Werewolf Academy Book 4: Taken (11 page)

Chapter Twelve

“How’s a day in the life of Torin’s Second?” Siale asked when she found Alex wandering the grounds after school.

Alex glanced at her. It was impossible not to smile at the sound of her voice. “Well, let’s just say that human and werewolf biology is not a class I would choose to take with my Alpha. He’s obsessed with pointing out the differences between werewolves and humans. I think Professor Mouse is going to have a conniption by the time the term’s over.”

“You could maneuver a counter attack by pointing out all the similarities werewolves have with humans,” Siale suggested.

Alex’s smile deepened. “I knew I liked you for a good reason.”

She laughed. “And here I thought I was just a girl you pawned off on your old Alpha.”

Alex took her hand. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?” she asked in surprise.

“I want to show you something.”

He led the way through the gate and into the forest where they had run during the lunch hour. It was different experience walking through the woods in human form. The scents weren’t quite as sharp, but the colors held shades and warmth they didn’t carry when he was a wolf. In the animal form, grays took over, highlighting shapes and emphasizing details. It was easier to see at night, but dulled the aesthetics of the sun shining through the green leaves overhead or the way the dapple light illuminated the smaller pools of river water in green and blue hues.

“It’s so peaceful out here,” Siale said, her voice breathless.

“It’s home,” he replied. At her questioning look, he smiled. “Sometimes all walls become too much, and when that happens, I can come here and just exist. I don’t have to be Alex, I’m not a brother, a friend, a student, or a Second. I’m just a part of this forest.”

Siale stopped walking. He looked back at her in time to see her sit on the ground.

“What are you doing?” he asked, crossing to her side.

Siale settled onto her back on the pine needle and leaf-strewn forest floor and smiled up at him. “I’m just going to exist.”

Alex took a seat near her, not close enough to touch and distract her, but with only a slight gap between them so that when he laid on his back and closed his eyes, he was still completely aware of her.

He listened to her breathing settle into a steady, slow rhythm, the quiet intake and release of breath between lips he so badly wanted to kiss again. He couldn’t believe he was in Rafe’s forest with the girl who owned his heart, his mind, his soul, his flaws, and anything else that made him who he was.

He could see her again as she had been in his arms in the body pit. She had been motionless, bleeding. The soft breaths of air that made up her words had been so painful to listen to because he knew how much it took from her. Holding his hands over her wounds and feeling her blood slide between his fingers had felt like the very definition of hopelessness. He couldn’t let her go, yet no matter what he did, he had felt her slipping away.

Yet here she was, perfect and whole, lying beside him on the forest floor listening to the breeze as it danced between the leaves and showered them in scents of loam and clover, the coming rain and pine needles, and sage and lavender. He smiled at the realization that the last two scents didn’t belong to the forest. They were Siale’s, and they were his.

“How do you push it all from your mind?”

Siale’s soft words broke through his quiet contemplation. He looked over to find Siale watching him. A tear stole slowly from the corner of her eye, drifting down her cheek the way his fingers longed to.

“Why are you crying?” he asked softly. He turned on his side and wiped the tear away with the backs of his fingers. He looked at the moisture on his skin, then again into Siale’s soft gray eyes. The blue flecks that hid in the depths were dark with her pain. He cupped her cheek in his hand. “Siale, please talk to me.”

She closed her eyes, shutting him out, closing away everything around them. Alex felt helpless to do anything. He wanted to hold her, to tell her everything was alright, but he couldn’t fix something if he didn’t know how it was broken.

After what felt like an eternity, Siale said, “I can’t shut it all the way out. The second I close my eyes, it all comes rushing back, the General, the knives, the experiments.” A shudder ran down her body and she curled into a fetal position. “Landing on the bodies of my friends, knowing they were dead and that I was going to join them.” Her voice tightened. “Knowing my mother was among them somewhere.”

“Oh, Siale.”

Tears flowed down her cheeks from her tightly closed eyes as if she couldn’t stop them from coming. Alex put his forehead against hers, willing her to feel some form of comfort from being near someone who understood.

She had never spoken of her mother, and he hadn’t wanted to pry. Red, her father, had told him that both his daughter and wife had been taken, and that he felt fortunate to have one of them back. Knowing that Siale had lost her mother to whatever horrors the General had created had been enough to keep Alex from asking questions. He knew all too well what it was like to lose family members and be helpless to do anything about it.

“You’re so strong,” Alex whispered, the skin of his forehead warm against hers. “You carry it all inside so much better than I do.”

She let out a breath that brushed his lips. “I feel like I’m going to explode, but that it wouldn’t make a difference if I did.” Her eyes opened inches from his, staring up at him. “I’m just scars, Alex, horrible memories pieced together in the place where my soul used to be. I don’t even know where one ends and the next begins anymore.”

Alex sat up and pulled off his shirt. She seemed surprised by the action until her gaze took in his torso and the scars that lined it.

“What happened to you?” she asked, sitting up and staring at his chest.

Alex shrugged and untangled a leaf from her hair. “The General and his son. Like I told you at the warehouse, sometimes I don’t know where the scars end and I begin anymore.”

He was about to pull his shirt back on when Siale put her hand on his chest. Her touch shocked him like lightning, coursing through his skin with a million electric fingers, awakening every sense and making him feel again, truly feel.

Her fingers traced the scars from the bullet wounds, the knife scar in his stomach, and the stab wound in his shoulder. Her fingers drifted up to his arm, lingering on the scar from the silver bullet.

“I helped make that one,” she said quietly.

Alex shook his head. “You helped me survive that one.”

He couldn’t hold back any longer. He pulled her onto his lap and bent his head, meeting her mouth in a tender kiss. After a moment, he raised his head and looked down at her. “What are you doing to me, Siale?”

She tipped her head slightly to one side as she looked up at him. Her wavy brown hair brushed his arm, sending shivers through his skin. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

He smiled and kissed her again.

“Were you going to show me something?” she asked a while later as the sunlight began to lessen and the shadows of the trees lengthened along the path like soldiers lined up to protect those who lived within the forest.

Alex pulled another leaf from her hair. He twirled it in his fingers and smiled at her. “Yes, I was. You distracted me.”

She smiled at his mocking accusatory tone. “I did, and it was entirely on purpose.”

Alex rose to his feet and held out a hand. “I had a feeling you did.” He picked up his tee-shirt and slipped it over his head before taking her fingers in his. “No more distractions.”

“Not even a little bit?”

He couldn’t keep back the smile at her innocent tone. “Maybe a little bit.” He leaned down and stole a kiss from her, then danced back when she tried to swat him away.

“Now who’s the distracting one?” she asked.

“I just needed to give you a reason to follow me,” he called over his shoulder.

“Like I needed one,” she replied with a laugh, running to keep up with him.

Alex led her through the trees as fast as he could. She cut corners and tried to beat him, but he dodged her attempts and turned, steering them up the incline. By the time they reached the top of the cliff, Alex was gasping for air as much as she was.

“You don’t give up,” he breathed, collapsing onto his back on the cliff edge.

“You, neither,” she replied, dropping to her knees beside him. “You’d think with all this forest to run in, you’d be in much better condition.”

He laughed up at her. “Yeah, you’d think.”

She put a hand on his chest as she stared out at the small lake below the cliff. The sun had sunk beneath the distant mountains, lighting the forest in hues of gold and red. Orange and pink hung in the clouds that darkened overhead, promising rain by nightfall.

“It’s so beautiful,” Siale whispered. “It’s like...”

Curious as to why her words had faded away, Alex looked up at Siale. She was studying him hard, concern sharp in her features. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Your heart. It skipped.”

Alex sat up, slipping away from her hand on his chest. “Yeah,” he said, feigning nonchalance. “It’s nothing.”

“That’s not nothing, Alex.”

He lifted his shoulders. “It happens sometimes. It’s no big deal.”

“It is a big deal.”

Siale watched him the way Cassie did sometimes, as if she was waiting for him to collapse. Alex couldn’t stand being looked at that way. He rose to his feet. “Dr. Benjamin wasn’t too concerned.” His heart skipped another beat.

Siale stood beside him. “If you’re going to lie, you should probably get better at it,” she said quietly.

Alex stared at the sunset as if trying to bore a hole in it.

After a few minutes had passed, Siale’s arm slipped through his. “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I shouldn’t pry.”

Alex turned. “I just don’t want you to worry,” he told her. “You’ve been through enough. You shouldn’t have to worry about me, too.” His voice dropped. “The last thing you need is a broken boyfriend.”

He studied the ground past her shoulder, unable to meet her gaze.

She let out a little breath, tempering it with a smile. “We’re a matched set.” She put her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. “We’re both broken in our own ways.”

He wrapped his arms around her. It was the only choice he had when she was so near. Holding her reminded him that at least one of the hard things he had gone through ended up with something good.

“We’ll do what we can to fix each other,” Siale said.

Alex smiled down at her. “Good luck with that.”

“You’re unfixable?” she asked with her teasing smile, her gray eyes bright.

He chuckled. “You’re just now figuring that out?”

She slapped his shoulder softly. Taking his hand, she turned to watch the last of the sun’s rays reflect off of the lake below.

“Jump with me,” Alex said.

The wide-eyed look she gave him made him bite back a smile. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “Trust me.”

“I do trust you, Alex. What I don’t trust is leaping from this high of a cliff into a lake that may or may not be filled with sharp rocks on the bottom waiting to smash us to pieces.”

“I’ve done it before,” Alex told her. “You won’t get hurt.”

“What if I told you I can’t swim?”

Alex stared at her. “You can’t swim?”

She shook her head.

“I’ll teach you.”

“By making me jump off this cliff?”

Alex shrugged, watching her closely. He didn’t want to push her into doing something she wasn’t comfortable with, but he knew how strong she was.

“Fine.” The resolve in her voice held a touch of fear. “As long as you promise not to let go.”

“Done.” Alex took her hand and stepped to the edge of the cliff.

“Not like that,” Siale protested. She loosened his grip, then interlocked her fingers in his. Only the tightness of her jaw let him know the courage she was drawing on.

Alex studied the water below. “You can count if you want,” he offered.

Siale shook her head. “Just jump.”

Alex bent his knees, then changed his mind and pulled her to him. He kissed her firmly on the lips. “You’re going to be fine,” he promised.

She stared at him. Before he gave in to his wish to stay on the cliff top beside her forever, Alex jumped, pulling her off the ledge after him. A little yelp of fear escaped her, then they were under water.

Chapter Thirteen

Alex waited until his feet touched the bottom. He pushed off hard, pulling her up after him. He felt her fingers loosen in her panic, but he held on tight until their heads broke the surface.

“Alex, help me!” she gasped, gulping in air and water.

Alex held her as he kicked, keeping her up.

“Stay calm,” he directed.

In her panic, she tried to climb on top of him, pushing him under. Alex kicked back to the surface and ducked behind her. He looped one arm across her chest and used the other to paddle and keep them both afloat. Siale’s hands latched onto his arm as thought it was a lifeline.

“You’re okay,” he said quietly into her ear. “I’ve got you and I’m not going to let you drown.”

“I’m...scared,” she said.

He could feel her muscles trembling as she forced herself not to struggle. Her breaths became steady as she let him hold her up, putting her complete trust in his abilities.

“That’s it,” Alex told her. “Just relax. Easy now.”

Soon, they were floating in the middle of the lake, her hands on his arm with a grip that wasn’t quite as tight as before.

“Ready to try this?”

Siale nodded, but didn’t speak.

“Loosen your grip,” he instructed. “I’m going to hold you up.”

After a minute, she did as he said. Her fingers released their hold and he held her up gently.

“Stretch out on your back. Keep flat like a plank, and fill your chest with air. It helps with the buoyancy.”

There was something so amazing in the way she followed his words without question. Alex felt like he held the most priceless gift in his hands. He had to tell himself over and over that he was worthy of it.

“That’s it. Tip your head back. Hear yourself breathe.” Alex kept his voice calm and quiet. “You don’t have to kick your legs or move your arms. If you keep your lungs full of air and your back arched, you can stay like this for as long as you need.”

He felt her body relax as she followed his directions. With her ears under water, he knew she listened to the rise and fall of her breath, that it blocked out all else, even his words.

He lost track of how much time they stayed in the lake. Siale’s eyes closed, and only the slight movements of her hands in the water and her breath let him know that she was alright. He kept one hand on the small of her back, not holding her up, but letting her know that he was there if she needed him. He floated beside her, leaning up now and then to make sure she was doing okay.

Eventually, long after the sun had set, Siale let out her breath and lowered her legs. Alex held her again and her hands settled on his arms, not with bruising force this time, but gently, calmly. He swam them both to shore.

“Next time, we’ll work on doggy paddling,” he said as they settled on the grass at the edge of the lake. “It’s not fancy, but it can save your life.”

“It was gone.”

Siale’s soft words caught Alex’s attention. He looked at her to find that she wasn’t watching him, but the water. The moonlight played upon the gentle waves brought up by the night breeze. The light was shattered, drifting, like silver leaves floating on a vast black ocean.

“What was gone?” he asked quietly.

“The memories, the fear, the General, and the pit.” She looked up at him, her eyes wide with tears. “It was all gone.”

Alarm filled him. “Siale, I’m sorry if—”

She shook her head, cutting him off. “You did it, Alex. You found a way for me to escape it all. For the first time since I was kidnapped, I was able to find peace in my own mind instead of being plagued by the things I went through.” The tears broke free, drifting down her already wet cheeks.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

She nodded, taking his hand. “More than okay.” She took a deep breath and let it out. “For the first time, I feel like I can breathe.” She smiled up at him. “I needed that more than you know. I felt like I was going crazy, like if I didn’t find a way to escape, I was going to be buried under those things forever.”

Alex watched her closely. “They’re not gone.”

She shook her head. “They never will be. But being able to just be, just for a moment, reminded me of who I am beneath it.”

“You’re amazing.”

She leaned up to kiss him tenderly on the cheek. She then cupped his cheek in her hand. “You, Alex, are amazing.”

A howl sounded. Alex froze, listening. Another voice joined in, then another.

Siale read the look on his face. “What’s wrong?”

Alex stood slowly, his attention on the northern forest. “Those tones mean danger.”

Two other howls rose into the night.

Alex tore off his shirt.

“What’s going on?” Siale asked in alarm.

“That’s Rafe and Colleen. They need help,” Alex told her.

“I’m coming with you,” Siale said.

Alex was about to protest, but the look on her face said that she wouldn’t listen. He ran behind a tree and phased. When he came back out, she was already waiting in the form of a lithe light gray wolf with white marks on her shoulders and chest.

Alex raised his muzzle to the moon and gave an answering howl, combining the tones of his name along with the notes that said they were on their way. Additional howls rose from the Academy. Jaze and the others would be close behind.

Alex led the way through the trees. He dodged a trunk and leaped over a small bush, grateful for the way his wolf eyesight illuminated the obstacles so he could avoid them. Siale kept close to his side, dodging right when he went left, and clearing the river the same time that he did. Her paws hit the ground almost soundlessly as the pair flew through the midnight forest.

Sounds of fighting reached Alex’s ears before they entered the clearing. The small cabin nestled in the secluded valley was an all too familiar of a reminder about the first time he had almost killed Drogan, and in turn nearly been slain by his half-brother.

He didn’t have time to think about that. Wolves filled the valley, snarling, angry wolves that fought Rafe’s pack tooth and claw. The scent of the valley let Alex know that these were werewolves. He had no idea if it was a territory fight, or if the werewolves meant danger to the Academy. All he knew was that Rafe and Colleen had called for help.

Alex dove in with Siale at his side. He sliced and bit, using his fangs to drive werewolves back all the while keeping Siale in his view so he could protect her if they were too strong.

The logical part of his mind counted two dozen werewolves, more by far than he and Siale could take on even with Rafe and Colleen. The werewolves snarled and drooled as they attacked. Their howls reached a pitch that rang in Alex’s memory. When he realized what it was, he nearly froze in his tracks.

Hounds. The werewolves they fought were hounds from the General, brainwashed werewolves sent to attack and destroy anything in their path. He wondered how the General had found so many. They were everywhere, biting, tearing, and destroying anything they could reach. Fear for Siale filled Alex. He fell back, pushing her behind him. If the hounds were after her, he didn’t know how he would be able to defend her against so many.

They surrounded the pair. He could see Rafe and Colleen near the edge of the valley fighting for their lives as well. Fallen wolves lay around them, animals from the valley along with others Alex didn’t recognize.

A werewolf latched onto Alex’s shoulder, tearing it wide open. Alex grabbed the werewolf by the throat and threw it with a jerk of his head. He took down one intent on Siale, then another was on his shoulders, his jaws digging down toward the place where Alex’s skull met his spinal cord.

Alex rolled backwards, slamming the wolf to the ground. He spun and tore out the hound’s throat before two more latched onto his sides. Another hound grabbed his back paw, its sharp fangs breaking the small bones. A fourth bit Alex’s shoulder where it had already been torn open.

Blue burned at the edges of his vision. Alex heard Siale’s cry of pain. The thought of her in trouble caused the blue to overcome everything, his thoughts, his pain, and his actions. His muscles expanded and his limbs lengthened. He rose off the ground with a howl of rage.

The werewolves around him stared in amazed horror. Alex grabbed two of them and smashed them together. He backhanded a third across the face and its head snapped around. The fourth took off yelping in the other direction.

Alex spotted Siale pinned against a pine tree with low sweeping branches. Her muzzle was red and blood colored the white marks on her fur. The sight of Siale bleeding turned everything in Alex’s sight into slow motion. He reached the werewolves attacking her in two massive strides. He picked up three of them at once and held them against his chest in a grip so tight he felt their ribcages collapse. He dropped them to the ground and grabbed two more. Their yelping cries cut off with a quick jerk of his clawed hands.

Alex met Siale’s stare for one brief moment before he turned away. He dropped onto all fours. His claws tore into the earth as he raced to Rafe and Colleen. He hit the pack of hounds around them like a battering ram. Breaking and then throwing the beasts to each side, Alex cleared a path for Rafe and Colleen to escape. One of Rafe’s golden eyes was clouded with blood and he limped as he helped his wife to safety.

The hounds seemed to realize that running from Alex wouldn’t work. Changing tactics, they attacked in a group. For a second, Alex was buried beneath the snapping, tearing, writhing bodies of the General’s werewolves. He could hear howls as Jaze as the others reached the valley. He knew if the hounds finished him, Siale and the professors would be next, with the Academy close behind.

Alex gathered all of his strange strength and stood with a force that threw the werewolves away from him. He slammed heads together, caught the paws of retreating wolves and threw them against trees, and pounded those who remained into the ground. Eventually, the deranged growls and rolling eyes of the imposters stopped.

Alex sucked in deep breaths, staring at the pile of bodies around him. His hands began to shake. The blue faded from his vision. He collapsed onto the pile as his strength left him.

“Alex!” Jaze shouted.

Running footsteps reached him. He felt gentle hands pull him away. A blanket was set on top of him. His body trembled in the aftermath of morphing.

“You’re okay.” He recognized Professor Dray’s voice.

Alex opened his eyes to see the face of the only other werewolf he knew of who had morphed into something that wasn’t wolf or human.

“You’re going to be alright,” Dray said, his gaze filled with understanding. “You saved them.”

Alex looked past Dray into Siale’s questioning eyes. There was fear on her face, but it wasn’t directed at him. “What were they?” she asked.

“H-hounds,” Alex forced out. He tried to sit up. Dray helped with a hand under his shoulder. When Alex winced, the werewolf made him lean forward.

“We need to clean that so it’ll heal,” Dray said. “Siale, can you stay with him?”

At her nod, Dray left them beneath the tree.

Siale scooted closer and glanced behind him. “Your shoulder,” she said, her face white.

“It’ll heal,” Alex told her. “Are you okay?”

She nodded, but when she set her hand on his knee, her fingers trembled. He covered her hand with his own. The sight of blood beneath his fingernails made his stomach turn over. “Are you sure?”

“Wh-what was that? Wh-why did they...” Her voice faded away.

“The hounds are werewolves the General brainwashed.” At the mention of the General, Siale’s face paled further. Alex kept her eyes locked with his. “I’m not going to let them get you. I promise.”

She nodded. Her eyebrows drew together. “Alex, what happened to you?” she asked softly.

He shrugged, then winced when the movement pulled at his shoulder. “I’m not sure. Professor Dray calls it morphing.” He tried to lean against the tree, but couldn’t do so without more pain. “He’s the only other werewolf I know that it’s happened to.”

Dray came back with a bottle of water and Colleen at his side.

“Alex, you saved us,” Colleen said, dropping to her knees next to Siale. “We couldn’t fight them all.”

“Glad I could help,” Alex said tightly.

Dray put a hand on his good shoulder. “Can you lean forward again?” he asked.

When Alex gingerly obeyed, the professor poured the water over his wound, flushing out any debris left from the fight. Alex gritted his teeth at the sharp pain of anything touching the gaping flesh.

“There’s a tooth in it,” Dray said. “I need to pull it out.”

Alex leaned his head against his hands. He felt like he was about to pass out.

“Look at me, Alex,” Siale instructed.

He opened his eyes to find her face close to his. “You’re going to be okay,” she said. She put her lips to his mouth.

Alex kissed her as pain filled his shoulder, and then eased. Siale sat back with a hand on his arm.

“Got it,” Dray said. Alex didn’t have to look back to know the professor was smiling. “That was easy.”