And then I sensed him.

‘Mate.’

I couldn’t say if it was by smell or just the feeling, but I had time to flee. Only I didn’t really want to. The large black wolf stepped from behind a tree, slowly approaching.

‘Mate.’

Closing my eyes, I let him approach.

‘Missed you.’ He nuzzled my neck. ‘Smell good.’

But the intimacy of the gesture—of his touch—upset me, and I stepped back. ‘No. You left me. You hurt me.’

I used small short sentences his wolf could understand.

‘Yes.’ He nodded. ‘Leaving you bad. Mate never leave. My human stupid.’

True that. The “human stupid” comment won him a wolfish grin.

‘Human very stupid,’ I agreed.

‘Mate. Home. Safe. No Leave.’ His voice brushed over me as he nuzzled my neck, and the sincerity in his voice melted me. I could feel his feelings just the way my father described as pack alpha. Did all mates have this? I could feel my pack back home. I let him continue to nuzzle my neck before nipping playfully at his fur.

‘I’m sorry I bit you last time.’

He cocked his head and then licked me from chin to ear. ‘Sorry I hurt you.’

My heart squeezed at his words, and I nuzzled him back. Why couldn’t his human be as nice?

Chapter 14

Two weeks later, and I still couldn’t shift for Honor, not even when he threatened me with a knife. Not even when Noble jumped out in all his wolfish glory—a big black wolf, incidentally—and shocked me. Nope. For one irrational second, I thought the wolf was my mate’s, but my wolf … she knew and didn’t even budge for Noble.

On a more positive note, I had made progress in my water elemental class, and fire was finally starting to click.

I watched the water stir in the glass I held, staring at the steady liquid as I pushed heat into the glass through my palm. The water stirred and started to boil, causing me to grin. When there was a good roiling boil, and I was confident that I held my magic energy tight within my being, I held the glass out to Master Carn. “There you are.”

The tall mage wore a furrowed expression, his lips flattened until they nearly disappeared, but he said nothing. After accepting the glass, he stuck a thermometer into the contents as if confirming I’d done just as he’d asked.

Like we both couldn’t see the water boiling.

“Now will you teach me fireballs?” I asked. Not that boiling water didn’t have its usefulness and all. “We still have an hour of class left—”

He shook his head. “Not today, I’m afraid.”

Then he turned, set the glass on his desk, and headed to the door—all without even looking at me. I stood slack-jawed, watching him practically flee after my success.

“Where are you going?” I asked. “I thought this was class time?”

“I’ve got a staff meeting,” he said over his shoulder by way of explanation, pulling the door open. “Can’t be late.”

His deep voice bounced back into the room, and I frowned. Master Carn was acting whack.

Rage was missing today too, so it wasn’t like I could ask him to help me. Not that he would. After our warm-fuzzy convo two weeks ago, he’d returned to pretending I didn’t exist. Who knew how that boy’s mind worked? Not me. One hundred percent not me.

Well … if Master Carn wasn’t going to teach me how to wield fire, I’d find a book in the library and teach myself.

I left the room, hefting the stupid beginner’s fire book, and practically skipped down the hall. If I never had to work with Master Carn again, it would be fine by me. He might be brilliant with his element, but the guy was stuffy and cold. Zero personality and unhelpful. Why become a teacher if he didn’t want to teach?

Master Jin, my water teacher, was happy to have an eager student, and with his help, I was quickly catching up. Master Carn, on the other hand, treated me like a pariah, probably taking hints from Rage or even the alpha king. The fire mage left the room more than any other teacher I’d ever had, which shortened my lessons … like he wanted me to fail. Too bad. I refused to fail at anything.

I pulled open the door to the library, and the smells of parchment and leather assailed me.

“Can I help—oh … Nai.” Mrs. Edi blinked at me through her Coke-bottle glasses as I pushed the beginner fire textbook to her. The advanced spell mage glanced down at the heavy tome. “All done with this one?”

“Yep.” I grinned at the librarian. Her thick lenses made her eyes look bigger than they were. “I need advanced books on fire wielding, please.”

She frowned, scooting off her chair, and disappeared behind the desk. “Is there a specific question you have? I’m sure Master Carn would be the best resource for you—”

“No, he won’t,” I grunted, and she stepped out from around the corner, her brow furrowed with worry.

After a long exhale, I met her eye-to-eye. “Master Carn is useless. He’s always leaving me alone during class time. I’d like some additional reading. I need to learn enough to pass my test at the end of the term.”

“Oh, dear. That won’t do.” Her eyes widened, magnified by the thick lenses. She patted my shoulder and offered a smile filled with sympathy. “Let me show you where the advanced texts are.”

I followed the stout woman through the rows of shelves until we neared the back of the library.

Mrs. Edi pointed to a row of four bookcases filled with thick tomes and rolled parchments. “All the advanced practical information is here. It’s organized by affinity, so everything with the symbol of fire on it should be in the second case.”

She pointed to the second bookcase, and at the top of it, a dancing flame emblem stood etched into the wood.

My gaze flicked over the other bookcases, stopping at water, the three squiggly lines that matched the mark on my abdomen. “Thanks, Mrs. Edi.”

She patted my hand. “Always happy to help a student wanting to learn.”

Which is what all teachers should believe—like a motto or sworn oath.

She turned to go, and my gaze flicked past the shelves, landing on a black onyx stone door. Inlaid in gold was a symbol I didn’t recognize: a large triangle with three overlapping circles inside, all spread apart like petals of a flower.

“What’s in there?” I asked, pointing at the strange door. There wasn’t even a handle for it.

Mrs. Edi’s eyes widened, and she swallowed hard before following my gaze.

“That’s … not for students.” With a curt nod, she spun and practically raced down the aisle. “Good day, Nai.”

Huh. Okaaay.

I turned my attention back to finding a solution for my sucky teacher. Each of the bookcases was close to six feet in length. Stopping in front of the second one, I stared at the fire symbol. With nearly an hour before I needed to be in the cafeteria, I stepped back to the first bookcase … and stared at the three wavy lines—exactly like the ones on my abdomen.

Maybe instead of looking into advanced fire magic, I should look into why the water symbol was seared on my body. I didn’t even think about it anymore unless I was showering. I still hadn’t asked anyone else about the mark. Not even Kaja.