SSS: Year Three (Supernatural Spy School Book 3) Page 3

  We didn't say anything, and I looked over at Mother. Her eyes were staring at Candice with great interest, and after her gaze had been narrowed on her for a solid minute, she sighed and snapped her fingers.

  The items floating in the air slowly lowered to the dining tables, and she took a deep inhale, letting the air out slowly. She did it for a few more times, and we patiently stood there while she worked on calming her boiling anger.

  It was why Mother did so much meditation and yoga. Her emotions were the very source of her magic and they would run wild and free unless Mother reined them back in.

  "I can tell that you're not lying," Mother finally declared. "However, you should have told someone. Parenting is difficult, but it's not something you need to bear alone when you have friends and loved ones who care about you."

  "I'm aware. I just didn't want to burden anyone with something as simple as parenting. You're dealing with enough worry with work. I appreciate the thought of knowing I have people to rely on, especially my best friend, but I definitely never had any intention of hurting your children, Melrose. We know how hard it was with James passing. I wouldn't wish for you to go through that with your own children. I'm sorry."

  I could see Mother's stubbornness poking through, noticing how she bit her lip in an attempt to find something else to fight about.

  Scarlett sighed. "Mom. She means it. Can we start cleaning up while Silver’s got the energy to stand? You know she's still recovering and shouldn't be wasting time that could be spent hugging you and catching up."

  Mom gave Scarlett a look, but then she looked at me and I gave her a small smile.

  "She really looks like she genuinely means it, Mom. You guys can, like, sort things out while we clean or something, but I think her apology means well."

  "Fine," Mother mumbled, looking annoyed. "I'll forgive you, Candice, but you have to tell me everything you know about Nikko's activities, or at least what you've gathered with her odd behavior. The school is investigating but having your cooperation would aid in proving that you and your husband had no involvement."

  Candice nodded, looking a little relieved. "I understand. Why don't we get started so you can leave earlier and spend time at home?"

  "Sounds good," Mother replied before turning her attention to me. With another inhale and exhale, her loving expression was back, and she opened her arms up in greeting, "How's my girl doing?"

  I smirked and walked into her arms, hugging her tightly. "I could be better," I mumbled and rested my head against her chest. "I'm still a little loopy from the drugs."

  "We'll work on getting that sorted tomorrow, I promise. Mitten and Professor Xin have been extremely busy trying to sort things out and get you onto the hospital patient list."

  "I know," I replied.

  We pulled apart and I moved to the door where Wolfgang was sitting on all fours, looking out the window at the full moon.

  I'd never followed the moon cycles until recently, but it was more difficult than I expected. We weren't following a normal cycle like during the times of the human race, but one that literally was random and required shamans and foresighted mages to predict.

  After petting Wolfgang for a bit, I moved to sit down while my mom, Scarlettt, and Candice worked on cleaning.

  Placing my head down on my arms, I dozed off and didn't wake until I heard loud voices again.

  "Tell them to look into it again. There are multiple witnesses saying the same thing?! Why the hell is that school's legal team representing her?!"

  I lifted my head and looked to see that Nick, Scarlett's boyfriend, was now standing on the left side of the dinner with Scarlett's finger poking against his chest and Mother and Candice staring in shock.

  Wolfgang was sitting at my feet, but his attention was on the confrontation happening before us.

  "Babe, I know you're mad, but I'm just the messenger. We're working on it, and I have no clue why Markward Hell School is providing her legal assistance. They rejected her admission into the school from the get-go so we're all shocked."

  "It makes no fucking sense!" Scarlett snapped. "I'm going to go talk some fucking sense to their legal shit hellhole of a team. They wanna see an angry sister, I'll show them who the fuck they're messing with," Scarlett yelled.

  She didn't even wait for anyone to agree or disagree as she snapped her fingers and walked past Nick and straight into a portal.

  "Aww, fuck," Nick cursed and pulled out his phone. He pressed a button and had the phone against his ear. "A very mad Scarlett is on her way to cause mayhem at the court over there. Nope, you guys can handle her. I don't have a death wish and I think she forgot she has to bring her sister to Professor Xin’s brother's place. Nah, I can do it, but they're doing some clean up at the coffee shop and I can make it faster so they can open for business tomorrow. Yeah. It's fine. Good luck. Yeah, if she destroys a few buildings I'll fix them in my spare time. Cool."

  Once he hung up, I spoke up. "What's going on?"

  Nick looked my way, giving me a sheepish smile as he waved in greeting.

  "Sorry, Silver. Didn't mean to wake you up, but things got a little hard to contain," Nick greeted and ran his hand through his bright red locks. He was wearing his work uniform and had his ranks on full display.

  "Did you just come from work?"

  "I'm actually here for work." He gave me a sympathetic smile. "I came to tell you that the investigators have declared that they don't have enough information to arrest Nikko for her alleged crimes. We've been trying to combat the decision, but another school has stepped forward and will provide her with a complete legal team if we push forward."

  "What?!" I stood up and took a few steps, but Wolfgang moved to stand in front of my feet, sitting on them before I could take another step.

  Ignoring Wolfgang's interference, I continued, "She was the center of everything that transpired! I wrote down everything to prove her intentions, and even Professor Xin and Professor Ace wrote detailed reports! She's just getting off scot-free?"

  Nick sighed and ran his hand through his hair nervously. "We just got the news, Silver. I agree with you, as do the rest of the professors and Shirley herself. This is completely out of the blue, and we want to proceed legally, but the time spent on that would be better used figuring out who Nikko is working for. I know that's not something you want to hear, but for now, we can't do much. I'm sure Scarlett will speed up that process after she destroys some stuff and make it known that your family isn't going to back down so easily."

  I bit my lip hard and clenched my fists, trying not to get angry at the injustice of all of this.

  "This is fucking stupid," I muttered.

  "Silver," Candice whispered. "I'm terribly sorry for Nikko's behavior. I'd apologize on her behalf, but I'm not sure how drastically she's changed. I'm not even sure if that's the daughter I raised at this point. I'm sure she's somewhere in there. What if we all sat down and tal—"

  "I won't be in the same room with that bitch," I snapped. "She looked directly in my eyes and lied! She killed all those innocent students who wanted nothing but a good party! She sabotaged the exam and killed those students like they were weeds to get rid of! All for what?! To feel a part of something? To somehow target me?!"

  "We don't know, Silver. I get what she did."

  "Wolfgang died!" I yelled. Wolfgang moved from my front feet, walking around my legs as if to remind me that he was right there.

  "Silver, he's right—" Candice tried to emphasize but I cut her off.

  "I watched him die, Candice! I dug him out of a pit of rubble and ash and stared into his lifeless gold eyes. If it wasn't for this damn charm bracelet, my loyal familiar, and the damn full moon, Wolfgang wouldn't be here! Your daughter looked me right in the eye and refused to admit that she was responsible for all of this. She knew where the exit was when no one else did. She tried to act innocent until I cut her damn arm off! She froze me in place and told me I should have just died and to enjoy my time in hell w
ith my dad and Wolfgang! You're telling me she can get away with this shit and I should just be fine and dandy with it?!" I shrieked.

  The building rocked a little, and I could see the flicker of worry that formed on their faces.

  Arms wrapped around my waist then, pulling me into a back hug while soft lips brushed against the right side of my neck.

  "Silver, breathe," Wolfgang's voice whispered into my ear. It had a comforting effect to it, and though I wanted to defy his words, the other part of me wanted to respect them.

  Taking a deep breath, I blinked back my tears and turned myself in Wolfgang's arms to hug him tightly back.

  "I want some fresh air," I muttered against his bare chest. I couldn’t care less that he was standing there naked. All that mattered was he was right there and not dead like the images fluttering in my mind from when we were in the church.

  "Why don't we go for a little walk? We can grab something to drink and come back a bit later?" Wolfgang whispered into my ear. I nodded into his chest, and he kissed my neck and gave me a tight hug.

  "We're going outside for some air. We can talk about this once Silver is feeling a bit better," Wolfgang voiced.

  I didn’t know what was happening, but I felt Wolfgang had really matured as of late. It wasn't like he wasn't one to take leadership, but his voice alone held an Alpha power to it that left me relieved to rely on him when I felt scattered.

  "All right. If you need a ride over to Yuriel's place, just let me know. I can drive you guys back before I get into finishing the major repairs here."

  "I'll keep you posted," Wolfgang replied. Kissing my forehead, he took a step back and snapped his fingers; a black T-shirt with a yellow symbol of a wolf cloaked his chest and faded black jeans appeared on his legs.

  He had on black Converse shoes and his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail. His left hand went in mine while his right lifted up to move a few locks of my silver-turquoise strands that had fallen out of place.

  "Let's go," he encouraged.

  "All right," I replied with a slight nod.

  Some fresh air would be good.

  2

  Comforting Passion Under The Moonlight

  "A milkman delivering milk at eleven at night is just sketchy," I mumbled, but took a sip of the chilled bottle of milk.

  Wolfgang chuckled. "Says the girl who emphasized we chill in a quiet alleyway because it looked far more sanitary than the benches in the park."

  "It's true," I mumbled. "They always keep this place all clean because of the likelihood of murders. Don't see them applying the same effort to the park where the benches are all covered in pigeon shit."

  Wolfgang smirked and took a long gulp of his drink. With a sigh, he looked up at the moon and I followed his gaze.

  We'd been out for half an hour, walking around the neighborhood and coming to a small alleyway that I knew the government kept clean for a number of reasons.

  It wasn't like the alley where I'd saved the same woman who was never in the mood.

  The one that Callister somehow knew about.

  If we were talking about moods, I wasn't in the mood to think right now. My head was pounding from the information we'd just learned, and I was irritated that Nikko wasn't going to be charged for her actions.

  What happened to justice?

  Star was back at the coffee shop, having stayed behind to keep my mom company. I didn't necessarily trust Candice right now, but my mom wasn't an idiot. She may have verbally forgiven her, but she'd do her own investigation to determine whether her best friend was innocent or not.

  It still wasn't going to give me enough confidence to leave her alone. Star was strong enough to aid my mom if anything did happen, and I trusted Nick as well, since he adored Scarlett.

  Spending some quality time with Wolfgang, even in an alleyway, felt nice compared to all the times I'd been out of it. The stuff with Nikko had riled me up, giving me a bit more energy with my magic fueling my emotions.

  I was sure I'd be sleeping all the sleep the moment my head hit the pillow tonight, but at least I'd soak up the current energy burst.

  "Would have been nice to have a bench," I admitted.

  "Are you starting to feel weak?" Wolfgang questioned out of concern.

  "A little," I sheepishly replied. "I don't want to sound like a burden or anything."

  "Silver," Wolfgang leaned into my side to kiss my cheek. "You're not a burden. It's okay to acknowledge that you're not at your best."

  "I wish I was," I replied. "I'm tired of feeling like a weakling. I wasn't like this when I started S.S.S. Now I'm here, barely able to have an adult conversation without snapping or feeling like shit." Looking to the ground, I sighed.

  "Silver," Wolfgang whispered into my ear, tugging it lightly with his teeth. I shivered at the move and turned my head to meet his loving gold eyes. "We wouldn't be standing here right now drinking milk if you hadn't caught onto Callister's movements. Your curiosity and desire for answers is what helped us get to that safe spot. I know you're frustrated because we got more questions than answers, but we're alive and recovering because of you."

  His arm slipped behind me, wrapping around my waist and bringing me to rest against his side.

  "I know," I whispered. "I just want to feel in control, Wolfgang. All of this is too overwhelming for me and I'm scared of looking like a ticking time bomb to everyone else."

  "You're adapting to all of this the best you can, Silver. You have every right to be upset, especially with what you experienced and witnessed. Don't brush it to the side and think you should be acting differently from how you feel."

  "You went through a lot. You died," I mumbled and was hugging him tightly.

  "Silver," he whispered and kissed the top of my head. "I know. It...was hard, and I don't really want to think about it, but it bothers me more when you're guilting yourself like this. I can feel it, the pain and resentment you're holding in your heart. You did the best you could. There was nothing we could have done differently that wouldn't have landed us dead. I'm here only thanks to your quick thinking and Star's assistance. I don't want you blaming yourself for Nikko's actions."

  "She's going to be free to live her life when she killed multiple students." My voice was low and deadly.

  "Karma's a bitch, Silver. We may not be able to do anything now, but I have a hunch that this isn't going to be the last we see of Nikko. If she's determined to kill you, she won't give up on her prey. All we have to do is work on being ready to confront her when that time comes. We have to be ready to face her."

  "Right," I replied. "You're right."

  I leaned my head back to look up at him. "Something's changed about you, Wolfgang."

  "Could be the full moon," he reasoned. "Or this mate thing. I'm working on the protective thing, but it's hard not to feel compelled to keep you safe. My wolf instincts cloud my judgment a lot, and even now, I want to ensure you understand how precious you are and the need to heal. I always felt strongly for you, but since we became official mates, it's stepped up a notch. It makes me want to be wiser in my decision making. Could be the reason why I'm acting more serious than I normally do."

  "Hmm," I pulled away and took a long drink from my milk. "It's pretty attractive. Not to say you weren't hot before, but it's a bit of a turn on."

  He smirked and finished the remaining milk, and I did the same.

  "Glad my growth appeals to you, Blossom." He winked.

  "Dimitri would be trying to claim ownership of his sole right to use that nickname if he heard you say it in that sexy voice." I giggled lightly.

  "Probably." Wolfgang chuckled and offered to take my bottle. "I'll throw them in the recycling over there.

  "All right," I replied and watched him leave the alley to cross the street over to the recycling bins.

  Looking back at the cement wall in front of me, I thought about the female rat shifter.

  Is she a part of a team that's against me? Or trying to clue me in on s
omething? There weren't many hints to gain from her. But why else would Callister bring it up? How did he know about her? Did he stalk me during my walks home? Even if he did, for what purpose? It's not like he revealed himself.

  Taking a steady breath, I tried not to feel overwhelmed, but it was getting harder.

  “If you were paying attention, you'd start realizing who your friends and foes are. But that's enough hints for tonight. I suggest you and your team really start figuring shit out. Next time, I won't be so nice. Guess I'm not in the mood tonight.”

  What am I supposed to be paying attention to? All these riddles and clues and we're still left in the dark. Why? It's not like we're not trying to figure shit out, but we don't know where to start. How are we going to be ready in time to face this? Is this what it means to be a spy? To be tossed into situations like these and be unable to figure things out until it's far too late? Maybe I'm not qualified to be a spy. If I were, wouldn't I be able to figure this shit out by now?

  "Silver," Wolfgang's voice sounded like it was in the depths of my mind. "Come back to me, baby."

  Wolfgang...what if I'm not good enough for this?

  "To be a spy?" His voice held a level of inquisitiveness. "You can, Silver. Your father wouldn't have been as confident in your future if he didn't think so. You know what I think?"

  What?

  "That you can be anything you want to be. You've wanted to be a spy for years. You applied for five years straight before finally getting in. You were able to help us during our first quest, and we've all grown because of you. Out of everyone, I believe you're meant to be a spy. I also think that's what those who are fighting to stop you are afraid of. Whatever power is inside your mind, they're frightened enough to start causing trouble. This could be your destined path and people want to stop you from reaching it. Don't let them, Silver."

  It took me some time to absorb his words, and when I opened my eyes, I realized I was crouched down with my arms around my knees, and Wolfgang was crouched down in front of me with his hand gently stroking my head.