Werewolf Academy Book 1: Strays (13 page)

Alex looked around the room.
He found the camera in the corner of the ceiling and held up a thumb’s-up. A few seconds later, the door opened.

“You gave us quite
the scare,” Dean Jaze said, entering. He smiled down at Alex. “It was a bit of touch and go there.”

Alex tried to find a comfortable position, but his leg throbbed. He looked down at it, surprised that it hadn’t healed.

“Wounds from silver bullets take a lot longer to heal,” Jaze said, following his gaze.

“You know this from experience?” Alex
guessed.

Jaze nodded. He leaned against the counter. “At least Nikki has her nursing degree. Professor Thorson removed a bullet from my side with only a pair of pliers and a bottle of whiskey.”

“The history teacher?” Alex asked, amazed.

Jaze chuckled. “How do you think we met?”
He pulled up his shirt and showed Alex the scar. There were other scars as well, but Alex knew better than to ask about them.

“Do I have to stay here?” Alex looked around. “It’s
nice, but. . . .”

Jaze smiled. “Not at all. If you’re feeling up to it, I know there’s a pack waiting up there that hasn’t slept yet because they’re too concerned about you.” He held out a hand.

Alex took it and pulled himself slowly to a sitting position. He was amazed at how weak he felt.

“Take your time,” Jaze warned. “Nikki suspects that some silver got in your bloodstream, which was causing your heart to beat irregularly.”

Alex chose not to tell the dean that his heart had beat that way ever since his family was killed. He stood slowly. His legs wobbled, but Jaze kept him steady.

“You want a crutch?” the dean asked, pointing to one that had been propped in the corner.

The wolf’s instinct to never show weakness made Alex shake his head. Jaze smiled as if he guessed exactly why Alex refused.

“It’s okay to take time to heal,” the dean said.

“I’m already healing,” Alex replied tightly as he tested his weight on his leg. The wound about halfway up his thigh ached and he could feel the pull of the muscles that had been damaged by the bullet.

“You could stay here, or I could carry you,” Jaze offered. At Alex’s dismayed look, he chuckled. “We’ll just go slow.”

Alex limped with his arm over Jaze’s shoulder. By the time they reached the door, he had broken out in a sweat. He gritted his teeth and refused to say anything, but Jaze shifted his grip, holding more of Alex’s weight.

“Your pack showed bravery attacking those men,” Jaze said in an effort to distract Alex from the pain.

Alex nodded. “They did.” His voice caught in his throat as he stepped. He took a steeling breath and continued, “I didn’t expect that.”

“We didn’t expect any of it,” the dean replied. He tried to stifle the hint of frustration in his voice, but Alex heard it. “Here we are trying to protect werewolves, and the Extremists come attacking at our front door.”

“They wanted me and Cassie,” Alex said.

Jaze pause
d and looked down at the young werewolf. “Are you sure?”

Alex nodded. “The man in front was holding the gun on Cassie as if he was waiting for me.
When I appeared, he said, ‘Drogan said you wouldn’t be far behind.’”

“Go
od to know.” The dean’s tone said the information surprised him. He helped Alex continue walking. When they reached the stairs, Jaze asked, “Did he say anything else?”

Alex grimaced at the pain of the first step. “Yeah,” he replied tightly, “He said, ‘Shall we see if I can kill two birds with one stone?’ That’s when
Jericho attacked him. If the werewolves hadn’t come, Cassie and I wouldn’t be here right now.”

Dark emotions rushed through Jaze’s eyes. Alex could tell the dean was fighting to keep his anger in check. He had never seen Jaze so upset.

“Rafe has his pack running the perimeter. Dray and Chet are monitoring the road, and Mouse is setting up extra cameras,” Jaze said aloud. “I need to ask Brock about the drone.”

“Who’s Brock?” Alex asked.
The name sounded familiar but he couldn’t remember where he had heard it.

Jaze looked as if he just remembered Alex was there. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. You need to get some rest.” He helped Alex to the top of the stairs and down the hall.

“It seems a lot further than I remember,” Alex said, forcing his muscles to hold. His legs were shaking. He wondered how much the silver was affecting him, and how much was the rage that coursed through him at the thought of the danger Cassie had been in.

Jaze nodded. “Of course you guys had to have the last room,” he joked. They paused at the door.

Alex grinned. “The pecking order doesn’t take bullet wounds into consideration.”

“It should,” Jaze replied. He ducked from under Alex’s arm. “Time to give your pack something to smile about.” The dean turned the doorknob.

“Alex!”

Cassie’s arms were around her brother’s neck before he could even move. He was grateful for the door frame behind him that kept him up under her tight grip.

“I was so worried!” she said. “They wouldn’t let me into the room, saying that they had to monitor you. I didn’t know if that meant you were dying, even though they said they had taken out the bullet. I was just so worried.”

“I’m alright,” Alex tried to reassure her.

He glanced over the top of her head. Warmth flooded him at the relieved expressions on his pack members’ faces. Everyone stood waiting for Cassie to let him go. Alex met Jericho’s gaze. “Thank you,” he said. “Thank all of you. You saved our lives.”

Cassie stepped back, but kept a firm grip on Alex’s hand to reassure herself that he
r brother was really there.

“That’s what packs are for,” Jericho replied. His gaze shifted to the dean. “Have you found any information on the attackers?”

“Some,” Jaze replied. “Our students’ security is our biggest focus. We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Let us know if there’s anything we can do to help,” Jericho said. He met Alex’s gaze. “Our pack almost lost two members tonight. We’d like to get to the bottom of this.”

Jaze nodded. Instead of being perturbed by the Alpha’s persistence, there was a hint of humor in the dean’s gaze that battled the anger Alex had seen on the stairs. “I’m glad Alex and Cassie have such a good pack,” the dean told them all. “I’d recommend you get some sleep. We’ll hold classes an hour later tomorrow so you can get the rest you need.” He met Alex’s gaze. “Don’t think about going to class. You need to rest so that wound will fully heal.”

Alex nodded. “Thank you, Jaze.”

The dean stepped out of the door and shut it behind him.

Alex was immediately flooded with questions.

“Did the bullet hurt?” Trent asked.

“Was there a lot of blood?” Marky pressed.

Von had a finger in his nose when he asked, “Did you have to get stitches?”

Pip hung near the back of the room. He gave Alex a weak smile when the Second looked at him. “It hurt,” Alex said, “But it’s healing.”

He took a step toward the couch, but his leg chose that moment to buckle.

“Easy,” Jericho said, catching him before he could hit the ground. He practically carried Alex to the couch and helped him get settled.

“I’m fine,” Alex protested quietly, his cheeks red.

Jericho met his gaze. “You’re not fine, and until you are, you need to take it easy. You heard what the dean said. That bullet was silver. We all know the effects a silver bullet can have on a werewolf.” The shadows in
the Alpha’s brown eyes let Alex know he understood the effects all too well. “Take it easy,” Jericho insisted.

Alex nodded. The room fell quiet, all eyes trained on him. He shifted uncomfortably on the couch. “Uh, everyone should get some rest. I won’t go anywhere.”

“Promise?” Cassie asked. Her face was pale and drawn. It was obvious the night’s terrors had taken a lot out of her.

Alex gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise. Go get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up.”

The other members of the pack obeyed. They were too exhausted to protest, and knew being late to combat training in the morning would come with a price, especially since they had been given an extra hour of sleep. It was well past midnight. Every hour of rest was going to count.

Cassie ran to her room and came back carrying the warm red blanket Nikki had given her their first night at the Academy. It was her favorite possession. She set it carefully over her brother.

Her dark blue eyes searched his. “You sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“I’m good,” Alex told her, feigning a yawn. “With this blanket, I’ll be asleep in no time.”

She gave him a wide smile. It surprised Alex when she leaned down and kissed his forehead. His heart gave a painful throb. Their mother used to do that every time she tucked them into bed; no one had kissed his forehead for the last six years.

“Good night, Alex,” Cassie whispered.

“Night, Cass,” he replied.

She paused in the doorway one more time to reassure herself that he was safe. He listened to her tired footsteps as she made her way to her room. The door shut behind her with a quiet snick.

Alex let out a slow breath and looked around. The meeting room was warm and inviting. Pictures of mountain scenes were spread along the walls between the windows, and the lamps in each corner glowed softly on their lowest settings. It should have been cozy, and Alex knew he should have been exhausted.

Yet the memories of the attackers kept racing through his head every time he closed his eyes. He wanted to fight them, to protect Cassie, to keep the man in the middle from pulling the trigger. There were too many guns. He couldn’t save anyone.
Rest evaded him.

Eventually, Alex stood. The pain in his leg chased the other thoughts from his mind. He wanted to hit something, anything,
yet there was nothing he could punch without damaging it.

Thoughts of the combat training room below toyed in the back of his mind. The rage in his veins cycled over and over until he felt like he would go crazy if he couldn’t let some of it out.

He glanced down the hallway where Cassie slept. The sound of soft breathing and one person muttering in her sleep came to him. Alex limped toward door to their quarters. With each painful step, he reminded himself of the men who had threatened his sister. They would pay someday. He would make sure of it.

The anger fueled him as he limped down the stairs by leaning on the railing and easing his injured leg down one step at a time. When he reached the bottom, he felt like he had accomplished something.

After what felt like an hour later, Alex stood triumphantly in front of the combat training room. He pulled the door open and limped to the dummies in the corner. The image of the man with the gun floated in his mind, then shifted to the face of the man with the mismatched eyes. The man had watched while Alex and Cassie’s mom and dad died, paralyzed by silver darts and then slain by his knife across their throats. He had then turned with a cold look on his face. Only the sound at the door had prevented him from killing the brother and sister at that moment.

Alex hit the dummy so hard it slammed backwards to the floor. He took a step forward to finish it, but his wounded leg gave out under the weight and he fell on top of the dummy.

“This is awkward,” he muttered. He rolled and came up on his good knee, drove an elbow into the dummy’s sternum, punched its stomach, and followed with a chop to the throat. He collapsed on his back fighting for breath.

“Really terrifying,” a voice said from the other side of the room.

Adrenaline rushed through Alex’s veins. He jumped up to a defensive crouch, his hands up and senses straining.

“Slow down, Rocky. I’m not going to attack you,” Kalia said with a hint of apology in her voice. She stepped out of the shadows with her hands raised. “I figured you knew I was here, what with a werewolf’s nose and all that.”

Alex glanced at the fallen dummy. “That is not how I would have killed a dummy with someone watching.”

“I hope not,” she replied.

Alex willed his muscles to relax. His leg screamed at him for the movements, and as the adrenaline began to fade, he really regretted it.

“Uh, aren’t you supposed to be in the medical ward or something?” Kalia asked, giving his leg a meaningful look.

Alex sat on the dummy and gingerly stretched out his leg. “For a bullet wound? They save the medical ward for more important things than that.”

An unwilling smile crept across her face. “More important?”

“Yeah,” Alex said. “Like decapitations and stuff.”

“Oh,” Kalia answered. “Right. Because there’s a lot they can do about a decapitation.”

Alex shrugged. “You never know.”

“I hope I don’t,” Kalia replied.

Alex gave her a searching look. “I’m honing my skills as a lame warrior. Why are you here?”

“You are a lame warrior,” Kalia said, crossing her arms even though another smile touched her face.