Werewolf Academy Book 7

by Cheree Alsop

Jaze, Nikki, Brock, and Mouse watched the video in silence. On the biggest screen, Jaze threw the first punch. Alex blocked it and countered.

  “I didn’t know how much Jet had trained you,” Alex told the dean quietly.

  Jaze nodded. He turned away from the video and motioned for Alex to walk back down the steps. When they were away from the others, he said, “Jet said he wouldn’t always be there for me.”

  The dean took a seat on the steps that led down to the helicopter.

  Alex leaned against the railing.

  “Your brother became my protector ever since the day I saved his life.” Jaze glanced up at Alex. “When I saw him in the ring, I knew I had to get him out of there.”

  Alex knew some of the history between Jet and Jaze. Jet hadn’t been one to talk about his past, but Jaze knew how much Alex’s brother meant to him. Just hearing his name was enough to make Alex’s heart tighten from the pain of losing someone he looked up to so much, yet he yearned for it. He had gone so long without hearing others talk about his brother; hearing about him now felt like a breath of fresh air after being under water.

  As if Jaze understood that, he said, “Jet was raised as one of the only Alpha werewolves in a werewolf fighting ring. He was pitted against dreadful odds, and he won because fighting was the only thing he knew.” Jaze stared out across the cave beneath the Academy. “Winning meant killing his opponents. The werewolves had a pact that they wouldn’t leave the losing members of a fight to be ended by the silver bullet from a guard. It was the only form of honor they could give each other in such a situation.”

  Jaze was quiet for a few moments before he continued, “When I found out about the fighting rings, Mouse, Chet and I went to scope it out. I got there just as Jet entered a fight. He must have smelled me in the audience, because he stopped and looked straight at me through the fence. Even though he was bleeding and trapped in a horrible situation, there wasn’t anger or frustration in his eyes. Instead, I saw only determination to see it through. He was a fighter, a survivor, and he did the best he could with what he had.”

  Jaze let out a slow breath. “But the last fight Jet was pitted in wasn’t fair. We had plans to break him out before the fight, but there was just no possible way to do it. They sent Jet into the fight outnumbered in every way possible, and his owner,” he said the word with a grimace as though it tasted bad, “Bet on him to lose.”

  The cold of the metal bars beneath Alex’s hands seeped up his arms. He stared out at the helicopter in front of them without seeing it.

  “Jet won,” Jaze continued softly. “Against all odds and after taking what were potentially life-threatening wounds, Jet defeated his attackers. In return, his owner sent him out in a cage and instructed her men to shoot him with silver bullets.” His voice lowered. “They were told to make him suffer before he died.”

  “So much for honor,” Alex said quietly.

  Jaze nodded. “I tried to get to him, but we were delayed by security. By the time I reached him, he had already been shot. But even though most werewolves would have died from the wounds, Jet was stronger. He survived to bring down the rest of the fighting rings at my side.”

  Jaze turned so that he leaned against the railing and looked up at Alex. “That’s when he began to train me. Jet said he wouldn’t always be there, and teaching me how to fight was the best way he knew how to protect me even when he was gone.” Jaze’s forehead furrowed. “I think Jet always knew he wouldn’t make it to this stage in life, married, having kids. He once told me that fighting was all he knew how to do. When the fighting stopped, there wouldn’t be a place for him.”

  Alex sunk down on the other side of the steps and leaned his back against the railing. “There would have been,” he said quietly.

  Jaze nodded. “Yes, there would have.” He glanced at Alex. “Imagine if every student at the Academy could fight like Jet.”

  Alex smiled. “We’d be a force to reckon with.”

  Jaze chuckled. “Yes, we would.” He motioned toward the screen where the images showed Alex’s argument and the fight over and over again. “That’s out in the world now.”

  Alex stared at him. “What?”

  “Someone had a cell phone despite our policies. They recorded the fight and released it on the Internet. Brock says he’s never seen a video go viral so quickly.”

  Alex was amazed at how calm the dean was being. “Get it taken off,” he said, rising to his feet. “They’ll know about the Academy, about you, about everything here! We need to erase it or—”

  Jaze shook his head with a small smile. “You fought for the right to reveal the Academy to the world. Now it’s done.”

  “But not like this,” Alex said. He motioned toward the screens. “Not with arguing and fighting. We’re supposed to be civilized and…and….”

  “And human,” Jaze said, rising to stand next to him.

  Alex hesitated. The word was exactly what he meant, but agreeing felt wrong. They weren’t human, they were werewolves. He wanted the world to accept them for who they were, not pretend to be something different.

  “You said what we would have wanted to say in a public statement,” Jaze told him quietly.

  At that moment, Alex on the main screen said, “You might not be ready, but we are.”

  “I wasn’t rational,” Alex told the dean quietly. He glanced away from his image on the monitor.

  “You were acting in the heat of the moment. To the public, the dean of the Academy is brawling with a student. It’s not my best moment.”

  Alex shook his head. “You’re an Alpha. That’s what Alphas are supposed to do.”

  “Then don’t feel like we have to hide it from the world,” Jaze countered. “You want the world to accept us, they need to know the real werewolves.”

  “You really think that’s the best way?” Alex asked, watching him and Jaze smash through a table.

  Jaze smiled. “It’s our way.”

  “We’ll up the detectors for the luggage,” Brock called down from the platform. “I don’t know how a phone got inside, but we’ll be more careful next time. All of the news stations have picked it up. I swear it’s running in a loop all over the nation.”

  Trent followed Alex back up the tunnel to Alex’s lone wolf quarters. Alex sat on the couch with a shake of his head.

  “I didn’t expect that to happen.”

  “Guess I should hide this,” Trent said. He pulled something from his pocket.

  Alex stared at the cell phone. “You took the video?” he asked in shock.

  Trent nodded. “You wanted to bring the Academy to the world.” He slipped the phone behind a picture of a mountain at sunset on the mantel piece.

  “But bringing a phone to the Academy is against the rules,” Alex replied. He was unable to get his mind around the fact that Trent was the one who had taken the video and posted it to social media.

  “Being a werewolf used to be against the law. Things are changing,” Trent replied.

  “Trent, you directly disobeyed Jaze’s rules. He’s the dean,” Alex pointed out.

  Trent shrugged his small shoulders. “But you’re my Alpha.”

  Alex’s heart slowed. He stared at his friend. “Trent, I’m nobody’s Alpha. I’m not even really an Alpha, and with the whole Demon thing, I may not fully even be a werewolf. I don’t know what I am, and that makes me entirely unfit to be in charge of anything, let alone anyone.”

  Trent ran a hand across his buzz-cut hair. “I know what you are, Alex.”

  “Then you should know that I’m the last person here you should be calling your Alpha,” Alex replied, staring incredulously at his friend.

  Trent gave Alex a straight look, the first one he had since hiding the phone. “Alex, you have to understand something. You may not have a completely black coat, but the last time we phased, you were almost there. You may not have it all together as a leader, but I would argue that neither do Boris or Torin. You may morph into a rage mode Demon, but that�
��s not entirely a point against you.”

  “What are you saying?” Alex asked when the little werewolf paused.

  Trent crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “What I’m saying is that you already beat the two strongest Alphas at the Academy. You have pretty-much single-handedly wiped out the biggest threat to werewolves and this nation to date, you take out danger heedless to the harm it might cause yourself, and you always take the time to care about the opinions of small, pretty much invisible werewolves to the rest of the school. You sound like a good Alpha to me.”

  Alex rested his head in his hands. He stared at the floor through his fingers. “It’s not that simple.”

  Trent sat down on the couch next to him. “It never is.”

  Alex glanced at him. “What about Jordan?”

  “She’ll be moving her stuff in here tonight.”

  Alex stared at him. “What about Jericho? He chose you both. You’re part of his pack.”

  “Like I said. Things are changing.” The bell rang. Trent smiled. “Let’s go. Dean Jaze asked all the seniors to meet him in his office before class. We can worry about semantics later.”

  “Semantics?” Alex sputtered. “You say I’m your Alpha and call it semantics?”

  Trent pulled the door open and said over his shoulder, “Demon, Alpha...who says they’re not the same thing.” He disappeared down the hallway.

  “I do!” Alex called after him.

  His friend’s footsteps didn’t slow.

  Alex shook his head. “Great,” he muttered. “Now I’ve really done it.”

  He grabbed a notebook from beside his duffle bag and followed Trent’s path down the stairs.

  Students hurried to the classrooms on the ground floor. New first term students followed their Alphas with wide eyes and nervous expressions. Alex couldn’t help smiling. The Academy was a great place to grow up.

  He crossed the hall to the wing with the professors’ offices and paused at Jaze’s door. Professor Colleen was addressing the other seniors with the dean looking on.

  “Torin and Boris, you’ll be with Professor Vance.”

  Both Alphas looked unhappy about their assignment to the gruff football coach.

  “Cassie and Siale, I’d like you to be my assistants.”

  “Yay!” Cassie said. A blush of red ran across her cheeks as though she hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

  Siale gave her a warm smile.

  “I appreciate the enthusiasm,” Colleen said with a pleased expression.

  “Trent, you’re with Professor Mouse, and Tennison, Professor Dray would appreciate your assistance in the green houses.”

  “You get to smell like fertilizer,” Torin said with a laugh.

  “At least he’ll have a reason to stink,” Boris replied.

  Torin glared at him.

  Professor Colleen ignored them. “Jordan and Terith, I’d like you to be with Professor Gem. She’ll be teaching Art History this term.”

  “I love art,” Jordan said.

  “Me, too!” Terith seconded. “We’ll be the best assistants ever!”

  Professor Colleen assigned the rest of the seniors to their professors. At the end, Alex was the only one who hadn’t been given an assignment.

  “Head to your teachers for the first class. They’ll let you know what they expect from you and how you can help out in their classes,” Colleen told them. “For you Alphas, there will be some juggling with getting your new first termers settled in, so lean on your Seconds to split tasks.” She smiled at them. “You can go.”

  Siale hung back with Alex. “Professor, who is Alex with?” she asked.

  Colleen looked at Jaze. Her violet gaze showed a hint of concern.

  The dean merely smiled. “I have a special assignment for you. Come with me.”

  “Why do I have a feeling this isn’t going to be easy?” Alex asked.

  Siale slipped her hand into his and walked beside him down the hall. She gave him a warm smile. “Nothing you do is easy.”

  “She’s right,” Jaze said over his shoulder. “If I gave you an easy assignment, you’d find a way to make it difficult.”

  “I’m going to take that as a compliment,” Alex muttered.

  Siale laughed and squeezed his hand. “I’m sure it is.”

  Jaze led them down the second wing of classrooms. With the increase of students at the Academy, the professors had opened the second wing to create enough space for teaching. The dean opened the door to the office at the end.

  “Alex Davies, I’d like you to meet Mr. O’Hare. Mr. O’Hare, this is Alex.”

  Alex stepped into the office with a smile, but it faded quickly. The look of disdain on the face of the man behind the desk was unmistakable. The man had graying black hair, a goatee, and glasses that he glared through directly at Alex.

  Despite the look, Jaze’s smile was warm. “Mr. O’Hare, I feel that having Alex as your assistant would be the best way to give you a true impression of what goes on at our Academy.” The dean turned to Alex. “Alex, Mr. O’Hare was sent by the Board of Education after our announcement of our academy in order to review our practices and procedures here. You are to be his assistant, guide, and informant on anything he needs to know.”

  “Uh, okay,” Alex said uncertainly. He was surprised the man had reached the Academy so quickly after the video. He must have been sent out the instant it aired. Concern filled Alex. He glanced back at Siale. His fiancé peered through the door with a matching uncertain expression. Alex steeled himself and crossed to the desk with his hand out. “It’s good to meet you, Mr. O’Hare.”

  The man rose from the desk with a huff as though it was a burden to stand for such an event. His scent reached Alex; the werewolf couldn’t help but staring. Mr. O’Hare was human.

  He gave Alex’s hand one quick shake before returning to his seat.

  “Is there anyone else?” he asked, finally turning his loathing gaze from Alex to the dean.

  Jaze shook his head and appeared completely composed as though he had anticipated such a question. “The rest of our seniors have already been assigned to professors. I reassure you that Alex will be a willing and helpful assistant and will do his best to meet your needs.”

  “I’m sure he will,” Mr. O’Hare replied dryly.

  Chapter Three

  “Why did you assign me to him?” Alex asked with confusion as he and Siale followed Jaze back to the dean’s office.

  Siale’s expression said she was wondering the same thing. Though she hadn’t spoken a word during Alex’s introduction to Mr. O’Hare, he could tell she was bothered by the situation. It wasn’t every day Alex met someone who flat-out hated him.

  He changed his mind at that thought. Boris and Torin had both gone through months of extreme hatred. He should be used to it; yet, he wasn’t accustomed to meeting a human who completely loathed him before he had even spoken a word.

  Jaze didn’t speak until they were back in his office with the door shut. He sat behind his desk and let out a sigh that said as much as the weary acceptance in his gaze.

  “I’ve been bombarded with phone calls from various government agencies since the video of our fight aired,” Jaze said quietly. He looked up and when he saw that they were still standing, he motioned for Alex and Siale to take the seats facing his desk.

  “Are they going to bomb the Academy?” Siale asked.

  Jaze gave her a half smile. “No; at least, not yet. There are agencies fighting for our rights and motions being put into place to counterbalance the fight. I think Mr. O’Hare is the weapon of choice in this type of dispute.”

  The thought filled Alex with discomfort. “What do you mean?”

  Jaze motioned to the door. “You saw how much he hates werewolves. If those humans who want werewolves wiped from the earth can’t banish us through war, they’ll do so with a means even more devastating.”

  “With politics,” Siale answered.

  The dean nodded. “The Board
of Education has very strict regulations on primary and secondary academic facilities. Mr. O’Hare has been placed here to find any holes in our system that will enable him to shut us down.”

  “Will he?” Alex asked. The thought of losing the Academy through politics was entirely unfamiliar to him. How could he fight something based on the interpretation of laws and rules? The school was his home. He was responsible for bringing its existence into the open. After everything the school and students had survived, he couldn't bear the thought of losing it.

  “I don’t think so,” Jaze replied. “At least, I hope not. When we established Vicky Carso’s Preparatory Academy, Mouse and Lyra took charge of ensuring that we adhered very closely to the Board’s guidelines in case something like this happened. While a few of our particularly specialized classes may not be in the standard curriculum, we have maintained a disciplined schedule and our students are on the same track as the humans.” His mouth twisted into a wry grin. “Although, thanks to our werewolf students’ quick learning capabilities, they are far ahead of students their age. I don’t think that’ll be a problem, though.”

  “So why Alex?” Siale asked. “Mr. O’Hare obviously hates him.”

  “Hate’s a strong word,” Jaze began.

  “Oh, he hates me. The room stunk with it,” Alex replied.

  Jaze let out a little snort that was part laughter, part acceptance. “Okay, so he hates you. That’s why I assigned you to him.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense,” Alex told the dean.

  “It does.”

  Alex stared at Siale. She was watching Jaze with a small smile of her own.

  “If he hates you, you’ll be the one he would want to scrutinize the most.” She looked at Alex. “Dean Jaze just gave you to him.”

  “Seems like a bad idea to me,” Alex said.

  She shook her head. “It’s the opposite. Would you agree that you are the student most prone to creating trouble?”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “I’d rather call it disturbances, but yes, you’re right.”

  Siale grinned. “So if you’re right in front of Mr. O’Hare all the time, he’ll be busy watching everyone else because you’ll be right there. It’s like hiding in plain sight.”