by Cheree Alsop
“If you have a problem with me, say it. Don’t wear out the professors with your meaningless babble,” Alex said.
Everyone scooted quickly away from the two Seconds.
Chapter Six
Sid’s eyes narrowed. Alex caught the slight shifting of the werewolf’s weight a split second before Torin’s Second threw a punch.
Alex leaned back just far enough for Sid’s long arm to miss him. He grabbed Sid’s wrist in his right hand and pulled as the werewolf was thrown off balance by his own momentum. Alex landed a quick jab to Sid’s right kidney followed by an elbow to the back. He danced out of the way before Sid could retaliate.
The huge werewolf turned and glared at him. Though Alex had landed the punches, the Second appeared completely fine. Alex let out a slow breath and bounced on the balls of his feet, ready for the next round.
Sid wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. Instead of another blind attack, he circled Alex, looking for an opening. Alex chose to give him one. He lowered his right hand just enough that it would look like he was still on guard, but maybe wasn’t paying attention enough to protect his face.
Sid took the bait. His jab glanced off of Alex’s jaw hard enough to stun as Alex spun out of the way. Alex dropped to one knee and kicked, catching Sid behind the knees. When the huge werewolf fell, Alex jumped on top of him, but Sid was ready. He grabbed Alex’s right arm and threw him to the side. Alex’s elbow caught across a log and bent back further than it was supposed to. A shard of pain raced up to his shoulder.
Alex climbed to his feet holding his arm. Sid leered at him.
“Give up?” the Second asked.
In answer, Alex hit Sid on the jaw with a left haymaker, then brought his elbow back and snapped Sid’s head the other way with the reverse. He kicked Sid in the stomach, then in the face. Sid staggered back and clutched his nose as it started to bleed.
“I’ll accept your submission,” Alex said.
Sid glared at him over his cupped nose. “I’ll kill you,” he growled.
To Alex’s surprise, when Sid did move, it was to phase.
Usually rank duels were fought in whatever form the combatants started; breaking tradition, Sid ran forward and phased to his huge Gray wolf form. He caught Alex’s wrist in his fangs as he loped past. Alex spun, freeing his hand. He landed on Sid’s back, slamming both fists down on the werewolf’s spine. Sid let out a yelp and shook him off.
Alex phased and hit the ground in wolf form. He growled at Sid. The huge Gray gave a mocking wolfish smile.
Rage burned through Alex. He made a dive for Sid’s front paws, feinted to the left when the werewolf dropped his head to meet the attack, and latched onto the side of Sid’s neck.
Sid let out a howl of pain. He reared up on his hind legs, yanking Alex up with him. When that didn’t work, Sid slammed into a tree, effectively scraping Alex free. Alex darted away before Sid could reach him. He knew he had to use speed and swift attacks to defeat the stronger werewolf.
Alex ran a full circle around Sid. When the werewolf turned in an effort to keep him in sight, Alex leaped over him and slammed his head into the werewolf’s ribs. Sid fell heavily onto his side. Alex took advantage of the opening and latched onto the huge werewolf’s throat.
Every sense strained. Alex could hear the blood pulsing through the werewolf’s jugular millimeters beneath his fangs. His own heartbeat gave a stutter from the strain of the fight. Alex held still, willing his muscles to obey.
The scent of the wolf’s dirty fur filled his nose along with the smell of the pines and loam around them. Alex saw only red as he battled the instincts that told him to end the threat to his standing in the Academy. The rank duels never ended in death, but Alex realized at that moment how easily it could happen. The wolf’s ragged breaths came out gasping as he held perfectly still, unsure what Alex was going to do.
Alex slowly let go of Sid’s throat and backed away. He limped slightly on his front leg where Sid had hyperextended his elbow, but he could tell by the lessening pain that it was already healing. He grabbed his clothes in his mouth and carried them to a nearby pine. He phased and pulled them on. The shirt had been torn at the neck when he phased. Luckily, the pants had fared better. He settled the shirt the best he could, then made his way back to the clearing.
“Well done,” Jericho said in a low voice. “That was perfectly executed.”
Cassie hugged him tight around the neck before he even had a chance to protest. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. She stepped back and Alex followed her gaze to Torin.
The Alpha gave him a searching look. Alex couldn’t tell if Torin was upset or pleased. Sid was nowhere to be seen. At Alex’s questioning glance, Torin tipped his head toward the Academy. “I sent him back to have Lyra look at his nose. It didn’t want to stop bleeding.”
Alex nodded, unsure what to say.
Torin surprised him by holding out a hand. “I agree with what your Alpha said. That was well done.” Alex held out his hand slowly and Torin shook it. “I honestly didn’t think you could take Sid. I’m glad you surprised me.”
Alex was taken back. “But Sid’s your Second.”
Torin nodded. “We’ve all grown up together. I’ve heard him say a million times that he could beat any Second at the Academy. When he chose to duel you first, I thought he was confirming his claims the easy way. Sometimes a little humbling is a good thing.”
Alex stared at the Alpha. It was the first time Torin had cared enough to talk to him for more than a short answer, and he was congratulating Alex for beating his own Second.
Trent broke Alex’s train of thought by slugging him on the shoulder. “Good job, man. That was awesome.”
Alex thanked him and the other pack members who came forward to congratulate him. He looked at Colleen over Terith’s head. “Sorry for fighting in class,” he apologized.
She gave a smile of understanding. “Like I was saying, you’ve got to go with your instincts. That was an impressive fight.”
“Thanks,” Alex replied, feeling self-conscious from all of the werewolves watching him, especially the younger members of his own pack. Their wide eyes and awed expressions followed him as he took a seat at the base of the tree near where Colleen had been trying to teach. His pack fell in around him, and this time, no one interrupted Colleen.
***
Pack Jericho was ravenous by the time geography with Professor Thorson and English with Kaynan and Grace were over. They raced to the Great Hall in the hopes of beating the other packs.
“Seriously?” Trent complained when they pushed the doors open to find Pack Boris and Pack Miguel already eating. “What’d they do, skip class?”
“Football short,” Amos replied. The huge werewolf smiled at his pack from the year before. “Parker broke arm.”
“They don’t need to know that,” Boris snapped. He gave Jericho a steely look. “Just wait until we play you guys. It sounds like Vance is working on permission to start real games next year.”
“We can’t wait,” Jericho replied steadily.
He sat down at the table with the others close behind.
“I don’t want to play them in football,” Cassie remarked quietly. “They’ll kill us!”
“They’ll try,” Jericho corrected her. “We’ve been known to put up quite the fight.”
Cassie smiled at him. “That’s true. They better watch out.”
Jericho winked at her. “That’s the spirit. Sun Tzu said ‘Every battle is won before it is ever fought.’ In my way of thinking, we’ve already won.”
Torin bumped into Pack Jericho’s Alpha, sending his fork flying. “Quoting Chinese strategists, Jericho? I hope it pays off tonight.”
Jericho chose not to answer. Caitlyn picked up his fork and gave it back to him. He smiled at the little girl and rubbed the fork with his napkin before stabbing it into his lasagna.
“Night games are going to be a bit intense,” he told his pack quietly. “Just stick
with me. We’ll figure it out.”
After dinner, Jericho waited for Alex near the door.
“What’s going on?” Alex asked.
The Alpha looked over the heads of the students going up the stairs to their pack quarters.
“Let’s just say that Boris came back from the summer break with some extended plans for training, and I’m not exactly on board,” Jericho said. His tone was normally level no matter what he was talking about; the edge of frustration in the Alpha’s voice let Alex know just how much it bothered him.
“How can I help?”
Jericho shook his head. “I’m not sure. It sounds to me like the Alphas are trying to start an all-out war between the packs.”
“They’re tired of the peace already?” Alex asked with more than a hint of sarcasm. “At least pack against pack will be better than Lifer against Termer.”
“They have that figured in as well,” Jericho said. He leaned against the wall. “Apparently, it will be Lifer packs against Termers, but individual packs will strategize as a unit.”
Jericho’s concern became clear. “Then where do we stand?”
“Torin wants us to divide our pack.”
Alex was speechless at the implication. “Uh, no!” he finally forced out. “That’s not how packs work.”
Jericho nodded. “Hence the part where I’m not on board.”
Alex watched his pack weave between the others. Sid threw a punch at Trent when Torin wasn’t paying attention. The Gray ducked, but tripped on the stairs and fell against Terith. Several other students tumbled down behind them. The werewolves started yelling at Trent.
Alex shook his head. “This is going to be interesting,” he said under his breath as he followed Jericho between the few stragglers and up the stairs.
Chapter Seven
Alex leaned against the door frame. “How’d your first class go?”
At the sight of him, Aunt Meredith rose from where she had been making notes on a sheet of paper. She surprised him by giving him a hug.
“Sometimes it’s nice to see a friendly face.”
Alex fought back a wave of concern. “That bad, huh?”
She sighed and stepped back. “Let’s just say that I’m not exactly used to dealing with so many werewolves in such a little space. It’s a bit overwhelming.”
“So’s algebra,” Alex countered.
Meredith laughed. “It can be,” she conceded. She took a seat back at her desk and motioned for Alex to take the one across from it. “How was your day?”
Alex gave a nonchalant shrug. “Oh, you know, the usual. I threw a few touchdowns in football and surprised Vance that our pack could actually score points, got in a rank duel with Sid and beat him, found out that there is more to Jaze’s underground lair than I thought, realized my sister may possibly be in love, and just got told that the Alphas want to split up our pack for night games training because they are intimidated by the fact that we mixed Lifers and Termers.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “Again, the usual.”
Meredith smiled, her light blue eyes sparkling. “Sounds boring.”
“Totally,” Alex agreed, grinning at her sarcasm.
“Guess algebra’s not so complicated, huh?”
Alex laughed. “I guess not. I suppose I should assert myself more. Trent’s the real math whiz in our pack. He can build practically anything.” He smiled, remembering. “One summer a few years ago, he told Jaze he was bored and wanted to make something. Jaze brought in an old engine. By the time the term started, Trent had it running.” He met his aunt’s gaze. “And he didn’t have instructions or anything. He said he could see it all in his head.”
“Impressive,” Aunt Meredith replied.
Alex nodded. “So the next summer, Jaze got him an engine that was completely in pieces. Trent put that one back together, too.”
“What did he do this last summer?” Meredith asked.
“He built a helicopter engine. Jaze said he thought it would be a challenge, but Trent had it done a month into summer. I don’t know what Jaze will come up with next.” He smiled. “I think it’s great that he tries to challenge Trent, though. Trent appreciates it.”
Meredith smiled back. “You really like Jaze, don’t you?”
Alex nodded with his gaze on the desk in front of him. “He’s been so good to me and Cassie. He didn’t have to take us in like that, you know?”
Meredith was quiet for a few minutes. She finally said, “It must have been hard losing everyone in your life.”
Alex nodded again, but he couldn’t speak. He thought they really had lost every person in their family. To have his mother’s sister at the Academy was more than he ever could have hoped for. The twins went from only having each other to having an aunt who cared about them. She had spent time over the summer getting to know them. She cared about little things like their favorite colors or what kind of food they liked. She had even surprised Cassie with a box of chocolates one night. Apparently, they had the same tastes.
“I lost everyone,” Meredith said in a voice so quiet Alex wasn’t sure she knew she had spoken out loud.
He let out a slow breath as the realization hit him hard. He hadn’t really thought of the fact that no one came for her or looked for her after Jaze rescued her from Drogan. Even though his parents had died, there might have been someone else who cared. “Did you ever get married?” he asked.
Something flickered in her gaze, some spark of emotion that she smothered quickly before it burned out of control. “I’m not the marriage type,” she answered.
“I wished we’d known you when we were younger,” Alex said.
Meredith nodded. “Me, too, but it wasn’t to be.”
The sadness in her expression made Alex ask, “Why not?”
She gave him a small smile, her eyes sad. “When the werewolves first started getting killed off, it wasn’t safe for us to be in big packs. We split up and my sister and I visited each other only once in a while. Then Jet was taken.” She took a shuddering breath. “Mindi and Will were beside themselves. They looked everywhere. I had never seen my sister look so lost. I tried to help in any way that I could, but he had vanished.”
She rubbed her eyes as if the memories were painful. “So many werewolves were being killed. It was a dark time for our race, and nobody was safe. There were a lot of horrible things that happened. When you and Cassie were born...” She swallowed and continued, “Mindi and Will decided the best thing was to move away. I couldn’t go.”
The pain in Meredith’s voice held Alex. His heart gave a slow thump. “Why not?”
She opened her mouth to speak, then shook her head. After a minute, she tried again, blinking back tears that she refused to let fall. “It wasn’t safe. Bad people were looking for me. I couldn’t let them find my family.”
Alex nodded. With Drogan’s attacks, he knew exactly how she felt. “I’m glad we’re together.”
She gave him a watery smile. “Me, too.”
Familiar footsteps walked to the door. Alex and Meredith both looked up with expectant expressions. Cassie appeared from the hallway. Surprise colored her expression at the sight of both of them.
“I, uh, just...”
“Wanted to see how Aunt Meredith’s first day went?” Alex guessed.
Cassie nodded, her cheeks touched with red.
Meredith crossed to the door and gave Cassie a big hug. At her motion, Alex joined them. “All I know,” Meredith said. “Is I couldn’t have a horrible day with you two checking on me.”
“I’m glad,” Cassie replied.
“Me, too,” Meredith said.
***
When the howl sounded, Pack Jericho was the last to the courtyard. Per their Alpha’s instructions, they hung back near the north wall away from the other packs who jostled each other for space.
“I don’t like this at all,” Cassie whispered. Her nervousness at the crowd showed in the way she couldn’t stop moving her feet. Alex knew she wanted nothing
more than to dart into the forest and not look back until sunrise. He felt the same way.
“It’s okay,” Alex reassured her. “Jericho will work things out.”
“Don’t be so sure,” Kalia muttered.
Alex glanced at her. She pointedly ignored him.
“About time,” Boris commented when Jericho joined them on the steps.
Alex clenched his hands into fists. He hated uncertainty, and it felt as if everything was changing again. The night games had once been just for fun, the way students blew off steam and relaxed after long hours of school. Last year, with Drogan’s attacks on the Academy, Alex had made the suggestion to change the night games into training sessions so that the students would be prepared if the Academy was ever attacked again.
Their training had paid off several times before the term was through. Apparently, Boris’ creativity had gone to his head during the summer months that the Termers were away from the Academy. He barked out orders as though he was in charge of every pack.
“Termers, to the steps, Strays,” he grinned and corrected himself, “I mean Lifers, to the gate. Torin is going to take charge of the Lifers.” He turned to the Alpha and said in an undertone, “Good luck.”
Torin lifted his lips in a silent snarl even though he was still in human form.
Boris glanced at Jericho. Annoyance showed in his expression. “Since we have one pack that is neither Lifers nor Termers, the mutt pack,” several members of Pack Boris laughed. “We’ll have to split you up.”
Whispers of ‘mutt pack’ traveled through the packs with laughter.
“I don’t want them on our team,” Alex heard Shannon say to her sister Shaylee where the Alpha twins stood near the gate.
“I know, right?” Shaylee replied. “Any student who hangs out with a Stray for so long must have something wrong in the head.”
“We’re not splitting up.” Jericho’s answer carried across the courtyard.
Boris glared at Jericho. “We talked about this.”