A Study In Shifters by Majanka Verstraete

Author:Majanka Verstraete
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Monster House Books, LLC

Chapter Nineteen

The library was crowded around eight, but by the time nine o’clock rolled around, it was practically abandoned.

I’d picked a comfortable chair in the corner of the room, crawled on it with my feet tucked under me, and started reading.

Elise’s dissertation paper was…

Well-researched.

All right, if I was honest, she made a solid case. She talked about the moral decline of all shifters over the years, targeting all the species, not just one clan, of how rebel groups were flaring up, fighting against the seats of power. She talked about how, with the human world already in political turmoil, we needed strong leadership. The paper had statistics of rises in shifter crime, even detailed charts about which shifter groups (obviously, the predators) were more crime prone than others.

If I were a teacher grading this paper for one of my students, I would be impressed.

However, as she reached her conclusion, her reasoning was much more nuanced than you’d expect starting from such an extreme standpoint. She said that, despite the weakened position of the jaguar clan, publicly challenging it could do more harm than good, and with a lot of clans holding equally powerful positions, it could result in a full-out clan war.

I stretched my arms above my head, quite impressed with how much time Elise Felton had spent on her paper. My jaguar, too, felt a begrudging respect for someone who would spend so much time on something—if anything, it took dedication. Although I might not agree with the position she took, I had a newfound respect for her.

And a newfound loathing for whoever had killed her.

I lingered in the seat for another hour as the last students cleared out of the library while I read through the thesis. Moonlight flooded through the tall windows, and along with the reading lights flanking the desks, it cast a warm, vibrant atmosphere over the room.

Around a quarter to ten, Wyatt strolled into the library.

“Oh, hey, Marisol,” he said when his gaze landed on me. “I hadn’t expected you here.”

“Hey.” I held up the papers of Elise’s dissertation. “I came here to read these.”

“Oh.” Wyatt’s face turned a ghostly pale. “I’m…um…”

“It’s okay. She made a few fair points. And anyway, a wise person told me today that I shouldn’t care about what other shifters think about me or my family.”

“Sounds very wise, indeed,” Wyatt said as he walked toward me. “Who would that sage person be?”

“Roxanne. A friend of yours, she told me.” I sat up straighter in my chair. My back hurt from being curled up for the past two hours, and I stretched my arms to untangle my muscles.

“She is. Good company.” Wyatt sat down on the recliner in front of the couch. “Aren’t you scared in the library on your own? What with Elise’s murder, I mean. A lot of other students are afraid to go out on their own anymore, especially this late.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “It’s terrible, what happened, but if police haven’t upped security, then I don’t see why we should be afraid.

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