"What should we do now?" Ashley asked.
"Now, we wait," Sabrina replied; her eyes still glued to Colin.
In the same breath, Summer busted through the red door on the raised platform and flopped in the nearest chair around the long table. "Today has been a roller coaster of cluster sticks."
"You can say that again," Ashley grumbled, ascending the few steps to Summer.
Summer's gaze surveyed the room. A curly tendril was flicked out of her face. "Eww! Who's going to clean up all this mess?"
"I know a spell or two," Sabrina confirmed, finally releasing Colin's neck.
Jake leaned against the railing separating the gallery from the podium. His hands were folded across his chest. "Why is today such a hassle for you?" he asked Summer.
She sighed. "First of all, the whole school has gone mad. Almost all the gifted seniors have been in a fight or two. And, if you think that's weird, then wait until you hear the humans are joining the mix to help their mates. It's freaking scary. I won't be surprised if a member of the High Council visits us tomorrow."
At the mention of the High Council, my gaze flashed to hers. If the High Council came to Redwood University it would signify my failure as a leader.
Summer leaned on the table, palms flat and her chin resting on their backs. "Rumor has it, it's the Red Moon that's causing the chaos." Her finger was then studied as she grumbled, "Probably the Gods realizing we are being a bit picky and disobedient, so this may be a way to pull us closer."
Maybe she was right. We were being picky with our given mates, but for some of us, our disobedience was for the greater good.
I glanced at the injured men. The Gods had to know what they were doing because all there was was bloodshed and pain.
"How many are injured?" was my question.
She responded immediately, "Not much, I've been using the tranquilizers. But, we need to get this madness under control, or else the school will be closed and the High Council will take over."
The High Council taking over was not a suitable option.
"Yes, we must," I murmured.
This was my chance to prove to my parents I could do good. This was our chance to prove we, the Young Council members were meant to be great, despite who we were.
I leaned on the benches Kyle laid.
"What are we going to do then?" Jake inquired. "The Red Moon increases the sex pheromones in both males and females. Natural male aphrodisiac including these sex pheromones is found in women's vaginal secretions."
"Oh, God," Summer groaned. "I hate science."
Jake narrowed his eyes at her, but continued with his lesson, "These compounds stimulate the male's sensory neurons by taste and smell. And, we all know smell plays a big role in our population."
Yeah, it did, didn't it?
"Then, we try to reduce our sexual libido," Heather offered.
Summer laughed. " You can't be serious." Her laughter vanished at the hard glares aimed at her.
"It's not a bad idea," Amy agreed. " No desire for sex means less emotional turmoil by the Red Moon."
"How are we going to do that?" Summer frowned. "Aphrodisiac is not only in our bodies. They come in many forms: like flavors and fragrances. Today it's being used in perfumes, herbs, drugs, oils, and certain foods." Summer's eyes fell on Sabrina. "Witches even use it as their main ingredient for love spells."
Sabrina rolled her eyes at the final statement. "Look who doesn't like science?"
"I said, I didn't like it, doesn't mean I'm an idiot," Summer shot back.
A smile curled my lips at their childish bickering. My fingers found Kyle's. I eyed everyone. Satisfied they hadn't noticed, I continued playing with his fingers. A calmness washed over me, and I reveled in the simple, yet comforting touch.
"First things first," Ashley spoke up. "We have to stay away from chocolate, nuts, and oysters. I know for a fact those foods stimulate sexual libido."
"Instead, we could eat licorice root," Amy joined in. "I would suggest licorice because it's really good at suppressing sexual libido. But, our species are far too advanced for just the licorice to help. The root is far stronger."
"We could use it to make potions," Sabrina added. "Licorice roots contain nutrients, gums, oils, and glycyrrhizin, a natural sweeter. It's fifty times sweeter than sugar."
Summer pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose.
"That's a good idea," Lindsay chided, dismissing Summer's face of disgust.
"To make it more tolerable, we can use it in our foods. I could try to use it to make ice cream, candies, and even try juices," I added, my eyes on Summer. "We could distribute them here at school."
Summer's face brightened at the mention of the delights. "Everyone would love that. It's much more bearable."
No doubt, in everyone, she meant herself. It was more bearable for her.
I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Fuck!' All eyes snapped to Colin. He was sitting up; his throat healed. " I almost died and to wake up only to hear you guys are planning to kill my man wood."
Ugh!
Drew groaned. He was still laying on his back. "Almost? I actually died."
"Fuck!" the men sang out.
I jumped when Kyle snickered behind me.
Oh, my gosh! How long had he been awake?
I glanced at our intertwined fingers. My heart hopscotched in my chest. Snatching my hand away, I hightailed up the steps to the raised platform. "We'll randevu here early tomorrow before anyone to make preparations. I'll bring all I can."
"So, will I," Sabrina added.
I smiled and nodded in approval. She returned the smile.
"Who the fuck put the witch in charge?" Colin sneered.
I didn't stick around to hear the response. I kept on walking, not even sparing them a backward glance.
This was embarrassing. Why hadn't Kyle said something before? Why hadn't he let me know he was awake? He just laid there.
Ugh, God. He must have thought I was a creep.