Azure Dragons (Supernatural Shifter Academy #2) - G. Bailey Page 0,48

discussed by the school board. “Why?” I ask in a weak voice. “Are we in trouble or something?” I’m not even sure why I bother to ask the question; some part of me deep down already knows the answer, and one look at the other guys is enough to tell me they do, too.

“It’s not that,” the second man, clearly the more sympathetic of the two replies. “You’ve been… selected. All five of you. In the aftermath of the attack, the school board called an emergency vote—they’ve decided that drastic measures are necessary in light of what happened at the convention center.”

“The experiments,” Silas murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper. “They’re going to restart the experiments again. That’s why you’re isolating us. That’s why you’re sending the others home, but not us. We’re not on lockdown - we’re prisoners.” It’s not a question, and the looks on the men’s faces are enough to confirm as much.

“I’m sorry,” says the second man. “Really. We don’t like doing this, but the decision has already been made. The five of you are to remain here until arrangements can be made to take you to a special testing facility.”

“What? No!” Hunter cried, pushing forward. “This isn’t legal! My dad is a board member. If he knew about this, he wouldn’t-”

“I’m afraid your father was out-voted,” replies the first man coolly. “This is an urgent situation, and it sure as hell isn’t normal. We’re under orders to make sure the five of you are transported securely without causing a disturbance to the rest of the students. We’re going to be stationed outside your room, and we would strongly advise you not to make a scene. This will be much easier for all of us if we can-”

“Bullshit,” exclaims Shade. “You can’t just trap us here! We’ll fight our way out if we have to. There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you use us as guinea pigs.”

The first man gives a heavy sigh, as if he was expecting this, and moments later, he’s pulling something out of his pocket—it looks like a normal stone from a distance, but when he places it on the floor, it begins to glow, a rune-like shape carved into its surface lighting it up with a red glow. “I’m really sorry that we have to do this,” he says, “but believe me, this is for your own good - and the good of the shifter community.”

“What the hell is that?” I demand, pointing at the stone on the floor.

Hunter groans. “I’ve seen one of these before. It’s a charm - probably enchanted by a witch, if I had to guess.”

“You would be correct,” says the first man. “It’s a ward, and it’s been charmed to keep the five of you from accessing your shifter abilities.”

“Are you serious?!” Landon demands. “This is insanity!”

“A violent reaction isn’t something the Academy wants to risk,” the second man explains. “We’re sorry, but this is the only way to keep the situation from getting out of hand. Please don’t touch the rune; it will only hurt you if you try to destroy it. As soon as you’ve all been safely brought to the testing facility, we’ll have it deactivated by one of the resident witches.”

“Fuck you!” yells Shade, lunging forward, and I can see he’s trying to access his form, but it’s no use; the stone gives out a pulse of red light, and in spite of his best efforts, nothing happens. The wolf shifter stares down at his hands in disbelief, his grey eyes wide, before leveling an angry, betrayed gaze at the newcomers.

“Someone will be by shortly to bring you your dinner,” the first man says, his tone businesslike and his expression verging on smug. “I would advise you all to save your energy; you’ll probably need it for what’s coming.” He nods at the second man, who shoots us a regretful look over his shoulder, and then the two men make their way down the hall and to the door. I hear the sound of it opening and closing, followed by the muffled noise of their conversation resuming once they’re outside. They’re settling down in the hallway, guards for a dorm room that has now become a jail cell.

“This is fucked up,” Landon mutters, kicking a chair and rubbing a hand across his forehead. “This is so fucked up.”

“You’re telling me,” Silas replies dryly. “I’m only just now getting my dragon form back, and they’re about to ship us