Page 63 of Twisted Ties

“How did it get in?” I ask the principal. The school grounds are patrolled and protected by all sorts of security spells. A werebeast would be unable to wander in, even from the direction of the forest.

She doesn’t answer, and her thoughts are securely protected behind a wall – one I could break if I wanted to, but not without a fight.

“We had better gather the students up. Ensure everyone is accounted for,” she says eventually.

“I’m going to go and check on Miss Blackwaters.”

The principal nods, already turning to the staff members behind her.

I stride quickly along the path, breaking out into a run when the voices behind me fade. By the time I reach my closed office door, I’m out of breath, my brow damp with sweat, my t-shirt clinging to my chest.

“Rhianna!” I shout, thumping on the door.

“Stone?” she says, her voice slightly muffled by the panel of wood that separates us. “Is that you?”

“Yes?”

“How can I know for sure?”

I swear under my breath. “Just open the goddamn door.”

“Not until you–”

“Remember when I chained you to the bed the first night–”

The door swings open. “That was a dickhead thing to do.”

I smirk at her, eyes darting over her body. Thin red lines scrape down her throat and she stinks of dog.

“You smell disgusting,” I say, grimacing.

She scowls at me. “You’re not exactly smelling like roses yourself, Professor.”

I push my way inside, eyes straying to my books on the desk.

“Are you hurt?” I ask, closing the book that lies open behind my back.

Her eyes flick to my desk too.

Crap! She wants to ask me about the books. She also wants to know about the beast.

“It was a werebeast,” I say, diverting her attention away from my books. “I’m assuming you don’t know what one is.”

She shakes her head. And I sense her frustration.

Another thing to add to the list of stuff she knows fuck all about.

“It looked just like a wolf – a giant wolf – but it seemed … almost … human.”

“Because a werebeast can shift between human form and beast form.”

“It spoke to me.”

“What did it say?”

She shakes her head. “How could it speak?”

“I told you, it’s half human.”