"Finn," Paige moaned against his lips, her arms wrapping around his solid form, pulling him close as she was consumed in another kiss.

Finn Meisner. One of the few supernaturals she didn't truly despise, despite the fact that he was a djinn. With a single touch, he could influence thoughts, emotions, and with some of the more weak-willed individuals, even see memories.

The chill from the once open window didn't mix well with the warmth his fingers brought. Goosebumps crept across her flesh as his hands roamed over her body, seeking for a place for his fingers to rest.

As always, it felt good to be touched by him. It felt natural. Familiar. And right now, with the whole uncertainty of coming home, going to a new school, new people, more magic than she was comfortable with – she needed something familiar.

Finn moved to her neck, trailing soft kisses along her skin. She could feel a warmth spread through her body with every touch. The warmth grew, and as it intensified, her heart gave a little tug and her insides shivered. She knew this sensation wasn't natural and was caused by Finn's magic, and even so, she didn't ask him to stop. Having him affect her sensations during sex was what made it so exhilarating.

Paige's face tilted to the side as his hands slid down her leg. Through excited gasps, she managed to sprout out a few words. "Why are you here?"

Finn's teeth came to a standstill as he let out a small chuckle. Talking was the last thing he wanted to do right now, but he still answered her. "I missed you. Solace Academy isn't the same without my favourite witch."

Pushing against her, he raised her onto the window seat, pulling her closer as she straddled his knee. Lust pulsed off his skin, an emotion she returned hungrily. Warmth spread through her body in waves, her fingers sprawling across his bare chest, his shirt and jacket on the floor in a crumpled pile. If she wasn't careful, her clothing would end up mixed with his. His marks twirled down his arms and slithered across his chest.

Even with the intense emotions flooding her system, she couldn't ignore the obvious. He couldn't be here. No, he shouldn't be here. Being here broke all kinds of rules. Paige didn't know if these rules should be broken. It wasn't worth it, even though the sex was good.

With her hands firmly on his chest, she pushed him away slightly to look at his face. "Headmistress Karter would never have agreed to let you come here. She hated me. Both of us, actually."

"True," he mumbled gazing down at her. "I just never asked for her permission."

Paige felt a smile spread across her face. Of course he didn't. But then again, she never asked for the headmistress for anything either while she was a student at Solace Academy. The old hag never let them have any fun, so they had to steal it instead.

He tried to kiss her again but she only tilted her face away. "Easy boy. Dad's downstairs."

"I know," he mumbled into her soft hair, inhaling her scent once again. He tilted his head to the side, his ears straining in the silence. "He's on a call," he said after a moment. "Sounds important. He won't be finished for a while."

"Well, you're finished now," Paige said, untangling herself from his arms. The desire was still there, impulsive and strong, but the tingling was ebbing away. Slowly.

"You're no fun," Finn said with a groan, crossing the room inhumanly fast. As she blinked, he laid sprawled across her bed. He patted the bed suggestively and gave her a charming smile. Yep, that was Finn. Her best friend. Hormonal and charming. Always charming. "Care to join me?"

"Not this time." She threw him his shirt with an intense look he would recognise. She wasn't in the mood for sex. Make-out, maybe, but not sex. That was the best thing about their relationship, sex when they wanted – or needed – it. Their relationship never went further than that.

As he pulled his shirt over his head, he twirled the wooden wand between his fingers. Paige stared at the stone as it spun, leaving a trail of sparkles in the air. She never recalled him taking it from her, but at that moment, she had been focused on keeping her clothes on.

"What's this for?"

Paige stalked across the room and snatched it from his taunting fingers. She felt her magic leap excitedly at the prospects of using it but, like her desire to climb into bed next to the hot djinn, she ignored it. "It's a wand," she said. "Not to be played with."

"Magic wand or sex wand?"

"Magic wand," she said without a trace of humour in her voice. She still had questions. He shouldn't be here. Finn wasn't allowed to leave campus, certainly not to climb through her window. Solace Academy was a four-hour drive away. If her father found him here, he'd be thrown into a jail cell faster than even he could move. Perks of being a hot-shot lawyer.

Her worries didn't remain for long. Finn was here. His presence caused a never-ending smile. Finn was a welcoming sight. They didn't need to exchange words. They knew each other, better than anyone else and Paige couldn't help but feel content as she crawled into his arms and rested her cheek against his chest.

Paige listened to Finn's heartbeat well into the night, finally drifting off to the abnormal sound sometime around midnight. When she woke again, soft light leaking in through the parted curtains, Finn wasn't in bed anymore. She hadn't even felt him move.

Paige bolted upright in bed, her dark mane a tangled mess around her. Panic crept in. Where was he? Did Shane catch him in her bed? Surely not, she would have been jolted awake by an infuriated father if that was the case.

A single piece of paper laid on the pillow beside her head.

Had to go back. See you soon.

It was signed with the letter F.

Finn. That's him. Always on the move. Paige couldn't help but smile as she crumbled the sheet of paper and discarded it in the wastebin beside her desk. She glanced at the clock as she detangled her hair with a wet brush. It was still early. Shane would still be in bed at this time.

Pulling her hair into a single tie, Paige quickly dressed into sweats and pulled an over-sized hoodie on. Finding her iPod under her bed, she crept down the stairs. Selecting a random playlist, music began flowing through her senses as she left the house.

Staring down the vacant street, Paige spent a few minutes doing stretchers. She wanted to get on the move now, but she knew, from past experiences, that taking a few minutes before a run to get her body properly prepared, was well worth it.

Paige turned in the opposite direction she had taken last night, heading further away from the centre of town. She wasn't familiar with this area yet and now was the perfect time to take the scenic route.

She began at a slow pace, headlights washed over her as cars whizzed past. She hadn't discovered the racetrack Shane mentioned to her yet, it was her hope to come across it today.

After her little warm up, Paige increased her speed, her jog easing into a moderate run. She'd have to enquire about joining the track team soon. While she didn't enjoy team sports, track was something she could always get behind. Solace Academy never had any school teams, apart from the god-awful hour of gym class each day.

As she headed further away from home, she became lost in a swirl of colours, increasing her speed until her muscles began to twist and scream in protest. Holding onto the agonising speed for another mile, Paige came to a sudden standstill when another sensation washed across her.

It had nothing to do with the pain in her muscles, or her knotted stomach, or her rapid breathing.

A gust of wind rushed past her, almost knocking her to her knees. Regaining her balance, Paige twisted her body to follow the new sensation. Whatever it was, was moving inhumanly fast.

A sudden thought brought Finn's face to the surface but she shook his image away. Finn had left Purefin. He wouldn't say he was leaving unless he actually was. This was something else. Someone else.

The dark shape came to a sudden stop a few yards away.

Now that it had stopped moving, Paige could pinpoint the new sensation she felt. It was magic. Not magic from a witch, or even a djinn, but a werewolf.

The wolf turned towards her, his entire body coated in thick layers of blonde and brown fur. His magic felt familiar, as if she had sensed it somewhere before. He didn't approach her, but his snout lifted, his nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air. His bright green eyes homed in on her before taking a tentative step forward.

Paige took an instinctively step away from him. She didn't know this wolf, and while nowadays, there were a bunch of laws for supernaturals about harming others, she knew there were supernaturals who disregarded all those laws. These creatures – these Feral's – gave in to their basic, most primitive instincts.

The wolf, perhaps sensing her sudden spark of fear, didn't take another step towards her. Instead, with a small twitch of his mouth, he turned and took off.

Paige remained still for several long moments, her eyes straining in the dim morning light. She wasn't convinced the wolf had taken off. Maybe he had left to grab a bunch of his buddies? She didn't know, but she didn't start moving again until her heartrate slowed to a normal pace.

Paige ran home, looking over her shoulders every few minutes, the unease didn't truly dispense until she turned into her street and was unlocking the front door. Paige bolted the door behind her, peeked through a nearby window and discarded the earbuds from her ears. The street remained empty. No Feral wolves here.

After a quick shower, Paige came stumbling down the stairs after a sudden clang of metal echoed through the house. Heart still thumping from the strange wolf, she headed towards the kitchen and found Shane surrounded by pots and pans.

"Sorry." He glanced sheepishly up at Paige as he picked up the pan at his feet.

The fear evaporated under his gaze. Nothing bad could ever happen when her dad was nearby. Even if he was human, he'd do whatever he could to protect his daughter. Paige helped him pick up the other metal pans and shooed him away so she could finish cooking breakfast.

He backed into a stool with a sheepish smile. While he read the newspaper, Paige finished cooking his attempted scrambled eggs. They didn't turn out that bad, and after adding a few dashes of herbs, Paige served the bacon and eggs onto the table.

As she was fetching the orange juice out of the fridge, the bright flash of the television in the lounge caught her attention. Shane had turned off the volume at some point, in favour of the radio, but a breaking news headline caught her interest.

Four Dead in Mayan's Brutal Slaying.

"Mayan?" Paige questioned, returning to the table with the orange juice and a mug. She filled the cup with juice and settled into a chair. "Isn't that like, an hour away?" They had driven through it just a few days ago, on the way home. It was a small, peaceful town with a harbour.

Shane glanced up from his plate of bacon, the paper a forgotten item the minute bacon appeared in front of him. Swallowing his mouthful of food, he glanced at the television. Seeing the concern in his daughter's face, he took the remote from the counter and switched the screen off.

Adding more bacon to his plate, he said, "Something like that. Such a shame, really. An entire family, dead. Mother, father, teenage girl and a young boy."

Paige glanced back at the black screen. She wished her dad hadn't muted it. She would like to know more. Her thoughts went back to her recent wolf encounter. "Was it supernatural? A Feral?"

Shane shrugged. "Not sure. Definitely wasn't natural. They were torn apart." Paige could see the unease on his face. She let it go and grabbed some bacon before her dad could consume it all.

***

Classical Studies turned out to be as stimulating as the day before. Ms. Clark's voice melted into a soft tune, almost as if she was sprouting a melody, as she read a poem from an ancient Egyptian Lord with a name Paige could never hope to pronounce.

As she glanced down at the booklet of ancient poetry in front of her, Paige briefly wondered if it was too late to switch electives. She was hoping for something more from this class, but at the moment, it seemed to be the perfect for luring her back to sleep.

The bell rang, jolting Paige awake. She gathered her bag and followed the other students out the door, eager to leave this subject behind. Hopefully, Ms. Clark would soon move onto a more interesting topic of discussion, like the Roman and Greek Gods, ancient monsters or even Cleopatra. Anything other than pottery or poems.

Kendall met her down the hall and they walked to History together. "I saw you this morning," she said, huddling her binder against her chest. "Before school."

Paige hesitated, briefly wondering how much she should reveal. Kendall was clearly just trying to make conversation, to be polite. She decided there wasn't much to hide. "Yeah. I think I brought most of what Ms. Schade wanted." It was a long list and involved her dad helping her lug everything through school in the early hours of the morning.

"Cool," Kendall said. "You can participate today, then."

Paige looked at her. "Still doing fire magic?"

Kendall nodded. "Yeah. Today's the last day, though. Next week, we move onto water magic. You missed air and earth." Her eyes lit up as an idea occurred to her. "Maybe Ms. Schade will give you extra lessons or something. Help you catch up on the other elements."

Paige grimaced and held the door open. She followed Kendall into the classroom. She couldn't think of anything worse. Extra magic lessons were never gonna happen.

Kendall must have seen the dark look across her face. "Or not. That's okay, too. I guess."

Paige felt the need to explain, but really, why should she? She didn't owe Kendall, or anyone for that matter, an explanation. Before Paige could speak again, someone blocked her path. She came to an abrupt halt, almost colliding with a very solid, leather-cladded back.

The masculine frame morphed into a handsome, and very familiar face. "You again?" Paige said sourly as Lucas turned towards her. "Why are you always in my way?"

A smile spread across his tan face. He leaned against a desk, one foot propped atop a seat. "Why are you always in a mood?"

Paige felt her mood sour, to match her attitude. "No mood," she said trying to keep emotions out of her voice. "I'm just being me."

"Kinda bitter, isn't it?"

Now it was Paige's turn for a smile, although her smile was more of a taunt more than anything else. "Well, sorry cowboy, I'm not a ray of sunshine because I happen to generally dislike people."

His smile never faltered, but she did see a small sparkle in his very intense green eyes with the use of a nickname. In no way did he resemble a cowboy, it was a lame attempt, but it was the best she could come up with in the heat of the moment. "Clearly that's why you run alone, early in the morning. You know, you're actually pretty fast. For a non-shifter, that is."

Her face melted into a frown. When had he ever seen her run? She hasn't been home for that long. The only run she's taken since leaving Solace Academy was this morning, when she ran across . . .

Her eyes shot to his face. His eyes. They were the same eyes. The same shade that the wolf had this morning. The one that almost knocked her to her ass. The one she thought might be Feral.

Paige opened her senses, letting her magic take hold. Lucas's magic reached out, interacting with her own. It was an odd sensation, but one she quickly banished again. His magic was the same as the wolf she had encountered that morning.

She felt her face flare as she recalled the bunny-printed sweater she wore this morning. She didn't appreciate his sneak-attack then, and was ready to tell him so, but then another thought occurred to her. "How do you know I'm not a shifter?"

It wasn't really possible to know someone's supernatural race, not unless it was obvious, like Finn's djinn marks, or witches that dressed the part. Only the Supernatural Council, or a schoolboard needed to be informed of someone's race. It wasn't compulsory to reveal yourself to anyone else.

Paige was . . . unique. She knew that. She didn't like it, but she knew it. Sensing magic always made it easy to know what someone was. She knew what Lucas was because she could sense his werewolf magic. There was no hiding that.

She's never met anyone that shared that same ability, a so-called gift, as Finn said. Even her dad or sister didn't know about her ability to sense magic. Finn was the only one she ever confided in.

Lucas shrugged. "I didn't," he said. "But most shifters prefer to run in their animal form, not their human form. So, I took a guess."

Just then Joanne Kimbrel appeared by Lucas's side. The blonde girl leaned close to Lucas, whispering something into his ear. Lucas seemed to enjoy her closeness, his hand resting at the centre of her back, bringing her even closer.

From the way Joanne glanced back at Paige, it was obvious what was being said. Why was he, a hot werewolf, talking to someone that wasn't also a werewolf? A quick glance at Joanne's magic – who had ridiculous long blonde hair – revealed she was also a werewolf.

Paige had enough of Joanne's crude looks. She pushed past the couple and headed towards the desk that Kendall had retreated to when insults were being exchanged between the werewolf and witch. As she was pushing past the fake blonde, she was met with another obstacle.

Another handsome obstacle.

Or so she thought. All she saw at the moment was his strongly built back. His dark hair was shaved into a buzz cut, and from what she sensed, it was just another werewolf. Why hadn't she met any witches that sent her heart fluttering yet? But then again, she almost had sex last night with a djinn, so she wasn't really one to judge.

He swung around from the desk, with eyes even darker than his hair.

The lights exploded.

Every light in the room flickered, before burning much brighter than they were intended to. Paige could feel it in the room. The power. The magic. Her magic. It was intense, too intense to be contained by glass walls. Glass rained down on the freaked students, many of whom either bolted out of the room or just stood there, too stunned to move.

The windows began vibrating with power, large cracks slithering up the smooth surface. If it didn't stop now, the windows would surely explode just as the lights had.

Paige backed away from the handsome stranger as the pressure of magic grew. Power swelled in her chest, begging to be released. She felt her control slipping as her body was overwhelmed with emotions.

Fear. Anger. Confusion.

Another large crack moved up the side of the wall as the roof shook.

Shit.

It was getting out of hand. It was crazy. She had to get out.

Paige almost knocked over a desk in her haste to evacuate the room. Mr. Withers was in the hall, trying to calm down freaked students. Heads poked out of nearby doors as students strained to see what the commotion was about.

Shoving people out of the way, Paige found the first escape she could.

A nearby restroom. It was empty, thank God. She didn't think she could be around anyone at the moment. She turned towards the large oval mirror, her eyes as wide and wild as she thought they would be. Her normally bright and olive skin had faded to a deathly white as her heart worked overtime to continue to pump a steady supply of blood through her scared shitless body.

The longer she stared at her reflection, the worst she felt. The mirror began trembling, before the glass shattered, sending down a hailstorm of glass upon Paige. She screamed as the shards sliced her skin.

She dropped to the white-tiled floor, pushing herself to a corner. She spent the next ten minutes in the fetal position, hands over head as she waited for her magic to subside. Without any kind of aggravation, her magic quickly settled down, until it retreated, fading to a distant section of her body. It wasn't distant enough, and as always, she could still feel her magic. Close enough to turn up at any moment. Usually, these moments were unannounced.