Wolf Bound: Lunar Academy Year One Read online

  Wolf Bound

  Lunar Academy, Year One

  Alyssa Rose Ivy

  Jennifer Snyder

  Copyright © 2019 by Alyssa Rose Ivy, Jennifer Snyder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Design: Najla Qambar Designs

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Wolf Bound, Year One

  1. Glow

  2. Lionel

  3. Glow

  4. Lionel

  5. Glow

  6. Lionel

  7. Glow

  8. Lionel

  9. Glow

  10. Lionel

  11. Glow

  12. Lionel

  13. Glow

  14. Lionel

  15. Glow

  16. Lionel

  Thank You

  Wolf Bound, Year One

  Lunar Academy

  Alyssa Rose Ivy

  Jennifer Snyder

  Glow

  “Ouch.” I rubbed my shoulder from where it somehow managed to make contact with the doorframe. Okay, the reason for it wasn’t so mysterious; I’d been too focused on my phone to notice where I was walking. To be fair, I wasn’t texting or doing anything frivolous. I was reading the latest articles in Warlock Updates. Truthfully, I never got much from reading the journal, but one never knew when something would surprise them.

  “Hey, you okay?” Lionel Daniels stood just inside the entrance to the Wolf Bound dorm. He wore an amused expression that made his hazel eyes look even brighter than normal. Not that I knew how bright his eyes were normally.

  “Uh, yeah. Fine.” I gave a terse smile and headed for the stairs. In another life, I would have loved the attention from Lionel. I would have loved any attention from Lionel, but this wasn’t another life. This was my life.

  “You sure? It looks like your shoulder took quite a hit.” He followed alongside me.

  I stopped and looked over at him. “I’m fine. Okay?”

  “Okay.” He put his hands in the back pockets of his uniform pants. “But maybe next time put your phone away before walking through a doorway.”

  “Yeah. Sure,” I mumbled as I made my way up the last of the first set of stairs.

  Thankfully, he didn’t follow. The guy was hot. There was no question about that, but he was also a distraction. I couldn’t handle any distractions.

  I pocketed my phone before I made my way up to the fourth floor. I didn't need to run into anything else, or attract more attention. Everyone in my dorm already knew what I was—or rather what I wasn’t. I didn’t need to give them any more of a reason to notice me.

  “Hey, Glow.” Penny looked away from her computer when I came in. Thankfully, my first roommate had requested a change, and I’d ended up living with someone who could at least stomach living with someone like me, a failure when it came to magic.

  “Hey.” I dropped my bag on the floor. “What are you working on?”

  “Oh, just Wolf Lore homework.”

  “Fun.” I took a seat at my desk and turned on my computer screen. I was one of the few students in my dorm who used a desktop, but I liked writing notes by hand, so I didn’t need a computer I could bring places with me. I already stuck out like a sore thumb in Wolf Bound; there was no reason to stop there.

  “How were your classes? Going to be okay this term?” What she was really asking was whether I was going to pass the magic classes. I appreciated her attempt to sugarcoat things, but it was unnecessary.

  “I’ll be okay.” I loosened my tie and took it off. I was done with class for the day, which meant I didn’t need to stay in uniform. I didn’t mind the white shirt and skirt, but the tie had gotten old after the first few days. “I think.”

  Penny folded her hands in her lap. “You know I’ll help you in any way I can.”

  “Thanks, Pen, but this isn’t the kind of thing anyone can help me with.”

  “You have the abilities… you have to.” Despite her words of encouragement, there was doubt in her eyes. I was sure she had no idea she was letting it show.

  I shrugged. “I should. I mean I’ve showed the initial signs, but the whole late onset idea is starting to seem less likely.” I wasn’t the first wolf-witch hybrid to get her magic late, but there had only been a handful throughout history to get them past age eighteen, and my nineteenth birthday was fast approaching.

  “But entirely possible. I’ve been doing some research and—”

  “Hey.” I stopped her before she could get too far in. “I appreciate it, I really do, but just because one or two wolf-warlocks and witches have gotten their powers as young adults doesn’t mean I will.”

  “But it doesn't mean you won’t.” She turned around in her chair so she was facing toward my desk.

  I did the same thing. “I should probably try to apply to Wolf Born. I know they’ll say no— but it’s the next logical step for me. I don’t belong in Wolf Bound no matter what my potential is. It’s time for me to accept it.” I was generally a realist, but I was choosing to hold onto this fantasy longer than normal.

  “But you can’t leave Lunar Academy.” Penny put her hands on my shoulders. “You are too good.”

  “Too bad there isn’t a house for wolves that don’t fit anywhere.” Lunar Academy needed a miscellaneous house. “Maybe they could call it Wolf Misfits.”

  She cracked a smile. “There should be another house, but maybe they could choose another name...”

  She was being supportive, but her words still stung. Even Penny, my closest friend at school, was admitting I didn’t really belong anywhere.

  “But there isn’t. We know Wolf Born won’t think I’m pure line enough. I’m not a vampire, so I can’t join Wolf Blood. And I wasn’t bitten…”

  “We are going to find a way to get your magic out. I’m not giving in to any other possibility.” Penny ran a hand through her perfectly smooth black hair, fixing imaginary knots.

  “If there’s any possibility I’m going to find it.” It wasn’t as if I wasn’t trying. I’d read every book and article I could get my hands on. Hence how I managed to walk into a door frame.

  “Good. Stay positive.” She patted my shoulder before moving her hands back to her lap.

  “I'll do my best.”

  “Any luck on the job front?” Penny switched to yet another of my less than favorite topics.

  “Possibly.” Not exactly luck, but ideas. “I have a few more places to look.”

  “Good.” She turned back to her computer. “I have to finish this paper, but how about we grab dinner as soon as I’m done?”

  “Sounds great.” I opened my Charms & Enchantments book. I wasn’t really hungry. I was too stressed to be hungry. Yet I’d eat because one needed to eat. Just like I’d study because I needed to study. My life was becoming a series of doing things because I had to not because I wanted to do them. I was close to full-on panic mode, but I didn’t panic. I always managed to stay calm under pressure.

  I tried to focus on the words on the page, but they all started to blur together. “I’ll meet you at dinner. How much more time do you need?”

  “Maybe forty-five minutes?” Penny glanced up. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. I just need to check out a job thing. I can’t focus.”

  “If you need to borrow a little bit…” She didn’t look at me when she made the offer.

  “No. Don’t worry about it.” I shook my head. “I need more than a bit, so it’s better that I find a job.”

  “You have such a good attitude.” Penny smiled. “It’s inspiring, really.”

  “I try.” I grabbed my bag and headed back out again down the hall and out into the common area that connected the first-year girls’ and boys’ halls.

  I walked past a group of girls talking, but I headed straight for the stairs. I knew how they felt about me, and I wasn’t one to sit around and make small talk to pretend.

  The night was brisk in the most wonderful sort of way. January in the south wasn’t like January in Pennsylvania, where I was raised. I didn’t have to worry about ice and snow, but the chill in the air was welcome. Summer in the south was an entirely different experience.

  I left campus with a quick glance over my shoulder. It was a quiet night, with only a handful of people walking between the dorms and the dining hall.

  I headed down the main street and cut through the gas station, where one lone car refueled. I nodded in greeting to the woman at the pump before pulling open the door to

  Convenience. Not a particularly creative name for a gas station store, but it said everything it needed to say.

  There was no one at the counter when I walked in, so I started to walk between the shelves of the store. It was all the usual stuff you’d expect to find in a store attached to a gas station. Snacks, snacks, and more snacks. Well, with a few things like hand sanitizer and magazines thrown in. And of course, there were the glass cases full of water, soda, and beer. Lots of beer.

  “Can I help you?”

  I turned away from the beer case at the sound of the male voice. “Hi, Mr. Wayes?”

  “That is my name.”

  “Hi. My name is Glo—Gloria.” I figured using my given
name was more appropriate when job seeking. “I’m a student at the academy, and I was hoping I might be able to get a job with you.”

  “A job?” Mr. Wayes rested his chin in his hand. “And what house did you say you were in?”

  “I didn’t say, but I’m in Wolf Bound.” What I didn’t say was how short-lived my time in the house would probably be.

  A small smile spread across his face. “I was in Wolf Bound.”

  “Really?” I knew this. Of course I knew this. That was why I was standing there asking for a job.

  “You a first year?” He let his arm fall to his side.

  “Yeah. I just started second semester.”

  He nodded. “It gets easier. It really does.”

  “Thanks.” Although, I doubted it was going to get easier for me. One needed to be able to wield magic for that to be the case.

  “You sure you have time for a job?” He turned his head from one side to the other as if he was studying me.

  I tried not to let his appraisal make me nervous. “I need one.” Hopefully he wouldn’t ask too many questions, but I’d answer them as needed.

  “The only shift I have open is the night shift. It’s going to mean being here pretty late.” He turned his head back over to the right side. “Sometimes even overnight.”

  “That’s fine.” Maybe I’d regret taking that kind of position, but I was desperate. It wasn’t just the money. It was also access to Mr. Wayes. My research had involved looking for any help I could find.

  “Really?” He seemed to study me. “You are Wolf Bound. That means finding a job should be easy.”

  “I want a regular job. You know.” I really hoped he bought the line I was selling.

  “And you’re lying to me.”

  “I’m—” Was it even worth trying to defend myself when he was totally right?

  “But I don’t care.” He shrugged. “You can have your secrets for now. You’re hired.”

  “You don’t even know my last name.”

  “I was in Wolf Bound too, Gloria Mayor. I know exactly who you are.” He winked before walking toward the back of the store.

  “Wait. Do I need to fill anything out? When do I start?”

  “When do you want to start?” He glanced at me over his shoulder.

  “As soon as possible.” I didn’t have time to waste.

  “Then start tonight.”

  “Tonight?” Had I heard him right.

  “Yes. Unless that’s going to be a problem?” He ran a hand through his graying short hair.

  “No. No problem at all.”

  “Good. I’ll see you then.” He disappeared through the doorway.

  I headed back outside, hoping I hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

  Lionel

  “Do you understand the severity of the situation?” Professor Tyler watched me from across the huge wooden desk. It seemed excessively big, which probably meant it was making up for something else.

  “Yes. I am keenly aware that this situation sucks.” I tried to find a comfortable spot in the hard, strangely shaped chair. I was sure the choice of chair wasn’t an accident either.

  “Language.” Professor Tyler glared.

  “Sorry. It is unfortunate.” I preferred my first choice of words personally.

  “It is more than unfortunate, Mr. Daniels.”

  Yes. It sucked. But I wouldn’t push it and say it again. “I am well aware.”

  “Are you aware?” He leaned over the desk. “Are you aware of what this means for you?”

  “I am aware that this puts me in a bad position. Yes.” A shitty position was more like it, but bad was the more appropriate word choice.

  “We will not expel you.”

  “Considering I haven’t personally violated any policies, I’d hope not.” I’d be using words far worse than sucks if they tried to kick me out of the academy.

  “But your father made some considerable violations.” Professor Tyler shuffled papers around on his desk.

  “I am well aware.” And I was getting increasingly tired of this circular conversation.

  “We have decided that, given the circumstances, you will be stripped of your ability to use magic. Your professors will have discretion to give you temporary access to your magic for an examination or other educational purpose, but otherwise you will have no ability to use it …”

  “Wait.” I sat up in the chair. My back was hurting from it anyway. “You can’t be serious. You can’t strip me of my magic. I can already only use it in class. What does it matter?”

  “We have to be careful.”

  I was pissed. Seriously pissed. “Why? What have I done to make that necessary?”

  “You know we have to keep you on a short leash until your father’s trial is over.”

  “Why? Because my sperm donor decides to dishonor our people, I can’t use magic.” I didn’t care if I came across as disrespectful. That was all my father was to me. I barely knew the man, and now he was going to screw up my life? Not happening.

  “Rules are rules, Mr. Daniels. You might as well learn now.”

  “There has to be some sort of appeal process. Something I can do.” I was grasping at straws, but I didn’t care.

  “After the trial is over. Right now, there is nothing to appeal.”

  “Nothing to appeal?” I could almost feel my eyes bugging out. “You are restricting my rights.”

  “You are a student. You have no rights.” He leaned back in his much more comfortable-looking chair.

  I bristled. “Of course I have rights.”

  “You have the right to leave the academy. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop you, but I can’t promise we’ll hold a place for you.”

  “I’m not leaving the academy.” I’d worked my whole life to get to this point. My mom had sacrificed everything to help me scrape up the money. I wasn’t giving that up. “I will abide by your rules.”

  “Very well. We will set up a time to put the magic block on.”

  “Fine. I understand.” I stood up. Anything I added would just hurt my cause, and I couldn’t afford that.

  Professor Tyler stood. “If it’s any consolation, I am sorry you have found yourself in this position, Mr. Daniels.”

  It wasn’t a consolation, but there was no reason to tell him that. “Thank you, sir.” If he was surprised by my attitude’s about-face, he didn’t show it.

  I walked out of his office and gave a brief nod to the receptionist before stepping out onto the quad. It was slightly cool out, but I always ran warm, so it didn’t bother me. I wasn’t normally a winter guy, but this year I was. It matched my mood after finding out the ridiculous things my father had done.

  I glanced at my watch. If I hurried, I could still grab something to eat in the dining hall before it closed.

  “Hey, man.” I nearly walked into my friend, Keeton, as I entered the dining hall.

  “Hey.” He loosened his tie. “Where have you been? I waited for you in the lounge, but you never came back, so I gave up and ate.”

  “I had to meet with Professor Tyler.”

  “About that stuff?”

  “Yeah, about that stuff.” If stuff meant my father screwing up my whole life.

  “Go okay?” He rubbed the back of his neck. He was nervous for me.

  I looked around to make sure no one was listening. “I can’t use magic unless it’s for class.”

  “What the hell?” Keeton’s expression darkened. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Yeah, well I am.” Too damn serious.

  “What are you going to do?”

  “What can I do? Follow their rules until I figure out a new plan.” And I would come up with a new plan.

  “That sucks, man. It really sucks.”

  “Trust me. I know that all too well.” But talking about it wasn’t going to change a damn thing. “I’m going to go in and eat before they shut down.”

  “I can go with you.”

  “Didn’t you just eat?”