by Cheree Alsop
“I’ve done it before,” Alex told her. “You won’t get hurt.”
“What if I told you I can’t swim?”
Alex stared at her. “You can’t swim?”
She shook her head.
“I’ll teach you.”
“By making me jump off this cliff?”
Alex shrugged, watching her closely. He didn’t want to push her into doing something she wasn’t comfortable with, but he knew how strong she was.
“Fine.” The resolve in her voice held a touch of fear. “As long as you promise not to let go.”
“Done.” Alex took her hand and stepped to the edge of the cliff.
“Not like that,” Siale protested. She loosened his grip, then interlocked her fingers in his. Only the tightness of her jaw let him know the courage she was drawing on.
Alex studied the water below. “You can count if you want,” he offered.
Siale shook her head. “Just jump.”
Alex bent his knees, then changed his mind and pulled her to him. He kissed her firmly on the lips. “You’re going to be fine,” he promised.
She stared at him. Before he gave in to his wish to stay on the cliff top beside her forever, Alex jumped, pulling her off the ledge after him. A little yelp of fear escaped her, then they were under water.
Chapter Thirteen
Alex waited until his feet touched the bottom. He pushed off hard, pulling her up after him. He felt her fingers loosen in her panic, but he held on tight until their heads broke the surface.
“Alex, help me!” she gasped, gulping in air and water.
Alex held her as he kicked, keeping her up.
“Stay calm,” he directed.
In her panic, she tried to climb on top of him, pushing him under. Alex kicked back to the surface and ducked behind her. He looped one arm across her chest and used the other to paddle and keep them both afloat. Siale’s hands latched onto his arm as thought it was a lifeline.
“You’re okay,” he said quietly into her ear. “I’ve got you and I’m not going to let you drown.”
“I’m...scared,” she said.
He could feel her muscles trembling as she forced herself not to struggle. Her breaths became steady as she let him hold her up, putting her complete trust in his abilities.
“That’s it,” Alex told her. “Just relax. Easy now.”
Soon, they were floating in the middle of the lake, her hands on his arm with a grip that wasn’t quite as tight as before.
“Ready to try this?”
Siale nodded, but didn’t speak.
“Loosen your grip,” he instructed. “I’m going to hold you up.”
After a minute, she did as he said. Her fingers released their hold and he held her up gently.
“Stretch out on your back. Keep flat like a plank, and fill your chest with air. It helps with the buoyancy.”
There was something so amazing in the way she followed his words without question. Alex felt like he held the most priceless gift in his hands. He had to tell himself over and over that he was worthy of it.
“That’s it. Tip your head back. Hear yourself breathe.” Alex kept his voice calm and quiet. “You don’t have to kick your legs or move your arms. If you keep your lungs full of air and your back arched, you can stay like this for as long as you need.”
He felt her body relax as she followed his directions. With her ears under water, he knew she listened to the rise and fall of her breath, that it blocked out all else, even his words.
He lost track of how much time they stayed in the lake. Siale’s eyes closed, and only the slight movements of her hands in the water and her breath let him know that she was alright. He kept one hand on the small of her back, not holding her up, but letting her know that he was there if she needed him. He floated beside her, leaning up now and then to make sure she was doing okay.
Eventually, long after the sun had set, Siale let out her breath and lowered her legs. Alex held her again and her hands settled on his arms, not with bruising force this time, but gently, calmly. He swam them both to shore.
“Next time, we’ll work on doggy paddling,” he said as they settled on the grass at the edge of the lake. “It’s not fancy, but it can save your life.”
“It was gone.”
Siale’s soft words caught Alex’s attention. He looked at her to find that she wasn’t watching him, but the water. The moonlight played upon the gentle waves brought up by the night breeze. The light was shattered, drifting, like silver leaves floating on a vast black ocean.
“What was gone?” he asked quietly.
“The memories, the fear, the General, and the pit.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide with tears. “It was all gone.”
Alarm filled him. “Siale, I’m sorry if—”
She shook her head, cutting him off. “You did it, Alex. You found a way for me to escape it all. For the first time since I was kidnapped, I was able to find peace in my own mind instead of being plagued by the things I went through.” The tears broke free, drifting down her already wet cheeks.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She nodded, taking his hand. “More than okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “For the first time, I feel like I can breathe.” She smiled up at him. “I needed that more than you know. I felt like I was going crazy, like if I didn’t find a way to escape, I was going to be buried under those things forever.”
Alex watched her closely. “They’re not gone.”
She shook her head. “They never will be. But being able to just be, just for a moment, reminded me of who I am beneath it.”
“You’re amazing.”
She leaned up to kiss him tenderly on the cheek. She then cupped his cheek in her hand. “You, Alex, are amazing.”
A howl sounded. Alex froze, listening. Another voice joined in, then another.
Siale read the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”
Alex stood slowly, his attention on the northern forest. “Those tones mean danger.”
Two other howls rose into the night.
Alex tore off his shirt.
“What’s going on?” Siale asked in alarm.
“That’s Rafe and Colleen. They need help,” Alex told her.
“I’m coming with you,” Siale said.
Alex was about to protest, but the look on her face said that she wouldn’t listen. He ran behind a tree and phased. When he came back out, she was already waiting in the form of a lithe light gray wolf with white marks on her shoulders and chest.
Alex raised his muzzle to the moon and gave an answering howl, combining the tones of his name along with the notes that said they were on their way. Additional howls rose from the Academy. Jaze and the others would be close behind.
Alex led the way through the trees. He dodged a trunk and leaped over a small bush, grateful for the way his wolf eyesight illuminated the obstacles so he could avoid them. Siale kept close to his side, dodging right when he went left, and clearing the river the same time that he did. Her paws hit the ground almost soundlessly as the pair flew through the midnight forest.
Sounds of fighting reached Alex’s ears before they entered the clearing. The small cabin nestled in the secluded valley was an all too familiar of a reminder about the first time he had almost killed Drogan, and in turn nearly been slain by his half-brother.
He didn’t have time to think about that. Wolves filled the valley, snarling, angry wolves that fought Rafe’s pack tooth and claw. The scent of the valley let Alex know that these were werewolves. He had no idea if it was a territory fight, or if the werewolves meant danger to the Academy. All he knew was that Rafe and Colleen had called for help.
Alex dove in with Siale at his side. He sliced and bit, using his fangs to drive werewolves back all the while keeping Siale in his view so he could protect her if they were too strong.
The logical part of his mind counted two dozen werewolves, more by far than he and Siale could take on
even with Rafe and Colleen. The werewolves snarled and drooled as they attacked. Their howls reached a pitch that rang in Alex’s memory. When he realized what it was, he nearly froze in his tracks.
Hounds. The werewolves they fought were hounds from the General, brainwashed werewolves sent to attack and destroy anything in their path. He wondered how the General had found so many. They were everywhere, biting, tearing, and destroying anything they could reach. Fear for Siale filled Alex. He fell back, pushing her behind him. If the hounds were after her, he didn’t know how he would be able to defend her against so many.
They surrounded the pair. He could see Rafe and Colleen near the edge of the valley fighting for their lives as well. Fallen wolves lay around them, animals from the valley along with others Alex didn’t recognize.
A werewolf latched onto Alex’s shoulder, tearing it wide open. Alex grabbed the werewolf by the throat and threw it with a jerk of his head. He took down one intent on Siale, then another was on his shoulders, his jaws digging down toward the place where Alex’s skull met his spinal cord.
Alex rolled backwards, slamming the wolf to the ground. He spun and tore out the hound’s throat before two more latched onto his sides. Another hound grabbed his back paw, its sharp fangs breaking the small bones. A fourth bit Alex’s shoulder where it had already been torn open.
Blue burned at the edges of his vision. Alex heard Siale’s cry of pain. The thought of her in trouble caused the blue to overcome everything, his thoughts, his pain, and his actions. His muscles expanded and his limbs lengthened. He rose off the ground with a howl of rage.
The werewolves around him stared in amazed horror. Alex grabbed two of them and smashed them together. He backhanded a third across the face and its head snapped around. The fourth took off yelping in the other direction.
Alex spotted Siale pinned against a pine tree with low sweeping branches. Her muzzle was red and blood colored the white marks on her fur. The sight of Siale bleeding turned everything in Alex’s sight into slow motion. He reached the werewolves attacking her in two massive strides. He picked up three of them at once and held them against his chest in a grip so tight he felt their ribcages collapse. He dropped them to the ground and grabbed two more. Their yelping cries cut off with a quick jerk of his clawed hands.
Alex met Siale’s stare for one brief moment before he turned away. He dropped onto all fours. His claws tore into the earth as he raced to Rafe and Colleen. He hit the pack of hounds around them like a battering ram. Breaking and then throwing the beasts to each side, Alex cleared a path for Rafe and Colleen to escape. One of Rafe’s golden eyes was clouded with blood and he limped as he helped his wife to safety.
The hounds seemed to realize that running from Alex wouldn’t work. Changing tactics, they attacked in a group. For a second, Alex was buried beneath the snapping, tearing, writhing bodies of the General’s werewolves. He could hear howls as Jaze as the others reached the valley. He knew if the hounds finished him, Siale and the professors would be next, with the Academy close behind.
Alex gathered all of his strange strength and stood with a force that threw the werewolves away from him. He slammed heads together, caught the paws of retreating wolves and threw them against trees, and pounded those who remained into the ground. Eventually, the deranged growls and rolling eyes of the imposters stopped.
Alex sucked in deep breaths, staring at the pile of bodies around him. His hands began to shake. The blue faded from his vision. He collapsed onto the pile as his strength left him.
“Alex!” Jaze shouted.
Running footsteps reached him. He felt gentle hands pull him away. A blanket was set on top of him. His body trembled in the aftermath of morphing.
“You’re okay.” He recognized Professor Dray’s voice.
Alex opened his eyes to see the face of the only other werewolf he knew of who had morphed into something that wasn’t wolf or human.
“You’re going to be alright,” Dray said, his gaze filled with understanding. “You saved them.”
Alex looked past Dray into Siale’s questioning eyes. There was fear on her face, but it wasn’t directed at him. “What were they?” she asked.
“H-hounds,” Alex forced out. He tried to sit up. Dray helped with a hand under his shoulder. When Alex winced, the werewolf made him lean forward.
“We need to clean that so it’ll heal,” Dray said. “Siale, can you stay with him?”
At her nod, Dray left them beneath the tree.
Siale scooted closer and glanced behind him. “Your shoulder,” she said, her face white.
“It’ll heal,” Alex told her. “Are you okay?”
She nodded, but when she set her hand on his knee, her fingers trembled. He covered her hand with his own. The sight of blood beneath his fingernails made his stomach turn over. “Are you sure?”
“Wh-what was that? Wh-why did they...” Her voice faded away.
“The hounds are werewolves the General brainwashed.” At the mention of the General, Siale’s face paled further. Alex kept her eyes locked with his. “I’m not going to let them get you. I promise.”
She nodded. Her eyebrows drew together. “Alex, what happened to you?” she asked softly.
He shrugged, then winced when the movement pulled at his shoulder. “I’m not sure. Professor Dray calls it morphing.” He tried to lean against the tree, but couldn’t do so without more pain. “He’s the only other werewolf I know that it’s happened to.”
Dray came back with a bottle of water and Colleen at his side.
“Alex, you saved us,” Colleen said, dropping to her knees next to Siale. “We couldn’t fight them all.”
“Glad I could help,” Alex said tightly.
Dray put a hand on his good shoulder. “Can you lean forward again?” he asked.
When Alex gingerly obeyed, the professor poured the water over his wound, flushing out any debris left from the fight. Alex gritted his teeth at the sharp pain of anything touching the gaping flesh.
“There’s a tooth in it,” Dray said. “I need to pull it out.”
Alex leaned his head against his hands. He felt like he was about to pass out.
“Look at me, Alex,” Siale instructed.
He opened his eyes to find her face close to his. “You’re going to be okay,” she said. She put her lips to his mouth.
Alex kissed her as pain filled his shoulder, and then eased. Siale sat back with a hand on his arm.
“Got it,” Dray said. Alex didn’t have to look back to know the professor was smiling. “That was easy.”
Colleen wrapped bandages around the wound to hold it shut while it healed.
“Let’s get you into the moonlight,” Dray said when Colleen was done. He helped Alex stand and the trio walked beside him to a patch of grass that hadn’t been tainted by the night’s fight. Jaze walked up as Alex eased back to the ground.
“That was amazing,” the dean said.
Alex forced a wry smile. “Just keeping our forest safe.”
“And doing a good job,” Jaze replied. He tipped his head toward the other professors. “They’re going to carry the hounds to the canyon. We have a place we can bury them there.”
“Bury them?” Kaynan repeated, reaching the group. “They tried to kill Colleen and Rafe, not to mention the kids here,” he said, gesturing at Alex and Siale.
“They were werewolves before the General got to them,” Jaze said. Sadness touched his voice. “We’ll give them the burials they deserve.”
Kaynan nodded without pressing further. “I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said to Colleen, giving her a hug.
“Colleen is Kaynan’s sister,” Alex whispered to Siale.
“It was a close thing,” Collen said, hugging him back. “Thank goodness we have our own secret weapons.” She smiled at Alex.
“Yeah, thank goodness,” Kaynan seconded. He squeezed Alex’s good shoulder. “Get some rest, champ.”
Jaze and Dray followed the crim
son-eyed werewolf back to the others.
“Did you know what they were?” Colleen asked, her violet gaze on Alex.
He nodded. “I fought them the last time I went up against the General. He had dozens of them at the mall when we rescued Kalia.”
Colleen nodded. She set a hand on his knee. “You saved Rafe and me and also most of the wolf pack. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to repay you.”
Alex smiled. “How about teaching football?”
Colleen laughed. “And put Vance in charge of gymnastics? Those poor girls would be doing pushups for the rest of the term.”
All three of them watched the huge werewolf sling two hounds over each shoulder and trudge across the valley behind Jaze and Chet.
Alex grinned. “I had to try, but I think I’d rather take our chances.”
“The girls appreciate your sacrifice,” Siale told him.
Colleen rose. “I guess I should help with the cleanup. It should give you some time to heal before we need to start back.”
Alex settled onto his side. He could feel the moonlight already taking affect. It seeped into his bare skin, blanketing his shoulder and his other minor wounds in a healing heat. His eyes closed of their own accord.
“You okay?” Siale asked quietly.
Alex nodded. He opened his eyes to see her lay beside him. She smiled when he put his arm around her.
“Sleep, Alex. I’ll watch over you.”
He smiled drowsily from the effects of the healing. “I think I’m supposed to be the one saying that.”
Siale gave him a fond look. “You’ve already taken care of all of us. Sleep. You deserve it.”
He closed his eyes and fell asleep with a smile on his face.
Chapter Fourteen
“Get up, Second,” Torin barked. “You have toilet duty.”
Cold water poured on Alex’s head. He sat up, then winced at the sudden movement.
Torin’s eyes widened. “What happened to you?”
Alex looked down at the healing cuts and scrapes along his chest and sides. A glance at the window showed the bare gray of predawn light. He had only slept for perhaps an hour after they returned to the Academy.
