Avoiding Alpha

by Aileen Erin

  Calling my brother was at the top of my list. He’d know how to reach the cousins and might have some advice, too. When I first got bitten, he’d hung out with our cousins a few times.

  I grabbed my cell and hit Axel’s number. He didn’t answer. I hung up and called again. No answer.

  Shit. He was probably still sleeping off last night’s party.

  I didn’t have my cousins’ numbers. This was probably dumb in retrospect, but the two times I’d seen them, I’d been kind of distracted. The first time I’d been in a rush to save Dastien from being eaten by a den of vampires. The second time they’d saved me from getting my ass beat by Imogene.

  If anyone would know how to get in touch with them, Mom would. But she’d ask questions—which was why I’d tried Axel first.

  Screw it.

  Mom picked up on the first ring.

  “Is everything okay?”

  I almost laughed. “Why’s that the first thing you say when I call?”

  “Because lately, every time you call, something’s been wrong.”

  Oh. That kind of blew. And it was totally true. “Right. Well, yes. I’m fine. But no, everything isn’t okay.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Meredith’s sick.” I hated the sound of that. “I need to talk to Claudia or Raphael. You wouldn’t happen to know their numbers or anything, would you?”

  “No.” Her voice was firm, like I’d just asked her if I could start stripping.

  I paced my room. “Mom. Do you—”

  “I know where they live, but I don’t have their numbers.”

  Awesome. Maybe this wasn’t going as bad as I thought. “Great. Where—”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea that I tell you, honey. They’re all a little…” She sighed. “…upset about your situation right now.”

  I couldn’t take that answer. She had to tell me. “I’m not joking. Meredith could die, and I really don’t care how upset they are.”

  “Explain.” So, I did. When I got to the end, she was quiet for a minute. “I know you wonder why I didn’t bring you back to Texas sooner, but the truth is, I still don’t agree with how La Alquelarre—the coven—is being run. If you go, they’ll try to make you stay. Luciana’s in charge, and she isn’t a friend of the pack. She’ll try to manipulate you, and needing help will make it that much easier.”

  That sounded like a whole bunch of not fun, but I didn’t have a ton of options. “Mom. Please. I’m strong. I’m a werewolf for God’s sake and I’m not about to let anyone manipulate me.”

  “You don’t understand. If they have something that you want, they’ll…” Mom stopped herself. “I’m worried about what could happen to you.”

  “You shouldn’t worry so much.” I had it covered for both of us. “I’m going to be fine, but Meredith might not be.” I paused, hoping that would sink in. “The address, please.” I squeezed my eyes shut and crossed my fingers.

  She was quiet for so long this time, I had to check to make sure she hadn’t hung up. “I’m sorry, but I can’t. Don’t you wonder why I kept you away from them?”

  “Sure…” Not that it was relevant right now.

  “Your grandmother led the coven because she fulfilled the two requirements: she was female and had the gift of sight. When Luciana took over, your abuela started searching for the next generation’s leader and found you. We were already in LA because Luciana had everyone fooled. I didn’t have any gifts, so she didn’t bother pretending around me. Mija, she’s not a good person, and the coven went dark when she came to power.”

  I didn’t like hearing that this lady had been a total bitch to my mom, but I couldn’t let that scare me away. “I get that she’s bad, Mom, but that doesn’t change the situation that I’m in. I have to go over there. Maybe later I can help straighten out the coven, but not now. I barely have a handle on this werewolf stuff.”

  “That’s not what I meant. It’s not your problem anymore. The coven has been in trouble for a long time, and your abuela thought it best if we waited to bring you back. After she died, we almost didn’t come back at all, but you were having a hard time and your brother was leaving and your powers were growing so strong…so I thought…it doesn’t matter. What matters is that going over there now is not a good idea. Not after what’s happened. It was dangerous before. It’s why we stayed away. But now they feel like the pack wronged them by taking you as their own, and it’s even more dangerous. I understand why Dastien did what he did, but he’s placed you in a very bad spot. As your mother, I have to protect you. Even when it’s hard. Even if it means risking your friend’s life. I cannot give you information that could put you at risk.”

  I wished she had told me this before, but that didn’t matter. “But I’m strong, Mom. You have to trust me. I’m a werewolf and a bruja. I’ll be okay.”

  “No. I’m sorry, but no.”

  She couldn’t do this. “Mom. Please. I’m begging you. I’ll do anything.”

  “I’ll be praying for Meredith. I’ll light a lámpara for her.” She sighed. “Te quiero mucho, mija.”

  This was not how I wanted this to go. Not at all. Frustration burned in my gut, but there was nothing I could say to Mom that would change her mind. I got my stubbornness from her.

  “I love you, too.” I barely restrained myself from smashing my phone. Instead, I blew out a breath, and gently placed the phone in my bag. I wasn’t giving up that easily.

  Dastien knew more than he’d said earlier, and if I couldn’t convince him to tell me where my cousins lived, then someone else would.

  My stomach growled, which wasn’t a good sign. I needed to eat something before my wolf went totally crazy.

  I made my way to the common room. The fridge was well-stocked with all kinds of snacks, prepared meals, and treats. I grabbed five sandwiches, a jumbo bag of chips, an orange Fanta, and shoved everything in my bag. Not the best breakfast ever, but it’d do.

  I left the dorms and went in search of Dastien.

  ***

  My mate proved harder to find than I’d thought. He wasn’t in any of his usual haunts—the cafeteria, the gym, or on the Cazadores course, the totally nuts obstacle course used to train super badass werewolf warriors. I was two-and-a-half sandwiches in before I finally found him in Mr. Dawson’s office.

  While Mr. Dawson was away tracking down pack alphas for the Tribunal, Dastien was in charge of St. Ailbe’s. I was proud that Dastien was strong enough to control all the werewolves in the school, but having him in charge was awkward since I was still a senior. Though no one seemed to care about that besides me.

  Mr. Dawson’s secretary was at her desk, typing away outside his door. Mrs. Kilburn’s gray hair was pulled back in a tidy bun at the nape of her neck and her olive green cardigan was buttoned to her neck. It seemed a little much for summer, but who was I to judge? I used to wear gloves year round.

  She waved me past without looking up from her computer. I knocked once and opened the door.

  Dastien was seated behind Mr. Dawson’s massive desk. “You didn’t go to class?”

  I raised an eyebrow at that. Did he actually think I was going to go study Shakespeare while this was going on? “No. I didn’t go to class.”

  “Right.” He drew out the word a bit, but didn’t ask why. He knew why.

  I sat in one of the big brown leather chairs, and Dastien came around to sit on the desk in front of me.

  “Any word on Donovan?” Please, let him say yes. Please, for the love of all that is good, let him say yes.

  “No.”

  Crap.

  “But I don’t expect to for at least another day or two.” He sighed. “I wish you would’ve told me what was going on with them. I thought we weren’t keeping things from each other.”

  “I wasn’t keeping something from you. It was their private business and I figured when Donovan got back, we could play matchmakers. Force a double-date or something.” I slouched back in the chair and closed my eyes.
“Now I just want to keep her alive. I can’t lose her.”

  Dastien trailed his fingers down my cheek and I opened my eyes. He was sitting on his heels in front of my chair. “We’ll find a way to fix this.” He pointed at my purse. “You’re going somewhere?”

  “Yes?” I gave him my best angelic smile. “I’m going to see my cousins. You know where they are, right?”

  “Yes.” He pressed his lips in a fine line. “But no. I’m not telling you.”

  This was getting old. “I’m really tired of hearing ‘no’ today.”

  “If that’s what you want to talk about, then that’s all I’ve got for you.”

  I didn’t want to fight with him, but this wasn’t okay. “You don’t get to make decisions for me.”

  “No. You will not be going to see any member of that coven.” He backed his command with power.

  I let his words slip past me. Anger heated my skin. “Did you just order me not to do something?”

  He had the intelligence to look ashamed. “I’m sorry.” He stood up. “But I can’t let you go there. It’s not safe.”

  “My mom said the same thing.” I reached for his hand, and twined his fingers with mine. “But I’m not listening to either of you. I think you both are forgetting that Meredith’s life is at stake. They could help.”

  “I’d feel better about you going if you’d shifted. If you did it right now, it wouldn’t take long, and you’d still have plenty of time to—”

  Was he trying to bribe me into shifting? “No. I know I’ve been pushing it off and I’m running out of time with the Tribunal and all, but Meredith needs my help now.” I didn’t want to fight with him about this, but I had to go with or without his approval.

  “You don’t understand…”

  “Then explain it to me.”

  He crossed his arms, and leaned against the desk. “There was a time when we were on good terms, friendly even, with the local coven. I grew up here with Michael and used to play with your cousins and the rest of the younger coven members.”

  I knew that he saw Mr. Dawson as a friend and sort of father figure, but it always weirded me out how he called Mr. Dawson by his first name. I had no idea he knew any of La Aquelarre.

  “That all stopped when your grandmother died. Luciana has a thing against the wolves…I know some people, like Meredith, kept in contact with the coven, but most of them hate us. Really, truly hate us. Luciana’s instilled that in them, and that’s only escalated since I bit you.”

  He was totally backing up what Mom said, but that didn’t change what I needed to do. No matter how bad or dangerous this Luciana was, I had to ask the coven for help. Why didn’t they get that Meredith’s life was worth the risk?

  I cracked my knuckles as I took in what he’d said. “So, they’re holding a grudge?”

  “That’s putting it mildly. I bit their next leader. What I did…it would’ve been big deal even if we were on good terms. They’re not okay with what happened. And they won’t be for a while, if ever.” He ran his thumb back and forth over the back of my hand. “I wasn’t going to tell you, but they’ve also asked to speak at the Tribunal.”

  Oh, no. “That sounds a whole lot of no bueno.”

  He shrugged, making it seem like it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I knew better. “It’s not like the Tribunal was ever going to be fun. I think we—I—have a strong case, but they’re not helping. They’re talking about fighting us. Taking you back. It’s not a good situation.”

  “God. Talk about burying the lead. You say I held back with that stuff about Meredith and Donovan, but how could you not tell me about this?”

  “I didn’t want to worry you.”

  “That’s not really an option. If something’s up, you have to tell me.”

  “I’m sorry. I probably should’ve said something sooner, but that doesn’t change my opinion. No matter how badly you might want it, curing Meredith might not be something you can do.”

  I refused to believe that. “Doing something is better than doing nothing.”

  He squeezed my hand. “I’m hoping Donovan gets back to us soon. He might know some way to help her that we haven’t thought of yet. It’s a long shot, but… And if they’re true mates, then he might sense that something’s wrong with her, too. Her parents will be here tomorrow, and her brothers are on their way, too.” Meredith had four older brothers, all of them Cazadores. I’d seen pictures. They looked like Norse gods—tall, blond, and blue-eyed.

  I was glad they were all coming, but there wasn’t any reason to believe they’d be able to do anything except watch Meredith die.

  “The best thing you can do right now is go to class.”

  No. The best thing I could do right then was to find a way to break the spell. I couldn’t go to class, but he didn’t have to know. “Sure.” I hated lying to him. It was just plain wrong, but he wasn’t giving me any choice.

  “Hey,” he said with a small smile.

  “What?”

  “You know I love you, right?”

  I almost rolled my eyes. “Yeah.” He was being sweet after telling me no, but it was sucking me in all the same.

  “I’m proud of you and how far you’ve come. I couldn’t have picked a better mate.”

  Why did he have to be nice right after I lied to him? It was making me feel all kinds of horrible. “Thanks. I’m trying.”

  “Not trying. Doing. So proud of you.” He pressed his lips against mine. I ran my hands through his hair and the world faded away as I melted into the kiss. He had this ability to wipe away all thoughts. All I wanted was more. Of him. I moaned and his hands squeezed my hips as he pulled me closer. When we finally moved apart, we were both out of breath.

  He pressed his forehead to mine. “Bye, cherie.”

  My legs were a little unsteady as I walked away. I looked over my shoulder at him before I walked out the door. He was reclining against the front of the desk, with his ankles crossed and his hands shoved in his pockets. He winked, and I got that butterflies-in-the-belly feeling.

  He was going to be so pissed when he found out what I was doing.

  I made my way to the next building. The courtyard was empty and the sounds of the outdoors that surrounded the school filled my short walk—grass crunching under my feet, birds chirping, and small animals foraging for food. The dorm buildings and cafeterias were to my right. On my left, buildings that housed the classrooms cast shadows over the quad.

  I stepped into the academic building and took the stairs two at a time. The hallway was empty, only the faint murmuring of the classes in session could be heard. Lockers lined the walls, each with a nameplate instead of a number, and not a single one with a lock.

  After Meredith, Chris was my closest friend at school. He’d literally caught me the first time I tried to escape campus, and his humor had gotten me through the first week. The only downside was that he initially had a little bit of a thing for me, but we’d gotten past that. Thankfully.

  Chris was overly friendly with everyone, and he was my next best resource for finding my cousins. He had normal, human physics second period. Not to be confused with the totally wacky metaphysics—a class designed to try to scientifically explain the supernatural.

  I peeked in the tiny, off-center window of his classroom door and spotted his head of wavy blond hair in the back of the room. A teacher I hadn’t met yet gestured wildly with a piece of chalk, then slammed his hand on the black board next to his scribblings for emphasis. The back of his black hair was standing on end, giving him an Einstein-esque look. If Einstein were ripped and thirty.

  He motioned wildly again and the class cracked up. Holy crap. The guy was either a really great teacher or completely insane.

  I knocked a couple of times before opening the door wide enough to stick my head in. “Sorry to interrupt, but I need Christopher Matthews, please.”

  A couple of the guys started whistling, and I couldn’t stop the burn from spreading across my cheeks. The matu
rity level in this classroom was shockingly low.

  The teacher crossed his arms, unintentionally rubbing chalk over his shirt. Perfect. He was pissed, which I totally understood. I’d ruined his flow.

  “We’re in the middle of class.”

  “I know, but I need Chris now.” And I didn’t have time for this.

  “Whatever you need him for can wait until after class.”

  I could feel my eyes changing. The hair on my arms stood on end, and I forced myself to relax.

  I will not grow fur. I will not grow fur.

  The third time I repeated it in my head, I was calmer.

  “I’m afraid it can’t wait. Chris is leaving class now. I’m not asking.” I met the teacher’s gaze as I spoke. I didn’t know him, but I knew that I was alpha enough to turn my request into a demand. One he’d have to obey. We held gazes for a second before he turned to Chris.

  Fantastic. Some people might like displays of power, but I totally didn’t. Not at all. They kind of made me feel ill. The classroom had grown completely silent as they waited to see if I’d do something more.

  I cleared my throat and glanced at Chris—the only person who was still looking at me. “I’ll wait for you by your locker.”

  Chris rolled his shoulders back, calling to attention his toned arms. He might prefer to draw, but he could kick his fair share of ass, too. He stuck his pencil behind his ear and quickly gathered his things. Satisfied that he was coming, I gave the teacher one last look and left.

  As Chris strode to me, blond hair falling into his eyes, I swung his locker open.

  “What’s going on?” He said as he shoved in his books.

  “I’ll tell you once we get outside.” I didn’t want anyone listening. The walls of St. Ailbe’s were thick, but werewolves had impossibly good hearing. I couldn’t risk anyone stopping us.

  As soon as we were through the door, he pulled me to a stop. “What’s going on?” He asked again.

  “It’s Meredith. Her wolf woke, and the curse…it’s going to kill her. She was puking blood this morning.”