Academy Of Beasts V

By Becca Fanning

Bad just turned to worse.
The people who raised me, the ones whom I loved, the ones who I lost.
Were they even my real parents?
Why are these Shifter men so insistent on protecting me? Are they really doing it because they care about me, or are they just following orders from The Officials?
And it seems I can't take two steps without Mr. X showing up and putting butterflies in my stomach.
That's it: I'm not going to sit by and watch my life happen. It's time to take matters into my own hands.
But will the truth set me free or destroy 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

alive.

Chapter 1

When I was a senior in high school, debating on signing up for community college, I imagined that it would be nice to be working towards a brighter future. If you asked me what college was going to be like back then, I would’ve probably told you that I assumed it would involve homework and plenty of friends.

Turns out that college did involve homework. Stacks of it, as I discovered at Beast Academy. There were interesting subjects. From the complicated relationships between shifters and humans to the actual understanding of how shifter magic worked. It was fascinating but a lot of work. Homework was standard fare for everybody in college, I suppose.

The friends? Eh. That was debatable, given my complicated relationships with the Council boys. Priscilla was an authentic friend. So…I had one!

What I hadn’t anticipated was the number of kissing opportunities I would have with charming supernatural guys.

Your face always seems pink lately, Theo said as he poked my arm at breakfast. You’re zoning out on your cinnamon rolls, dude. Are you going to barf on your breakfast?

Sometimes, frustrating charming supernatural guys.

I stared at the handsome bear-shifter and briefly marveled at how I had gotten into this position.

A human girl with murdered parents who may not have been my real parents. Some lurking group of old shifters making the decisions for the elite group known as the Core Council. A mysterious sexy guy running around in a mask with too much confidence for his own good.

I’m tired, I told Theo weakly. We were the only ones at breakfast this Monday morning, an odd turn of events. I assumed that Enrique was still recovering from his party this weekend, which I’d gone to and danced my ass off at. He had probably collapsed in the collected arms of his three current girlfriends.

Theo grinned. Can I finish your cinnamon roll then?

Have at it, I told him and shoved the plate towards him. He was by far the largest shifter in the Council. Bear-shifters tended to run broad and tall. Theo was that and more. I watched his strong arms flex as he ate my leftovers happily. He was still dressed in our workout clothes from morning training. I stared at his black tank top.

Why aren’t you dressed for school? I asked. He rolled his head towards me and stuck his finger up to his lips. Ah.

It’s a mission?

He nodded and swallowed. Don’t tell Dracus that you know what they’re called, though. He’ll have my head for it.

That, I believed. Our resident dragon-shifter, and the head of the Core Council, was as strict as they came. He was one of the handsome mugs missing from the table. Theo had let it slip that missions were what they called the jobs assigned to the Council. The boys had recently revealed that the Council received orders on what to do from a powerful group that worked to protect the Academy.

They were a group of mysterious people that I now knew were called The Officials. Mr. X had told me that. A shiver ran through me. I chugged my orange juice. He had told me that after almost kissing me again. I’d been too drunk for us to continue anything…

On Monday morning, I had a new weapon in my arsenal. I had a name.

The Officials.

"Will you be in class today at all? I asked before leaving.

Doubt it. I left him to devour the rest of his breakfast. Moony was already gone from the kitchen when I walked through. I grabbed my protein shake from the fridge. My life was certainly different here. It was nothing like the college I imagined as a kid.

The Officials.

I mulled the name over on my walk to school. It seemed to haunt my brain, unwilling to leave. Yesterday, I’d made the decision to tell Priscilla almost everything. My brush with Mr. X had sent a new wave of determination through me. I would discover the secrets hiding at Beast Academy, whether the Council boys liked it or not. They could try to stop me.

Priscilla was by far one of the smartest shifters at the school. A top student. That’s why I was surprised to find her missing from the usual seat she took beside me. From class entirely!

In her place, I recognized a familiar face.

Lucius? I asked as I sat down. The gorgeous dragon-shifter smiled up at me from his notebook. He brushed his wavy dark hair from his face. I didn’t realize you were in this class. Priscilla had introduced him to me at Enrique’s party. He hadn’t stuck around to visit for very long. I had no idea we had classes together.

Hi, Fiona, he said. His voice was low and pleasant. I wondered if it was a requirement to have a deep, sexy voice as a male shifter. Human women were truly missing out.

Where’s Priscilla?

She’s come down with a bad cold, he explained. The corner of his lips quirked upward. I raised an eyebrow. Priscilla had hit it off with the bartender at Enrique’s party. Maybe a make-out session got her sick. I wondered if Lucius was wondering the same thing.

Is it bad? The cold? I had never seen a shifter sick before. Our extensive medical ward with Nurse Greta seemed exclusively used for healing wounds after friendly or not-so-friendly battles between the students.

Shifter colds are nasty. Our immune systems are very strong, but if something gets us, it really gets us, he said. How are you, though?

I unpacked my notebook and pencil case. Fine. Tired from the weekend. Did you enjoy Enrique’s party?

You missed the best part, he said with a snort. His eyes drifted to the front of the class as if he was replaying the events in his brain. Two wolf-shifters got into a fistfight over a lion-shifter. Enrique had to break it up.

Oh, I’m sure he loved that. Leaving his precious girlfriends?

I didn’t