Becoming Alpha (11 page)

What was he doing here?

“This is Michael Dawson. He’s the head of St. Ailbe’s Acad—”

“I know damn well who he is.”

The doctor stepped back out of Dad’s way. Probably a smart decision.

“What in the hell did that boy do to my daughter?”

“I’m so sorry, John. I warned her—”

“Bullshit you did. Don’t give me that crap like it’s an excuse.” Dad raked his fingers through his hair. “You will not blame this on my daughter. Her life is ruined. Ruined!”

“John!” Mom said. “Not yet. We don’t know anything for sure yet.”

I cleared my throat. “Why is my life ruined exactly?” They ignored me.

“I can help her,” Mr. Dawson said. “It won’t be the end for her.”

The end? Holy shit, this sounded bad.

Dad blocked Mr. Dawson’s way as he tried to look at my shoulder.

“Let me look. I have to confirm it. It’ll only take a second. If it’s shallow or small, it won’t be enough to turn her.”

Dad stepped in Mr. Dawson’s space. “I don’t give a shit about this job. Someone hurts my girl, they pay. Understood?”

“Perfectly. No matter what this is, we will make it right.” Mr. Dawson didn’t back down, but he didn’t get mad either. He had some major
cojones
to stay calm while facing Dad’s anger.

“You’ve got exactly thirty seconds,” Dad said.

Mr. Dawson walked toward me. I tried to retreat, shaking. He stopped and held his hands up. “I won’t hurt you. I won’t even touch you. I promise. I’m only going to look.”

He won’t touch me? How much did he know about me?

“It’s okay, honey.” Mom tried to get free of my grasp. For some reason I was afraid of Mr. Dawson, and he hadn’t done anything. As he walked toward me, the overhead light hit his eyes, making them glow for a split second.

Mr. Dawson hung his head and scrunched his shoulders, and the motion made me feel more comfortable. “Let’s get this over with.” I sat up with Mom’s help, and he bent toward me. I could have sworn I heard him sniff before he straightened and took a step back.

“We should talk outside,” he said to my parents. They followed him past the curtain and down the hall.

Free of his gaze, I could breathe again. But why did they leave the room? I was the one who was going to be affected by whatever he had to say. I wasn’t a child.

I could hear their voices faintly moving away from my room. Squeaky wheels turned beneath beds as they rolled down the hallway. I focused on them, but everything got too loud until I was drowning in sound. Footsteps on the floor. Beeps of the machines. Frantic murmurs of the nurses. Weeping down the hall. Every little noise filled my head.

I plugged my ears and started to hum. I had to concentrate on my parents and Mr. Dawson. I could do this. I had years of experience blocking visions out. When I pulled my fingers from my ears, the noise had gone down to a reasonable level. Now I had to find their voices in the din.

I visualized the hallway. The sounds grew, building onto each other until I could pick out Mr. Dawson’s calm, deep voice.

“—a danger to everyone in this hospital, including you,” Mr. Dawson said. “It is essential that we—”

“Is there any cure?” Dad sounded seriously pissed off.

“We can ask my family,” Mom said. “They have to know something—”

“Please, Gabby.” Dad growled. “You know how your family is.”

If they were talking about Mom’s family, this was going to be bad.

“I don’t want to start anything with the Texas coven,” Mr. Dawson said. “The wolves that attend my school aren’t dangerous. If you go to your family, this could turn into a war.”

There was silence. I wasn’t getting it and felt incredibly dense for missing whatever the rest of them knew.

“This is the first incident we’ve ever had, and there’s something going on here that we’re missing. If your family is what I think it is, you know what I mean. And you also know that she has to come with me,” Mr. Dawson said. “For both her safety and yours.”

“I can’t believe you did this to us, John. And I can’t believe I let you talk me into going along with it. That you exposed our children to their kind. You know who I am. Who our children are, and yet you still did this.”

“Gabby, please—”

“You can’t take Tessa,” Mom said, cutting off Dad. Her words were clipped with anger. “You don’t understand who my daughter is. Once
La Alquelarre
finds out, there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

What did
Alquelarre
mean?

“She’s part of the Texas coven?”

“She’s supposed to take it over.”

What was she talking about? What was I supposed to be doing? It didn’t matter what they were talking about. I didn’t want to go with anyone. I wanted to go home.

My heartbeat pounded in my ears. They couldn’t make me go with Mr. Dawson. I didn’t care what they said. Pain rippled along my hands. I looked down at them, and saw my nails growing longer, poking through the tips of my gloves. The seams ripped.

What the hell?

I grabbed the thin mattress. This was so not happening. It was a vision. A druggie must have been on this table before me and had some weird hallucination. That had to be it. That was the only rational explanation.

Hands do not turn into claws. Especially not my hands.

Panic made it worse. My knuckles popped, and pain rolled up my arms.

“I know this has come as a shock. You have to understand that she is extremely dangerous—”

Dangerous? My panic turned to anger. Rage boiled my blood. It consumed me.

The pain grew. A growl escaped me as I squirmed in my bed. My growing nails shredded my gloves. My knees popped, sending shooting pain through me, and I screamed.

Mr. Dawson appeared by my side. “Shit,” he said under his breath. “We need a tranq in here. Now!”

I tried to sit up, but he dodged my swinging monster-arms and pinned me in place. I growled again, struggling to get free as he brought his nose to mine. All I could see were his eyes as they turned from hazel to bright olive.

Mr. Dawson made a low rumbling noise that rippled through me. The pain and heat lessened, clearing my head enough so that I could think about what had just happened.

This was a nightmare. My hands had transformed into beast claws.

And that anger. I’d never felt anything like it before. Not in any of my visions. Not ever.

I shivered. Was Mr. Dawson right? Please, God, don’t let Mr. Dawson be right.

The nurse, stinking of fear, rushed in, and stabbed my arm with a needle.

I couldn’t stop the tears as they rolled down my cheeks. Mom’s soft whimpering caught my attention. They were standing outside the curtain, staring at my deformed hands. Only a piece of the shredded white glove hung around my left wrist. Dad’s arms held Mom up as he stared openmouthed.

They looked how I felt.

If this is a dream, I want to wake up now.

“Oh my God. This is my fault.” Dad turned to Mr. Dawson. “Please. Help my daughter,” he whispered as the world faded from view.

I threw the covers off, gasping for breath. Sweat covered my body, thanks to some half-remembered nightmare still fading from my thoughts.

Where was I?

Right, hospital, for my shoulder. Because Dastien had hurt me at the party. I moved it slowly, but it didn’t even twinge. That was a good sign.

I hopped out of bed and the ties to my hospital gown got caught in the IV stand next to the bed. Thankfully it wasn’t hooked up to my arm. I grabbed the tie, and managed to somehow ram my elbow into the hard wall. Tingles exploded up my arm. I rubbed my funny bone as I glanced around. The room was excessively closet-like.

I backed up to take in the room, and fell on top of a springy metal box. Sighing, I turned around to kick the obstacle, but stopped before I made contact.

What the hell. Why was there a cage in my room?

I squatted down to take a closer look. There wasn’t a bowl or food in there like a normal dog kennel, but it was big enough for a large dog. Maybe a Great Dane or a Mastiff. But the cage was
spotless inside. I reached out to open it without thinking. The metal bars of the cage were cold on my bare hand, and I pulled my hand away. I hadn’t gotten a vision, but something much worse.

I remembered huddling in the cage. Shaking. Pain. And I remembered needles. Lots and lots of drug-filled needles.

It was way past time for me to get the hell out of here.

I wasn’t going to get far in a hospital gown. I needed something less conspicuous. I frantically searched the wall of cabinets opposite the bed. Anything would do.

I hit the jackpot in a bottom cupboard. A fit-and-flare black cotton dress was neatly folded in the cabinet, along with my favorite worn-in boots and a pair of gloves. I didn’t have time to wonder how my stuff got in there or how I’d gotten to wherever the hell I was. If someone had caged me up like an animal, I wasn’t sticking around long enough to ask questions.

I pulled on my clothes and ran to the door. The knob wouldn’t move. I jiggled it, twisting one way then the other.

Locked. I was so screwed.

High heels click-clacked down the hallway toward the door.

I needed another way out. A tiny window let light in beside the bed, but it didn’t look like it’d open.

The footsteps were getting louder. I was running out of time and options.

I grabbed the IV stand and smashed it through the window, shattering the glass.

The person coming down the hall was running now.

I didn’t look down as I pushed myself onto the windowsill, careful to avoid the glass edges.

The door flew open and a tall, thin woman in a lab coat ran through the doorway. “Tessa! Wait—”

Before I could think better of it, I threw myself out the window.

Three stories up.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

I screamed the most girly scream ever as I flipped through the air. My breath ripped from my lungs as I thunked down on the ground. On my feet.

What the…

I didn’t have time to question my luck. I brushed myself off and scanned my surroundings. A courtyard full of kids my age stood frozen, staring at me. Some were wearing backpacks. Others carried books in their hands. One girl stopped with an apple halfway to her mouth. She looked at me like I’d lost my mind. Little did she know, I never really had it to begin with.

This had to be St. Ailbe’s.

I hoped I hadn’t flashed anyone.

Forest encircled the buildings. I picked a direction and prayed it was the right one.

I gave a demure wave. “No time to stop and chat. Things to do. Places to escape from.” I took off running. Something howled, and I glanced behind me.

What the hell? A blond wolf was chasing me.

My day really couldn’t get any better.

I pushed my legs to move faster. My lungs burned, but I kept going.

The forest teased me, only a few yards ahead and I’d hopefully disappear through the brush and trees. Out-running a wolf seemed like a long shot at best, but if I managed to get away
from it and find the creek, then I probably could get to my house. Maybe. I’d figure out the rest when I got home.

I hit the tree line, and another wolf howled. I looked back. It was the white and gray one, along with the blond-ish one from earlier. They were right behind me.

Sweat dripped down my face, but I wouldn’t give up. I zigzagged through the woods hoping that would buy me some ground.

“Tessa! Stop!” Mr. Dawson yelled from behind me. He yelled something to someone in a language I couldn’t understand. There was more howling.

I didn’t look back. Adrenaline pumped through my veins.

And then something slammed into me from the side.

I hit the ground hard, rolling a few times before crashing to a stop against a tree. I gasped for air, but somebody was weighing me down. Hot breath brushed my face, and the person lifted up enough so that I could see his face.

Oh my God. Why the hell had a naked guy tackled me? “Move, you perv.”

I focused on his crystal blue eyes. They were laughing at me. “Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I tackle you again?”

“Spare me the tired pick-up line. Where are your clothes!”

A big cloth fell over us.

“Mr. Matthews. Off Miss McCaide. Now,” Mr. Dawson said.

The guy winked at me, and hopped up. “Caught her,” he said as he pulled on a robe before I could see more than I needed to.

The wolf had disappeared, and some naked guy had appeared.

Goosebumps ran up my arms. There was no way what I was thinking could actually be right.

He reached down to help me, but I ignored it, getting up on my own.

The lady in the lab coat stood behind Mr. Dawson. Her high heels didn’t slow her down too much. Impressive, but I still didn’t trust her. I took a step back. She wasn’t getting near me again. No way in hell.

The gray and white wolf stood behind them. He growled at the blue-eyed guy and then turned around and ran back to the buildings.

Weird.

Mr. Dawson inched toward me. “Why are you afraid, Tessa?”

I was trying to be more angry than scared, but somehow I was venturing into full-on terrified-mode. “I don’t know. Maybe because someone put me in a cage and stuck me with an assload of needles!”

“Tessa—” Lab Coat woman said, but Mr. Dawson cut her off.

“You were in the cage because you were feral.”

Blue Eyes let out a low whistle. “Impressive.”

“Thank you for your help, Mr. Matthews.” Mr. Dawson kept his eyes on me as he spoke to Blue Eyes. “You can go back to campus now.”

“Anytime. I love catching pretty ladies.” He winked. The air grew heavy and shimmered with heat. Blue Eyes’ arms and legs morphed as he got down on all fours. His face changed too fast for me to follow. The robe slid off as he moved. And then, instead of looking at a guy, I stood in front of a blond-colored wolf.

Someone cursed as the world faded to gray.

A high-pitched noise whined in my ear. Something slimy brushed against my face as everything came back into focus. The wolf was licking me. I sat up and scooted away until my back hit a tree.