by Cheree Alsop
Alex thought about it for a moment. “I do.” At Kalia’s look, he explained, “Packs in the wild defend their territories against other packs. It bands them together to fight for what they love.”
Kalia gave a huff of surprise. “And I just thought you liked trouble.”
He smiled. “I won’t deny that trouble between the packs keeps their attention from me. I’ve managed to cause a few problems this term already.”
“Yes, you have,” she agreed.
Alex glanced at her. “Shouldn’t you be running with Pack Boris?”
She shook her head. “What am I supposed to do? Bite at someone with my human teeth? Scary.”
He stared at her. “You wish you were a werewolf.”
Kalia appeared affronted. “I do not,” she protested.
Alex nodded. “Yes, you do. You wish you were out there training with the rest of them. You want fur and fangs.”
“I do not!” she replied with a laugh. “That’s ridiculous. I hate werewolves.”
“So that’s why you’re sitting here talking to one?”
She looked surprised, then embarrassed. “You’re different than they are.”
“I turn into a wolf, too,” he pointed out.
“Not that,” she said. “You’re not another follower, even though being a Gray, I think you’re supposed to be.”
He fell silent.
She glanced at him. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. You’re right.” He leaned forward with his elbow on his good leg and studied the cement at his feet. “I’ve never fit in here, no matter how hard I pretend. This is the first year I’ve actually been a Second. Usually, I’m picked last and spend my time wishing for summer when the Termers go home.”
“And now?” Kalia asked.
He let out a sigh. “Now, I have a position, but I don’t know how long Jericho’s going to tolerate me. I have so many of my own ideas it’s hard to follow somebody else, even when he is a good leader.”
“Perhaps you can lead by following,” Kalia suggested.
He gave her a quizzical look. “What does that mean?”
She laughed at his tone. “You already did it. Look.” She gestured toward another wolf pack running by. This was led by Shannon and Shaylee. The white wolves led their Grays silently. The pack ghosted by on soft paws. “They’re doing what you suggested, but you’re not leading them.”
“Yet their accomplishing what I set out to do,” Alex concluded quietly.
She nodded. “Keep it up, and everyone will be answering to you without realizing it.”
Alex gave a huff of approval. “I’d say I was smart, but I didn’t realize that’s what I was doing.”
Kalia grinned and her icy blue eyes danced. “So your sister’s the brains of the operation?”
“Don’t tell her,” Alex said. “It’ll go to her head.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” Kalia promised.
Chapter Thirteen
Alex stood by the door in the closet a few days later. He tried to push against it, but it was locked from the inside. He found a knot hole near the middle of the door. He touched it. To his surprise, a little red light scanned his finger. The door refused to budge. He realized that falling through it the other day had been a fluke. Someone must have not shut it all the way after using the fingerprint scanner.
It was well past three o-clock in the morning. The packs had already gone to bed, and Alex hadn’t heard any sounds from the instructors’ wing when he walked by. He took a chance and tapped on the door.
No one answered.
Alex glanced around the supply closet. Above the shelves of paper towels and toilet cleaner, he spotted a small camera. Alex grinned and waved, giving his best innocent expression. He knocked on the door again while looking at the camera.
He heard footsteps up the stairs.
“I can’t let you in here.”
Alex smiled at Brock’s voice. “Yes, you can.”
“No, I can’t,” Brock answered. “This is a highly restricted area.”
“Then why are you in there?”
Brock blew out an exasperated breath. “Because I work here.”
“But you’re not a werewolf,” Alex pointed out.
“That really doesn’t matter,” Brock answered.
Alex leaned against the door. “Then we should work together. We’d be a good team.”
“What makes you think I want to be on your team?”
“Because you were my brother’s friend,” Alex answered.
There was silence, then something beeped and the door slid open. Brock stood in the way before Alex could go down the stairs. He held an apple in one hand that had two bites taken out of it. “What does that have to do with anything?” the spikey-haired human asked.
“It has to do with everything,” Alex said quietly, his tone serious. “Drogan killed my parents. Jet would want them avenged, especially since they seem so intent on killing his siblings as well.”
Brock hesitated. Alex could tell he had gotten to the man. “You really should let Jaze handle it,” Brock finally said.
Alex jumped on the indecision in his voice. “I am, really. I just want to be better prepared if Drogan comes back, and so I need your help.”
“Do you?” Brock asked dryly.
His tone caught Alex off guard. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Brock sighed and led the way back down the stairs. He took a bite of the apple as he walked. The crunch echoed down the staircase. Alex followed close behind. As soon as the werewolf passed, the door slid shut. He limped down the stairs after the human.
“It means that I’ve been watching your little night games exercises the past few nights. Everyone else passes it off as some new game you guys made up, but I can tell it’s more than that.”
Alex was glad to see that the room was empty. The wall of cameras from the Academy that lined the north side showed empty halls and a quiet forest. “What makes you say that?”
Brock sat down on his chair and spun around to face the werewolf. “Because they’re the same exercises Jaze ran with the professors here when the Academy first opened.”
Alex took the next seat. “Why did they stop?”
Brock shrugged. “We got more students, and Mouse’s cameras were supposed to work better, and— why am I explaining anything to you?”
Alex smiled. “Because you’re going to help us.”
“What? Give your little werewolf army the information to track Drogan down so you can end the threat once and for all?” Brock’s eyes widened at the expression on Alex’s face. “That’s exactly what you want to do, isn’t it?”
“Yes, except that finding Drogan doesn’t end the threat, because the General will still be out there.”
Brock’s eyes narrowed. “And you think that by finding the son, you can flush out the father.”
Alex leaned forward in his chair. “Just like they used Cassie to flush me out. Blood is strong. We can use that against them.”
“What’s this we business? You heard Jaze. Let them handle it,” Brock protested.
“I can’t do that,” Alex replied. He sat back in his chair and folded his arms. “They killed my parents and threatened my sister. That’s enough to make anyone see red. I’m trying to handle it the right way.”
“You can’t expect a bunch of students to act like an army,” Brock argued.
“You’re right,” Alex agreed. Brock’s mouth fell open. Alex continued, “But I can expect a bunch of werewolves to act like a pack. That’s all I’m doing, using instinct to my advantage.”
Brock’s eyebrows pulled together. “You really do know what you’re doing.”
“I know a little extra security couldn’t hurt this place,” Alex replied. He gestured at the cameras. “It looks like you have it all covered, but I just want to be careful. Cassie’s safety is my greatest concern. No little girl should have to wake with night terrors each night because she was
there when her parents were murdered.”
“You’re the same age she is,” Brock said quietly.
Alex leaned his head in his hand, his gaze on the floor. “On the outside, yes, but not on the inside. I held Cassie against me so she wouldn’t see them die, but I couldn’t let Drogan’s men be the last thing my parents saw. They knew I loved them, because I didn’t look away. I wasn’t strong enough to save my parents, but when my mom mouthed that she loved me before Drogan cut her throat, I said it back, and she knew I meant it.” Alex let out a shuddering breath and looked at Brock. “I am Cassie’s protector. I never want her to go through something like that. If I can find Drogan and the General, she’ll never have to.”
Brock sat back in his chair. He ran a hand down his face as if the things Alex had told him bothered him deep inside. His foot tapped on the floor as he thought. He glanced at the pile of junk food sitting next to his workplace, reached for a donut, then shook his head and sat back. He finally made up his mind. “I’ll help you,” he said. “What do you need?”
Alex’s face lightened. “Jaze mentioned that Drogan was in Haroldsburg when Cassie and I were attacked. I just need to know if he appears there again, that’s all.”
“Alright,” Brock agreed. “I’ll let you know.”
Alex stood. “Thanks.” He shook Brock’s hand, then headed for the stairs. He paused with his foot on the step. “Hey, any chance I can get clearance for down here?”
“No way,” Brock replied sternly.
Alex chuckled as he made his way up the steps. “I had to ask.”
The door at the top beeped, then opened. Alex stepped through into the storage closet.
***
“You’re turning into a regular insomniac,” Jericho noted when Alex opened the door.
Alex was surprised to see the Alpha still awake. “Same to you, apparently.”
Jericho smiled. “Boris asked us to come up with some training regimens for tomorrow night. I thought I’d work here because Lyra caught me diagraming on the back of my notebook during Biology.”
“That’s what the commotion was about,” Alex said with a laugh. He limped to the chair across from the Alpha and sat down. “I thought she was giving you a hard time for an answer in your homework.”
“That, too,” Jericho admitted. “The question asked me to describe an atom. I said I don’t trust them because they make up everything.”
Alex chuckled. “And she didn’t like that answer?”
He shook his head. “She said I needed to assert myself more.”
“She has a point,” Alex replied. At Jericho’s look, he laughed. “Lighten up. You’re the one planning battle strategies past midnight. It’d help to have a sense of humor.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Jericho said. He passed the paper to Alex. “What do you think?”
Alex took the paper, surprised that the Alpha wanted his opinion. He looked it over. “It’s good,” he said.
“Don’t try to protect my feelings,” Jericho replied dryly.
Alex grinned. “It’s great. I think Boris was right to ask you.” He studied the paper closer. “What do you think of sending the Seconds left instead of right?”
“It’ll create a net with the enemy in the middle,” Jericho said musingly. He accepted the paper back. “Good idea.” He erased a few lines and drew new paths for the Seconds to follow. He nodded. “I think that’s what was missing. I knew it was something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
“I’m heading to bed,” Alex said, rising. “Battle planning is too deep for this kind of night.”
“I agree.” Jericho stood as well. “Night, Alex.”
“Goodnight,” Alex replied, limping sleepily to his room.
Chapter Fourteen
It was obvious everyone could feel the full moon coming. Nobody could sit still in their seats.
“By the end of June, the French surrendered to the Germans, but Britain won the Battle of Britain, fending off air attacks and eliminating German’s chance of gaining foothold. In Operation Barbarossa. . . .” Professor Thorson looked around the room. “Is anyone listening?”
“Something about Twinkies?” Torin guessed. His pack broke into laughter.
Professor Thorson gave a self-suffering sigh and leaned against his desk. “If I didn’t know the full moon was tonight, I would have guessed it by the pack of wild animals in my classroom.”
Alex grinned. “You can’t blame us, Professor. We don’t have a choice.”
Professor Thorson nodded. “Yes, but I do have a choice. My choice is to let you guys go before I either recite myself blue in the face despite the fact that no one is listening, or I go crazy enough with your wiggling to join your packs under the moon.”
“Uh, you’re not a werewolf,” Pip commented, sitting on his history book as though he was hatching an egg.
Professor Thorson gave the Second Year a flat look. “Yes; thank you, Pip, for pointing out the obvious. Be gone, the lot of you. Come back tomorrow with your instincts eased and a reestablished ability to sit still for an hour.”
“We never had that ability,” Trent muttered.
Everyone put their books back on the shelf and hurried from the room. Alex was about to leave when he noticed Cassie holding back. He leaned against the cold door frame to see what she was up to.
Professor Thorson was busy erasing the whiteboard and humming to himself. He glanced over his shoulder and appeared surprised that there was still a student left.
“May I help you, Cassie?”
She nodded, her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders. “Yes, Professor. I have a question.”
“Ask away,” the professor replied. “I don’t have another class until three ten, and I’ll probably just have to send them away as well. There’s plenty of time for your question.”
Cassie perched on the front of a desk and balanced her history book on her knees. “Now that the world knows about werewolves, will they rewrite the books?” she asked.
Professor Thorson’s eyebrows rose. “Why would they do that?”
She set a hand on her book. “If history is a true accounting of what actually happened, won’t they need to include the history of the new race they just found out exists?”
The professor gave her a kind smile. He folded his bony arms over his book, trapping it against his chest. “That is the question, isn’t it?”
Cassie nodded.
“They’re afraid,” Professor Thorson said, his tone gentle. “So afraid that they tried to wipe you out. The same thing has been done to wild wolves in most parts of the world. If they are eliminated, they don’t need to be thought of again. The farmers and ranchers go on without thinking of the animals that were destroyed, because their life is easier that way.”
He studied the book he held in silence for a few minutes before he said, “I don’t think they’ll ever enter your race in their history books. I’m sorry, Cassie.”
Alex was surprised to hear that the professor really meant it. Alex cleared his throat. “That’s okay. We don’t want to be in some stupid book anyway,” he said, trying to chase the pain from Cassie’s face.
“But we should matter,” she said, looking at him over her shoulder.
Alex nodded. “We do matter, and someday maybe it’ll be different, right Professor Thorson?”
The professor nodded. “Right, Alex. Maybe we’ll rewrite the books ourselves.”
Cassie’s face brightened. “That’s what I’ll do when I grow up!”
Professor Thorson patted her shoulder. “I’m sure you will. Now you’d better catch up to the rest of your pack before they get into too much trouble.”
Alex walked beside Cassie up the hall. He could tell the conversation still bothered her. “It’s alright, Cass. We don’t need some book to tell us we exist.”
Cassie nodded. “Yes, but someday they’ll be proud that we exist. They’ll want us in the books.”
“Yes, they will,” Alex pr
omised. “Don’t worry. Someday, werewolves will be seen as good guys instead of monsters.”
Cassie’s grin warmed him as they made their way to P.E. It was a few minutes before Pack Boris joined them.
“We all know class isn’t going to happen today,” Vance said as soon as Pack Jericho and Pack Boris had somewhat settled down. “Don’t bother getting dressed. I know better than to try to teach on a full moon.”
“He teaches?” Trent asked his sister in an undertone.
Terith elbowed him in the ribs.
“Jaze, well, Dean Jaze to you,” Vance said, “Is going to address the students in the courtyard just before sunset. You might as well head there.”
One class cut short and the other one being cancelled entirely put all the students in a great mood, especially when they got to skip wearing the ugly gym shorts. The students crowded together through the door.
“Head outside to go around,” Vance yelled after them. “I don’t need to be scolded for my students destroying the halls.”
Jericho pushed open a side door and herded his pack outside. Boris ignored Vance and thundered with his pack through the school.
“Is it that hard to listen?” Pip asked, looking after them.
“It’s his pack, his responsibility,” Jericho reminded the Second Year. “Let’s go.”
Pack Jericho ran around the side of the school and reached the courtyard in time to see Nikki scolding Pack Boris as they walked outside.
Pip started laughing. Boris glared over Nikki’s head at Pack Jericho. Jericho slapped Pip on the back hard enough to steal his breath. Pip began to cough instead of laugh.
“Live and learn,” Jericho told him quietly.
The students milled in the courtyard. As more packs began to join them, a few students started games, stalling until night. It felt like the minutes dragged by until sunset.
Finally, Dean Jaze stepped out onto the stairs. “Students, welcome to the first full moon at the Academy!” Jaze called.
Cheers went up from the mass of waiting packs. Everyone milled anxiously, prey to the moon even though the sun hadn’t yet set. Alex clenched and unclenched his fists, eager to phase.