New Moon (Alpha Wolf Academy)

by JJ King

  Windows. I frowned and tried to remember if there were any egress windows I could access without being seen. We were on the second floor of the building, so the windows up here weren’t exactly meant for evacuation, but I remembered the way the breeze had ruffled my hair during a windy day the week before. I’d been sitting in my favorite chair, in the solarium.

  I bit down on my lip and closed my eyes. The solarium was wide open. If you were in the commons area of the library, all you had to do was walk up a few stairs to get to it. I’d be a sitting duck.

  Still, I had to do something or I’d never forgive myself. I’d rather die fighting than cowering behind books.

  It only took a few minutes to make my way to the edge of the stacks. My heart raced wildly, making my thoughts race, too. It felt like I could see everything in sharp detail, hear every sound clearer than before, smell every minute scent.

  I could still smell the blood that had spilled at my feet and the fear that still scented the air from my fellow students.

  A shudder shook my body. I opened my eyes and focused in on the spotless windows. They covered an entire wall of the room and filled the library with endless light and a gorgeous view.

  I scanned the expanse, searching for an open window or a lever to release one, and nearly sobbed when I spotted a pattern of egress windows no more than five feet from the floor, running all the way across the solarium. They shut tight with instructions not to open unless there was an emergency. The closest one to me was tucked into a corner that held a tall, leafy tree and a bookshelf filled with easy reading choices.

  I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, willing my pulse to slow down. This area of the library was on the second floor, so there would be a steep drop waiting for me if I managed to get to the window and open it unseen. I’d take a steep drop over a bullet, though, so I checked one more time then darted out of my hiding spot.

  The tree in the corner provided excellent coverage, so I slid behind it and eyed the release mechanism. There were two latches that would need to be lifted, then a crank would lift it vertically, opening outwards. I estimated it would take less than thirty seconds to open it completely and another thirty, at least, to maneuver myself out, let my body dangle as far down as I could, then let go and pray I didn’t break anything.

  Nerves jittered through me, making it feel as if my entire body vibrated. My other senses were heightened, too, which I knew was a good thing. Even now, with my pulse thudding wildly, I could hear the murmur of the guards from an adjoining room and the buzz of their comms.

  I glanced down at the walkie-talkie I’d tucked into the waist of my jeans. It would come in handy at some point to know where the guards were, but, right now, I needed silence, so I’d turned it off. I glanced towards the antiques room, hoping they’d stay there long enough for me to slip out, and heard another incoming message, from the main doors.

  A gasp slipped free before I could reign it in and I scurried further behind the tree, hoping neither of the two guards that walked through the doors had noticed me. The solarium was up a level and I was at the farthest point, but I could still see them as clear as day. What if they could see me?

  Everything in me froze for what felt like an eternity. I held my breath, afraid that even that would draw their attention. My chest throbbed painfully as I denied my lungs oxygen, but I knew my sharp inhale would be louder now than it would have been. I buried my face in the crook of my arm and slowly exhaled and inhaled.

  They stood and surveyed the commons, stacks, and, much to my horror, the solarium. One, a woman with wide shoulders and dark brown hair tucked back in a ponytail, narrowed her eyes in my direction.

  My heart stopped.

  “You take the stacks,” the woman said clearly. “I’ll see what’s taking Jack so long.” She turned on her heel and moved out of the commons with long strides.

  The man looked after her for a moment, then shrugged and strode off towards the long line of books that would take him at least five minutes to walk through.

  This was my chance.

  The moment he disappeared, I started counting. If he didn’t come back out in thirty seconds, I’d make my move.

  One.

  Two.

  Three.

  Four…

  I counted off in my head to the beat of my heart and, on thirty, I moved. My hands trembled as they connected with the latches, but they pulled up and the latches opened smoothly. The crank came next. It, too, moved with ease and I thanked the Old Ones this place had such good maintenance. The windows at my high school had stuck constantly.

  The window lifted until it was as high as it would go, creating an egress I could easily fit through. Without giving myself time to think, I lifted one leg over the ledge, straddled it for a moment, then, holding on with all my might, swung my other leg over and let my body slide down the window until I was stretched tall with just my fingertips hanging onto the ledge.

  Below my dangling feet, thick strange looking shrubs with drooping purple flowers provided beauty and what I hoped would be a softer landing than the cobblestone walkway that ran along the inside of the quad.

  Movement from inside the library caught my attention. I watched as the woman and the two men who’d already been in the antiques room, stepped out and called for their associate. I gritted my teeth and willed my fingers to let go.

  My body plummeted down the length of the building. I pressed my legs together and bent my knees, then squeezed my eyes shut as I impacted the shrub.

  The scent of blood filled my nostrils along with the sting of hundreds of tiny lacerations. I bit my lip and focused on my body, on my legs and pelvis, to see if I’d broken anything. I flexed, one muscle at a time, and bit back a cry when pain shot through my ankle. I rolled it, once, twice, carefully assessing the damage. It wasn’t broken, just sprained, I figured. Other than that, I seemed fine, except for the thousand tiny cuts wherever the shrub branches had scratched me. The cuts would heal in practically no time. Although, I realized with a silent groan, the blood seeping from all over would intensify my scent.

  Fuck.

  I needed to move, fast and stealthily, and I needed to heal. I needed to be my wolf.

  Thick branches made my exit from the shrub difficult but I managed it while getting a hundred more nicks on my arms and neck. When I was free and in the shadow of the huge plant, I called to my wolf.

  The twinge of pain I usually experienced, morphed sharply into a stabbing jar of agony. Shocked and overcome with a rush of betrayal, I locked my jaw and pushed inward, forcing my body to change. When it stubbornly refused to shift, I sagged and squeezed my eyes shut. Frustration buzzed through me.

  Tears formed in my eyes and spilled out onto my cheeks. She’d always been there, my wolf, the other part of me that made me whole. Why was she refusing to come now, when I needed her most?

  My muscles tightened and ached as I tried again and again to sink into the change and become my wolf, but it wouldn’t work. Something was wrong. Hot tears wet my shirt.

  Panic set in and everything I’d just seen and felt came rushing back to drag me under. It felt like a tidal wave of emotion hitting me full in the chest and I gasped in air, trying to breathe.

  I sank to my knees and wished I was anywhere but here. Why had my parents forced me to come? Why couldn’t they have just been happy with me attending a local university so I could see them whenever I wanted and I could be safe?

  I closed my eyes and pictured my parents. They were good people, the best I knew, and I’d give anything to be back with them right now. I could almost hear my father’s voice singing old Newfoundland tunes as he worked out back.

  You’re as stubborn as the day is long, my love. It was one of his favorite things to say to me. But, I love you more than life itself.

  If I’d been more stubborn, I’d be home, I thought bitterly. Instead, I’d stayed quiet and gone along with their plans because I didn’t want to hurt them. Well, they’d be hurt w
hen I was shot and killed by maniacs.

  You can’t force blood out of a turnip, you know.

  That was his second favorite colloquialism, although he’d chuckle to be heard it called such. It was a stupid expression, anyway, I thought, then wished I could hear him say it one more time.

  Maybe I was stubborn, but if I was, I’d gotten that particular characteristic from him. I wondered what he’d say to me now.

  You can’t force blood out of a turnip, you know.

  I let out a shaky laugh and shook my head. Words of wisdom that meant absolutely nothing.

  I frowned.

  I was trying to force my body to change, was I? My heart was pounding, sweat was running down my back, I was a mess and hurt. My eyebrows rose in surprise as I realized that I’d never needed to change under duress.

  “Thanks dad,” I whispered. I shifted until I was sitting on the soft ground and closed my eyes. Slowly, I inhaled and exhaled, finding my center, then I reached out to my wolf.

  There you are, I thought.

  This time, she came willingly. My bones shifted, my muscles contracted, my vision altered. In moments, I climbed to my feet covered in fur with my cuts already healed and my sprained ankle noticeably less painful. I shrugged free of my clothes and lifted my nose to the air.

  I could smell them, the guards, the attackers, whoever they were. Their scent was everywhere, mixed with the terror they were causing. I could smell blood, and sweat, and the silver bullets they were using against their own kind. For no good reason.

  They’d killed kids. That boy in the courtyard had been no more than twenty-two or twenty-three and now he was dead, murdered, and for what?

  I shook my head as if that could wipe the memory of his murder from my mind. It didn’t work. It stayed like a thick greasy stain on my mind and made me feel dirty for even trying to forget about it.

  If I didn’t, though, I reasoned as I took my first step out into the open, Xavier would die.

  I kept to the shadows of the tall buildings. The sun had moved steadily west, casting shadows that provided a measure of cover, although the perfect fall day denied me any real safety.

  It was so strange that the sun was still shining. Didn’t it know this was a place of death and mourning now?

  I moved as swiftly as I could with the walkie-talkie and my cell phone tucked securely in my mouth, stopping to sniff the air and locate the guards stationed near me so I could avoid them. They were still in human form, so that gave me a slight advantage. Their sense of smell would be far less than mine, right now.

  Then again, they had guns and silver bullets.

  The library and the science building were connected by a skywalk that overlooked a garden where the botany club amused themselves or so the brochure had said. I worked my way to the edge of the library and took stalk of the situation. There were two guards at the opposite end of the garden, talking quietly. I needed them to turn away or move so I could dart across the opening and into the shade of the big apple tree no more than forty feet from where I stood.

  After a few minutes of watching, I began to get antsy. I was exposed here, at the edge of the brick building. If I could just make it across the opening, I’d have better cover. I cursed the guards for ignoring their duties then almost choked when I remembered their duties included rounding up my fellow students and putting bullets in kids’ heads.

  Fuck it. I waited ten more seconds, watching to see if they’d even glance up from their intense tete-a-tete, then lunged forward. I sprinted across the open ground in a matter of seconds, then tucked myself behind the tree, my entire body vibrating with nerves.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and turned to keep moving when I heard one of the guards ask the other. “Do you smell that?”

  My heart dropped and it took every ounce of brains I had not to give into the crushing sense of panic that welled up so furiously that it felt as if I’d been swallowed. Panic hadn’t done me any favors earlier and I wouldn’t allow it to paralyze me now.

  “I’ll go check it out,” one of them said, then started down the garden path in my direction.

  I swiveled my head around, looking for somewhere to hide or something to cover my scent with. He’d smelled me, maybe my blood or fear, but it was my scent that had given me away. It would be my big furry body that would give me away now, though, if I didn’t move my ass.

  I bolted in the opposite direction, looking for a place to disappear. When I saw an open window at ground level, I didn’t think I just moved. My body was smaller as a wolf but still the opening was barely big enough for me to squeeze through. I leapt to the floor just as I heard the guard round the corner and call out for his buddy to “Stay out here. I’ll check inside.”

  His footsteps moved past the window then up a set of stairs nearby and I heard the unmistakable sound of a door opening and shutting as my stomach nearly rebelled on the spot.

  He was in the building with me.

  Chapter 16

  I raced to the door of what had turned out to be a laboratory of some kind and stopped short when I saw that it was closed. I put the walkie-talkie and phone onto the floor and forced myself to relax and shift.

  The room smelled of formaldehyde and was cold, which wrinkled my nose and made goosebumps spring to life all over my naked flesh. I straightened and looked around wildly, searching for something to put on. I’d run through this building buck-ass if necessary, but I preferred not giving the psycho outside a peak.

  I spotted a row of spotless lab coats hung on one wall and ran over to grab one. It was too big, but I didn’t care. I pulled it on, put my things in the big front pocket, and then moved to the door on bare feet, buttoning it up as I went.

  Once again, I applauded campus maintenance as the door swung open with barely a whisper. I listened first, then poked my head out into the corridor to see if the coast was clear. Then, with a quiet curse, I closed the door and sagged against the wall next to it.

  Where the fuck was I going to go?

  I didn’t know the science building like I did the arts or the library buildings. The only time I ever came here was to attend chemistry class and those classes were held on the third floor.

  My eyes lit up. Chemistry. Louis’ stink bombs!

  My mind raced. He’d tucked those three vials of whatever chemical he’d been talking about into the drawer and had left without them. What if they were still there?

  He said they’d smell like rotten fish. It wouldn’t be fun on my olfactory senses, I was sure about that, but the guards would be too busy dealing with the rancid stink to smell me cutting across campus to the nurse’s office. I grinned.

  All I had to do was get to the third floor without being caught and murdered. Fingers crossed.

  I’d have to open doors, so going as a wolf was off the table, which meant my hearing and sense of smell would be only as acute as the man hunting me. I’d be wide open in the long, cream-colored hallways with rows of locked classroom doors. My only saving grace was that he’d come in alone and couldn’t be two places at once.

  I couldn’t take the elevators, I’d be a sitting duck, but the stairs posed a similar problem. I’d have a bit more coverage, but not much. I thought about all the suspense movies I’d watched on weekend nights with Sara and Bethany, wondering if all those wasted hours would hold an answer.

  My gaze shifted to the ceiling. I’d hidden behind a ceiling panel in the library to avoid detection already, so I was, apparently, a modern John McClane. I cocked my head to the side and thought the problem over.

  I had a couple of options here if I was going to pull a Die Hard moment. I could access the vent system and crawl my way up to the third floor or I could climb up the elevator shaft. Neither option was particularly palatable, since I wasn’t really a risk taker in that way. But, my life had never been threatened before. I’d already risen to the occasion today, why not push it even more?

  “What the hell am I thinking?” I muttered, realizing a moment la
ter that I was possibly insane. There was only one way I’d get to the third floor; the stairs. It would help if I knew where that damn guard was, though.

  My eyes widened as I realized the extent of my idiocy. I pulled the walkie-talkie from my pocket and considered it. I’d turned it off by turning the knob, so turning it back on was easy enough. Not wanting to be heard, I turned the volume down low and held it to my ear, hoping to hear something concerning the science building.

  I listened for five minutes, getting progressively irritated when I heard only messages of “all clear” and “10-4.” Xavier was going to be cold if something didn’t change.

  I’d heard enough of the chatter, I could pretend to be asking about the building. If the guard was still inside, there was a chance he’d answer. Or, there was a chance they’d know immediately that I wasn’t who I was claiming to be and find me quicker.

  Still, I had to do something. If I wasn’t going to pull out all the stops, what was the point of even trying to get to the nurse’s office for the antidote? I lifted the walkie-talkie to my lips and pressed down on the button.

  “Update on Science building. Out.” I said in my gruffest voice then squeezed my eyes shut and prayed.

  I only had to wait a few seconds before the comm buzzed and the answer I’d been waiting for came through. “All clear. Out.”

  The breath I’d been holding wooshed out of me. I was in the clear.

  I turned off the walkie-talkie again and tucked it away again, then inched the door open and peeked out. There was a chance he was still in the building even though he’d said it was clear. I breathed in the air, searching for any trace of his scent and found only the faint smell of cleaner.

  My feet padded almost silently on the cold floors as I dashed down the hallway and tucked myself behind a big urn filled with some kind of plant that was big and bushy, perfect for coverage.

  The next hallway was clear, as well, as was the first set of stairs that led from the basement to the main floor. I moved in quick sprints, taking cover wherever I could find it, with hope and anxiety coursing through me in equal measure.