then the weight was lifted off me when something black tackled him from the side. Lucien. They rolled across the ground, snapping and growling at each other.

Using my shirt, I wiped the lion DNA off my face. Damn fae.

The game continued for another twenty minutes, with me trying to avoid the whole thing. In the end, it was another tie, much to the crowd’s annoyance.

I sprinted to the locker room, changing so fast you’d think it was a competition. The other girls were coming in as I was heading out.

Lucien was waiting outside the locker room, a frown on his face. “What?” I asked him.

He blinked, then sighed. “Just came to welcome you to the pack, pup.” I had a feeling he wanted to say more, but he simply turned and left. I shrugged, heading back to the dorms.

My eyes scanned the parting crowd for Nick, but he was nowhere to be found. Why was I even looking for him? The guy was clearly missing a few screws.

I shook him out of my head. I needed a long bath. Or a cold shower.