Unexpected Love

Chapter Ten

My clothes shredded from my body as the shift took over me, my paws landing onto the soft grass below. Kendrick stood above me, his height looming over my tall but still small frame. His golden eyes stared as if his lion didn't know what to make of me.
  I could see my silver fur shining from the sunlight, reflecting into my glistening blue eyes. I nudged his paw with my nose, whining slightly like the little bitch that I am. He snapped out of whatever trance he must have been in before lunging at me, knocking me over.
  He growled playfully as he nipped at my neck. Normally I would have put a shifter in their place with that kind of defiance but I couldn't find it in me to be bothered by it. We wrestled around on the grass. Nipping and licking at each other with an odd familiarity and gentleness, I should have found it revolting, but I didn't. I couldn't.
  It was strange how comfortable my wolf was with Kendrick's lion. It's like she had found her long lost friend, relishing in the love he had to offer her.
  I could vaguely hear approaching footsteps, but I was too focused on Kendrick to care much about it.
  "What the fuck? I thought we were meeting up for the project," Colt's deep voice spoke from the edge of the clearing.
  I whipped my head up before climbing off of Kendrick's back where I previously had his fur in my mouth like a mother would a kitten. I watched as Colt, Quinton, and Bryxon looked at us with disgust, confusion, and smugness written across their faces.
  Kendrick shifted, standing in all his naked, golden glory. The guys didn't even glance in his direction though. No. They were looking at me.
  I shifted, raising my eyebrows at them. "What?" I watched in confidence as all four pairs of eyes looked at me from head to toe, barely containing themselves from standing still.
  Colt snapped out of his stare off first and looked at the others, making him hiss as he pulled his shirt off and threw it at me. "Put that damn shirt on, angel."
  I bit back my smug smile as I slowly pulled the shirt down. However, jokes on me because as I did so, I inhaled a breath full of Colt's scent, making my wolf stir in delight. Hmm.
  I felt the shirt drop, almost touching my knees, cutting off the guys staring contest and bringing them back to the present. I was about to thank Colt until he spoke up again. "What the fuck was that?"
  "She's part werewolf, obviously, dumbass. Weren't you just standing there?" Bryxon said, looking at Colt with a serious face before sneaking a wink at me. Colt gritted his teeth, ignoring Bryxon like usual.
  "What are you then?" Quinton asked, looking at me as if he had no idea who I was, like a mystery he wanted to solve.
  Colt pinned Quinton with a death glare. "You don't get to ask her any questions, big bird."
  I could tell Quinton put up a defensive wall in his mind, blocking out Colt's intrusive visions. "And you do?" He questioned, now looking Colt straight on as he stalked closer.
  Colt narrowed his eyes into snake-like slots. "I'm not the one who loves making a fool out of her."
  "I wouldn't necessarily agree with that," Bryxon muttered. Again, being completely ignored by everyone.
  Quinton's brows creased together. "What's that supposed to mean?"
  "It means that you're a fucking liar, Steel."
  I heard the sound of pants buckling before an effective pissed off Kendrick yelled,"Okay, enough! Is somebody going to tell me what the hell is going on?" We all looked at each other, Quinton now realizing that we all knew his secret. "And what is that little look?" Kendrick said exasperated.
  Bryxon sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets before speaking in one full breath. "There's a secret cult that's taking students and using them as sacrifices. Except not all of them are dying, but instead are being resurrected. And we don't know who they're coming after next."
  I glanced at Kendrick to see a blank look on his face. "And you all knew about this?" He asked quietly. We nodded and I was afraid we had officially scared Kendrick off…that was until he opened his mouth. "And you left me out? I thought we were a team!"
  "I-we-" I stuttered, not knowing what to say.
  "We are definitely not a team." Colt muttered angrily.
  Bryxon raised an eyebrow in his direction. "I'd say us three going off in the middle of the night to investigate definitely makes us a team."
  Colt grounded his teeth. "You weren't even invited."
  "What did you figure out?" Quinton asked, breaking into the argument. He really shouldn't have.
  Colt and Bryxon whirled on him, looking pissed off. I could have sworn I saw a glimpse of snake fangs and fire coming from them.
  "We don't have to tell you shit, Steel," Colt said in the deadliest voice I have ever heard. "You made Skiler look like a deranged psycho when you knew she was telling the truth."
  Quinton shook his head, avoiding eye contact with me. Pussy. "It's not that simple. I had to make her stop trying to dig herself in deeper."
  "Why?" I asked the question that's been bugging me since the incident in class.
  Quinton finally looked at me with regretful eyes. "I'm sorry. I was just trying to keep you safe. If that made me the bad guy, then it was worth it."
  "Okay, quit avoiding the question. What do you know?" Bryxon asked in an annoyed voice, completely opposite to his normal easy-going attitude.
  Quinton shifted on his feet. "I don't know much more than you guys probably do. I just know that they bring sacrifices in to fulfill whatever spell is needed."
  I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "What does that mean? To fulfill what spells?"
  He sighed, rubbing the tension out of his temples. "Like if the spell requires a werewolf, they bring one. Or if it requires a century-old vampire, then they bring one."
  "What are the spells they're doing?" Kendrick asked, making me jump slightly since he had kept quiet during the whole discussion.
  Quinton shrugged. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. I still can't figure out who they are either. I've been trying for months."
  "Why not just tell somebody about it?" I asked. I mean, I'm no snitch but this is serious shit we're talking about.
  Quinton tensed, not making eye contact. "I did. He's dead now." I felt my blood go ice cold at what he implied.
  "So we're fucked?" Bryxon asked, blowing out a soft whistle.
  Colt shrugged. "Well, it has nothing to do with us so we should just leave it."
  I gaped at him while he looked at me with no shame. "We can't just do nothing! What if it comes after one of us?"
  "Then I'd like to see it try," he said before strolling off towards the school.
  "You little bitch-" I started off after him before Kendrick interrupted me.
  "So are we just going to ignore the fact that you're a vampire, witch, and werewolf?"
  I turned towards the remaining three guys with a blank look. Is there any way I can somehow lie my way out of this? I wasn't planning on exposing myself this quick. I mean, tribrid were not well known. In fact, including me, there are only two in the world.
  "Don't even try to charm your way out of this one, Ski," Bryxon said with a teasing grin and a curious expression.
  "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked defensively, trying to change the subject. This was definitely not part of the plan. I mean, I know I willingly showed Kendrick my wild form, but I trust him…and now, I'm afraid I trust all of them. Fuck, even the damn lizard.
  "It means you charmed your way to drinking slytherin boy's blood," Bryxon replied with mischief in his eyes. Damn, I really walked myself into that one.
  Kendrick roared a laugh. "You drank blood…from Colt?!"
  I felt my face heat up with an embarrassing blush. Yes, I've drink blood from humans and supernaturals alike but this was different. He willingly offered it to me, making it feel somehow personal and intimate. It didn't help that we were both obviously turned on as well.
  "I'm surprised you're still breathing." Quinton said, looking at me with an unreadable expression.
  Bryxon was full-on smiling now. "Oh, he willingly let her."
  Both Kendrick and Quinton now gaped at me. "It was nothing. Good talk, but umm…I got things I've got… planned." I snagged up my clothes before walking back towards the school, practically power walking at this point.
  I could hear the chuckled of the guys as they followed behind me. What was I doing?

___________
 
 
  This is a bad idea, I thought as I walked down the dark hallway. Why the hell is his room down here? I mean, it definitely fits his aesthetic if that's what he's going for.
  I know he was ignoring me in detention today, but I couldn't tell if it was on purpose or not. I don't know why I'm even here. Why I'm even bothering.
  I stopped in front of his door and took a deep breath. I raised my fist and knocked on the the wood surface, making a loud echoing sound travel down the hallway. I waited in silence, almost turning around until I heard the door unlocking.
  "What?" Colt growled, throwing open the door. His eyes looked down as if he wasn't expecting someone so short to be in front of him. I frowned at his tone and the scowl lining his unfairly handsome face.
  "Well I can see you're not in a very cheerful mood." I said before turning around, ready to high tail it back to my dorm.
  I felt a cold hand wrap around my arm before he pulled me into his room and shut the door. "What are you doing here, angel?" He asked, pushing my back against the door.
  I looked up into his cold yet tender eyes, feeling my heart beat faster than normal. I swallowed, my lips parting. "I-I need your help."
  He sighed, releasing me as if he was hoping for a different response. "I told you we should just leave it."
  I shook my head. "Well, I can't."
  Colt strode over towards his desk tucked in the corner of the room. "I don't know what we can do, to be honest. I mean, whatever they're doing, it involves some seriously dark magic. Magic that I've never seen before."
  "And what would you know about magic anyways?" I asked, sitting on the corner of his desk, his hand only inches away from my thigh.
  "I research anything that could be useful to me. It's better to know what could kill you rather than being blind."
  I nodded my head, looking over the shelves in his room. "That explains why you're so good at potions." He nodded his head while my eyes looked over the various jars and glasses. "I bet your roommate feels mighty comfortable with you around." I muttered, noticing several poison-filled potions.
  "I don't have a roommate, angel. Do you seriously think the academy would want to be responsible for that?" He responded with a surprising snort.
  Suddenly the room felt much smaller and Colt seemed much closer as I took in the fact that there was only one bed in the room. How did I not notice that?
  Colt stood up, standing at his full height while I still sat on his desk, my legs on display from my skirt riding up. He leaned over, caging me between his outstretched arms as his breath fanned my ear.
  "What's wrong, angel? Are you scared?"
  I looked up into his dark eyes. "What kind of a question is that?" I asked in an embarrassingly breathy voice.
  He searched my face, looking for god knows what. "We're more alike that you know, Skiler," he said using my actual name for once…I realize that I didn't like it.
  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. I would have thought that he pulled me into another vision if it weren't for the fact that I was still clutching the desk. The wood biting into my palms to show that I was indeed, still here.
  He suddenly pulled away, making me feel oddly empty and cold. "If you figure out something to do, then tell me. Otherwise, I don't want to be a part of this shit."
  I could only nod my head as I stood up and walked myself to the door in a daze. I was almost in the hallway when I looked back. "Colt." My voice brought his obsidian gaze to mine. I felt nailed to the spot before I whispered out, "You don't scare me," and closed the door.