Academy of the Elites: Untamed Magic Read online

  Untamed Magic

  Academy of the Elites Book One

  Alexis Calder

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters and events in this book are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2019 by Alexis Calder

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover Artwork by Melody Simmons

  Contents

  Untamed Magic

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Thank You!

  About the Author

  Untamed Magic

  Academy of Elites, Book One

  My name is Raven Winters and I’m a mage. Who the hell knew?

  When I somehow summon fire in an act of self defense, I’m given two choices by the magic cops: attend some stuck-up magic school, or go to magic jail.

  Well, shit. There go my plans for the next year. Apparently, I have Untamed Magic, whatever the hell that means. And I’ve got a year to get it under control at this magic academy that’s basically a finishing school for the elite. Everyone here is somebody important. And rich. Except for me.

  Which paints quite the target on my back. Being the token poor kid is bad enough. Throw in that I somehow form a mating bond with four of the school’s most eligible bachelors. Oh yeah, and add in the fact that someone is trying to kill me. FML.

  1

  Raven

  The beads clicked together on the pendulum on the desk. Click. Click. Click. It was an odd choice of desk decoration in a place that supposedly had magic. I looked away from the toy and back at the headmaster sitting behind the desk.

  The monster sitting in front of me should appease my disbelief. Dr. Green, the headmaster of the Academy of the Elites, was a demon. I think. He was huge. A hulking form squeezed into a suit and tie. His skin was a blushing shade of pink and his hands were covered in what could only be described as fur. Don’t even get me started on his eyebrows. Or should I say eyebrow. One massive, bushy brow over both of his yellow eyes.

  He frowned, his upper fangs hanging over his lower lip as he shuffled through a pile of papers on his desk.

  “Like I said, you really can just call me an Uber. I’ll find my way home on my own. None of this is necessary.” I’d been saying it for hours but it was worth trying again.

  He lifted an eyebrow and glanced up at me, then went back to the paperwork.

  I let out a heavy sigh, clearly demonstrating my annoyance. All they’d told me was that I was in trouble and I had to come to this stupid school. I’d asked for a phone call, but to be honest, I didn’t have anyone to call. That’s what happened when you made sure you never stayed in one place for too long and never let anyone get close.

  A grandfather clock chimed. Two times. It was already morning. Very fucking early in the morning. How the hell had the whole night gone by so quickly? I glared at the clock as if it were somehow responsible for my being here.

  It was an odd creation. The clock itself was tall with branches that came off of it, making it look like a creepy Halloween decoration of a tree. It didn’t help that it was painted black. The clock face had a pair of gold eyes on it, resembling an owl. I wasn’t sure if it was the coolest clock in the world or if it was an ominous sign of things to come in this place.

  The rest of the office was relatively unimpressive. Red carpet. Bookshelves lining the back wall. A bar to my right with glass decanters full of brown liquor. At least they didn’t outlaw alcohol in this place.

  “Ms. Winters,” Dr. Green said.

  I turned back to him, trying to make eye contact. You know, show that I wasn’t afraid or some shit. It was nearly impossible to avoid my eyes lifting to the horns on top of his head. He looked like Hellboy. It was very distracting.

  “Your little stunt is going to take days to clean up, you do realize that?” Dr. Green growled.

  “I didn’t do it on purpose,” I said, exasperation evident in my tone. Hadn’t we been through this already? The people who brought me here drilled me on this. He drilled me on this. We’ve already covered this.

  “You roasted two human men alive,” he said.

  My stomach flipped. “In my defense, they did try to kill me.”

  He shook his head. “You’re lucky you’re under age or they’d toss you in a cell and throw away the key. You can’t do magic in front of humans. And you certainly can’t burn them alive in public.”

  I frowned. “I didn’t even know I had magic.” How many times was I going to have to tell him it was an accident? And it really was self defense. They were trying to kill me. Or worse. Who knows what they would have done to me if I hadn’t defended myself. “So they’re allowed to come at me with a gun and I do nothing?”

  “No. You can and should defend yourself but you have to be smart about it. That’s why you’re here.”

  Here. At some magic school I didn’t ask to attend. I sighed. My choices were clear. Attend this school, or go to magical juvie. Cause apparently, at twenty-one, I was still a minor according to magic law or some bullshit.

  “I still don’t understand why I’m here,” I said.

  He lifted an eyebrow. “You have to learn how to control your magic. Untamed magic is a danger to everyone. Magical and Human.”

  He wrote something down on a piece of paper, then slid it into a manila folder on his desk.

  “Is that my file?” I asked. The idea that he was keeping notes on me made me uncomfortable.

  He held up the folder and I saw my name, Raven Winters, written on the tab. My mouth twisted to the side at the sight of it.

  “We keep a file on all of our students. It stays with you through your term here at the Academy of the Elites. When you graduate, you can take it with you. It’s helpful when applying to jobs within the supernatural community.”

  I scrubbed my face with my hand. This was not how I expected today to go. I was supposed to be on my way to a friend’s house for a party. “What about my life?”

  I’d worked so hard to afford my tiny, run down apartment. Sure, my job was shit, but it was mine. And I was good at it.

  “When you graduate, you can go back to getting humans drunk if you choose.”

  I scowled at him. Way to make my job as a bartender sound even less glamorous than it was. “Can’t I just attend classes at night or something? Don’t you have a community college version?”

  One corner of his lips tugged into a smile. “You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?”

  “A handful? Look, I’m not a kid. I don’t care what your laws say, I’m an adult and I get to make my own choices.”

  “Sure,” he said. “Make your choice. Prison cell or dorm room.”

  Fuck. We were going around in circles. “I can’t pay tuiti
on.”

  “That’s not a problem. We have generous donors and scholarship funds available for unique cases such as yours,” he said.

  “I’m a unique case?” I asked, lifting a skeptical eyebrow. Considering how everyone I knew was raised to believe that magic wasn’t real, I couldn’t be the only one to randomly create fire and throw their whole life into a tailspin.

  “It’s rare for a mage to be unaware of their powers.” He frowned for a moment, then he returned to the impassive expression he’d maintained for most of our conversation. “You will be behind your classmates, but I imagine you’ll catch up quickly. If you put the work into it.”

  “What if I don’t want to?” I asked.

  “Then you’ll fail.”

  “And let me guess,” I said. “If I fail, it’s magic prison?” To be fair, I was starting to think this place was just as much of a prison as the mysterious threat.

  “Or worse.” He stood, then walked toward the door. “I’ll have someone show you to your new room.”

  “What exactly does that mean?” I asked. “Are you threatening me? Are you allowed to do that? Aren’t you an educator?”

  He shook his head and turned to me. “The Academy of the Elites is the most prestigious graduate program for magic users in the country. It is a privilege to be here. You should be kissing the feet of whoever got you in here.”

  “I didn’t ask to be here,” I said.

  “And yet, here you are. You want my advice, young mage?”

  Not really. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep from saying what I really wanted to say.

  “Appreciate your time here. Learn something. Don’t fuck it up.” He turned away from me and walked toward the door.

  I slumped back against the chair feeling both called out and pissed. Who was he to decide what I did with my future? And if this place was so fucking great, why the hell was I here?

  “You ready?” A silky male voice called out.

  I turned and my jaw nearly hit the floor. Apparently, my guide was a fucking Greek god. The ideal specimen of man standing in front of the doorway was six feet of lean muscle. His sandy hair was a perfect mess, partially covering one eye. It was the kind of hairstyle you knew he’d spent ten minutes getting just right in the mirror.

  He smiled at me, showing a row of straight white teeth. His square jaw was dusted with soft gold stubble. He tossed his head, sending his hair away from his eyes and I blinked in stunned silence as I caught his icy gaze. He had eyes like nothing I’d ever seen before. They were a stunning blue. Practically glowing. And they made me clench my thighs together right there in the chair. Talk about bedroom eyes. I was ready to get it on with him just from his stare.

  Dr. Green cleared his throat, causing me to break free of those eyes. I looked down at my feet, trying to regain my composure. Then, I stood. “Let’s get this over with.”

  “Aw, kitten, it’s not that bad,” the sexy stranger said.

  I glared at him. “My name isn’t kitten.”

  “I like Kitten.” He shrugged. “My name’s Luka. You want to know where your room is or not?”

  “Some welcoming committee,” I grumbled under my breath. I glanced over at Dr. Green, but he’d already left the office. I didn’t even notice him go. Apparently, I was no longer his issue.

  “Fine. Tell me where I’m supposed to go.”

  He lifted up an envelope. “In here you’ll find all you need to get started. Class schedule, room assignment, key card, PIN number, all of that.”

  “Key card?”

  “We might use magic, but we’re not afraid of technology here. Other than cell phones. No matter what you do, there’s just no service. Anyway, your card is everything. How you enter your room, how you get your meals, and how you get your weekly allowance.”

  “Oh, I’m sure that won’t be a concern for me,” I said. “Nobody’s paying me an allowance.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean, nobody?”

  “I’m a scholarship kid. They’re forcing me to go here. Feel free to engage in the poor kid bullying now.”

  His brow furrowed. “The Academy doesn’t really do scholarships.”

  I thought back to the conversation with the dean. He distinctly told me I had a scholarship. Maybe they didn’t make it obvious to others. I wasn’t sure what to say.

  “You might want to keep that to yourself,” Luka said. “This is a very exclusive school. Nearly impossible to get accepted into. People spend their whole lives saving money to send their kids here and there is no shortage of applicants.”

  If it was that exclusive, what the fuck was I doing here? Luka’s expression told me I needed to take this warning seriously so I didn’t ask any questions. “Thanks for the advice. Maybe I mis-heard Dr. Green.”

  “I’m sure you did.” He tipped the envelope and pulled out the contents. He handed me the card. “You’ll need this to get into your room.”

  He looked at the paperwork, then back up at me, his brow furrowed. “I thought for sure you were a mage. Your magic feels like mage magic.”

  “I am,” I said. “At least that’s what they said when they arrested me.”

  “When they arrested you?” Luka cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “Never met a felon before.”

  “Felon’s a strong word. It was self defense,” I said.

  “Curious,” he said.

  My brow furrowed. Who the fuck uses that word? “What’s curious?”

  “You’re in the dungeon. It’s not the usual dorm for mages. Most of them are in the tower.”

  “Dungeon? No, thanks.” Though, come to think of it, a tower didn’t sound much better. Both were used as ways to trap damsels in distress, weren’t they? And though I’d never considered myself a damsel before, I was certainly being held against my will. This was going to be a long stay. “Wait, if mages are in the tower, what is in the dungeon?”

  “Shifters,” he said.

  “Shifters,” I repeated. “Like people who can turn into other things?”

  “Yeah, that’s the way shifters work.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “You’re new to all this, aren’t you?”

  “How can you tell?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “You’re going to have to learn fast or you’re going to be eaten alive.”

  2

  Luka

  Her eyes traveled down then back up, checking me out while she sucked on her lower lip. It was probably her nerves but damn, she looked sexy when she was nervous. Her fire red hair was a mess, pulled back in a hasty bun. Makeup was smudged under her eyes. She looked like she just woke up after a long night out. Or a long night in someone’s bed. I could picture those luscious lips closing around my cock.

  “Stop it,” she said.

  “Stop what?” I asked.

  “Stop looking at me like I’m a snack,” she said.

  I grinned. If she only knew exactly how much she looked like a snack to me.

  She shivered and I looked at her torn clothes. No, not torn, burned. I smirked as my eyes traveled to the exposed flesh below her bra. My cock twitched. She was a mess. A fucking beautiful mess. I wondered how long it would be before I could get her to take off all of those clothes.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “You don’t happen to have a new shirt in that envelope, do you?”

  “Your uniform will be waiting for you in your room,” I said.

  “Uniforms? You’re kidding, right. We’re not kids.”

  “Afraid so,” I said, lifting the breast pocket of my blazer, showing her the embroidered school logo.

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Whatever. At least it’ll be clean.”

  I swept my arm toward the door and she walked through. She looked defeated. Shoulders drooping, steps slow. She really had no idea how big of a deal this school was. My parents started writing seven-figure donation checks the moment they found out my mom was pregnant.

  We walked out of the administrative offices toward the main hallwa
y. “This is the Academy’s main artery. You find this hallway, you’ll be able to get to wherever.”

  She paused and looked both ways as if committing the hallway to memory. “Which way is the exit?”

  I grinned. “Already planning your escape?”

  “Maybe,” she said. “You going to tell on me?”

  “Not my problem,” I said. “You can do what you like.”

  “You’re the teacher’s pet, aren’t you? One of those yes sir and no sir types.”

  “Kitten, you know nothing about me,” he said.

  “Why else would you be giving tours to the new kid?”

  “Maybe I’m working off some debt, just like you,” I said.

  She looked up at me through her dark lashes and my breath hitched. Damn she was beautiful. Those green eyes, those soft lips. My whole body felt hot. I was usually in full control of myself. Women didn’t do this to me. I’m an incubus. I do this to them. Fuck, she was sexy.

  “I doubt you have the same kind of debt as me,” she said. “Which means you’re trouble.”

  “I have a feeling you’re a lot more trouble than me.” For once, I wasn’t being playful. With any other woman, this would be flirting. With her, I meant it. There was something about her, a force that I couldn’t lock down. I had to get away from her before I fucked her in the middle of the hallway.

  “Come on.” I started walking down the hall before she could say anything else.