Becoming Alpha (22 page)

“I would never…” Mr. Dawson took a breath. It was the only hint that he was pissed. “We’re keeping this quiet, but I guess you should know that Dastien Laurent is her mate. His wolf took control to claim her. It was an accident and one Dastien wishes he could undo. Or re-do in an entirely different manner. But what’s done is done. Now’s the time to support Tessa as she figures out what this means and what it is she wants.”

Axel sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “You can call it whatever you want, but that asshole turned my sister without permission. That’s not okay. Not in my book.”

My parents nodded. My family was on my side, but it sure felt like they weren’t.

A man with chin length straight blond hair streaked with gray came to stand next to the table. He wore a charcoal three-piece suit—which was overkill for Cedar Ridge, Texas. “I see you’re still having trouble controlling your student body, Michael.”

Mr. Dawson stood in one fluid movement, forcing the man to take a step back. Their gazes clashed, and the man’s fists clenched as he looked away.

“And what have we here? Three humans on campus?” His gaze fell to me. “Ah. This must be the bitten girl.”

“Careful, Rupert,” Mr. Dawson said. “You’ll not insult any member of this family.”

I didn’t like Rupert standing over me, so I stood. Everything in the room fell away as I waited for him to look away. When he finally did, fur rippled along his face and was gone so quickly I thought I’d imagined it.

Mr. Dawson put his hand on my shoulder. His grin made me feel like I’d just done something awesome, and I couldn’t help but return it.

“This is Rupert Hoel. Nikki and Imogene’s father.”

That didn’t surprise me in the least. I liked this guy just as much as I liked his daughters.

“This is the McCaide family.” Mr. Dawson turned to fully face Rupert, crossing his arms. “Is there a reason why you’re on my campus unannounced?”

“I wasn’t aware I needed to announce myself.” Mr. Hoel smoothed down his vest.

“It’s always necessary. This is a closed campus and you know that. Wait in my office.”

Go, Mr. Dawson. I snickered as Mr. Hoel stormed off, slamming the cafeteria door behind him.

Mr. Dawson winked at me. “He’s not going to like my office much. Donovan and Sebastian are there and the three of them don’t get along.”

“I won’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of what’s going on here, but I’m learning fast.” Dad had his no-bullshit face on. “I want to be perfectly clear—what might be normal for you is not normal for my daughter. She is—was—human and I won’t have anything forced on her that she’s uncomfortable with. Or that her mother and I are uncomfortable with.”

Thank God the cafeteria was empty. I shifted in my seat. “I don’t think anyone is going to forget that I was bitten, Dad.”

“I think the thing to remember is that this is a transition for all of you.” Mr. Dawson’s voice was calm and even. He was taking Dad’s intimidating stare better than I could. “You’ve lost the old Tessa, but she’s not really gone. She might have had a rough time before, and maybe at the moment it’s harder—but I think it’s all set her up to become a very strong person. I think you’d all be surprised by what she’s already accomplished here.”

My cheeks burned. I wasn’t sure I’d accomplished anything.

“I would never intentionally make a member of my pack uncomfortable. I swear that I will watch her as if she’s my own. I’ve given you full access to St. Ailbe’s. Feel free to visit her whenever you feel the need. She’s not my prisoner. I’m only here to help as she learns her new abilities.”

The rest of the conversation went normally enough. They asked about classes and my friends, and ignored all things Dastien-related.

After a bit, I walked them to the parking lot with Mr. Dawson supervising so I wouldn’t accidentally wolf-out on them. They’d brought me my car, just in case I needed it for some reason. My parents said their good-byes, promising to come back and visit whenever I wanted them to.

It was harder to say good-bye to Axel. He was going to college, and I wouldn’t see him for months. I knew that he was always going to go, but the reality proved to be a bit harder than I expected.

Axel held out the keys to my car. “I picked out an awesome car for you.”

I snatched them from his hand. “You better have been good to her.”

He pulled me in for a hug. “I might be farther away, but I’ll always be here for you.”

“Thanks. Love you.”

“Me too.”

My heart was heavy as I watched their car disappear from sight.

Mr. Dawson put his arm around me, and turned me back toward school. “Come on. Let’s get you some ice cream. I hear it can help at a time like this.”

“That’d be good. Thanks.”

When we got back to the cafeteria, he disappeared into the kitchen. He came back carrying two light brown pints with gold lids. “Here you go.” He slid one to me.

“Blue Bell?”

He set his spoon down. “Please tell me you’ve had Blue Bell.”

I shook my head. “But I like Cookies ‘n’ Cream, so I’m sure this is fine.”

“Blue Bell is more than just fine. It’s
the
Cookies ‘n’ Cream. Trust me. I’m a connoisseur of all things ice cream.”

I pulled off the top. It looked like ordinary Cookies ‘n’ Cream to me. “If it’s so amazeballs, why haven’t I heard of it before?”

“Because you’re from California. They make it in Brenham, Texas and they only deliver it themselves to locations that they can easily get to in their refrigerated trucks. Although when I’ve lived other places, I’ve had it shipped to me from the factory. Costly but necessary.”

I shook my head. Dude was out of his mind. I took a bite and moaned. “Holy shit. This is good.”

“Told you.”

“So you and ice cream, huh?” It made him more of a real person, instead of this odd authority figure.

“Food. All kinds. When you’ve got to eat so much of it, you get to know the difference between good, bad, and excellent.” He pointed to the ice cream with his spoon. “This is excellent.”

“So do you cook too?”

He nodded. “Most wolves do. Especially those my age.”

That made sense. I wanted to ask him how old he was, but he beat me to the next question.

“Can you cook?” he asked me.

I shrugged. “Mexican food, for sure. With a recipe—anything else.”

We got into a conversation about Mexican food, most importantly the differences between Mexican food among the border states.

A pint of Blue Bell Cookies ‘n’ Cream later and I was feeling better.

I stared down at the empty carton. “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”

Mr. Dawson laughed. “I can. You’ve got to eat more. And you’re about to burn all that off, so it’s not even going to do you any good. Let’s go.”

I patted my stomach. “Just when I thought I had a nice food baby going on, you gotta ruin it.”

As we walked to class, I was more relaxed. Everything felt a little more okay.

But then again, it could’ve just been an ice cream high.

That evening we were watching the news on Meredith’s TV. It’d become a nightly habit. Every time we huddled around and waited to see how close the vampires were, but this time there was no mention of the “killers.”

“Maybe the Cazadores finally found them?” Meredith said as she muted the sound.

“We would’ve heard,” Shannon said. “Yesterday they were only fifty miles away from here.”

“But they won’t come here, right?” I said.

“I hope not, but they must be close.” Shannon sighed. “If the Cazadores are having this much trouble the school will have to relocate again.”

“Again?”

“It moved in the fifties,” Meredith said when Shannon didn’t answer. “It was in the Northeast, but the town got too big. It’s never had to move because of vamps finding us. You’d almost think they had help.”

I chewed on my lip as I thought. Maybe from the rogue Mr. Dawson had mentioned when I overheard him talking? But what if Mr. Hoel had something to do with this?

My imagination was taking my dislike for the Hoel’s and turning it into some crazy plot against St. Ailbe’s. I clearly needed more sleep. “I’m going to bed.”

Shannon ignored me and Meredith said good night. They whispered theories as I got ready for bed, but I tried not to listen too much. Just because I had great hearing didn’t mean I should use it all the time. People still needed privacy.

I was on the verge of sleep when St. Ailbe’s version of a siren—a modulating low-pitched hum—cut thorough campus.

Howls echoed through the night. Answering ones came from the dorm.

What the hell was going on?

The smell of rotten eggs filled my room.

“Oh my God.” I heard Meredith say from her room. “They’re here!”

Everything was still for a moment, before doors in the dorms slammed open. Girls were shouting in their rooms.

I ran to my window. At least thirty people were running though the courtyard.

No. Not running. Gliding.

“Vampires.” I whispered to myself as I pressed my nose against the glass. The cold bit into my skin but I couldn’t look away. Both werewolves and vampires moved silently, but this kind of silence turned my stomach. It wasn’t natural.

How were they moving like that?

I gasped as one of the dark figures stepped into the light. It swirled around, and then stopped. It was searching for something in the windows. Meredith yelled something, but I couldn’t make it out.

Its gaze pierced me—red eyes called to me.

Everything slowed. I could hear my heart beat and count the time between each thump-thump.

A voice in my head ordered me to open the window, and I did.

All I could see was red. It filled my vision as it got closer, larger.

Cold wrapped around me and I floated to the ground.

“Tessa!” Meredith shouted from far away.

The sound stirred something in me, but it was quickly shoved aside.

Red eyes stared out from the darkness of his hood.

Cold fingers dug into my arms. He sniffed me. “Witch blood,” it hissed. The vampire shoved my head to the side and something hot dropped on my neck. It burned like acid.

“Teresa Elizabeth McCaide!” Meredith yelled as another drop fell onto my skin.

Suddenly I was too aware of the pain. Of the stench. Of the cold hands grasping me.

I snapped out of the trance and screamed.

The howls answered my scream, but they were too far away.

I was alone in the courtyard. Vampires surrounded me, hovering in the air. Their long black coats swirled around their feet. Their faces were half-decayed.

His teeth grazed my neck as I struggled to break free.

“Awake now? I love the taste of scared witch.”

I choked on his putrid breath.

The vampire threw me and was on me—pinning my arms and legs—before I could even register hitting the ground. I screamed again as I twisted, trying to break his hold, but couldn’t get free. The fighting I’d been learning all week didn’t help me one bit. Even with my new strength, I was helpless.

A tear rolled down my face as I started to flip out.

I wasn’t proud of it, but I used the only weapon I had. “Dastien!” I yelled louder than I ever had before, hoping my voice would somehow reach him. I knew I’d die right then if he didn’t come. If he was too far away.

A pained howl echoed through the courtyard.

The vampire’s teeth scraped my neck, not yet breaking the skin, like he was teasing me. I whimpered.

Dastien was going to be too late. My skin was ice cold with fear. If I got out of this okay, I was going to start paying attention in martial arts class.

And then I heard him. “Tessa!” He grabbed the vampire and tossed him into the nearest tree. Bark splintered down, and the vampire slid to the ground.

Three more vampires jumped onto Dastien.

I tried to get up to help, but another vampire jumped on me.

I punched him, but it didn’t faze him. He pressing me into the ground, and I shoved my fingers in his eye sockets. Black ooze streamed from the holes where its eyes used to be, and it screamed, rearing back.

A gray wolf leapt—grasping the vampire’s neck in his jaws, and slammed it into the ground beside me.

Holy shit.

I rolled away from them as chaos broke out around me. It was a flurry of movement as wolves and vampires moved almost faster than I could track. I tried to spot a way to get through them and back to the dorm, but every time I tried to get up, a vampire would step toward me. There were too many of them, and I was attracting them when I moved. I crouched down on the ground, trying to make myself the smallest target possible.

Dastien was fighting his way back to me in his human form. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants.

Only one vampire stood between us. Dastien charged at it, but an auburn wolf jumped in between them, taking the vampire to the ground.

This was my chance. I got up and ran as fast as I could, meeting Dastien halfway. A warm arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me from the ground as he ran back toward the building. He threw open the door to the girl’s dorm. “Stay inside. No matter what.” He gave me a tight smile. “I’ll be back.” He stepped back into the courtyard. “Seniors, outside now. The rest of you, stay in the dorms.”

The sound of cloth ripping filled the night as people raced out of the buildings, shifting mid-sprint.

Now I felt like a total wuss. The rest of my class was outside fighting, and here I was hiding. This was all kinds of lame.

“What is it with you and windows?” Meredith met me at the stairs. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” I didn’t have time to wonder why she wasn’t out there with the rest of the seniors. I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had to get back to my window so I could see what was going on outside. The thought that Dastien or one of the others could get hurt—possibly because of me—made me sick.

One of the vampires separated from the group and circled around, trying to surprise-attack Dastien.

“Behind you!” I yelled, leaning out my window.

Dastien shifted instantly into a white and gray wolf. He lunged and tore into its neck. Black sludge spewed from the vampire. Its head rolled off and it crumpled to the ground. Meredith cheered from behind me.