Werewolf Academy Book 4

by Cheree Alsop

  “What was that for?” he asked, putting his hand over the suddenly warm place.

  “To chase the worry from your eyes,” she replied with a smile before joining her new pack mates.

  “She’s going to have to do that every day if that’s the case,” Jericho said, watching his pack sort through their luggage.

  “I won’t complain,” Alex said.

  Jericho chuckled. “I’m going to miss having you in my pack.”

  “Just promise me you’ll watch over her. I don’t trust Torin or Boris’ old packs as far as I could throw them.”

  Jericho nodded. “Will do, but it sounds like Torin will be watching your every move.”

  Alex sighed. “I’m not sure how much freedom I’m going to have this term. I already got toilet duty.”

  Jericho shook his head with an answering sigh. “Maybe we can petition to have things back to their old ways next term.”

  “I hope so.”

  Alex watched the new Pack Jericho follow their Alpha up the stairs. He wondered who would get the room he had gotten used to thinking of as his over the last four years.

  Chapter Ten

  Nightfall found Alex lying on the grass beneath Jet’s statue. He had scrubbed the toilets until even Torin couldn’t complain about the quality, then he had been forced to clean Torin’s chosen room until it smelled of four layers of lemon polish. Alex couldn’t remember the last time he had worked so hard at scrubbing other peoples’ filth.

  But he didn’t argue. The fact that he was the Alpha’s Second wasn’t lost on him, and pack protocol dictated that a Second never second-guessed his Alpha’s decision unless it was a matter of life and death. Solidarity within a pack depended on unity between the leaders. Alex was determined not to give in to the Alpha’s pathetic attempts to cow him.

  He turned his head at the sound of familiar footsteps.

  “Pack Torin, really? You could have gone with any pack,” Jaze said as he settled onto the grass next to Alex.

  “I like a challenge,” Alex replied. At the dean’s skeptical look, he chuckled. “Maybe I didn’t think it through, but the toilets in Pack Torin’s quarters have never been cleaner.”

  Jaze sighed as he looked up at the stars. “My goal in diversifying the packs wasn’t so the Alphas could torment everyone.”

  “It’s not going to be like that. Torin just has a vendetta and I’m an easy target.” He turned his attention to the Orion constellation that hung over their heads. “Maybe it’s good for me to remember that not all Alphas are as nice as Jericho.”

  Jaze gave a noncommittal grunt. “An Alpha is supposed to take care of those beneath him, not abuse his power over them like a dictator.”

  “Maybe I’m the one who can teach Torin that.”

  Alex felt the dean studying him. He kept his gaze on the stars and the black form of the statue above him. No matter what Torin did, the Alpha couldn’t keep him from his favorite place. As long as he was able to escape and settle his thoughts beneath his brother’s statue, he could stay sane.

  The sound of other footsteps caught Alex’s ear.

  “I’ll catch you later,” Jaze said, excusing himself. Alex watched the dean leave, confused about the werewolf’s quick departure until the voice spoke.

  “Cassie said I would find you out here.”

  Warmth flooded through Alex. He sat up and turned on his knees. The sight of Siale standing in the moonlight on the other side of Jet’s statue stole Alex’s breath. He could only watch her, speechless, motionless, frozen by her beauty and the smile that never failed to fill her face when their eyes met.

  “This must be Jet,” Siale said. She set a hand softly on the statue’s shoulder. There was reverence in her gaze along with sadness. “I wish I’d known him.”

  “You would have liked him,” Alex said, sure of it. He smiled. “And he would have liked you.”

  “You think so?” she asked as though it was important to her.

  Alex nodded. “Definitely. He liked people who weren’t afraid to fight for themselves, who wouldn’t give up no matter what the odds.” His voice dropped as he looked up at the statue. “He understood that.”

  Siale leaned her forehead against the statue. For a moment, it felt like Alex was intruding on her space, watching something intimate and personal as she closed her eyes and said, “Thank you for saving us, Jet. We’ll make your sacrifice worth it.”

  When Siale stepped back, it was with an expression of peace. “I’m glad he’s here for you,” she said as she took a seat by Alex’s side.

  “Sometimes it’s hard when he can’t answer my questions,” Alex admitted.

  “Doesn’t he?” Siale asked, searching his gaze.

  A shiver ran down Alex’s spine. He felt her read his loss and the challenges he fought so hard to overcome.

  Her hand lifted to his cheek, heating his skin beneath her palm.

  “You’re not crazy,” she said softly.

  “You don’t know that,” he whispered.

  “Yes,” she said with a smile that made her soft gray eyes glow. “Yes, I do.”

  She put her lips to his, kissing him gently. When she sat back, Alex could only stare at her. Her taste lingered on his lips, teasing him, begging him for more. It was only through sheer willpower that he was able to hold still.

  “Why did you do that?” he asked.

  “To remind you that you’re not alone.”

  He took in a deep breath filled with her lavender and sage scent. “I’m not sure if you want to dive into this,” he warned her. “I’m not who you deserve.”

  Siale sat back against the statue. When the metal base touched her back, she smiled and reached up a hand to touch Jet’s paw.

  “Alex, you’ve seen the darkest parts of life. I know that. I’ve seen the despair in your eyes, and I know there are so many times when you must feel like you are on the verge of losing your humanity altogether, but I’ve already been there with you.”

  Her words enveloped and defined him, calling out the emptiest parts of his soul and surrounding them.

  She let go of the statue and slipped her hand into Alex’s. Her palm was cold from contact with the metal. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have lost mine. I couldn’t have stayed in that pit alone and survived even if I hadn’t been hurt.” She blinked, looking deep into his eyes. “Alex, what I see inside you is more strength than I could ever imagine lived in one person. You are stronger than you know, and you are going to carry us and this school further than anyone could even imagine. I believe in you, Alex.”

  He took a shuddering breath. “But what if I break?” It was the question that toyed in the back of his mind when the memories of his parents’ death and the body pit threatened to overwhelm him. The question defined his worst fear.

  Siale squeezed his fingers. “I’ll be there to pick up the pieces and put you back together.”

  The words made a smile spread across Alex’s face. He pulled her close and she leaned against his shoulder. He loved holding her in his arms, knowing that she was complete and whole, and that she felt safe with him. He would take care of her, and somehow, in some way, she would take care of him as well.

  ***

  “Okay, ladies, let’s get some gear on,” Vance told them.

  “I don’t see why we need gear,” Matt, a whiny Lifer from Pack Torin, pointed out. “We’re werewolves.”

  Vance rolled his eyes as he towered above them. “How do you expect to play football with humans and not have them guess you’re werewolves?” His eyebrows lifted as if he thought the students before him were completely stupid. “You have to dress like them, act like them, and play football like them.”

  “It’s degrading,” Torin said.

  Alex shook his head at the unfortunate luck of being in Pack Torin for football training. The whining would never stop. Luckily, they had also been paired with Pack Kalia. He would at least get the chance to spend some time with his old pack members, if just for trainin
g. He had no idea what would happen when actual football practice started.

  Vance grabbed the facemask of the helmet Torin has put on and lifted the Alpha off the bench. “Degrading is watching you sissies attempt to tie your shoelaces. Your mother isn’t here to throw the ball. If humans can do it, you can do it. Remember that and you might actually make a good team. Understood?”

  “Understood,” Torin replied in a grumble.

  Vance let him go and stalked across the grass Professor Dray had marked with white lines on the far side of the Academy. He turned near the end and shouted at them, “From this moment on, you will call me Coach Vance, and if anyone asks a question or makes a statement I feel is beneath you, you will do one hundred pushups.”

  “One hundred?” Nate asked. “I can barely do ten.” The words were said in a lisp due to the big gap between Nate’s front teeth.

  Vance speared the skinny werewolf with a humorless look. “I’ll be happy to help you start practicing.”

  Nate’s face washed white.

  “While Nate is doing his pushups, I want the rest of you to pick up the footballs and pair up. Each time you catch the ball, take ten steps back. I want you throwing from either side of the field by the time class is over.”

  Alex felt bad leaving Nate as the kid knelt in the grass. A glance at Trent said that the other werewolf felt the same way. At Vance’s fierce look, the Lifer put his hands down and gave a weak attempt at a push up.

  “What was that?” Vance asked. The hulking werewolf looked like a bear towering over a muskrat.

  “A p-push up,” Nate stammered.

  “You’re a werewolf,” the coach pointed out. “You should have more strength than that in your pinky finger.”

  “Catch.”

  Alex caught the football thrown hard enough to knock the air from his lungs. He glared at Torin.

  “What’s wrong? Can’t take a throw?” the Alpha asked.

  Alex’s jaw clenched as he threw the football back. Torin took ten steps and chucked it again. This time, Alex was ready. He caught the ball and used his arms to slow the momentum before the Alpha’s strength could drive it into his sternum. He threw it back as though it didn’t bother him. Torin took ten more steps back.

  “Keep it up, Alex, and you’ll be contending for starting quarterback,” Vance called.

  Normally, Alex would have been thrilled at the werewolf’s compliment. It was known throughout the Academy that the professor very seldom said anything kind. This time, however, Torin speared him with a glare before the football sailed through the air. Alex caught it again and sent it back in a tight spiral that made the Alpha’s look ugly.

  By the end of the class period, Alex’s hands ached from catching footballs thrown much harder than any human ever could. His left hand throbbed when he clenched it into a fist. By the swelling, he wouldn’t doubt if a few of the bones were broken or at least cracked. He knew he could stop by Meredith’s office in the medical wing, but chose to live with the pain. It would heal and sometimes the sharp throbbing reminded him to watch what he did to avoid becoming an even bigger target in Torin’s eyes.

  “You guys get to play football while we’re stuck learning gymnastics?” Cassie complained when they met back in the hallway. “That’s sexist.”

  “Vance, uh, Coach Vance, said no girls play on the human school teams, so we couldn’t do it here. We have to do everything right to avoid suspicion,” Tennison explained.

  “But gymnastics?” Cassie said, leaning against him as he put his arm around her shoulders. “I thought it’d be easy, but Colleen had us swinging on hanging rings and bars until I thought my shoulders would fall off.”

  “I didn’t think Colleen would be a hard on you guys,” Tennison said.

  Cassie shook her head. “She’s not. She’s really nice and encouraging, it’s just that there’re skills we haven’t learned yet.”

  “The muscle memory will take a while to sink in,” Trent said, explaining the same thing to his frustrated sister. “As soon as you learn it, I’m sure gymnastics will be easy. Easier than football at least.” The small werewolf had a big bruise on the side of his face.

  Alex caught a glimpse of Kalia waiting at the end of the hallway. As soon as she spotted him, she turned away. Alex was about to go after her when a voice stopped him.

  “Hey, scumbag. Did you forget whose pack you’re on?”

  The hair on the back of Alex’s neck stood up. He turned slowly, willing his body not to phase.

  Torin’s eyes narrowed. “Have you cleaned those toilets?”

  Alex fought back a surge of embarrassment at acknowledging in front of his friends what the Alpha had made him do. “I already cleaned them yesterday,” he reminded Torin in a tone he had to force to remain steady.

  A light of enjoyment showed in Torin’s green eyes when he replied, “They’re due for another cleaning today.”

  Alex glanced at his old pack mates. Pity showed on Tennison’s face. Alex clenched his hands into fists. The sharp pain reminded him what was at stake.

  “Whatever you say, Torin,” he replied.

  Torin nodded with satisfied smile and shoved past him. The rest of Pack Torin followed.

  “I’ve got to go,” Alex told his friends. “Catch you later.”

  Chapter Eleven

  He walked into his next class just as Gem was addressing everyone. The professor’s usually short pink hair had been dyed neon green. She wore a huge smile on her face and was writing quickly on the white board as though there wasn’t enough time to get everything done she wanted.

  “And so you see, social networking is just a way of learning about your neighbors in order to better associate with them,” she explained.

  “What if we don’t want to associate with them?” Sid asked.

  Alex took a seat at the back of Pack Torin’s side of the room and stifled a sigh. He had hoped the change up would keep him from having to deal with Torin’s usual Second, but they had been paired with Maliki for social networking. Alex knew Gem was no pushover from his rescue missions with Jaze; he could only hope Sid would give her the chance to put him in his place.

  Instead, Gem gave a patient smile. “Life in the human world is all about making social acquaintances. School, work, even getting a bite to eat opens one to many different social situations. In this class, we’re going to address the protocols for many situations you might face on your own in the world.”

  “Why don’t we just kill them all?” Torin muttered loud enough for everyone to hear.

  Gem’s blue eyes narrowed. She turned and wrote Torin’s question on the white board. As she wrote, the sleeve of her shirt slipped back from her wrist to reveal dark lines running down her arm. Alex knew from Jaze that she had been tortured with a silver whip. Vance also carried the same marks and made no effort to hide them. As soon as Gem saw that her sleeve had moved down, she pushed it up again.

  “Why don’t we just kill them all,” she repeated. The words sounded ugly coming from her kind voice. “Let’s address that.”

  Alex tried to save her from a frustrating explanation. “I don’t think Torin meant—”

  “Shut up, Alex,” Torin growled. “Unless you want to challenge your Alpha?”

  Tension hung in the air along with the question. Triumph already filled Torin’s gaze as though he knew what Alex’s answer would be.

  For a moment, Alex debated whether to accept the challenge. Part of him said to go for it and end the torment the Alpha was putting him through. The other part argued that he had survived the body pit; Torin would never be able to do anything worse than that. It was better to cultivate peace rather than fight over something so meaningless.

  Alex let out a slow breath and shook his head.

  Torin smiled in triumph and motioned for Gem to continue.

  She did so in a quieter voice and without the usual bouncing from foot to foot as though she could barely contain her excitement at teaching them.

  “Wh
y don’t we just kill them all? Why don’t we give into our baser instincts and just slay any opposition in our path?”

  Torin and several other students nodded at Gem’s words.

  “Why don’t we accept that werewolves are the top dog in this world and get rid of any who stand in our way,” Gem concluded.

  “That’s what I want to know,” Torin said. Answering laughter followed.

  Gem shook her head, her short green hair bright around her face. “You want to act like animals, yet part of you is human. You want to be like wolves in the wild and deny the fact that you contain any humanity.” The disappointment on her face was enough to quiet even Torin’s laughter. Gem waved her arm to indicate the world outside the classroom. “You want to prove them right that werewolves can’t learn to live in peace with humans, and in doing so, you spit on the sacrifice of every werewolf who died to get you here.” Her voice was quiet when she asked, “Why did they die for you?”

  Nobody looked at the professor. Students stared at the textbooks in front of them, their laughter gone.

  Alex raised his hand.

  “Drop it,” Torin growled.

  “Yes, Alex?” Gem asked when he ignored the Alpha.

  Alex didn’t look at anyone when he said, “They died so we could live.”

  “Well said,” Gem replied. She lifted her voice. “They died so we could live. Is hiding behind the Academy walls for the rest of your lives a way of living?”

  Several students shook their heads.

  Gem nodded. “Exactly. Wolves and humans weren’t meant to live in cages, and neither were you. The classes Dean Jaze and the professors have selected this term are designed to help integration when we get to a point where that is a possibility.”

  “What if we never get to that point?” Instead of being obstinate, Maliki’s question was colored with true concern.

  Gem tipped her head to one side, considering his question. “You can only do so much living away from society. You will get back to the world, whether hiding your wolf side or with the ability to embrace it.”