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I squared my shoulders and marched toward the door like I owned the place. I had to look the part of a student here. Heck, Iwasthe part, they just didn’t know it yet.

“First time here?” came a male voice over the intercom, rough and intimidating.

I nodded, then realized the speaker might be expecting a verbal response. “Yes.”

“We’ll just need a retina scan.”

Ah, so that’s what that thing was. Did shifters have different eyes than humans? I thought of the way the eyes of animals seemed to glow in the dark. Was this scanner sensitive to reflection?

I approached the digital scanner on the wall beside the door and let out a breath as I leveled my eye to the device. I didn’t know the right spell to change the actual structure of my eyes, but I did have one trick up my sleeve and I was damn sure going to use it.

“Wepah,” I whispered as a green light flashed over my vision.

The door buzzed, and without skipping a beat, I grabbed the handle and pulled it open.

My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest like the thing from Alien, but I kept my shit together, cool as a cucumber.

“Welcome to Shifter Academy,” the speaker voice continued. “Step inside, and they’ll get you settled.”

“Thanks.” I strode in.

The door slammed shut behind me with an ominous thud, and I jumped.

I clutched my bag, hugging it tight to my chest. I wasn’t sure when I’d have to pull out the vial, but I needed to be ready.

My mouth fell open as I took in the dark metals and intricate figures. Japanese-style dragons coiled around the archway, climbing toward the same symbol I’d seen on that card Caesar showed us. The hall beyond looked even more detailed, and I was drawn to it like a magnet.

“Welcome,” a woman’s voice called out, snapping me out of my trance. The woman—no, a freaking goddess—sat behind a large desk, her bright red hair and green eyes arresting.

I felt about an inch tall, and I clasped my hands behind my back. “Um, I’m here to attend the school.”

“Yes, of course. I’m Celeste, head of the Acceptance Department, but you can call me Ms. Smith. Which kind of were are you, and who sent you to us?”

My mouth hung open for a moment, words completely escaping me.A were? Like a werewolf?Why did this woman think I was a were?

“Well?” Ms. Smith asked after I stood there staring dumbly for several long moments. Those green eyes drilled into me, her foot tapping beneath the desk.

“Not a were,” I finally said.

I pulled the potion out of my bag, pulled off the cork and tossed it back like a shot. The liquid burned down my throat and, instantly, I felt the transformation taking hold of me. I was prepared to shred out of my clothes, to grow fur and claws and inch-long teeth.

What I wasn’t prepared for was shrinking into my clothes that suddenly piled over me like a deflated hot air balloon.

What the hell?The label on the shelf had said “feline”…

Oh. A cat. I’m a fucking cat!

I thought this potion was to shift into a mountain lion or something equally impressive. Who the hell would ever want or need to turn into a cute little kitten? I mean, I hadn’t seen myself yet, but it was me, so obviously I must look adorable. Soooooo not what I was going for.

I hissed as I tried to scramble my way out through the neck of my shirt.

Ms. Smith threw her head back and laughed, slapping her knee and everything. When she recovered, she leveled an icy glare at me.

“You’re no shifter,witch.” The label rolled off her tongue like vomit, and I cringed, my catty whiskers tickling my cheeks. “I don’t know how you got in, but you can be sure it won’t happen again. Now, put yourself back together.”

Letting out a catty snort, I willed the magic of the potion to free me and grew into my own skin once more.

At the look of embarrassed shock on Ms. Smith’s face, I looked down at myself.