Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(26)

portal to the main building, and taking another out to what is known as the Training Center.

Stepping through the entryway to the center, it looks like a stadium. The building itself runs around

the exterior, while the central area is all open. It’s huge. Split into four sections depending on what is

on the ground. There’s grass to my right, sand to my left, water to the far right, and what looks like

burned foliage to the top left.

I squint in confusion as I follow Harmonia’s lead toward the rest of the students gathered here.

Thankfully we’re on the grass, which I’m familiar with and feels safe. I really have a lot to fucking

learn, even in combat training.

I notice Selene, whom I’ve officially named the supreme bitch, surrounded by a group of girls as

she glares at me, and I internally groan. Fuck, is glaring all she knows how to do? Her tough, mean

girl attitude isn’t scaring me; it’s more annoying than anything. This bitch is going to have to give me a

minute. I have too much going on already to deal with her petty glares as well. We thankfully come to

a stop on the other side of the group, around who looks to be the professor. He’s standing up front

with a tablet in his hands, ignoring us as he waits for everyone to arrive.

The wind seems to change, my breath catching in my throat as a chill runs down my spine, and as

ridiculous as it sounds, I know they’ve arrived. Every cell in my body wants me to turn around and

face them, but I clench my hands at my side, biting my tongue as I force myself to stay focused ahead.

A guy suddenly stops in front of me, a leering grin on his face, with his blond hair cut short and

his gray eyes searching mine. Fuck. Not again. Although he’s a distraction from the guys I feel

walking behind me, it's still an inconvenience, especially when he opens his mouth.

“Rhea, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. If you want an origin, a heritage, you can share mine,” he

says with a wink, reaching out to pinch a loose tendril of hair around my face. It takes extreme control

on my part not to overreact like I did back in the pews with the last dickhead who just wanted to kiss

me.

“Fuck off, Hector. Give the girl a chance to breathe,” the professor booms, making my eyes round

in surprise. “I know how appealing nothing may be to you, but even I want to kick you in the dick

right now,” he states, and to my surprise, Hector, fucks all the way off without a backward glance. But

my brain is still caught on a single word he said. Nothing. What the hell does that mean? Is he saying

I’m nothing?

I search the professor's gaze for an inkling, but he simply stares back with his black hair pulled

back into a bun on top of his head, his matching dark eyes feel like they’re peering into my soul as he

wipes at his sharp nose.

He lowers his tablet to his side as he addresses the class. “The next two hours will be focused on

drills and circuits so I can see how your stamina compares to when you first arrived, or get a feel for

your skills if you're new,” he states, flicking his soulless gaze to mine, and I feel everyone else do the

same.

Kill me now. How much longer is this going to go on for? It was already announced at the

assembly this morning that I’m new, so why do they need to keep rehashing the obvious? It’s

infuriating already and old fucking news.

“We’ll start off with five laps on the grass. Go,” he says dismissively, and everyone immediately

moves into action without complaint. Following everyone, I happily slip into the middle of the bodies

running, wanting to take my time and pace myself if we’ve got five laps to do.

I immediately spot the four guys who seem to make my body react against my will, by simply

breathing, as they race off to lead the group.

Thankfully, Harmonia falls into sync with me. I wet my lips considering whether I should ask, but

then I scoff at myself, and blurt out what I want to know. “Can you please explain the target on my

head that's attracting sleazy assholes?”

Harmonia chuckles, glancing at me out of the corner of her eye before she responds. “It’s hard to

explain, and I’m probably going to bombard you with far too much information, but bear with me. If at

the end you still don’t understand what I’m saying, I will explain it to you in a few short sentences,”

she says, and I sigh in relief. The deep release of air has thrown my inhale in, exhale out cadence out

of whack.

“I’m already overwhelmed, what’s a little more?” I respond with a grin, brushing my hair back off

my face as we run.

“It all comes down to the family unit. There are more men than women in the supernatural world,

so it is more than common for there to be multiple men committed to one woman.” She side eyes me,

watching for my reaction as I gape a little in surprise.

“Well, uh, that’s different,” I murmur, comparing it to life down in Phoenix Valley, but I guess it

makes sense if they want to make lots of supernatural babies. Imagine having a different flavor of

cock for every day of the week? I can’t see a negative, yet.