by Cheree Alsop
Jennifer gave Alex a hug. At his surprised look, she said, “I hear you are to thank for getting us back together. I’ve missed Ashley for years, but had to go into hiding with my family when the Alphas were getting killed. Luckily, my dad and brother escaped the hunt, but I never could find Ashley again.” Her smiled was filled with enthusiasm. “I’m so excited to see her after all this time!”
Jaze helped her into the helicopter. She sat on the edge of her seat.
“I’ve never been in one of these before,” she yelled into her headset as Trent prepared to take off.
Alex winced at the volume of her voice through his earpiece. “It’s okay. We have a good pilot.”
“Thanks,” Trent said as he maneuvered the helicopter off the ground much more smoothly than he had landed it.
“It’s exciting,” Jennifer said at a much lower volume this time. “You all act so used to it.”
Alex nodded. “We travel a lot. I guess you could say it’s a hobby.”
Mouse let out a rare laugh from his seat next to Trent.
Jaze gave Jennifer an understanding smile. “Alex is a part of my rescue team. I guess you do get use to flying in one of these after a dozen or so missions.”
“Isn’t he young to be going on missions with you?” she asked. “I’ve heard about the types of things Jaze Carso’s team has to do.”
Jaze gave Alex an assessing look. “Normally, yes, but his experience has increased his maturity a great deal. He’s a valuable asset.”
Jennifer smiled at Alex. “I’m glad to hear it. The more werewolves can help each other out, the better for the entire race.”
Trent’s landing near Greyton City was much smoother.
“Well done,” Mouse commended him quietly. “We’ll make a pilot of you yet.”
Trent grinned from ear to ear. “We’ll see you guys when you get back,” he called. “I’m going to stay and see if we can rig this thing for a little more power.”
“No, you’re not,” Alex heard Mouse reply as they made their way toward the waiting car.
Jaze instructed the driver where to take them.
“This is a beautiful city, as far as I can tell in the dark,” Jennifer said. “I’ll bet Ashley enjoys living here with her daughter.”
“She does,” Alex answered. “It’s a lot safer than it used to be.” He felt a surge of satisfaction at the part he had played in making that come to pass.
Siale squeezed his hand. “I’m sure they’re very grateful for their safety,” she said.
For a moment, he was captivated by the way her smile made her gray eyes glow with happiness. Alex wondered how he had lived so long without Siale at his side. With her, he felt so complete. It was right that she was beside him on his return to the city. He vowed never to leave her behind again.
When they pulled up to the apartment complex, Alex couldn’t stop smiling. He and Siale hurried up the steps as they had planned. They reached the third floor and Alex knocked on Cherish’s apartment door.
Cherish opened it and her eyes widened when she saw Alex. “You’re here!” she exclaimed. She opened the door wider and saw Siale. “Siale, I’m so glad you’re here, too!” She stepped back to let them both in.
Alex stepped inside with an amused smile. “Aren’t you going to ask why we’re in the city?”
Cherish led the way to the table. “Only if you want to tell me; it’s enough that you’re in Greyton.”
“We have a surprise for your mom, actually. Is she here?”
Cherish nodded, her expression one of curiosity. “Yes. Uh, Mom,” she called.
Mrs. Summers poked her head into the hall from the bedroom. “Yes, Cherish?”
“Alex and Siale are here. They say they have a surprise for you.”
Mrs. Summers walked toward them with an expression that matched her daughter’s so closely Alex and Siale exchanged grins.
“What could it be?” Mrs. Summers mused.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Mrs. Summers gave Alex a searching look. “Is that part of it?”
“You’ll have to go see,” Alex answered. He and Siale rose. He motioned for Cherish to follow them to the door.
Mrs. Summers opened it and stared in shock. “Oh my goodness, Jacey!”
“Ashley, it’s really you,” Jennifer exclaimed.
They hugged each other tight.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Mrs. Summers said with tears in her eyes. “How can this be?”
“Jaze and Alex brought me. As soon as they said they knew where you were, wild horses couldn’t keep me away,” Jennifer told her. She stepped through the door so that Jaze could enter.
Mrs. Summers hugged him as well. “Thank you so much for finding her.”
“Glad we could help,” Jaze replied. He smiled at them both. “You two have a quite a lot of catching up to do. We could give you some time...”
“Nonsense,” Mrs. Summers exclaimed. She led the way to the living room. “I’ll make some hot cocoa and we can all talk.”
Jaze, Alex, Siale, and Cherish ended up taking their cocoa to the roof so the friends could catch up on the time they had missed together.
“That was amazing,” Siale said. “They are so happy. I can’t believe you guys were able to track her down.”
“Brock and Mouse found the break in the trail where she changed her name from Jacey to Jennifer; the rest of the family changed names as well. It was a smart move to avoid the killing of werewolves that was happening at that time. I think in the end, she was just as happy to be found as long as it got her back to Ashley,” Jaze said.
“Thank you for not giving up,” Alex told the dean. “I can tell it means so much to Mrs. Summers to have her friend back.”
Jaze’s gaze took on a hint of sadness. “Sometimes these trails end up cold for a reason. I’ve followed way too many of those to hope for happy endings, but this time we got one. It makes the time we spend looking for others feel that much more worthwhile, especially seeing how happy they are together.”
The warmth in Siale’s eyes said she knew exactly what the dean was talking about. “Finding family after being separated for so long is like being given the ability to breathe again. When you brought me back to Dad, it felt like I had my life back. It was wonderful.”
“This is the best part of our job,” Jaze said.
Alex couldn’t agree more.
Chapter Nineteen
“How does it feel going to class after slacking off for so long?” Trent asked the next day after lunch.
Alex set the stack of books he was carrying down on the steps next to his friend. “I’m starting to think I should head back to Greyton again.”
Trent laughed. “Yeah, I thought you’d say that. These might help you catch up quicker.” He handed Alex a notebook he had brought out with him.
Alex opened to the first page, then the second. He thumbed through the next several. “You took notes for me?”
“Extensive,” Trent replied. “I knew you’d have a lot to catch up on. I figured some bullet points would help.”
Alex stared at him. “Trent, these are bullet points for every single class I missed.”
Trent nodded. “What else would I take notes on?”
Alex laughed. “I don’t know whether to hug you or shake you. I’m gone and instead of celebrating the peace and quiet, you do more school work?”
Trent smiled with a hint of red to his cheeks. “Some say work, some say fun. It’s a matter of perspective.”
Alex grinned, appreciating the fact that the werewolf was downplaying his efforts. “I owe you.”
“You owe me a few,” Trent replied with an answering smile.
Alex was deep into the notebook a few hours later when a voice broke him from his studies.
“I don’t believe it. Alex Davies is actually studying.”
Alex smiled at Siale. “You ruined it.”
“Ruined what?” she asked, sinking onto the chair next to him in th
e Academy’s massive library.
“Me studying. Now that I’ve seen you, there’s no way I can concentrate anymore.”
“I could leave,” Siale said playfully, rising from her chair.
Alex caught her hand. “It’s too late. I’ve missed you so much that any way to make up for the time is worth procrastinating.”
“I should get mad at you for putting your studies off.”
“You should,” Alex agreed. “But?”
Siale’s smile sent warmth rushing through his body.
“But you’re too cute for me to leave.”
“Oh,” Alex said, pulling her down on his lap. “You think I’m cute?”
“In a wild, careless, saving the world from werewolf’s worst enemy kind of way.”
Alex laughed. “Is that all?”
“Pretty much,” Siale replied. She leaned down and kissed him on the nose.
Alex tipped his head up and brushed her lips with his. She smiled and kissed him again on the lips this time.
“Can we go for a run?” she asked as though she had been trying to keep from asking the question and failed.
“Definitely,” he replied, smiling up at her.
“What about your studies?”
Alex shrugged. “I’ll stay up late for the next million nights. It’s worth it.”
At the promise of a run, Alex couldn’t get clear of the school fast enough. He grabbed Siale’s hand and ran out of the library, leaving his books on the chair. Siale laughed her light, musical laugh as they ran down the stairs and across the grass that spanned the space from the Academy to the fence. The bushes that lined the fence were brown and bare. Snow clung stubbornly to the ground beneath them, unwilling to melt despite the early warmth.
“I’ll bet I can phase faster than you,” Alex said, running behind the closest tree.
“You’re on,” Siale replied with a laugh.
Alex threw his shirt off and phased. He thought he was pretty quick, but when he padded from behind the tree, Siale was already waiting. Her wolfish grin faded as she looked at him. Alex felt suddenly self-conscious when she closed the space between them, her gaze on his fur.
After a moment, she gave a quiet huff, tipping her head to indicate that he should follow her.
Alex trailed behind her quietly, wondering at her sudden change of mood. The scent of pine needles decomposing in the snowy shadows, the sharp aroma of sap from trees that had split in the cold, and the green scent of buds from bushes that gave in to the early spring warmth filled his nose. He loved the gray of dusk that clung to the trees and brought out the sharp edges of his wolven eyesight.
Siale led him to the lake. Alex thought she wanted to swim, but when he stepped into the shallows, she barked, walking around the edge of the water. He followed her to a place where the last light of day still lingered, bathing the rocks and water in its soft glow.
She nodded toward the water. Alex crossed to the rock where she stood and looked down. He studied the lake, searching for fish or anything else that had caught her attention.
Siale gave a soft huff of wolf laughter. She indicated the water again. This time, she stood beside him, staring down. Alex looked at her reflection. He loved the way her eyes reflected the light, glowing as though they were made of stars. His gaze shifted, and his heart slowed.
Alex realized what had caught her attention. The wolf that stared back at him wasn’t the same wolf who had left the Academy at Kalia’s death. The silver seven stood out in sharp contrast against the dark fur of his left shoulder, but that’s not what held his gaze.
Before, when he phased, his fur had been a solid coat of gray. Now, Alex’s face, shoulders, and chest were a tangle of black and dark gray fur. His blue eyes stared back at him, deep and tormented. He had never heard of a wolf’s fur changing color. He didn’t know what it meant. Only Alphas were supposed to have black fur. The implications were more than he wanted to think about.
Alex shook himself and turned away from the water. He snorted and Siale licked his face. At his stare, she pranced away, dancing around like a frolicking puppy. Alex couldn’t help the urge to laugh. He snorted and nipped at her, then took off through the forest. A few seconds later, an answering nip caught his shoulder and it was Siale’s turn to run.
Alex was still laughing by the time he phased and pulled his clothes back on.
“I got you that last time,” Siale insisted.
“No you didn’t,” Alex argued. “You missed completely.”
He stepped out from the tree to see Siale with her shirt tangled as she tried to pull it down over her head. He paused, half torn between ducking back behind the tree to give her privacy, or helping her which would also let her know that he had seen her.
Alex crossed the few steps between them silently and reached up. Siale froze at the touch of his fingers on her arm.
“Let me help you,” he said softly.
He worked her right hand free of the white sweater. His fingers lingered as he pulled the soft wool down over her arm.
His voice was gentle when he said, “You’ve definitely made a mess of this.”
He stepped around behind her. She trembled when the backs of his fingers brushed the skin of her right shoulder blade. He could see the scars on her back from her time captive as one of the Extremists’ experiments.
Alex traced a long scar that ran from the base of her shoulder to her mid-back.
“Alex,” Siale said, her voice uncertain.
He heard it in her tone. She hated her scars; she was ashamed of them. Even though he had held her in the body pit and knew of the torture she had endured, she had hid them from him for so long.
“You never have to hide from me, Siale,” he whispered.
Her head hung, but she didn’t shy away from him. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her from behind.
“Your scars are beautiful, Siale.”
“No, they’re not,” she denied with a shake of her head. She leaned against him as if she couldn’t make herself turn around to see his face.
Alex felt as though he could hold her for the rest of her life. He loved her closeness, but hated that she loathed her body.
“Do you know why they’re beautiful?” he asked.
After a moment, she shook her head without speaking.
He put his lips close to her ear so she would hear the honesty in his words. “Because they mean you survived. You went through all of that, and yet you’re still here.” Her hands lifted to his arm, holding him to her. “You are my Siale. I know what you went through. I know the odds you faced. You could have died in that body pit long before I found you.”
A shudder went through her body at the memory. He held her tighter. “Yet you’re still here because you are the strongest person I know. You are beautiful, Siale, and I am grateful for every single one of your scars.”
He stepped back to pull her shirt down. On impulse, Alex lifted the back of it once more and brushed his lips across the scar he had touched.
“I am very grateful for your scars,” he said once again. He pulled her shirt down and smoothed it, making sure the white sweater was straight.
“Oh, Alex,” Siale said. Her voice had a slight catch in it. She turned in his arms and rested her head against his chest.
He smoothed her long brown hair, memorizing the feeling of it beneath his gentle fingers. He breathed deeply of her sage and lavender scent.
“You are my everything,” he said, his lips brushing the top of her head.
“You are my world,” she replied, her fingers finding the back of his neck and caressing it.
A shiver ran down his spine at her gentle touch.
“Alex?” a voice called.
“Can I pretend like I don’t hear him?” Alex asked.
“He sounds worried,” Siale said, stepping back. “You’d better answer.”
Alex and Siale hurried up the steps to the Academy. He pulled the door open and shouted, “Trent? I’m down here.”<
br />
Students lounging in the main corridor looked at him in surprise.
The sound of footsteps thundered down the stairs. Trent appeared at the bottom.
“Alex, thank goodness!” The small werewolf’s face was white.
“Trent, is everything alright?” Jordan Smith asked. She rose from her seat in the corner.
Trent looked from Alex to the girl he adored. “It’s, uh, it’s nothing, Jordan. I just, uh, needed to go over Alex’s homework in human and werewolf biology. I’m his tutor.”
Jordan looked unconvinced. She ran a hand through her spikey red hair. “If you need help, I’m getting an A in that class.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Alex replied as he walked past. “Thank you very much.”
Trent hurried down the hall that led to the teachers’ rooms. He shoved the door open to Dean Jaze’s office and motioned them inside.
“You just lied to Jordan,” Alex said, concerned how that would affect Trent’s relationship with his girl.
“It doesn’t matter,” Trent said shortly. He pushed the hidden panel open and ran inside.
Siale and Alex exchanged a worried look. Trepidation tightened in Alex’s chest as he followed the werewolf below.
“What is going on?” Alex demanded, running down the dark tunnel.
“You need to save the world again,” Trent replied.
“Thank goodness,” Brock breathed when Alex and Siale burst into the Wolf Den behind Trent.
Alex stopped short at the sight of the professors, Dean Jaze, Nikki, and the others from Jaze’s pack standing up on the raised observation platform. Cassie and Tennison stood up there as well. Cassie’s eyes were filled with tears. Alex’s gaze shifted to the screen behind Jaze and his heart stopped entirely.
Drogan’s face took up the screen. The man’s mismatched eyes bored into his. Information ticked by on the bottom of the screen, indication that it was a news station. The other screens around the Wolf Den were filled with the Extremist leader’s haughty gaze.
“I’ll kill a hostage every half hour until Alex Carso appears at Greyton City Hospital. I have no qualms against bloodshed.” The camera moved to the scene behind Drogan, swiftly showing a body on the floor with a hole in its head before it shifted back up to Drogan. “The camera crew of Greyton’s evening news can vouch that this is real.” His face twisted in a sneer. “Alex, brother, if I can’t take out your precious Academy, I’ll hurt the city you seem to love.” A light of triumph showed in his eyes. “The Demon of Greyton should be more careful with those he cares about.” His gaze darkened. “Another body will follow in twenty-three minutes.” Drogan shoved the camera away and the screen went dark.
