The Lost Mate

Max

“Max, so good to see you again,” the dean said. I leaned on the crutches as we shook hands before taking the proffered seats by her desk.

“Likewise, Dean Jordan. This is Nash, a pack mate from Glenshadow.”

She nodded her greeting and then we went on to speak of my current search. I politely inquired about the state of the school, and she responded in kind, before she got to the tricky part of the visit. “Do you have any idea why werewolves might have attacked you? We have very little werewolf activity in the vicinity in general.”

I didn’t want to lie, but I also didn’t want to throw Nash under the bus. “I’m not sure. It may be a grudge, some conflict between pack and rogue wolves. You know I was a rogue for a while, and Nash was a rogue even longer and more recently. He still has a bit of rogue scent to him, so maybe it was their dislike that caused it.”

“Perhaps. Well, for now we’ll simply ensure that our wards are strong. I doubt we have anything to truly worry about.” She turned her gaze back to Nash for the first time since the beginning of the conversation and pierced him with her gaze. From past experience I knew it was an uncomfortable place to be. She looked like a mild mannered school teacher but underneath the human was brimming with authority. If she had been born a werewolf she would likely have been a ranked wolf. “Do you have anything to add about why you were attacked by pack wolves?”

He shook his head.

“Are you putting my school in danger with your presence?” she asked him.

“No. Packs wouldn’t dare cross witches.”

“I hope not. No one wants another messy war.” Nash stiffened, but I knew her well enough to know it was an observation, not a threat.

Witches, as a group, had barely been involved in the last supernatural war as they had taken no official stance on the matter. However, some of their members unofficially fought for either side of the conflict. It had largely been a fight between werewolves and vampires based on centuries of resentment, with the fae and other species occasionally getting caught in the crossfire. At least, that was what we had been taught in pack history, and was as reliable as it could be considering it had been generations since there had been any official hostilities.

She turned her attention back to me. “As always, you’ll have a room in the guest wing, and one for your friend, as well. You’re welcome to stay until your leg heals and you’ve had a chance to talk to Professor Humphrey and Professor Senica about your search. I know both have kept it in mind.”

“Thank you,” I said.

“And you may find someone else is anxious to see you.”

“Oh?”

She just smiled secretively.

“Thank you, Dean.” I nodded and left the room. Nash hurried to catch up.

As we walked, Nash took covert glances at me with a quizzical expression. “Why is she helping you?”

I shrugged. “I asked.”

“You asked, and she just helped you?”

“When I explain who I’m looking for, people want to help. Doesn’t matter if they’re werewolf or human. Humans understand love, even if their experience is less predetermined.”

Nash shrugged. It was clear that he thought it strange. In his entire life, had he had the support of even the small number of people who had helped me on this recent search alone?

“Do you want to come along to talk to the professors with me, or would you rather sleep?”

“Don’t know. This place...”

I located the rooms the dean had directed me to. I’d stayed a couple of times before and I was generally given the same one, and Nash the one beside me. He handed me my bag and disappeared inside his own without another word. I went inside and tossed my bag on the bed, and cleaned myself up in the washroom. There was a certain feeling of luxury in taking a shower after only having access to waterways for days.

Once dressed, I idly thought about how I probably should do laundry while I was here. If—when—I found Lillian, I wanted to look good. Not letting myself look like a feral rogue reminded me that it was possible I would find her this time. She wouldn’t care after such a long separation, but I still liked to make the effort.

I texted Jason updates on my search, and then linked Nash without leaving my room. “You coming?”

“Nah.”

“I’ll be back in a while. If you need me, link. Witches tend to find it fascinating, not offensive like the touchy rogues.”

His response was an unintelligible grumble.

After leaving, my first stop was Professor Humphrey, a squat fae with a cute face and wild curly purple hair. While most of the professors and students were of human descent, there was the odd other creature mixed in among them, and she was the prime exception. On my first visit, she had told me plainly that she had come to live amongst the humans because living among her own kind felt like shackles. Naturally talented with magic, she had wanted to explore her gifts as far as she could take them.

The one downside to her assistance was she was prone to tangents about how incredibly fascinating werewolf abilities were, or as she called it, werewolf magic was. Listening to her gush and overanalyze was a small price to pay. “If only they weren’t so touchy about experimenting with the actual bond itself,” she said wistfully. “I’m certain I could trace her by your connection, but ethics agreements and whatnot, you know?”

After more than an hour of listening to her talk about the ‘fascinating’ magic of searching for what was lost, she tried a couple of new spells that were well within the laws, and neither of them worked. She was wistful as she apologized and headed off to her next class.

Senica wasn’t in, so I crutched my way back in the direction of my loaned room.

“Max!”

Manoeuvring the crutches, I turned back towards the familiar voice, and I smiled with recognition. “Will! It’s been a while!” I hadn’t seen him since I’d met him here after I’d escaped Stonemason. Because he’d been away specializing in magic for his post-secondary degree, he had been one of a handful of fortunate Glenhaven members who had not been present for the massacre.

“Yeah, it has! What the hell happened to your leg?” Will bounded up towards me.

“Had a run in with some wolves before we got here. One of them got his teeth into my leg to the bone and messed up my muscle pretty badly. The healer patched me up, but she says I need to take it easy for a few days.”

“We?”

“Me and a pack member named Nash who I’m travelling with.”

Will’s brows furrowed. “Was it rogues? Haven’t heard of any activity around here.”

“No, definitely pack, but I’m not sure which one yet. They probably just stumbled upon us and took us for rogues.”

“Strange. Most werewolves keep a wide berth away from here,” he said, and then shrugged. “Well, why don’t you come talk in my office? What are you doing here, anyway? It would be flattering if you were just here to see me, but since you didn’t know I’d gotten a position here...”

I followed him a few doors down the hall. “What am I ever doing anywhere?”

“Still searching?”

“I will until I find her.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes as he pushed the door open, revealing a fairly sparse, but still slightly disorganized room. Will’s bedroom growing up had usually been in a similar state of mild chaos.

He turned a chair so I could get into it more easily with the crutches. Sitting down, I leaned them on the side of his desk, which was already covered in papers and books.

“So you’re working here now?” Last I’d heard he was with his sister’s pack.

“I am.”

“Never would have thought you’d become a professor.”

“Why? I always got good marks. Both back in...back then, and while I was here at Sterling.”

“Good marks, but you never could sit still.”

He grinned. “I don’t have to sit still. I specialized in advanced transformation. And I don’t sit while I teach, I walk around the front of the lecture hall. The marking sucks though.”

“Advanced transformation? It’s not that impressive when a werewolf shifts, man.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Watch this,” he said, and started peeling off his clothing. I crossed my arms and waited to see what he would do, and moments later his body started to reshape itself, but not into the familiar dark-furred canine that I was used to seeing when I was with my oldest friend.

Instead, a pattern of black fur sprouted on tawny, spots within spots. His eyes were golden, not unlike his wolf form, but the feline shape was new. He cocked an eyebrow at me and prowled the room, and it didn’t matter that we no longer had a pack link. I still knew what he was thinking. He loved showing off.

“Nice leopard.”

He made a sound I interpreted as irritation. I waited for him as he transformed back before I kept speaking.

“So you’re not just a werewolf anymore? A wereleopard?” I asked, looking away while he dressed.

Will sounded a bit exasperated. “No, I’m still a werewolf. This is transformation magic, not shape shifting.”

“Okay, so it’s different. Why a big cat, though?”

He shrugged. “Most people start with an animal roughly their size, it’s easier to manage the change without converting a lot of magic to matter or matter to magic.”

I guessed that made sense, although I assumed it was a lot more complicated than his simplified explanation. “Okay. Can you do anything else?”

“I’m aiming for a golden eagle next.”

“So you transform into one animal and that makes you a professor?”

“Not many people can manage even one,” he said defensively. “And that’s not the only magic I’ve worked on over the years.”

I held up a hand. “Just messing with you, man. It really is impressive.”

He grinned, and it reminded me of carefree times before tragedy had destroyed our pack.