by Cheree Alsop
Mouse’s gaze flitted from Alex back to Jaze. Jaze nodded. “It’s alright. Alex needs to know what’s going on as much as I do. Tell us what you know.”
Mouse pushed his big glasses further up his nose and kept his eyes on the ground as he said, “We found where the missile was fired.” He cleared his throat, apparently uncomfortable at all the attention.
Lyra took over. “It appears to have been a precision guided missile launched from outside the forest boundaries. We’re not sure what sort of tracking system guided it. Kaynan’s gathering the pieces of the missile so that we can find out more about the technology they are using.”
Mouse glanced at Jaze. “It might, uh, give us a better idea as to how they were so close to hitting Alex from that far away.”
Jaze nodded. “Let me know what you find out. Until then, all students are required to stay within the walls. Let Colleen know we’ll be moving the students from sense training to plant identification with Dray.” Jaze winked at Alex. “He’ll appreciate the extra help building the green houses.”
Alex tried to fight back a yawn, but the exhaustion from healing was really starting to take a toll.
“You’d better get up to bed.” Jaze looked him up and down. “I’d recommend showering first.”
“Phase in the shower,” Nikki told Alex. She gave Jaze a warm smile. “You don’t want a mess like the one we made at the Carso house.”
Jaze nodded, but there was a hint of sadness in his eyes at the mention of the home he had shared with his mother and all of the werewolves they had rescued. “I wonder if the orange footprint is still in the hallway.”
“We’ll go see it again someday,” she promised. “When it’s safe.”
Jaze slipped his hand into hers. “Yes, we will.”
Chapter Thirteen
Alex rested his head against the tiles that made up the shower wall. He let the water run over his shoulder as it washed the dried blood from his skin. He was glad he had followed Nikki’s advice to phase in the shower. Though the tiled floor had been slippery beneath his clawed feet, phasing had shed a lot of the dried blood onto the floor. It would have been a big mess to clean up in his room.
His shoulder ached. Prodding revealed that the wound had mostly closed, but it still bled enough that his fingers came back with blood on them. He sighed and turned, wincing as the water hit it more fully. Perhaps he should have listened to Meredith and gone to the medical wing to make sure there wasn’t any debris left in the wound; but according to what he had learned from Nikki from her years serving as the Academy’s medical director, as long as whatever was inside wasn’t silver, the wound itself would push the contaminates free before closing.
His fingers revealed smaller wounds along his neck that had already closed. The one along his cheekbone didn’t hurt anymore. Eventually, even the scar would fade to probably nothing.
Alex closed his eyes and let himself remember what had happened. He held Caitlyn in his jaws and was about to jump to the next ledge when the high-pitched whining buzz caught his attention. He heard Jaze’s warning bark and ducked. He felt his shoulder be ripped apart when the missile struck the rock. The impact of the explosion threw him and Caitlyn backwards.
The whine of the missile repeated over and over in his mind until it sounded like the rush of the water from the showerhead. He slammed the handle down to turn it off. The slight buzz of the neon lights overhead took over. Alex put his hands over his ears and crouched in the shower, willing the sound to go away. He hated that he had been afraid. He hated the way his heart pounded and skipped beats at even the memory of the sound. He hated the sensation of falling through the air, and again heard Caitlyn’s terrified cry before they hit the ground.
Alex grabbed the clothes Cassie had set out for him and pulled them on roughly. He ignored the way his shoulder throbbed at the treatment. He slammed his palm across the light switch hard enough to crack it. He winced when his shoulder protested.
“Alex, are you alright?” Cassie ran to meet him in the hallway.
Alex gave her a quick hug. “I’m fine, Cass. Thank you. I’ll be back soon.”
“Where are you going?” she asked in surprised.
“I told Jaze I’d be back down for Mouse’s report,” he lied.
She nodded, but he caught the hurt expression on her face before he left through the door. He shut it behind him harder than he intended.
He couldn’t take it anymore. Being shot at, the helplessness, the fear in Caitlyn’s voice, the hurt on Cassie’s face; he couldn’t take any of it any longer. He wanted to hit something, anything. His hands clenched into fists so hard his arms shook.
A hand caught his shoulder. “Why are you out here?”
“Get away from me,” Alex growled. He shoved Boris against the wall so hard the Alpha’s head dented the sheetrock.
“Calm down,” Boris said, his eyes wide in surprise.
Alex couldn’t remember if he had ever seen Boris surprised before. He didn’t care. Nothing mattered. None of it made sense anymore. He turned away and headed for the stairs.
Boris grabbed him by his good shoulder. “Slow down, Alex.”
Alex’s self-control vanished. He spun back around, grabbed the front of Boris’ shirt, and pinned him against the wall. “Leave. Me. Alone.” Alex said, forcing the words through his clenched teeth.
Boris lifted his hands. There was a touch of something in his eyes that caught Alex off-guard. He read shock along with the barest hint of compassion.
Alex realized he had just attacked an Alpha. By all accounts, he should be lying on the floor bloody or dead; yet, Boris was just watching him, waiting to see what he would do. The Alpha wasn’t fighting back or defending himself.
Alex let out a slow breath. He lowered Boris down and took a step back. His chest heaved. Every-other beat of his heart was doubled as he fought to regain his control.
“I just wanted to know why you were out in the hallway instead of resting,” Boris said in a steady voice.
Alex shook his head. He couldn’t think of an answer because there wasn’t one. He had flipped. He couldn’t control himself anymore. He had to get out of the Academy.
He ran down the stairs. Every footstep sent a jolt of pain through his shoulder; the ache stole his breath.
“The dean doesn’t want anyone leaving the Academy grounds,” Boris called after him.
Alex shoved the door open with his shoulder. The sensation dropped him to his knees outside the door. He held onto his shoulder and fought back the tears.
The pain he felt exploded inside of him. It wasn’t his shoulder. Physical pain didn’t matter. He was doing nothing to defend himself. He was a sitting duck just waiting for Drogan to take another shot. He couldn’t handle it anymore. He couldn’t wait for Drogan to succeed with either him or Cassie.
Alex held his shoulder as he ran to the gate. He was about to open it when Boris’ words echoed through his mind. Leaving the protection of the high Academy walls would be a direct violation of Jaze’s orders. Up to that point, Alex had never blatantly disobeyed the werewolf who had taken them in. After all Jaze had done, obedience was the only thing Alex could give to repay him.
He paced along the wall. It felt like hours, as if his feet carved a path through the landscape. He looked down, almost expecting to see the grass worn away and dirt showing through; yet it remained green that was lightening as the sun rose in the early hours of morning. Dew covered his bare feet. His toes were dirty. He wondered if Cassie had left socks in the shower room and he had missed them. Knowing Cassie, she had even brought shoes because she knew him that well.
“Boris mentioned you were out here.”
Jaze’s voice startled Alex to the point that he spun with his hands up, ready to defend himself against Drogan.
Jaze didn’t move. He merely nodded with a knowing light in his eyes that deflated Alex. “I know what you’re going through.”
“How could you?” Alex shouted. He punched
the gate so hard the twisted metal rattled. The blow shook through his shoulder, reminding him as it stole his breath that it had been a very stupid thing to do.
His knees gave out and Jaze caught him. “Whoa, there. Take it easy.” He lowered Alex to a seat on the grass with his back against the wall. “I think you’ve probably reached your limit.”
“I think I reached it a long time ago,” Alex mumbled. He hit his head back against the wall. “I just can’t take it anymore.”
“We’ll find Drogan,” Jaze promised. “I know it’s slow, but there are so many werewolves and GPA agents out looking for him, I’m amazed he’s lasted this long.”
“What does he want from Cassie and me?” Alex asked. He met Jaze’s gaze squarely without flinching. Grays didn’t demand answers from Alphas, yet he had almost slammed a haymaker into Boris’ jaw. Protocol had definitely fled out the window.
“I wish I knew,” Jaze replied, meeting Alex’s eyes. “If we knew, we could eliminate the problem and get rid of Drogan once and for all.”
“Then let’s find out. Let him take me.”
Jaze stared at Alex. “That’s being a little hasty.”
“How else are we going to end this?” Alex asked. “He’s not going to stop. He’s proved that. Do we wait until one of us is dead?”
Jaze was silent for several minutes. He watched Alex, his gaze searching. The next time he spoke, he had made up his mind. “When I learned about all my uncle had done in killing off Alphas and attempting to take control of the werewolf packs, I was beside myself. I didn’t know how to stop him.” He gestured toward the Academy. “I didn’t have all of this. It was just my mom and me.” He swallowed, forcing down emotions. “So I found a way to fight back, and I built a team, a pack, around me that could fight at my side. I had to know that I wasn’t alone. I needed to help others to help myself.”
Alex rubbed his eyes with one hand. “So what do I do?” he asked; he hated the way his voice was so filled with despair.
“You help others,” Jaze replied, rising.
Alex looked up; the dean held out a hand. “Come on.”
Alex rose gingerly with the dean’s help. Jaze led him back to the Academy without another word. Alex followed him down the hall to the hideout in the closet. The door buzzed when Jaze waved his thumb over the sensor in the middle. The room below was empty. Jaze didn’t appear surprised to see it unmonitored.
“Brock mentioned that you found out about the rest of our surveillance capacity.”
“You mean the bat cave? Yeah,” Alex replied.
Jaze chuckled. “There aren’t any bats down there.” The dean crossed the room to a wall near the computers. “Open,” he said simply. A panel sunk in and slid to the side.
“Is there an entrance from my room like that?” Alex asked, only half-kidding.
“There’s one from the common room for each pack. I’ll show you where they are if you take care that no one sees you using them,” Jaze answered.
Alex stared at the dean’s back as he followed the werewolf down a flight of stairs. “You mean you want me to come back here more than just now?”
Jaze looked at him. “How else are you going to help others?”
Something flamed to life in Alex’s chest. He felt the slightest breath of relief, as if just the prospect of something to do in the fight against Drogan helped to relieve the pressure that had been building inside of him. He held onto the flicker of release, grasping it as if it was a lifeline.
“Ready, Brock?” Jaze asked.
Alex followed him around the corner to the huge surveillance cave. He couldn’t help staring at the vast space before him. Even though he had seen it once before, it felt almost impossible to grasp the cavern that existed beneath the Academy. Cars, motorcycles, computers, tunnels, piles of equipment, and now a helicopter occupied the cement pads beneath Brock’s seat in the midst of so many different screens Alex wondered how the human could keep it all straight.
To Alex’s surprise, Brock wasn’t alone. Another man stood next to him with the same spikey brown hair and slender build.
“Ready,” Brock replied, standing as well. He smiled at Alex. “Alex, meet my cousin Caden. He’s not a werewolf, but he makes up for it in his ability to shoot small things at large distances.”
Caden walked down the stairs that led to the computers and held out a hand. “I’m a weapons specialist,” Caden explained, rolling his eyes at the sandwich in Brock’s hand. “At least it’s better than a carbohydrate compost system.”
Brock took a big bite and spoke around it. “You’re just jealous you don’t have my metabolism,” he said.
“I do have your metabolism,” Caden replied. “We’re related, remember?”
“Then where’s your sandwich?” Brock asked.
Jaze held up a hand. “Can we put the debate aside for a moment and get back to the sweep?”
“Sweep?” Alex asked.
Jaze smiled. “Ready for your first mission?”
Chapter Fourteen
Alex’s heart pounded in his chest. He should have been in school, but instead, he was in an SUV with Jaze driving to the Haroldsburg suburbs where Drogan had last been spotted. Jaze had said it was doubtful that the Extremist leader would still be there, but any information they could glean from what he had left behind might be the means of saving other werewolves.
“You okay?” Jaze asked.
Alex nodded wordlessly.
Jaze smiled and nodded his head toward the street Mouse turned down. “Two more blocks over. We’ll park in the driveway. Doing a sweep by,” he checked his watch, “Ten in the morning doesn’t exactly scream stealthy, so we’ll give up any pretense of being where we don’t belong and we own it.”
Own it apparently meant three other werewolves dressed in black from head to toe barreling down the door and swarming the house when they arrived.
Alex followed Jaze. His senses screamed. He expected Drogan to pop out of every cupboard or door of the seemingly innocuous house.
“Take a breath,” Jaze instructed quietly.
Alex stared at him in confusion.
Jaze removed the mask from his face and motioned for Alex to do the same. Alex held the cloth in his hands, attempting to keep his fingers from balling into fists in his anxiety.
“Breathe,” Jaze said. The dean took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Smell the air. No one has been here for at least a day. I smell Drogan; he was definitely here, but the scent is stale.”
The smell made Alex want to bare his teeth, but Jaze’s assessment was right. According to Colleen’s sense training, the sharper notes of Drogan’s scent lingered, but the subtler whispers that came with activity like walking outside, eating food, or washing hands that made up a daily catalogue of a person’s actions were gone. The tension in Alex’s muscles eased.
“Clear,” a werewolf called over the headset.
Alex was glad he had regained enough composure not to jump.
“Sweep the area. Let’s see if Drogan’s left us a trail,” Jaze commanded.
Alex followed the dean from room to room. Jaze checked papers and searched through garbage cans. Alex was about to ask what they hoped to find when one of the men called over the headset, “Got something.”
Mouse went immediately into the next room.
“What is it?” Jaze asked.
“Two phone numbers and a name,” Mouse answered. “By the slant of the writing, they were written quickly.”
“Good,” Jaze replied. “Let’s finish the sweep and head back.”
Alex followed Jaze back to the SUV. With the adrenaline fading, his nerves were shot. He collapsed next to the dean in the vehicle.
“What’d you think?” Jaze asked.
Alex studied the house. “The fact that he was here gives me the creeps.”
Jaze nodded. “Cameras will be set up, but Drogan’s smart enough not to return to a place he’s already used. That’s why our surveillance has such a hard tim
e catching him.”
“Back to the bat cave?” Alex asked.
Jaze cracked a smile. “Yeah. We’ll trace the numbers and name. Hopefully it’ll give us the lead we’re looking for. Drogan’s good at not leaving anything substantial behind, but this time he appeared to have left in a hurry. Perhaps he got sloppy.”
Alex tipped his head back as Mouse started the vehicle. He dozed in and out on their way back to the Academy. He opened his eyes in time to see Mouse turn onto the train tracks he had ran beside many times. Mouse turned off almost instantly toward what appeared to be a rock wall that made up one side of the ridge. Alex let out a snort of amazement as the rocks fell to the side like the panel in the surveillance room and Mouse entered without slowing.
“This place just keeps getting better,” Alex breathed.
Jaze chuckled and gave an approving nod. “Glad you like it.”
“Do I get to go next time?” Alex was almost afraid to ask, but not knowing felt even harder. He was afraid to have it all taken away. He feared that Jaze had only invited him along because the dean knew the house was empty. If there was danger, he might not be able to go. But he needed it. The want to do more than sit by waiting for the shooter’s accuracy to improve would drive him crazy.
“Of course,” Jaze said, looking over at him. “You’re in now. Just make smart decisions and try to keep up with school.”
“I will,” Alex promised. He fought back a smile, worried that too much enthusiasm would make Jaze second-guess his decision.
He climbed out of the SUV and breathed in the earthy, cool, metallic-tinged scent of the cavern. The prospect of the phone numbers and what they would find filled him with excitement.
Alex followed Brock up a path that led through the walls of the Academy. He could hear the students in the classrooms, and smiled at the fact that he was going to be able to help protect them and their families.
Alex wondered how Brock could make his way through the maze of paths as though he was able to see in the dark and smell the scents as good as a werewolf.