by Cheree Alsop
“Well, students, are you ready to join the prom?” Principal Dalton asked.
Jaze and Nikki waited expectantly behind them. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” Jaze asked.
Alex nodded. He felt a slight tremble in Siale’s fingers when she took his arm again. It was the only sign she gave of the nervousness she felt. He put a hand over hers and gave her a reassuring smile.
“It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded, her gray eyes soft. Their friends fell in around them as they followed the principal past the waiting crowd of humans.
“Go home, werewolves,” someone spat.
“You’re nothing but beasts,” a woman called out.
A man with beady eyes glared at Alex and Siale. “Beastiality is a sin,” he said.
“Alex Davies is a hero,” a female voice yelled from the back of the crowd.
“Yeah, the Demon saved my daughter,” a man shouted.
Arguments rippled through the group. Adrenaline surged through Alex’s veins. Blue began to stand out in the things he saw, Terith’s blue dress in front of him, the dark blue of the evening sky above, the blue flecks in Siale’s gaze when she gave him a worried look.
“Breathe,” she whispered. “I can hear your heart skipping.”
Alex put a hand to it. She was right. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” she said in his ear. “You are in control.”
Alex nodded and willed his heart to calm. He focused on pushing the commotion of the crowd away and concentrated on maintaining his self-control. After a moment, the blue faded and his heart slowed.
“I’m okay,” he told her, opening his eyes again.
“Good,” she replied with a warm smile.
Something caught the corner of Alex’s eye. He turned in time to see a soda can fly past him toward Jordan. With werewolf-fast reflexes, Trent grabbed the can before it nailed his date in the head.
Silence fell throughout the crowd and spread to the werewolf students, Jaze and Nikki, the mayor, and the principal. Alex could feel it, the turning point where either mass chaos could break out, or the situation could be dissolved.
Trent met his gaze; the werewolf’s eyes were wide. Alex didn’t know what to do or say.
To his surprise, Trent popped the top of the can and took a deep gulp of the drink. He gave a satisfied breath and held it up. “Thank you. I was thirsty.”
The crowd laughed. The tension dissolved. Even those who had been hostile exchanged relieved looks as if they realized how easily things could have gotten out of hand.
“Let’s get you guys inside,” the mayor said.
Alex patted Trent on the back. “That was quick thinking.”
Trent shrugged. “I needed a drink.”
Jordan gave him a huge smile. “You are amazing.”
“Say it too often and I’ll start to believe it,” he replied.
She laughed and leaned against him as they made their way into the school.
“Alex, Jericho,” Cherish called when they walked inside the door. She hurried through the students and gave Alex a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
She stepped back and gave Jericho a shy smile. “You, too.”
The Alpha’s mouth had dropped open at her appearance. “You look so beautiful.”
Cherish smoothed a hand down the waist of her red silk dress. “You don’t think it’s too much?”
Jericho shook his head. “It’s perfect. You are absolutely perfect.” He took her hand and she led him through the staring students.
“Come on in,” Tanner said, stepping through the crowd with Sarah at his side. “We’ll show you around.”
Alex felt nervous at the thought of walking through so many students who stared at him and the other werewolves as if they were afraid of being attacked. He glanced back at Jaze. The dean gave him a small smile and nodded his head as if to say take the chance.
Alex gave his friends a reassuring smile and followed Tanner and Sarah.
About halfway through the students, a hand touched his shoulder. Alex glanced back and recognized Amber, the very first girl he had rescued in his search to free Sarah. Without a word, Amber threw her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. He felt her tears soak his shirt.
“Thank you so much,” she said.
“I’m glad I could help,” Alex told her.
She stepped back and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t know if I would get a chance to thank you. I was so scared that day that I didn’t even think about it, and I’ve regretted it ever since. You were so brave.”
“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if the other girls would have followed me.” He smiled at her. “I can be a little scary, and you were the brave one.”
“You were amazing,” she said. She smiled at him and Siale. “Have a fun night. I’m so glad you’re here.”
They made their way through the students to the gymnasium that had been decorated as a dance hall. Music was already playing. Tanner led Sarah to the floor. Jericho and Cherish followed.
“Shall we?” Alex asked Siale
“I’ve never danced before,” she replied with a hint of nervousness.
Alex grinned. “Me, neither. At least we’ll make it a night to remember.”
She laughed and accepted his offer. Together, they found a place on the floor and began to sway to the music. After a few awkward minutes passed, other couples joined them; soon the gymnasium was filled with couples enjoying the music. It stopped being human and werewolves. Students stopped caring whether they bumped into each other or brushed elbows during the dance. Everyone was on the same page, couples enjoying their first prom. Alex was grateful the humans had dared to invite the werewolf students to experience it with them.
Alex and Siale eventually made their way to the group of decorated round tables where the other werewolves relaxed. To his surprise, human students had joined them.
“How does it feel to change into a wolf?” a student asked Pip.
“We call it phasing,” Pip explained, “And it’s awesome!”
Several students smiled.
“Do you like being a wolf better or a human?” a girl asked Cassie.
Cassie met Alex’s gaze and smiled. “I like them both. Sometimes I think werewolf boys act more like animals.”
The girls around her laughed.
“All boys are animals,” another confessed.
“Hey!” her date replied as he returned with a cup of punch.
“Did you bring me one?” she asked.
“No,” he replied, sounding confused.
The girl gave a dramatic sigh and the others girls laughed.
“They require a bit of training,” she explained.
Cassie set her hand on Tennison’s. “Some werewolves are gentlemen, I have to admit. Tennison took me on a moonlit walk through the forest the other night. It was romantic.”
The other girls around her peppered her with questions.
“I guess things are going well,” Alex told Siale, leading her to a seat.
“Better than we hoped,” she replied with a smile that filled her eyes.
“I’ll go get you some punch.”
“Be careful.” At his questioning look, she said, “I’ve heard drinks get spiked at dances like this. Use your nose.”
He chuckled. “You’re probably the only girl telling her guy to use his nose.”
He made his way through the crowd with the sound of students laughing and mingling filling his ears.
“How are things going?” Nikki asked from near the concessions table.
“Great,” Alex told her. “Everyone seems to be having a good time.”
“Thanks to you,” Jaze said. “You did a good job.”
Alex smiled at the dean’s praise.
He was reaching for two cups of punch when Jaze said, “Your friend Officer Dune is patrolling out back. He said to send you by to say hello if you get the chance.”
“Is everything okay?” Jaze asked.
Alex nodded. “Just figured I would say hello now.” He stepped through the door and made his way down the hallway that echoed the commotion of the dance just beyond.
Alex shoved open the closest door and stepped out into the cool night air. Making his way silently along the school wall, Alex paused at the corner. He could make out the form of Officer Dune standing alone behind the building.
He walked up to the officer with a smile. “I heard you wanted to talk to me, Officer Dune?”
The officer turned at the sound of Alex’s voice. He gave a small smile. The sound of a silenced gun being fired met Alex’s ears the same time that something buried into his chest, forcing him back a few steps with the impact. Alex looked down and his eyes widened at the sight of a strange dart protruding from the front of his tuxedo. He glanced up and saw a gun in the officer’s hand.
“Sorry, Alex. Money talks,” Officer Dune said.
The Werewolf Academy Series
Book 6- Vengeance
By Cheree Alsop
Chapter One
Alex walked up to Officer Dune. “I heard you wanted to talk to me?”
The officer turned at the sound of Alex’s voice. He gave a small smile. Something hit Alex’s chest so hard he stumbled backwards a few steps. The sound of a silenced gun being fired rebounded off the school. Alex looked down. A strange dart protruded from the front of his tuxedo. He glanced up and saw a gun in the officer’s hand.
“Sorry, Alex. Money talks,” Officer Dune said.
The man’s voice was strangely muffled past the ringing that filled Alex’s ears. He stumbled backwards against the rough brick of the school. His chest felt constricted and he had a hard time pulling in a breath. Alex fell to the ground. His last glimpse was of Officer Dune shoving the gun back behind his belt.
The officer lifted a cell phone to his ear. “I’ve got him.”
***
Alex woke up feeling as though someone was standing on his chest. He held perfectly still, trying to remember where he was and why. Disjointed memories of the prom and talking to Officer Dune came to mind. His muscles tightened when he remembered being shot with the dart. Officer Dune had said something about money talking. He wondered who could offer the officer enough money to turn against a friend.
He had to know where he was. Alex pushed down the urge to open his eyes and instead used his other werewolf senses.
The scent of concrete matched the hard press of the floor that sent a chill through his clothes. He smelled blood, thick, gelatinous, and tinged with the overly coppery scent of werewolf that set his teeth on edge. Human smells came to his nose, but only a few were fresh as though wherever he was had been well used until recently.
His ears picked up the slight tapping of fingers on a keyboard, but it was faint as if the sound came from a few rooms away. The hum of several machines whirred in a corner. He could hear footsteps that echoed in a distant hallway. No voices reached his ears.
Alex listened harder, searching the space around him for the sound of breathing or a heartbeat. He had to know if there were people present before he opened his eyes.
He was alone. Only his own unsteady heartbeat and labored breathing met his ears. He opened his eyes slowly.
Whatever Officer Dune had shot him with made it hard to even force his eyelids to stay open. He couldn’t move his head to the side; he could only stare up at the neon light on the ceiling that beat down mercilessly with its own persistent hum. From the corner of his eye, Alex made out where glass met at a metal corner. His heart fell. He was in a cage.
Footsteps drew closer. He closed his eyes, willing his breathing to slow. He wasn’t fond of cages. The last one he had been captive in was in Drogan’s helicopter and ended up with them crashing to the ground. Wolves weren’t made to be locked in cages and werewolves even less so.
“We know you’re awake.” The voice was high pitched and nasal. “You might be a bit uncomfortable, but it should pass. Our new formula is a mite more powerful than we expected, but with your abilities, we didn’t want to underestimate.”
Alex kept perfectly still. Part of him had expected Drogan, but there was no smell of his half-brother in the room. Instead, the smell of humans and antiseptic permeated the air. He had no idea what they wanted, but the cage didn’t bode well. Alex had no idea how long he had been out and knew Siale and the others would be worried sick. He had to get back to them somehow.
“Pretend to be asleep all you want,” the woman continued. “We’ll begin our work as soon as your companion shows up.”
A phone rang. A button was pushed. “Dr. Kamala, they’ve arrived.”
“Thank you,” the woman replied.
Their footsteps faded from the room.
Adrenaline rushed through Alex. He concentrated on his fingers, willing them to move. He wondered what companion the woman was talking about. Given the situation, it didn’t bode well for whoever they brought in. Fear for Cassie or Siale filled him. He had to get moving so he could defend who they had managed to catch.
His little finger on his left hand twitched. Alex gritted his teeth, concentrating on the slight movement. He forced every ounce of energy he had to his left hand. His other fingers began to respond. When his left hand closed, his focused on the right. The lethargy faded from it much more quickly.
Through sheer strength of determination, Alex was sitting up when the door opened again. Whatever they had shot him with was stronger than anything he had experienced before. He figured he had enough strength to stand, but barely. He could only hope it would be enough to get him out of the cage.
A smell rushed through the door as the woman entered. Alex’s lips pulled back from his teeth in a silent snarl. He expected Drogan to walk through confident and cocky at having Alex captive. Instead, to Alex’s shock, four guards were carrying the unconscious form of the Extremist leader between them.
Dr. Kamala pulled a strange key from the lanyard around her neck and inserted it in the door. When Alex pushed to his feet, she shook her head.
“Make one move and my guards will shoot you again. With a double dose of our concentrated liquid silver coursing through your body, I’m not sure you’ll actually survive. Do you want to take that risk?” her voice hung in the air, the last word curled up high as though asked by a concerned parrot.
Alex leaned against the glass wall and made no move toward the door when it was pulled open. Drogan’s still form was tossed inside and the guards moved quickly out again. Dr. Kamala put the circular key in the lock and turned it. The mechanics of several locking structures clicked into place behind a sheet of metal. Alex had no doubt by the smell that the lock was coated in silver.
“As soon as he wakes up, we’ll begin,” Dr. Kamala said with a satisfied nod. She turned and stalked away. The staccato click of her heels was a painful counterbalance to the heavy footsteps of the four guards who followed her back down the hall.
Alex dropped to his knees. He eyed Drogan, his chest heaving and heart pounding at the proximity to his enemy. Part of him debated whether he should just kill Drogan while the Extremist was unable to defend himself. The wolf side of him agreed wholeheartedly; his human side argued that it would be completely wrong.
As much as he wanted to tear Drogan’s throat out, he also had no idea where they were or why they had been taken. Perhaps Drogan could be his key in escaping. If they were looking for a werewolf, he could throw the Extremist under the bus. He had to get out of there, and if killing Drogan defeated his chance of escaping, he figured he could practice a little self-control and wait until he knew exactly what they were up against.
Against the protest of his entire wolf side, Alex sat back against the wall as far as he could get from the Extremist and forced himself to use the patience that wa
s the very least of his strengths.
“About time,” Alex muttered when Drogan began to stir.
The Extremist leader lifted a hand and rubbed his eyes. Alex was reminded that Drogan was an Alpha by how quickly he appeared to be recovering from the concentrated silver. It set Alex’s nerves on edge.
Drogan tipped his head to one side. His eyes narrowed when he saw Alex. “What are you doing here?” the Extremist growled.
Alex didn’t move from his seat against the glass. “I could ask you the same thing,” he answered levelly.
Drogan grunted and rolled over. He pushed up to a kneeling position. “I feel like I have a hangover.”
“Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?” Alex asked.
Drogan shot him a look, his mismatched eyes filled with aggression. “Want to fight it out right now?”
Alex snorted. “Like you’re in a great position for a duel.”
“I could say the same about you,” Drogan replied, looking him over more carefully.
Alex sat up straight, pushing away all appearance of the headache the silver had left him with. “Better than you,” he replied shortly.
Drogan sat against the opposite side of the glass cage. “So why are we here?” At Alex’s silence, the Alpha hit the glass with the side of his fist as though to test it, not break it. “I’ve designed cages just like this. It’s bulletproof. We’re not going to shatter it.”
“Great deduction, Sherlock,” Alex replied dryly.
Drogan was about to respond when footsteps sounded down the hall. Both werewolves watched the door.
Dr. Kamala entered with her cronies close behind.
Drogan’s eyes widened and he looked even angrier than he had upon waking up and finding himself in the same cage as Alex.
“Dr. Kamala, what are you doing here?”
Her eyes narrowed behind her green thin-framed glasses. “What’s wrong, Drogan? Surprised I’m not dead.”
Alex stared from one to the other, amazed that they knew each other. Whatever he had gotten in the middle of, perhaps he wasn’t the focus. He chose to stay silent and watch in the hopes that he would find an out that could possibly still leave Drogan in the unbreakable cage.
