by Cheree Alsop
“Don’t mind her,” Tennison said, his tall, thin frame appearing behind Cassie. “She’s just mad you missed the Choosing Ceremony.”
Alex glanced back at Jericho who lounged on the couch behind them. “I assume I got Chosen.”
“It was a close thing,” Jericho replied. At Alex’s raised eyebrows, the Alpha laughed. “Of course you’re my Second. Who else would it be?”
Alex tipped his head toward his sister’s boyfriend. “Tennison, here, would make a much more docile choice.”
“Alex,” Cassie said, rolling her eyes.
Tennison shrugged, smiling at Alex’s sarcasm. “You’d probably have fewer scuffs with Pack Boris and Pack Torin, but somehow I don’t think you like avoiding them.”
Jericho chuckled. “As much as it doesn’t make sense, Alex’s sense of rebellion has given us something to rally behind. I suppose seeking out contention does have its benefits.”
Alex dropped onto the couch across from Jericho. “Not seeking it out,” he protested. “It just happens to find me.”
“Sure it does,” Cassie said.
“Sure what does?”
Alex’s heart skipped a beat. He turned to see Kalia leaning in the doorway from the girls’ quarters.
“Sure contention just has a way of finding me,” Alex said. He couldn’t help but smile at the way her eyes lit up when she looked at him. Her gaze was pale, icy blue, but he knew from more intimate conversations that her irises held so many colors of blue he didn’t know the name of them all. The thought of seeing her again had made the helicopter ride home feel so much longer. Now that she stood in front of him, he didn’t know what to say.
Her eyes creased at the corners when she answered, “It does have a way of finding you.”
Alex allowed a hurt expression to cross his face. “Is everyone against me? I leave for one night and come back to an Academy full of Termers and my own pack suddenly turncoat?” He studied Kalia’s face, trying not to be distracted by the way her white-blonde hair swept across her chin as she looked down at him. She had cut it during the break. It used to brush her shoulders, now it was jaw-length and made her look stunning as she stared down at him, her eyes glittering and stark amid the white. “Have you been convincing them not to trust me?”
Kalia nodded. “I figure you need one less pack in your fan club.”
Alex laughed. “I don’t have a fan club.”
She was about to reply when a blur of curly blonde hair rushed by her and jumped over the couch onto Alex’s lap.
“I’m so glad you’re back!” little Caitlyn said, planting a kiss on Alex’s cheek. “I missed you.”
At Alex’s surprised look, Cassie laughed. “She did that to every werewolf in our pack.”
Caitlyn nodded, her green eyes wide. The youngest member of Pack Jericho sighed, “It was such a long summer. I missed everyone.”
Alex smiled down at the eight year old. “We missed you, too.”
“Really?” she asked.
It was hard not to laugh at the amazement in her voice, but Alex managed to keep a straight face. “Really.”
Caitlyn kissed him on the cheek one more time, then rushed from the room again.
“Where is she going?”
“To unpack,” Caitlyn called down the hall.
“Hi, Alex.”
Alex grinned at the huge werewolf who ducked through the door from the boys’ hallway.
“Amos, you’re back!” Alex exclaimed.
“Parker no like me,” Amos explained.
Alex laughed. “I can’t blame him. You broke his arm twice last term.” He winked at the huge werewolf. “Maybe the other packs thought you did it on purpose and didn’t choose you so we could.”
“That’s what I told him,” Jericho said. The eighteen year old Alpha leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “At least this term we got everyone we wanted.”
There was something in his tone that caught Alex’s attention. “Who else did we get?”
“I’m not sure if you’ll be happy about it,” a familiar voice said.
The sight of Pip standing behind Amos made Alex’s breath catch in his throat. The small werewolf with huge ears had almost gotten him and Cassie killed two terms back when he gave Drogan information on their whereabouts in order to protect his family Drogan was holding captive. Alex had forgiven him, but couldn’t deny that it had been a relief not to have him at the Academy last term.
He took a calming breath and rose from the couch.
Pip blinked at him. The small werewolf looked as though he wished he could disappear into the doorframe he leaned against.
Alex felt Cassie’s gaze on his back as he crossed to the werewolf. He held out a hand. “It’s good to have you back.”
“R-really?” Pip asked. At Alex’s nod, the little werewolf shook the Second’s hand. “If there’s anything you need, anything at all, I’ll get it for you.” Pip said quickly, relief in his voice. “Do you want cookies, socks, a television?”
Alex shook his head with a laugh. “I don’t need anything.” He paused. “You could get a television in here?”
“I could try?” Pip said, doubt heavy in his voice.
Alex grinned. “I really don’t need anything, Pip. I’m glad you’re here.”
“Me, too,” Cassie said from behind Alex. “Is your family okay?” Only she and Alex knew the details of what had happened, but knowing that Jaze was able to free Pip’s family and send them all to safety had made everything worth it.
Pip nodded. “They’re great. This term is going to be a lot better than my first one.”
“Definitely,” Alex replied. He looked back at Jericho. “You’ve built us a good pack.”
Jericho gave a nonchalant shrug. “I tried.” He grinned at his Second, his brown eyes glittering. “I’m sure you’ll find a way to make things interesting.”
Alex nodded. “That’s a promise.” A thought occurred to him. “I missed the food fight, so let’s go for a run.”
“Are you sure?” Jericho asked with a hint of concern.
“Drogan’s locked up and the General’s too busy laying false trails for Jaze and the GPA while he tries to track down his son. Even Jaze agrees we’re safe for a while,” Alex told him.
Jericho nodded. “Alright, then. We could use a run to stretch our legs after Cook Jerald’s barbecue ribs and potatoes.”
“Rub it in,” Alex said, rolling his eyes.
Cassie slipped her arm through Tennison’s. “We’re in.”
“If you can keep up,” Tennison said.
The tall, skinny werewolf was the fastest Alex had seen. He grinned at the challenge. “Oh, I’ll keep up.”
“Let’s go,” Jericho called, his voice reaching down the halls of Pack Jericho’s quarters.
Marky, Von, Trent, and Terith appeared.
Trent grinned at Alex. “Another term together, huh?”
“Hopefully with fewer helicopters,” Terith said, following her brother into the room. “I don’t know if I could survive another of Trent’s landings.”
“I’ve been practicing,” Trent protested.
Terith shook her head. “There is no way I’m getting in another of those machines with you.”
Jericho held up a hand to stop the argument. “I agree with Terith. Fewer helicopters would be a good thing. We never know where the term is going to take us.” He looked around at his pack. The tall werewolf’s brown eyes showed pride when he said, “Let’s make this the best term yet.”
A cheer went up from the pack.
“First order of business, a run through the forest,” Jericho commanded.
The cheer intensified. Everyone disappeared to their rooms to phase in privacy. Alex was almost to his door when he remembered that Kalia couldn’t join them. She was the only person at the Academy who was caught between being a human and a werewolf. Her older brother Boris was the Alpha of his pack, but he and Kalia didn’t exact get along. Her ex-Extremist parents sent K
alia to the Academy out of fear because her eyes changed gold whenever she got upset or worried. They thought it might be a sign that she was going to phase, and Jaze supported their placement of her at the school.
That left a girl who wasn’t a werewolf but didn’t fit into the human world, either. Even though she had first been afraid of the werewolves, her time at the Academy had changed that. Alex hated that she felt trapped between both worlds. He wished there was something he could do to help.
Alex jogged back up the hallway and found Kalia sitting on the couch.
“I’m sorry. I should have remembered that you couldn’t go,” he apologized.
The frustration on her face vanished at his words. Kalia gave him a warm smile, something that was becoming more of a constant since Alex spent Christmas break at her house the previous term.
“You don’t have to worry about me,” she said.
Alex sat next to her on the couch. He took her hand, surprising himself with his forwardness. The feeling of her fingers in his stole what he was about to say. “I, uh, well, I...”
He let the words die away, knowing how stupid he sounded. He knew he was supposed to be doing something, but he couldn’t remember what it was. Sitting so close to her suddenly made him shy, nervous, and happy all at the same time. She smelled so good, a mixture of clover and honey that was better than anything he had ever smelled before. He felt torn between wanting to run away and never wanting to leave.
He couldn’t understand how things had changed. The first term, she could barely stand him and he had destroyed what there was of their friendship when he accused her of feeding information to Drogan. The second term, even though she had only begun to trust him again, she had invited him to her home during Christmas to protect him from Drogan’s attacks. By the time the term ended and she went home, they had truly been friends.
This term felt different. Since the moment Alex had seen Kalia again, he felt like he was using only half of his brain as the other half was constantly wondering where she was and what she was doing. He had only been near her less than an hour and already he felt like he was swimming through a fog, a blissful, honey and clover scented fog, but one that muddled his thoughts and made him feel confused.
He stood. “I, uh, I’ve got to go. The others are waiting for me.”
That wasn’t true. Nobody had appeared from the bedrooms yet. The encounter with her had only taken a few minutes at the most, but they felt like hours. Alex tripped as he hurried around the couch. He hit the floor on his hands and knees and rolled back up in a move that, while quite awesome, probably made him look like an idiot in its ridiculousness. He didn’t dare look at her.
“I’ll, uh, see you after the run,” he said, ducking into his room.
Alex shoved the door shut and leaned against it. His heart pounded as if he had run twenty miles. Every dozen beats or so, it skipped one, making his breath catch in his throat.
“I’m an idiot,” he whispered. He banged his head softly against the door. “I am such an idiot.”
The sound of wolves running into the common room caught his ears. He blew out a loud breath and pulled off his shirt.
Chapter Three
“Did you have a nice run?”
Alex turned with a smile. “Hi Meri-uh, Mom.” Finding out that the woman he had thought was his aunt last term had turned out to be his mother changed everything in his life. The General had used her and thrown her away. When her twins were born, she had given Alex and Cassie to her sister and brother-in-law to raise and protect after their own son Jet had been stolen. It made Alex determined to show her his gratitude by accepting the truth about their relationship.
She was his mother, and she had done everything she could to protect him and Cassie. She loved them enough to let them continue believing that her sister Mindi and husband Will were the twins’ parents because that is what they had grown up believing, and to her, it had been enough just to be a part of their lives again.
Yet when Drogan revealed the truth of Alex and Cassie’s heritage, it took so much from Alex. He still reeled at the thought of what it all meant, and grasping at the fact that they had a mother who was still alive had given him something to hold onto amid the chaos.
He smiled. “It was a good run, although Tennison beat us all back to the Academy. I’ll have to let him know that in a normal pack without an Alpha as easygoing as Jericho, it’d probably be best to let the Alpha win.”
“You don’t think Boris or Torin would have taken the loss so smoothly?” Meredith asked.
Both of them stood in a silence for a second until Meredith’s lips twitched into the smile she couldn’t hold back. They burst into laughter.
“Yeah, right,” Alex replied, grinning at her. “Tennison would have toilet duty for a month.”
Meredith nodded. “That’s putting it lightly.”
She leaned against the door where Alex looked out at the courtyard lit by the glow of the lamps that ringed it. Jet’s black wolf statue stood in the middle of the grass near one end, overseeing to the safety of the Academy.
Alex glanced at his mother. “You’re up late. Is everything alright?”
She smiled. “I could say the same about you, but I’ve learned that you’re a night owl.” She tipped her head toward the medical wing. “Parker and Sid got into a rank duel. Sid broke Parker’s arm and Parker broke Sid’s nose. They’ll be fine in the morning.”
Alex shook his head. “Parker sure gets his arms broken a lot.”
Meredith nodded. “I thought not having Amos in his pack would be good for him. Turns out he goes looking for it.”
“Do you know who won?” Alex asked her curiously.
Meredith thought about it for a moment. “Boris and Torin dragged them both in here. Neither looked too pleased, so I’d say it was a draw. Usually you can tell a victor by his Alpha.”
Alex gave a snort of amusement. “Jericho was pretty happy when I beat Sid in a rank duel last year.”
“Better keep an eye on Parker. Apparently he’s come back thinking Termers are better than the Lifers,” Meredith warned. “It wouldn’t take much for him to come after you.”
“I’ll be ready,” Alex replied. “Thanks for the head’s up.”
Meredith patted his shoulder. “It sounds like you guys had quite the rescue. I’m proud of you saving those people tonight.”
“Thanks,” Alex said, touched.
Meredith gave him a quick hug, then left back up the hall to the medical wing.
Alex appreciated the fact that she never pushed being a mother on either him or Cassie. During the summer, Meredith and Cassie had gotten extra close. Cassie especially warmed to the idea of having a mother at the Academy. Losing the parents who had raised them had left her a bit lost at times. Alex had shielded her from seeing their deaths, and the memory refused to leave his mind.
He pushed open the door and walked out into the night. The moon brushed the tops of the trees; its light settled on his shoulders like a warm blanket as he made his way to the statue. Alex was almost to it when he realized someone else sat on the other side.
“It’s alright,” Jaze said, his voice welcoming. “You can join me.”
Alex smiled as he walked around and found the dean sitting in the grass with his back against the base of Jet’s statue.
“I don’t want to intrude,” Alex began.
Jaze shook his head, his brown eyes warm as he smiled up at the student. “You never intrude, and you have as much right to be here, if not more.”
Alex sat down against the base and let his thoughts settle for a moment. Jaze gave him his silence, something the young werewolf always appreciated.
“I don’t know if I have as much right,” he said quietly.
He felt Jaze glance at him, but kept his gaze on the grass beneath his bare feet.
“You mean because of the General?”
Alex nodded. “General Jared Carso is my father.” The words felt thick in his mouth and tast
ed bitter. He never wanted to say them again. He stared hard at the grass. “What do I do with that?”
Jaze was silent for a moment before he said, “None of us can choose our parents.”
Alex looked at him. “At least your parents wanted you.”
Jaze nodded. “Yes, they did. I had great parents.” Sorrow filled his gaze. “But they were still taken from me. My dad was murdered by my uncle Mason, and my mom was shot when I refused to kill werewolves on television to prove to the world that we are animals.” He tipped his head back against the statue. “Life isn’t always what we choose for it to be, Alex. But it’s up to us to make the best of what we have.”
“You made all of this,” Alex said, his heart aching at the pain in the dean’s voice. Jaze was always so strong, so solid. It was very seldom that he opened up to Alex about the past. Alex knew he only understood the very tip of what had happened to the dean. He couldn’t imagine the iceberg Jaze held buried beneath his calm exterior.
Jaze nodded. “The Academy has definitely saved a few.” He threw Alex a smile. “Jet would be proud of that. He gave up his life hoping we would be able to save our race, and we’ve done what we could.”
“We’re still doing it,” Alex replied, thinking of the werewolf rescue.
“Yes, we are,” Jaze agreed. He ran a hand along the cool grass. “So the General is your father and Meredith is your mother. At least one of your bloodlines is good.”
Alex couldn’t keep back the smile that crossed his face. “You share the General’s bloodline, and the mom and dad who raised me are blood because they were my aunt and uncle.”
“And Jet was your cousin.”
The thought sent a pang through Alex’s heart. He sighed. “But it’s not the same. He was my brother.”
Jaze let out a slow breath. When he spoke again, the bare truth in his words held Alex. “Jet was my brother, too. We didn’t share blood, but we bled for each other. We didn’t share parents, but we survived the same horrors and became stronger because of them. It doesn’t take blood to make a brother.” He put a hand over his heart. “It’s in here. Brothers share a soul, a heartbeat; they bleed together, fight together, and have each other’s backs. When Jet was with me, I was never afraid. I knew he had my back, and he never let me down.” His voice softened. “I used to wonder if I let him down the day he died.”
