Werewolf Academy Book 5: Lost (23 page)

Chapter Twenty-nine

“Oh man, look at that!” Trent exclaimed when they landed at the small airfield next to Greyton city.

Alex smiled at the sight of four limousines parked near the tarmac.

“Do you think those are for us?” Terith asked, clutching Von’s arm in excitement.

“I sure hope so!” Von exclaimed. He adjusted his glasses and stared out at the vehicles again.

“I guess there’s one way to find out,” Jaze said. He opened the door and led the way down the steps from the jet.

“Jaze Carso?” A man in a black suit and graying black hair asked, walking up to them.

Jaze smiled. “Mayor Hendricks.” He shook the man’s hand. “Thank you again for welcoming us into your city.”

“My pleasure.” The mayor’s gaze shifted to Alex. “Thank you for bringing peace back to our streets, son.”

“Happy to do it,” Alex replied, shaking his hand as well. “It’s a wonderful city.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Mayor Hendricks replied. “I hope you find it suitably hospitable for our little get together. We’ve been quite excited about it.”

“Us, too,” Alex told him.

“Mayor Hendricks, this is my wife Nikki,” Jaze introduced, helping Nikki down from the last step.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” the mayor said, shaking her hand.

“We’re happy to be here,” Nikki told him.

The mayor watched the rest of the werewolves climb down from the jet. “So few students?”

“We wanted to bring more,” Jaze explained, “But we felt easing into things might be best considering the difficulties of the past.”

The mayor nodded in acknowledgement. “Understandable. I appreciate your sensitivity to the situation.”

“Same to you,” Jaze said.

The mayor led the way to the limousines.

“This is awesome!” Pip said, leading Maggie, his date, into the first vehicle.

“We really can fit into two of them,” Nikki said from beside the next limo.

“That’s okay,” Mayor Hendricks said. “We’ll let the kids enjoy them.”

“Awesome!” Trent called, climbing into the next one with Jordan. Terith and Von followed.

“Which one are you going in?” Jericho asked Alex. He was looking at Pip’s limousine skeptically as high pitched exclamations about how amazing it was continued to emanate from the vehicle.

“Not that one,” Alex answered.

Siale gave him a sympathetic smile. “Why don’t you join us in the third one? The last time I spoke to Cherish, she was so excited to see you that she could barely sleep.”

Jericho’s answering smile was enough of a reply. Alex led the way into one of the remaining limousines and climbed inside. He couldn’t help staring at the lush interior.

“They really went all out,” Jericho said.

Alex nodded. “It’s a good sign.”

“Still worried this is a set up?” Siale asked with a teasing smile.

Alex gave a small shrug, his tense muscles relaxing. “You can never be too careful.”

Jericho laughed. “No one has ever accused you of being too careful.”

“That’s for sure,” Alex agreed with an answering chuckle.

They followed Jaze and Nikki’s limousine to Greyton High School. The tension Alex had been feeling before returned at the sight of crowds around the front of the school. Several of the humans held signs of protest. The police kept them behind yellow tape to keep them from reaching the limousines. Inside the school, Alex could see students dressed in prom outfits peering through the windows in an attempt to get a glimpse of the werewolves.

“Should we phase and give them something to gawk at?” Jericho asked, his tone level.

“It’s all good,” Alex reassured him. “Things will calm down soon enough.”

He was surprised by the werewolf’s concern. Jericho was usually the most stable of the students at the Academy. Alex realized that as an Alpha, Jericho felt the need to protect the grays. It made Alex feel a bit better to have someone else as concerned as he was about the safety of the students he had invited.

“Welcome to Greyton High School,” a man said, opening the limousine door.

Alex recognized the voice as belonging to Principal Dalton. He climbed out of the vehicle and offered his hand. “Principal Dalton, I’m Alex Davies. It’s great to meet you in person.”

The principal looked Alex up and down, his expression surprised. “Great to meet you, Alex.”

“Is something wrong, Principal?” Alex asked, feeling a bit self-conscious with the man’s scrutiny.

Principal Dalton caught himself and shook his head. “Sorry. I think I expected you to be a bit more, well, worn by your experiences. It sounds like you’ve been through a lot.”

Alex gave him a calm smile. “Trust me, Principal Dalton. I carry plenty of scars. Luckily, werewolves are a hard lot to keep down.”

“Glad to hear it,” the principal replied with relief in his voice as though he was grateful for Alex’s composure despite his blunder.

Alex offered Siale his hand to climb from the limousine. “Principal Dalton, this is my girlfriend, Siale Andrews.”

“Nice to meet you, Siale,” the principal said with a warm smile.

“And this is my good friend Jericho Hunt. He’s one of the Alpha students at the Academy.”

The principal shook Jericho’s hand. “It’s good to make your acquaintance.”

“The same to you,” Jericho said. “We’re grateful for this opportunity.”

“Us as well,” the principal said. “Thank you for your trust.”

The mayor came up behind Principal Dalton. “Jake, I have someone I would like you to meet.”

When the principal turned around, the mayor said, “Principal Dalton, this is Jaze Carso and his wife Nikki. They have come as chaperones for the prom.”

Alex left the adults to talk and joined up with the other students from the Academy.

“This is a bit crazy, right?” Trent asked him quietly.

Alex followed his gaze. Humans held signs that read ‘Werewolves are wild animals’, ‘Werewolves have no right to be here’, and ‘Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing’. Others chanted, “Go back to your cave,” over and over again. Police officers held back those who tried to reach the werewolves. Alex searched for Officer Dune, but couldn’t find him among the crowd.

He looked past them to other humans who seemed merely interested in the proceedings. Alex recognized several parents of the girls he had rescued, and at the edge of the crowd, a few familiar faces caught his attention. He wanted to wave at Anders and his crew from the tattoo parlor, but chose not to draw attention to the fact that there were other werewolves in the city. Anders met his gaze and nodded with a smile. Alex returned the gesture.

“Well, students, are you ready to join the prom?” Principal Dalton asked.

Jaze and Nikki waited expectantly behind them. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” Jaze asked.

Alex nodded. He felt a slight tremble in Siale’s fingers when she took his arm again. It was the only sign she gave of the nervousness she felt. He put a hand over hers and gave her a reassuring smile.

“It’s going to be okay.”

She nodded, her gray eyes soft. Their friends fell in around them as they followed the principal past the waiting crowd of humans.

“Go home, werewolves,” someone spat.

“You’re nothing but beasts,” a woman called out.

A man with beady eyes glared at Alex and Siale. “Beastiality is a sin,” he said.

“Alex Davies is a hero,” a female voice yelled from the back of the crowd.

“Yeah, the Demon saved my daughter,” a man shouted.

Arguments rippled through the group. Adrenaline surged through Alex’s veins. Blue began to stand out in the things he saw, Terith’s blue dress in front of him, the dark blue of the evening sky above, the blue flecks in Siale’s gaze when she gave him a worried look.

“Breathe,” she whispered. “I can hear your heart skipping.”

Alex put a hand to it. She was right. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Everything’s going to be fine,” she said in his ear. “You are in control.”

Alex nodded and willed his heart to calm. He focused on pushing the commotion of the crowd away and concentrated on maintaining his self-control. After a moment, the blue faded and his heart slowed.

“I’m okay,” he told her, opening his eyes again.

“Good,” she replied with a warm smile.

Something caught the corner of Alex’s eye. He turned in time to see a soda can fly past him toward Jordan. With werewolf-fast reflexes, Trent grabbed the can before it nailed his date in the head.

Silence fell throughout the crowd and spread to the werewolf students, Jaze and Nikki, the mayor, and the principal. Alex could feel it, the turning point where either mass chaos could break out, or the situation could be dissolved.

Trent met his gaze; the werewolf’s eyes were wide. Alex didn’t know what to do or say.

To his surprise, Trent popped the top of the can and took a deep gulp of the drink. He gave a satisfied breath and held it up. “Thank you. I was thirsty.”

The crowd laughed. The tension dissolved. Even those who had been hostile exchanged relieved looks as if they realized how easily things could have gotten out of hand.

“Let’s get you guys inside,” the mayor said.

Alex patted Trent on the back. “That was quick thinking.”

Trent shrugged. “I needed a drink.”

Jordan gave him a huge smile. “You are amazing.”

“Say it too often and I’ll start to believe it,” he replied.

She laughed and leaned against him as they made their way into the school.

“Alex, Jericho,” Cherish called when they walked inside the door. She hurried through the students and gave Alex a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

She stepped back and gave Jericho a shy smile. “You, too.”

The Alpha’s mouth had dropped open at her appearance. “You look so beautiful.”

Cherish smoothed a hand down the waist of her red silk dress. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

Jericho shook his head. “It’s perfect. You are absolutely perfect.” He took her hand and she led him through the staring students.

“Come on in,” Tanner said, stepping through the crowd with Sarah at his side. “We’ll show you around.”

Alex felt nervous at the thought of walking through so many students who stared at him and the other werewolves as if they were afraid of being attacked. He glanced back at Jaze. The dean gave him a small smile and nodded his head as if to say take the chance.

Alex gave his friends a reassuring smile and followed Tanner and Sarah.

About halfway through the students, a hand touched his shoulder. Alex glanced back and recognized Amber, the very first girl he had rescued in his search to free Sarah. Without a word, Amber threw her arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug. He felt her tears soak his shirt.

“Thank you so much,” she said.

“I’m glad I could help,” Alex told her.

She stepped back and wiped her eyes. “I didn’t know if I would get a chance to thank you. I was so scared that day that I didn’t even think about it, and I’ve regretted it ever since. You were so brave.”

“If it wasn’t for you, I don’t know if the other girls would have followed me.” He smiled at her. “I can be a little scary, and you were the brave one.”

“You were amazing,” she said. She smiled at him and Siale. “Have a fun night. I’m so glad you’re here.”

They made their way through the students to the gymnasium that had been decorated as a dance hall. Music was already playing. Tanner led Sarah to the floor. Jericho and Cherish followed.

“Shall we?” Alex asked Siale

“I’ve never danced before,” she replied with a hint of nervousness.

Alex grinned. “Me, neither. At least we’ll make it a night to remember.”

She laughed and accepted his offer. Together, they found a place on the floor and began to sway to the music. After a few awkward minutes passed, other couples joined them; soon the gymnasium was filled with couples enjoying the music. It stopped being human and werewolves. Students stopped caring whether they bumped into each other or brushed elbows during the dance. Everyone was on the same page, couples enjoying their first prom. Alex was grateful the humans had dared to invite the werewolf students to experience it with them.

Alex and Siale eventually made their way to the group of decorated round tables where the other werewolves relaxed. To his surprise, human students had joined them.

“How does it feel to change into a wolf?” a student asked Pip.

“We call it phasing,” Pip explained, “And it’s awesome!”

Several students smiled.

“Do you like being a wolf better or a human?” a girl asked Cassie.

Cassie met Alex’s gaze and smiled. “I like them both. Sometimes I think werewolf boys act more like animals.”

The girls around her laughed.

“All boys are animals,” another confessed.