Page 4 of Winter Unleashed
The staff and my fellow volunteers secretly thanked Brad for his actions. Because he didn’t just start fights with random kids for no reason. He usually stuck to the boys who got too handsy with the girls. That behavior had ramped up substantially since the lock downs. Damian Wallace, the Spring Alpha’s only son, was the worst offender of this problem.
Shouts broke through the peace before I could make it to the front office to sign in. I followed the yells and cheers down the hall toward the science lab.
Through the window on the door, I saw Brad pummeling Damian, and the teacher lying on the floor, rubbing her head. “Shit,” I muttered as I entered the room. “Hey Melinda, you okay?”
“I’m not built for this,” she said with tears in her eyes.
“It’s okay. I got this. Go get some coffee or something.” I held my hand out to her and helped her stand. “Did you call for help?”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “I thought I could handle it, but it grew out of control.”
I slid my hand down to her lower back as I guided her toward the door. As tiny as she was, I couldn’t understand why she thought she could handle it, but I’m as stubborn as they come, so who was I to judge someone else for being that way?
Damian was the smallest boy in school and Brad was bigger than most of them, so the fight wasn’t fair, but I let it go on a little longer. But at the first sight of blood, I whistled to get their attention. Brad glared at me, his face flushed and eyes flashing. I winked at him, and his lips pulled into a half-smile because he knew I wouldn’t blame him.
“Party’s over, boys,” I said in a tone that left no room for argument. “Brad, get off Damian and stand over there.” I gestured to the wall on the other side of the room.
“Want to tell me what happened in here? Damian?”
“My dad doesn’t think you’re cursed anymore. Maybe you’re not, but you’re still weird, and I don’t like you. Look at your stupid hair,” he said, referring to my dark red hair with a white streak running down the center. “You look like a deformed skunk. And your creepy eyes. Why is one brown and the other blue? Couldn’t they decide between the Autumn and Summer pack? It’s like you’re two shifters in one. It’s fucking weird.”
“All righty then. That wasn’t an answer, but thanks for the critique of my appearance. How about you, Brad? Do you want to tell me what happened?”
Brad wasn’t much of a talker, especially in front of a lot of people, but when he pulled his glaring gaze from Damian to glance at Ebony, I got the confirmation I was looking for.
The Academy works very hard to instill respect for females in the boys as they go through puberty. If you think human boys are horny when their hormones start raging, you should see an adolescent wolf shifter around young girls in heat.
Damian hadn’t grasped the importance of consent. The school and his father had punished him multiple times already, but he still hadn’t learned his lesson. From what I understood, Damian had never been successful, because he’s also smaller than a lot of the girls in the school. But he’s tried way too many times for my liking. The only reason he gets off lightly is because of who his father is.
They should expel Damian and throw him in front of the Council for sentencing. Sexual assault, even if it’s onlyattempted, is the worst crime a shifter can commit and is punishable by death. Damian’s dad, Rick, had decided to let Brad keep doling out the punishment, but I was ready to drag Damian before the Council myself.
Call me a coldhearted bitch, but the world could do with one less male who thought he had the right to do whatever he wanted to females. Even if that male was only fifteen. Because something told me Damian wouldn’t change unless something drastic scared him straight.
“Okay, well, if neither of you boys wants to talk, I think it’s time for you to head to Principal Fleming’s office.” I took my phone from my pocket and sent a text to George Fleming telling him what happened. Brad was safe, but we couldn’t let the other kids know we’d given him free rein to pummel Damian anytime he stepped out of line.
“Everyone, except Ebony, please go across the hall to Mr. Beaumont’s class.” I waited until the door closed behind the last kid before I motioned for the girl to sit. I took the seat next to her, squeezing my adult-sized ass into the smaller chair with a little effort. “Can you tell me what happened?”
She looked down at her lap where she was wringing her hands together. “I don’t want to get in trouble.” Her voice was barely audible.
“Why do you think you’d get in trouble?”
“Damian said if I told on him, his dad would tell mine I’d made him do it,” she said, her voice hitching.
“I can promise you that will not happen. I believe you. Mr. Fleming will believe you, and your Alpha, Isaac, uh, Mr. Stephens will believe you. And I will do everything in my power to make sure you’re safe.”
She lifted her eyes to study my face for a long while. I sat still and let her take as long as she needed. My patience paid off when she sighed, lifted her shoulders, and separated her hands.
After she finished telling me what happened, I sent her across the hall with the rest of her class. When I opened the door to the hall, I ran into Rick Wallace on his way to the principal’s office.
“Wallace,” I said with a curt nod.
“Steele,” he replied, “I heard. I’m taking him home to teach him the proper way to treat girls.”
I smiled and leaned in close to him. “If you don’t set him straight this time, I will,” I said with a growl to ensure he couldn’t mistake my meaning.
Chapter Two
Wallace pulled back and looked into my eyes. Whatever he saw there had him swallowing hard and rushing down the hall to Mr. Fleming’s office. Until recently, Wallace had been my biggest hater. And now, for some reason, he was hell-bent on becoming my best friend.