“Hello, Professor Desmond,” Lia said quietly, her soft voice startling Kane out of his concentration. He put down the stack of papers he had been reading through as his class reviewed for an upcoming test and stood up, hoping that Lia wouldn’t notice she had taken him by surprise. The last thing a wolf wanted was for someone to notice his weaknesses.
“Good afternoon,” Kane said, clearing his throat. “Are you ready?”
“I brought us both a lunch,” Lia said nervously, offering Kane a paper bag. For some reason, the gesture made his heart melt, and he clutched the bag tightly. His wife, much like Courtney, hadn’t been particularly fond of cooking, so he rarely received such a gift.
“Thank you,” he said, sincerely surprised. “I was thinking we would buy something but this is much better.”
“It’s not a problem. It’s probably healthier,” Lia said with a shy smile. “So much of the food here is full of oil. Once in a while, I like a break.”
Kane nodded and led Lia out the door. He could tell that she was only telling him half of the truth. She was pleased to be able to bring him a lunch. But if she knew that he knew, it would probably just embarrass her. For whatever reason, she was happy to treat him, and he would be lying if he were to say he wasn’t happy to receive it.
“How did the car run?” he asked as they strolled easily through the hall toward Kane’s office. He knew it had probably purred like a kitten, but it was difficult for him to carry on a conversation with anyone but his daughter, Lia in particular. He had become reclusive since Ava’s death, and preferred to keep things straight and to the point.
“It seemed fine,” Lia said. “Although it did sound, for a few minutes, like somebody was under the hood playing the maracas…”
“What?!”
Kane’s heart lurched and Lia’s voice let into an easy laughter. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t joke with you about things like that. It was too easy.”
“Oh…” Kane said. “So it’s fine then.”
“It’s perfect,” Lia assured him, touching his arm reassuringly. It was the most natural and calming gesture in the world, but as soon as she did it, she drew her hand away from his arm as if his body had burned her.
“That’s good to hear,” Kane said. They had reached his office, and he unlocked the door and opened it graciously. “Ladies first.”
“Thank you,” Lia said quietly.
He offered her a seat and then sunk down in his own chair, carefully opening the brown paper bag she had packed his lunch in and removing its contents.
“What’s this?” he asked, perplexed as he studied a small container.
“It’s a pasta salad I made this morning. I hope you like it. It’s my specialty.”
“Pasta salad…” Kane said.
“I know that you shifters like meat so I put chicken in it for you,” Lia said quickly, as if afraid Kane would be put off by eating plain noodles. “I tried a little already. It turned out okay.”
“Thanks,” Kane said uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to having people do things for him.
They began to eat quietly, and Kane was shocked by how good Lia’s specialty really was.
“You should make this in the cafeteria,” Kane said, chewing heartily. “I’d have it every day.”
“I could just make it for you every day,” Lia said with a laugh. “I don’t think I’d like to make enough to feed the whole school. It would take some of the magic out of it, don’t you think?”
“Well, I suppose it would,” Kane said with a bemused grin. He had never met a human who understood, or believed, in magic quite the same way Lia did. There was just a readiness inside her to accept everything as it was, even if it went against her upbringing. It was a rare quality. He could see why Courtney liked her so much.
“So how was class?” Kane asked finally. “Did Max treat you funny?”
“He mostly ignored me this time,” she said thoughtfully. “Which is almost worse, in a way.”
“I agree,” Kane said darkly. “I bet he’s up to something.”
“No doubt,” Lia said. “But it’s going to be fine.”
“Damn right it will be,” Kane glowered. “If he touches a single hair on your head, I’m going to teach him what pain really is.”
Lia’s eyes were suddenly wide on him and Kane looked down at the desk sheepishly.
“Sorry,” Kane said with a half-hearted laugh. “You must think shifters are barbarians.”
“Not at all,” Lia said, reaching across the desk to hold his hand in hers briefly. Kane’s body was suddenly electrified by her touch, and a heat more vicious than anything he’d ever experienced suddenly engulfed him. The wolf was awake.
“Really, we’re not that bad,” Kane said, pulling his hand away quickly. He had to get hold of himself. This was neither the time nor the place, nor the person for these types of feelings. What the hell was wrong with him?
“I know,” Lia said.
He knew she understood the nuances of wolf shifters. That’s part of what made this temptation so hard to resist. How many other humans could say the same thing for themselves? Not many. That was for sure.
“Well, anyway, I’m glad Max hasn’t done anything. But you need to stay on your guard. I don’t trust him,” Kane said, his mind reeling. He had to go into action mode to distract himself from the burdens of his temptation. It was the only way he could get through this.
“I don’t trust him either,” Lia said with a soft laugh. “He seems very untrustworthy. And he gave me a ‘C’!”
“A ‘C’?” Kane asked, suddenly bewildered.
“On the homework you helped me with. I know it was passing. I compared my answers with another girl in my class after he handed the tests back today. He was just being petty.”
“Well, that’s Max and his kind in a nutshell,” Kane said dismissively. “You might want to drop his class before it’s too late. You don’t want it to affect your GPA. And I would feel better if you weren’t seeing him every day.”
“Drop the class?!” Lia exclaimed. “Do you know how hard I’ve worked to stay ahead in there?”
“I’m sure you’ve worked just as hard in his class as you have in mine,” Kane said gently. Now he was gripping Lia’s hand tightly, and he could almost feel the tremor of her heart between them. Color had risen to her cheeks, and suddenly, the whole office was filled with the powerful scent of lust. She wanted him. Just as badly as he wanted her. And now they were face to face with nowhere to hide from the truth.
If Lia had been a shifter, that would have spelled out bad news. As for Kane’s wolf, he would just have to keep the rascal in check. He was used to doing that. Being a teacher had steeled him against the ravages of his wolf’s temper.
“I’m pretty sure I got a grey hair or two just from worrying about how Max would grade me,” Lia said, pouting. Kane squeezed her hand gently and pulled his away. He couldn’t let himself get that close again. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if he lost control.
“Well, you know there are better teachers at SU than Max,” Kane said bitterly. “I’d rather you take up a math course next semester than have you suffering through a course you’re doomed to fail because Max has a grudge. Do you understand?”
Lia nodded bitterly and stuck a spoon violently into her yogurt. Kane couldn’t help but grin. He had been right. Even angry, there was something sweet about her. Something he wanted to protect. Even if that anger was for some reason directed at him.
“I’ll quit the stupid class,” Lia grumbled. “But I’m not happy about it. I’ve put in a lot of work already.”
“I know,” Kane said as gently as he could. The flush crawled back to Lia’s cheeks again and it took everything Kane had not to leap over the desk and pin her against the wall. All he wanted to do in that instant was to taste Lia’s pouting lips. But the wolf was all impulse. He needed to be stronger than that. Not just because Lia was just a kid, but because of his wife.
The thought of Ava stayed the wolf enough that Kane could get a clear thought in his head, and he sighed, pushing the hair away from his forehead as he tried to think of the best course of action.
“I know a great teacher,” Kane said, wracking his brain for a way to make Lia smile again. “She’s brilliant. Funny. Kind but stern. And she could get you the credit you need. Help you one-on-one. You need that kind of thing in math, don’t you?”
Lia nodded sulkily and took a big bite of yogurt.
“She even does tutoring after hours. If you had the time to put in to the course, then she would make sure you didn’t fail. She’s not like Max.”
“What’s her name?” Lia asked with a sigh.
“Michelle Herald,” Kane said. “And she owes me a favor, so maybe we can get you into her class. The course load is pretty similar. Before Max fucks your grades up for good. I can talk to Franklin about it if Max throws a fit.”
“All right,” Lia said, a little of the burden seeming to lift from her shoulders. Kane felt terrible. All she had done was agree to help him to help the shifters. She was already suffering for her choice. How could he have brought such an innocent, bright young woman down so low for his own selfish goals?
But they weren’t selfish. If they weren’t doing this, then the Malishk Law Reform might take place. Who knew what would happen to the wolf shifters then?
“Hey,” Kane said, suddenly remembering the word. “Do you happen to know the significance of the word Malishk? I meant to look it up but things have been so busy…”
“Malishk?” Lia said, her face growing pale. “Yeah, why?”
“It’s the name of the reform that Max and his people are hoping to vote into being. It’s why he wants to lead the school so badly. To sway the kids into voting for something that would ultimately enslave them.”
“Enslave them is right,” Lia said, getting up suddenly and rooting through the backpack she’d left on the floor by the door of Kane’s office. She pulled a book out and sifted through the pages, handing the book to Kane and pointing at the photo. “Malishk is the name of the son of the bear shifter’s main god, Arsnal. Mythologically speaking, he’s known as the bringer of good fortune. It’s forbidden, usually, to utter his name out loud. Over the past 100 years, there were cults devoted to Malishk. They pray to him whenever they are hoping to take on a wolf shifter as a slave, or if they are going to war.”
“Fuck!” Kane exclaimed, slamming his fist on his desk and jumping up. “And the Council doesn’t realize this?!”
Lia grew somber. “It’s likely that many of them do. It’s hard to say whether or not the Council has been infiltrated. Maybe they’re waiting to say something. Or perhaps those who have infiltrated are holding things over their heads.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Kane said bitterly. “Since my time, the Council has become pretty washed up. We obey them out of respect, but everybody knows that most of them are so old they’re close to being senile. It’s hard to believe they would let something like this go unless they were being manipulated.”
“That’s highly possible too,” Lia said quietly. “Either way, they’ve agreed to bring this matter to a vote, if I’m gathering correctly.”
“Yeah,” Kane said quietly. “A vote that could change everything. For the worst.”
“But that’s only if they make it to power,” Lia said, looking at Kane with a deep fire in her eyes. He was stunned into silence by her beauty and conviction. “And with me by your side, that isn’t going to happen. I’ll do whatever it takes to help you, and all the wolf shifters in Stonybrooke, to avoid another massacre.”
And with that, Lia smiled brightly at Kane and left the office, leaving him agape behind her.