Werewolf Academy Book 4: Taken (14 page)

***

By the time they were done practicing routes and running defensive and offensive drills, the entire team was exhausted.

“I don’t know how we’re going to survive this until the end of December,” Trent said, trailing behind Alex as they made their way to the Great Hall for dinner. “Coach Vance is going to kill us.”

Alex smiled at his friend’s dramatic statement. “If it doesn’t kill us, it’ll make us stronger.”

Trent rolled his eyes. “Is that seriously your motto? No wonder you do so many stupid things.”

Alex shrugged. “I’m not dead yet.”

“Say it much louder and Boris will help you with that,” Tennison said.

Warmth filled Alex at the sight of the girls of his pack sitting around the table. Cassie smiled up at him and Tennison while Terith made room for her brother. Even Kalia looked happy to see him. Alex had almost reached them when he realized he was heading toward the wrong pack.

“Uh, take care,” Alex told Trent.

“You, too,” the Lifer said with a sad smile. “Wish you were joining us.”

Alex was about to reply when he realized that Torin had come up behind him.

“How are those toilets?” the Alpha asked.

Alex gritted his teeth and walked silently to Pack Torin’s table. He spent the meal moving the alfredo pasta around his plate without much of an appetite. The only improvement to the evening was when he saw Jordan stop Trent near the garbage can.

“Want to go for a walk tonight?” she asked.

Trent grinned as his face turned red. “Yeah, sure. That sounds great. I mean, that sounds more than great. It’s a great night for a walk, and I think we’d have a great time.”

Jordan looked like she was fighting back a laugh. “Okay. I’ll meet you by the gate.”

Trent practically ran to Alex. “She asked me to walk with her!” he said breathlessly.

“Yeah, I think the entire Great Hall heard you say the word ‘great’ a billion times,” Alex replied, smiling back.

Trent grinned. “I guess I was a bit nervous, but it worked!”

“Good job. I’m happy for you,” Alex said sincerely.

Trent was about to walk away, then paused. “Any idea where I should take her?”

Alex thought about his own walk with Siale. “How about the cliff above the lake? It’s a great place to talk.”

Trent nodded quickly. “Good thinking. Thanks.”

“Anytime,” Alex told him.

He watched the werewolf leave with a feeling of happiness.

“Do you always smile like an idiot after talking to that nerd?” Torin asked.

Alex made sure his face was expressionless when he turned to the Alpha. “I’m just glad things are going his way.”

Torin shook his head. “I don’t know why you associate with them. They’re weird.”

“If they’re weird, than I’m weird,” Alex replied.

Torin studied him for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t understand you. Go scrub the toilets.”

Alex sighed and rose from the table.

He was emptying his tray in the garbage when he heard Torin speak again. It was easy to pick out the Alpha’s deep, grating voice through the crowd of students eating their dinner. Alex paused, listening.

“So, uh, don’t you think it’s lame we have to compete against humans?”

“I think it could be interesting.”

Alex was surprised to hear Kalia answer. He glanced over his shoulder.

“Interesting?” Torin’s expression was one of disgust.

“Yes,” Kalia replied. “A true test to see whether werewolf students could pass for human students.”

Torin’s mouth twisted at the idea. “Why act like something inferior?”

Kalia huffed a breath of frustration. “Look, Torin. I thought I was human for most of my life. It’s not that bad.”

Torin rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide his contempt. “At least now you’re one of us. You don’t have to worry about being one of
them
anymore.”

Kalia’s grip on her empty tray was so tight her knuckles were white. Alex wondered why she bothered talking to the Alpha at all. “Don’t you think maybe you’re a little biased?”

Torin shrugged, clearly enjoying himself. “What’s biased about being glad I’m a member of the dominant species? I just don’t appreciate having to hide my heritage in order to raise a few bucks for the school, that’s all. Especially when students like you could afford to pay a bit more for tuition.”

Kalia shook her head and stormed away from him. She slammed the tray down on the pile near Alex and stalked past him without saying a word.

Torin spotted Alex and rose. Alex regretted not leaving when he had the chance. He couldn’t imagine what the Alpha would do after Alex’s advice to have a normal conversation with Kalia had imploded so completely.

“Did you see that?” Torin demanded.

“Yeah,” Alex replied. “I’m sorry—”

“Me, too,” Torin said. “Sorry that I didn’t try having a conversation with her sooner. It went wonderfully, don’t you think?”

“I, uh...” Alex groped for words.

“I was quite the charmer.” Torin gave a huge smile, which was a terrifying, unnatural sight. “I’ll give her a break for the rest of the night before we have another conversation.” He winked. “I wouldn’t want to lay on the Torin Westwood charm too thick. She’d never have a chance.”

Alex couldn’t help but stare. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to do that.”

Torin nodded, satisfied. “You give good advice.” He looked back at their table, studying the students still eating around it. “Hey, Matt.”

Matt’s head jerked up. His eyes widened at the sight of the Alpha talking to him. “Y-yes, Torin?”

“You’ve got toilet duty tonight.”

Matt looked extremely relieved that toilets were the Alpha’s only request. “Y-yes, Torin. I’ll get them done, Torin.”

Torin turned back to Alex. “You’re off duty for good advice.”

“Glad to hear it,” Alex replied. He shook his head as he walked down the hall, wondering where on earth he had gone wrong.

“What was that?”

The sound of Kalia’s frustration turned Alex in his tracks.

“What was what?”

She closed the distance between them. “You know what, Alex. I saw you listening. What was your Alpha up to?”

Alex stifled a sigh. “He was trying to have a normal conversation with you.”

“That was normal?” Kalia replied with an incredulous laugh. “Insulting my parents and all of the other humans I grew up with?”

Alex shrugged. “At least he’s trying to make an effort.”

“An effort for what?” Kalia asked.

Alex clenched and unclenched his fists, trying to figure out how to break it to her. “Torin’s convinced you’re his one, and that if you’ll give him a chance, you’ll realize it, too.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Kalia replied with a small laugh. When she realized Alex was completely serious, she stared at him. “You’re not kidding.”

Alex shook his head. “Afraid not.”

Kalia leaned against the wall. “Torin thinks I’m his one.” Saying the words aloud made her eyes widen. “Torin, bully and Alpha of the Lifers, thinks I, the girl he just accused of paying too little for tuition, am the one he’s to be with for the rest of his life? Is he insane?”

“Probably.”

Kalia glared at him. “Now’s not the time for jokes, Alex.”

Alex decided it wasn’t the time to point out that he wasn’t joking. He rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, maybe you should give him a chance,” he suggested.

Kalia’s eyes tightened the way they did when she was about to fly off the handle.

Alex held up a hand. “Hear me out. You give him a chance, then let him know you just didn’t feel it.”

Kalia stared at the wall across from him. She was silent for so long, Alex tried to figure out where he had gone wrong in his advice. He didn’t know why everyone seemed to be seeking him out for his opinion; it didn’t appear to work out well.

“That’s what you did.”

Kalia’s tone as much as her words gripped Alex’s heart. He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them again and looked at her, he couldn’t deny the pain he saw there. “Yes, it is,” he admitted. “I had to tell you the truth. I couldn’t keep drawing things on. It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

Kalia turned away from him without a word.

“Kalia, wait,” Alex said. He jogged to catch up to her.

She turned on him with the speed of a striking snake. “Leave me alone, Alex, and stop playing matchmaker with my life. If I’m not for you, then I’d rather not be for anyone.”

She left him standing in the hall feeling as though whatever he did in regards to her was destined to be doomed.

Chapter Seventeen

“Just relax and remember that you’ve got to keep a tight hold on your wolf side here,” Coach Vance told them.

Alex looked at his anxious teammates. Even Boris and Torin appeared on edge at the thought of the football game ahead of them. For many of the Lifer werewolves, the game would be the first time they had been around humans since they arrived at the Academy. For the others, though some had family members and friends that were human, the fate of the Academy and the students within it rested on their ability to maintain control.

“Let’s go.”

The team followed their coach through the doors from the locker room. A short tiled hallway led to the outside doors. Vance put a hand on Alex’s shoulder, holding him back while the others passed by.

“They’ll be looking to you for cues,” the coach told him, his expression serious. “If you stay calm, so will they. You know how to act around humans.” The light in Vance’s gaze said he knew about Alex’s excursion to Cherish’s. Alex wondered if that was why the coach had really picked him as quarterback.

“I’ll get us through this,” Alex promised.

“I know you will,” Vance replied with one of his rare smiles.

Alex and Vance jogged across the field to where the team was waiting in a loose huddle. Alex dropped to one knee with his teammates. For the first time, he chanced a look at his surroundings.

It wasn’t a huge school. A few bleachers lined either side of the field and a track with a fence on the outside made up the rest of the view. Fans wearing the red and white colors of the high school they cheered for took up the bleachers nearest to the school. The other side was conspicuously empty.

A whistle blew and they took their positions.

“What’s the matter? You guys are so bad your own town doesn’t even come out to cheer?” the other quarterback asked. His team burst out laughing.

“Maybe that’s why we’ve never played them,” another said.

“I’m gonna tear—”

Alex grabbed Boris’ shoulder. The Alpha shot him a glare.

“Focus on the game,” Alex said loud enough that the rest of his team could hear.

He crouched back down and held his hands ready. “Hike,” he called.

Drake passed him the ball. Alex backed up a few steps, checked the field, and spotted Tennison wide open fifteen yards down. He threw the ball, remembering at the last second to step into the throw to make it look real. Tennison caught the ball and took off down the field.

Alex realized at that moment that everyone was staring at their team. A quick check showed every member on the line holding the rushing team back as if they weighed less than a football. No matter how hard the humans strained, they couldn’t move the werewolf team an inch. The player covering Tennison was far behind. When Tennison scored, nobody cheered. Alex felt the stares of a hundred confused humans.

“Time out,” he called.

Coach Vance motioned to the referee. The man in black and white blew his whistle, though he looked confused as to why they were taking a time out after scoring a touchdown.

“Guys, seriously!” Alex said, his voice quiet enough that only the team huddled around him could hear. “Can you act like you’re getting hit? It’s like they’re running into a wall!”

“They are,” Torin scoffed.

Alex grabbed the Alpha by the face mask and pulled him close. “If the Academy needs money through the football program, it’s our job to make it look like we can actually play football. There is a lot more on the line than your pride. Think you can act a little bit more human?”

Alex suddenly realized he had an Alpha by the facemask and was giving him direct orders. He stared at Torin, his chest heaving as he wondered what the Alpha would do.

Torin glanced left and right. The rest of their teammates watched in stunned silence. In that moment, the Alpha did something that shocked Alex entirely.

“Sorry, Alex,” he said, lowering his eyes.

Alex let go of Torin’s facemask and the Alpha took a step back. He looked at the other members of their team. “Listen to Alex,” Torin growled. “The Academy needs this.”

“Right,” Boris answered. The rest of the team echoed him.

The whistle blew. Alex watched the defense take their positions on the line. To his relief, when the quarterback called hike, his team grunted and staggered with the effort of blocking the other players. When Miguel took down the running back, he actually looked winded when he got back up, and the running back wasn’t killed. Alex chalked it up as a point for Vicki Carso’s Preparatory Academy.

“What did you say to them?” Coach Vance asked in amazement.

Alex shrugged. “I guess threatening an Alpha really gets in their heads.”

“Good,” Vance said with a nod. He crossed his arms and studied the team.

When it was their turn to throw, Alex felt the change in his teammates. They weren’t just werewolves, defensive, brutal creatures fighting to defend their territories; instead, they felt like a team, working and acting together to bring money to the Academy. Even those who were Termers needed the Academy. It was a sanctuary, a school, and a place they could call home where they fit in no matter what they did.

Alex released the ball and fell when the defenders dove into him. He struggled free in time to see Tennison catch it and run just fast enough to make it look like the other team was close to taking him down.

“Touchdown!” Trent shouted from the sidelines. To Alex’s horror, the buzz-haired werewolf then broke into a touchdown dance. His skinny elbows and knobby knees stuck out in all directions. By the end of his painfully long dance, everyone in the stadium was staring at him.

“At least that takes away the notion that we’re super-human,” Vance muttered.

By halftime, the score was twenty-eight to zero. The team huddled around Coach Vance in the locker room, their faces flushed with excitement.

“We’re killing them, Coach!” Trent said.

Vance nodded with a hint of concern on his face. “That’s what I’m worried about. This team was undefeated last year, and now we’re destroying them.”

“It’s awesome!” Boris replied.

“We’re unstoppable, and we’re not even using our full strength. We’re going to dominate!” Torin said. The rest of the team cheered.

Alex crossed to Vance’s side. “What do you want us to do?” he asked in an undertone.

Vance met his gaze squarely. “I want you to lose.”

Alex let out a breath. “They’re not going to be thrilled about that.”

The coach was silent for a few moments as he watched his team celebrate their impending victory. “We can’t risk shaking things up at such an early stage. We just got accepted into the division.” He put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I need you to make sure we lose this game.”

Alex trailed out after the rest of the team.

“What’s up?” Trent asked at the door.

Alex shook his head. “Nothing the rest of the team is going to like.”

“We have to throw the game.”

Alex stared at his friend. “How did you know?”

Trent shrugged. “It makes sense from a statistics point of view. If we destroy the champions, somebody’s going to investigate the team. That’s the last thing we need.”

“So you’ll help me?” Alex asked.

Trent nodded. “Of course. Just get Coach to let me play. I’d like to tell Jordan I at least set foot on the field.”

“Oh, you’ll play,” Alex promised.

As soon as the whistle blew, Alex backed up a few quick steps. Tennison and Parker were both wide open. Alex checked center field. Daniel had two players covering him. Alex chucked the ball, letting it slip through his fingers at the last minute.

It wobbled through the air end over end and landed directly in one of the other team’s arms. The boy looked surprised to have it. He took off running with Daniel close behind. Alex jogged to intercept him, then tripped and took out Daniel instead. The boy reached the end zone to the cheers and shouts of the crowd.

“What was that?” Boris demanded as soon as they reached the sidelines.

Alex met his glare. “I’m doing what Coach told me to.”

“I’m not going to throw the game,” Boris growled.

Alex met his angry gaze. “If you won’t, I’ll get someone who will.”

Boris sat on the bench with a stony glare. When the next drive started, Trent was at Alex’s side.

“I can’t believe I’m out here!” the scrawny werewolf said. “This is amazing!”

“It’s a high school football game,” Torin told the werewolf dryly. “Try to maintain some composure.”

“Fumble it,” Alex whispered.

Trent nodded, his eyes wide.

As soon as Alex got the ball, he handed it off to Trent. The werewolf took off running. He made a very convincing show of tripping over his feet, and before his knees hit the ground, the ball flew out of his hands into the arms of the closest player from the other team. The student was tackled, but he held onto the ball.

“Seriously?” Boris growled. “That was pathetic.”

“Shut it,” Coach Vance snapped.

“Really?” Torin said, stopping at Alex’s side. “We have to lose like this?”

Alex hoped he could somehow get the Alpha to understand. Having Torin on his side might be the only way to pull off the loss. “Coach says we have to lose to keep playing in this division. If we wipe out the champions in our first game, we’re going to be investigated for sure. We’ll lose our funding and the Academy will come under scrutiny.”

Torin nodded. “Fine. Whatever.” He leaned close to Miguel and Drake. “Throw the game.” When the Alphas stared at him, he nodded toward Coach Vance. “Coach’s orders.”

Miguel nodded, and Drake followed. They began spreading the orders to the rest of the teammates. Those who had problems were sent to join Boris on the bench. Soon, everyone on the Academy’s team was involved in a completely different kind of acting.

“Stop dropping the ball,” Torin yelled.

“Give an effort,” Drake shouted.

Alex hid a grin as he threw the ball at Tennison. The werewolf took off toward the end zone. This time, instead of scoring, he let the other team catch him. The ball slipped from his hands into the grasp of the other team, and the player took off running.

“Catch him!” Miguel yelled, jumping up and down. “I can’t believe he just gave it away!” The Alpha threw his helmet to the ground.

“Tone it down a bit,” Vance said under his breath. “I don’t want to replace equipment.”

“Got it, Coach,” Miguel replied.

The crowd cheered as the player crossed the end zone.

“I’m going to miss my touchdown dances,” Trent said, shaking his head.

“You’re the only one,” Torin replied. “You looked like an idiot.”

“At least I have school spirit,” Trent shot back.

Torin grabbed the front of his jersey. “What did you say?”

Alex caught Torin’s hand. “Let’s remember what’s important here, and that means not pounding Trent’s face in. We need him.”

“For what?” Torin grumbled, but he set the werewolf back down. “He annoys me.”

“It’s a skill,” Trent replied, straightening out his jersey.

By the end of the game, everyone from Vicki Carso’s Preparatory Academy had perfected their frustrated loser expressions. They sulked as they got onto the bus, and sat quietly until they were out of the city limits.

“That was a blast!” Torin shouted.

“Yeah,” Parker replied. “I don’t care if we lose as long as we get to play.”

“Then what’s the point?” Boris demanded. Everyone grew quiet. “If we’re not playing to win, why do it?”

Coach Vance stood up from the front of the school bus. He turned to face his students with his hands on the back of the seat. “Because your Academy needs you to. If you don’t play, we lose our funding. Several other venues of funds have become unavailable to us, and we need this sport to bring in what we’re lacking.”

“It still seems stupid to lose,” Boris muttered, turning to face the window.

As soon as they reached the Academy, Alex climbed off the bus. He was about to join the others on their way up the courtyard steps when a hand grabbed his jersey and slammed him against the side of the vehicle.

“If you ever, and I mean ever, talk to me like that in front of the other werewolves again, I will tear your arms off,” Torin growled with his face inches from Alex’s.

Alex nodded and pushed down his pride at the stares of the students on their way to the school. “I know I was out of line. I’m sorry.”

Torin lifted his lips in a snarl. “Other Alphas aren’t going to be as understanding as I am.”

“I appreciate it,” Alex replied.

Torin let him down. “Go clean the toilets.”

Alex stifled a sigh as he made his way to the Academy.