Werewolf Academy Book 1: Strays (5 page)

The rounds were gone through again. For the first time, pack mates who had been chosen began to
submit requests to their Seconds and Alphas for others from the crowd. Brothers and sisters from lesser years joined their older siblings. The younger kids began to find places among the packs. Alex glanced back at the professors and staff members watching the Choosing. Jaze caught his gaze and gave him a thumb’s-up. A smile spread across Alex’s face as he turned around again.

“Talia
Rushton,” he said when Jericho asked him.

Trent’s younger sister skipped through the waiting students. Everyone smiled at her. It was hard not to with her curly blonde hair and sweet smile. She was the counterpart to Trent’s antisocial bookworm disposition. Perhaps having her in the pack would help Cassie as well, Alex hoped.

Alex went next with Von and Amos. Von was great in Biology despite his tendency to pick his nose. Amos was a huge, hulking werewolf who had much more in the way of brawn than brains, but would be a big asset when it came to defending the scrawnier members of the pack.

Torin glowered at Alex. The Alpha usually chose Amos as his ninth or tenth pick. Alex ducked away from the glare as he was supposed to being a Gray, but
he didn’t feel a bit sorry about messing up the Alpha’s plans. Perhaps choosing Amos sixth would boost the behemoth’s self-esteem as well.

Raynen was up next. “Pip
Jacobs,” he called.

Alex found the small Second
Year werewolf at the back of the Great Hall. The boy stood, but instead of walking forward, he hesitated. Alex’s senses sharpened. The boy looked like he was going to be sick.

Instead, Pip shook his head. “I deny the Choosing.” His small voice rang
clearly across the Great Hall. The twelve-year-old looked as though he wanted to disappear into the floor when one hundred and fifty-one heads plus the faculty and staff turned to stare at him.

“That’s never happened before,” Alex heard Professor Thorson, the human history teacher, whisper loudly.

“It is his right,” Kaynan replied so the entire assembly heard. Alex glanced back to see the professor nod. “Your decision stands,” Kaynan concluded.

Pip quickly sat back down and disappeared within the mass of taller bodies.

“Fine,” Raynen replied with a hint of anger. “Tessa Mathews, then.”

When it came to their turn, Alex told Jericho to choose Pip.
The werewolf was a Termer, and it was odd to mix Termers with Lifers, but Jericho had done away with that precedence when he chose Alex. The Alpha hesitated, worried at being denied, but at Alex’s encouraging nod, he declared, “We choose Pip Jacobs.”

The entire crowd watched the tiny werewolf pick his way through the students to stand in front of Alex.
No one had ever denied an Alpha’s Choosing. Alex felt a deeper respect for the brave student.

“Welcome to the pack,” he whispered.

“Thanks,” Pip replied, relief clear in his voice.

Three more times, werewolves chosen for other packs declined only to accept Jericho’s Choosing. By the end, Alphas were glaring at the members they chose in case the person dared to decline. Alex felt a stir of satisfaction in his chest at the thought that everyone in Jericho’s pack wanted to be there. It was the strangest Choosing Ceremony he had ever been to, and that was saying a lot because he had been to them all.

“The Choosing Ceremony is over,” Kaynan declared when all students had taken their places with their packs. Boris and Torin had one more werewolf in each of their packs, and everyone else stood at fifteen. The packs were a lot larger than Alex was used to. “Pack quarters have been assigned within the dormitory wing. Take this time to find your quarters, get settled, and get to know one another before the dinner bell rings.”

“I take it that was an unusual
Choosing Ceremony,” Jericho said as soon as they left the Great Hall.

“You can say that again,” Terith
replied, her blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders. “I’ve never seen Torin so upset! You’ll have to watch your back after taking Amos, Alex.”

“I watch Alex’s back,” Amos replied, his deep voice a low rumble that vibrated through Alex like a bass drum.

Alex was surprised by the hulking werewolf’s offer. “Uh, thanks, Amos,” he replied.

“No one pick on my pack,” Amos said.

Terith slipped her hand into the older werewolf’s. His fingers engulfed hers as if she was a child. He smiled down at her fondly like she was a puppy.

“Careful,” Trent, Terith’s brother, warned.

“It’s okay,” Terith replied, skipping beside Amos. “He’s in our family now, right Amos?”

The big werewolf gave a huge smile, the first Alex had ever seen on his face. “Right.”

“We ruffled a few feathers, huh?” Jericho asked quietly so only Alex could hear.

Alex nodded. “A few.
First of all, even though it’s allowed, no werewolf has ever denied a Choosing, and second, we’ve mixed Lifers and Termers. That never happens.”

Jericho was silent for a few minutes as they made their way up the wide stairca
se and took the left wing to the dormitories. The long dormitory hall had names inscribed on the doors. Torin and Boris had the first two residences across the hall from each other. That always led to a few scuffles. Alex and Jericho continued down the hall with their pack behind them. They passed the other rooms set in the same order as the Choosing, and stopped by the last door. Everyone else had fallen away to their own quarters, leaving Jericho’s pack to themselves.

“Guess this is it,” Jericho said. He turned the knob and pushed the door open.

Wide windows spilled afternoon sunlight onto the thickly carpeted floors. There was a main meeting and living area complete with couches and a huge table. Two hallways branched off so that each member of the pack had his or her own room. The girls took the left hall while the boys chose the right. Jericho went into the first room while Alex took the second because it was his rightful place.

The furnishings were sparse but sturdy, a four poster bed, a dresser, a desk, and a closet. Alex had been in enough rooms to know that they all matched. Usually during the summer when the Termers went home, everyone could choose whatever room they wanted and generally gave each other space to do as they wished. Though Alex was loath to give that up, there was a sense of accomplishment to sharing quarters with a pack he had chosen.

“This isn’t bad,” he heard Jericho say from his room.

Alex walked back to the hall. The Alpha had left his door open. Alex leaned against Jericho’s door frame. “They’ll bring your belongings and the personal items you brought from home up while we eat.”

“Room service,” Jericho replied with a pleased smile.

Alex found himself warming to the tall Alpha. “First class.”

Jericho glanced at Alex over his shoulder. “Do you think mixing Lifers and Termers is a bad idea?”

Again, Alex was struck by the fact that the Alpha was asking his opinion as if it mattered. He thought about his answer, knowing it was important that he
give the full truth. “You broke precedence by picking a Lifer as your Second. It definitely caused a bit of an uproar. I figured continuing to shake things up would show my support of your decision.”

Jericho snorted and turned to face Alex. “So you’re setting everything on my shoulders.”

Alex shrugged. “Everyone heard you ask my opinion for the Choosing. It’s already on my shoulders. Pretending it’s on yours won’t make it so.”

A smile ran across Jericho’s face. “You like to ruff feathers, then.”

Though the Alpha was smiling, the statement bothered Alex. He didn’t want Jericho to think he was just trying to cause trouble. “I stand behind every decision I made,” Alex replied firmly. “Our pack’s strengths and weaknesses counterbalance each other in all areas including socially and intellectually. Thanks to Amos and Don, we won’t have to worry about being picked on, and picking both Lifers and Termers will keep us out of the never-ending battle between Torin and Boris’ packs.”

“Or it may give them a shared enemy,” Jericho suggested.

“I’m not afraid of them,” Alex replied with more vehemence than he meant to use.

Jericho nodded. “
I believe you,” he said, his tone thoughtful as if he guessed more than Alex let on.

Alex was unable to keep the question in any longer.
“Why did you choose me as your Second?”

Jericho clasped his hands behind his back. “I’m new to the school. I knew I needed someone as a Second who was familiar with the traditions but who wasn’t caught up enough within a clique that he would deny my Choosing. You stood alone by the statue, and didn’t seem completely daunted at being addressed by an Alpha. I needed someone who wasn’t afraid to give me his opinion. I figured after talkin
g to you that you were the one.”

Alex opened and closed his hands, suddenly uncomfortable. As if on cue, the dinner gong rang. The sound bounced off the walls through the main room with enough strength to rattle the
pictures of scenery on the walls.

Jericho winced at the sound. “Is it going to be like that every night?”

Alex nodded. “You get used to it; sort of.”

The rest of the pack spilled out into the main room.

“Thanks for picking us,” Trent said. Gratitude showed on the faces around them as the others nodded.

“I know this is a strange pack,”
Jericho replied. “And I’m new to the whole Alpha thing. My dad is an Alpha and leads our pack back home, so I haven’t had to take on the leadership role before now.”

Alex felt a growing respect for the Alpha. He had never heard an Alpha address those under him with such familiarity instead of looking down on them from an upper level. Jericho held the air of authority of an Alpha, but the smile he gave Cassie seemed to calm her nervousness about the changes. Cassie stood close to Terith. Alex hoped they would become friends.

“Give me a bit of leeway while I learn the ropes of being your leader, and I’ll give you leniency if you slip up once in a while,” Jericho said. “I am grateful I had Alex’s guidance when choosing this pack, and I feel like we’re going to have an excellent term.”

Everyone nodded and smiles began to appear on faces.

“Let’s go eat,” Jericho suggested. He led the way to the door. When he tried to open it, the door refused to budge. He pulled harder.

“He’s going to rip off the doorknob,” Cassie whispered next to Alex.

“Let me try,” Amos offered. “I break door down.”

Jericho held up a hand. “I don’t think we want to ruin our door. Someone needs to figure out what’s wrong with it.”

“I’ll go around,” Alex said. He went to the window despite everyone’s protests. Two floors up wasn’t that high. He had often skirted the walls while exploring the Academy. He pushed the windowpane up.

“Be careful,” Cassie said.

Alex nodded and stepped onto the ledge. Fourteen heads stuck out of the windows and watched him as he hugged the wall and made his way carefully to the next window. He tapped on the pane.

A form crossed to the window. “What are you doing?” Raynen demanded.

“Permission to come inside?” Alex asked.

“I’m pretty sure our doorknobs are tied together, so it’s not going to help you any,” Raynen replied, annoyance still thick in his voice from the Choosing Ceremony.

“Good to know,” Alex told the Alpha. “I’ll take care of it.”

He made his way past the window and continued along the wall. Another set of heads poked out the windows to watch him.

The Academy had been built to house triple the number of werewolves currently inside. Alex reached the next set of windows belonging to one of the empty quarters. He pulled on the pane. It refused to give. He could see the little latch inside. Alex gritted his teeth and pulled harder. The latch began to give. Alex closed his eyes, focused all his strength on the frame, and jerked up. The window flew open so fast he almost fell off the ledge. He caught himself at the last moment and ducked inside.

Alex’s heart stammered in his chest. He put a hand to it and waited for a moment for it to slow.
When it did, he made his way through the empty room, out to the meeting room that echoed with his footsteps, and pulled open the main door. He jogged back up the hall to the set of occupied dormitory rooms. All of the packs except those in the last two quarters had already left for dinner. Alex hoped there was still food left.

A thick
cord bound both doorknobs together. Alex untied it from the doors.

“Good to go,” he called.

Jericho and Raynen opened the doors at the same time. Jericho laughed at the sight of the cord in Alex’s hand. “At least we still have our doorknobs,” the Alpha said.

“Do we have to stay across from you?” Raynen protested. “I don’t need my pack getting hazed because of your stupid actions, Alex.”

Alex was about to reply when Jericho speared Raynen with a look. “You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us,” he replied in a tone that carried steel.

Raynen looked up at Amos and Don as they squeezed through the doorway behind their Alpha.