Reckless Souls (Saints Academy, #1)(67)

with his response.

“Both yes and no. For a male, like Xander, it can fully activate his, because he will only ever be

bonded to you. While with the female, because she can be bonded to more than one person, you won't

fully activate your powers after sealing your soul with just one person. If you don’t find the true

members of your soul before the third year, you’ll simply wait until then for them to activate.”

It’s all a lot to take in, but it’s crazy as fuck to know that Xander is now a fully confirmed shifter.

We spend what feels like a lifetime waiting to find out for sure who we are in the supernatural world,

for him to simply find out so early after fucking Rhea unprotected against the wall.

Wetting her lips, Rhea glances around the table, almost nodding to herself as she takes all the facts

in. “And going forward?”

The question is simple, yet complicated all at once. “If people know you’ve sealed your soul,

you’ll become an even hotter target than being classified as nothing,” I state honestly, watching her

brows knit together in confusion as she waits for me to expand. “It’ll go from people wanting to

charm and lock you into an arranged marriage, to people wanting to test if they can seal to you too,” I

add, and the way she cringes tells me I wasn’t so subtle and calm in my choice of words, but fuck, I’m

not sugar coating it anymore. Rhea needs to hear the brutal truth, the brutal reality of the situation. The

likelihood of people going as far as rape to check is fucking high.

“If anyone fucking touches me, I’ll kill them with my bare hands,” Rhea grinds out, stabbing at her

food in anger as Xander grips her chin, forcing her to look at him.

“No one will fucking touch you. Ever.” His words are dark, harsh, and true. A promise to be kept.

I can see it in his eyes, the invisible connection between the two of them already. His loyalty to her,

just like he has for us. “Understand?” he says, raising an eyebrow at her when she doesn’t respond

immediately, and she wets her lips.

“I told you once before that I’m not soft and pliant, I can handle myself. It was how I lived before

I came here,” she states, determination flashing in her eyes as Xander’s grip seems to tighten and his

face lowers to hers again.

It’s like electricity crackles around them, both of their eyes changing color as Rhea’s reds are met

with the shining ambers from Xander. The stare off makes the entire table freeze, the energy seeming

to change around us as they silently battle for dominance over the conversation.

Shattering glass makes the entire table jump as I look up to see the bulb hovering above the next

table burst out of nowhere, glass raining from the ceiling as we all gape in surprise.

“Why does that keep happening?” Rhea asks, frustrated, and Adonis scoffs as I turn to glance back

at them.

“You tell us, you’re the one doing it,” he retorts, a quirked eyebrow aimed her way as she glares

back at him. He quickly covers his mouth as a smile teases at his lips.

“If I am, I don't know how I’m doing it,” she bites, and Zen reaches over to squeeze her shoulder

in reassurance.

“Your magic will be off balance and volatile for a while. It tends to be like that anyway when

we’re going into the second year, but you’re going to experience it sooner than others now,” Zen

explains, the concern in his eyes is visible, but yet he’s trying to reassure her. She shakes her head,

not liking the explanation he provided.

“And alone apparently, since I can’t let anyone know what’s happened here today,” she replies,

clearly stressed out with the situation.

“Xander wasn’t able to control his shift either, Rhea. We provoked him to prove our theory,” I

explain, and when she glances at Xander, he nods in response.

“My fucking soul couldn’t settle either until I saw you, then it was easier, my head calmer, and the

entire transition nowhere near as scary,” he murmurs, stroking a finger down her cheek.

“How was it?” she asks, turning her full attention to him. “To shift I mean. Did it hurt? How were

you mentally?” Her hand lands on top of his as she looks at him in worry, asking questions no one

else has yet considered, and I see the hint of guilt in Zen’s eyes. He’s always our caregiver, but in all

honesty, we’ve been too caught up in Rhea and her feelings instead of asking Xander how he felt

about shifting.

A gentle smile touches Xander’s lips at her thoughtfulness. “It was strange at first, like I could see

through my eyes but my control was barely there, like I’d literally changed places with my wolf,” he

explains, running a hand through his hair as he tries to find the right words. “It all happened so fast

that the pain didn’t register if there was any, but now I feel a little achy.”

I think he’s in just as much of a daze about the situation as the rest of us are. I’m sure with more

time and thought about it, he’ll have more to say, but for now he simply shrugs before clearing his