Werewolf Academy Book 2: Hunted (16 page)

Alex stared at the dean’s back as he followed the werewolf down a flight of stairs. “You mean you want me to come back here more than just now?”

Jaze looked at him. “How else are you going to help others?”

Something flamed to life in Alex’s chest. He felt the slightest breath of relief, as if just the prospect of something to do in the fight against Dro
gan helped to relieve the pressure that had been building inside of him. He held onto the flicker of release, grasping it as if it was a lifeline.

“Ready, Brock?” Jaze asked.

Alex followed him around the corner to the huge surveillance cave. He couldn’t help staring at the vast space before him. Even though he had seen it once before, it felt almost impossible to grasp the cavern that existed beneath the Academy. Cars, motorcycles, computers, tunnels, piles of equipment, and now a helicopter occupied the cement pads beneath Brock’s seat in the midst of so many different screens Alex wondered how the human could keep it all straight.

To Alex’s surprise, Brock wasn’t alone.
Another man stood next to him with the same spikey brown hair and slender build.

“Ready,” Brock replied, standing as well. He smiled at Alex. “Alex, meet my cousin Caden. He’s not a werewolf, but he makes up for it in his ability to shoot small things at large distances.”

Caden walked down the stairs that led to the computers and held out a hand. “I’m a weapons specialist,” Caden explained, rolling his eyes at the sandwich in Brock’s hand. “At least it’s better than a carbohydrate compost system.”

Brock took a big bite and spoke around it. “You’re just jealous you don’t have my metabolism,” he said.

“I do have your metabolism,” Caden replied. “We’re related, remember?”

“Then where’s your sandwich?” Brock asked.

Jaze held up a hand. “Can we put the debate aside for a moment and get back to the sweep?”

“Sweep?” Alex asked.

Jaze smiled. “Ready for your first mission?”

Alex’s heart pounded in his chest. He should have been in school, but instead, he was in an SUV with Jaze driving to the Haroldsburg suburbs where Drogan had
last been spotted. Jaze had said it was doubtful that the Extremist leader would still be there, but any information they could glean from what he had left behind might be the means of saving other werewolves.

“You okay?” Jaze asked.

Alex nodded wordlessly.

Jaze smiled and nodded his head toward the street Mouse turned down. “Two more blocks over. We’ll
park in the driveway. Doing a sweep by,” he checked his watch, “Ten in the morning doesn’t exactly scream stealthy, so we’ll give up any pretense of being where we don’t belong and we own it.”

Own it apparently meant three other werewolves dressed in black from head to toe barreling down
the door and swarming the house when they arrived.

Alex followed Jaze. His senses screamed. He expected Drogan to pop out of every cupboard or door of the seemingly innocuous house.

“Take a breath,” Jaze instructed quietly.

Alex stared at him in confusion.

Jaze removed the mask from his face and motioned for Alex to do the same. Alex held the cloth in his hands, attempting to keep his fingers from balling into fists in his anxiety.

“Breathe,” Jaze said. The dean took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Smell the air. No one has been here for at least a day. I smell Drogan; he was definitely here, but the scent is stale.”

The smell made Alex want to bare his teeth, but Jaze’s assessment was right. According to Colleen’s sense training, the sharper notes of Drogan’s scent lingered, but the subtler whispers that came with activity like walking outside, eating food, or washing hands that made up a daily catalogue of a person’s actions were gone. The tension in Alex’s muscles eased.

“Clear,” a werewolf called over the headset.

Alex was glad he had regained enough composure not to jump.

“Sweep the area. Let’s see if Drogan’s left us a trail,” Jaze commanded.

Alex followed the dean from room to room. Jaze checked papers and searched through garbage cans. Alex was about to ask what they hoped to find when one of the men called over the headset, “Got something.”

Mouse went immediately into the next room.

“What is it?” Jaze asked.

“Two phone numbers and a name,” Mouse answered. “By the slant of the writing, they were written quickly.”

“Good,” Jaze replied. “Let’s finish the sweep and head back.”

Alex followed Jaze back to the SUV. With the adrenaline fading, his nerves were shot. He collapsed next to
the dean in the vehicle.

“What’d you think?” Jaze asked.

Alex studied the house. “The fact that he was here gives me the creeps.”

Jaze nodded. “Cameras will
be set up, but Drogan’s smart enough not to return to a place he’s already used. That’s why our surveillance has such a hard time catching him.”

“Back to the
bat cave?” Alex asked.

Jaze cracked a smile. “Yeah. We’ll trace the numbers and name. Hopefully it’ll give us the lead we’re looking for. Drogan’s good at not leaving anything substantial behind, but this time he appeared to have left in a hurry. Perhaps he got sloppy.”

Alex tipped his head back as Mouse started the vehicle. He dozed in and out on their way back to the Academy. He opened his eyes in time to see Mouse turn onto the train tracks he had ran beside many times. Mouse turned off almost instantly toward what appeared to be a rock wall that made up one side of the ridge. Alex let out a snort of amazement as the rocks fell to the side like the panel in the surveillance room and Mouse entered without slowing.

“This place just keeps getting better,” Alex breathed.

Jaze chuckled and gave an approving nod. “Glad you like it.”

“Do I get to go next time?” Alex was almost afraid to ask, but not knowing felt even harder. He was afraid to have it all taken away. He feared that Jaze had only invited him along because the dean knew
the house was empty. If there was danger, he might not be able to go. But he needed it. The want to do more than sit by waiting for the shooter’s accuracy to improve would drive him crazy.

“Of course,” Jaze said, looking over at him. “You’re in now. Just make smart decisions and try to keep up with school.”

“I will,” Alex promised. He fought back a smile, worried that too much enthusiasm would make Jaze second-guess his decision.

He climbed out of the SUV and breathed in the ea
rthy, cool, metallic-tinged scent of the cavern. The prospect of the phone numbers and what they would find filled him with excitement.

Alex
followed Brock up a path that led through the walls of the Academy. He could hear the students in the classrooms, and smiled at the fact that he was going to be able to help protect them and their families.

Alex wondered how Brock could make his way through the maze of paths as though he was able to see in the dark and smell the scents as
good as a werewolf.

Brock pushed a panel open and motioned for Alex to step inside. Alex obeyed, and found himself next to the fireplace in Pack Jericho’s common room.

“That’s cool,” Alex said.

Brock nodded. “It definitely makes keeping
what you call the bat cave a secret.”

Alex gave the human a tired grin. “As long as you don’t have a meatball sandwich.”

Brock laughed. “Yes. That’s one I’ve had to keep in mind. You werewolves with your sharper senses make being sneaky with tasty food a bit more difficult.”

“You’ve done a good job this far,” Alex admitted.

Brock stepped back through the panel. “Get some sleep, Alex. You look like you need it.”

Alex didn’t have the strength to argue. He crossed to his room and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

“Where have you been?”

Alex opened his eyes to see Kalia sitting on the floor with her back against the wall opposite from his bed.

“Uh, sleeping?” Alex said, rubbing his eyes.

“Is your shoulder feeling better?” Kalia asked.

Alex was surprised to realize he was using his injured arm without pain. He rolled it experimentally. “Yes, it is. It barely hurts,” he said.

She
gave a small smile. “Oh, to be a werewolf.”

He sat up gingerly and pushed the hair out of his eyes. “Did you seriously just say that?”

“I was kidding,” Kalia replied dryly. “You were just a target for a homicidal maniac. You think I want that?”

Alex nodded with mock severity.

Kalia rolled her eyes and pushed up to her feet. She headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Alex asked, surprised by her sudden departure.

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Now that I know you are, I’ve got to get back to class.” She gave him a level look. “Some of us actually have to go to school.”

A thought occurred to Alex. “You missed me.”

Kalia’s mouth fell open. “Don’t flatter yourself,” she replied before storming to the door.

Alex stood up to go after her. The sudden
movement made him lightheaded. He caught himself against the corner of the bed.

Kalia
hurried back and ducked under his arm. “You’re an idiot, Alex Davies. You know that?”

He nodded as she helped him
sit down. “I was just going to class like you suggested.”

She
looked at him with her hands on her hips. “You stay there until morning. I don’t want to hear of you moving from this spot.”

Alex forced back the smile that threatened to cross his face. He watched her walk to the door. She hesitated and looked back at him as i
f certain he would be up again.

Something about the way her light blue gaze creased slightly at the corners made his heart jump.

“Stay there,” she said.

“I will,” Alex promised.

She disappeared through the door. He listened to her footsteps as she crossed the empty commons room and stepped into the hallway.

“Girls,” Alex said
quietly. He let his head rest against the pillow for a few minutes. Though he still felt lightheaded, his stomach growled, demanding to be filled.

“Kalia
’s going to kill me,” Alex said aloud as he sat up again. For some reason, the thought made him smile. He rose to his feet slower this time and waited until his head stopped spinning. He took a few testing steps. He felt so much better than he had when he went to bed that he could barely believe it. His shoulder no longer ached, and even though he was tired, he felt almost normal.

Footsteps sounded down the hall and the door to his room opened before he could sit back down.

Cassie looked surprised to see him standing.

Alex froze midflight back to his bed. “I thought you were Kalia,” he said.

“Why would Kalia be in here?” Cassie asked.

Alex shrugged sheepishly.

Cassie shook her head. “I was just coming to see if you wanted some lunch.”

“I thought I missed it.” Alex had completely lost track of time. He looked around, but there was nothing
to help him except the light that pooled through his window to create a rectangle on the soft beige carpet. Even Kalia had failed to mention what class she was hurrying to.

“It’s just after two,” Cassie explained. “Jaze asked Cook
Jerald to keep a plate for you. He figured you’d be famished when you woke up.”

Alex was grateful for the d
ean’s foresight. “He was right.”

“I’ll bring it up,” Cassie offered.

Alex shook his head. “I need to move around. I think it’d be good for me.”

She looked him up and down worriedly. “Are you sure?”

“Trust me,” Alex told his sister. “I know what I can do.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” she replied, but she sighed and led the way to the door.

“Shouldn’t you be in English?” Alex asked as he followed his twin down the stairs.

“Grace won’t mind if I’m late, especially if I tell her why.”

Alex thought of Kalia’s warning. “Don’t mention that I went to eat.”

Cassie looked at him with an expression that said she wondered if he had gone crazy. “Why not?”

Alex knew the look would only intensify if he explained. “Just don’t, okay? Tell them you brought me the food or something.”

Cassie looked completely baffled. “You want me to lie about where you ate your food?”

Alex shrugged. “I want you to not tell anyone that I left my room. It’s not that difficult.”

“Did you
hit your head when you fell off that cliff?”

“Probably,” Alex replied.

Cassie just shook her head and led the way to the Great Hall.