Shifter Falls Academy: Year Two Read online

  Shifter Falls Academy

  Year Two

  L.C. Mortimer

  Story copyright by L.C. Mortimer

  Cover design by Melody Simmons: www.bookcoverscre8tive.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Epilogue

  Deleted Scenes

  Author

  Just Another Day in the Zombie Apocalypse

  Chapter 1

  *

  He is young, so full of hope

  Reveling in tiny dreams

  -Five Iron Frenzy, Dandelions

  For my Aunt Joyce.

  Miss you for always.

  Shifter Falls Academy is known for three things: great food, great teachers, and great scenery. Notice that I didn't say great students because, well, it's not exactly known for having great students. In fact, some of the students at my school would best be described as scum-of-the-Earth.

  Shifter Falls isn't exactly a high school or a college. It's something completely in-between. It's a place where people can learn to use their powers for good or for evil, and unfortunately, a lot of students choose to use those powers for evil.

  I've been at Shifter Falls for an entire year when I realize that something about my Shifting on Command instructor seems a little...strange. He's constantly looking over his shoulder like he's being watched, and everything about him is really, ridiculously private.

  What's he hiding in the attic of the school?

  And why is it so important to him that every single student learn to shift effortlessly without hesitation?

  He knows something we don't know, and I'm not going to stop until I find out what.

  Author's Note: Shifter Falls is an adventure academy story full of twists, turns, and a sprinkling of romance. Perfect for fans of Harry Potter and Hybrid Academy.

  Chapter 1

  I stared up at the front of Shifter Falls Academy and grinned. I couldn’t hold back the huge smile that spread across my face because this was it.

  I was back.

  The summer had seemed to last forever and a day, and I couldn’t believe that not only had I survived a full three months of waiting tables at the world’s busiest diner, but that I’d also managed to perfect my shifting abilities. I’d learned exactly how to shift into my cat form and back again easily. Jade told me that it looked effortless when I shifted now, and that was a compliment I was more than ready to take. Jade didn’t exactly hand out good thoughts or admirations like candy, so a compliment from her was like magic.

  “This is it,” she said from beside me. She looked over at me and smiled brightly. “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” I said.

  I didn’t say, as ready as I’ll ever be or now or never. I didn’t feel either of those things. Nope. There was no nervousness fluttering around inside of me as I looked up at my school. I really did feel like I was coming home after a long time away. It really did feel like the magic was already starting to wrap around me.

  “I wonder what classes we’re going to have this year,” she said thoughtfully.

  “Yeah.”

  “And I wonder what kind of food we’ll eat.” She licked her lips at the thought.

  “Yup.”

  “And I wonder what Kenneth is going to think of your new dress.”

  “Yeah-what?!” I turned to her sharply, but Jade was already doubled over with laughter.

  “Come on,” she shook her head. “You really think I don’t know why you dressed like that?” She eyed my outfit. Okay, so maybe wearing a pinup dress with my hair curled was slightly over the top, but I really didn’t think it was as extreme as she seemed to think it was. It was cute and unusual and special.

  Besides, I hadn’t seen him all summer.

  That was three whole months without kissing him or holding his hand or even just hanging out, and even though it was a short amount of time in the grand scheme of things, it had felt like forever.

  “Okay, so maybe I wanted to impress him,” I admitted slowly. It was a little bit embarrassing for me. I’d never really dated anyone before. This was all entirely new to me. Even if I had dated, this would still be new because Kenneth was a kangaroo shifter. He was totally different from any person I could have ever met before.

  Jade’s eyes softened when she saw how nervous I was, and she smiled at me in that special way only she could. Somehow, when Jade looked at me, she was always able to calm me down. I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that she was an owl shifter. Owls were supposed to be really wise and smart, right? If that’s true, then it kind of shined through her.

  “Look, you’re going to be great,” she said. “He’s going to love you, and he’s going to love the outfit. We’ll unpack and then we’ll go find him, okay?”

  “Okay,” I agreed. We turned back to the car. Jade’s dad was standing beside the vehicle and he had unloaded the two trunks. He looked over at us and gave us a little wave. He really was your typical suburban dad. Well, aside from the fact that he could do magic and that he was dropping us off at a magical academy.

  “Ready to go inside?” He asked.

  “Yeah, I think so,” I said.

  He nodded, and then smiled. Just then, the front doors of the school opened, and Kenneth came barging out. He ran down the stairs, totally ignored Jade and Hank, and grabbed me, pulling me into his arms. He laughed and spun me around in a circle. He pulled me close and kissed me sweetly, and then he pulled back and laughed.

  “I missed you, too,” I said, giggling. I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I didn’t really care that it was cheesy or that my best friend and her dad were watching us. Seeing Kenneth after so much time apart just felt like this huge relief: like a total burden was being lifted off of my chest. I couldn’t really explain exactly how I had felt over the summer. It was like my heart had split in two, but it didn’t really make a lot of sense since Kenneth and I had only just met each other.

  Was it a shifter thing?

  Or was it because this was my first love?

  “All right, all right,” Hank said. “Let’s go, people.” He clapped his hands and gestured toward the trunks. “These things aren’t going to move themselves.” The two trunks we’d brought had everything we needed to last the semester, just about. Oh, we’d probably need a few random things here and there, but for the most part, we had all of the clothes, notebooks, and personal items that we needed. My trunk contained everything I owned. Jade’s contained everything she could squeeze in it.

  Kenneth suddenly seemed to realize that there were other people around, and he blushed, which kind of made me like him even more. It was endearing, the way he looked.

  “Oh, hey,” he said. “I’m Kenneth.” He held his hand out to Jade’s father. Hank just stared at it as though he didn’t know what to do with it. Then he looked back at Kenneth’s face.

  “I’m not Charlie’s dad,” Hank said bluntly. “And she’s allowed to have a boyfriend. You don’t need to worry. Really, I just want the trunks out of the way so I can go move the car. I want to come to the opening ceremony with you all, and Wild is going to have a hissy fit if I leave the car here.” He shook his head and looked back at the trunks.

  “Really?” Jade asked her dad pointedly. “You think Headmaster Wild is going to have a hissy fit over a car?” She shook her head, laughing. “That just tells me you don’t know the guy at all. Wild is the most mi
ld-mannered headmaster the school has ever seen. He’s incredibly calm and patient. Nothing bothers that guy.”

  “Definitely true,” I said.

  I’d been surprised with just how chill the headmaster of the school actually was. Last year, there had been small amounts of chaos that unfolded while I was there. Namely, I had sneaked off with my friends and we’d done what we could to rescue my old landlady. She’d been kidnapped by wolves who were really hunting me because I’m a late-bloomer shifter.

  That might not sound like a big deal to some people, and to me, it was not really a big deal at all. In the wolf world, though, late-bloomer shifters are wildly sought after. Apparently, there is something in our blood that makes us seem strong and powerful. Our blood has healing properties, and some people will pay a lot of money for blood like mine.

  Fortunately, at Shifter Falls Academy, nobody’s blood is for sale and everyone is safe. At least, that’s what we’re all supposed to believe, and honestly, it’s been pretty true. I’m worried that something will go wrong this year, of course, because I kind of happen to have terrible luck. That said, I don’t think too much could really happen at what is probably the world’s safest academy.

  Once we all finished introducing each other and getting over greetings, the four of us hauled the two trunks to the girl’s dormitory. It took all of us to move the trunks, and I kind of wished we knew some spells that could make the trunks move on their own.

  I had my suspicions that Hank probably knew a few, but that he liked seeing us sweat. He was an older guy, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the type of person who thought there was a lot to be earned from doing manual labor. Even after spending the summer together, I still didn’t really know him all that well, but Hank had always been kind to me, and he’d welcomed me into his home, so I couldn’t complain.

  Once we got to the dorms and brought the trunks up to the bedroom, Hank and Jade went to move the car, and Kenneth and I settled down in the lobby of the dormitory so we could talk for a little while. It had been ages since we’d been together and even longer since we’d been alone together.

  “I can’t believe we’re finally here,” I said. “Seems like we were apart forever.”

  “It was a long time,” he said.

  “How was Australia?” Over the summer, Kenneth went to visit one of his sisters who lived abroad. Their family was originally from Australia, which kind of explained how he was a kangaroo shifter: one of the only ones at Shifter Falls Academy. He was the only male kangaroo shifter at the school, too.

  “It was crazy,” he shook his head, laughing. “We went hiking and ate tons of food. We swam a lot. Went on runs. You know: the usual stuff.”

  “Is that how you got the tan?” I asked, gesturing to him. It looked like he’d spent months just lying on the beach, and I was honestly a little bit jealous. I was still as pale and ordinary looking as ever.

  “Something like that,” he grinned. “You know Kendra loves the beach.”

  Kendra, his older sister, was a swimmer, so she spent as much time as possible in and around the water.

  “The pictures you sent me were awesome,” I told him. “I’ve never been to Australia. Heck, I’ve never been out of the country.” I wanted to go, though. Everything about Australia was wildly beautiful, at least judging from his pictures. More importantly, there were lots of shifter communities where people like us could live freely and enjoy ourselves in no-pressure environments.

  It was important, I thought, to spend time around other shifters. I’d never really thought much about shifters in general, or even about their possible existence, until I found out I was one. Now it made me wonder how some shifters managed to live around humans. Wasn’t it hard to keep your identity a secret?

  Didn’t it get lonely?

  “Sometime I’ll take you,” he smiled at me. “I promise. It’ll be wonderful.”

  “Pinky promise?” I laughed, and he just smiled.

  “I swear on my non-existent pouch,” he said, and I burst out laughing. Last year, we’d had a couple of jokes at Kenneth’s expense about male marsupials and their lack of pouches. Only female marsupials have pouches, and Kenneth was really worried that some of us would make the assumption that he had one, too.

  “Sounds good,” I told him.

  “Hey!” Clarissa and Marissa, the twins, came into the lobby. “You’re here!” They said in unison. It was crazy just how much they sounded alike. I mean, I expected twins to look alike, but hearing the similarities of their voices was always kind of jarring for me.

  “We’re here!” I said. I jumped up and hugged the twins. They’d been exponentially helpful when it came to saving Fiona last year. They’d been willing to create a distraction to ensure that Kenneth, Jade, and I could sneak away and go rescue Fiona. I didn’t think they were going to call in any favors, but I wasn’t about to forget what they’d done for me. If they could go out of their ways to help me – a student that was new and that they didn’t know very well – then I’d do anything I could to make sure they knew how important they were to me.

  “Did you have a good summer?” I asked the girls.

  “The best,” Clarissa said.

  “We went traveling,” Marissa told us.

  “With my parents,” Clarissa added.

  “And our younger brother, Mark,” Marissa added.

  “We went to Spain.”

  “And Japan.”

  “We spent two days in London.”

  “And three in Mexico.”

  “Wow! It sounds like the trip of a lifetime,” I said, slightly overwhelmed. I had been pleased with myself for spending the summer working. My tuition at Shifter Falls Academy wasn’t something I had to worry about. Fiona had worked out some sort of deal with the headmaster, so I didn’t even think about how much it would cost without that sort of assistance. I’d been proud to work and save for the summer, though. One day, I’d be leaving Shifter Falls Academy, and I’d need a way to support myself. Even though I hadn’t made a ton of money over the summer, it was good to know that the money I had made was something I could save up and use in the future.

  Who knew what I’d do?

  I only had two years left to choose my magical career path, and I was still at a sort of standstill. It was a lot of pressure, and I was already feeling a little tense since I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to be when I grew up. I’d been a foster kid for years, and I’d only just started living successfully on my own when I found out I was actually a shifter.

  “It was amazing,” Clarissa said.

  “And I met a boy!” Marissa said.

  “And I met a girl,” Clarissa grinned.

  “Woah! Are you still dating them?” I asked.

  “No way,” Clarissa said.

  “Summer flings,” Marissa pushed her hair back over her shoulder.

  Then the two sisters seemed to notice that Kenneth was with me, and they looked over at him.

  “What about you two?” Clarissa said.

  “Are you still dating?” Marissa joined in.

  “Yes,” Kenneth said, jumping to his feet. He slid an arm over my shoulder and offered his silly boyish grin. “Absolutely, yes.”

  “Wow,” Clarissa nodded her approval. “A summer romance turned long term. Who would have guessed?”

  “Nice job,” Marissa added. “Relationships aren’t easy, especially when they’re long distance.” She twirled her hair and looked at us with a sort of longing in her eyes. It was all very dramatic and over-the-top.

  “Well, luckily, it doesn’t have to be long distance anymore,” I said.

  “And hopefully never again,” Kenneth added.

  Did that mean he wanted to spend next summer together?

  We hadn’t really talked about that yet. This year, he’d been planning to travel with his folks and I’d planned to spend the summer with Jade. Would next summer be different? Did this mean our relationship really was something that was going to be long-term?
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  “Good for you,” Clarissa said. She turned to her sister. “Ready to go unpack?”

  “No,” Marissa glanced at a large grandfather clock that was sitting in the center of the lobby. “It’s almost time for the opening ceremony. Are you all coming?” She looked at me and Kenneth, and he nodded.

  “We’re just waiting for Jade and her dad,” he said. “We’ll meet you all there.”

  Marissa rolled her eyes, but shrugged. Clarissa only smiled. They both winked at me, as though I was trying to trick them somehow, but I didn’t really understand why.

  So I was going to spend a couple of minutes with my boyfriend before the opening ceremony.

  So what?

  It wasn’t like we were going to sit on the couch and make out. Even if we were, who cared? We were young, and we really liked each other, and we cared a lot about one another.

  Then again, I still had a lot to learn about guys and dating and, well, being a shifter in general.

  I hoped that having a boyfriend this year wasn’t going to change the way people viewed me, and I hoped it wasn’t going to change the way I viewed myself. I had a lot to learn about magic and I didn’t want anything to keep me from that, but…

  Well, I was also having a lot of fun with Kenneth. The truth was that I’d missed him really badly: more than I ever thought possible. I’d never been in love at all. I’d never been anything. Now I had someone who cared about me, and it felt…

  Well, it felt really good.

  I didn’t want that feeling to go away.

  I looked over at Kenneth and wondered what was going to happen next between us. This year, our studies were going to get more intense. I wasn’t under any impression that our relationship was going to be perfect, but I hoped that we’d do the thing where we leaned on each other instead of snapping at each other the way so many couples tended to do.

  “What do you think?” He asked me.

  “About what?”