Jax's Rebellion (Coalition Training Academy #1)

by Stephani Hecht

  “Well, whatever the reason, at least you don’t have to deal with the asshole anymore. He’s at the regular school, and you’ll never have to see him again except at Coalition functions,” Kira announced. “How has everybody here treated you?”

  Jax tilted his head to the side. “Actually, they’ve been really nice. I haven’t had any trouble at all, which is odd. I would have thought my size would have been a bigger issue here. No pun intended.”

  “The students here are too worried about their own issues to pick on others,” Willow said. “Well, maybe once in a while there is an issue, but the instructors intervene real quick and put a stop to it.”

  “Are you the only one from your class here this weekend?” Brad asked.

  “Yeah, Ava said I could go home with her, but I don’t want to be a bother,” Jax replied.

  “I don’t blame you for that one. I would be afraid to stay the weekend with Shane, too,” Kira said, her eyes growing wide.

  “He’s always been nice to me,” Jax said. “He’s still a bit scary, though.”

  “Duh,” Willow drawled. “He commits murder almost every day.”

  “Yeah, but it’s always shifters who’re a threat to us,” Brad defended.

  “That doesn’t make him less terrifying,” Willow countered. “If I was Ava, I would be horrified of getting on his wrong side. Plus, he’s a Leopard which makes it even worse.”

  “He’s always been loving to her. She adores him,” Jax said. “He saved her from captivity then raised her as his own. She’s a Leopard, too, and was my only friend at the regular school. She’s my best friend.”

  He hated it when others just assumed all Leopards were bad. Sure, they could be a bit eccentric, but that didn’t make them bad. If it hadn’t been for Ava, Jax didn’t know what would have become of him. He might not have ever had the courage to join the Academy. Damn, he could have even ended up being like his father, which would have made Jax miserable. In a way, Ava had saved Jax.

  “Sorry,” Willow said. “I didn’t mean to offend Ava. I sometimes forget she’s one, too. Well, at least since she’s stopped carrying a blade with her wherever she goes.”

  “She hasn’t done that in years,” Jax pointed out. “She hasn’t taken it out of her drawer in forever. She didn’t even bring it with her to the Academy.”

  Although, she had shown it to Jax during the few times he’d visited her home. It was sharp looking, and he hadn’t dared touch it even though she’d offered.

  “I don’t blame her for wanting to have it at her side,” Kira said. “If I’d gone through some of the same things she did I would probably be the same way. I’m not even a Leopard, either.”

  There was a brief pause as they ate. Jax was grateful. He didn’t feel right talking about Ava when she wasn’t there. It felt as if he wasn’t being loyal to her, even though he was defending her. She’d always been there for him, which made him eternally loyal to her.

  “You’re not going to spend all weekend with your nose in a book, are you?” Willow asked Jax.

  “No, I was hoping to veg in front of the television. I haven’t had time to watch anything this week, and I’m suffering extreme American Horror Story withdrawals,” Jax admitted.

  Willow let out a gasp. “Oh, you missed a doozy of an episode! I’ll watch it with you. I wanted to see it again anyways.”

  She got up then grabbed his hand. Jax managed to grab his books but he didn’t even have time to put up his tray, which was kind of rude, but it wasn’t his fault. Willow didn’t seem as if she were inclined to let him go any time soon. Jax was just along for the ride.

  “Bye,” he called, and Kira waved at him. Brad just shook his head, and Erin continued to act as if he was too lost in his own world to give a damn. Jax kind of envied him. It must be nice to not always be worrying about what others thought.

  “You are going to die when you see what happened this week,” Willow said as she dragged Jax down the hall.

  “Was it gross or shocking? It’s usually one or the other,” Jax asked.

  “Both!”

  “No way!”

  “Trust me, I don’t kid around when it comes to Horror Story,” she replied.

  Jax began to run to keep up with her. His excitement had grown by a ton. Blood and awe were two of his favorite things. If there were both of them rolled up in one on the show, then he wanted to watch it ASAP.

  They got into the lounge. Even though he really wanted to plant his ass in front of the TV, Jax couldn’t help but look around. He’d been eagerly anticipating what could be in there. It pleased him when he found all his expectations had been met and then some.

  There were several couches, bean bag chairs, recliners, and love seats all over the place. The room was large enough to it fit two large screen TVs, a Foosball and a pool table. Plus there was a popcorn maker and even a Slushie machine. In short, it was as if they had cracked Jax’s skull open and made all his dreams come true.

  They sat down on a red couch close to one of the televisions. Willow turned it on then found the recording of their show. As the opening credits began she cuddled into him. All of a sudden Jax got an uneasy feeling.

  Was Willow hitting on him? Oh, God! Oh, God! His heart began to race as his stomach did summersaults. He had no idea what he was going to do. They’d only become friends moments ago, and he didn’t want to insult her.

  “Relax,” Willow said with a sigh. “I know that you’re gay. I’m not trying to make any moves on you.”

  “How did you know?” Jax asked, his voice just a squeak.

  “That you’re gay or that you’re worried I was hitting on you?”

  “Ah…both.”

  “Well, your heart was pounding so hard I could feel it beating against my arm, so I know that you were freaking out over me cuddling with you,” she replied. “As for me knowing that you’re gay, I saw the way you looked at Erin.”

  “Shit! Was I that obvious?” Jax blurted as horror filled him.

  “Yes, but don’t worry. Erin wouldn’t notice if a train was barreling his way.”

  Jax let out a huge sigh of relief. Then, to his surprise, he found himself cuddling Willow back, which was odd. Since his parents had never shown him any affection, it was hard for Jax to be loving and touchy with anybody, yet with Willow if felt natural.

  “By the way, Erin is gay, too,” she said. “Now all you have to do is find a way to make him notice you.”

  Chapter Eight

  The weekend that Jax had originally dreaded passed in a flash. Jax grew to like his new friends even more. In fact, he spent so much time with them he barely had time to read enough to get ahead in his studies.

  It wasn’t that they did anything really productive. They just watched bad movies and reality shows. Erin even joined them, although he always sat a bit away from the rest of them and said very little. Jax was still willing to get what he could take, though. He continued to hope maybe Erin would loosen up a bit. He didn’t have to do much, just speak more than one sentence every hour. That would be a huge improvement.

  It wasn’t until late Sunday afternoon that the other students began to trickle in. Jax was eager to get the week started, but he felt a little disappointed it would be five days before he could spend some real quality time with his new friends.

  His schedule made it so he didn’t even have lunch or dinner breaks with the older students. He promised himself that he would make sure to get up early every morning. That way he could at least see Kira.

  He went back to the dorm and found Ava and the twins there. Ava let out a squeal then practically knocked Jax over when she ran and threw her arms around him.

  “Was it terrible? Were you lonely? You can still come with me any weekend you want,” she said.

  He hugged her back. “It wasn’t bad at all. I hung out with some older students. They don’t have anywhere to go on the weekends, either, so they’ve taken me under their wing.”

  “What’s their names?”
Alvus asked.

  “Brad, Willow, Kira and Erin,” Jax sad.

  Alvus rolled his eyes. “I know Erin. He thinks he’s so special.”

  “I didn’t get that from him at all,” Jax replied, slightly confused. “He’s quiet, but he’s not standoffish. I just get a feeling that he likes to be left alone sometimes.”

  “Sure,” Alvus scoffed. “That’s what he wants all of us to think.”

  “How long have you known him?” Jax asked.

  Alvus shrugged. “A few years. He doesn’t come to that many Coalition functions, just the ones his grandmother drags him to.”

  “He told me his mom didn’t want him to come to the Academy. She’s still angry his father died while fighting to protect the Coalition,” Jax said.

  He couldn’t help but feel some kinship with Erin over that. Erin had to put up with the same kind of bullcrap self-hate speech from his mother. True, she had a much better reason for it than Jax’s dad, but in the end it was still the same. Hate was hate, no matter the cause.

  “Whatever,” Alvus said with a big sigh. “Do you want to go to the training center and practice some before tomorrow? They are going to be testing us on the self-defense moves they taught us, and you need to brush up before then.”

  Jax still didn’t realize why Alvus had an issue with Erin, but he wasn’t going to push it. Plus, Jax really did need to practice before classes started up again. He didn’t want to make a fool out of himself, and Alvus was the only one who could save him.

  “Sure, I’ve gone over it a bit by myself, but I don’t know if I got it down right,” Jax said. He turned to Ava who had been quietly watching their exchange. “Do you want to go, too?”

  She shook her head. “I think I’ll stay behind and study some. Besides, I’m tired out from this weekend. I won’t be much help to you.”

  Alvus and Jax left the dorm then walked to the training room. The facility was empty. It seemed strange to have the room to themselves. Alvus didn’t seem to mind, though. He just picked one of the sectioned-off areas then motioned for Jax to get ready.

  His heart already pounding with nerves, Jax got into his fighting stance. He knew he had at least that part down. He’d been practicing in the mirror. He looked pretty darn impressive if he did say so himself.

  Then Alvus began to go through the attack formations and all of Jax’s self-confidence fled. No matter how hard he tried, he kept messing up the motions. It felt as if he had on lead shoes and his hands were blocks of ice. How he could easily recite almost every word of a text book, yet not remember how to block an attack infuriated him.

  “It’s no use,” he finally said. “I’m never going to get this.”

  “You can do it. You’re just letting your brain get in the way,” Alvus replied.

  Jax paused then frowned. “I don’t get what you mean.”

  “You’re overthinking everything. You are so worried that you’re going to mess up you’re setting yourself up to fail before you even begin. You need to have more faith in yourself.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Jax grumbled. “You probably grew up learning this stuff.”

  “True, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t catch up. You didn’t know crap about shifter history a week ago, yet you’ve read up so much on the topic, you can already run circles around me on the topic. Why should this be any different?”

  “Because, I have the coordination of a drunk sloth.”

  Alvus cocked a brow. “I’ve never heard that comparison before. You can be original, I’ll give you that.”

  “Come on, you don’t have to be nice about it. We both know I’m hopeless.”

  “No, you’re not. When are you going to start believing in yourself?”

  Jax ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Why should I? I’m small, a klutz, and a joke.”

  Alvus put his hand in the center of Jax’s chest and gave him a hard shove. Jax took a few steps back then nearly fell on his ass. He let out a gasp of surprise. He sure as hell hadn’t seen that coming.

  “What was that for?” Jax asked.

  “You need to stop being so hard on yourself,” Alvus said in a loud voice. “You talk all the time about how much of an asshole your father is, but you still let him rule your life.”

  “That’s not true,” Jax protested, anger filling him. “I joined the Academy, didn’t I?”

  “Maybe, but you still let his doubt in you affect you. The only one holding you back from being great is yourself. It has nothing to do with your lack of skills or not growing up learning how to fight. You are setting yourself up for failure. I’m trying to help you, but I can only do so much.”

  Jax slowly shook his head. Alvus was crazy. Jax desperately wanted to succeed. He didn’t come all this way only to fail. The anger already simmering inside him began to boil over. Jax rushed forward and shoved Alvus back.

  “Screw you! You’ve only really known me a week. What makes you think you know everything about me?”

  Alvus stumbled back a few steps. “That’s all I need. You might think you’re smarter than everybody, but deep down you’re stupider than all of us. You’re so busy feeling sorry for yourself you can’t see the truth.”

  “I don’t need you for anything,” Jax declared.

  He stormed off. Jax was so furious that his vision was blurred. Yeah, it was the anger that was doing that, because he sure as hell wasn’t crying. He would never do that. Honestly. He continued to tell himself that lie even as he wiped the damning evidence away from his cheeks.

  He didn’t go back to the dorm. He didn’t want Ava or the others to see him. Then there would be questions that Jax wasn’t about to answer.

  He felt so betrayed by Alvus. They were supposed to be friends. Ha! Big joke. Jax should have known better than to let his guard down. He’d foolishly thought things were different, that maybe he’d actually be able to have two buddies. He should have known better. He’d always been the nerd. The dork. The outsider. That would never change.

  He went into the cafeteria, found an empty booth and sat down. There were some other students in there, but he didn’t meet any of their gazes. He just wanted to be alone in his misery. He then understood how Erin must have felt all the time. No wonder the guy never cracked a grin. It sucked to be mopey.

  Jax kept replaying the argument over in his head. Of course, he could come up with a ton of clever comebacks now that the damn thing had passed. Why did it always seem to work that way?

  Jax slammed his palms down on the table. He was so done with just sitting back and taking it from others. From this point forward he was going to stand up for himself. He would sure as hell never stomp away again.

  “So, why don’t you march back in there and start now? It’s much better than sitting here and talking to yourself,” Jax muttered.

  He would do just that. He’d march in there and give Alvus a piece of his mind. He’d also tell the jerk to stop picking on Erin all the time. Then Alvus would apologize and things would get better. Maybe, once Alvus realized how wrong he was he’d even start to hang out with Jax and his new friends.

  Determined to make all that happen, Jax sprung to his feet then stalked back to the training room. The entire way there, Jax mentally prepared every single thing that he’d say to Alvus. Once he was finished, there’d be no way that Alvus could refuse to see reason. He’d probably get down on his knees and beg Jax to forgive him. Okay, maybe that last one was a bit of a stretch, but the rest of it could all happen.

  Jax was so determined in his mission he ignored everybody else in the hallway. He could distantly hear Ava calling out his name, but he didn’t even pause. All that mattered was getting to Alvus and giving him several pieces of his mind. Jax would deal with Ava later. Jax just hoped Alvus was still in the same place. The last thing Jax wanted was to go on a hunt. He might forget some of the things he wanted to say.

  “Hey, Alvus! I have a few things I want to share with your smug ass,” Jax called out
as soon as he entered the training center.

  He glanced toward the area they’d been in before and all the blood drained from Jax’s body. Well, it literally didn’t do that. That was just plain unrealistic. He’d just read that phrase before and it perfectly fit how he felt. His head began to spin, his hand began to tingle and he couldn’t breathe.

  “Oh, shit!” Jax breathed.

  Alvus lay face down on the mat. Jax couldn’t see what exactly was wrong with his friend, but going by the large puddle of blood that was around the twin, it couldn’t be good. Jax rushed forward to Alvus’ side then dropped to his knees.

  He reached out with trembling hands and stupidly tried to shake Alvus awake. Like the poor guy could be faking all the blood that was around him. There was so much of it that it was beginning to soak into Jax’s sweatpants. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from doing the ridiculous gesture, as if he kept it up Alvus would open his eyes and everything would be okay.

  Jax checked for a pulse. He managed to find one, but it was weak. They’d only had a bit of first-aid training, but he still knew that wasn’t a good sign. He took in a deep breath. He needed to stop the bleeding. Yeah. He needed to do that if he wanted to help Alvus.

  Only Jax couldn’t find the source. Alvus hair was slick with blood, and there was so much of it that Jax was unable to see any wounds. He took off his shirt then wrapped it around Alvus’ head, but the cloth was soon sopping. Jax let out a choked sob as he realized he wasn’t helping at all.

  “Don’t die on me, asshole. I haven’t yelled at you and told you what a jerk you are, yet,” Jax said.

  Shit! What kind of friend was he? Instead of helping Alvus and actually doing something constructive, Jax was admonishing him. Jax gently patted Alvus’ back.

  “Wait right there. I’m going to get help. Just don’t die,” Jax said, his voice trembling.

  He got up. His knees were wobbly, and he was covered in blood. Normally, he was squeamish, but at the moment he was too busy freaking out over Alvus possibly dying. Jax knew that he had only moments to get somebody in there who knew what in the hell they were doing.