by Cheree Alsop
“Thanks, Cass. I don’t want to hurt her.”
She nodded and gave him a fond smile. “I know you don’t. Girls can be difficult to deal with.”
Alex smiled. “Tell me about it.”
He stayed in the tunnel long after Cassie had left.
Chapter Twenty-two
“Okay, class, open to page seventy-five,” Meredith instructed.
“Math sucks,” Sid muttered.
Pack Torin snickered.
Alex rolled his eyes and opened his book to the page his mother had instructed. It was the same thing every time they reached geometry. Someone in Pack Torin complains through the entire class period. Apparently it was Sid’s turn to make interruptions and bother Alex and Cassie’s mom. Meredith wasn’t being singled out. Pack Torin made sure every class they were in was filled with heckling and rude comments. Alex wished Torin would rein in his werewolves once in a while if just for the peace and quiet.
“If you did your homework last night, this chapter will be easy,” Meredith said with a warm smile. “We’ve already finished the ten-ten geometry class this term and we’re onto twenty-ten. You’re well into completing both of these college courses before this year is out, and if you stay on task, you won’t fall behind.
Cassie raised her hand. “I did the bonus questions. Will that help?”
“Definitely,” Meredith answered, smiling at her daughter.
“Brown-noser,” Sid muttered.
“Shut up,” Tennison replied.
Alex glanced at the werewolf beside him in surprise. Tennison was usually quiet and reserved. It made him feel better to know that there was someone else willing to stand up for his sister.
Sid didn’t feel the same happiness about it. “What did you say?” he growled. His tone escalated the situation from a normal argument to something serious.
“Cool it,” Jericho said. “You know he and Cassie are together. Say nicer things to people.”
“Don’t tell my pack what to do.” Silence followed Torin’s deadly tone.
“What’s going on?” Trent whispered to Terith, his voice close to panic.
“I don’t know.” Terith replied. “Everyone’s flipping out over nothing.”
Torin stood, shoving his desk back with a screech. “I’m tired of your pack of rejects butting in where they’re not needed.”
Meredith stood motionless at the front of the classroom. Academy protocol forbade teachers from interfering with rank duels. She was unable to get involved.
“Yeah,” Sid said. He glared at Tennison. “Is your little girlfriend too much of a wimp to stand up for herself?”
Tennison rose but Cassie grabbed his hand. “It’s not worth it,” she said. “He outranks you.”
Tennison sat back down, but it was clear by his expression that he was still upset.
“That’s right,” Sid said with mocking laughter in his voice. “I outrank you.”
Alex was tired of the Second’s tone. He slammed his hands down on his desk in the back corner and stood. “Yeah, but you and I are the same rank, Sid.” He tipped his head to the side. “As I recall, I’ve already beaten you. Care to try again?”
Sid paled as though he had forgotten Alex was in the room. Alex had missed enough classes lately that it was understandable.
Sid glanced at Torin. The Alpha’s eyes narrowed. As much as he might have wanted Sid to fight Alex, having his Second lose again would make his pack look weak. Instinct forbade such an action. He gave a small shake of his head.
Sid’s eyes flickered to Kalia who sat near the front of the desks as far from Alex as she could get and still be on Pack Jericho’s side of the room.
“You seriously want to go out with this loser?” the Second asked.
Alex realized at that moment that the fight was a set-up. Torin was trying to make himself look good by goading his pack mates into insulting Alex.
He could choose to keep silent in the hopes that Kalia would believe Sid and give up on him asking her to the dance, or he could fight back. His instincts growled in the back of his mind, refusing to let him stay silent against the verbal attack.
Kalia’s eyes flashed. Alex realized there was a third scenario he hadn’t considered when she said, “Better than going out with some pig-headed Stray who thinks he’s better than the rest of the school.”
Torin looked like he was about to explode. He leaped out of his chair toward Kalia, but Jericho met him in the middle with the force of a battering ram.
Chairs flew and books were destroyed as the Alphas pummeled each other. The packs ringed the edges of the classroom with Meredith waiting wide-eyed by her desk. Alex knew he was supposed to stay out of it. He waited near the fight, his hands clenching and unclenching with the urge to jump in.
A book flew across the room and pegged Jericho in the back of the head as the Alpha’s fist connected with Torin’s face. Alex looked back to see Sid heft another geometry book. The fact that the Second was pummeling Pack Jericho’s Alpha with books to distract him from Torin sent rage rushing through Alex’s limbs. He let out a growl that rattled the windows and charged.
Sid met him halfway like Jericho had, but the build-up was too much. Blue flooded Alex’s vision. Though Alex was in human form, he could feel his muscles pulsing and flexing, expanding his skin as he slammed into Sid. The huge werewolf was thrown backward as though he weighed less than the book he held. Sid hid the wall so hard his body dented the sheetrock.
Alex struggled to catch his breath. His heart thundered in his chest, giving a powerful beat, then skipping several. Alex put a hand on a desk to steady himself. He glanced down to see the muscles bulging in his arms and thick black fingernails gouging the desk. He picked his hand up and stared at it. He looked from it to Sid’s wide eyes where the werewolf sat on the floor beneath the ruined wall, frozen as though afraid to move.
“Alex?”
Cassie’s voice echoed in Alex’s ears. He shook his head. His heart calmed. He could feel himself returning to normal. He glanced behind him to see the two Alphas staring at him, their fight forgotten. Cassie crossed the room quickly, then paused a few steps away as if she was afraid to touch him.
“Alex, what was that?” she asked with a note of fear in her voice.
“I don’t know,” Alex said.
He hated that Cassie was afraid of him. They were all looking at him the same way, as if he had just stepped out of some horror movie. He glanced at Meredith. While there wasn’t fear on his mom’s face, he still saw worry that matched Cassie’s.
“Alex, it’s okay,” Meredith said.
He shook his head. “Nothing’s okay.” His voice sounded deeper and gruff. He fled to the door of the classroom. When he shoved it open, it rebounded against the hallway wall hard enough that the doorknob left a hole.
“See, he’s a freak,” Sid’s voice echoed down the hall.
“Sid, shut up,” Torin and Jericho replied at the same time.
***
A knock sounded at the door. Alex glanced up, expecting to see Jaze. Instead, he was surprised to see Professor Dray standing there. Dray gave him a kind smile.
“Rough day?”
Alex was sitting on his bed with his knees up, his unmade blankets a mess around his ankles. He huffed a sullen chuckle. “You could say that.”
“Mind if I come in?”
When Alex shook his head, Dray entered the room. He glanced around at the sparse furnishings. A shirt had been flung on the only chair, and Alex’s shoes sat beneath the window where he had tossed them.
“You keep it clean.”
“Force of habit. We used to share a room and Cassie would get furious if I made a mess,” Alex replied. He tried to smile, but failed entirely.
Dray moved the shirt to the desk and took a seat on the chair. He was silent a few moments before he said, “I thought I was the only one.”
Alex was surprised at the professor’s words. Dray was one of the few Grays who taught at the Academy
. The other professors and especially Jaze always treated him as an equal. He carried his share during the missions, and though he might not have been as strong as an Alpha, he never complained or shirked from anything Jaze asked of him.
“The only one what?” Alex asked quietly.
Dray’s brow creased and he was silent as though searching for where to start. He finally glanced at Alex and asked, “What do you know of my past?”
Surprised by the question, Alex thought for a minute. “Uh, not much. You like plants, so maybe you were a farmer?”
Dray laughed, a lighthearted sound that lifted Alex’s heart from the trouble he dwelled in. “You’re right about that,” Dray admitted. “I guess the greenhouses gave me away, huh?” He swept a hand through his sun-bleached blond hair. “I was adopted when I was a baby, and my parents didn’t know a thing about werewolves.” He shook his head with an expression of awe. “I don’t even know how they kept me around after my first phase, but they did. I guess living on a farm gets one used to animals.” He winked at Alex.
Alex couldn’t help but smile back at the professor’s cheerfulness.
Dray sat back and linked his fingers together over his crossed knee. “I thought I was the only werewolf in existence. It was hard hiding what I was. I didn’t even know there were others like me until I met Gem. Then an Alpha-less pack started making trouble. That’s when I met Jaze.” His forehead furrowed slightly. “Jaze helped me out, and I helped him after he and his pack were taken by some bad men.”
“Extremists?” Alex asked.
Dray nodded. “The worst sort. They would have killed him.”
The thought of Jaze near death made Alex’s stomach clench. “What happened?”
“I saved him, but when I returned home, the rogue pack attacked.” Dray’s words weren’t boastful or arrogant. They were quiet and pondering as though he was still trying to figure out what happened. When he spoke, his voice had the distant cast of someone captured in the memories he spoke of. “They were hurting students and teachers at my school. I couldn’t let it happen, so I phased and fought them. The leader had me pinned. He was going to kill me.” Dray rubbed his eyes. “But I couldn’t die like an animal, so I forced myself to phase.”
“When you were dying?” Alex knew such a phase could kill a werewolf who was mortally wounded.
Dray nodded. “My body morphed into a creature that wasn’t human or werewolf, but something in-between.”
Alex sat up straight. “That’s what mine did. I’ve felt it a few times, and this time it happened for real in front of everyone.” He let out a breath and his shoulders slumped. “I feel like a freak.”
Dray shook his head. “You’re not a freak. You’re something different, something I thought only I was until I heard Meredith telling Jaze what happened to you. Jaze was there when I morphed, and he wanted me to talk to you about it.”
Alex scooted back so he could lean against the wall. “So has it happened since then or was that the only time?”
“That was the only time.” Dray must have read the disappointment on Alex’s face because he continued, “But my goal is for it to happen again.”
“Why?” Alex wondered why anyone would do something that would make them so different, so obviously apart from anyone else they knew.
“Because it might be a way to help.” There was a hint of embarrassment in Dray’s voice as if the professor was speaking of something he had never said before. His blue gaze met Alex’s. “Haven’t you ever wanted to be an Alpha so you could be strong enough to protect those you care about?”
The words echoed the hidden feelings in Alex’s heart so strongly he could barely breathe. He wanted to be like Jet. He wanted to act fearlessly and be able to defend those who needed him. He wanted to keep Cassie and Meredith safe. Yet his heart failed him and he had barely survived his encounters with Drogan and in the pit. How was he to make a difference?
Dray nodded. He didn’t need to ask to know the truth in Alex’s gaze. “We’ll figure it out together.”
Alex spoke the words he was dreading. “But what if they’re afraid of me?” he asked, gesturing to indicate the rest of the Academy.
“They’ll learn to respect you,” Dray answered.
Chapter Twenty-three
“You sure you’re alright?”
Alex and Kalia sat on the top step of the stairs overlooking the courtyard. The buses and other vehicles would arrive any minute to take the Termers away. Kalia had asked Alex to wait with her. Given the uncomfortable stares from the students who had been in Meredith’s class when Alex morphed, as Professor Dray called it, Alex was more than willing to get away for a bit.
“I’m fine,” Alex replied. He ran a finger down the black zipper along Kalia’s pink polka dot luggage. “Dray says he went through the same thing. We’ll figure it out.”
“I hope so,” Kalia said. At Alex’s glance, she looked out over the snow-covered courtyard. “It’s hard to be the one who’s different from anybody else.”
A wave of sadness swept through Alex. “Kalia, I—”
She shook her head. “Don’t. Just don’t.” Her gaze met his. The icy blue of her irises stood out in sharp contrast to her pale skin and the white fur-lined hood of her coat. “I know you’ve been through a lot this term. You don’t have to explain yourself to me.”
The sound of vehicles driving up the road reached Alex’s ears. He grabbed a handful of snow and clenched it in his fist. “I feel horrible for how I’ve treated you.”
“Yet I’m still here,” Kalia said. A smile lifted the corners of her eyes. “And I’m not going anywhere.”
Alex barely dared to ask, “What are you waiting for?”
Kalia’s smile deepened. “For you to get your head straight and realize that someone cares about all the things you’re going through. I’m not going to give up on you, Alex.”
Alex wanted to tell her that things were different. He didn’t feel the same way she did. He used to; at least he thought he did, but it wasn’t that way anymore. He didn’t know how to put it into words without hurting her. He didn’t want to be the one to cause the sorrow in her eyes. She deserved to be happy. He truly cared about her, just not the way she looked back at him.
Her eyes glowed and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. There was warmth in her gaze as she studied him sitting on the top step with the suitcase in between them. He knew she wanted to hug him and maybe kiss him on the cheek or more before she left. He didn’t know how to tell her that it wouldn’t matter, that it would be like the kiss of a friend, not the boyfriend who would pine away after her while she was gone.
“Kalia, I need you to know that—”
“The cars are here, Alex. My mom’s going to be upset if I’m late.” Kalia stood just as the doors behind them opened and Boris brushed past her.
Kalia’s brother turned and glared at Alex. He nodded toward his sister, then closed his hand into a fist threateningly without saying a word.
When Kalia turned back around with her suitcase in her hand, Boris walked away as though nothing had happened.
“I’ll see you when the break is over,” Kalia said. She kissed Alex on the cheek. “Hopefully you’ll be ready to ask me to a certain dance when I get back.”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation for a brief moment before she turned and joined the crowd of students hurrying down the steps.
Alex watched after her, following the white hood of her thick coat as she joined Boris at the limousine. Her mother motioned for them to climb inside. Kalia waved as though she knew Alex would be watching her, then disappeared into the car after her brother.
“At least life will be simpler for a while,” Trent said, stopping near Alex’s elbow.
Alex glanced at his friend. “How so?”
Trent ran a hand over his buzzed head. “One less unstable werewolf ready to flip out.”
Alex chuckled. “You’re left with the most unstable one.”
Trent grinned in
reply. “Says who?”
Alex opened the door and let Trent pass inside. He glanced back one more time to see the limousine leading the way back through the gate.
***
Alex made his way outside early the next morning for his usual run with the train. He was a bit late due to Cook Jerald’s amazing pancakes. Dray and Gem had sat at Pack Jericho’s table, and they got into a debate as to whether flapjacks and pancakes were the same thing.
Anticipation for the run made Alex smile. He was about to pull off his shirt when he heard footsteps, many of them. He gritted his teeth as he turned slowly around.
“Where you off to?” Torin’s easy tone was belied by the tightness around his eyes as he and his pack walked through the gate.
“Just going for a run,” Alex replied, taking a few steps back to keep them all in sight.
Pack Torin spread out on either side of him.
“I think that’s just what we wanted, too. Wasn’t it, mates?”
The pack laughed at their Alpha’s words. Sid cackled the loudest. He cracked his knuckles and grinned at Alex like a maniac.
“We definitely wanted a run. And you know what a run needs, Alex?” Sid’s eyes narrowed. “Something to chase.”
Alex’s blood ran cold. He couldn’t take on the entire pack by himself, and out in the woods, accidents happened. He had no doubt Torin carried a grudge about Kalia. The Alpha planned to get even.
“Better start running,” Torin suggested.
Alex tore off his shirt and leaped. He phased into a wolf before his paws touched the ground, and he took off running through the trees that had been his playground since he was little.
The sound of werewolves phasing and chasing him spurred him on faster. He usually conserved his energy until the train, but if he could lose most of the pack, he might have a chance to circle back around and reach the safety of the Academy. There was no way Torin’s entire pack would attack him with the rest of the students as witnesses. Werewolves had honor; at least Torin’s honor applied when other werewolves were around to see it.
