Academy Of Beasts VI

By Becca Fanning

"Fiona, it's time you know the truth."
This coming from the man stalking me from behind a mask.
I don't care what the Council has to say: they are just taking orders from The Officials, whoever they are.
It's just another group of people who insist they know what's best for me, and I'm getting sick of it!
So when I see an opportunity to put one of these Shifter men to the test, you bet damn well I took it.
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 5, 2021

Book preview

truth."

Chapter 1

When Priscilla opened the door, I stumbled through with a panicked sob. Every logical cell had left my brain and dropped at the clock tower.

Fiona! she cried out and tried to catch me before I slammed face-first into her dorm room floor. I felt her hands shaking me roughly, but I couldn’t seem to find her face. Everything around me swirled. She swore and dragged me over to her bed. Her footsteps faded away as I blinked, trying to orient myself in her room.

Purple everywhere. The color of dragons. Dracus. Dragon-shifters. I swallowed a cry in my throat and broke into another sob. She ran back into the room.

Here, she said and tried to pull me up to a sitting position in her bed. I knocked into her and spilt some water from the glass that she was holding up to me. She forced me to drink some. Her hands found me again. She wrapped her fingers firmly into my arms and forced me to face her.

Fiona, I need you to tell me what’s going on, she said. Her gaze was fiery and severe. She was worried. My heart broke as I realized that my feet had carried me automatically to Priscilla without realizing where I was going. I chugged the glass of water and then burst into tears into her arms. She stroked my back. Dragon-shifters were warm, thanks to their fiery nature. I leaned into her warmth and cried until my voice broke like a child.

Can I trust you? I asked her in a breaking voice. She nodded furiously, pulling back to look at me.

Yes, Fiona. What happened?

I opened my mouth and told her absolutely everything from beginning to end. I told her about my parents, about the visions, about the struggles I’d been having.

The last thing I told her before passing out from exhaustion was what happened on top of the clocktower with the Council boys.

They had told me the truth, and I wasn’t ready for it.

The wind had stopped, but I felt as if someone had struck me with an open palm straight in the face. The cozy, complicated bonds that I had formed with the Council boys were fragile…and they were crumbling rapidly into dust.

I gasped as Ren stepped forward.

Ren was Mr. X.

I turned to regard the other figures with an open mouth. They stared back at me. There was a tinge of guilt whispering beneath most faces. Even Jasper’s gaze was pained as he looked upon me. Despite our situation, they looked impressive gathered together. They had been chosen to be a team for a reason. The Officials had done a good job choosing them.

Too bad, they hadn’t expected me to come along.

What’s happening? I asked with a shaking voice. What are you talking about? I pointed an accusing finger at Ren as he took another step towards me. His proximity made me want to recoil. This was the bastard who pretended to be a sexy psycho to get information out of me. Worst of all, I had found it immensely attractive.

Fiona, he began slowly, and I wondered how I hadn’t seen that he was Mr. X all along. The voice was a clever ploy, but now that I could see him without the mask, it was Ren down to the bone. Those lips usually were curled into a sneer when I was with Ren. With Mr. X? Those same lips had been on top of my own once before, and I loved it.

You, I said in a loud commanding voice at Ren, are an absolute sociopath. What kind of sick freak parades around kissing girls and then pretends to hate them? A guttural sound came from Theo’s throat. Of surprise? He was always shocked when he heard of me kissing someone. He was protective…not protective enough to warn me about this meeting, though.

I turned around to glare at the other four with every stitch of fury that I could muster. And you guys are absolute sickos because you knew what was happening.

Dracus cleared his throat. Fiona. We’re not here to talk about Ren’s moonlighting as Mr. X. We’re here for something else.

An anxious feeling dropped into my stomach. I stared at him hard.

What are we here to talk about, exactly? I asked with crossed arms. I was tired of this shit. There were secrets upon secrets being kept between these boys, usually away from me. Dracus wasn’t the type for dramatics. This meeting served a purpose. My eyes narrowed.

Fiona, when we spoke last time…I told you that I didn’t know what you were, Dracus said. A chill ran up my body as his pupils, the slight diamond shape, shrank as he focused on me.

What? I asked, my voice rising with anxious anticipation. My gaze went across the other three gathered beside him. Theo’s eyes looked down. My chest burned painfully.

This isn’t good, Fiona.

Dracus sucked in a breath and took a step forward. I was boxed in between him and Ren on either side. Even if I made a run for a certainly suicidal jump off the clock tower, the boys were fast enough to catch me. Jasper covertly stepped near the edge of the tower, as if he had already guessed my insane exit strategy.

Damn. I ground my teeth together.

I know what you are now, Dracus announced. The tension in my mouth left as my jaw dropped open. Every feeling from the last few months crawled up my throat. My vision blurred with hot salty tears that burned my eyes.

Not a shifter, I ventured in a wavering voice.

Dracus’ gaze never wavered. Not quite, Fiona. You’re something quite rare. You’re a Calm.

The announcement crashed over me. I stumbled backwards with such a speed that Ren had to catch me before I accidentally slammed into him.

A Calm, I repeated hollowly. "You’re wrong. I’ve read about Calms, Dracus. They’re incredibly rare. I would’ve had