Ascension: Book 2 of the Summer Omega Series

by JK Cooper

  In a move so fast that Mareus barely tracked it, Athena lunged and bit the man on the shoulder, just above the clavicle. Mareus heard the bone snap, and the Hunter began to scream. That would leave a scar once he was cured, Lycan healing abilities or not. The screaming stopped when the man passed out from the pain. Athena dragged him to the kitchen, dumped him in the pantry, and closed the door with her paws. She pushed the heavy refrigerator in front of the door before she shifted to her human form, naked, and walked back to her father, unashamed.

  Mareus felt Otto’s stare upon his daughter, his desire for her through the pack link. It was true that werewolf packs were more accustomed to nudity, but Mareus suspected Athena was more free with herself partly to taunt his lieutenant. A moment later, he shifted as well and dressed with his back turned to them.

  Mareus raised an eyebrow at the fridge.

  “He was a screamer,” Athena said.

  “You gain too much pleasure from taunting the humans,” Mareus said. “He may bleed out.”

  Athena shrugged.

  “Otto, report,” Mareus commanded.

  His lieutenant retrieved his cell phone and laptop from a bag. “Advent packs in Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota report little to no resistance from indigenous packs. They have ravaged through several small towns, exterminating them and turning no more than 10% of the population, as you have commanded, my Alpha Prime.”

  Yes, he felt for his disparate pack members in that part of the country and found Otto’s report to match what he felt. This pleased Mareus.

  “One town in Wyoming resisted. The humans were prepared, aided by Hunters. Still, we have taken the town, though with casualties.”

  So, some humans had noticed the beginning of the Advent’s invasion. The United States government would begin mobilizing defenses. His assets within MI5 in the United Kingdom had discovered a leak—a Bandruí—but not soon enough, it seemed. Luckily, the Bandruí had proved . . . useful.

  “We could stay here,” Otto said, taking in the large home.

  Mareus considered. The house was in disrepair with the closest neighbor miles away. If the Hunters used it as an operations post of some kind, they likely owned it, and no one else would be here for a couple weeks. That likely gave them all the time they needed. Besides, Mareus enjoyed irony.

  “Athena, I think you’d better get a good night’s sleep. You have school tomorrow and you’ve already missed your first day. Take a run through the neighborhood first and see what prey presents itself. You don’t want to have my scent on you when you meet the current incarnation of my once-parents.” From his messenger bag, Mareus retrieved the Isluxua. The ancient record felt heavy in his hands, both with importance and weight. “Viersin and I, however, have a late night ahead of us.”

  “What would you have of me, my Alpha Prime?” Otto asked. He had never lost his German accent.

  “Monitor our progress in the north for now. Let me know if our forces run into any more real resistance. We may need to activate our assets within the U.S. government sooner than I had hoped.”

  Grant Brooks listened intently, pressing the earpiece harder against his head. He stood in Copeland Manor’s control room.

  “. . . we fear the Summer Omega . . . she must not rise . . .” the Hunter said.

  Grant looked sharply to Jerod Ackerman who stood next to him with his own earpiece. Copeland’s head of security squinted as the next words, those not spoken by the Hunter came. The words were fuzzy, unintelligible.

  Two days after the Hunters attacked Copeland Manor, Grant and Ackerman had tracked three survivors to a dilapidated plantation style house forty miles outside of town on backroads. The property was obviously a staging point for the Hunter unit. They could have easily dispatched the unsuspecting men, but Grant convinced Ackerman to install surveillance instead.

  “. . . you’re him!” the Hunter screamed.

  Why could they only hear the Hunter’s words clearly? Grant figured there was some interference and reached a hand to the tuner and adjusted the frequency slightly. That made it worse. He moved the dial back, perplexed.

  “Alpha Prime . . . Here . . . Now.”

  The man’s words were frantic. Grant saw Ackerman tense and go pale.

  “. . . devils and demons surround me . . . deliver me . . .”

  Then came a vicious snarl followed by a scream. Grant sneered his upper lip. When the rest of the conversation continued to be inexplicably garbled, he turned off the tuner.

  “You need to inform Elias,” Grant said.

  Ackerman nodded. “I had hoped . . . but he’s here. He’s really here.”

  “Ackerman, just Elias and Gennesaret. Keep it quiet until they tell us otherwise.”

  Ackermann was technically Grant’s boss as head of security, but the younger man often heeded Grant’s counsel. He nodded.

  “Mrs. Copeland will have some signals experts in her network. I’ll have the recording sent to them to see if they can clean it up at all.”

  “Send it encrypted,” Grant said. “And Jerod?”

  Ackerman looked up.

  “Tell them to double time it.”

  Ackerman beat a quick path from the control room. Grant gritted his teeth. Hunter reinforcements being called in would have been bad enough, but if what he heard was accurate, the Advent had arrived in Texas.

  Day two, here we go. Awkward goodbye to Grant? Check. Flirty time with my boyfriend who picked me up for school again? Check. Witty repartee with my literal swearing bestie? No dice. Sigh.

  Shelby swung her backpack around in front of her to pull out the well-creased pieces of paper. She still needed to consult the schedule and to make sure she was heading in the right direction. It was a crutch really. She couldn’t forget where Trig was, with her best friend and mortal enemy sharing space with her there.

  She hadn’t run into Sadie before school that morning, so she made her way alone. Shelby hadn’t expected to miss the spunky redhead after an intense evening visiting the three shops in town that carried dresses. There were more bars than clothing stores. Sadie had tried on just about everything her size or her size adjacent, before settling on the second one she tried on in the first store. It was a stunning green strappy thing that made Sadie’s hair and skin look even more amazing, but it took nearly four hours of brain-numbing shopping.

  Shelby picked out a purple dress with a velvety texture in the last store, just before being dragged back to the first. She was happy with it.

  She reached her class, put her schedule away, and swung her backpack onto her shoulder when something feral crawled up inside her. Her eyes burned, and she snarled, scaring a boy who had opened the door.

  “Rough morning?”

  She managed to swallow the rough patch in her throat and push the amber fire from her irises. She muttered something about her alarm going off late to the boy. He seemed to buy it and held the door for her.

  Part of her wanted to race into the room on all fours and issue challenges. What is this? What’s happening?

  Eira answered. Do you not smell her?

  And then Shelby did. There was an unfamiliar wolf inside the classroom, one not of their pack. She sniffed, feeling her sinus cavities expand and reform, but the transformation remained inside . . . for the moment. Female. Hints of recent desert air, Texas forests, other wolves she did not know, smoke, and blood. There was also a familiarity to elements of the scent that she could not place, but this was definitely a wolf she had not encountered before.

  The boy gave up trying to be chivalrous and went in, letting the door close behind him and cutting off the full potency of the scent. Shelby shook her head to help clear it, wondering if her new bond with Kale was making her more territorial.

  Calm, Eira. I was a stranger here too, and Sadie chose to react well to my presence. We can do the same.

  Eira nodded. For now.

  Shelby took a deep breath and pulled the handle. She walked past the girl with the shining black hair
and matching leather jacket to take her seat with only a glance.

  The girl managed to keep her cool even better than Shelby, doodling in a notebook without even a glance her way.

  Sadie walked in a moment later, eyes wide, staring as she walked past the girl. She took her seat next to Shelby and gestured toward the new arrival, mouthing, “Who the carnal intercourse is that?”

  Shelby raised her hands and mouthed back. “No idea!”

  A boy behind them chimed in. “Two hot new girls in a week. This school is getting interesting for us single men. Me likey. Mmmhmmm.”

  Sadie glared at him. “Shut your feculent-condemned trap, Steve. No one asked for a Neanderthal’s opinion on the matter.”

  “Don’t be jealous. I think you’re kinda hot too, Swearing Sadie.” Steve put a hand on her freckled shoulder. “The crazy ones always are.”

  “Aw, you’re almost sweet. If only that sagging brain of yours didn’t block your nostrils and force your mouth open, I might almost think you’re moderately cute . . . from a distance, in the dark, while wearing noise canceling headphones.” Sadie lifted his hand off her shoulder and let it fall to the desk.

  “Huh?” Steve blinked at her.

  “She’s calling you a loud, unattractive, mouth-breathing idiot, which seems to be an accurate description.” The girl in leather had spoken, one side of her mouth curled up in half a smile, half a snarl as she turned to face Steve. “We women aren’t here to be your eye candy, your property, or your entertainment, isn’t that right, ladies?”

  She got some claps, amens, and hallelujahs, some from other boys, which made Shelby happy.

  Steve started to say something, but then stopped when the new girl’s eyes flashed amber and her voice turned dark and deadly. “Apologize.”

  “I am terribly sorry.”

  “Not to me.” She pointed at Sadie. “To her. And tell her she’s beautiful, without a hint of creep-factor.”

  Steve gulped. “Sorry, Sadie. You are beautiful. I’ve thought so since the third grade when you sang Frère Jacques during the school recital.” He then put his head in his arms and stayed there.

  The new girl looked at Sadie and then Shelby. “Wow, there was some hidden depth there. Who knew? Now I almost feel sorry for the guy.”

  Sadie smiled. “Don’t. He pulled my hair during that recital. Some guys never learn that assault is not flirting.”

  Shelby barely heard her reply. She had tapped into her Omega skills as soon as she made eye contact. This new Lycan was strong, independent, angry, looking to prove herself. Her confidence was a partial mask though. She was afraid she might fall short and disappoint her father.

  She liked books with antiheros but snuck in cartoons with strong female leads now and again when her father was away on business. She bit her nails and had a habit of rubbing the corner of one eyebrow when she was nervous.

  Natural born, with no Immortal Wolf, something she felt shame about. Why would she feel shame? Elias has none, and he’s an amazing Alpha. Then Shelby started. She knows what an Immortal Wolf is. She had thought only she and Kale really knew of them, having just learned about them in vision—Skotha’s memories—at the warehouse with Lucas and Sherman. Shelby peered further. She hates—the outline of her hate became fuzzy. What was that?

  Walls were coming up to block her. Shelby noticed them at the same time she noticed information leaking out about herself. She’s an Omega. She’s . . . like me. Shelby slammed up her own walls, makeshift and thin as she had never had to build them before. She could feel the new girl slipping past them, prodding her secrets.

  “We’d like to welcome Athena to our class and our school. I hope you all make her feel welcome. You can have a seat now.” The teacher was talking. When did the teacher get here?

  Shelby came back to herself, her palms flat against the desk, sweating. Minutes had passed without her being aware. Athena smiled at her and winked as she slipped back into her desk. When had she stood? A wave of concern and doubt went through her. What if the pack wants an Omega who knows how to handle her powers? What if I lose my pack when I just found it? She’s stunning. What if . . . what if Kale likes her more? She reached out along her bond for reassurance, but Kale felt far away, their connection fuzzy and thin. What’s happening?

  Fear gripped her, her heart raced, but then a warm pressure started in her chest and spread out. I’m still here, and not replacing you with anyone.

  Shelby took a deep breath and silently cursed Eira for her territorial feelings and doubts. Her heart calmed, mostly. I love you, Kale.

  Love you back, Brooks.

  Why did Kale’s voice through the bond sound tinny? Almost muted?

  Sadie leaned toward Shelby. “I like her. She’s almost got as much spunk as me.”

  Shelby swallowed another growl and managed to stay civil. “She seems cool. I’ll give her a chance, but her spunk doesn’t touch yours on her spunkiest of days. She could fall into a vat of spunk and be called The Spunker by Batman and still not be as spunky as you.”

  Sadie grinned. “Condemned right! And don’t you cussing forget it.”

  Shelby grimaced. “Lazy swearing.”

  “Sigh. Everyone’s a critic. You try scouring the thesaurus for alternatives, see what you come up with, without giving into the vulgarity of slang.”

  “Oh coitus, that does not sound like fun.”

  “Now you’re getting it! We’ll make a literal swearer out of you yet.”

  “Yay?”

  Athena was in half of Shelby’s classes. It was like the new girl had peeked at her schedule and requested to be in as many as possible. Am I being too suspicious? Can territorial feelings make you paranoid?

  She wanted to ask Sadie, but the redhead had decided that Athena was amazing, so Shelby knew she wouldn’t get the support she wanted from her. She also couldn’t ask Kale. That would come off as petty and jealous. Maybe I could ask Genn tonight. She would see it as a purely academic question.

  At least Athena hadn’t been to school early enough to try out for gymnastics. That was one refuge from the new girl.

  “Do you think she’ll join the pack?” Sadie slid onto the bench next to Shelby.

  “Who?”

  “Athena, of course.”

  Shelby rubbed her forehead. She’d gotten a lot more practice building walls, but her head felt like it had been hollowed out. “No escape.”

  “What? You okay?” Sadie slid closer. “You need to cancel our thing with the Copelands tonight?”

  “No, just tired. Hard coming back to school after . . . you know.” Shelby looked up. “No one’s talking about it. I thought small towns buzzed with this stuff?”

  Sadie shook her head. “Small towns buzz with the fecal matter that doesn’t matter. See what I did there?”

  “Clever.”

  “Gotta step up my game. They like to talk about who’s dating who, who’s conjugating with whom, who’s making mistakes they can judge.”

  “Well, well, well, I thought I smelled something ripe in here.” The sticky sweet voice of Chelsea arrived behind them.

  Sadie rolled her eyes as she stood to face the girl. “Speak of the devil.” Then she coughed. “And speaking of ripe, cut back on the perfume. A trinity of whorey scents is three too many.”

  Trish and Amanda pouted and crossed their arms behind Chelsea, but they also couldn’t help but sniff themselves a little too obviously.

  “Stop that. We smell fine.” Chelsea glared at her friends and then back at Sadie, her lips drawn together hard enough to make a duck jealous. “Sounds to me like someone who doesn’t know how to use soap is overwhelmed by three girls who do.”

  “Wow.” Sadie slow clapped and looked at Shelby, eyes wide in mock awe. “Bravo. Do you think daddy got her an insult tutor? She seems to be improving.”

  “Quite impressive. I didn’t think she had it in her.”

  Chelsea shook with indignation as she raised a finger. “Keep it up, you two, and you’l
l be sorry. I’ve given you more chances than you deserve.”

  Sadie stopped clapping but kept her eyes on Shelby. “Didn’t she come in throwing out insults first? Are we keeping anything up, or just dishing it back? Do you really feel like she’s given us chances?”

  Shelby shrugged. “Pretty sure she hated me right away. No chances.”

  “You did steal her make believe boyfriend, so . . .”

  Shelby gasped. “What? Kale isn’t real?”

  Sadie snickered. “Oh, he’s real. Those muscled shoulders. That quick wit. That tight posterior you could chew on for days. Just her belief he was her boyfriend wasn’t real.”

  “Oh, good, I was worried I was hallucinating all the times we kissed. We’re still going to the dance together too, right? I didn’t hallucinate that, did I?”

  “That boy in a tux.” Sadie held her hands out to her side and stepped toward Shelby, who caught on and joined her dancing. “With his hands on you. Ba dum dum tsk tsk. I wonder if Chelsea will have a date?”

  A twinge of guilt went through Shelby as she looked over at the trinity. Trish and Amanda had their mouths open in shock. Chelsea was bright red.

  “Talking about me like I’m not here? Like I don’t matter? I matter! I’m more powerful now than you petty, little things will ever be in your entire lives.”

  “Because daddy has money?” Sadie sneered.

  “Daddy has money because he’s powerful, not the other way around.” Chelsea raised both hands in front of her and muttered to herself. Trish pulled at her arms while Amanda looked like she might run.

  “We’re not supposed to,” Trish said between clenched teeth.

  “I’m sick of the rules.” Chelsea ripped her arms away from Trish. She finished muttering and ran her fingers through some complex motions, her angry eyes bright and focused.

  Shelby thought she saw a shimmering between her hands, but then it was gone.

  Chelsea blinked at them. “What? What did you do?”

  “Just standing here, watching you lose your manure in spectacular fashion,” Sadie said. “This Kale thing is hitting ya hard, huh?”