Werewolf Academy Book 1: Strays (18 page)

Jericho rose onto his hind legs and pawed at the door handle that was a
lever instead of a knob for just that reason. The door swung open to reveal the commotion of dozens of werewolves running for the stairs. Jericho gave a bark of command his pack recognized from the night games training sessions. They weren’t to get caught up in the fray. They would stay together, an organized team amidst the chaos. Jericho took off and the pack flowed behind him in tight formation.

There was a traffic jam of wolves on the stairs. Apparently someone had tripped, and then others, so that the lower stairs looked like a pile of paws, legs, ears, and muzzles. The other wolves were fighting to get through. Boris was near the front of the mess with Torin not far behind. Both black Alphas looked entirely displeased at the state of things.

Jericho gave a lower bark. All of Pack Jericho looked at him, wondering if he was crazy. Alex fought back a smile because smiles didn’t translate well on a wolf face and he didn’t want to start a fight by showing his fangs by accident. The bark Jericho had given was one that indicated they should take the high route. It was a command he usually reserved for traveling creek beds and indicating the pack should take the shoulder. The pack exchanged glances. Jericho met Alex’s gaze. Alex gave a minute nod. Jericho barked again and jumped.

All of
Pack Jericho followed. They leaped on wolves’ backs, sides, haunches, whatever was pointing toward the ceiling as they made their way down the stairs. It felt like they were traveling down a living staircase, which was the truth. The werewolves below them rebelled against their passage by snapping at their paws and stomachs, but Pack Jericho reached the bottom unscathed just as Boris was able to extract himself from the fray.

Boris looked at
Pack Jericho, then back up the stairs. Alex swore he saw humor in the Termer Alpha’s gaze when he looked back at them. Jericho gave a yip and the pack followed him out the door.

“First pack, huh?
I thought the others would be close behind,” Nikki commented. She pushed open the gate. “Follow your noses. Bring me one of what you find and I’ll give you the clue for the next hunt.”

Jericho took off into the night.

Alex was filled with joy. He could think of nothing better than the soft forest soil beneath his feet, his sister and the rest of his pack around him, and the scent of evergreens and meadow grass filling his nose. They followed the trail that didn’t belong in the forest. It was pungent and sharp.

Alex’s human mind recognized it as lemon, while his wolf one was repulsed by the scent. Someone was playing a joke on the wolves because canines hated the scent of lemon, yet they had to follow it. He made a mental note to thank Nikki when they got back, and tried to breathe with his mouth open to keep the scent from filling his nose.

The barks and howls of wolves announced that others had untangled themselves from the stairs and had begun the hunt. Pack Jericho had a good lead. Nothing would keep them from winning the first medal. The scent was getting stronger.

Another scent caught Alex so quickly he was thrown off track. He paused, testing the air. It was strong, but old. He couldn’t get it out of his mind. Without realizing it, Alex trotted to the east, following the trail that brought fear to his mind.

He drew up at the sight of the meadow where he had protected Cassie from being shot. The scents of Drogan’s men still lingered on the plants and soil despite the few weeks in between. The scene played over in his head, the man pointing a gun at Cassie, his grating voice, the sight of guns in unwavering hands, the smell of hatred. He couldn’t save Cassie; the bullet burned in his leg. He wanted to attack them, to protect his sister the way he hadn’t been able to protect his mom and dad.

Alex’s heart thundered in his ears. It was the first time he had visited the meadow since it had happened. The helpless fury he had felt at that moment surfaced, blinding him to all other thoughts. He wanted to fight back. He wanted to make the men pay who had scared his sister so badly. He wanted to avenge his parents’ death. He needed to find them.

A shoulder bumped his. He looked up at Jericho. The look the Alpha gave him wasn’t of frustration; it was of understanding. Jericho glanced around the meadow. The huff he gave said that he knew what had brought Alex there. He tipped his head to the side and gave a small bark, waving his tail.

Alex remembered the hunt. He had gotten distracted. He was going to make his team lose. He gritted his teeth and nodded. Jericho took off.
Alex ran behind the Alpha, leaving the meadow far behind. Within seconds, they reached Pack Jericho waiting anxiously on the trail. It was obvious by the sound that at least one of the other packs was ahead of them. Cassie threw Alex a questioning look. He dropped his gaze, ashamed of what he had done and what he had probably cost them.

At Jericho’s command, everyone fell in. They ran even faster than before. Alex’s heart dropped when they reached the meadow just as Pack Torin and Pack Maliki
left. Justice, the last wolf picked for Torin’s pack, was carrying something in his mouth as they ran. Alex followed Jericho to the center of the meadow and grimaced at the sight of a pile of lemons there.

They were losing time. Alex grabbed a lemon in his mouth. The surprise on Jericho’s face was almost comical. Alex snorted. Jericho barked and they ran back into the forest.

They reached the Academy gate just as the other two packs took off again. Alex breathed a sigh of disappointment at the sight of the silver medal hanging on a ribbon around Torin’s neck. The wolf snapped at him as they passed. Alex jumped out of the way and deposited the lemon at Nikki’s feet. The tart taste lingered on his tongue. He couldn’t get it to leave.

“Sorry about that, Alex,”
Nikki said with a warm smile.

Professor Thorson gave him an apologetic look.
“Vance put us up to it. You’ll have to thank him for it later.”

They could hear another
wolf pack closing in.

“Your next sense is sound. Follow the sound and bring
us what you find,” Nikki said.

Pip surged to the front as Pack Jericho took off. His big ears looked comical even for a wolf, but he put them to good use. He honed in on the small tinkling of a bell and led the
m forward. Alex could hear the faint sound, but Pip’s course didn’t falter. He led them straight toward it instead of the roundabout way they could tell some of the packs had taken to locate the source. Pip kept his ears locked on the sound.

They passed Pack Maliki fumbling through a
thick aspen grove a few paces away. Alex realized that aspen groves were everywhere. It was only Pip’s careful guidance that kept them on a clear path. A few short seconds later, they leaped a stream and reached the bells hanging on a branch. Pack Torin was nowhere in sight.

Alex reared on his hind legs and grabbed a bell in his mouth. They ran back toward the gate in time to pass Pack Shannon who appeared to be backtracking. Shaylee held the lemon in her mouth, but didn’
t look pleased about it. They fell in behind Pack Jericho and followed them back to the gate.

“Well done!” Nikki said. She placed a ribbon bearing a medal around Jericho’s neck as Professor Thorson gave Pack Shannon directions for the bell challenge. “Now you get to use your sight. Follow the ribbons on the trees to the next item.”

Alex glanced behind him. Ribbons had been tied about halfway up the first two trees he could see. They were too high to have been in an ordinary wolf’s line of sight. They had to run with their eyes up instead of surveying the path as they usually did. It was a very unnatural way to run.

To all of their surprise, Amos, the huge Gray, bounded on ahead. He didn’t care if he ran into trees or bushes, he merely plowed his way through with his eyes on the ribbons. The pack rush around him, pushing him out of the way with their shoulders if he was about to run into a boulder or trunk. Amos let himself be swayed, but loped with his gaze lock
ed on the ribbons, guiding them as they dashed beneath the trees.

They reached the meadow and found a big tub fi
lled with water. Beneath the water were eleven painted rocks. Don, the other big Gray, dunked his head in the water. He came up with a rock in his teeth and water streaming from his nose and mouth. He and Amos exchanged a proud look. Jericho gave a bark and they were off again.

“This time, it’s
touch,” Professor Thorson explained. “Go to the gate on the other side of the school. When you feel a patch of ground that is softer than the others, dig. Bring us what you find.”

Pack Torin reached the gate just as Pack Jericho left. They loped around the school at top speed. When they reached the main gate,
Jericho barked and they all spread out. Pack Torin reached the gate and started to search. Cassie was the first to find the soft ground. She began to dig; Pack Jericho gathered around. Within seconds, she unveiled a little bag. She grabbed it in her teeth and they took off. A few seconds later, they heard a yip of excitement from Torin’s pack. They had found their bag.

As soon as the third medal was around Jericho’s neck, Professor Thorson gave them the final instructions. “Taste is your last challenge. Go to the stream
where it runs beneath the fence. There are five bowls of water. Bring whatever is in the water that tastes like soap.”

“Soap?” Nikki asked, takin
g a rock from Pack Drake and a bell from Pack Raynen.

“Another of Vance’s influences,” Alex heard Professor Thorson say as they ran along the gate.

They reached the bowls of water. Different colors of apples were floating in each of them. Jericho and Alex immediately ran to the first two bowls. Cassie took the third, with Trent and Terith close behind.

Alex’s bowl tasted sweet. Jericho’s expression said his was particularly nasty. Terith gave a bark and grabbed an apple from her bowl. They loped back along the gate.

“It’s yellow!” Nikki exclaimed. “Well done!” She slipped the fourth medal around Jericho’s neck. “You must have a pretty disciplined pack to have made it that fast.”

Pack Boris and Pack Torin almost bowled Pack Jericho over in their haste to reach Nikki first. The disappointment on both of their faces when they realized Pack Jericho was already there was almost laughable. Pack Jericho trotted to the trees a few paces away and sat there catching their breath while the other packs turned in their items.

It took a while for the other packs to catch up. Pack Maliki and Pack Drake were trailing way behind. The rest of the packs joined Jericho’s beneath the trees to rest. Alex was disappointed Pack Jericho hadn’t earned five medals like their goal. He knew it was his fault. If he hadn’t been distracted with the scent of Drogan’s men and the memories that flooded him, his Alpha would be carrying five medals. He tried to console himself with the thought that four was more than any pack had ever gotten on a full moon, but it didn’t make him feel better.

Something made the fur rise on the back of Alex’s neck. He looked to the left. A lone brown wolf stood beneath the trees. He recognized the wolf as being from Rafe’s pack. The animal watched them with searching golden eyes. At Alex’s attention, the wolf took a few steps into the forest. Alex rose uncertainly.

Jericho gave a questioning whine. Alex tipped his head toward the wolf. Something bade him to follow it. He paced forward, then looked back at his pack. Jericho watched him, his gaze curious. The rest of the pack began to notice their silent exchange. Jericho gave a soft huff. Several of them rose and followed. The rest quickly fell in behind their Alpha.

The other packs looked from Alex to Rafe’s wolf. Alex could see the curiosity on their faces, but Boris and Torin were busy scuffling over something. Alex let Jericho pass, then followed his Alpha.

Rafe’s wolf began to run as soon as he realized the other wolves were following. Jericho dipped his head. The other members of Pack Jericho fell into a run behind their leader. They leaped the stream, loped down an empty wash, and made it to the other side in time to see Rafe’s wolf vanish beneath the trees. Disappointment flooded through Alex. He had led his pack on a wild goose chase.

Jericho gave Alex a look filled with humor. The other wolves appeared a bit less inclined to see the situation as funny, but before everyone could get too disgruntled, the wolf returned. Alex was surprised to see Rafe
in wolf form following behind. The werewolf’s golden eyes seemed to glow in the light of the moon. He lowered his head and dropped something to the ground. A closer look showed it to be a ball.

Alex snorted. It had to be another of Vance’s tricks. Other members of the pack began to turn away. Alex
was about to follow, but Jericho waited. At Alex’s puzzled look, Jericho took a step forward. Rafe pushed the ball with his nose toward the pack. Jericho crossed to Rafe and picked it up. Alex blinked; Rafe and the wolf disappeared. He couldn’t hear their paws on the forest floor. Rafe was an enigma.

Jericho gave Alex what appeared to be a slight shoulder shrug which Alex didn’t even know was possible as a wolf. The Alpha trotted past him to the front of the pack. Everyone fell in behind and loped back to the gates, worried they had missed something.

“Here they are,” Nikki said. Jericho walked up to her and dropped the ball at her feet. It would have been hilarious, a huge Alpha wolf bringing what appeared to be a tennis ball to the dean’s wife, yet Nikki’s gaze said otherwise. “They did it,” she said.