Insidious Winds by Rain Oxford Page A

the
newcomers were eighteen or nineteen. Several students, however, waited until
after they completed a degree at a human university, so there were a few my
age. In fact, all of the vampires attending were older than me. Unfortunately,
none of the shifters in this class were even old enough to drink except for
Darwin.
    “Everyone in here is a shifter. Why am I here?”
    “Because I would probably challenge Alpha Flagstone
if you weren’t. ‘Sides, Watson thought you would be interested in how shifter
brains work.”
    “Everyone, get in your seat.”
    I went for the seat closest to the door with Darwin
right behind me, but Alpha Flagstone grabbed Darwin by the back of the hoodie.
“No! Devon, help! I’ve been captured!” Flagstone pushed him into a seat on the
front row.
    “I know about your ADHD, pup. You’re sitting up front
so I can get your attention.”
    With a sigh, I changed my course and sat next to
Darwin. “You owe me,” I whispered to him. Flagstone smirked.
    The wolf shifter didn’t bother with a syllabus. “The
major distinction between shifters in a wizard’s mind is pack and solitary
shifters. For us, there is no major distinction. When we are born, our animal
instincts are in control. There have been cases in which a human woman would
have a one-night stand with a shifter and become pregnant with a shifter child.
In all of these cases, the woman realizes something isn’t right with the child
even if it never shifts.”
    “Wouldn’t the child’s instincts be to blend in?”
Darwin asked.
    “It is, but how well they do depends on the animal
they shift into. For example, wolf shifters are probably the best at simulating
humans. A toddler wolf shifter will watch how his parents behave, whether they
are shifters or human. Animals that are raised without their parents are less
able to simulate humans. Cold-blooded shifters are never able to completely fit
into human society.”
    “What about cat shifters? Like jaguars?” I asked.
    “Most feline shifter cubs try unsuccessfully to mimic
human behavior. Although the behavior of cat shifters is no less humanoid than
the behavior of wolf shifters, their instincts are stronger. Most of them don’t
shift until they reach seven or eight, but they are fairly destructive in the
house, independent, and prone to fighting. Unlike wolf shifters, their
instincts drive them to stand out, not to fit into the pack.”
    Alpha Flagstone never required reading texts or
writing essays; he usually just had discussions. Despite the fact that the
professor’s information was plenty interesting, Darwin started tapping his
pencil with boredom halfway through. After a few minutes, the pencil flew out
of his hand and hit another wolf shifter in the head. The wolf growled, Darwin
growled back, and Flagstone slapped his hand down on the table in front of
Darwin.
    Darwin growled at the professor and his teeth started
to change. “Darwin, stop,” I said gently. He did, and his teeth reverted to their
human bluntness.
    “Alpha, can we go?” one of the triplets asked.
    Flagstone checked his watch. “Yes. We will go over
sensory development next time.” As the students filed out, Darwin and I stuck
behind. “I understand that you are still learning to control your wolf, but
when you challenge me in front of the pack, you put their lives in danger,”
Flagstone said when we were alone. “You are a younger and less powerful wolf,
so to not punish you for challenging me is a sign of weakness, which will make
the other young shifters doubt me.”
    “I wasn’t challenging you. The wolf just didn’t like
the loud and sudden noise.”
    “I know, but growling at me is a challenge and I will
discipline you next time. If you think you can run the pack better, feel free
to challenge me again.”
    Darwin stood. “My father is the strongest wolf
shifter. The wolf in me may have been dormant his entire life, but he’s just as
strong.”
    “And I am stronger.”
    “I’m not