Ascension: Book 2 of the Summer Omega Series

by JK Cooper

  Nice try, jerk, but I still feel you. Bonded and stuff, remember?

  Kale still did not respond. It was going on nearly a minute now. She scratched his protruding side, then shoved him hard. Nothing. Maybe I don’t understand what I’m feeling through our bond. It has been acting up. Could I be misinterpreting my awareness of his presence? Could he really be hurt?

  It had only been a couple weeks since she’d learned she might be some prophesied harbinger of death while becoming bonded to some super-hot next-to-be-alpha werewolf and—crap, he really isn’t moving. Her concern came out as a high-pitched whine.

  Shelby plunged her head into the water, her snout pushing at his. Get up, Kale! It’s not funny! An embryo of panic seeded in her heart just as Kale leaped from his joke and pinned Shelby beneath the water. He laughed so joyfully while his wolf barked a haughty bark. She squirmed beneath the water, but he continued to pin her.

  I hate you, she said.

  I love you, he replied.

  Great way to show it! Let me up!

  His large wolf head drew close to hers as she writhed on her back, her eyes barely submerged.

  Get up on your own, he teased.

  What? Am I suddenly a football buddy or something? She thought to herself. I’m going to tell Bubba! she yelled through their link.

  Then came Kale’s tongue. It wasn’t in some sexy, tempting way either, with him in his wolf form. His large pink tongue hung out, dropping over his jaw with a look of complete faux concern. Scary. He held her down with both paws now.

  Fine, my dad then.

  Since when did you two start talking again? Kale asked.

  Kale, it’s not funny.

  Kind of is.

  Not even a little.

  He should have some idea but had gone boy-clueless on her. The last time she had been held down was the Night of Scars. Lucas. Shifting for the first time. That same bitter cold she’d felt when facing Nicholas and his pack outside of Odessa seeped through her bones. Eira growled within her.

  I think Eira is becoming a little protective, Shelby warned.

  So?

  Shelby snarled and rotated her hips, but Kale was so strong, especially as a wolf.

  Eira, ideas?

  Shelby’s eyes stung despite the chilled water covering them. Something burned through her. Kale grunted and backed off, pawing at his face.

  What’s wrong? Shelby asked, rising from her back to her feet.

  What is this? he asked. He shook his head and doused it in the water. Then, he sneezed his face out of the stream. Then sneezed again. And again. And again.

  What did you do? Sneeze. Seriously. Sneeze. Sneeze. Sneeze.

  She pummeled him, pushing him hard, but he barely moved, even as he continued to blink at her and sneeze. Sigh. Cursed muscles.

  Sneeze. Again! What did you do?

  Seems like allergies?

  He wrinkled his nose and blew it into the water, making bubbles. I don’t have allergies. Wait. Did you give me allergies?

  Eira did. The feeling of them anyway.

  Sneeze. What am I supposedly allergic to? Sneeze. My eyes are burning!

  Um, nothing serious. Just wet fur.

  Kale stopped his pawing. Yeah, his amber eyes were turning red on the edges.

  I hate you, he said.

  I love you.

  He sneezed again.

  Ok, Eira, I think we’re good. The cold in Shelby’s bones retreated, and Kale sneezed once more, before shaking his head as if to clear the pseudo-allergy from him.

  I am weary now, Eira said.

  Really? After just that? But she’s done so much more before.

  It takes much from me to tap into magics not my own, Eira said.

  Oops, sorry. I meant that to be private, Eira. I didn’t mean to imply you were weak or anything. Quite the opposite. Then Shelby blinked. Wait, is there such a thing as a private thought anymore for me?

  No, Thyra. Not for centuries.

  Athena groaned when she explored the bond’s strength. How has she undone all three days’ worth of work in one night? Did they make out for hours?

  She took a deep breath, held it for five seconds, and let it out as slowly as she could. She repeated the process, using the meditation technique to clear her mind. Focus, re-center, and go bigger. You can do this. Father is expecting updates tonight. The meditation would have worked better if it didn’t smell like stale cleansers and despair in the room. Math.

  She glanced back at her target. Shelby smiled at Sadie, oblivious to the erosion Athena worked within. Athena contemplated Shelby’s friend. The redhead was a curious case. Explosive, quick to anger, fiercely loyal to her friends, but not always her Alpha. There was something else that Athena suspected about this “Swearing Sadie” but she couldn’t quite place it. I can’t smell her. She wondered what that might mean. Stories of venatrixes existed, but she had never met one. If Sadie was what Athena had begun to suspect, she could be very valuable to the Advent. Maybe Shelby and Kale aren’t the only prizes I can bring father.

  Athena had already sent messages about her to her father. Shelby isn’t my only mission. She projected independence, resistance to authority, and anger into the girl. Let’s see if we can’t burn some bridges there. It would also hurt Shelby to lose you. Two birds, one Omega.

  She turned her attention back to Shelby. Her doubt, fear, and worry had been lessened since Athena last saw her. We can’t have that. She poured them back in, tearing past the blockades through the cracks Athena had already discovered. She could almost taste the bond, the flavor thinning out as she worked, like adding water to broth. I will dilute you down to nothing.

  Simultaneously, she reached out to the other pack members at the school, chipping away at their loyalties. Plenty of pain to work with there. One spiked with anger. Ooooh, you’ll do nicely. Loss, this one had lost . . . two family members. Recently. What was this? Oh, you’ve had a tangle with Hunters recently. How horrible that must have been. Athena focused, pouring more anguish and an extreme sense of being alone into this vulnerable Lycan. She felt something fracture in her target, and she softly gasped with pleasure.

  Kale was the hardest one to reach. He had an unfailing faith in his father and Shelby. It was maddening. All Athena’s usual tricks did nothing. Projecting doubts and fears his way was like trying to erode a boulder with a squirt gun. Guess I’ll just have to break the bond from one side.

  The class blurred into the background. She was a machine, churning out emotions minute after minute. Time retreated. Athena lost all feeling from without, but then something pushed against her.

  She sought out this subtle threat. Where is it coming from? Is Shelby projecting back? But she found her target still cowering behind her makeshift walls. No.

  She realized it wasn’t an emotional threat. It was physical. Someone was squeezing her arm. She’d fallen too deep inside herself to notice. I can’t do that again. Way too dangerous.

  Her eyes shot open. Sadie was kneeling next to her. “Hey. Class is over.”

  Athena covered her initial start with a smile. “Oh. Thanks. I think I fell asleep.”

  “Procreating Trig! Happens to the best of us.”

  “What?” Athena wasn’t sure what the girl was trying to say. She looked around the empty classroom. Everyone had already left, even the teacher.

  “Literal swearing. You’ll get used to it.” Sadie pulled on her arm. “Come on, let’s get you something with caffeine before the bell rings.”

  “Um, okay.” Athena let Sadie lead her out, her hair falling in front of her face to conceal her triumphant smile.

  Sunlight poured in her window, rudely informing Shelby she had to get up and head to the Copeland manor to start training. She could see the dust motes in the air, tickling her nose. She fought a sneeze, rolled out of bed, and made her way to the bathroom, grumbling to herself.

  Friday evening had passed too quickly. Knowing it was hers to do as she pleased made the time more fleeti
ng. She’d survived another day at school. Chelsea hadn’t been in any of her classes or at gymnastics practice, which had seemed a blessing, but Shelby still felt exhausted and beat by the end of the day. She’d assumed it was from dealing with the whorey trinity, but she couldn’t blame miss pouty-mouth princess any longer.

  She’d gone to the drive-in with Kale after that. Who knew those still existed? She’d snuggled with him in his Ford Raptor while Audrey Hepburn ran around in black clothing, delivering the best lines over their radio tuned to the movie’s specific station.

  Popcorn, red licorice, and delicious kisses had healed the fatigue to some degree, but she was yawning uncontrollably before the movie ended. Kale had insisted on getting her home right after. The jerk of a gentleman!

  She eyed the dark circles under her eyes. That’s new. Maybe being an Omega takes more out of me than I thought? Taking care of everyone else’s emotions was tiring. Rachel continued to get more and more focused on vengeance. Sadie was being weird too, angry at times. Everyone else bounced from numb to sad to angry and back again.

  Everyone is grieving, Eira whispered to her mind. Give them time, love, and patience. It’s all you can do. Most will recover.

  Speaking from experience?

  More than you know, sweet Thyra. The sadness in her tone was overwhelming. Shelby decided not to prompt her wolf for more answers that morning.

  She showered, brushed her teeth, and threw on sweatpants and an old t-shirt. Training after all. She spent twenty minutes on her hair though. Training with Kale.

  Shelby could hear the grunts and growls coming from the gym and training rooms as she walked down the hall, her sneakers squeaking on the marble as the security guard walking her clacked louder with his black boots. Am I late?

  She pulled out her phone. She was, but only by about ten minutes, and that was mostly due to passing through security. They weren’t taking things lightly with everyone in one place again. She’d missed a text from Kale during the process of being wanded, patted down, and passed through a metal detector.

  Hey. Don’t eat breakfast. We have a light one set up.

  Her stomach growled almost as loud as whoever was training in the next room. She hadn’t even thought about breakfast.

  She passed through the door into the brightly lit gym. No one was using any of the equipment. Tommy, Rachel, and Karina leaned against one wall, sweating and panting. Tommy waved half-heartedly. Sure enough, there was a table by the entrance with granola bars, juice, and healthy-looking muffins on it. She grabbed two bars and a glass of orange juice. She chugged that and then regretted it.

  “Too soon after you brushed your teeth?” Elias made her jump, coming up beside her. She saw Tommy, Karina, and Rachel pretend to be using a machine when they saw Elias.

  “How’d you guess? Was I projecting?”

  He laughed. “You made the same face I did half an hour ago. I chose OJ too.” His smile shrank. “You’re late though. You sure you’re ready for this?”

  Shelby shoved half a bar in her mouth and nodded. “Swoorray. Erm reedy.” She swallowed. “Sorry. I’m ready.”

  Elias nodded. “That waits to be seen.” A bell rang. It wasn’t like the bells at school. It sounded like one from a boxing ring.

  Shelby glanced through a window and saw ropes. They might have a boxing ring.

  “Start in room one now,” Elias said. “Then move to the next room when the bell rings. You’ll do a circuit in the gym when you run out of rooms.”

  Tommy, Karina, and Rachel staggered into room one. Three more of the pack entered the gym from another door and started on one of the machines to punctuate his point.

  “Okay.”

  Elias frowned at the doorway she’d come in. “Did Sadie arrive with you?”

  “Um, no. Was she supposed to?”

  He growled. “Who knows with that girl? She’s always late. I think she does it to get a rise out of me.”

  Shelby shrugged and shoved the rest of the bar in her mouth. “I dunno amyfing.”

  “Don’t talk with your mouth full, dear.” Gennesaret spoke from the doorway of room one, labeled in vinyl above her head. She was wearing bright yoga pants and a sports bra that made her look like a model in a gym commercial. “Coming?”

  Shelby looked down at her gray sweats and holey t-shirt with graphics too faded to read. “Yeah.” She forced the other granola bar into her mouth and went into room one.

  Gennesaret turned out to be very good at yoga. It wasn’t the relax-and-feel-good-about-yourself type of yoga either. It was bend, twist, move, and breathe-until-sweat-pours-down-your-back yoga. It hurt.

  The bell rang. Shelby dragged herself into the next room where her father stood next to a rubber dummy attached to a post. She’d seen it before. Xavier. That’s what Grant named him. Xavier Zelf. He thinks he’s so clever.

  “Let’s get into some hand to hand self-defense.” He grinned, never looking happier. “Shelby, you want to run them through some of the things I’ve shown you on good ol’ Xavier here?”

  An hour later, Shelby regretted the granola bars. They wanted out, but she refused to become an orange juice geyser, so she swallowed hard and pushed past the pain as she ran another set of ladders. This will not break me. It’s been a while since the bell rang though.

  Instead, shouts came from the gym. Tommy went to the door and looked out. Shelby followed when no one stopped him.

  Sadie held Athena’s hand as they walked up to the gate. “Security is copulating tight. Even more so since you’ve never been here before and I didn’t warn anyone you were coming. Expect to feel uncomfortable in every way possible.”

  “Sounds lovely and pretentious. You sure this is okay?”

  Sadie smiled. “Yeah. The Copelands have always been a bit that way. They’ll get over it, once they get to know you.” The smile died. “Recent events made things worse. SWAC hit the fan.”

  Athena squeezed her hand. “Yeah? You good?”

  “Me? I’m cussing copacetic as ever. We lost some people though.”

  “Always hard.” Athena looked down. “I’ve been there.”

  Sadie felt suddenly sad and brazen at the same time. She hugged Athena. “Let’s do this.” She pushed the buzzer.

  “Late and as rebellious as ever!” Elias was beyond enraged. Shelby could feel it rolling off him in waves. Annoyance, anger, betrayal, sadness, and a confusing mix of other emotions collided inside him. His face turned red as he yelled at Sadie, who cowered in a corner of the gym. Athena leaned against a wall, looking confused and hurt.

  What’s she doing here?

  “What is she doing here?” Elias mirrored her thoughts with his words. “What did I say?”

  Sadie whimpered, but lifted her head defiantly. “To let you meet her. That’s what I’m doing.”

  “Someplace neutral!” Elias gestured wildly around the room. “Is my home someplace neutral? After what happened? How dare you!”

  “Darling.” Gennesaret stepped up next to him and put a hand out to his. “Perhaps now isn’t the time.”

  “No. You coddle her.” He pulled his hand away. “Enough is enough.” He looked at Athena. “I apologize. I am not angry at you. This isn’t your fault. I gave specific instructions to my pack. They should be followed.”

  She bowed her head. “Of course. You are the Alpha. I did not know, or I would not have come.”

  Shelby stepped farther into the room, intending to go to her friend. Rachel grabbed her arm. “You don’t want to get between them right now.”

  Kale came out of another room and looked her way. He shook his head. Let him do what he has to do. He spoke to her through their bond, but his voice felt so cold and far away. She ignored a command. It isn’t a light thing, especially when the pack is at war.

  Are we at war? We took care of the Hunters. The Advent is up north. He didn’t reply. Shelby still felt like she should do something. She sent soothing energy at Elias to calm and fill him with empathy. He blocke
d it. What? He can do that?

  He glared in her direction for just a second. Another rebuke. No, I’m sorry, Shelby. This has to happen. It is time.

  “I put up with a lot from you, more than most Alphas ever would. You question everything. You voice your opinions after I’ve given commands. You poke fun when I call for seriousness. You push and push. And I never know where your allegiances lie. I can’t smell your emotions. Last straw. Enough!”

  Tears pattered against her jeans. “I’m sorry. I can’t help any of that. It’s just who I am.”

  “I know. I want you out.” Elias no longer shouted, but that just made his words feel heavier, colder, more finite. “Now.”

  Sadie looked up, her face ashen. “What?”

  “You heard me.” He snarled it. “Get out of my home.”

  “But, but training?”

  “You’ll get none here today. We’ll discuss as a pack when you get to return, but my decision will be final, and I’m leaning toward never the longer you stay.”

  Gennesaret gasped next to him. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Sadie stood on shaky legs then ran from the room. Her parents, Paul and Sophie, glanced at Elias. Shelby felt their desire to comfort their daughter but also to obey their Alpha. After several seconds, Elias nodded to them, and they chased after their daughter.

  Athena bowed toward Elias. “I am sorry to have caused problems.”

  “It wasn’t you.” He managed to sound apologetic and casual. “That venatrix is a menace on her best days. Do you still wish to meet with me after my poor hospitality?”

  “Yes. I understand the need for obedience in a pack.”

  Shelby couldn’t understand what had just happened. Is Sadie out of the pack? Just like that? No discussion? No second chances?

  Rachel still held her arm, fingers cold and shaky. Shelby tried to pull away, but Rachel was stronger than she appeared. She pulled Shelby close and whispered in her ear. “Stay for now. You need to show Elias you remain loyal. You will see Sadie at school . . . and after. One of the good things about her being a venatrix is Elias won’t smell her on you.”