Becoming Alpha (33 page)

As I sat alone in my room, panic built inside of me, making the wolf rise closer to the surface. I closed my eyes and tried to do the breathing Dastien had showed me. I listened to the sound of the air flowing as it entered and left my body. My mind began to wander. I thought about the first time I’d seen Dastien. The intense pull that I felt between us. The day I first saw him. His sexy smile. The day I first heard his voice. I had way too many feelings about him. Mad. Attracted. Angry. Obsessed.

I pictured him pacing in Mr. Dawson’s tiny cabin. Back and forth. Back and forth. His scent—woods, grass, dirt, and something spicy, something just Dastien—filled me. The vision of him
grew sharper as my mind focused. His muscles rippled under his shirt as he paced. Heat warmed my body at the sight. Trent and Mr. Dawson were talking at the dining table. Dastien reached the end of the room and paced back toward me.

It took me a second to register the tingle that started in the bottom of my stomach and rippled through my body.

“Tessa?” he said.

I opened my eyes and jumped off the bed.

What the hell was that?

We’d linked. I’d done it again.

I decided that I had to try and lay back down. Rachmaninoff’s Second Piano Concerto started playing. It took a second for it to click that it was coming from my cellphone. I grabbed it from the desk, but didn’t recognize the number. “Hello?”

“Was that you? Were you here?” Dastien said.

“I think so. Hey, how did you get my number?”

“From Michael. Tess. Stay on topic. I could smell you. How did you do it?”

This was embarrassing. “I uuhh…I was thinking of you.”

“You were?” I could almost hear his grin.

“Don’t get a big head about it.”

“I’m going to hang up now, and you’re going to do it again. Okay? This time try talking to me.”

“Can’t we just—” My phone beeped. “—talk on the phone?” I rolled my eyes. Seemed we were doing fine talking before he hung up.

I closed my eyes, and thought about Dastien. The way he looked after he chased me through my backyard. The tingles came, threatening to overtake me. This was way too intense.

I reached for my cell phone and dialed. He picked up on the first ring. “I need time to—”

“Just do it, Tessa.” The phone beeped in my ear.

Did he just hang up on me? Again. What a jerk! Why couldn’t we just talk on the phone like normal people?

My stomach rumbled. It’d been forever since breakfast. I caught the scent of bread. In the corner of the room, tucked beside my desk, was a silver mini-fridge. It was fully stocked with all the essentials.

I’d totally forgotten Meredith was going to set me up with it. A smile spread across my face. I actually had a real friend, and now I totally owed her one. Going downstairs to get food would’ve been a pain if the girls were still in the common room. And then there was Jason…

I grabbed a carton of whole milk, and made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. And then made three more. I wasn’t quite sure where all the food was going. Rationally speaking, I was pretty sure I physically couldn’t fit three sandwiches and a half-gallon of whole milk in my stomach. But I ate until the cavernous pit was full, and then settled back down on my bed.

I breathed in and out slowly as I thought of Dastien and the way he smelled. The way he made me feel.

Then it happened again. My stomach dropped like I was falling two hundred feet. My body turned into one giant tingling mess and I couldn’t get enough air. The next thing I knew I was in Mr. Dawson’s cabin.

I stood just inside the front door hovering like a ghost. Being in two places at once was interesting. Talk about a vision overload.

The three guys were sitting at the table now—Trent, Mr. Dawson, and Dastien. Mr. Dawson was on the phone. He turned to me first, lifting one eyebrow, and then continued the conversation with whoever was on the other end of the call.

How did he know I was there?

“Dastien?”

He spun toward me.

“Is she back?” Trent said. “What is she saying?”

Dastien ignored him. “I’ve been reading up on mate-bonds. The thing is, the kind of bond we have, it’s different than the usual kind. What we have is more than what they describe, and nothing I read said anything about this.” He stopped in front of me. “I can smell and hear you, but I can’t see you.” He waved an arm where I was standing, and it went straight through me.

Every muscle ached with pins and needles. “How about you not do that again.” I rubbed my hands over my arms, trying to make it go away. “Can they hear me?”

He settled down on the arm of the couch next to me. “I can’t even. Not really. I hear you in my thoughts, not with my ears.”

Weird. “Can you talk to me through thoughts?”

He sat quietly for a second and made a constipated-like face. I couldn’t help but laugh at him. “Guess not,” he said.

I wanted to reach out to him, but thought against it. “So is this really better than the cell?”

“It’s definitely cheaper and more reliable. If we’re separated, this could really come in handy.” He paused. “Something’s going on. We just have to figure out what.”

“You’re weirding me out,
mec
,” Trent said.

“
Tais-toi,
” Dastien said.

Mr. Dawson hung up the phone and cleared his throat. “It’s official. No one has seen Sebastian or Donovan since they went to investigate how the vampires found us.”

“
Merde
,” Trent said. That was one French word I knew.

“How could this happen?” Dastien walked to Mr. Dawson.

“I’m not sure. Had to be an ambush of some sort. They can’t be taken easily.” He sighed. “I can’t think that it’s a coincidence that they go missing and Rupert shows up.” He looked straight at me, even though he couldn’t actually see me. “You may have been onto something bigger than even I thought.”

Dastien started pacing. “The vampires have been acting up more the past couple of years. Especially recently. Do you think they could’ve found a leader?”

“No. You don’t just change your behavior after centuries. There’s got to be something more. I’m just missing it.”

The door to Mr. Dawson’s cabin swung open. Five guys in all black with guns ran in. There were three quick shots.

I screamed.

“Drugged,” Dastien said. “Run.”

Ice ran through my veins. I didn’t know how to break the link. I checked on Mr. Dawson.

Mr. Dawson glanced at me like he knew where I was. “Out.” The command rolled through me, pushing me out of the cabin. I tried to stop it, but the power behind it was too much. I sped through trees and buildings to get back to my body. It wasn’t comfortable. By the time I found myself lying on my bed, I wondered if I’d ever feel right again.

I didn’t have much time to think about it before Meredith strolled through the bathroom with Shannon in tow.

The music was still blasting.

“We’ve got news. And it’s not good.” Meredith said. Shannon hovered behind her.

I shot up from the bed. “Run. Now.” I grabbed my cell phone and keys from my bedside table.

“Wait. What!” Meredith said.

The knob on my door twisted. “Window. Now. Fucking now!”

I leapt onto the windowsill and jumped down. The landing was easy this time, and I sprinted across campus like the hounds of hell were on my heels. I didn’t look back to see if Meredith and Shannon were there. Maybe that meant I was a bad person, but Dastien was in trouble. I needed off this campus. I needed help from someone I could actually trust.

The parking lot was packed with big black SUVs. I clicked my car key, and set off in the direction of my car. Thankfully, I owned a black SUV too.

I was going to have to thank Axel for that one again.

I spotted my car and unlocked the doors. For the first time I spared a glance behind me, and I was surprised to see not only Meredith and Shannon, but Adrian and Chris were there too. I wasn’t sure when they’d shown up.

“Get in.” I closed my door, and started the car. I didn’t wait for them to buckle their seat belts. The gates were half-open as another SUV made its way into the parking lot. I swerved around it, and down the road.

“What in the fuck is going on!” Meredith said.

“Sebastian and Donovan are missing. And while I was linked to Dastien—long story—five cazadors broke down the door to Mr. Dawson’s cabin and shot Dastien, Mr. Dawson and Trent
with tranqs. Dastien said to run. When I broke the link, Jason was coming into my room. So I got the hell out.”

A stream of curses came from my backseat.

“Tranqs. That’s so damned cowardly,” Chris said.

“¡
Conchesumá
!” Adrian hit the back of my chair.

“Whoa. Let’s not break my car.” What he said registered. “You kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“The word fits the man,” Adrian said.

“Where did you guys come from anyways?” I said.

“We were in the quad walking back to the dorm from the cafeteria when we saw you jump from the window. When Meredith and Shannon followed we figured there’s too much drama on campus today to not see what was going on with you.” Chris squeezed my shoulder. “You’re getting much better at the jumping from the window thing. That leap was a thing of beauty.”

I snorted. “Fourth time’s the charm?”

“Where are we going exactly?” Shannon said.

I sighed. “To my house. Kind of obvious, so we can’t stay long, but we need to regroup and find out what the hell is going on and what they’re planning to do with Dastien and Mr. D. I have a really bad feeling. Sunset isn’t far away and something tells me if we don’t find them before then…” I took a calming breath. “We have to find him.”

I pulled up the driveway. Axel stepped out onto the porch. “You’re home!” I said as I ran toward him.

“What’s goin’ on?” He hugged me tightly and my feet lifted off the ground for a second. “I heard something went down today and wanted to check on you. Why haven’t you called me?”

“It’s been a little intense.” I paused. “You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe.”

He glanced past me as everyone got out of the car. “Then maybe you shouldn’t have brought home so many wolves with you.”

“Not them, you moron. Something just went down at school. Everything is beyond messed up.”

A girl and a boy about my age stepped onto the porch. They looked enough alike—straight black hair, dark eyes, long straight noses, and full lips—to know they were related.

“Dude. This is not the time for a party,” I said. “You and Mom and Dad need to get the hell out of town. Like yesterday.”

“We know what’s going on, Teresa,” the guy said. His black hair just brushed the tops of his shoulders. He wore relaxed jeans that were ripped at the knee and his light blue
guayabera
made his skin look a richer brown. “We’re here to help.”

Chris nudged me. “Dude. Your name’s Teresa?”

Typical. My full name is what he pays attention to. I shoved him back. “Shut it.”

Axel put his arm around my shoulders, guiding me to the front door. “Come on. We need to talk.”

I shrugged his arm off. “We don’t really have time for that. I came by to get you guys out of here, and so that we,” I motioned to my group, “could regroup.”

“You have until sunset,” the girl said. She smoothed down the skirt of her hot pink sundress. Her long hair was pulled back into a high pony tail. “Wasting time arguing now won’t save your mate.”

Adrian stepped up next to me and sniffed the air. “¿
Brujos
?”

“
Claro
,” the guy said. “
Venga. Tenemos un poco de información que puede ayudarte.”

Adrian stepped to follow the siblings into my house, but I stopped him. “Can we trust whatever information they have?”

“We don’t have any reason not to trust them,” Adrian said.

Meredith cleared her throat.

“Unless you’re fighting one.” Adrian had the grace to blush a little. “And then all bets are off. But normally, witches and Weres get along fine.”

I thought it over for a second. If they had any information that could help me save Dastien, I couldn’t ignore it.

When I stepped through the door, Mom hugged me tightly. “You can’t call this time, Mom. No one can know where we are. Even if it might be the first place someone would look.”

“Sure.” She kissed my forehead and I saw her worries. Namely me biting my brother. “Can I get anyone anything to eat?” She didn’t wait for a response as she dug through cupboards, piling snacks on the dining room table.

We so didn’t have time for any kind of snacks. God only knew what was happening to Dastien. My skin rippled and I took ten long, deep breaths. Wolfing out in front of my family was not an option.

Food was probably a good call. I grabbed a couple of Oreos. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Why doesn’t everyone have a seat?” Dad said. “And then we can get back to what your cousins came here for.”

I spun to look at them closer. If they really were related to me, I didn’t remember them at all.

We settled in around the large table. Dad stood behind me, and Mom stayed near the door. I sat across from my “cousins,” with Meredith and Chris on either side of me. Shannon and Adrian took the heads of the table, and Axel sat next to the guy “cousin.”

Dad squeezed my shoulders. “Claudia, please.”

The name was familiar, but the last time I’d seen any of my mother’s family was over a decade ago.

Claudia nodded. “It’s really good to meet you. Again. Your parents told us that you didn’t know about us or what your place was supposed to be here.”

What the what? I glanced at Mom.

“I only did it to protect you. Living with
La Alquelarre
can be a bit much, and with what you could do and so young…it was better to give you choices. But when that wasn’t working out for you, I thought maybe they could help.”

The guy leaned closer. “I’m Raphael, Claudia’s twin. Our mothers are sisters.”

“We’re
brujos
. Witches,” Claudia said. “You were supposed join
La Alquelarre
—our coven—this year.”

“Holy shit. This is out of control.” Adrian clapped his hands, and then blushed.