Werewolf Academy Book 6: Vengeance (15 page)

Chapter Nineteen

When he didn’t follow Boris into Kalia’s bedroom, the werewolf grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him inside. “Like a band-aid,” Boris said, his voice a low growl. “Just rip it off.”

Dust covered the huge four poster bed, the vanity and couches, the beanbags, and the recliners that were all positioned just the way Alex remembered them from when he had stayed with Kalia during one of her headaches. Despite the lack of care the rest of the room had received, a fire crackled in the fireplace.

At Alex’s questioning look, Boris gave a sad smile. “Mom won’t let the maids touch anything in here, but she insists that the fire be built every night because Kalia liked it.”

Sadness filled Alex at the thought of Mrs. Dickson showing love in such a way. She hadn’t been the most expressive toward Kalia, but the untouched room and roaring fire said more than words.

“When I woke up in here, I couldn’t understand it,” Boris said, his voice quiet. He walked across the floor, motioning for Alex to follow him to Kalia’s vanity. “Then I saw these.”

Alex’s heart slowed at the pictures taped around the mirror. They were mostly pictures from the Academy, and he was in every one, sitting at the table in the Great Hall, running through the forest in wolf form, talking in front of Professor Mouse’s class, asleep on the couch in Pack Jericho’s quarters. Alex didn’t know when she had taken the pictures, but it was obvious she cherished them.

The picture in the middle of the mirror kept his attention. It was of him and Kalia sitting on the top step in the courtyard. Their faces were close together as if they were in a serious discussion, and the smile on Kalia’s face showed how much she was enjoying it.

“She loved you,” Boris said.

Alex’s heart tightened as if gripped in a fist. He tried to speak, but the knot in his throat refused to release his voice.

“I know,” Boris cut him off before he could work any words free. “I know you love Siale and you can’t help it. These pictures just made me mad, do you know why?”

Alex shook his head.

Boris’ eyes narrowed. “Because I couldn’t fathom that someone Kalia loved so much would skip her funeral. She deserved that much. It made me think you were lying to her about everything, leading her on. She deserved better.” Boris held up a hand when Alex tried to speak. “So I decided to find out for myself. I hacked into the security footage from the funeral.”

He left without saying anything else, leaving Alex to follow him out of Kalia’s room. Alex pulled the door shut behind him with reverence. The thought of the pictures covered in dust tore at him. He knew she had loved him. He had hoped she would be able to turn those feelings toward Torin, but the pictures proved he had been wrong.

He found Boris back in his room sitting at the computer. The Alpha spoke without preamble, “I searched for hours that night. Why do they have to take so many stupid pictures?” Boris muttered, more to himself then to Alex. He clicked on something and let out a breath. “Then I found this.”

Boris turned the screen. Alex felt as though he had been punched in the stomach.

It was a picture of him at the graveyard while Kalia was being buried. The rain was falling. He stood amid tall tombstones and marble angels that hid him from view of the other students and family members around the grave. Alex’s head was bowed and his hand squeezed his closed eyes. Tears trailed down his cheeks and his tightly pressed lips showed obvious agony.

“I knew it then,” Boris said, his voice cracking. “I knew you loved her. I was wrong. I was very wrong.”

To Alex’s surprise, the huge werewolf stood and grabbed him in a tight hug. The Alpha’s shoulders shook with silent sobs. Alex blinked back tears of his own and patted Boris’ back.

“I knew you loved her,” Boris said again, repeating the words as if they mattered the world to him. “You didn’t lead her on. Her feelings weren’t thrown away, and she didn’t die for nothing.”

“It’s my fault she’s gone,” Alex said as a sob of his own escaped.

Boris pushed him back, giving him a stern look. “I’ve blamed you ever since her death, ever since the day Jaze called us and told us what happened.” He shook his head. “But someone who loved her that much,” he gestured to the image on the screen, “Wouldn’t put her in harm’s way if he could help it. Since the moment I saw that picture, I haven’t had another nightmare.” He rubbed his face, wiping away the tears. “I don’t hate you anymore, Alex.” He took a shuddering breath. “In my heart, you’ll always be my brother.”

Alex stared at him, stunned.

Boris held out a hand.

Alex numbly held out his own and Boris shook it. “Brothers, then,” the Alpha concluded with a satisfied nod.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Boris hurried to the door and pushed it shut. After a moment, he glanced out, then gestured to Alex. “It’s probably time for you to go. Dad’s home and he’s not as accepting as I am. We better sneak you out of here.”

The thought of Mr. Dickson’s armed security guards being sent on a werewolf hunt made Alex more than willing to follow Boris back outside and through the gate.

“I’m truly sorry,” Boris said when they paused near the road from the mansion.

“You had a right to hate me,” Alex replied, still trying to come to terms with what had just happened.

“Not now that I know the truth,” the Alpha replied.

At Alex’s uncertainty, Boris waved his hand. “You better get going. I think I terrified everyone at the warehouse, but it was the only way I could think of to get you alone.”

“You could have just asked me,” Alex pointed out.

Boris paused. “Well, maybe I’ll try that next time. Tell Red I’m sorry and I hope he lets me back in.”

“He will,” Alex assured the Alpha. “Especially if I come back alive.”

Boris chuckled. “Better wolf up and get going then.”

Alex pulled off the heavy metal band shirt and jeans and phased. He trotted out into the night with a feeling of complete shock. When Boris stormed into the warehouse, Alex had never imagined such an outcome. He paced through the streets feeling lighter than he had in a long time. He hadn’t realized how much Boris’ anger and hatred had weighed on him. Though he still carried the guilt of Kalia’s death, the fact that her brother was no longer one of his mortal enemies made him able to breathe easier.

Alex’s steps slowed when he neared the warehouse. A figure waited in the shadows where he had left his clothes. A slight breeze pushed at his back, sending whoever’s scent it was away from him. Thoughts of Drogan or the curs made him wary. If an enemy was outside, he wondered if the werewolves inside the warehouse were safe.

All hesitant emotions fled the second Siale stepped out of the shadows in wolf form. Her light gray coat contrasted beautifully with the white marks on her shoulders. Her eyes danced, teasing him as if she guessed what he had been thinking when he saw someone in the dark alley.

Surprised to see her in wolf form waiting for him, Alex gave a wolfish grin and trotted toward her. Siale whirled around and took off running down the street. She paused a block away and gave a challenging bark before taking off again. Alex barked in answer and ran after her.

Siale wound her way through streets, beneath wooden walkways, around trees with reaching, spreading roots, and around, and even over, parked vehicles. Her knowledge of the city let Alex know just how much she had explored on her own. By the time he caught up to her, she was in the ocean, prancing through the waves. Alex jumped in, splashing and biting at the water as though he was a puppy. Siale pouncing against his side, rolling him in the water. He came up sputtering and dove at her, but she danced out of the way. He made of show of falling face-first into the water again. She gave a huff of laughter and followed.

By the time they made their way to the shore, Alex was exhausted but happy. He let his tongue hang out and gave a dramatic sigh, falling into the sand at her side. Siale replied with a huff of laughter and settled down next to him. Her head turned and Alex followed her gaze, paying true attention to his surroundings for the first time.

The moonlit beach was beauty itself. The waves pushed at the sand with a sound much more full and beckoning than it had been when he was in his human form. Tones similar to those of the calling pack filled his ears, answering why so many were drawn to the sea. The salty seaweed and fish smell of the water drifted with the breeze that also carried the lingering smoke and hotdog scent of the barbecues that were held on the beach at sundown.

The almost full moon reflected on the water, broken into a million pirouetting pieces that ebbed and flowed, nearly connecting but shattering again with each sigh of the waves. The stars above filled their own ebony sea, a darkness that flowed and encompassed all around it. It was so perfect and complete, a scene that resonated with Alex’s soul. He let out a sigh without knowing it.

Siale’s shoulder bumped his. He caught her understanding gaze. She leaned against him, filling him with her scent and the comfort of her presence. She had helped him through so much, and knew so much of him, yet he still saw respect in her eyes along with love and adoration.

Alex rose and tipped his head, asking her to follow him. She stood unquestioningly and padded beside him back to the warehouse. Alex phased in the shadows and pulled on his clothes. Siale stepped from the warehouse wearing a simple white and light blue stripped summer dress that wrapped around her calves in the breeze.

“Care for a walk back to the beach with me?” Alex asked, holding out his hand.

Siale slipped her fingers into his with a smile. “Definitely.”

Alex pulled her close. “You keep smiling like that and I’m going to forget what I’m doing.”

She looked up at him with another smile. “So there’s a purpose to this walk?”

“Perhaps,” Alex replied vaguely.

His answer seemed to satisfy her. Siale walked at his side with her hand on his arm and her gaze on the night sky.

“There’s something so reassuring about the stars,” she said. “Even when it’s cloudy, I know they’re out there.”

“Do you like them more than the moon?” Alex asked.

Siale nodded. “I do, actually.” She gave a smile that held a hint of embarrassment. “I know werewolves love the moon, and I do, too, but it’s ever-changing. The stars are the same, holding their constellations forever even as the earth rotates. It’s beautiful, you know?”

Her voice held a hint of a need for reassurance. When Alex nodded, relief showed in her gaze. “It is beautiful. I’ve never thought of them quite in that way.” He looked up at the sparkling sky. “But I understand what you mean. Life changes so fast sometimes it’s nice to have something that will always be the same.”

She squeezed his hand. “Thank you for not laughing.”

“I could never laugh at you,” he replied.

The way she looked at him was almost too much. He meant to lead her to the pier, but he felt that the time was right, standing on the moonlit beach with the ocean giving its song to the moment. The stars she loved so much blanketed their shoulders, and the ocean breeze danced through her long brown hair, brushing it across her back.

The moment was hers as much as his heart, and he wanted to make it last forever.

“Siale, I love you,” he said. He found the velvet ring box in his pocket and slipped it out without her noticing.

“I love you, too, Alex,” she replied.

He shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. From the moment I looked into your eyes, my heart was yours completely. You’re the first thing I think about when I wake up, and the last image in my mind when I fall asleep. I may fight like I have nothing to lose, but in truth, I have everything to lose. You are my stars in the night sky, Siale, you are my constant, my true north, my every hope and dream.”

“Oh, Alex,” Siale said.

Alex dropped to one knee in the sand and opened the velvet box. When he held it up to her, Siale’s hand flew to her mouth. Tears filled her eyes.

“Siale Leanna Andrews, will you make me the luckiest werewolf in the world by becoming my wife?” Alex asked with tears in his own eyes.

“Yes, absolutely yes,” Siale replied. She threw her arms around his neck, laughing and crying at the same time. “Oh, Alex, I’m so happy!”

Alex picked her up by the waist and spun her around. “Me, too,” he said, smiling up at her. He brought her down and kissed her. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it,” he said. “You are everything that’s wonderful.”

She set a hand on his cheek. “You gave me so much to live for when I wanted to just die,” she told him, her voice breaking. “You gave me the chance to start over, you believed in me, and you let me be myself. The ‘me’ I see in your eyes is someone I try to attain. You bring out my laughter and happiness whenever you walk into a room. Holding your hand is the greatest thing I could ever ask for, because it means I’m yours.” The tears in her eyes spilled over when she looked at the ring Alex held. “And now this.”

With shaking fingers, Alex slid the ring on her hand. The seven purple stones glittered in the starlight while the diamond glowed like a star of its own.

“It’s beautiful,” Siale breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I knew the moment I saw it that it was meant to be yours,” Alex told her; relief that she liked it made him happier than he could express.