by Cheree Alsop
“I have an idea,” he told Siale.
Ten minutes later, they were in the helicopter with Trent at the controls and Jordan in the seat next to him. Jordan’s spikey red hair stood out all around the headset she wore.
“I’m not sure Jaze would approve of this mission,” Trent said for the tenth time.
“Brock let us go,” Jordan reminded him. “He must have thought it was a good idea.”
“I wouldn’t get you in trouble,” Alex told Trent. “You know how careful I am about following the rules.”
Trent gave a snort of disbelief and Jordan laughed.
“Anything to help Jaze is a good idea,” Siale said. “It’ll be worth it; trust us.”
Alex and Siale’s fingers were intertwined as they sat side by side on the back seat.
“Thank you for coming with me,” Alex told her.
She smiled up at him. “I want to be a part of this. It’s important, and I get to be with you. I’ve missed you.”
Alex lifted up his arm and she leaned against his side. He traced patterns on her arm and was amazed at how soft her skin felt beneath his touch. She did the same to his palm, lingering on the scars that traced his hand and reminded him of all it had taken to get to that point.
“This is it,” Trent called a while later.
Alex looked out the window as the helicopter settled between long rows of short buildings. The gray light of dawn brushed the horizon, revealing more sheds in the distance.
“Will you guys stay with the helicopter in case anyone comes to check it out?” Alex asked Trent and Jordan. “I’d hate to get it confiscated or something.”
“Four teenagers flying a helicopter early in the morning shouldn’t cause too much controversy,” Jordan said with a wink.
“I was going to get a hamburger,” Trent replied wryly. “Think I can pull this thing up to a fast food window?”
Alex laughed. “If you’re not here when we get back, we’ll look for a burger joint with a helicopter wedged in the drive through.”
He and Siale held hands while they walked between the buildings.
“Jaze used to tell me about this place.” Alex looked around at the long stretches of pavement between the sheds. “He said they played football and hockey here. All the kids used to sneak out of their houses after curfew and hang out.”
“Why was there a curfew?” Siale asked.
“Well,” Alex replied with a grin. “There were rumors of werewolves in these parts. Who would have thought?”
Siale laughed. “Apparently, they were right!”
They stepped through the opening in the fence and followed the path across a long parking lot next to an abandoned shopping center. A lone streetlamp flickered in the middle of the parking lot. Alex brushed it with his fingertips when they passed by.
“It’s strange to think about growing up in a time when nobody knew werewolves existed,” Siale mused. “I mean, we are so free now, at least at the school. Could you imagine going to a school where everyone was human and you had to hide what you were?”
Alex’s sneakers crunched on the dry grass that lined the alley between the fences where they walked.
“It might be fun,” he replied. “But Jaze said when he first got here, the local pack didn’t exactly like him.”
Siale looked at him. “That was Chet’s pack, right?”
Alex nodded. “And get this, Nikki used to be Chet’s girlfriend!”
Siale stared at him. “No way! Did she know he was a werewolf?”
Alex shook his head with a grin. “Nope. She had no idea.”
Siale smiled back. “That’s amazing. I’ll bet they have quite the story.”
Alex nodded. “We’ll have to ask Jaze to tell us all of it.” He paused, then said a bit quieter, “Someday.”
The hushed scent told him he was at the right place. “This is it,” he told his fiancé.” He looked at the back of the house Jaze had once shown him.
The Carso house and the house next door were still unoccupied. Signs had been posted on the doors and windows, but the lettering was faded and illegible. A punching bag hung in the back of the Carso house. It was tattered and worn from years of swinging in the tree. The leather on the outside was shredded and it looked as though a family of squirrels had taken up residence inside for the last several years.
Alex jumped the back fence and turned to help Siale, but found her already on the other side.
She smiled at him. “Werewolf, remember?”
“I was trying to be a gentleman,” he pointed out.
She grinned. “We’ll have to find a bigger fence, then.”
Alex smiled and walked through the backyard. He paused by the punching bag, amazed the straps and chain still held. He ran his fingers along the worn leather and tattered cloth.
“It feels like we’re walking through the ghost of memories,” Siale said softly.
Alex looked up to find her gaze on the fence between the two houses. The wood was missing in places and broken in others. Alex hoped what he was looking for was there.
“That’s why we’re here,” he said.
He made his way to her side and crouched. After a few minutes of careful searching, he grabbed two of the wooden slats.
“These are the ones I need,” he said more to himself than to Siale.
Taking care not to ruin them, Alex used his werewolf strength to pry the boards from the fence. He checked the scent of the wood and broke the two boards in half, then leaned the upper parts back against the fence.
“It looks happy,” Siale noted.
Alex glanced back. The fence almost looked like a half smile the way it leaned forward into the Carso yard. It warmed him to think of leaving the backyard that way, smiling at the memories of two people who had fallen in love and created a legacy that would remember them forever.
Chapter Eighteen
“Jaze?” Alex tapped on the open door to Jaze’s office. It was the first time the dean hadn’t heard him and just welcomed him in.
Jaze looked up in surprise and gave Alex a small smile. “Sorry; my thoughts were elsewhere. Come in.”
Alex and Siale entered with Cassie and Tennison close behind. Trent and Jordan lingered in the doorway.
“It’s good to see all of you,” Jaze said. “Can I help with something?”
“We made you a present,” Alex told the dean.
Jaze watched him with a curious expression. “A present for me?”
Alex nodded. “We all worked together. It’s, well, you’ll see.”
Cassie handed Jaze the gift.
He looked down at the wrapping for a moment as if he didn’t know what to expect.
“Open it,” Cassie urged. “You’ll like it.”
“Alright,” the dean replied with a note of uncertainty.
He slid his finger beneath the paper Siale had wrapped it in and broke the tape. The blue and green paper fell away to reveal the frame.
“You guys,” Jaze said softly. He stared at the picture. It was one Cassie had found of Nikki and Jaze standing in front of the partially built Academy. The frame of the main building was visible while only a few wooden posts showed where the dorms would soon be. Jaze stood behind Nikki with his arms around her waist; the smile on her face was so bright it lit the entire picture. “This is beautiful,” Jaze said.
He moved the frame to look at the back and paused. Slowly, the dean lifted the frame to his nose. He sniffed it, then closed his eyes and inhaled.
“This was our fence,” he said in a voice just above a whisper. Tears escaped from his shut eyelids and his voice broke when he said, “This is where we truly became friends.”
Alex blinked back tears of his own. “Siale and I went there last night. I remembered the story you told me of when she was mad at you and you made her laugh.”
Jaze nodded. He opened his eyes and wiped his tears with his shoulder. He appeared unwilling to let go of the frame. “She had a right to be mad.” He smiled despite
the sadness in his eyes. “I needed to apologize, so I did the manly thing and fake cried until she tried to comfort me.”
Alex gave a soft chuckle at the thought of the dean pretending to cry.
“That worked?” Tennison asked. “I’m going to have to try that.”
Jaze smiled. “It worked. She took pity on me, and when she found out I was faking, she stuck her hand through the fence and tried to slap me.” He paused, then said, “I caught her hand and kissed it. It was the first time I ever kissed her.”
After a few minutes of silence, Cassie asked, “So she forgave you after that?”
Jaze nodded. “She had no idea I was a werewolf. I probably should have told her then, but her parents were Hunters before there was a truce, and they probably would have killed me.”
“Good call,” Trent said.
The dean chuckled. “I guess it was.” He put the frame to his nose and sniffed it again. His voice was wistful when he said, “It’s amazing how the smells linger after all these years. So many stories and so many memories.” He smiled at all of them. “Thank you very much. I can’t even tell you how much this means to me. This is the best gift anyone could have given.”
One by one, the students hugged Jaze who had been like a father to each of them in his own way.
Siale was hugging him when Jaze’s phone beeped. Brock’s voice came over the intercom.
“Jaze, Drogan’s Demons just attacked a city in New Mexico. The city’s on lockdown. You need to come see this.”
“We’re on our way,” Jaze replied. He set the frame carefully on his desk and motioned for Alex to open the panel.
The werewolves rushed down the tunnel. When they reached the Wolf Den, Brock had every screen tuned to different news stations.
“There’re are other attacks in Utah and New York, and sightings of Demons in South Dakota,” Brock said quickly. “Attacks happen, humans are killed, and the Demons disappear before the police can do anything. It’s mass chaos!”
“No, it’s not.”
Everyone looked at Trent. The small werewolf studied the screen. “There’s a pattern.”
“I see it,” Jordan said.
Alex realized that besides their impromptu helicopter trip early that morning, it was Jordan’s first time in the Wolf Den. She seemed to handle the whole undercover mission base thing very well. Alex wondered how much Trent had told her about what they did.
“What’s the pattern?” Brock asked.
Trent pointed to the screens. “The attacks appear to be happening in succession, right? One after the other in random locations to throw the authorities off track?”
Brock nodded. “And your point is?” He looked so stressed out that the human didn’t have anything to eat even remotely close by.
“My point is…” Trent grabbed the pointer from Brock’s hand and followed the screens. “Look. One, two, three, or should I say nine, eight, seven.”
“I don’t see the pattern,” Tennison said.
Brock’s face washed white. “They’re places his father hit.”
“And in the same order,” Jaze concluded. His jaw clenched. “Alex, get your team. We know where he’s going to be.”
Caden had the guns and other weapons already out when they ran down the stairs to the helicopter.
“The GPA will meet you there,” Brock called over the sound of the chopper’s blades as Mouse prepared to take off. “The Black Team is on their way, as well as SWAT and the CIA. This is being handled as a terrorist threat.”
“It should be,” Jaze answered. “Keep me informed.”
“Be careful.”
Alex spotted Trent and Jordan near the stairs. Jordan held his hand with both of hers as if hesitant to let him leave.
“I’ll be with Alex, and he’s always careful,” Trent replied.
Jordan cracked a smile. “This isn’t a good time for jokes.”
“Sorry,” Trent apologized with an answering smile. He stood on his tiptoes and kissed her. He broke away from his fiancé with obvious reluctance. “I’ll see you soon,” he promised.
Siale walked down the stairs with an extra headset in her hand. “We could use another set of eyes up here at what Brock calls the Battle Station and I call his refrigerator.”
Jordan glanced at Brock. He shrugged with a sandwich in his hand that had appeared seemingly out of nowhere.
“What?” he asked with his mouth full. “I stress eat.”
“Seriously,” Siale said quietly. “We can really use you.”
Jordan accepted the headset. “I’m happy to help.”
Alex saw Trent mouth ‘thank you’ to Siale when Jordan’s back was turned.
“The usual?”
Alex turned back to Caden who held out his Glock. “Yes, with two more clips.”
“That crazy, huh?” Caden asked, shoving the extra clips into Alex’s vest besides the others he always carried.
Alex didn’t let his anxiety show when he replied, “We’re heading back to D Block where I killed the General. It’s going to be crazy.” The GPA hasn’t used it as a holding facility since Alex killed the man who was his father. The thought of going back there filled him with mixed emotions.
Alex wordlessly shrugged into the vest and followed the others to the helicopter.
Kaynan’s dark red eyes met Jaze’s. “It’s a trap.”
“That’s why we’re going,” Jaze replied. “Things need to end one way or another. Drogan’s not walking away from this one.”
“You really think he’ll be there?” Chet asked.
“I hope so,” Jaze said.
Alex was surprised to hear the anger in the dean’s words. Jaze met his gaze.
“I have some issues to address,” the dean said.
“If by issues, you mean you want to destroy him and his Demons so the killing and fear ends once and for all, then I have issues, too,” Alex replied.
Jaze cracked half a smile. “We have the same issues.”
The instant they landed at D Block, it was clear everything was different than they had planned. Bodies of GPA agents, men in SWAT uniforms, and other government officials lay torn and mangled across the roof as if ravaged by dogs. Alex and the others jumped out of the helicopter. Mouse lifted it clear immediately under Jaze’s orders so their escape wouldn’t be cut off.
“I can’t reach the Black Team,” Brock told them in their earpieces. “And the GPA gives only static.”
“We know why,” Jaze replied, his voice tight. “Call back any who respond. Tell them not to go to D Block.”
“I’ll try,” Brock said.
“Jaze?” Siale’s voice came over the ear monitors. “Heat signatures show four Demons still left in the building along with Drogan. They’re on the sixth floor.” She paused, then said in a worried voice, “I think they’re waiting for you.”
The scent of blood was so thick it was the only thing Alex could smell. His pack grouped together in the middle of the carnage. Trent’s eyes were wide as he stared around at the limbs and torsos. A need to protect his team and whatever humans remained surged through Alex. Drogan was inside the building, and the Extremist was responsible for all of the death and destruction that had taken place. Alex needed to make him pay. He began to succumb to the Demon inside him that demanded to be free.
Jaze grabbed his arm. “Alex, wait. I can’t let you go rushing in there again like last time. I could just have easily have found you on the floor of that elevator instead of the General.”
Alex pushed down the blue that colored his vision with difficulty. “Four Demons did this much damage,” Alex said. “I’m the only one who stands a chance against them.”
Jaze nodded. “Yes, but only if you keep your wits. Don’t rush into this blindly. That’s what Drogan expects you to do.” He voice filled with intensity. “We need to bomb this building.”
Alex stared at him. It was the first time Jaze had ever recommended something so rash. With the werewolf’s need to retaliate a
gainst Drogan, Alex knew it must be something else guiding the Alpha’s decision.
Alex shook his head. “What if Drogan gets away?”
“Remember when we talked about instinct?” Jaze asked.
Alex nodded. “Instinct can be the hardest battle we face.”
“Exactly,” Jaze replied with his gaze on the door that led from the roof. “I want to fight Drogan as much as you do, but instinct warns me that I shouldn’t go through that door. I have too much to live for, and you do, too.”
Alex’s hands clenched into fists. “But what if there are humans down there.”
Jaze shook his head. “Not left alive.” He looked around at the bodies. “Trust me. We blow it.”
Alex hesitated, but Jaze had never steered him wrong. He finally nodded.
“Mouse,” Jaze said, “We need the explosives.”
The small werewolf landed the helicopter on the roof just long enough for Trent to grab the bag.
“Jericho and I will stay with Trent to make sure nothing goes wrong,” Alex said.
Jaze nodded. “We’ll set the explosives around the base and come back to pick you up. Be careful.”
“We will,” Alex replied.
His senses thrummed when the helicopter took off. The fact that four Demons waited in the building below along with his half-brother made the Demon pulse at the edge of his self-control. He followed Trent to the east corner and watched the small werewolf begin to set the explosives.
“Take your time,” Mouse said over their earpieces. “If we plan this right, we’ll bring the building down on top of them. Nothing could survive.”
“I hope so,” Trent muttered.
He finished placing the bundle, rechecked one thing, and then Alex followed him to the next corner.
