Werewolf Academy 07 Chosen (6 page)

“
Help!”

Alex’s head lifted. He stared back in the direction he had come. A growl sounded. Alex’s eyes widened. It hadn’t been the growl of a wolf, but of a bear.

“
Help me!”

Mr. O’Hare was the one in trouble.

Alex spun and ran back toward the Academy with a speed only a few of the students could even match. Thanks to the challenge presented by Tennison’s skills, Alex had constantly pushed himself to work harder. Since his heart no longer gave him problems, he usually stopped when he was on the verge of collapse. Luckily, Mr. O’Hare was much closer than that.

Alex slid to a halt just inside the sunflower-filled clearing. He stared at the sight of Mr. O’Hare cowering at the base of a windswept pine. A grizzly stood on its hind feet and towered over him. A snarl of rage rumbled from the animal’s deep chest.

Alex searched the area quickly. The only things he knew made a bear upset was when someone got between the animal and its chosen food or the animal and its cubs. Alex’s heart slowed. A glance in the pine tree the human huddled beneath showed two cubs up in the branches. One gave a plaintiff cry. The grizzly bellowed at Mr. O’Hare again.

Alex knew he had to get the human away from the tree before the animal attacked. Whether Mr. O’Hare was aware of the cubs didn’t show. He merely cowered lower at the bear’s angry advance. If Alex could get to him before the animal dropped to all fours, he might have a chance.

The bear lowered back to the ground with a thud Alex felt through his paws. Before he could so much as bark a warning, the animal charged.

Alex darted through meadow and hit the bear’s side just before her huge, swiping claws could reach Mr. O’Hare. The force of the blow rolled the grizzly along the ground and threw Alex over her shoulder. He leaped back to his feet and placed himself between the bear and human. The animal rose to her feet and shook her head from side to side, her small eyes narrowed in anger at this new threat to her cubs.

Alex had to get Mr. O’Hare away from the tree. The bear wouldn’t stop until her little ones were safe. As long as the human cowered beneath the pine, Mr. O’Hare’s life was in danger.

Alex backed up next to the man without letting his gaze drop from the bear. He pushed Mr. O’Hare with his shoulder.

“
Get away from me!” the man shouted. He hit Alex on the head.

Caught off-guard by the surprise attack, Alex growled at him. The bear, taking the growl as a danger to her cubs, attacked. Alex jumped to the left to avoid a swipe of the bear’s huge claws and latched onto her shoulder, stopping a second swipe at the human.

The bear tried to shake him off. When she couldn’t, the animal dropped onto her right side in an effort to dislodge him. Alex leaped free before he was crushed and placed himself between Mr. O’Hare and the danger once more.

He didn’t know how to convey to Mr. O’Hare that he needed to get away from the tree. If he didn’t, they might both get killed.

Alex barked as the bear lumbered back to her feet. Mr. O’Hare merely stared at him with wide eyes like a startled deer. Alex barked again and motioned with his head.

“
W-what?” the human asked.

The bear charged. Her angle of attack meant that she realized Mr. O’Hare was the weaker of the two. If she could take one of them down, perhaps she could then focus on the other and eliminate the threat to her cubs.

Alex saw Mr. O’Hare tense out of the corner of his eye. There was only one thing he could think of to do to get the human out of danger. As the bear rushed past him with the speed of a raging bull, Alex surged around the animal at full speed and charged headlong into the human. Mr. O’Hare went sprawling to the ground the same time that the bear’s thick claws sank into Alex’s back. He let out a yelp of pain and spun around to protect himself.

Using the strength of the Demon, Alex dove at the grizzly’s throat. The force of his attack propelled the animal up and over onto her back. Alex held tight. The bear swiped at him, but he closed his jaws tighter and gave the grizzly a warning growl. The animal did something that seemed completely opposite of her instincts. Instead of fighting him, she held still like a wolf in the same submissive situation.

Alex saw her small eyes flicker to the cubs in the tree. They were about the size of a small wolf, probably born that winter. Both cubs had thick brown hair and gave plaintiff calls. A small moan of worry came from their mother.

Alex glanced below the tree. Relief filled him that Mr. O’Hare had found the presence of mind to leave the area. The bear struggled for breath beneath his grasp.

Alex knew letting go might be the last thing he did, but he wasn’t about to kill a bear, especially one with cubs. He slowly released his grip and took a few careful steps away from both the grizzly and the tree.

The blue faded from the edges of his vision as the Demon vanished. Every muscle tensed when the bear rolled to her side, then back to her feet. The animal was breathing heavily. She looked from Alex to the tree. He could smell her relief that the human was gone.

The grizzly rose on her hind legs and bellowed at him. The animal’s breath smelled of dirt and grubs from the rotten log next to the tree where the bears had probably been foraging before Mr. O’Hare surprised them. When the animal hit the ground again, he could also smell the fear she had for her cubs.

Alex took a step backwards, then another, hoping space would give the animal peace of mind. For a moment, she glared at him, swinging her head from side to side in a warning. Then, to his relief, the bear turned away and ambled back to the tree. She gave a grunt and the little bears answered with happy cries. They more tumbled than climbed down the tree and wrestled happily with their mother. Alex left the clearing to the sounds of the mother bear’s reassuring grunts.

He could smell Mr. O’Hare’s progress through the trees. The journey pulled at the healing wounds along Alex’s back. He wished it was night so the moonlight could help while he padded back toward the Academy, but evening would be soon enough as long as Mr. O’Hare avoided angering any other animals.

Alex reached his clothes and phased. He stifled an exclamation at the pain when he lifted his arms to pull his shirt on. The stickiness of the blood made the material cling to his back. Alex wished he could skip the shirt altogether, but he didn’t want to alarm anyone. He had visited the Academy’s medical ward far too many times, and his mother, as the main nurse, wouldn’t be thrilled to see that he had managed to get injured once again. The wound would heal quickly enough on its own.

“
I thought students weren’t allowed outside of the grounds during school hours.”

Alex’s head jerked up at the sound of Mr. O’Hare’s voice.

“
Technically, the forest is part of the school grounds. It was given to Rafe as a grant from the government in gratitude for—”

“
Save it for someone who cares,” the man said, cutting him off with his curt tone.

Alex stared at him. “I just saved your life.”

The human glared at him. “Am I supposed to thank you? It’s probably your fault the beast went after me in the first place. You probably sent it.”

Alex sputtered. “I can’t send a bear after you even if I wanted to!”

“
So you admit that you want to,” Mr. O’Hare replied with heavy venom in his voice.

Alex shook his head, then changed his mind and nodded. “Yes, maybe. Not to kill you, but perhaps to show you how much this school means to me. This is my home, Mr. O’Hare, and you are intent on destroying it.”

“
From what I’ve seen, you’re doing a pretty good job of that on your own.”

Alex glared at the human. “What does that mean?”

Mr. O’Hare met his glare. “If a werewolf student has the ability to send a bear against an academic professional, who’s to say that the world would be safe coexisting with such a creature?”

“
I didn’t send the bear to attack you!” Alex protested. “You were between the grizzly and its two cubs in the tree. It would have killed you to get to them!”

“
So you admit that it wanted to kill me.”

Alex clenched his hands into fists in an effort to stay calm. “Mr. O’Hare, I didn’t send the bear to attack you. You had the stupidity to stand between a mother grizzly and her two young cubs. Any person, or werewolf, for that matter, would get mauled to death in that situation. As it was, we got off with our lives, so we should consider ourselves lucky.”

Alex spun on his heel and stormed toward the Academy. He didn’t care if the man followed; he would almost rather Mr. O’Hare go visit the grizzly again.

“
Hey, Alex!” Trent said as soon as he stepped through the doors.

Alex turned so his friend wouldn’t see the blood through his shirt. “Hey, Trent. How are things going?”

“
Great!” Trent exclaimed. “Professor Mouse let me demonstrate electrolysis using a battery and pencils. It was awesome!”

“
I’m glad,” Alex told him. Trent had always been the science expert of Pack Jericho. It was good to see him in his element. “You didn’t blow anything up?”

His friend grinned. “Nope. That’s your job, remember?”

Alex chuckled. “I guess that’s why they assigned me to Mr. O’Hare instead.”

“
So you can blow him up?” Trent asked.

Alex lifted his shoulders and was reminded about the lacerations down his back when his shirt stuck to the skin. “I might, if things keep going the way they are.”

“
Not so good, huh?”

Alex shook his head. “He hates me, and before you say I shouldn’t be surprised, he hated me before he got here. I could save him from a bear and I don’t think it would matter.” Alex grimaced at the poorly veiled truth.

“
I’d stick with something smaller than a bear,” Trent said, missing Alex’s expression entirely. “How about a raccoon? Of course, those things are mean, and a lot of them carry rabies. Plus, they’re born with masks. How good can you be if you’re born wearing a mask?”

“
Trent?”

“
No, seriously, Alex. Perhaps we should look into that. Raccoons are always breaking into Professor Dray’s greenhouse and stealing stuff. Maybe there’s something to that. It could be ingrained into their genetic makeup, and nature’s given us a warning, like how poisonous frogs have bright skin or—”

The bell rang, cutting him off.

“
I guess I should get to class,” Trent said.

“
Back to Mouse’s?”

Trent shook his head. “All the senior boys are supposed to be with Vance to help train the football team. You might have to fight for quarterback against Torin and Boris.”

The thought of throwing a football with his back all scratched up wasn’t a pleasant one.

“
Don’t worry, you’ll win,” Trent reassured him, misreading his expression. “You’re a great quarterback, and you had all that practice on the beach during the summer. You’ve got it; no problem.”

“
I’ve just gotta grab something in my room,” Alex told him. “Let Coach Vance know I’ll be there in a sec.”

“
Okay,” Trent called over his shoulder. “But you know how much he hates it when we’re tardy.”

“
I’ll be there,” Alex promised.

Chapter Six

Alex sat on the couch in his quarters and gingerly pulled off his shirt. The wound was healing, but it would do better if he washed it. Luck for him, Trent didn’t pay as much attention to scents as some wolves. Cassie or Siale would have been all over the smell of blood.

He dabbed at the lacerations along his back the best that he could. From what he could tell by feel, there were four gouges that ran from the base of his neck to about midway down his spine. It wasn’t exactly the easiest place to clean.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Alex grabbed a shirt, but the door opened before he could get it on. He glanced back and saw Mr. O’Hare in the doorway. The man’s expression was unreadable.

“
You’re missing class?” the man asked, his gaze on Alex’s back.

Alex drew on the shirt, grateful he had chosen a black one that would hide any blood that leaked through during practice.

“
I’m leaving right now,” Alex replied. He grabbed the torn shirt and tossed it in the corner he had turned into his laundry pile.

“
Nice,” the human said dryly. “Bachelor quarters, huh?”

“
Lone wolf quarters, really,” Alex said. He glanced around the room. “It’s a bit messy,” he admitted. “But it’s home.”

“
Until I get it shut down.”

Alex stared at Mr. O’Hare. There wasn’t any budging in the man’s expression. “I saved your life today,” Alex reminded him quietly.

“
That’s a matter of opinion,” the Board Member replied. “But what’s not an opinion is that a student from Vicky Carso’s Preparatory Academy violated the school grounds policy and trespassed during school hours.”

Alex tried to remain calm. “Wouldn’t that be on the student’s head instead of the school?”

Mr. O’Hare met his steely gaze. “That depends on how your school board decides to handle it.”

“
My school board?”

The man nodded. “Whenever there is a violation of school policy, a board meeting should be called to address the punishment for the action.”

“
Punishment?” Alex repeated. He hated miming the man’s words like a parrot, but he couldn’t believe his ears. “For fighting a grizzly to save your life?”

“
For leaving the school property during the hours in which you should have been assisting your administrator, namely, me.”

“
You trespassed, too,” Alex said, his tone barely above a whisper in his struggle to remain calm.

“
I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t forced me to go looking for my assistant,” Mr. O’Hare replied curtly.

Alex’s hands balled into fists. “You’re putting this on me.” The lacerations down his back stung. He had to fight down the Demon that rose in the face of his outrage.