Werewolf Academy Book 2: Hunted (6 page)

Meredith laughed, then looked surprised she had done so. She glanced at the twins with her eyes slightly wider.

Alex gave her an encouraging nod.

“It’s not so bad,” she said, skimming through her book for anything useful. “It’s only, um, math.”

“Math is bad,” Marky called out.

Alex gave the young werewolf a look that silenced him.

“It’s not so bad if you follow the steps,” Meredith continued. She seemed to warm to the topic. “It’s like a language. Once you figure out the basics, it all falls into place.”

“Learning math is learning a different language?” a member of Pack Jessilyn asked doubtfully.

“Yes,” Meredith affirmed. “Exactly. I’ll give you the basics.”

“And the rest will be easy,” Cassie finished.

Meredith gave her a grateful smile. She began to write equations on the board.

“My brain already hurts,” Don said to Jericho. The big werewolf barely fit at his desk. Alex had already helped to extract him from a few last year; it looked like this year was going to require the same efforts.

“Don’t worry,” Jericho replied in a whisper. “Trent is our secret weapon. He’s a math whiz.”

At their attention, Trent gave them a calm smile. “I speak the language,” he said.

Alex shook his head while Jericho rolled his eyes. Cassie smothered a laugh.

“What?” Trent asked.

“That was really lame,” Terith told her brother.

Alex smiled and turned his attention back to the board.

“You did a great job,” he told his aunt after the class was over.

“Are you sure?” she asked worriedly. “They seemed eager to leave.”

He laughed. “They’re always eager to leave.
I think it’s a werewolf behind walls thing. We have combat training next. Everyone’s just looking forward to hitting something.”

Meredith replied with a laugh of her own. “I think I can understand that.” At Alex’s surprised look, she gave a smile that was so like his mother’s his
chest ached. “There’s got to be some way to let out teaching frustrations, right?”

“Maybe you should join us in combat training,” Alex offered.

Meredith gave him a kind smile. “I would, but someone’s got to teach algebra to restless werewolves, right?”

“Right,” Alex agreed with a chuckle.

“Are you coming Alex?” Cassie called.

Alex looked over to see Cassie and Tennison standing near the door. “Goodbye, Aunt Meredith,” Cassie said. “Good luck!” Meredith waved at the pair as they left.

“Who’s that?” Meredith asked.

Alex looked back again to be sure he hadn’t missed something. He realized she meant the werewolf with Cassie. “That’s Tennison. He’s a new Lifer here.”

“Looks like Cassie’s taking a shine to him,” Meredith noted.

Alex stared at her. “They
only met yesterday. She’s just being nice.”

Meredith nodded as though she wasn’t quite convinced.

“Seriously,” Alex told her. “Cassie doesn’t like boys.”

“You might be surprised,” Meredith replied. The bell rang and students flooded into the classroom. “Have a good day, Alex.”

“You, too,” Alex said before walking through the door after his sister.

He found Cassie and Tennison talking just inside the combat training room. Pushi
ng his aunt’s suspicions aside, Alex patted Tennison on the shoulder.

“Ready to fight?” he asked.

Tennison looked around as if he had just realized where they were. The training ring, punching bags, and practice dummies made it hard to miss. “Oh, uh, do we have to?”

Several members of Pack Jericho laughed.

“Everyone has to,” Professor Chet said, walking into the room. He looked over Pack Jericho and Pack Miguel quickly. “Looks like we’re pretty well matched. Alex, why don’t you show some of the newbies a bit of sparring?” Chet met Miguel’s gaze. “Why don’t you join him?”

Alex heard Cassie gasp beside him. Her fingers dug into his arm.

After Alex’s sparring bout with Boris last year, he was a bit more reluctant to take on another Alpha. Things with Drogan had quieted down, and Alex had fewer anger issues at the moment. Miguel also looked unsure as he accepted the sparring gear Chet handed to him.

Professor Dray entered the room. “What’s going on?” the professor asked. His hair was light blond from all the time he spent in the sun working in the Academy gardens.
He pushed it out of his eyes as he looked from Chet to the two getting geared up.

Dray gave Chet a stern look.

“What?” Chet asked, feigning innocence.

“
Alex is a Second and Miguel is an Alpha,” Dray pointed out.

Chet shrugged. “I really don’t see the problem.
Alex and Miguel are about the same size. They were just going to show the newbies what sparring is all about.”

“You know packs are supposed to spar each other by
pack rank, not size,” Dray argued.

“Semantics,” Chet replied. He took the sparring gear from Alex and tossed it to Jericho. “
Fine. Gear up.”

“They’re really going to fight?” Tennison asked from behind Alex.

Alex nodded. “It’s practice, but sometimes things get out of hand. I don’t think Miguel and Jericho will be as ferocious as when Pack Boris was in our class last year. There were some pretty good bouts.”

“Boris took cheap shots,” Trent said.

“Don’t talk about my brother,” Kalia warned.

Trent turned with wide eyes. “Uh, s-sorry,” he stuttered.

Alex watched Kalia closely. Her normally icy blue eyes flashed gold for the briefest second as she looked at the Lifer. The gold was replaced with pain and she grabbed her head.

“Kalia,” Alex said. He caught her arm before she could fall.

Kalia hunched over with a moan of pain.

“What’s going on?” Dray asked.

“I’m not sure,” Cassie told him. “I think her head hurts.”

“Please take her to Lyra,” Dray told the twins.

Alex walked Kalia slowly to the door. Cassie rushed to open it. Kalia’s eyes were closed and she held her forehead with one hand while the other gripped Alex’s arm. Cassie ran in front of them to the medical wing of the Academy.

“It hurts,” Kalia said in a barely audible voice.

“I’m taking you to Lyra,” Alex reassured her. “She’ll be able to help.”

Kalia nodded, then winced as if the action hurt.

Footsteps hurried back up the hall toward them. “I’ve got a room ready for her,” Lyra said. The little professor adjusted her large glasses as she turned to walk beside Alex and Kalia. “How are you doing, sweetie?” Kalia didn’t answer. Lyra’s gaze shifted to Alex. “Don’t worry,” she told him at the worry on his face. “I’ll take care of her.”

She led them to a room on the left side of the hall. Alex helped Kalia sit on the paper-lined bed.
Her eyes were still closed at the pain. Alex wondered if she knew she still gripped his hand.

“You two can wait outside if you’d like,” Lyra said kindly.

A wave of protectiveness rushed over Alex. He didn’t want to leave Kalia in the room that smelled of sterile cleaners and lemons. If her headache eased, she might forget that they had walked there. She might be scared.

“Come on,” Cassie encouraged him.

Alex pushed down the strange feelings and worked his hand out of Kalia’s grip. Kalia placed both hands on her forehead, hunching over on the bed. Her shoulder-length hair hid her face from view. The sight sent a surge of sympathy through Alex.

“You’ve seen this before,” Cassie guessed, speaking quietly
as soon as they were out of the room.

Alex nodded. “Once, on the stairs. She said she gets bad headaches. They come and go without warning.”

“Her eyes went gold when she was talking to Trent.”

“I know,” Alex confirmed. “That’s why her parents sent her here. They’re worried she may be a werewolf.”

“Worried?” Cassie’s confusion was clear in her voice.

“I think her parents are afraid of werewolves. Kalia said they were Extremists before they found out Boris was one.”

Cassie let out a breath. “Man, that must have been hard to take.”

Alex nodded. “Apparently, they hid the fact that Boris was a werewolf from his sister until her eyes began changing. They sent her here in case she phased.”

“She doesn’t like werewolves, does she?”

Alex was surprised at his sister’s deduction. “Not really. What makes you say that?”

Cassie shrugged her small shoulders. “She avoids pretty much everyone, barely speaks, and I’m pretty sure the entire school heard her arguing with her mom about why she had to stay here when they arrived for the term.”

“I missed that,” Alex said musingly, his thoughts still on the girl hunched on the bed.

“It echoed off the building. I’m surprised you didn’t hear it while you were changing,” Cassie said in a tone that suggested she guessed more than he let on.

Alex gave in and grinned. “I might have been out for a run.”

Cassie pushed his shoulder. “You’re going to get in trouble. You know Jaze said to lie low. How is racing trains and running along the boundaries of the forest lying low?”

“I can’t help it,” Alex told his sister. At her doubtful look, he let out his breath in a rush. “Look. We know Drogan’s still out there. I have to be ready.” He hesitated, then said, “If I don’t condition my heart, it’s going to fail me again. I have to push myself if I’m ever going to have a chance at beating him.”

The understanding in Cassie’s eyes ate at him. “What if you’re damaging your heart further?” she asked quietly, her gaze worried.

“I can’t be weak,” Alex told her. “I can’t just sit by
and know that if we meet again, he can best me.” A hint of anger colored his voice. “No human should be able to defeat a werewolf.”

“You said he wore Kevlar and had a silver knife,” Cassie pointed out.

Alex shook his head. “It shouldn’t matter. I’ve got to make sure I’m strong enough.”

Lyra stepped into the hallway. She gave the twins a warm smile. “Kalia’s resting. You can go back to class.”

“I’d like to wait for her,” Alex said. At Lyra’s lifted eyebrows, he hurried to finish, “If that’s alright.”

She nodded. “I think she would appreciate having a friend nearby.” She noted a couple of things on a clipboard before walking down the hall.

“You’re Kalia’s friend?” Cassie asked.

Alex nudged her with his elbow.

“Okay, okay,” Cassie said. She rubbed her side. “Don’t be so touchy. I’m going back to class. I’ll let Professor Dray and Professor Chet know you’re waiting for your
friend
.”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Chet’s probably waiting for me to fight Miguel.”

A hint of laughter showed in Cassie’s dark blue eyes when she said, “You’re right. It’s probably safer that you stay here.”

Alex stepped forward as if to take off after her. She laughed and ran down the hall away from the medical wing. Alex shook his head. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, prepared for however long it would take for Kalia to recover.

A smell touched Alex’s nose. It wasn’t unusual or particularly pungent, but it definitely didn’t belong in the medical wing. He turned his head, searching for the source.

To his confusion, the scent seemed to come from the wall behind him. Alex
walked along the tan striped wallpaper. In most places, it smelled sterile and clean like the rest of the medical wing, yet when he paused where he had been standing, he scented what he recognized as a meatball sandwich.

Curious, he ran a hand down the wall. His fingertips revealed the slightest separation hidden within the brown and tan stripes. Alex pushed on the wall. Nothing happened. He pushed harder. The panel refused to budge. Alex blew out a frustrated breath. He sighed and leaned against the wall again, content to give up the strange search until the flashing of a tiny red light caught his attention. He grinned up at the camera in the corner. He could imagine Brock’s sigh as the human sat at his many computers in Dean Jaze’s secret lair beneath the school.

All at once, the door panel slid away. Alex waved at the camera and stepped inside. The panel slid shut once more.

Alex
expected to find yet another passageway to the lair. Instead, the cement tunnel seemed to go much deeper than the room beneath Dean Jaze’s office. The smell of meatball sandwich intensified.

“What was it?” Brock’s voice reached him before he turned the last corner. “How did you find this place?”

“The smell of your sand...” Alex’s voice died away at the sight before him.

The secret of how the professors made it in and out of the school on their many missions for Jaze without being seen by the students was answered. Rows of cars and motorcycles occupied the left side of a giant cavern that took up what had to have been the entire foundation of the Academy.