Page 34 of Monster's Melody

“Great!”

“We’ll start tomorrow.Sixteen hundred hours.I’ll meet you in the library.”Where I was reasonably certain I wouldn’t fall prey to his magnetism.Without waiting for a response, I bolted.

That night, at dinner, I informed Mikaela and Elliot that Vorzak and I would be joining them for their regular tutoring sessions.

“What?Why?”Mikaela demanded.“You’re not in Inner Beast Management.”

“Vorzak is, though,” Elliot said.“Does he need help?”

“No, it has nothing to do with tutoring.”

“I’m confused,” Kasi said.

“Ineedthem to act as chaperones,” I said.“Keep Vorzak from getting any ideas.Keepmefrom doing anything stupid.”

“Like what?”Mikaela asked.

“Like falling for the gorgon again.I just got over him, now he wants me to tutor him.I need you both to help me keep things as business-like as possible.”

“Uh, you do realize we don’t get much studying done in our sessions anymore, right?”Elliot grinned.

“What?Why not?”

“Elliot was assigned to me because they thought I needed help learning to control Miki-Leopard, but we’re getting along great and I’m doing fine in my classes, so I don’t really need the tutoring anymore.So, now we’re just meeting for fun.”

“And the kisses,” Elliot said.

“Exactly!Because our tutoring sessions are all about the kissing now.”

“In thelibrary?”I asked incredulously.

Elliot and Mikaela looked at each other, shrugged, then nodded.

“Yep,” Mikaela said cheerfully, scratching her biceps.

“With Mr.Brecken wandering around?”

“I’m not a witch for nothing, you know.”

“Oh, my goddess.You two are going to be theworstchaperones in the history of chaperones!”

Kasi snickered.“Do you really want them to be good chaperones?I mean, you don’t have to admit it in mixed company, but we all know you think Vorzak is hot.”

“Hey,” Jahrdran growled.

“I didn’t sayIthought he was hot, just that Jasmine does.”

“You’re not fooling anyone,” Jahrdran growled.

“Oooh, look!”Sunny suddenly exclaimed, pointing at Mikaela, who was still scratching her arm.

“What?”Mikaela glanced down, then gasped, jerking her hand away to reveal a perfect set of cat whiskers on her biceps.“I can’t believe it.She actually did it, or part of it anyway, and now she’s strutting around in triumph in my head.”

I snickered.

Shadow, who’d been lying dormant on Kasi’s arm, lifted her head just enough to sniff at Miki-Leopard’s whiskers, setting them to quivering, before retreating back onto Kasi’s arm and falling asleep.

One side of Miki Leopard’s whiskers peeled away from Mikaela’s skin, quivered in mid-air for a moment, almost as if Miki-Leopard was trying to sense the world around her, then slowly settled back on her skin.