by Cheree Alsop
“Maybe I should get hurt,” Jericho noted, climbing in the back.
“I’m sure Cherish would help,” Alex said, glancing at the Alpha.
A faint blush ran across the older werewolf’s face. “She’s probably had enough of werewolves for now.”
“I’m not so sure,” Alex replied. He closed his eyes, but not before seeing a light of hope shine in the Alpha’s eyes.
Chapter Twenty-four
Alex saw the memory as though he was watching it from a distance. A little boy and a little girl climbed down from the bus. They held hands, afraid of the new place filled with strangers. Adults hurried in every direction. The smell of werewolf permeated the air along with the scent of wood and cement, mortar and paint from the construction of the Academy.
“Don’t worry, Cass. I’ll take care of you,” Alex heard his young self say.
Someone shoved past them, knocking Cassie against him. Protective anger flooded through Alex. He spun with his fists out. The boy was a full head taller than Alex, but Alex swung anyway. His little fist connected with the boy’s shoulder.
Torin turned, his green eyes flashing. He threw a punch back. It hit Alex’s face. The young boy didn’t feel it through his anger. He swung again and again until arms caught him from behind.
“Slow down, champ. You don’t want to fight.”
At the time, Jaze had been an acquaintance to the twins, a friend of Jet’s who visited from time to time. To see the dean protecting him from his first moments at the Academy filled Alex with warmth.
Jet’s last words to Alex had been to never stop fighting no matter what. Alex had taken those words to heart.
“I don’t want to stop fighting,” Alex heard his younger self say.
Cassie touched his shoulder. “It’s okay, Alex,” she said, innocence in her voice. “Uncle Jaze will take care of things.”
Jaze sat back on his heels. He had tears in his eyes as he nodded. “I’ll take care of everything, I promise.”
A steady beeping brought Alex back from the memory. He took a deep breath, aware that the pain in his stomach had eased a great deal.
“Alex?”
He opened his eyes and was rewarded with the sight of Siale looking down at him, her wavy brown hair falling around her shoulders and her gray eyes soft as she watched him. When she saw that he was awake, her eyes creased at the corners with her smile of relief.
Alex lifted a hand and touched her cheek. “If I could wake up after every surgery and see you like this, I’d get hurt more often.”
Siale’s smile deepened. “I’m hoping that someday you’ll realize you have a lot to live for and stop getting yourself into such bad situations.”
“I fight because I have so much to live for,” Alex replied.
“Good answer,” Siale said. She leaned down and kissed him gently on the lips.
Alex’s heart monitor gave a loud beep, skipped two more, and sounded an alarm.
Siale leaned back. “We really need to get that taken care of.”
Alex shrugged as the sound of footsteps hurried down the hall. “I can’t say I blame my heart. You make everything in my life more complicated.”
Hurt brushed across Siale’s face. She turned away.
Alex sat up so quickly pain knifed through his stomach. He caught her arm with a gasp. “Siale.”
“Alex, you should be lying down,” Siale said, easing him back to the pillow.
“I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” Alex said, closing his eyes for a moment to steady himself. When he opened them again, she was still there, waiting for him to speak. He held her gaze, willing her to understand. “When Cassie and I first arrived here as orphans, this was all we had, four walls, professors, and a struggle to fit in with the packs that were created.” He took her hand again. “Life was simple, too simple. My whole purpose was to find Drogan and the General and end their reign of terror for werewolves.”
“And now?” Siale asked after a few moments had passed.
Alex gathered his thoughts. “Now my life is filled with things like love, laughter, waiting to hear your voice each morning, hoping to walk with you in the woods, missing you.” She smiled down at him and he smiled back. “I’ve been gone from you way too long, and every moment apart is harder than the last. My life is far better complicated.”
“Mine, too,” she agreed, touching his cheek.
The footsteps up the hall reached them. Meredith and Lyra hurried into the room.
“Is everything okay?” Meredith asked breathlessly.
“He’s awake,” Siale said, stepping back so Meredith could see her son.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Meredith said. She crossed to Alex’s side. “We were so worried.”
“The surgery was more complicated than we thought it would be,” Lyra explained. “The silver had encroached into your organs.”
“Meaning?” Alex asked.
“Meaning that your body absorbed a lot more of the silver than was good for you,” Meredith explained. “We cleared out what we could, then we had to wait and see if letting you bleed would clean out the rest. You needed a transfusion.”
“You should have seen everyone clamoring for the chance to donate blood,” Siale told him.
“Of course, Cassie was the best pick,” Lyra said. “She insisted.”
“We’ve been waiting for three days for you to wake up.” The shadows beneath Meredith’s eyes told Alex how little sleep she had gotten. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Thanks to you both,” Alex said. He pushed up gingerly to a sitting position. Siale helped him when she saw what he was doing.
“I think you should rest...” Meredith began, but Alex was already sitting up.
“I feel a lot better,” he said. “Besides, I’ve spent far too much time in hospital beds for one lifetime.”
“Take it easy,” Siale reminded him.
He swung his legs around and stood. A smile spread across his face. “See, just fine.”
He took a step forward and his legs gave out. Meredith and Siale caught him before he could fall. They helped him to the chair Siale had been sitting in.
“Maybe I should listen a bit better,” Alex admitted.
Meredith just shook her head with a smile. “No reason to start now.”
“Hey,” Alex said.
She chuckled. “We’ll go let the others know you’re awake. It’s up to you if you want to get dressed or get back into that bed.” She winked at him. “I’d recommend the bed.”
Alex listened to their footsteps fade back down the hall. “That means she thinks I should get dressed.”
“Alex,” Siale chided.
He gave an innocent shrug. “What? It’ll just worry everyone to see me still lying in bed like some invalid. I’ve given them enough stress.”
“What about me?” Siale asked.
Alex gave her a teasing smile. “I might need help getting dressed.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re relentless.”
“And charming?” he asked.
She laughed and grabbed a change of clothes someone had left on the counter, tossing them to him. “Maybe a little bit,” she admitted before she headed to the door. “I’ll be out here if you need some help.” She pulled it shut behind her.
With everyone gone, Alex gave up all pretenses. He took a deep breath, then another, testing the way his stomach pulled strangely at the movement. It felt like things were still healing. He wondered how long it would take for the silver to work its way out of his system completely.
He gingerly pulled the hospital gown over his head. The movement strained his wound. He let the gown fall to the floor. A quick inspection of his stomach showed that the wound had mostly closed. He pressed the clean bandage back against it, glad it felt much better than it had in the forest.
He could hear them coming back up the hallway. The thought of putting his arms over his head to put on his shirt was too much. Alex grabbed the underwear and pants.
Leaning over hurt, so he made due with balancing on one foot and trying to slip his other in the pant leg. He finally got it and managed to pull up the zipper and button it before the door opened.
“Alex...” Trent paused at the sight of his friend half-clothed.
“Uh, give us a minute,” the werewolf called over his shoulder.
“What are you doing, Trent?” Alex asked, surprised.
Trent grabbed the shirt from him and shoved it over his head. He helped Alex work his arms through the sleeves.
“Seriously, man. If you’re going to pretend to be okay, you’ve got to do better than this,” Trent said, straightening Alex’s shirt. “If your sister walks in here and sees you pale and with blood still showing through the bandage, she’s going to order you back in that bed for a week. I know you better than to think you’ll put up with that, and this Academy doesn’t need another war right now.”
Alex knew the werewolf was right. “Thanks,” he said.
“Don’t mention it.”
“I won’t,” Alex said.
Trent gave him a steeling look. “I just helped you get dressed. Seriously, don’t mention it.”
“I won’t, really,” Alex said with a laugh.
Trent pulled open the door. “Alright, you can come in.”
Alex was swarmed with well-wishers. His sister was first, followed by Tennison, Jericho, Terith, and what felt like half the school.
“You need more sleep,” Cassie said after giving him a hug. “You look tired.”
Alex smiled, pretending that her hug didn’t just feel like it cost him a year of his life. “I’m fine, Cass. Thanks to you, I hear.”
She shrugged. “What’s a twin for if not blood transfusions? Will you take it easy for a while?”
“I always take it easy,” Alex told her.
Cassie rolled her eyes.
After handshakes, hugs, and many questions about what happened, Trent and Siale practically herded the students out of the room.
“He’ll be back to school tomorrow,” Trent reassured them.
“Glad you’re feeling better,” Pip called.
“Torin’s saved the toilets for you,” Nate said.
“Great,” Alex mumbled as the door closed. “Maybe I should go back to bed.”
Siale ducked under his arm. “You can stop pretending to be so tough now.”
“I am tough,” Alex protested, letting her help him back to the bed mostly just to be close to her.
“I think a kitten could take you on right now,” Trent noted.
Alex sat on the edge of the bed. “Kittens are much stronger than people give them credit for.”
A knock sounded on the door. When it opened, Alex smiled at the sight of Jaze and Mouse standing there.
“How are you feeling?” Jaze asked.
“Oh, you know, one hundred percent,” Alex replied.
Jaze grinned. “Liar.”
“Maybe,” Alex said with a one shoulder shrug.
“We brought you something,” Mouse told him. The professor pulled a screen from the case he was carrying.
“You’re going to show him now?” Trent asked. “I was thinking we could make a bigger production of this, you know, balloons, big screen, fireworks.”
“Fireworks?” Mouse asked.
“I know, not exactly low profile, but maybe that doesn’t matter anymore.”
Trent’s reply perked Alex’s interest. “Okay, what is it?”
Mouse handed Alex the screen. Siale took a seat on the bed next to him. At Alex’s motion, Trent grinned and took a seat on his other side. Alex didn’t know what to expect. He let out a slow breath and pushed the play button.
Chapter Twenty-five
The video showed one of the members of the news team from Greyton City. He looked a bit worn from his experience, but smiled bravely at the camera.
“Alex Davies is a name now known across the nation. It is time that someone told the true story of this young werewolf who was brave enough to change our city and our hearts.”
The video showed Alex in his hoodie walking out of one of the gang hideouts with the girls around him. It was obvious by the way they stuck close to him that they weren’t afraid of him. Police officers swarmed forward and Alex spoke softly to the girls. At his encouraging nod, they went to the officers. The image faded at the sight of Alex walking away into the darkness, his hands in his pockets and a silver seven just visible on the sleeve of his hoodie.
“Alex saved many of our daughters, sisters, friends, and loved ones from the gangs of the Saa. Thanks to his bravery and the continued efforts of the Greyton City Police Department, the gangs of the Saa have significantly reduced their illegal activity within the city. The streets are safer and families are becoming less afraid to walk the sidewalks.”
The video shifted to an image of school children playing at the park in the evening. Alex smiled at the sight of Cherish, Tanner, Sarah, Josh, and Jen kicking a soccer ball in the middle of the grassy field.
“That’s where it all started,” he said quietly.
The next video sent ice through his veins. It was the clip of Drogan addressing the city.
His mismatched eyes leered from the screen. “I’ll kill a hostage every half hour until Alex Carso appears at Greyton City Hospital. I have no qualms against bloodshed.” The camera showed the one of his victims on the floor before it shifted back up to Drogan. “The camera crew of Greyton’s evening news can vouch that this is real. Alex, brother, if I can’t take out your precious Academy, I’ll hurt the city you seem to love.”
The news reporter came back on the screen. “We were held hostage in the Greyton City Hospital by Drogan Carso, wanted for Extremist activity and murder. Alex went there in answer to the broadcast, willing to trade his life for the human hostages Drogan Carso held.”
The next image showed Alex stepping out of the elevator doors. It showed Drogan talking about the position Jaze had been placed in, forcing him to choose between killing werewolves on national television or letting his mother die. It revealed Drogan giving the order for the hospital to be lit on fire despite Alex arguing against it. It then showed Jenkins throwing the little girl out the window.
There was a breathless moment of silence as Alex ran across the floor and dove outside. The camera followed him, recording him catching the little girl. The scene shifted to another camera that showed him landing hard on the cement. It was obvious how shaky he was when Officer Dune ran up to him. Alex handed to little girl over and ran back into the now-flaming building.
“We were taken to another building and chained to the walls. Drogan Carso demanded that we record Alex slaying the human hostages. When we refused...” He swallowed, then said, “Drogan shot Jeff Sampson.” He ran a hand down his face and continued, “I didn’t even think Alex could stand. He had received a wound in his stomach that kept bleeding even though I thought werewolves could heal quickly. Drogan said something about silver in the wound. When Alex refused to kill the humans, Drogan brought down Alex’s sister.”
The video showed Alex’s face when Siale was brought into the room. Alex’s stomach clenched at the memory of seeing her captive. He kept shaking his head as if denying that she was there. She was shoved into the cell when Drogan took his phone call. The scene shifted, showing Alex and Siale sitting together on the floor. From the news team’s point of view, they couldn’t hear what the pair was saying. It looked like a heartbreaking scene of hopelessness where they tried to say their goodbyes. The scene then showed Jenkins threatening to shoot the humans. Alex argued, trying to save their lives.
“Jaze Carso attacked the building. When the missile struck, Jenkins, Drogan’s second in command, tried to kill all human hostages.”
The scene showed the gunmen advancing on the news team and the other humans. The camera showed Alex morphing into rage mode. He tore through the cage and took down the guards in a bloody, efficient attack. Jenkins had a gun pressed to Siale’s head. A shot rang out and
Jenkins’ bullet only clipped her. Alex finished him quickly.
The scene was shaky as though the cameraman couldn’t keep the camera steady after all that he had seen. It showed someone banging on the door, and Alex crossing to place himself between the humans, Siale, and whoever was trying to come through.
The next scene shifted to a shot of Cherish addressing the camera. “Alex Davies is a hero,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I’m here because of him.”
“He’s my hero,” one of the girls from the Saa said.
“He brought my sister home,” a boy Alex recognized from the hallway of Cherish’s apartment told the camera.
The next interview was Mrs. Summers. “Werewolves don’t need to be feared. They’re just like us. They love and care for their families just like we do. They should be allowed to live normal lives.”
Alex was surprised to see Trent next. “Alex is my closest friend,” he said, his expression proud. Alex glanced at him and the werewolf ducked his head in embarrassment. “His parents were killed by human Extremists, forcing him to live as an orphan. Yet he has been the most vocal advocate toward repairing relationships between humans and werewolves that I know. He is a good guy, a little reckless, but the greatest person I’ve ever met. I’m proud to say that Alex Davies is my very best friend.”
Alex squeezed Trent’s shoulder. The werewolf gave him a small smile. “I hope that was okay.”
“It was perfect,” Alex replied quietly.
The video shifted back to the reporter. “Alex Davies is a hero. Perhaps his actions show that it is time to reconsider our views on werewolves. Prejudice is another name for fear, and fear comes from ignorance. What I’ve learned about werewolves over these past few days has given me more understanding about their race than I’ve ever had. I no longer fear them because I understand that we are fighting for the same thing.”
The camera moved in as the reporter spoke directly to the screen. “Alex was willing to give up his life to save humans he didn’t even know. If a seventeen year old werewolf with more than enough reason to hate humans can put aside his prejudice and show such bravery, can’t we do the same and give werewolves the chance to prove that they are able to live among us? This is Cooper Peterson grateful to be addressing you tonight because a werewolf had the courage to confront a terrorist and prevent mass murder. Have a good evening, Greyton City.”
