Werewolf Academy Book 5: Lost (7 page)

Chapter Seven

Alex ducked out of the way as Cruz and the woman passed by. He hid in the shadows and waited for Vic. Soon, the burly man with snakes tattooed on either side of his skull ambled by. The man walked with the rolling gait of a seasoned fighter that said he would be more dangerous than Alex had first assessed. He followed slowly behind the man, careful to duck behind the random cars, couches, and appliances that littered the lower levels of the parking garage.

Vic drew a set of keys from his pocket and paused near the back of a delivery truck. He fiddled with a lock, then pulled it off and pushed the rolling door up.

Alex’s gaze locked on the forms of four girls handcuffed in the back of the truck.

“Listen to Uncle Vic, ladies, and I’ll see that you’re rewarded when we get to the Black Aces,” Vic said, climbing into the back of the truck. He set a crowbar down near the door. Alex wondered if it was the same one he had been beaten with.

“Screw you,” one of the girls said.

Vic back-handed her across the mouth and she let out a little cry of pain.

Alex’s paws hit the floor of the delivery truck with a loud thud. His muzzle was millimeters from Vic’s head. He growled, and the sound filled the entire truck.

The girls shrieked and moved as far away from Alex and Vic as their chains would allow them. Now that he was inside the truck, Alex could see the filth that covered the mattresses and blankets. The girls had bruises on their arms and legs, and their wrists and ankles were worn raw by the handcuffs. Alex had seen werewolves caged in better conditions on his rescue missions with Jaze.

“Don’t hurt me,” Vic said, his voice a high whine that seemed extremely out of place coming from such a large man.

Alex growled louder. Vic’s sparse hair moved with the werewolf’s breath.

“I-I’ll unlock them,” Vic stuttered. “L-let me free them for you.”

He fumbled for the keys. Alex paced next to Vic as the man carefully worked his way to the girl he had backhanded. A trickle of blood showed from the corner of her mouth.

Vic dropped the keys and froze. Alex stepped back the tiniest bit so he could pick them up again.

Vic was ready for the movement. He grabbed the keys and turned as he picked them up, swiping them at Alex’s eyes. He lunged back and Vic rushed him. Alex stumbled on a blanket and fell. Vic landed on top of him, crushing him against the floor of the truck.

Alex struggled as Vic grabbed the blankets and tried to tie up his legs. Alex snapped at the gang member’s hands and managed to get his front paws clear. He rolled to the right. Vic landed on top of him again with such force that Alex’s head rebounded off the metal floor. The man knelt on his throat, suffocating the werewolf with his weight.

Alex’s heart skipped a beat, then another. He knew he shouldn’t have gone back into the parking garage without giving his body a chance to recover from the last fight. He couldn’t get free. He struggled to suck in a breath, but his airway was cut off. Black showed at the edges of his vision. His heart skipped another beat.

Something slammed into the side of Vic’s head. The man fell forward off of Alex. Alex looked behind him to see one of the girls holding the keys and Vic’s crowbar.

“Come on,” she said to the others. “Let’s get out of here.”

Alex leaped down from the truck. His joints ached at the jar of landing on the cement. He waited for the four girls to climb down. They eyed him uncertainly. Alex gave a quiet snort and waved his tail, hoping they would trust him.

Commotion sounded from deeper in the garage. Alex trotted slowly toward the exit. He paused after a few steps when he realized the girls weren’t following him.

“I think he’s waiting for us,” the blonde girl who had been hit said.

“What makes you think we can trust him?”

She shrugged, her eyes wide as she held the crowbar tighter. “He fought Vic. Right now, that’s enough for me.”

“What’s going on over there?”

Alex’s heart slowed at the sound of a trigger being cocked. The girls scattered behind him. Alex charged at the man who appeared around the corner. The man’s eyes widened and he stumbled backwards, squeezing the trigger as he did so. The bullet drove into the ceiling.

Alex latched onto the man’s arm and ground down, forcing him to drop the gun as his bones were crushed. To his surprise, the blonde girl followed, picking up the gun as soon as it hit the ground. She aimed it at the man.

He writhed on the floor in pain, holding his bleeding arm and cursing without looking at her.

“Come on, Abby, let’s go,” one of the other girls urged.

Alex ghosted beside them as they ran up the ramp toward the exit. Shouts caught his ear from below. He heard Vic’s angry voice followed by Cruz’s. Footsteps thundered after them. The girls ran, but they wouldn’t be fast enough. More footsteps came down from above. They would be cornered like the police officers.

The girls slowed when they saw that they were trapped. Abby waved her gun, aiming first at Cruz’s group from below, then at the others who came up behind them. Alex snarled as he placed himself between them and Cruz’s men.

“Now, now, lower your gun,” Cruz said. “You can’t kill us all.”

“I can kill you,” Abby said, her eyes bright with fear as she aimed the gun at Cruz’s chest. Her fingers shook and the gun wavered even though she fought to hold it steady.

“You’re just going to end up hurting yourself,” Cruz said in a cajoling tone. “Just give me the gun and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

He took a step forward. Alex took a step forward as well. Cruz paused at the vehemence in his angry growl.

“We got off on the wrong foot,” Cruz said, raising his hands. He glanced sideways. Alex followed his gaze and saw three more gang members round the corner with machine guns. “I’d like to fix this without bloodshed.”

“Yeah, right,” Abby replied. “We’re not going back.”

“No, we’re not,” another girl echoed, her voice near hysteria. “We’ll never go back!”

Alex was prepared to attack the gunmen. If he could give the girls enough space to run, they might be able to make it past the corner to the road beyond. They were so close. He wouldn’t let them go back if he could help it.

“I hoped it wouldn’t come to this,” Cruz said. He glanced at his men. The guns were raised. Alex took a step forward. He wouldn’t have much time. His breath sounded loud in his ears.

Cruz gave a half-shrug. “I guess this is—”

“Let them go, Cruz.”

Relief washed over Alex at the sound of Officer Dune’s voice.

“I have two dozen officers up here who would like nothing more than the chance at a little revenge for Officer Smith,” Officer Dune continued. Alex could tell by the sound of numerous footsteps that the officer wasn’t bluffing.

Cruz and his men glanced at each other. At that moment, Cruz’s cellphone rang. He put it up to his ear.

“There are cops all over the garage,” the voice on the other end of the phone said. “They’re armed to the teeth.”

Cruz lowered his cellphone without speaking. He looked so angry a vein stood out along the side of his neck. He glared from the girls to Alex, then to his men. He finally motioned for his men to back up.

“I should have shot you when I had the chance,” Cruz shouted.

“Yeah, you should have,” Officer Dune replied.

As soon as the Fivers were clear, the girls ran up the ramp. Alex followed close behind, careful to keep an eye on the gang members in case Cruz changed his mind.

He was met with the sight of six police cars, an ambulance, and a concerned looking Officer Dune.

“You couldn’t have waited?” the officer demanded.

Alex watched as Abby collapsed in an officer’s arms. Now that she didn’t need to be brave any longer, she was a terrified girl who wanted nothing more than to return to her family. The other three girls looked just as eager to get way from the Fivers territory.

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Officer Dune concluded quietly. “They needed you.” He paused, then said, “I guess you’re not forced to be a wolf any longer.”

Alex realized that the sun was starting to rise. The pull of the moon had lost its strength sometime while he was in the parking garage, and he hadn’t noticed. Weariness settled around him like a blanket, and he didn’t have the moonlight to speed the healing process. He turned away and limped along the wall.

“Wait,” Officer Dune called.

Alex wondered if the officer would try to arrest him. It was a crime to be a werewolf after all. He glanced back.

Officer Dune stopped. He looked back at the officers near the mouth of the garage, and he appeared to realize the same thing Alex had. It was the officer’s duty to bring him in.

Officer Dune rubbed the back of his neck. “I need some sleep.”

Alex waited, confused by the officer’s line of thought.

Officer Dune smiled. “I suppose weariness makes us all see things, like vigilante werewolves fighting crime and defying bullets.” He shook his head. “I’m going to go get some much needed rest and relaxation.”

Alex watched the officer make his way back to his companions. The fact that the officer was alive at all made him extremely happy. Things could have gone much, much worse.

Alex limped slowly through alleys and streets in the weak light of predawn. He only scared two pedestrians by accident, and was glad when they had the sense to cross to the other side of the street and let him pass by in peace.

It was only through sheer strength of will that Alex was able to phase and pull on the black hoodie and pants he had left behind Sarah’s apartment. It took a bit more time to make it to Cherish’s. He eased the fire escape ladder down and managed to pull himself up to the landing. By the time he laid on the metal bars, he was shaking from cold and exhaustion to such an extent that he could no longer move of his own will.

“Alex?”

The sound of the window sliding up was followed by Cherish’s exclamation of, “Oh my gosh, Alex!”

“I’m...okay,” he forced out between chattering teeth.

“Mom!” Cherish called.

A few seconds later, hands slid beneath his shoulders and helped him climb inside. He collapsed below the window.

“You can’t have me here...you could get in trouble.” Alex shut his eyes, willing the warmth from the apartment to seep into his body faster.

“We don’t care about the consequences,” Mrs. Summers replied. “Come lay on the couch, darling. We need to get you warmed up.”

“I thought werewolves didn’t get cold,” Cherish said.

“We...don’t,” Alex told her through chattering teeth.

As soon as he settled on the couch, Alex felt himself slip away. The warmth after such a beating and the freezing cold made it too hard to concentrate on anything at all.

“Alex, stay with us,” Mrs. Summers said with an edge of worry.

“Trent...headset...helmet,” Alex forced out before his voice faded.

***

The sound of familiar voices pushed through the darkness. Alex couldn’t place them anywhere that they belonged together. The thought made him open his eyes.

He saw Mrs. Summers sitting on the armchair beside the couch. She held a blanket on her lap that she was sewing. Upon seeing him awake, she set it down and scooted to the edge of the chair.

“You gave us quite the fright.”

“I’m really sorry,” Alex apologized. He frowned, trying to remember what had happened. “I heard someone...”

“Someone familiar?” Mrs. Summers guessed. She smiled and called, “Jericho, Cherish, he’s awake.”

“Jericho?” Alex repeated.

“Someone had to make sure you survived the morning,” Jericho said, walking in from the hallway. He smiled down at Alex. “Sounds like you had quite the night.”

Alex sat up as Cherish followed Jericho into the room. “’Morning, sleepy head.”

Alex couldn’t figure out what was going on. “How did you, I mean...”

Jericho grinned. “How am I here?”

“Your cryptic message of Trent and the headset and something about your helmet led me to talk to Trent. He sent Jericho,” Cherish explained in a way that said she was very happy about it.

Alex looked at Mrs. Summers. She gave him a warm smile, her eyes twinkling. “It’s been a good two days.”

“Two days!” Alex replied in shock.

Jericho patted Alex’s shoulder. “You had some recovering to do. I’m just glad you had the sense to make friends who don’t fear werewolves.”

“We’re pretty werewolf casual around here,” Cherish said. She shrugged. “I always knew we were dog people more than cat people.”

“Cherish!” Mrs. Summers scolded.

“It’s alright,” Jericho told her. “Alex risked his life trying to save a cat from one of the packs at our school a while back. I don’t think he’s a cat person either after that.” At Alex’s dismayed look, Jericho smiled. “Kalia told me.”

The sound of Kalia’s name brought everything back. Alex rested his head in his hands.

“I’m sorry,” Jericho said, his voice suddenly quiet. “I’m really sorry, Alex.”

Alex let out a slow breath and met his friend’s gaze. “It’s going to be okay.”