Werewolf Academy Year Three - Jayme Morse Page 0,16
we’re all choosing our sides in this war. I’m not going to side with him. I choose to side with you, with all of you”—she glanced around at my mates— “if you’ll let me, that is.”
“She would be useful to have around,” Aiden said. “An inside source as to Milos’s real location.”
“Well, here’s the thing. I don’t actually know where my dad is right now,” Jessica explained. “I just know where he could be.”
I paused for a long moment. “If we agree to let you help us, will you ever expect anything in return? Will you try to make me join the She-Wolves?”
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m choosing to help you because I want to help you. I want to get rid of my dad. You’ll never owe me a thing.”
“If you go against your word, I will hunt you down and kill you,” Theo informed her.
“Then so be it. I’m telling the truth.” She rose to her feet then. “You can let me know your answer on Monday, Raven. Just know that I truly want to be on your side.”
“No. We don’t have to wait until Monday,” I told her. “I want your help.”
She smiled at me. “I’m so glad.”
I made a decision then. “We start looking for him tomorrow. You can sleep in the guest bedroom. Set your alarm for seven a.m.”
Her eyes widened a little, and first, I thought she was going to protest. But, instead, she just nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
When my alarm went off the next morning at 6:45 a.m., Theo groaned.
“I know we want to find Milos, but do we really have to start looking for him this early?”
“I’m testing Jessica,” I told him through mind-speak. “If she’s willing to get up at seven a.m. to help us find him, then I believe she’s actually being genuine. But if not…”
“Is the time really a good test of her loyalty? Maybe she’s just not a morning person. Or maybe she is a morning person, and that’s even more of a reason this shouldn’t be used to test her.”
“If she’s not a morning person—and I suspect she’s not—then this will be uncomfortable. And that’s the point. This whole process should be uncomfortable for her. It’s not easy to kill one’s father.”
“If you say so.” Theo shrugged as he kissed me.
I kissed him back. Then I added, “Besides, the sooner we can find Milos and kill him, the better. What if she’s really able to lead us to him?”
“I guess we’re about to find out,” he replied as he untangled himself from me and pulled himself out of bed.
I climbed out of bed, too, and changed into a white tank top and gray yoga pants.
As we headed downstairs, I was surprised to find that Jessica was already sitting at the kitchen table.
“Do you want cream or sugar in your coffee?” Aiden was asking her as we entered the room.
“No, I prefer my coffee black, just like my heart,” Jessica replied. Her gaze shifted to me and Theo as we entered the room. “Good morning, lovelies.”
“Good morning. You guys are up early,” I found myself saying.
“Yeah. I’m so not a morning person, so I decided to just stay up and watch some TV. I figured I would be more awake than if I went to sleep for just a few hours. I was knees’ deep in a Golden Girls marathon when my TV woke Aiden up, and he decided to keep me company.”
“How nice of him.” I shot Aiden dagger eyes as I made my way over to the Keurig.
It was hard for me to hide my jealousy, but I couldn’t help it. Jessica went to Aiden’s office hours. I had questioned Aiden about it before, and he’d told me that Jessica was having a hard time in his class so he was giving her some one-on-one tutoring. He’d told me that I had nothing to be worried about, but even so, I had always secretly wondered if she wanted him.
More importantly, I had wondered if Aiden secretly wanted her, too. Even though ancients could only be attracted to other ancients, being Milos’s daughter meant that Jessica was half-ancient. And while I knew firsthand that being attracted to a half-ancient wasn’t as intense as being attracted to a full-blooded ancient, I knew that it was possible. I had found myself attracted to Javier at one point in time. And even though my connection with Javier had been nothing like the connections I had with