Academy Of Beasts XXIV: Shifter Romance

By Becca Fanning

What have I gotten myself into?
Surrounded by people I don't trust, pretending to be something I'm not.
It sounds like my first days at Beast Academy, but this time I'm surrounded by people who wouldn't hesitate to kill me if they knew the truth.
The witches have sworn to help me, but if they don't come through, I'll never see my men again.
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

Since I'd decided I was going to join Dante as a traitor and infiltrate his group that way, it was all I could think about. I'd been so angry that they wouldn't let me do it, I'd planned on sneaking out and doing it behind the Council's back.

In the end, they'd agreed that I could do it, even though it was dangerous as all hell because once I set my mind to something, there was no convincing me otherwise.

In theory, the whole plan had seemed sound. We needed to be able to stand up and fight against an army that was much, much bigger than ours. The only way we would be able to win was if we got someone on the inside. We needed some sort of advantage.

Everything seemed like a good idea.

At the time.

Now, I was on my way to execute my plan. I was about to leave the Manor to join Dante and his gang of Slayers and treacherous Shifters, and I was going to swing the whole thing around. And I was just about crapping myself.

So much could go wrong. What if Dante saw through my plan? What if he didn't trust me and kicked me out? Or worse… what if he killed me? He'd already instructed his brother to try to take me out. It was only thanks to Dracus and Priscilla that Demetrius had failed.

I was handing myself over to him. I was going to make it so easy for him to take me out if that was what he still wanted to do.

I hoped to the Gods that he didn't know we knew about Demetrius and him being brothers. It was the only way I could convince him that I was there for a good reason.

Saying goodbye to the guys had been hard. Harder than I'd thought it would be. I had no idea how long I was going to be at the compound, how long I was going to be with Dante and his people.

Or if I was going to make it out alive.

There was a chance I wasn't coming back to the Manor. Ever.

It was hard saying goodbye to my friends, my lovers, with that in mind.

Priscilla had been the one to cling onto me the longest.

You have to come back, okay? she'd mumbled into my shoulder. I don't want to find a new study buddy.

It's going to be okay, I'd said to her.

That was what everyone had kept telling me. And I was repeating that to myself now, too, in the hopes that if I repeated it often enough, it would be true.

I made the trip away from the Academy alone. Without the guys, without Priscilla, without any of them.

It was strange to go through the portal alone. I'd only done it once before – to find the witches who would help us in the war – but that hadn't been the same. That had been a quick visit.

Somehow, this felt so much more permanent.

I had no idea where to go. I didn't know where Dante holed himself up. It wasn't like he was going to blow off smoke signals and tell everyone, look at me.

But my magic knew how to find his. He had a signature that was more powerful than any other signature I'd felt before. I was able to find the witches with my Calm magic. I was sure that I would be able to find him, too.

As soon as I stood at the portal, I closed my eyes and turned my attention inward. I needed my magic to take me wherever I needed to go.

The ground disappeared from beneath me, and I had the sensation of falling. Harder and faster than ever before. It took away my breath, and I flailed my arms, looking for something to hold onto. Traveling through the portal had never been like this before.

Suddenly, earth appeared beneath my feet again. It was nothing like my previous travels had been. This time, the impact was hard enough that my knees nearly buckled, and my legs felt numb with the hard-hit my body had taken when I'd literally come back down to Earth. Why had it been so rough?

I pushed my fingers against my temples and took a few deep breaths to steady myself.

Fiona? Dracus said in my mind. Are you there? Are you okay?

Gods, I had never been so happy to hear voices in my head. I was so grateful the witches had given me this pendant to use for communication.

I'm here, I said, letting out a breath I felt like I'd been holding. Knowing that I wasn't alone already made things a bit easier. Even though they weren't close to me, the Council boys were all still at the compound.

I wasn't sure why Dracus was the only one who I was speaking to right now, but that was okay.

Where are you? he asked.

I have no idea. I let my magic do the work. But the trip was a rough one, it's never been so bumpy before.

Dracus was quiet for a moment. It was weird being able to communicate without moving my lips at all or making a sound. It made the cell phone communication I'd been missing so much in the human world look bad.

It's not supposed to be bumpy at all, Dracus finally said. Is everything okay?

I did a quick inventory. My magic worked fine, I wasn't injured in any way, and I had a pulse that drew me in a direction. I was guessing – hoping – it was the right one.

I'm okay, I said. I'll let you know if something is up but so far, I'm just following the trail.

You already found it? Dracus asked,