The Gazelle Who Caught a Lion (10 page)

hardly mattered now. As long as he could be with Clark, everything

else ceased to matter. Thankfully, Sara kept her promise, and shortly after, her phone rang. The dorm was apparently ready for them.

Sara herself led Angel back to his room. Through his bond with

Clark, Angel registered his mate’s progress. He knew someone else

had gone to retrieve the lion and they were supposed to meet at the

dorm.

When he reached his room, his friends were already waiting there.

Sara assured them the situation was under control then took her leave, presumably to check on the guards. Once she left, Alexis and Reed

pounced him, rushing to interrogate him over what had happened.

“I don’t know more than you do, I’m afraid,” Angel told them.

“I’m just hoping whoever killed Leiland will be discovered.”

Before the conversation could continue, Clark appeared, and

everyone went to their respective rooms, leaving Clark and Angel

alone. Angel didn’t know how much these precious moments of

privacy would last so he stole a kiss from Clark.

The lion hugged him tight, prolonging what Angel had meant to be

just a peck.
“Everything will be all right, my angel,”
Clark said through their bond.
“Everything will be all right. You’ll see.”

And when he was in Clark’s arms, Angel could actually believe it.

* * * *

Back in Sara’s office, Brody waited for the principal to come talk

to them again. The past few hours had really put things into

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69

perspective, and he was wondering whether he and Carson had done

the right thing in trusting the Academy with their precious sons.

The principal returned from the dorm, and as soon as she entered

the room, Carson gave her an earnest look and asked, “Did you tell

them?”

Sara shook her head. “There is no point, not yet. They would just

feel betrayed and hurt, and I want to avoid that at all costs.”

Brody felt half-angry, half-relieved. “We’ll have to tell them

eventually.”

“I agree.” Sara gestured for them to sit down. As they did so, she

joined them, not behind her desk, but on the couch next to Carson.

She had a special affection for Carson, since he was her dear Nicolas’s friend. This was why Brody knew she could be trusted. “I don’t want

to say anything until I’m certain my suspicions are correct. This is a very delicate situation, as I’m sure you understand, and I need to keep watch over the issue a bit more.”

Yes, Brody understood, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He

was far too well accustomed with the bitterness of betrayal, and above all, he wanted to keep his sons safe from it. “I’m not sure, Sara. I just don’t feel right. They’re exposed like this.”

“I promise you, Brody, they’ll never be at any risk.” Sara gave

them a serious look. “You know I love those kids as if they were my

own.”

But they weren’t hers, now were they? She couldn’t understand

just how worried he and Carson were for their boys.

Carson bit his lip. “Maybe we should just leave, take them, and

go.”

Sara didn’t speak, obviously knowing that, in the end, the decision

belonged to them. Brody shared a look with his mate.
“What do you
think?”
he asked through their bond.

Carson got up and headed toward the window. Brody joined him

and together, they looked outside.

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“They can’t leave yet,”
Carson replied.
“Clark would never agree,
and they’d always have the suspicion looming over them.”

“But should they not know about what Sara told them?”
Brody inquired.

As he spoke, he noticed Alexis Whitaker passing through the

courtyard outside. He seemed to be heading toward the student

recreation facility, but God only knew if that was true or not.

“I really don’t know,”
Carson said as he watched Alexis disappear into the building.
“I don’t know, and it kills me.”

“Let’s wait a bit.”
Brody took his mate’s hand and squeezed it.

“Father is coming soon, and if he sees something amiss, we’ll go
ahead and tell them. I’ll mention it to Layton and Morgan. They can
keep an eye out. And God help us all if it’s true.”

He didn’t even want to think what would happen if Alexis had

truly been behind Leiland Travers’s murder.

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Chapter Six

Elder Kevin Wade arrived early the next morning, together with

his son Isaac and grandsons. Clark was a bit surprised his grandfather had allowed Isaac to come here at such a time, but he supposed there were reasons for everything.

No matter the circumstances, he was more than glad to see his

cousins and his uncle. He and Angel met them at the gate, together

with all their friends.

The moment the young werewolves stepped out of the cars, there

were shouts of joy and exclamations of relief and concern. Clark’s

cousin, Melanie, launched herself at him and hugged him tightly.

“Oh, Clark. We heard. I can’t believe you’re being blamed for

such an awful thing. I swear to God, I’ll make them pay.”

Clark hugged her back, gently soothing her concerns. When he

was certain she would not run off to behead anyone in his defense, he released her from the embrace. Physically, all the three werewolves

looked a lot like Soren, their biological dad, but they’d also inherited a lot from their mother, Carlie. According to Clark’s uncle, Melanie was all Carlie, and having her had been a great comfort for all those who’d loved Carlie and suffered from her loss.

Jace and Derek were talking to Angel, their arms all over Clark’s

mate. Clark didn’t mind since werewolves were naturally very tactile.

For them, it was a very normal thing, and the twins were like…well,

his brothers. It was quite ironic that his actual adoptive brother would turn out to be his mate, and he would find other siblings in his cousins and friends.

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Isaac stood away from them, looking a bit uncomfortable and out

of place. Clark felt bad for his uncle, and especially for ever saying Isaac was unreliable. They all knew how hard it had been for Isaac to adapt to life as a half-breed. It wasn’t common knowledge, but unlike Layton and Morgan, Isaac could turn both into a ram and into a wolf.

It couldn’t be something easy to deal with.

Clark made his way to Isaac’s side and hugged the young

werewolf. “Hi there, uncle. Welcome.”

Isaac offered him a small smile. “Thanks. I would have loved to

show up in less worrisome circumstances.”

Clark suppressed a sigh. “It’s a difficult situation, yes, and not

because I was accused of being involved.”

In fact, the evening before, Sara had announced Angel and Clark

had been officially cleared of all suspicion. Of course, other students still gave them the ugly eye. However, the real problem wasn’t their hateful whispers, but finding out the actual murderer.

Just the thought that someone had killed a man just to accuse

Clark of it made him sick to his stomach, no matter how out of control and dangerous the man in question had been. He couldn’t be a

hypocrite and claim he regretted Leiland’s death, but at the same time, he wanted the guilty party to be punished. It was an increasingly tense situation, more so since Sara had reinforced the security around the university and set even stricter rules than before. Apparently, Leiland had been killed outside the actual Academy and in the neighboring

forest. It was not unusual for students to want to run there, but that day, Leiland should have been watched, not let loose. It was actually quite strange. Had Leiland’s friends and teachers taken his outburst more seriously, the cheetah would perhaps still be alive.

Sara had pointed this out, too, and also emphasized that anyone

who had any information on Leiland’s killer should come forward

before something worse happened. To Clark’s knowledge, no one had.

He’d have tried to find something out, but Byron Cunningham,

Layton and Morgan’s father, who’d arrived shortly after the murder,

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73

had given all students clear instructions to stay out of the

investigation.

Truth be told, Clark was most concerned for Angel. Clark couldn’t

leave the Academy—he was no quitter—but he’d have preferred for

his parents to take Angel with them, at least to live somewhere else.

The town near the Academy was controlled by shifters, and it would still be safer than the university, where a killer was on the loose. Sara had given permission for herbivores and smaller omnivores to

temporarily move there, but not to return to their homes, since the

investigation was still in progress.

Strikingly, none of the students left, though, and everyone returned to their classes. In a way, it made Clark sad. Death was such a normal thing in their lives that they’d all come to accept it just like that. He wondered if there would ever come a time when shape-shifters would

allow themselves to fear and grieve like humans did.

Shaking himself, he focused on Isaac, knowing how hard it must

be for the werewolf to come here now. “Come on in. It might not be

the best time to show up here as our friend and relative, but if a little bad talk doesn’t bother you, I trust you’ll be fine.”

Isaac snorted. “Please. Of course it doesn’t bother me. I just don’t want you to be accused of a crime you didn’t commit.”

Their conversation was interrupted by Clark’s grandfather. Elder

Wade had been briefly occupied with Clark’s parents, but now

summoned Clark and Angel to him. They shared a brief hug, after

which the werewolf turned all business. “Tell me all the details, boys.

What exactly happened?”

As they walked inside, Clark started to explain the events, from

Leiland’s attack on Angel to Sara’s notification of Leiland’s death. He skipped his mating with Angel, since now was not the time to shock

his grandfather with such news.

“The video feeds clear me of any involvement,” he finally said,

“but Principal Huitzilin has yet to find another suspect.” From what she’d told them at least. Clark suspected there was more going on

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them Sara or any of the other “adults” let on. It irritated him that they still thought of him as a child who couldn’t handle things, but in the end, he could do very little about it. He’d chosen discretion as the better part of valor. Instead of turning into Sherlock Holmes, he

preferred to keep a close eye on his mate, just in case someone wasn’t happy with just killing a cheetah, but wanted to do the same thing

with an antelope.

His grandfather and his parents left for yet another meeting with

the principal, and Clark was left in charge of the new arrivals. He introduced Alexis to the group. The incubus seemed to be on his best behavior, as he was polite and even courteous, especially with

Melanie.

“You know, you were supposed to be my new roommate until this

whole fiasco,” he told Isaac. “I’m not sure where you’re going to stay now.”

“With me,” Layton offered. “I’m the only one who doesn’t have a

roomie.”

“Wait.” Melanie lifted a hand. “Did you guys change rooms or

what?”

Clark nodded. “Angel moved in with Alexis a few days ago so that

Alexis wouldn’t have to live alone. Then, this whole killing thing

happened, and we all sort of banded together at Sara’s suggestion. She thought it would be safer, at least until she found out who was behind Leiland’s murder.”

Jace let out a thoughtful hum. “So what about me and Derek? Are

we moving, too? What about Mel?”

That, Clark didn’t know. He supposed his cousins should probably

move to the M dorm, too, but things were getting a little out of hand.

Truth be told, Clark didn’t really get why they all needed to live there.

Sometimes, it seemed Sara had an ulterior motive for asking them to

band together.

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75

“I suppose the principal will tell you,” Alexis offered. “But for the moment, why don’t we go to town for a little while, have a drink or something? It’s always nice to celebrate new things and new friends.”

“We have classes later,” Melanie reminded them.

“We’ll come back in time,” Alexis pleaded. “Come on, guys. The

mood’s here so gloomy. I can’t bear it.” The incubus turned toward

Morgan. “Tell them, Morgan.”

So far, Morgan had been almost eerily quiet, but now, he nodded.

“It’s not a bad idea. We all need a little distraction.”

“I’m with Morgan,” Layton added. “I almost hate to say it, but I

like Alexis’s idea.”

Clark studied his friends, for the first time that day realizing

something was different about them. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It wasn’t really visible since they were acting the same as ever.

“I can feel it, too,”
Angel said through their bond.
“I wonder if
something’s wrong.”

“God, I hope not,”
Clark said.
“It would be last thing we need.”

“Besides,” Layton added, “this way I get to see Corbin.”

It was all so…normal it felt wrong. Granted, Clark would have

liked to see Corbin and Preston as well. The two lived in the town

adjoining the Academy, and even if they didn’t actually go to the