Werewolf Academy Book 1: Strays (25 page)

As
Jericho Pack made their way down the stairs to combat training, Alex paused at the sight of snow falling past the windows that lined the hallway to the training room. The sight sent a shiver of anticipation through his body. Wilderness education was the one exception to Jaze’s rule to stay within the Academy walls. At least when he was in the forest with Rafe’s pack, he could put everything behind him.

“It’s going to be cold in wilderness education,” Trent noted on his way past.

“You’ll be wearing a fur coat,” Terith replied.

Everyone groaned
.

“What?” Terith demanded. “He set it up perfectly.”

“You still shouldn’t have said it,” Pip replied.

Terith
tried to hit him, and the young werewolf ran down the hall with the Lifer close behind.

Alex itched to go outside.
Wilderness education couldn’t come soon enough. He needed to run or hit something.

“Who volunteers to fight Boris?” Chet asked as Alex followed Cassie into the training room.

It was a joke, the same joke Chet had said every day since combat training began. No one was stupid enough to go up against the Termer Alpha, and only another Alpha matched him for strength, so there really was no question.

But this time, Alex raised his hand. “I volunteer.”

Cassie elbowed him in the ribs. “What are you doing?”

Alex shrugged. “Volunteering,” he said simply.

“Alex, Chet was kidding,” Dray pointed out. “Jericho will fight Boris.”

“
Steven got dish duty for throwing plates at a bird that got in the Great Hall,” Pip told the professor. “The bird got away, but Professor Nikki said he has to work off the damage by cleaning dishes for the next two weeks. Jericho volunteered to help him get it done faster.”

Boris rolled his eyes. “He’s an idiot.”

Chet looked at Dray. The werewolf quickly shook his head. “No way.”

Chet shrugged. “It might be interesting.”

“Alex could be killed,” Dray replied.

Chet looked at Alex. “You willing to risk that?”

Alex rolled his shoulders. He might have been a Gray, and it was entirely against his instincts to fight the Alpha, but the frustration centering on Drogan had built to the point that he needed an outlet somewhere. “Sure.”

“Alex, no,” Cassie protested.

Alex ducked under the ropes of the fighting ring. Even Boris looked surprised at the Gray’s actions.

Alex stepped from foot to foot, warming up. “Come on,” he said to Boris. “Afraid?”

A growl escaped the big Termer. He climbed under the ropes and glared at Alex. “I’m not afraid of anyone.”

“I don’t know,” Alex replied. “You look a little scared.”

A vein bulged out of the side of Boris’ neck and his face turned red with anger.

“You should probably get that looked at,” Alex continued. “You don’t want to explode or something.”

“Why you little—”

“Gear,” Chet reminded them. He tossed up a pair of gloves and a sparring helmet. The gear hit Boris square in the face and fell to the floor as he fumbled to catch it.

Alex caught his and pulled it on smoothly. He avoided looking at the students who watched them. The room was filled with complete silence. He knew he was being stupid, and he didn’t need to read it on their faces. All he knew was he wanted to hit something, and Boris had volunteered to become a punching bag.

Time slowed down. Alex heard every strong beat of his heart.
A soft brush of a bare foot on the plastic mat surface warned him that Boris was going to be as dirty at fighting as he usually was with Jericho. Alex pretended not to notice the advancing Alpha. He flexed his right hand, then pretended to have all of his attention on adjusting the straps a bit tighter.

One more footstep. The students in front of him tensed. He could tell someone wanted to cry out a warning, but in werewolf fights, it was strictly between the two on the mat. Any interference would be viewed as a weakness
and a lack of discipline by both the fighter and the pack.

The step slid again. Alex dropped to his knee, spun, and connected with Boris’ right leg as the Alpha attempted to punch him in the head and end the fight before it even started.

Caught off balance by the punch that met only air and the kick to the leg, Boris stumbled sideways. Alex jumped up and slammed a fist into the Alpha’s jaw.

Gasps flew through the packs. Pain surged up Alex’s hand despite the protective gloves. He watched in horror as Boris rubbed his jaw, then met Alex’s gaze. The fury in the Alpha’s stare was enough to send ice through Alex’s veins. Not only had he hit an Alpha, he had made the Alpha look bad to his pack. Alex knew he was going to die.

Boris’ steps sounded like thunder as he advanced on Alex. Alex scrambled back to the ropes. He spun to the right when Boris threw a fist. Boris landed the second on the back of Alex’s shoulder. The Gray flew against the ropes. He managed to protect his face with his forearms for the next two hits, but forgot to breathe out when the third slammed into his stomach. Alex fell to the ground gasping for air.

Boris grabbed the back of his shirt and hefted him to his feet. Alex gathered all of his strength. The Alpha clenched his fist; when he drove the punch forward, it was with the intention of slamming it into Alex’s jaw and ending the fight once and for all.

Alex wasn’t ready to be beaten. He ducked at the last second, catching only a glancing blow on his eyebrow. He felt the punch split his skin. Warm blood began to drip down his face. Alex righted himself on the ropes, took a steeling breath, and began to jump from foot to foot again.

Boris’ eyes widened. “Seriously, dude?” he asked.

“Bring it,” Alex replied.

For the first time in weeks, no thoughts of
Drogan Carso occupied his mind. He felt alive, free. He still felt free when the strength of the Alpha slammed him against the ropes again. He felt perhaps a little less alive at a foot to the ribs, and argued to himself that perhaps the thoughts weren’t so bad when another fist connected with the back of his head.

He lay on the mat trying to fight the dark spots that clouded his vision.
His heart skipped a few beats, reminding him that he was pushing it.

“That’s enough,” Dray called from outside of the ropes.

Boris was grinning at his pack as though he had defeated an entire army.

The look sent a surge of rage through Alex. A growl of pent-up anger tore from his lips as he leaped at the Alpha, bowling him into the ropes. He slammed a fist into Boris’
kidney, wrapped his arms around the Alpha’s right shoulder, and twisted as he picked up his feet, slamming the Alpha to his back on the ground. He landed two punches to Boris’ face before the Alpha threw him off.

Alex waited near the ropes, his heart thundering in his throat and blood dripping into his eye.

Boris clambered ungracefully to his feet. He studied the Gray. Purple hinted around one eye and there was a small split in his lip. Boris touched the cut, then looked at the blood. To Alex’s surprise, a hint of a smile crossed the Alpha’s face.

“Not bad, Stray.”

Alex smiled back. “Someone had to try.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” Boris replied. “But you did good.”

He crossed to Alex and held out a hand. Alex warily accepted the handshake.

“You got guts,” Boris said.

Pack Jericho cheered, and soon Pack Boris joined in. Alex pulled off his headgear and gloves, handing them to Chet as he stepped out of the fighting ring. “You might need to wash those,” Alex said.

His pack surged forward. Reaching hands patted his back and tousled his hair. He pushed through to the back where the drinking fountain was. He took a big drink, then sank down against the wall next to it.

“Here.”

Alex looked up to see Kalia holding paper towels.

“For your head,” she explained.

There was a hint of something in her light blue gaze. Was it worry that Alex had figured out she was the informant? Since his talk with Jaze, he hadn’t been able to help avoiding her. Alex couldn’t forgive her if she had something to do with the danger Cassie was in. When he saw her walking down the hall, he turned the other way. If she was out at Jet’s statue, he went somewhere else. It amazed him how many of the places he cherished she had come to occupy.

Kalia crouched down, her eyes meeting his. “Take it, Alex. I’m only trying to help.”

“Are you sure about that?” Alex demanded, unable to stop himself.

Kalia looked taken aback. She rose, her expression unreadable. Cassie stepped around her and handed Alex a paper towel that had been dipped in water. He accepted it and held it to his forehead. Kalia shook her head and turned away, tossing the paper towels at his feet.

“You told Kalia we were leaving tomorrow for Haroldsburg to do Christmas shopping?” Alex asked Cassie.

“Just like you told me,” Cassie replied. “Though she looked surprised that I was talking to her.”

Alex felt a pang of guilt, but if he was right, things would be resolved soon enough. He and Cassie stood at the top step of the Academy watching the Termers load into the buses and cars that had come to pick them up for the holiday break. For the first time, he was glad he didn’t have anywhere else to go. He had a chance to help Jaze take care of Drogan. Having a family to go home to and a place away from the Academy no longer mattered.

Cassie waved to
Pip and Marky. The werewolves waved back before climbing onto the bus.

“I’m going to miss
them,” Cassie said.

“I know,” Alex replied. “But they’ll be back soon.”

“See you guys. Take care and try not to burn the place down while I’m gone,” Jericho said on his way past.

“
We’re not making any promises,” Alex replied.

The wheels of
Jericho’s suitcase made double lines in the snow as he made his way to his dad’s truck. He tossed the suitcase in the back, then climbed inside.

“It’s not like there’s a reason for me to come back.”

Alex turned at the sound of Kalia’s voice. She was arguing with Boris as she pulled three sets of suitcases down the stairs.

“You have to come back,” Boris replied, his voice level as though he had repeated the same answer many times.

“No, I don’t,” Kalia spat. “I hate it here, and I’m not a werewolf. You can tell that to Mom and Dad.”

“If they even notice I’m there,” Boris replied soft enough that Kalia didn’t hear it over her grumbling about her stubborn luggage, but Alex heard it.

He glanced past them to the limousine that waited as close to the exit gate as it could get. A woman in a white furry hat and coat stood near the limo’s door along with the driver in his uniform and hat.

“I brought everything,” Kalia pointed out. “That way I don’t have to come back.” When her suitcases hit the last step, the top piece of luggage flew off and hit the stairs. It opened, spilling clothes everywhere.

Kalia dropped to her knees in the snow. She reached for a shirt, and glanced up at Alex. His heart stilled at the sight of tears rolling down her cheeks. Boris grumbled about delays as he gathered items and shoved them roughly back into his sister’s suitcase.

“Alex,” Cassie whispered.

“I know,” Alex replied as soft.

Boris shoved the suitcase with clothes still hanging out of it onto the top of the luggage and motioned for his sister to continue. She did so slowly, her head hanging and her white-blonde hair hiding her expression from view.

Instead of running up to meet them like Alex expected, Boris and Cassie’s mother merely motioned for the driver to put their luggage in the trunk, then stepped inside the open limousine door. A puff of white air rose from Boris. His shoulders fell before he ducked inside the door. Kalia followed as though it was the last place she wanted to be.

“Maybe the Academy’s not so bad,” Cassie said, voicing Alex’s thoughts.

He nodded. “You like it here, right?”

Cassie smiled up at him. “Of course. This is our home.”

Alex looked at the imposing walls that rose behind them. He felt a little claustrophobic when he repeated, “This is our home.”

Cassie
mistook his words for agreement and pulled open the door. “Come on,” she called. “You know they’ll be serving chocolate cake to cheer up all the Lifers who get left behind. It’s the best part of Christmas break!”

She ran down the hall and Alex followed at a more sedate pace. He couldn’t get the image out of his mind of Kalia’s tears. It wasn’t her suitcase she was crying about. It was much more. He wished he knew if it was because of their lost friendship, or because she knew she had betrayed them to something that was worse than death.

He should just ask her. It would make things so much easier. He ran back to the door, but the cars were gone and the last of the buses was pulling out of the gate. Someone inside, probably Brock, pushed a button and the gate slowly closed. The sound of the metal sliding shut reached through the doors. Alex blew out a breath.