Chapter 141

Sarah POV

“I can’t take you anywhere,” Zane said from the doorway.

I looked up from the teacher’s desk where I’d set up my laptop and burst into a smile. I hadn’t seen him for three days, though we’d been speaking on the phone frequently, and I’d missed him and the girls terribly.

Travis had managed to gather up an educational taskforce of fifteen professors from the territory’s top two colleges, Mills and Cavendish, to descend upon the district’s schoolboard like a plague of mortarboard-wearing locusts. Students and faculty were being interviewed, and it was clear we had several cases of corruption, including in the scholarship oversight committee who had made up names of recipients so they could pocket the funds.

“It’s the nature of teachers,” Dr. Preston had told me during a meeting three days ago while we were still trying to figure out just how bad things had gotten. “The profession attracts the best and worst kinds of people, the ones who are devoted to the students despite the bad pay and those who can’t get a better job and are just out to take whatever they can.”

My education degree was getting a real workout, but it was having all these PhDs in the room that really sent the message that the school district was in for a major overhaul. I was mostly working with Lainey on logistics, getting people the information they needed, and holding the position of coordinator until someone better qualified took over.

“It’s not my fault every time I go outside I trip over some anti-human conspiracy,” I said back, hoping the smile on my face would make it clear I was happy about his help and not blaming him for every problem under the moon.

“The wolf students haven’t been faring much better,” Lainey said from her seat on the other side of the desk. “Some of the rules here have been openly favoring the wolf students so they wouldn’t complain about their ancient textbooks and lousy computers.”

Dr. Preston, who was sitting at a student desk and going over files of students’ records, nodded. “They were still playing ‘Oregon Trail.’”

“Well, I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve come to take you away from it all,” Zane told me.

I frowned at him, then the penny dropped. “You’ve gotten someone to take the job?”

He nodded. “Bertrand Straus.”

A member of Zane’s own legislative board was going to take on overseeing the audit of public schools? I was impressed.

“His background’s in education,” Zane added, “and I’ve left him with Sheerain’s principal, who looked about three seconds from confessing to everything.” Zane looked behind him and beckoned.

Grace and Chloe came running into the room.

“Darlings!” I shouted and got up from the desk. “I’ve missed you both so much!”

I got to my knees and hugged them. They smelled wonderful and hugged back hard.

“Daddy says we’re taking you home,” Chloe said into my shoulder.

“I’m so sorry I’ve been away so long.”

“Daddy said you were doing important work,” Grace said.

“I have been, but I’m so glad someone else is going to take over,” I said, leaning back to look into their faces and then pepper their cheeks with kisses.

They giggled and squirmed. I let go of them and stood up. Zane was beaming at us.

A man walked in. I’d only met him once before, but he seemed to be wearing the same outfit of loose, faded jeans and a tight Metallica tee. Of all the alphas I had met, excluding Zane, he was about the most alpha-ish.

“Lainey Wilson,” I said, turning toward her. “This is Bertrand Straus.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said, standing and holding out her hand.

He shook it. “Any publicist who can keep up with Whitfield is worth meeting,” he said, his deep voice grumbling around the room. Then he turned to Dr. Preston. “I’d like to talk with you and the others about the curriculum overhaul.”

“Excellent place to start,” the beta answered.

“And that’s our cue to leave,” Zane said, holding out his hands to his daughters, who both took one and looked up at the adults with excitement. I gathered my things into my bookcase while Lainey did the same, and soon we were walking to the main entrance. Class had been suspended for a week, so the hallways were empty of everything but lockers and the smell of old socks.

“I need to warn you,” Zane told me and Lainey as we walked. “Whitfield got hold of me about an hour ago. Regardless of school policy, one of the students at your Career Day appearance had a phone.”

“Oh dear,” I said.

“Oh, excellent,” Lainey said. “Have they posted it yet?”

“Lainey,” I said in exasperation.

“What? You were magnificent. The world should see it.”

She laughed while I made face. Then she squared up her shoulders and said in an oddly fierce voice, “And in case you haven’t realized it, Mrs. Berry, you’re fired.”

“Good impression,” Zane said.

“You’ve seen it already?” I asked.

“Made my day.”

We walked out into the sunshine and a black car being driven by someone I didn’t recognize. I knew we’d be taking a helicopter back to the villa.

Once in the car, Lainey, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, got out her phone and watched the video, laughing and then reading some comments aloud about Mrs. Berry’s berry-red face.

“Not in front of the girls,” I told her, watching Grace and Chloe laugh as they sat between Zane and me.

Lainey played it again, angling her phone so the girls could see better.

“You were made for social media,” she said afterward. “You should do some.”

“Some what?” I asked.

“Videos.”

“About what?”

Lainey shrugged. “A human perspective on wolves, for starters. I mean, really, that ridiculous thing about humans and wolves not eating together. There are a lot of people who think that’s how regular, normal wolves behave. You could put a stop to things like that.”

“Surely a wolf would do a better job talking about werewolf society,” I protested.

“No, Lainey’s got a good idea there,” Zane said. “Most wolves talking about wolves to humans get condescending, and most humans talking about wolves are either toeing some company line about equality or making comments about how alien we are. You’ve got access to wolf culture most humans never will.”

“But wolves are so secretive. I wouldn’t want to talk about the Luna Temple or things that would make wolves angry.”

Zane nodded. “Good point.

“It would be nice to connect with humans online,” I said, just thinking aloud. “A huge part of being human means you don’t have to constantly prove you’re part of some social rank. I can be domestic and focus on everyday household life.”

“I love it,” Lainey said.

I was going to make a comment about how she loved anything as long as it got me clicks and likes, but then I saw Zane nodding with a smile and just accepted the inevitable.