Academy Of Beasts II

By Becca Fanning

This has been the worst month of my life.
My home, destroyed. My parents, murdered. My whole life turned upside down.
Now I have to fend for myself in The Academy. I thought I was starting to make friends, but I hear whispers as soon as my back is turned.
Smiles turn to scowls and even those I let get close to me are keeping secrets. Are they doing it to keep me safe, or to use me?
USA Today Bestselling Author Becca Fanning is proud to bring you this Reverse Harem Academy Romance serial, packed with all the action, intrigue and great chemistry you can handle!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gizmo Media
• Release date: Jan 4, 2021

Book preview

Fanning

Chapter 1

Last Time at Beast Academy

I need you to tell me about the mark on your back, Fiona, he whispered in a husky tone. Before I can stop him, he closed the gap between us with a speed that I couldn’t see. I gasped as he leaned in towards me, pushing me against the wall. His touch sent a wave of heat through my body.

Worse.

He kissed me.

He kissed me until I was breathless.

I’ll be back, he promised.

And then he was gone.

Chapter 2

I woke up on Sunday with a headache and the memory of a kiss. The ceiling stared back unsympathetically. Outside, birds sang happily. I buried myself beneath the blanket and vowed to never come out. They couldn’t force me to go to class, could they?

Beast Academy wasn’t for the weak. I learned that lesson quickly. In less than a week, I’d been rescued by a mysterious group of shifters who were insistent that I was a late-shifter (a shifter that doesn’t present their powers until later in life, far past childhood) and dragged to this elite college. I’d been placed in the Core Council, a select group of students who lived in a separate dorm away from the main castle. With five guys. Sketchy handsome, secret-hoarding boys that refused to reveal much about where they snuck off to altogether.

Maybe they were dating each other! My mind roared with lots of naughty thoughts. I bulldozed them immediately. My new school was pushing me to be a lot wilder…

And reckless.

I’d privately accused all of the Council boys of suspicious activities with mixed results. My heart winced. The kindest of them was Theo. I’d yelled at him two days ago, saying that I didn’t trust him. I needed to apologize somehow. Maybe I could ask Moony, the resident chef at the Council manor, to help me make some cookies or something. It was a good enough peace offering for a hungry bear-shifter I’m sure.

And then there was that situation with Mr. X.

My face burned as I thought of his lips pressed against mine. Back home, I hadn’t dated much. I had the occasional boyfriend throughout high school, but nothing super passionate. When I’d found my mom’s hidden stash of romance novels underneath the bed, I realized that none of my relationships had been nearly as passionate. They were awkward kisses with safe fellow high schoolers. But, Mr. X?

I buried my face into my pillow and let out a strained groan. He had kissed me! What a bastard. A presumably handsome bastard, though, beneath that mask. With a grunt, I got out my secret notebook that Moony gifted me the other day, and added something to my list of notes about the Council boys:

Mr. X??? Kiss-stealing, curious about my birthmark. Maybe one of the boys OR a new boy entirely? Unsure.

I clicked the pen shut and glared at the paper. You know, it was super rude for the universe to throw a young woman into a sea of supernatural babes and suspicious behavior. I might be dealing with six shifter dudes, and I could barely handle one of them. With a sigh, I shoved the notebook beneath my pillow and tried to get a few more hours of sleep. If the universe offered any luck, the boys would all be out of the house for the entire day. Maybe I could chat with Moony and ask him if he’d ever seen a mask-wearing boy in the manor before. There was also a stack of homework still waiting for me on my desk.

The red and black mask burned in my mind as I faded back into sleep, desperately hoping that today wouldn’t hold any adventures.

I didn’t think I could take it.

This was…not ideal.

Can I help you, princess? Enrique asked as he lowered his face to meet mine. Both of his hands were on either side of me against the wall, boxing me in like a tiny rat with a ravenous lion. His signature smirk would be plastered on his face. I felt a tightness in my chest.

My eyes were glued firmly to the ground. This was his room, and his signature scent hung around us. It was the same scent that caused me to realize that he’d been the one to break into my room to snoop around on my first night in the manor.

But I wasn’t about to look up.

He was mostly naked.

And incredibly, incredibly attractive.

Fiona! How had I gotten myself into this mess?

Chapter 3

The plan was to stay out of trouble. It really was. When I finally got out of bed at noon, it was because someone knocked loudly on my door. I dragged myself up to unlock it, barely opening my tired eyes. It was by a miracle that my primal brain had the instinct to grab the fluffy pink robe on the back of the door to cover up my sheer tank top and tiny sleep shorts.

The door swung open. Dracus. I pawed at my bed hair and wrapped my bathrobe tighter around me. He looked immaculate as usual, dressed in black slacks and a button-down shirt. The top button was undone, of course. Our resident prince was dressed to the nines. A tiny chain with a dragon holding a ruby in its claw was hung around his neck.

You’re alive, he announced and then scanned my person, seemingly unimpressed. Theo was worried.

And yet…Theo hadn’t come. I sighed and shuffled my feet; a guilty weight settled on my shoulders.

Sorry, I was tired.

He nodded but said nothing. That was Dracus’ power, I’d learned. A stern face and silence. Like when your parents said that they weren’t mad, merely disappointed. Everybody knows that disappointment is worse. Dracus certainly knew that.

An idea slithered into my sleepy brain. I feigned an exaggerated yawn of outrageous casual proportions.

Do you know a Mr. X? I asked him outright. It was best to catch the