Chapter 2
“Wake up, Miss Banks,” a smooth voice says, the tone washes over me like a loving caress, and for the first time in a very long time I feel safe and it's not something I want to wake up from just yet. I nuzzle my face into the warmth against my cheek. A sweet, buttery and woodsy kind of scent hits my nose and I give an approving hum at the pleasing smell. A grunt of disapproval ruins my contentment right before I am dropped unceremoniously onto my back. The landing is soft but still unpleasant. “What the hell!” I curse, rushing to sit and take in my surroundings. I'm on a couch in a dimly lit room, bright light suddenly floods the room making me squint against it. I shift my attention to the source of the light, fighting the urge to hiss at it like a feral vampire. A large figure is framed by the beaming sunlight that is flooding the room through a window that spans the entire wall. The figure is fussing with the curtains that he's just opened and I quickly recognise him as the stuck-up detective, Mr Collins. The events of the day come rushing back to me like a tidal wave of anger, fear and complete confusion. “What did you do to me? How did we get here?” I demand, gesturing to the room and jumping to my feet. “I don't have time to baby you through this, so here is the quick version,” he starts as he unbuttons his suit jacket and hangs it over the back of a large leather office chair. “My name is Deacon Collins, I am the headmaster of Grey’s Academy and you are the newest student here. Tell me, what do you know about your heritage?” he asks. My eyes are transfixed on his hands as he unbuttons the cuffs of his shirt and rolls up each sleeve to expose some impressive forearms. A throat clearing snaps me out of my trance. “Oh… um,” I start, embarrassed at being caught staring. “Sorry, I'm a little lost here. I'm not feeling myself,” I say with a sigh and flop down onto the couch. I try to process what the hell is going on. “Due to your circumstances, I am going to assume you know nothing. Here at Greys Academy, our students are gifted…” he begins. “Wait, gifted?” I interrupt, “I think there's been a mistake. I'm not gifted, I got a pass in all my exams but nothing that makes me stand out,” “If you'd let me finish Miss Banks…” “Josie,” I correct, not liking the way he uses ‘Miss Banks’ in an inferior way. “Miss Banks,” he reiterates, “If you would just keep quiet for two minutes and let me explain then you can be on your way. Our Academy is for what we call Greys. Greys are a race of superhumans. Whilst we are much more powerful than regular humans, we are also small in number. For this reason, we have created our own realm within the human one. This is safer for everyone to live in peace. Somehow, you have slipped through the net and grown up within the human realm. I will be launching a full investigation into how that came to pass, but for now, you are here and you are safe. Now I appreciate this is a lot for you to take in and you have a lot of catching up to do so I won't overwhelm you today. I will have my assistant assign you a dorm room and pair you with one of our more intellectual students to do extra studies with you outside of your regular lessons. I will also schedule some extra studies with our tutors here. Any questions?” he says without a flicker of a smile. “Oh, you are good,” I laugh. “I love this show! I used to watch it all the time,” I say between bouts of laughter. I get up and start exploring the room to find the hidden cameras. I can't believe I'm on the prank show. I wonder who nominated me, it must have been Freya, my best friend from college. “Was it Freya that put you up to this?” I giggle. “Miss Banks!” the actor playing Mr Collins shouts, slamming his hand down on the desk, which just makes me laugh harder. I approach him and examine the buttons on his shirt, one must be a hidden camera. Then I start rubbing my hands over his shirt, feeling for the hidden wires. In a flash his hands wrap around my wrists, making me gasp in shock as he grips them hard, stopping my exploration. I look up at him and his eyes are intense as they stare back at me. “What the hell are you doing?” he asks in an almost growl. “Looking for your mic?” I gulp. “I don't have a mic, this is not a prank. You are new here and you've had a lot to take in so this once I will give you a pass, but if you lay your hands on me ever again there will be punishment. Do you understand?” he says in a low, scary tone. His heavy breathing makes me bite my tongue because I really want to taunt him about what this punishment might be. As if he knows what I'm thinking his eyes seem to flash blue. That's when I remember then doing that earlier, right before he demanded that I sleep, a demand I was powerless to resist. Panic bubbles inside me at the realisation. He's telling the truth, isn't he? “You made me go to sleep,” I say with a shaky breath. He gives me a single nod in response. “What else can you make me do?” I ask. Fear at how vulnerable I am right now pushes me to ask the question. “Anything,” he says in a husky whisper, and I swear his face moves closer to mine. His answer doesn't scare me like it should, if anything it excites me. Then a door opens, breaking the trance he has me in, he drops my wrists and takes a step back as if I'm suddenly repulsive to him. I turn to see who the intruder is.Chapter 4“I thought I heard voices in here. Is everything okay Dee?” a very attractive woman who looks to be in her thirties says as she walks into the room with a beaming smile. Her hair is jet black and shines as the sunlight hits it. It's the sort of hair that should be in shampoo ads and just enhances her stunning blue eyes and flawless skin. She wears a skin-tight black dress that shows off her hourglass figure and black stilettos, with her finger and toenails painted bright red. She is the kind of woman that makes you feel insecure as soon as you see her. “Yes. Clarrisa, this is Josie Banks, a new student I've just picked up from the human realm. Could you please assign her one of the single dorm rooms in Ruby,” Mr Collins says, whilst he takes out the file from his briefcase that the police officer had given him earlier and holds it out to Clarrisa.“Are you sure? There's plenty of space for her in Amber or Saphire,” Clarrisa says, giving me an assessing look up and down befo
Chapter 5I stand in the doorway of my new room open-mouthed. This must be a mistake. This is nothing you'd expect of a dorm. This is more like a hotel suite. The bed is huge, king-size at least, and the pillows are like plush clouds that I just want to jump into. There is a dressing table with a mirror and a walk-in wardrobe that's almost as big as my entire dorm room at Mount University. The large window is framed by bookshelves, stacked with books of every genre you could wish for, and there's a cosy window seat with cushions and a blanket. I almost squeal in excitement. There's a small countertop with tea and coffee-making facilities and a mini fridge. In the bathroom, there's not only a shower but a full-size bathtub. The whole place is a luxury that I've only ever seen on TV and I have no idea how I am going to pay for it because I don't think a part-time job around my studies is going to cut it. I catch a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror and cringe. My hair is a mess, a
Chapter 6My vision returns as fast as it left. Theo is on the floor at my feet groaning.“What was that?” I demand, stepping back from Theo and clutching my hand. “The spark,” Theo groans out, and then he starts laughing. “What does…” I start, but I'm cut off by my door shattering into pieces. Making me shriek and jump back further. A very angry-looking man stands in my doorway, breathing heavily. He takes in the scene in front of him. Dark hair hangs over his eyes but it doesn't hide the fury peeking out behind the dark locks. His hand shoots out towards me and his fingers strain as if he is gripping something, then my oxygen is cut off. I scratch at my neck, trying to remove whatever is wrapped around it that's stopping me from breathing but there's nothing there. “Mason stop, I'm fine,” Theo croaks out and pushes himself to his feet before knocking the dark-haired man's arm down. Precious air fills my lungs and I collapse to my knees in relief. “Josie, are you okay?” Theo asks
Chapter 1“Good Morning ladies!” The dorm senior, Jenna, shouts as she makes her way down the corridor of the dorms, banging on each door as she goes. I roll over with a groan and stretch to pick up my phone. I read the time and then rub my eyes before checking the time again because there’s no way I read it right. Glancing around the room I feel confident that my eyes are now working correctly and check the time again.“Mother fluffer!” I curse under my breath. I was right the first time. It’s 5:30 AM! That confirms my suspicions that perfect Jenna with the too-friendly smile is evil. It’s the first day of university and classes start at 9 AM. Why on earth is she waking the whole dorm up at 5:30? I can hear grumbling and cursing from the other girls through the paper-thin walls as Jenna loudly announces that it’s shower time. I grab the pillow and press it over my head to try and block out the noise. I had my alarm set for 8 AM, which would have given me plenty of time to shower and
Chapter 2 For the next few hours, I watch the clock in the small room they have me locked in. I’d drank my small paper cup of water hours ago and I've counted every tiny crack I can find in the plastered walls at least ten times. Just when I'm at the point of driving myself completely insane by mentally replaying what happened with Jenna over and over again, the door opens. The male officer that I'd seen in my dorm room earlier walks in and takes the seat opposite me at the table. “Sorry to keep you waiting Miss Banks,” he says, laying a paper folder out on the table. He opens it and begins to read through it in silence. The seconds tick by and I start to get fidgety in my seat at the uncomfortable silence. Just as I open my mouth to break the silence the door opens again and a tall man wearing an expensive-looking suit walks in holding a briefcase. The man looks down at me in an assessing way. He is extremely good-looking and exudes dominance in a way that makes him hard to look at