Werewolf Academy Book 3 Page 4

  Silence filled the air between them. After what felt like an eternity, Alex dared to ask, “Did you?”

  Jaze’s smile was tempered by the tears in his eyes as he shook his head. “He asked me to let him make his sacrifice. He knew what he was doing. I would have let him down if I’d held him back.”

  “Why?” Alex asked quietly.

  “Because so many more werewolves would have died that he fought to save. He gave his life to protect those families, and he saved them. To Jet, it was worth dying for the werewolves he fought to free. He was the best person I have ever known, and I am proud to call him my brother.” He smiled at Alex and wiped away a tear that had broken free. “You should be, too.”

  Alex nodded, his throat tight. “I am.” Warmth filled him at the words. Nothing could take away the time he and Jet had shared. Lying on the grass eating ice cream, the first time he and Cassie had phased, sneaking out at night to run as wolves through the countryside; nothing could erase those memories.

  A thought occurred to Alex. “If the General’s my dad, and he’s your uncle, what does that make us?”

  “Cousins,” Jaze replied.

  Alex laughed. “But you’re so much older than I am.”

  Jaze grinned. “I’m not that old.”

  Alex moved down so that he lay with his back on the cool grass. Jet’s statue loomed above them, blocking out half the sky. It was Alex’s favorite place. He took a breath of the crisp night air colored with the sweet tang of fresh grass, the rich loam of the forest, and a hint of mineral damp that whispered of fall rain.

  “How’s the new term starting?” Jaze asked.

  Alex thought about it. “Good. Really good.” His mind shifted to Kalia. “Although it’s promising to be confusing.”

  Jaze chuckled. “Can I guess by your tone that you’re referring to a girl?”

  Alex stared up at him. “How did you know?”

  Jaze shrugged. “The time I was the most confused in my life was when Nikki became a part of it.”

  “And now?” Alex asked.

  The dean let out a laugh. “Sometimes it’s still a bit confusing, but marrying Nikki was the best decision I ever made. And now we have William. I’ve never been happier.”

  That filled Alex with warmth. Jaze and Nikki had pretty much taken over as Alex and Cassie’s family when their parents were killed. Hearing him be so happy gave Alex hope that he would someday feel the same.

  “Just try to keep your wits about you,” Jaze recommended.

  “That’s harder than it sounds,” Alex muttered.

  Jaze laughed. “Yeah, I remember.” He winked at Alex. “But maybe that means you’ve found the right girl.”

  Alex thought of the way his heart flipped every time he heard Kalia’s voice. He couldn’t think when her scent touched his nose, and he could barely speak two words in the proper order when she talked to him. If everything stayed the same, it was going to be a very strange term.

  “I’d better get to bed,” Jaze told Alex. “William was up late with teething and I sat up with him to give Nikki a chance to sleep. He fell asleep on my pillow with Nikki’s hair clutched in one hand and I didn’t have the heart to move him.” He smiled. “His toddler bed’s a bit small for me, though.”

  Alex smiled at the thought of the dean crammed on William’s tiny race car bed. “Good luck with that.”

  “Thanks,” Jaze replied, standing up. He stretched, then set a hand on the wolf statue’s shoulder. “’Night, Jet.”

  Alex listened to the dean’s footsteps as he made his way back to the Academy. The door swung closed with a quiet snick, leaving Alex with the crickets, the brush of the breeze that tangled in his black hair, and the comforting presence of the wolf statue that had become such a constant in Alex’s life.

  Chapter Four

  It was unusual for the students to have English first, but they filed obediently into Grace’s class. A few minutes before the bell rang, Jaze entered the classroom. Whispers rose from Pack Miguel and Pack Jericho as Jaze and Grace spoke quietly at the blind professor’s desk.

  “I agree completely,” Alex heard Grace say.

  Jaze nodded, satisfied. He turned to the class. “Good morning, students.”

  “Good morning, Dean Jaze,” everyone replied.

  Jaze smiled at them. “Welcome to your first class of the term.” He tipped his head toward Professor Grace. “You couldn’t have asked for a better teacher to begin the school year. However, I’m afraid I must borrow a few students for a specialty class we are trying this term.”

  Alex’s breath caught when the dean called his name.

  The dean looked down at the paper in his hand. “I also need Jericho, Cassie, Tennison, Trent, Terith, Kalia, and Pip.”

  The students rose uncertainly. Now that their names had been called, they seemed concerned about leaving their classmates.

  “Let’s go,” Alex said quietly.

  They followed him as he trailed out the door after the dean. As soon as the door shut behind them, loud speculation erupted from the students who remained behind.

  “The dean has the final say,” Grace reminded them. “Let’s turn our attention to diagraming sentences. Marky, what is a noun?”

  “Amos is a noun,” Marky said; his words turned up at the end as though the answer was more of a question.

  “I like being noun,” Amos replied, his deep voice booming through the door.

  “Amos is a noun,” Grace confirmed.

  Her voice died away as they followed Jaze down the hall. He led them to his office and waited until everyone had filed inside so that he could shut the door behind them. He then leaned against it and crossed his arms.

  “Any guesses as to why you’re here?” he asked.

  Trent spoke up first. “Alex is in trouble and we’re somehow involved?”

  Jaze chuckled. “Nice guess, but no.”

  Jericho glanced at Alex. “Does this have anything to do with the mission we helped out with last term?”

  Jaze nodded. “It has everything to do with it. Alex has been on several missions since.” He smiled at Alex. “Successful missions, I might add, and he’s informed me that you would like to help out as well.”

  Answering nods met Jaze’s expectant gaze. He waved his hand toward the hidden panel. “Your training begins now.”

  He opened the panel and the students followed him inside.

  “I don’t understand why everyone assumes I’m the one in trouble,” Alex said, following the dark passageway by memory. “It’s not like I’m the only who steps out of line once in a while.”

  “Once in a while?” Kalia asked.

  The sound of her voice made Alex’s heart do a funny flip. He smiled at her, then noticed that she was walking with her hands out as though afraid she was about to run into a wall. He remembered that she didn’t have werewolf senses, and was in essence walking through the unlit tunnel blind.

  He took her hand. The touch of her palm made warmth run up his arm.

  “Thank you,” she whispered quietly.

  He realized she didn’t want anyone to remember that her senses were far weaker than a werewolf’s. Alex could understand. Werewolf instinct demanded for a werewolf to hide weakness because weaknesses in the wild meant death. Even during the times he had been hurt, he had done his best to hide the pain. The fact that Kalia hid her inability to see in the dark filled Alex with empathy. He vowed to help her hide her deficiencies until her strengths surfaced.

  “Anytime,” he whispered back. The warmth deepened when her fingers tightened in his. He fought to focus his senses to their surroundings instead of the girl at his side. It confused him how much of his thoughts she occupied. He knew it could be dangerous on missions if he couldn’t keep his mind straight.

  Alex was grateful when the second panel slid aside. He dropped Kalia’s hand and hurried through. She stepped after him, her gaze on the huge cavern.

  “Welcome, class,” Caden, Brock’s cousin, s
aid from the weapon’s desk below.

  “Class?” Trent repeated. “As in, we’re his students?”

  The dean nodded. “I turn you over to Professor Caden’s capable hands. You will attend weapons’ training each morning while the rest of your pack mates are in Professor Grace’s English class. Your lessons will be supplemented in poetry with Grace after lunch.”

  “Did he say poetry?” Terith asked when Jaze left back through the tunnel.

  “Did he say weapons’ training?” Trent echoed.

  “Don’t be shy,” Caden called up. “Come down and get to know the guns that may save your life.”

  “This. Is. Awesome,” Pip breathed.

  Alex remembered that the little werewolf had been gone the previous term when he had called on the rest of his pack for help. The enormous cavern and everything inside was all new.

  “Jaze runs a rescue and surveillance team down here,” Alex explained quietly to Pip as they made their way down the stairs after the others. “I help out, and now you might get the opportunity to as well.” Alex wasn’t sure why Jaze had chosen the little werewolf, but he was glad to have him along. Pip hadn’t betrayed him and Cassie by choice; he would have the chance to make up for that now.

  “You’re going to let Trent touch a gun?” Terith asked.

  “I had a gun last time,” Trent pointed out.

  “Yeah, and you almost shot yourself,” his sister replied, rolling her eyes.

  “It was only sleeping stuff,” Trent argued.

  Caden held up a hand, catching their attention. “Not sleeping stuff,” he corrected. “The bullets we use on missions are filled with a fast-acting sleep agent capable of knocking out a full grown man in under five seconds. It takes our enemies out of the equation, and minimizes the death toll.”

  “Do we need to minimize the death toll?” Tennison asked, his tone even.

  Tennison had lost his parents to Extremists. Alex could definitely relate to the werewolf’s bitterness.

  Caden nodded. “As much as we’d all like to wreak havoc on the General’s army, we are under an agreement with the GPA. We catch the General’s men, and they deal the justice.”

  “Like a trial by peers?” Trent asked. “If humans were pro werewolf genocide, how would a trial like that be fair?”

  Caden gave him a steely look. “Remember who you’re talking to. I’m a human, and many of my closest friends are werewolves. Not everyone took the General’s side. There’s a reason he’s considered a rebel by this nation, and why the GPA is so interested in bringing him down. They just don’t allow murder without just cause, and so we bring the enemies in, and they provide the evidence to take them down.”

  Tennison nodded, satisfied. “When do we start?”

  Caden smiled. “You just did.” He pointed to a door Alex hadn’t noticed before. It was recessed in the wall behind the weaponry. “Let’s see where everyone’s skill levels lie.”

  The werewolves followed Caden through the door. The human flipped a switch, lighting an impressive shooting range complete with silhouettes of men against the far wall for target practice.

  “Step up to the booths and get familiar with the weapons in front of you,” Caden instructed. “I chose Glock nine millimeters for your first gun because they’re light, which isn’t exactly a problem for werewolves, but it’s always a nice feature; they’re also durable, simple to operate, and have decent accuracy. Just be careful with the safe action trigger. It doesn’t need much pressure to fire.”

  As if to emphasize his point, a shot ricocheted through the air. Everyone jumped. The sound of a gun being set quickly back on the table followed Pip stepping away with his head bowed.

  “Uh, sorry about that,” he said.

  Caden shook his head, his eyes wide. “I’m just glad we’re all here and bullet free. Watch that safety.”

  “Yes, sir,” Pip replied gloomily.

  Caden let out his breath in a rush. “There’s one in every class,” he said. He ran a hand through his spikey brown hair, then smiled at the group. “Alright, students, pick up your guns and aim them at the targets. If you keep the business end pointed in that direction, we should be alright.”

  Everyone did as he told them.

  “Fire!” Caden said.

  Bullets tore through the air. When everyone was done firing, Caden compared their marks. Only two were anywhere close. Alex’s had gone through the outline’s head, while Kalia’s hit it in the heart.

  Caden nodded. “Very good. For the rest of you, squeeze the triggers slowly. Don’t jerk the gun back with the pressure or it’ll throw your aim off. Let’s try again,” the professor instructed.

  By the end of class, everyone’s aims had improved, but it was obvious Kalia had the best skill when it came to accuracy. Her targets all had holes through the heart without fail.

  “Have you done this before?” Jericho asked her as they walked down the hall to their next class.

  “Never,” Alex heard Kalia reply. There was a note of pride to her voice. For the first time, she had bested the werewolves in her pack at something. He was happy for her.

  “Welcome to group combat training,” Professor Chet said as soon as they reached the training room. The rest of Pack Jericho along with Pack Drake were already waiting for them.

  “Group combat?” Pip repeated in a squeak that made everyone laugh.

  Professor Dray smiled at the small werewolf. “You’ve all had training in regular werewolf combat, but in normal life situations, you’ll be in a pack. Learning how to fight as one with your pack mates is essential if you wish to protect each other.”

  “Enough talk,” Chet said. “Let’s gets to fighting. Pack Jericho on one side, Pack Drake on the other. The best way to figure out pack dynamics along with your strengths and weaknesses is to see how you do in battle. So, fight!”

  At the professor’s call, the packs stared at each other. Besides rank duels and one on one combat training, they had never been in fights. It felt wrong to attack fellow students.

  “Seriously?” Professor Chet said at their lack of response. “Last hour, Pack Boris and Pack Torin tore into each other like there was no tomorrow. We had to pull them apart.”

  Professor Dray nodded with a grimace as if it had been an unpleasant experience.

  “Come on,” Chet urged. “How are you going to know how you fight if you don’t try it?”

  Trent spoke up. “We, uh, we don’t have anything against Pack Drake, professor.”

  “You don’t have anything against Pack Drake?” Chet repeated in a mocking tone similar to Trent’s whiny voice. The professor’s eyes narrowed. “Drake, come here.”

  Drake left his pack and walked to Chet’s side. It was obvious by the uncertainty in the Alpha’s stride that the Lifer didn’t know what to expect.

  “Do you like Pack Jericho?” Chet asked.

  “I don’t think this is necessary,” Professor Dray pointed out.

  Chet ignored him, his gaze intent as he watched the Alpha student.

  “Not really,” Drake admitted.

  “Why not?” Chet pressed.

  Drake glanced at Pack Jericho. “They’re pretentious. They think they’re better than the other packs because they mix Lifers and Termers. They’re annoying.”

  Chet cracked a smile. “I don’t think everyone on Pack Jericho knows what pretentious means,” he looked directly at Amos.

  The huge werewolf shrugged his shoulders with an embarrassed expression.

  “It’s okay,” Cassie whispered to him.

  The rest of Pack Drake laughed. Alex’s hands clenched into fists.

  “I think you may have a reason to fight,” Chet concluded with a smug smile. He stepped back with his arms crossed.

  “You think we’re annoying?” Jericho repeated.

  Drake nodded with the answering nods of the rest of his pack behind him. “Extremely annoying,” the Alpha said.

  Jericho glanced back at Alex. The Alpha gave his shoul
ders the slightest lift, asking an unspoken question.

  “Fighting for class?” Alex said. “We might as well get a good grade.”

  Jericho gave a toothy smile in return. He walked across the mat toward Pack Drake. Alex’s pack mates fell in around their Alpha and Second as Pack Drake crossed to meet them.

  “This might hurt,” Jericho said with sarcasm in his voice.

  “Oh, it’s going to,” Drake replied. He took a swing at Jericho’s head. Jericho ducked and slammed a punch into the other Alpha’s stomach. The fight exploded around them.

  Adrenaline rushed through Alex’s veins. He ducked a punch and answered with one of his own. He blocked a kick with crossed forearms, and slammed his elbow into another werewolf’s groin. He spun to the right and drove a hammer fist into a werewolf’s ear, dropping him to the ground. All around him, werewolves grappled and punched.

  Alex was careful to keep Cassie and Kalia in view. His sister fought with Tennison at her back. She swept low as the tall, skinny werewolf lashed out with bony knuckles. Jaren, Drake’s Second, didn’t stand a chance. Kalia stood back near the professors. Apparently Dray had at least convinced Chet that the one student who hadn’t shown signs of being a werewolf should stay out of the fight. Given Kalia’s lesser strength, Alex was grateful the professor had stepped in.

  “Alright, alright,” Chet called after a few more minutes.

  The packs were much more reluctant to give up the fight than they had to begin. Dray was forced to break up the fight between Jericho and Drake. Both Alphas had bruises on their faces. A trickle of blood showed beneath Drake’s nose.

  “Jaze isn’t going to be thrilled if we keep ending class with students bleeding,” Dray said quietly.

  Chet shrugged. “It’ll toughen them up. Builds character.”

  “Blood builds character?” Dray repeated dryly.

  Chet nodded. “We should put that on the wall.” At Dray’s dismayed look, Chet chuckled and turned to the students. “Alright, class. What have we learned?”