Night Claws

By Athina Fernwood

In a surprising twist of fate, a rescue mission brings together an unlikely team consisting of a shapeshifter, a werewolf, a vampire, and a warlock. Little do they know, this mission will not only test their abilities but also forge unexpected bonds and ignite passionate love amidst the chaos. Their journey

• Language: English
• Publisher: IngramSpark
• Release date: Jul 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9788655107374

Book preview

One

I'd never once detested someone quite as much as I detested Mrs. Clearwater around examination season. I shifted back into my human self, letting out an audible groan in the process. Mrs. Clearwater shot me a glare to which I returned a fake smile.

My smile dropped the moment her back faced me again.

She knew that shifting into extremely small creature s caused painful cramps when a shifter returned to his or her original form. Since she'd marked me as her least favorite student the minute I'd walked into her class over two months ago, she'd asked me to shift into a ladybug and hold the shift for an hour for this midterm examination. It had taken every ounce of my concentration and willpower and I was rewarded with an ill temper and cramps in my legs and neck.

This had been the longest hour of my life and that wasn't a bloody exaggeration.

The old crone sauntered over with a satisfied smirk before begrudgingly handing me my score for the practical exam. An A+. I looked up at her in surprise. I deserved it but she rarely gave me what I deserved.

You're the best shapeshifter I've seen in years, she admitted.

I'd been told that on more than one occasion. Other kids in this class could barely hold transformations for ten minutes before whining like babies as they complained that it hurt too much. Then they'd come to my dorm room two days before the practical begging for 'tips.' I gave Clearwater my trademark smirk.

I know, I said. She rolled her eyes.

You need to work on your attitude Catherine, she scolded.

But my big ego is my best quality, I teased.

She tsked with disapproval but I couldn't care less. For one glorious moment, I was on top of the world.

Sensing the end of our surprisingly pleasant banter, I turned to leave. My slightly inflated ego could be taken down a notch or two but no one ever tried to do it. I was good at what I did and I had the right to be proud of myself.

After all, I didn't have anyone else that cared enough to be proud of me.

I headed to my dorm room to change out of uniform and catch up on some much-needed sleep. I dropped my bag onto the messy floor littered with Chinese takeout cartons thanks to examinations. I was about to rummage through my mess of a closet when I noticed a thick black envelope sitting on my bed.

The school's seal was stamped on it and a thousand horrible scenarios ran through my head at once.

They'd finally found out that I'd shifted into a grizzly bear to give the incoming students an 'initiation' two years ago. They realized I'd shifted into a rat and ruined Lizzie Waltham's brew during potion's class last week. Or perhaps they found out that I shifted into a tarantula and scared the headmaster's nephew on his birthday two months ago.

I was royally screwed.

Before I descended further into my rabbit hole of panic, I picked up the envelope and tore it open. Inside was a set of simple instructions to report to the Headmaster's office at 7:00pm tonight to discuss important matters. The letter couldn't be more vague if it tried.

I gulped nervously.

I'd met Headmaster Rafia Hamilton once during my eight years at The Academy. The meeting still scarred me to this day. She was a terrifying woman to say the least with cold blue eyes and a permanent scowl etched on her face.

Not to mention the fact that she was over 6 feet tall.

The woman had starred in several nightmares of my fourteen-year-old self and I doubt she'd changed much in the years since then. She definitely wasn't calling me in for idle chitchat. My hands trembled as I placed the letter on my nightstand.

Well, at least Clearwater gave me an A+ before I got expelled, or worse, killed.

Stripping down to my bra and underpants, I crawled under the covers to take a nap.

Needless to say not one, but two nasty old women haunted my nightmares.

7:00pm came way too soon and before I knew it, I was back in uniform and heading down to the headmaster's office with her letter in hand. My legs felt like jelly as I stared at her front door. Before I could knock, I heard a loud voice boom from inside.

Come in.

As if I hadn't already been intimidated enough. I swung the door open and stepped inside cautiously. Four pairs of eyes fixed on me. I'd always been comfortable with attention, but I couldn't stop the flush that crept across my cheeks at the sudden staring.

My attention, of course, went to the headmaster first. She hadn't changed, which wasn't surprising considering she was an immortal warlock. Her cold eyes seemed to stare into my soul, dissecting the numerous darker parts, and I quickly glanced away.

Three boys sat across from her, all of whom I distantly recognized as classmates. The first was a warlock named Azriel, the second a vampire named Desmond and the third a werewolf named Cassius. The looks on their faces ranged from curious interest to downright hostility.

I regained some of my nerves and replanted a confident smirk my face.

Didn't your mothers teach you not to stare, I teased.

Cassius flushed as Azriel's eyes flared with sudden interest. As for Desmond, well Desmond didn't seem to hear me at all as he continued staring with more narrowed eyes. I turned back to the headmistress who gestured for me to take the fourth seat across from her. Azriel pulled out the seat for me, a charming smile on his face.

Well girls and boys in this school didn't throw themselves at him without good reason.

The four of us turned our attention back to the headmaster.

I called the four of you here for your first mission. I know most students only go on their missions with their own kind but it seemed to be about time to form connections between the various disciplines in this school, she said.

Disciplines, Desmond scoffed.

The headmistress turned to him with a glare sharp enough to cut diamonds. He held her gaze with no effort, blue eyes sharp and unyielding. It was impressive considering I would have wilted like an old flower under the woman's scorching glare.

It was also kind of hot.

What's the mission, Cassius interjected.

The staring contest ended as the headmistress reached into her desk and pulled out four folders, sliding one over to each of us. The cover read Confidential in big red letters and I heard Cassius laugh faintly at the cliché. I shot him a grin at that.

He gave me a broader smile in return, green eyes radiant with good humor.

Inside the folder are all the details. To give you a short summary, a wolf named Thaddeus has taken two people hostage that have infringed on pack property in Virginia. You need to sneak in, and rescue them without blowing cover, she said nonchalantly.

Why is the school so concerned with these two hostages in particular, Cassius asked.

Probably because the school's getting a hefty sum of money to recover them. Am I right Ms. Hamilton, Desmond asked.

They engaged in another silent dominance battle and my attention drifted back to the boy who sat right next to me. Azriel was oddly silent as he stared at the papers before him. He didn't even seem to be blinking.

You all right there, Cassius asked softly.

Azriel snapped out of it, and the poised smile returned to his face.

I'm fine, just taking in all the details of the mission, he said flippantly. It was definitely something but I didn't care enough to press the issue. The four of us were at the door; ready to leave with files in hand when Ms. Hamilton cleared her throat. That had to be the most pretentious way to get a person's attention.

I kept that thought to myself.

You'll be leaving for your mission in two days. Take the time to get to know each other better, she suggested.

The four of us glanced at each other. We ran in different social circles and we were part of four completely different species. Us bonding with each other outside of when we had to were about as likely to happen as me actually liking Ms. Hamilton.

Desmond scoffed, sending Ms. Hamilton an incredulous look before walking out the door with the three of us right behind him.

Turns out not all four of us were against bonding time before the mission. Cassius managed to get our phone numbers from goodness knows where and the evening after our meeting with the headmistress, the four of us were sitting around on four barstools awkwardly scrolling through our phones.

I was honestly surprised Desmond had even showed up.

When my Instagram feed stopped amusing me, I figured I'd use my somewhat reasonable conversational skills to break the ice. It didn't seem like Cassius, the one who'd actually set this up, was going to take any initiative beyond getting us here.

So you guys excited for your first mission, I asked.

Not one of them looked up from their phones. To be fair, Azriel had earphones in but the other two were just being ridiculous. Was this what the entire mission was going to be like?

One of us was definitely going to die solely due to a lack of communication.

Deciding to use my shape shifting skills, their complete lack of awareness of my presence and the emptiness of the bar to my advantage, I slipped out of my chair and shifted into a fly to play one of my favorite pranks. My clothes dropped to the ground. I was probably going to regret this when I shifted back.

I did not think this through.

I decided to fly close to Cassius' ear first. His hand came up absentmindedly to bat me away. I skirted out of reach and flew near Desmond's ear, before flying near Azriel's nose.

He inhaled.

I seriously didn't think this through.

Before I could escape, I was inside his nose. Panic had my heart racing at a mile a minute. The smell and the texture would forever be ingrained in my memory.

Like I was hearing it from underwater, I heard Azriel curse before beginning to blow out air aggressively through his nose. I tumbled out into the open air once more. Relief had my eyes tearing up.

That was when his hand came up to kill me.

Before his hand reached me, I shifted back and his hand met the right side of my neck with a tight slap. I yelped in pain and jumped away, losing my balance because of the cramp that had begun to form in my left leg. Cassius caught me, moving faster than I'd anticipated, arms circling my waist to steady me.

Of course, let's not forget I was completely naked.

Cassius was flushed red and he took a second longer than necessary before taking his hands off and turning his gaze away. Desmond looked like he wanted to die as he purposefully stared at a point above my head. Azriel silently passed me my clothes, which I quickly put on.

A tense strained silence choked all of us before it was broken by a rough laugh.

My eyes shot up from off the floor to see Desmond chuckling as he looked at me, eyes crinkled with laughter. Cassius joined in. Soon enough, all four of us were laughing, bent over our knees, stomachs hurting.

I can't believe you just flew up his nose, Cassius said between gasps.

I didn't mean to! He inhaled, I shot back.

Azriel looked at me with infinite amusement in his beautiful violet eyes before his attention drifted to my neck. The smile on his face quickly dropped. He reached out a hand to touch my neck and I flinched.

I apologize for that, he said softly.

You know to kill a fly you need to squish it between both hands. What were you trying to do, slap it, Desmond asked.

That brought on another round of laughter and when it ended, the four of us just looked at each other in silence. It was still awkward but it felt better than before. When I got back to my room that night, I couldn't help but smile as I stared up at the blank white ceiling.

Maybe this mission wouldn't be so dreadful after all. 

We were told to gather at Ms. Hamilton's office at 2:00 in the morning. 2:00 in the morning. What a wonderful start to my very first mission.

I looked like a mess to say the least, with my hair up in an actual messy ponytail and dark circles engraved below my eyes. Azriel had the nerve to look completely professional and well groomed. Ms. Hamilton glanced between the three of us and Azriel with a look that clearly read, 'Why can't you be more like that?'

If I hadn't hated the woman before, I hated her now. Then again, I hated everyone at this ungodly hour.

She wanted us to near the hostage site before we had to bunker down. Desmond couldn't be in the sun after all. She'd arranged for a dirt-truck for transportation and argument ensued over who would drive.

When I threatened to fly up their noses if they didn't let me drive, I won.

The boys sat shoulder to shoulder in the back in silence as I took the exit onto the highway. It wasn't as awkward as before but we still didn't really know what to say to each other. I was about to turn on the radio when Cassius reached out from the back and stopped me.

Let's play two truths and a lie, he suggested nervously.

There were a thousand retorts that came to mind with that idea. One, we weren't in middle school. Two, none of us were drunk. And three that game dredged up painfully awkward memories that weren't worth pondering upon.

I'd rather die, Desmond said.

You're already dead, Azriel pointed out.

I chuckled at that. Desmond shot Azriel a glare but didn't retort. The suffocating silence resumed and Cassius sat back in his seat again, a childish frown on his mouth.

It bothered me and so I opened my mouth, regretting everything before I even said a word.

I once transformed into a bee and stung my little brother 5 times because he's a little piece of shit. I sprouted a tail in the middle of potions class and knocked over a vial of laughing gas. I've never flown up anyone's nose, that is before I flew up Azriel's, I said.

There was dead silence for a solid minute like I'd just asked the three of them to mentally calculate the square root of 33. I shot a glare at Cassius through the rearview mirror and he finally scrambled to reply.

I want to believe the last one's true, so maybe the middle one's a lie, he said timidly.

For one of the most powerful werewolves in the grade, he sure was soft-spoken. He turned to Desmond and Azriel with wide pleading eyes. It turned out that the puppy face didn't just work on me.

I agree with Cassius, Azriel said slowly.

Desmond just nodded. Evidently, a verbal reply wasn't worth it. I took what I could get though.

You're all wrong. The first one's a lie. I don't have a little brother, I said.

I fully expected another dreadful silence to stretch through the car. However, Cassius leaned forward in his seat, his attention directed towards me.

So do you have any siblings, he asked.

No, you?

Yeah I've got three older brothers but they're all out of the academy now.

That must have been nice, growing up with a big family, I said.

Family was a sensitive issue for me, considering I didn't have any. The family I did have was gone now thanks to a car accident. My knuckles tightened on the wheel almost subconsciously.

If Cassius noticed my discomfort, my white knuckles, or the hint of jealousy in my tone as he talked about his big family, he didn't acknowledge it. He continued talking about them, more specifically the pranks his brothers used to pull on him.

So maybe it wasn't so nice, such a big family, I teased when he finished.

I grew up with two sisters.

My eyes widened slightly to hear Azriel's voice. He leaned forward in his seat as well to join the conversation. Desmond's eyes remained firmly fixed on his phone.

I briefly contemplated reaching back to throw his phone out the window before redirecting my attention to Azriel.

Are you going to tell me that that's how you're so good with women, I bantered.

No, I'm good with woman because I know chivalry is not dead sweetheart, he said.

I wasn't going to deny that my heart picked up its pace at the cute nickname. Azriel's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror and he winked. It took all my effort not to flush.

Desmond snorted.

Chivalry is definitely dead and if it isn't, it should be, he remarked.

Azriel looked at Desmond like Desmond has just shot him and his entire family. I couldn't help but laugh as Azriel glared while Desmond maintained a cool façade, scrolling through his phone. Cassius looked between the two like he was watching a tennis match between them.

Chivalry is not dead. Women love it when you open doors for them, pull out their seats, offer them your coat. Catherine back me up, Azriel said.

It is really sweet Desmond, I offered.

Yeah, sweet, but you get an instant player vibe from the guy don't you, Desmond countered."

What are you talking about, I asked incredulously.

What was the first thought that went through your head when Azriel pulled out your chair for you, he pressed.

Fair point.

I thought he was being nice, I lied.

Oh please, he said rolling his eyes.

Diverting his attention back to Azriel, the two continued bickering in the backseat like kids. I turned up the radio to tune them out. Cassius leaned forward with an excited grin.

Can you put on rap, he asked.

Ew no, I said, faking a gag.

He looked offended and so began the debate about rap music. Eventually, Azriel and Desmond chipped in once they'd finished their own argument. Desmond launched a half-hearted argument for rock music and Azriel claimed that 'the music we listened to these days wasn't really music,' like he wasn't our age.

When we arrived at the hotel we would be staying at, it was just a half hour before sunrise. The boys had fallen asleep, both Cassius' and Azriel's heads on Desmond's shoulders. I was happy to report that while the conversation took many turns from our heated discussion about various musical genres, it never died out until they drifted off.

All thanks to Cassius' ridiculous suggestion to play two truths and a lie.

You've got to be kidding me, Desmond said.

The receptionist kindly informed us that the Academy had called ahead and booked one large room for all four of us, with two queen-sized beds. The blonde behind the desk said there were no extra rooms, although we could request the additional beds. To top that off, the room was on the tenth floor and the building had no elevator.

Which stupid hotel didn't have an elevator when there were ten floors?

Look I don't mind. We'll just get extra beds and figure it out, I said, yawning halfway through my sentence.

You look dead on your feet. Do you want me to carry you up, Cassius suggested sweetly.

No that's fine I'll manage, I said.

Just get on his back before you pass out, Desmond snapped.

I shot him a glare at that tone. Desmond rolled his eyes. Azriel came back then and confirmed that he'd called the Academy, and they had actually only booked us a single room believing it wouldn't be a problem.

Cheap hoes.

Cassius leaned down slightly and gestured for me to get on his back. Neither he nor Desmond looked like they were going to take no for an answer. I must have really looked like hell.

I clambered onto his back none to gracefully and locked my arms around his neck. He straightened, easily, like I didn't weigh 130 pounds. Tightening his arms around my legs that were wrapped around his waist, he followed the boys to the stairs.

I was asleep, cheek pressed against Cassius' back before we'd even made it halfway up to our room.

My stomach was growling when I woke up. The room was still completely dark since the curtains were drawn. It took me a minute to recognize my surroundings, and the beautiful violet eyes that appeared in my line of sight.

Morning sweetheart, Azriel said.

I grumbled some form of a greeting before sitting up slowly. My back cracked, and so did my neck as I rolled it out. When I was done stretching out tight muscles, I noticed the plate of food on my bedside table.

There was an identical one on Cassius' lap, which he ate from as he shifted through some papers. Azriel had even gotten a bottle of blood. It sat next to Desmond who was still fast asleep, snoring quite loudly.

I didn't even want to think about how long it had been since someone had bought me a meal.

Thank you, I said softly, a little bit in awe.

The answering smile on Azriel's face was incandescent. For a second I forgot how to breathe. He returned to a seated position beside Cassius on the floor and I got up to brush my teeth before shoveling down the food he'd procured.

Once I'd finished, I made myself look somewhat presentable before joining the boys as they rifled through the papers from our confidential files. Desmond still slept, oblivious to the world. Azriel decided to take a shower as Cassius filled me in.

I did some research. Thaddeus leads a pack called Blueblood and his territory is huge, like he makes mine look like someone's backyard kind of huge. We have no idea where the pack house is, which is where you come in, he said.

You want me to shift, map out the place and find the pack house. Got it, I said.

Cassius and I found a secluded clearing near pack territory. I shifted behind a tree into a hawk. I tested out my wings as Cassius gathered up my clothes and phone before heading back to the hotel.

Flying, it was hands down the best part about being a shapeshifter.

Houses turned into little pinpricks of brown as I soared high above pack territory. The trees were incredibly tall in these parts, and all I could see was a sea of green. I gave myself another second to admire the breathtaking view before flying closer to the ground.

Swooping downwards, I reached treetop level and flew in a generally straight direction. Wind whistled through my feathers and I'd never felt freer. If I were in my human form, I'd be hooting with joy.

Night fell soon enough and I'd passed numerous smaller houses and spotted quite a few moving blobs that were probably wolves. Yet, still no sign of any large building that could pass for a pack house. Deciding to take a break, I perched on top of a tree, folding my wings over my tired body.

I was going to need at least two full body massages when I shifted back.

When the bark of the tree behind my back got a little too comfortable, and my eyes began to droop, my sharp ears picked up voices. Peering over the branch I was perched on, I observed two werewolves walking by. They were in their human form talking in hushed voices.

The new batch that came in didn't have that great of results either. When's the alpha going to realize he's wasting valuable resources, the blond said.

The man's stubborn. He won't let it go until we've got nothing left, the brunette replied.

Their voices dropped down to a lower volume and my ears couldn't pick up