Saved: A Why Choose Academy Shifter Romance (Thornbriar Academy Book 3) Read online

  Cali Mann

  Saved

  First published by Thornfire Publsihing Co 2020

  Copyright © 2020 by Cali Mann

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

  This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

  First edition

  Cover art by Victoria Cooper Art

  Editing by SB Editing

  This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

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  Contents

  Hailey

  Sciro

  Hailey

  Adrian

  Hailey

  Terrin

  Hailey

  Hailey

  Brenton

  Hailey

  Sciro

  Hailey

  Terrin

  Brenton

  Hailey

  Hailey

  Adrian

  Sciro

  Brenton

  Terrin

  Hailey

  Adrian

  Sciro

  Adrian

  Sciro

  Hailey

  Sciro

  Hailey

  Terrin

  Hailey

  Hailey

  Brenton

  Sciro

  Hailey

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  1

  Hailey

  The inky darkness of the cave surrounded us lit only by our flashlights. We’d passed the pools and came around the back side of the room where they were holding Sciro. Reaching out, I scraped my fingers along the rough dirt wall of the cavern. Anger bubbled in my chest. Trapping an air shifter in an underground cell seemed inhumane.

  Turning, I scowled at the three men arrayed around me. Brenton, I understood. I was his only priority, but, for Adrian and Terrin, Sciro was their oldest friend. “I have to do this.”

  “No.” Terrin’s voice was gruff. “It’s too dangerous.”

  “It’s not. I know how,” I said. “My dad showed me.”

  “And that’s exactly why you shouldn’t do this,” Adrian said. “We can’t trust Kaiden.”

  When Brenton and I had told them that Kaiden Hartsman—the bane of the shifter world—was my father, Terrin and Adrian had gone into shock. I didn’t blame them. It wasn’t like I wanted to believe it either. But whether we did or not, we all knew that Kaiden wasn’t to be trusted. Still, I persisted because we needed to do something to save Sciro. If we couldn’t talk to him, how could we help him? “Spirit form has nothing to do with the madness.”

  Brenton growled, “We don’t know that. Maybe the shifts into spirit are what cause the unbalance in the first place.”

  “This is ridiculous,” I said, dusting my hands off on my jeans. Not that we knew anything for sure. Even with my three men bonded to me, I’d had episodes. Not big ones, but some. Spirit form couldn’t be the cause, though. I hadn’t shifted into spirit since the day Professor Ward was killed.

  “I’m going in.” I glowered at them, daring them to stop me. “Sciro needs us, and they won’t let us see him any other way.”

  The three of them frowned at me, their eyes sad as puppy-dogs. I ignored them and turned to the dirt wall. The administration had designated a temporary cell for Sciro in the basement of Thornbriar while we awaited the Council’s arrival.

  We’d tried everything we could think of to get inside, but they had it locked up tight: no one in or out, except the Headmaster or the guards. The Council was arriving later today, and this would be our last chance to talk to Sciro. I needed him to understand that we were trying to help, and that we wanted my father caught as much as he did.

  I let go of my awareness—as my father had shown me—and slipped into spirit form, then through the wall into Sciro’s cell. He sat on a plain cot with his face in his hands.

  Frowning, I glided over to him. I didn’t know how to appear without freaking him out, and he was probably still really pissed at me. “Sciro,” I said, my voice soft.

  “Hailey?” he asked, his head lifting and his brow wrinkling. He looked tired, dark circles under his eyes, and his cheeks seemed gaunt.

  “I’m here,” I said, wanting to reach out and smooth his forehead.

  “How?”

  I let the spirit form fade, appearing before him.

  His jaw dropped, but then he growled, leaping to his feet. “Professor Ward is dead because of you!”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. “Because of Kaiden.”

  “Your father,” he snapped, his hands curling into fists.

  “Yeah. Unfortunately.” I swallowed. “It’s not like I had a choice. Trust me, if I did, I’d hardly go, ‘hey got any homicidal spirit shifters? One to go, please.’ Anyway, this isn’t about me. I want to help.”

  “Help?” He sneered.

  “You’re innocent, and we need to prove it.”

  “Are you going to turn yourself in?” His eyes narrowed.

  I shook my head.

  Sciro turned away toward the wall, his shoulders tight. “Go away, Hailey, before I do something I will regret.”

  Reaching out a hand, I laid it on his shoulder, and he flinched, so I retreated. “I won’t hurt you.”

  He laughed, low and hard. “Don’t you think you’ve already hurt me enough? Killing Professor Ward, mating my friends . . . dooming us all?”

  “No one’s doomed,” I said with a huff. “I won’t go crazy if I have my mates.”

  “Who told you that?” He snorted. “Kaiden?”

  I nodded. “Yes, but it’s still true.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Sciro, can’t you look at me?”

  He twisted around, scowling at me. “I haven’t had any blood in days, and you smell like a banquet.”

  “Oh.” I knew that pain well enough. I lifted my wrist. “Here. Eat.”

  With a hiss, he shook his head. “I’m so hungry, and I hate you so much.” His eyes met mine, dark and angry. “If I taste you, I won’t stop until you’re dead.”

  A shiver ran through me at the cold violence of his words. “You hate me?”

  “Go, Hailey,” he said, his voice anguished. “Before I devour you.”

  I bit my lip, tasting the metallic blood, and he lunged at me. Diving toward the wall, I willed myself into spirit form and fell through it into Brenton’s waiting arms.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. His eyes searched me for injuries.

  “I’m fine.” I stood, brushing myself off, and looked over at Adrian and Terrin’s worried faces.

  “How is he?” Terrin asked, his voice gruff.

  “Rough,” I said with a grimace. “They’ve been starving him of blood to keep him weak.”

  “Dammit,” Adrian muttered. “I’ll talk to my mother.”

  “It won’t do any good,” I said sharply. “You’ve been talking to her since Sciro got arrested. They’ve determined that he’s guilty and he hasn’t even had a trial.”

  “Shifters are more violent than humans,” Terrin said. “The ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing—”

  “—doesn’t make any sense to you. I know.” I bru
shed passed him and marched down the hall. My skin itched with the need to do something, but there was nothing to do. The smell of saltwater filled my nose as we entered the pool caverns.

  “It’s just the way things are,” Adrian said.

  “Stupid. Pigheaded. Shifters.” I marched across the stones. “As if you can know someone’s guilty without hearing the facts. There aren’t even any facts here!”

  Adrian grasped my elbow, pulling me to a stop. “As much as I like this fiery side of you, Hailey,” he whispered against my ear. “You’re supposed to be a vampire, remember?”

  I leaned into him, laying my head against his shoulder. “Maybe you should help me cool off?”

  He snorted and shoved me into the pool.

  “What the hell?” I gasped as I surfaced, my clothes soaked through.

  The guys chuckled. Terrin and Adrian shucked their clothing and dived in. Brenton watched from the poolside, his eyes darkening.

  I wanted to be pissed. But having two naked guys dive in after me made me bite my lip, shivering. Adrian reached me first—no surprise—and yanked me against him, pressing his mouth to mine. I wrapped my hands around his blond curls.

  Behind me, Terrin’s warm skin pressed against my back and buttocks, and I sighed, sandwiched between them. Their deft hands removed my soaked clothing piece by piece. My skin longed for the soothing coolness of the water.

  Glancing across the pool, I found Brenton still lingering by the edge. His eyes smoldered. Though he said he was okay with my other lovers, Brenton only made love to me when we were alone. With one hand I beckoned him, but he shook his head and headed out of the cavern. I frowned. I wished he’d join us.

  Terrin lifted my hair and kissed along my shoulders. Scooping my breasts into his palms, Adrian flicked his thumb across their peaks until they hardened. Terrin’s hands roamed across my buttocks and slipped between my legs, stroking my core. I trembled beneath their ministrations. Terrin circled my clit. Then he plunged his fingers into me, and I bucked. Adrian held me, stroking my skin with feathery touches.

  I reached for them, wanting to touch them as they were touching me, and they batted my hands away. “No fair,” I whispered hoarsely.

  Adrian slipped between my spread legs, nudging at my entrance, and I opened eagerly for him. I gripped his muscled shoulders. He dived in and took up the rhythm. Washed away on waves of pleasure, I closed my eyes, tipping my head back.

  Sliding his hand along my back, Terrin stroked between the curves of my ass. His breath warm against my ear, he said, “I want to take you here.”

  “That’s possible?” I squeaked, and Adrian paused, his stormy eyes on us both.

  Terrin chuckled. “I forget sometimes how innocent you are.”

  “Only if you’re willing,” Adrian said. “It is a different kind of pleasure.”

  “I trust you,” I said, meeting their eyes in turn. “And I love you. I want all of you inside me. Everywhere.”

  Adrian laughed. “As the lady wishes.”

  Terrin nodded in agreement. He stroked down my ass again, then used his fingers to widen and stretch me.

  “Relax,” Adrian whispered. He kissed me, stroking my breasts and trailing nibbles across my neck.

  The slow movement of his cock inside me was an aching pleasure that I couldn’t seem to get enough of. I allowed it to lull me, relaxing and feeling the love of these men who had come to mean so much to me. Their stubborn concern for my safety annoyed me, but they wouldn’t be like this if they didn’t care.

  Kissing the back of my neck, Terrin gently pressed himself against my virgin hole. Slowly he worked his way in, filling me up in a way I had never been filled before. I expected pain, but there was only pleasure.

  I gasped, and he paused.

  “Okay?”

  “Yes,” I said, pressing back against him.

  Terrin groaned and slid the rest of the way in. Then, he began to move, and Adrian echoed his movements, encouraging me to be filled by both together. The exquisite pressure mounted within me as both cocks found their rhythm.

  Pleasure radiated through me. I forgot who I was and where I was, lost in sensation. I cried out over and over again as we rushed toward orgasm, heat sparking through my veins and sizzling the water around us. Earth stabilized me, and water kept me cool, even as we burst into ecstasy, our bodies shaking and trembling with the intensity of our union.

  2

  Sciro

  I stumbled back to my cot after Hailey had gone. The anger pulsed within me like a vein, and I couldn’t seem to get the image of her out of my mind. All fiery green eyes and black hair, her hands on her hips like an angry schoolteacher, she’d been determined to talk to me. Even if I despised her. Even if I never wanted to see her again.

  Hailey was the devil incarnate to seep into my head this way, twisting my feelings and confusing me. I hated her. I did. She’d killed Professor Ward and escaped with Kaiden Hartsman. That should be all I needed to know to condemn her. She had doomed my pack mates to a loveless life without their mate. She’d invited a known murderer to campus. I hissed. Hailey let him kill my mentor and get away with it.

  Staring at the dirt walls of my underground cell, I knew, by all rights, I should despise her. And I did. Except it was all wrapped up with lust and need and a weird kind of respect. She’d wanted to free my brothers and had come to see me despite the danger. She hadn’t wanted to hurt Professor Ward, and she hadn’t wanted to hurt me.

  I shouldn’t have been able to hear her conversation with Kaiden, but somehow, through the ringing bells of my sore head, I had. He’d told her to kill me, and she’d balked. That was the worm that had wriggled its way inside me.

  Leaping to my feet, I paced across the small space. I hadn’t lied about her smell. It lingered after her, blood and lavender. Hunger howled in my stomach, like a high wind.

  Fuck Hailey. I had to get out of here. They’d left me locked up for days with the bare minimum of food and blood, and I was going crazy. After her first accusations, Headmaster Larkin hadn’t been back, as if she didn’t trust herself around me. I’d overheard the guards talking, and they’d said the trial was to be held here. I couldn’t think why.

  The Council would have to come here, and the Oracle was already on her way . . . or was she? Professor Ward had invited her, and I didn’t know how much he had told her. Maybe she’d turn around and return to her sanctuary after receiving news of his death? I ran a hand through my hair.

  With the hunger battering me, I couldn’t think, and I needed to think. How was I going to prove my innocence? An air shifter found near a body drained of blood. I scowled.

  3

  Hailey

  I stood in one of the upper windows, watching the line of cars arriving at Thornbriar Academy, the Council, the ruling body that presided over all shifters. Well, all known ones anyway. They’d decide Sciro’s fate and we somehow had to convince them that my father was behind it all, without exposing me.

  Terrin’s arms wrapped around me, and I leaned back into the solidity of him. He was my rock.

  “How are we going to save Sciro?” I asked.

  He sighed; his breath warm against my ear. “I don’t know.”

  As each car door opened, an even more intimidating shifter stepped out. Eight men and women dressed in fine suits and holding their heads high.

  “Is that Adrian’s mom?” I pointed to the blonde woman stepping out of a black car. She was smooth and polished, and she almost glided to the steps to greet the Headmaster.

  “Yeah,” Terrin answered.

  Brenton appeared across from us at the end of the hall. “There you are,” he said, striding forward. He glanced out the window as he passed. “Ah, watching the big wigs arrive.”

  I gave him a half-smile. “Scary, aren’t they?”

  “Scared, more like.” He smirked. “Kaiden attacked several of them on their way here.”

  “But they all survived?” I asked.

  Brenton nod
ded. “Odd, isn’t it? Almost as if he wanted them to make it here.”

  A growl rumbled against my back, and Terrin said, “We know he’s planning something.”

  “They must too,” I said, looking back out the window. “Or they’re idiots.”

  “That’s Monica’s dad,” Terrin said, gesturing toward a short man on the steps. “Councilman Gray.”

  “Who’s that behind him?” I squinted. “Brenton, is that your mom?”

  “What the fuck?” Brenton gazed down. “What’s she doing here?”

  “I don’t see your dad though.”

  Brenton frowned. “Maybe she has finally left him. Although why she’d come here, especially at a time like this, I don’t know.”

  I reached out and squeezed his arm, then turned to Terrin. “Is Adrian waiting for his mom?”

  “Yeah, he’s going to try to talk to her.”

  With a sigh, I said, “I really have no idea how to save Sciro. The evidence against him is damning unless I come forward and tell what happened.”

  “No.” Brenton shook his head. “They’d execute you for sure.”

  “But—”

  Terrin said, “He’s right, Hailey. There has to be another way.”

  I pressed my lips together, but I let the guys hold me and continued to gaze down at the unloading cars. The Council had come, and the Oracle would be on their heels. I didn’t see any way forward. If I turned myself in, at least I could get Sciro free of his charges. But they would kill me and then what would happen to my guys? We’d only bound tighter in the last few weeks, and the tattoo on my back had darkened.

  * * *

  The student body had gathered in the chapel. The Headmaster and admin stood in front of the altar, looking uncomfortable, with the Council arrayed behind them. Once we’d all settled on the hard pews, Headmaster Larkin began, “I know there have been a lot of rumors flying around, and we want to set those to rest.”

  Gazing around the room, she took a breath. “Professor Samuel Ward was murdered on our grounds.”

  Students all began talking at once.

  Larkin raised her hands and her voice. “The culprit is in custody, and the Council has decided to hold the trial here at Thornbriar Academy.”