by Kasi Blake
Days passed without incident, and Bay-Lee took great delight in their secret. Keeping it wasn’t as hard as she’d feared. The stolen glances between her and the boy she loved were enough to keep her content. The secret wasn’t a burden. She didn’t feel the need to share it with anyone. Nick was her private world, no one’s business but her own.
Even Jordan seemed satisfied by their apparent avoidance of each other.
As soon as it seemed keeping their secret would be easy, things changed. Bay-Lee received a verbal invitation from Keisha to another Mock Battle after lunch. The memory of the last one sent a chill up her spine. Then Keisha added, “This Mock Battle is for someone else. We’re just going to watch.”
Relief flooded her system. “Who?”
“We’re going to watch Nick battle.”
Keisha headed for the elevator with Bay-Lee hot on her trail. They hurried outside like two girls on a serious mission. Students disappeared into the forest. Keisha grabbed Bay-Lee by the hand and cried, “Let’s go! We’re going to miss it.”
They raced into the forest, running until they caught up with the others. To Bay-Lee it looked like the entire school had gathered to watch Nick battle. Her eyes immediately sought him. A head taller than most, he was easy to find. Nick was talking to Van and his brother. Her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him in a sleeveless black tee. Her gaze dropped to his wrist where the tattoo was etched into his skin. It was on the opposite one from his VH tattoo.
There was a homemade bracelet tied around the area, several strands of braided leather. Nick glanced over his shoulder, caught her staring at his arm. His smile said it all. There was a smug tilt to his lips. Of course he’d covered the tattoo. Only a stupid boy would parade around in front of the whole school with her name (even a fake name) on his arm after he’d been forbidden to date her.
“I wish I had some popcorn,” Keisha said, stealing Bay-Lee’s attention away from Nick. The other girl pulled her over to a row of benches. They sat in the front between two instructors, Maxx and Grace.
“Why does Nick have to fight in a Mock Battle?” Bay-Lee asked her friend. “I thought battles were just for newbies.”
“Battles are used for different things. You have to fight a certain number of them to move up in rank and some are used as training exercises. Sometimes they have Mock Battles to try out new weapons or to show off Van Helsing’s best and brightest.”
“And which is this?” She gestured to Nick who was receiving last minute instructions from Van.
Keisha opened her mouth to respond, but Maxx beat her to it. Leaning forward in his seat, he looked past Keisha to smile at Bay-Lee. “In light of recent events, Van wants to reassure students they are safe here. Nick is one of the best so Van asked him to put on a performance.”
“Are you saying this battle is fixed?”
Maxx frowned at her. “We don’t do that here. Van has faith in Nick. He trained him, after all. Nick will win the battle no matter what Van throws at him. Enjoy the show.”
Keisha asked the teacher, “What’s the plan? Do you know what his mission is supposed to be?”
“He’s been captured by a pack of werewolves and has to kill his way out.”
Werewolves? Although it was a warm day, a shiver rumbled through Bay-Lee and her arms were instantly covered in gooseflesh. Her mouth went dry and the taste of bile in the back of her throat nearly made her gag. She took a few deep breaths and tried to keep the quiver out of her voice as she asked, “Will there be real werewolves? Or does Van... my father have people pretending to be monsters?”
“They’re real,” Maxx said.
“But... why would werewolves cooperate in a Mock Battle?”
“Who said they’re cooperating? We caught a pack recently and locked them up. If they want their freedom, they’ll have to kill Nick to get it.”
Her stomach lurched. “How is it a Mock Battle if they’re using real werewolves?”
Keisha laughed, unconcerned. “It’s a Mock Battle because the mission is fake. Sometimes we use real monsters. It’s the best way, especially if you’re as good as Nick. How can he possibly show off his moves in a fight against students? Someone could get hurt.”
Bay-Lee glared at the girl. “Yes, someone could get hurt. Nick could get hurt taking on a whole pack of werewolves by himself.”
Keisha and Maxx laughed as if they shared a secret joke.
Bay-Lee turned her attention to what was happening in front of her. No longer talking to Van, Nick was standing still while his buddy Mike tied his wrists together. Jordan was standing next to them, her hand on Nick’s arm. Mike seemed to be asking Nick if he was okay with the mission. Nick nodded. Mike finished tying his hands in front of him instead of behind his back. He tossed the other end of the rope over a tree branch with Jordan’s help. Two other students joined them. Together the four of them pulled on the rope until Nick was dangling from the branch, arms over his head and feet swinging above the ground.
It looked painful. Blood drained from her face as Bay-Lee rested clenched fists on her lap. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to do something, stop them from putting Nick’s life in danger. The only thing that kept her butt in the seat was the knowledge that an outburst would give away her feelings for the young hunter and put Avery in danger. She reminded herself Nick was a grown man. He didn’t need a babysitter. If he thought he could handle a pack of werewolves, he was probably right.
Bay-Lee asked, “What happens if Nick can’t do this? Will someone step in to save him?”
Keisha snorted.
Maxx leaned over again to see her face while speaking. “We take care of our own here. Of course someone will help him if he needs it. But he won’t.”
“Girl, why are you so worried about the boy?” Lowering her voice, Keisha asked, “Is something going on between the two of you? Have things worked out?”
“He’s my mentor, and I don’t want him to die.”
Van instructed everyone to be quiet. They were about to begin. Mike and the other students moved away from a dangling Nick. To her relief, Mike didn’t go far. He chose to stand a few trees away, close enough to jump in if Nick found himself in serious trouble.
Van signaled someone in the distance to release the werewolves. She strained to see what they were holding the pack in but couldn’t make it out. Was it a cage? Her fingernails dug into the tender flesh of her palms. Her eyes went from the oncoming pack to Nick and back again. How many were there?
Four—or was it five—werewolves charged in his direction, hard to tell with them moving so fast. They were as big as buffalos and covered in silver, white, and black fur. The ground shook beneath stampeding paws. They would be on top of Nick in seconds. Worried, her gaze flicked to him.
Nick flipped upside-down and wrapped his legs around the branch above. He climbed up and straddled it while using the rough bark to saw at the ropes. Angry growls permeated the air. The werewolves were closing in on him. Completely calm, Nick continued to saw at the ropes until several strands snapped. The werewolves reached him. Two of them slammed into the tree, one leaped into the air, snapping at Nick’s legs, and the fourth prowled around the trunk as if searching for an opportunity.
Bay-Lee whispered, “Why don’t they try to kill us?”
“Spell,” Maxx said. “We always use magic to keep monsters from attacking the spectators. They have no idea we’re here. The only one they can see is Nick.”
Bay-Lee shivered. She couldn’t tear her gaze off the horrible scene. Any second Nick would fall out of the tree and get torn apart—just like her mother.
Tears blurred her vision and she swallowed convulsively.
Free now, Nick stood on the branch, arms out for balance. All four wolves paced beneath him, waiting. He pulled a dagger from his boot. Placing the blade sideways between his teeth, he dropped off the branch and landed on top of a hairy beast. Before
the thing could react, he drove the dagger into its neck and rolled away. It went crazy, running into a tree before collapsing.
One down and three to go. Spontaneous applause broke out amongst the crowd of onlookers, but Bay-Lee didn’t clap. Her hands were frozen stiff. She didn’t dare breathe or move, half-afraid it would distract Nick and get him killed. She studied each werewolf, searching for something familiar. Was this the same pack that had killed her mom?
Nick stood and a werewolf knocked him backwards. They rolled across the dirt, entangled. The werewolf snarled. Its snapping jaws tried to catch Nick by the arm as they struggled. Nick hit it in the face twice before stabbing it with the dagger. The other two werewolves rushed him at the same time. Nick rolled and retreated.
He strategically placed the tree between him and the angry monsters. So far he was doing a good job at surviving, but Bay-Lee still couldn’t relax. She wanted to help him. What would the others do if she charged into the fight?
The werewolves changed to their human forms and a knowing look passed between them. They resembled college students, ordinary, with tall and lean frames. One went to the left while the other went right. They were going to trap Nick.
Ready for it, he took several quick steps away from the tree. In a child-like trick a werewolf dropped on hands and knees behind Nick and the other one tried to punch him. When Nick stepped back into the unexpected object blocking his way, he lost his balance and fell. But Nick was an artist on the battlefield. Instead of landing in a heap on the ground, he rolled over, a summersault, until he was on his feet again. He kicked the werewolf in the gut. It rolled to the side.
Mike and Jordan cheered.
The werewolves attacked him from both sides. He kicked this way and punched that way. Keeping both werewolves busy, he struck fast and hard. They were ferocious even in human form. Their arms whipped around like lightning, but somehow Nick managed to avoid the attacks.
A werewolf grabbed him from behind, arm around his throat. Nick bent forward and threw it into the other beast. They both went down. Nick landed on top of them, dagger ready. He killed them, quick and easy. It was over.
Students leaped to their feet, cheering, everyone except for Bay-Lee. Numb, she stared at a triumphant Nick and a growing warmth filled her heart. His friend Mike thumped him on the back while others gathered around. Jordan planted a kiss on his mouth.
Bay-Lee’s insides turned to ice. It took every ounce of strength she had to stop herself from charging the girl and ripping her short platinum strands out. Who did Jordan think she was putting her lips on him? Bursting with barely contained violence, she urged her thoughts in another direction. She wished he would show the stupid girl his new tattoo, tell her he had someone he loved, someone named Micki.
Her forgotten plans to hunt and kill a certain werewolf pack returned to the front of her mind. Maybe she shouldn’t let it go just to be with Nick. He was good in a fight. Maybe he would help her kill the pack. With him on her side she was certain to win instead of dying a vicious death. She wiped sweaty palms on her jeans and stood on trembling legs.
Their eyes met. A brief nod from him brought a smile to her face. She blushed. More than anything she wanted to run to him and jump into his arms. Too bad she couldn’t do it. They smiled at each other a second too long, and that was when she noticed Van staring at them, disapproval in his gaze. Their secret was out. Van knew they were together.
Bay-Lee paled, wondering what Van was going to do about it. He could kick her out of school or banish Nick. Then what would they do?
One of the werewolves recovered, still alive. Before anyone noticed it, the thing ran straight for her on all fours. Her eyes widened as she realized it could see her. This time she didn’t panic. She calmed her nerves in an instant with a quick mental trip to the ocean. Leaving part of herself there, safe, she ran at the wolf. Using its back as a springboard, she flipped over it and landed on the other side.
“Here!” Nick shouted as he threw his sword.
She caught it, spun around, and impaled the thing before it could attack her.
It howled and jerked before falling. Nick was at her side, asking if she was okay, but she barely heard him over the thundering rush of blood in her ears. His hands reached for her, checking for injuries.
Van shouted at the crowd. “How did it see her?”
There was supposed to be a spell in use, keeping the werewolves from seeing the spectators. It hadn’t seen anyone but her. Someone was trying to kill her... again. That was the only logical explanation for it happening twice. Terrified, she glanced up at Nick before looking around at the stunned spectators as she wondered who wanted her dead. This was their second attempt.
Would they succeed on the third?
Chapter Nineteen
BALLERINA AND THE ROCK STAR