Academy Of Beasts XXII: Shifters Romance

By Becca Fanning

The snake in our midst finally reared its head!
With a forked tongue it spat lies, poisoning us against each other.
Its bite was painful, its eyes piercing.
But it wasn't prepared for me and the men who stand by my side.
The betrayal has darkened our hearts, but a bright new dawn is possible if we accept the risks...
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: Mar 23, 2021

Book preview

Fanning

Chapter 1

Ilay in bed, trying to think through the fog that shrouded my brain. I felt like I had been stuck in a dream. A nightmare… No. Not a nightmare. But something different than usual.

As I lay, images returned to me. Of a Wolf on the wall and Sentries not knowing what I was talking about. Or pretending like they didn’t know.

I jolted upright in bed. That hadn’t been a dream, had it? No, last night had been real. I had seen the Wolf on the wall, I had gone up to find answers, but none of the Sentries had known what I was talking about. After the Wolf had disappeared, I had asked them about it – how could they allow a Shifter into the Academy that didn’t belong? Clearly, the Wolf hadn’t been from here.

They had all acted like I was crazy. And then they had reprimanded me for being on the wall when I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.

Now, what? How was I supposed to handle this? It was a complete wildcard, out of the blue, out of place. It didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit into what was happening.

It was Monday morning, early. I climbed out of bed and got ready for training. Somehow, we had managed to go back to normal. I had the training to do with Dracus and Theo.

I wasn’t sure Theo was well enough to train again, but he would be there to watch. At least, that.

I was more relieved than I had ever been about anything that Theo had been returned. Our plan at Dante’s house had worked. Not only had we found Theo and brought him home, but we had also exposed Dante for what he was and broken the spell he had put on the other Officials that had made them blind to what was happening.

Hopefully, things were going to change now. Now that they knew what was really going on, maybe they would help us do something about it.

Before, I had thought they were spineless and weak. Especially when Dracus had gone to speak to them about who and what Dante really was, and they had washed their hands of the entire situation. Now, it made more sense why they haven’t bothered acting at all. They had been tied. Metaphorically.

After getting dressed, I made my way down to the underground gym. Dracus was already there, standing in the middle of the floor, lost in thoughts. Theo was walking on a treadmill. Usually, he would be lifting weights, but he had to take things slow. To see him active was a good start.

Movement at the side of the gym caught my eye, and Priscilla walked from where she had been standing next to Theo. I hadn’t seen her. She was wearing training clothes, too.

Priscilla! I cried out, surprised to see her. What are you doing here?

I’m training with you, Priscilla said with a grin.

I looked at Dracus, who pulled up his shoulders.

You mentioned it might be a good idea to get her active. Well, we’re starting today. It will take a while to get her up to speed, really fit and strong, but the first step is taking action.

I couldn’t believe it. Dracus hadn’t sounded too excited about the idea that Priscilla join us, but if he was allowing her to train with us, maybe he liked the concept of having her as a part of the team.

I definitely did – she was valuable, and training with her was going to be fun.

How are we going to do this? I asked.

Well, Priscilla is going to start with a few warm-up routines while you start meditating, Dracus said. Theo will take her through the basics.

As Dracus mentioned Theo, he stopped his treadmill and joined us. He dropped a kiss in my hair. I smiled at him, but I couldn’t help feeling just a little jealous that he was helping Priscilla. I would have liked to spend this time with him.

It was ridiculous of me, though. Theo and I had something very special, and even though I felt like I had lost him and I wanted to cling onto him as tightly as I could, life had to go back to normal. Nothing was going to happen to him while we spent all our time together.

Dracus instructed me on what to do with my meditation, but I went through the motions, comfortable with it. I didn’t really need Dracus anymore, but it was nice spending time with him, too. I was aware of Theo and Priscilla, with him giving her instructions as she started working out. In no time, she was breathing hard and fit and struggling.

It showed me how far I had come.

After meditating, Dracus and I got into our routines, going through a lot of different moves. It felt good to be active again, to be training in the gym. After all, lately. we had been engaged in a real battle, and it was very different from what we did here. Although, if it hadn’t been for how Dracus and Theo had trained me, I would never have been able to fight when it came down to it.

While Dracus and I were sparring, we talked.

This isn’t over yet, I said. I threw a punch and Dracus blocked it.

I know, he said, spinning around and lunge-kicked at me. I managed to dodge it, knocking him against his hips so that he lost his balance. He chuckled and righted himself. It wasn’t going to be so easy to knock him down. "Dante will have