Eternal Academy

CATALINA

I chewed nervously on the end of my pencil, my eyes taking in every student around me. They looked normal enough, but I knew they were all monsters. This school was built for monsters.

The biggest monster was Victor, the dean. The one who dragged me here, convinced I was a monster too. But I’ve never seen this wolf that he claims I have.

A quick glance up front reminded me the teacher was addressing the history of demons. If I was smart, I’d pay attention instead of worrying about which classmate might eat me.

Victor mentioned that the school wasn’t just for werewolves, but other supernaturals as well. He didn’t give me a list or tell me anything else.

I guessed I was going to discover the different kinds on my own. But now there’s talk of demons. Did we have demons here? Why the hell would a demon need an education?

Leaning back in my chair, I was seconds away from putting my legs on the desk. This was so boring.

After getting over the fear that I had to attend a university full of monsters for four years, I expected a little more action than a normal school. So far, the only thing different were the classes.

Maybe I’d get my action when I met the other werewolves. Since I was one…something that’s still up for debate…I was told I’d have to sleep in the werewolf dorms.

We didn’t get to go home. Everyone lived on campus. Not that I had a home to go to.

“You should pay attention,” a soft voice whispered next to me, interrupting my thoughts. My body stilled, not expecting such a rich voice. If treasure could talk…

I righted my seat, fixing my gaze on the figure next to me. Flaming red hair, a face half covered in freckles, covered slightly by the black frames of his glasses. I tilted my head.

He was damn hot. I’d never been attracted to redheads, but my, oh my. What kind of monster was he? A male siren? Did they have male sirens? “And why’s that?” I asked.

He shuffled in his seat, slouching down more. Throwing a nervous glance my way, he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. I think my panties just melted.

“Demons are known to be the most vicious in the supernatural world. You should learn how to deal with them if you ever face one,” he rushed out, some words mumbled.

I smiled in sympathy. It was obvious he wasn’t much of a talker. Pressing my pencil to the notebook—both given to me by the school—I decided to humor him.

For the rest of the class, I took a few notes, glancing at the redhead every now and again. He nodded his approval. I think I found my first ally.

When the bell rang to signal the end of class, I made sure to pack at the same speed as him, hoping to have a chat.

Once I finished, I walked over to his desk, where he was still loading up books. “What’s your name?” I asked.

He jumped, startled. A blush covered his cheeks when he turned to face me, making his red hair stand out even more. “Mateo.”

I held a hand out for him to shake. “Pleasure to meet you, Mateo.” Though the pleasure was all mine.

I eyed his body and what he was wearing. A simple blue t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He looked absolutely delicious. My pulse quickened just watching him.

He grabbed my hand in a tight grip, which surprised me. I expected sweaty and loose. At least I got the sweaty part right.

He nodded, then turned for the door. “Wait!” I said. He stopped, his body stiff. “I need help finding my next class.” He exhaled in relief, and I arched a brow.

What did he think I was going to say? Tell him how badly I wanted to jump his bones? That wasn’t happening.

Not saying a word, he held his hand out. I dug in my back pocket for the crumpled piece of paper the dean’s secretary gave me.

Scanning it quickly, he thrust it back to me. “We have our next class together.” He blushed. “Follow me.”

Shouldering my backpack, I followed him out of the classroom. While we were walking, I couldn't help but notice how much he hunched when he walked.

Then I realized it was so he’d go unnoticed. Though that didn’t happen. Plenty of females did a double take as he passed. He didn’t notice any of them. For some reason, that made me feel good.

We stopped outside of classroom B12. “This is chemistry,” he said. Damn right it is. He blushed again.

Shit! Could he hear my thoughts? Was that a thing supernaturals could do? Like Edward from Twilight? “You space out a lot,” he said. I blinked, cheeks heating. I did not ~space out.~

I followed him silently into the classroom. There was only one way to determine if he could read my thoughts or not.

Sitting calmly next to him, I waited until we were deep into the lesson to try out my plan.

From the corner of my eye, I watched him furiously take notes. He was concentrating hard, his forehead creased with thought.

Damn, he looks sexy, I thought clearly. I watched for a reaction, but he never slowed his writing.

Exhaling in relief, I pulled out my own materials…something I should’ve done at the beginning of class. Oops.

Since leaving this place wasn’t an option, I might as well make the most of it. It wasn’t like I had anywhere else to go.

Back in Seattle, I was living in a foster home. There were so many kids and teens there I doubted Felicia would notice my absence. She was a terrible foster mother.

“Do we have any witches present at the moment?” My eyes snapped to the professor. His eyes were scanning the room sharply. Did he say witches?

Two female hands went up in the front. I stiffened. Holy shit, witches are real? “Great. Would one of you mind coming up for this demonstration?”

The one with dirty blonde hair happily jumped from her seat, eager to please. “Ok, Ms. Smith, pick two of these and mix them to cause a flame reaction.”

I leaned closer to Mateo. “What the hell did I miss?” I had no clue what was going on. I really needed to stop spacing out.

He not-so-subtly leaned away from me, putting space between us again. Did I smell or something? I raised an eyebrow and he blushed.

“She has to figure out which two liquids will cause a flame. Since she’s a witch, she should be able to figure this out quickly.

“They use spells to help with most of their magic, and most spells require potions.” I nodded, moving back out of his space.

His eyes flicked to me, then back up front. “You really should start paying attention.”

I flashed him a grin. “Kind of hard to do when I’m sitting next to a sexy redhead.” I winked.

His eyes widened, and before I could stop him, he packed his stuff, moving to a desk across the room.

I shook my head, laughing quietly. Oh, he was going to be fun to tease. I guessed this place wouldn’t be so bad.