Werewolf Academy 07 Chosen (28 page)

Alex struggled to rise. “What is it?” he asked.

He didn’t need a response. Trent angled the helicopter to the left and the werewolf’s shock was explained.

The Academy lay in ruins. The Great Hall had collapsed inward, the students’ quarters lay in a broken mess where the classrooms had been, and half of the wall had fallen in. Dust clouded the dark air, blocking out the moonlight with debris.

“
What happened?” Meredith asked in dismay.

“
Jaze must have had no other option,” Kaynan replied. Sorrow filled the red-eyed professor’s voice.

“
He did that?” Siale asked. Her hand gripped Alex’s hard.

The wounds from the Demon’s teeth didn’t hurt nearly as bad as his heart at the sight of the fallen Academy.

Vance nodded. “The Academy was designed with this in mind if something like Drogan’s Demons attacked and there was no way to destroy them.” He didn’t take his eyes off the wreckage when he concluded, “I just never imagined it would come to that. I don’t know how Jaze could have gotten out.”

“
What about the children?”

Meredith’s question hung in the air as Trent landed in the courtyard. Parts of the yard had collapsed inward into the Wolf Den, leaving gaping holes where students had once played and learned to embrace their heritage.

“
Stay here,” Vance told Alex as soon as the struts hit the ground. “We’ll let you know what we find.”

Meredith held Alex’s other hand while she and Siale stared after the others. Thoughts of little William and baby Vicki swarmed Alex’s mind.

“
You can’t stay here,” he said.

“
We’re staying,” Meredith replied firmly, but her gaze strayed to the fallen school.

“
They need everyone to help find Jaze and the kids. William and Vicki need you,” Alex urged.

Siale shook her head. “We can’t leave you, Alex,” she protested.

“
You’ve got to look for them for me,” Alex pleaded. “I’d be out there, but I can’t. It kills me to think of them hurt and alone. They’re probably so scared.” He let go of Siale’s hand and cupped her cheek. “You’ve got to find them for me. They’ve got to be alright.”

“
Okay,” Siale breathed. She kissed him quickly on the cheek. “I won’t give up until they’re back here, alright?”

“
Thank you,” he replied with relief.

As soon as Siale was gone, Alex turned to his mother. “Every person counts in a search like this.”

“
I know,” Meredith said.

“
They’re our family,” Alex reminded her. He could see William sitting on his lap again as they spoke about losing his mother. Little Vicki had been snuggled in her father’s arms while they both slept. Alex wouldn’t forgive himself if they were crying for him and he didn’t do what he could to make sure they were saved. “Mom, you’ve got to go find them.”

“
I know I do,” Meredith replied. Alex could hear the worry in her voice. She hesitated a moment, then looked at him. “You’ll stay here?”

“
I’m not going anywhere,” Alex reassured her. He tried to sit up, but the pain made him lay back down. “See?” he said wryly, frustrated by his weakness.

Meredith gently pulled the I.V. line from his arm and pressed a bandage to the exit hole. “You promise you’ll stay here?”

“
I promise,” he repeated. “Please go find them.”

Alex listened to her footsteps across the lawn. He could hear the others combing through the wreckage. The sound of bricks collapsing and the heavy scent of dust in the air let him know how recently the explosion had happened. He could only pray they would find Jaze and the children.

Alex closed his eyes and willed his body to soak in the moonlight. His torn neck and lacerated body ached as it healed. The sensation was warm but hurt at the same time. He could feel the damp helicopter floor below his bare back. The stickiness reminded him that the moisture was from his blood. He shifted his body in an attempt to find a more comfortable position.

A groan reached his ears. Alex froze.

“
Kaynan?” he called. “Chet?”

There was no response. Alex pushed up gingerly. He felt the healing parts of his body pull in protest. Fresh blood dripped down his chest.

Alex moved slowly to the edge of the chopper. He put his feet on the ground and held onto the helicopter as he pushed up. His knees held by sheer strength of will.

The groan sounded again. Alex gritted his teeth and took a step forward, then another. He reached the edge of a hole. His eyes adjusted slower than usual to the murky darkness that had once been the Wolf Den. A slight glimmer caught the moonlight.

Alex squinted. His heart slowed at the sight of the silver seven that matched the one on his shoulder. His eyes traced the black shadow he knew by heart. Jet’s statue had fallen through the Wolf Den’s ceiling. Dirt and debris from the collapse had fallen with it.

The groan sounded again and a form moved beneath the statue. Adrenaline ran through Alex’s veins when he realized who he looked at.

“
Drogan,” Alex growled.

He jumped into the hole. The voice in the back of his mind mentioned that the move might have been a bit foolhardy given his current condition. Alex bit back a gasp when he hit the ground and his knees gave out.

A pained chuckle sounded that set Alex’s teeth on edge. “My Demons must have made an impact.”

Alex fought back the urge to yell. He preserved his strength and said quietly to hide his pain, “You sicced them on the crowd.”

“
You…didn’t uphold your promise,” Drogan replied.

“
You mean my word to kill an unarmed human?” Alex demanded. He rose back to his feet and barely felt the pain as he made his way to his half-brother’s side. “The word you knew I would never keep?”

“
You are Jaze’s blood,” Drogan replied dryly.

“
You are, too,” Alex reminded him.

Alex paused when he got close enough to really see Drogan. Jet’s statue had landed fully on the Extremist. Drogan’s ribcage was crushed beneath the black wolf’s head. Blood ran across the floor in a dark puddle.

“
You’re dead, Drogan.”

They were words Alex had wanted to say ever since the Extremist killed their parents. Alex had trained every possible moment at the Academy to seek his revenge. So many lives had been lost and others lived in terror that Drogan would seek them out. The Extremist had haunted Alex’s every step, killed his friends, and threatened the peace and security he and Cassie had fought so hard to achieve. Now, that moment had come.

Alex’s strength waned. His knees let go and he sank back to the ground.

Drogan gave a weak smile; blood coated his teeth. “You look about dead yourself.”

Alex glared at him. “Don’t get your hopes up. I’m pretty hard to kill.”

“
You’re telling me,” Drogan muttered. The Extremist coughed. The cough turned into a hack that colored his lips with blood. He closed his eyes.

Despite his façade, Alex could feel his wounds taking their toll. As much as he wanted to end Drogan’s life, his condition made him inclined to just sit back and watch.

“
Kill me.” Drogan’s eyes opened and he gave Alex a pleading look, the first Alex ever remembered seeing. The Extremist winced with an expression of severe pain. “Alex, please.”

Alex warred with the empathy he definitely got from his mother rather than the General. He could end Drogan’s suffering and give the Extremist peace. He was looking at his brother, his own flesh and blood. The only thing Drogan wanted from him was to die, the exact thing Alex wanted from Drogan himself. He was tempted to do it when the memory of burying Jericho surfaced in Alex’s mind. Cherish wore a ring without her love at her side. A pack stood without an Alpha. A mother lived without her son and the brothers Jet had worked so hard to bring back together.

Alex shook his head. “Suffer,” he said, his voice level.

Drogan closed his eyes again. His breath rattled in his chest. Alex didn’t know how the Extremist was still alive. The same moonlight that had illuminated the seven on the statue’s shoulder was centered on Drogan’s chest. He wondered if it healed the werewolf just enough to keep his heart beating.

“
She’s some girl.” Drogan’s eyes were closed. He spoke without opening them. “I enjoyed causing her pain. She used to be so fresh and new, before I got to her.”

Alex tried not to listen. He told himself that perhaps Drogan was talking about somebody else. Maybe the Extremist was remembering a girlfriend; that would be bad enough. Perhaps he was disoriented from the loss of blood. Maybe he didn’t know what he was saying.

Drogan’s eyes opened and his mismatched gaze locked on Alex. “I made Siale suffer every way I could think of.”

Alex rose to his feet.

“
When I ran out of ideas,” Drogan continued, “I asked my men. They always came up with something.”

Alex grabbed a huge chunk of cement from the floor on his way to the statue.

“
When she stopped screaming, I knew I was really getting somewhere,” Drogan said, his eyes closing again. “I used to—”

His words ended when the block of cement crushed his head.

Alex rested his forehead against the statue, his strength rushing out of him.

“
It’s done, Jet,” he whispered.

“
Alex!” Siale yelled.

Chapter Twenty-nine

Alex ran through ruins of the Academy toward Siale’s voice. The fear in her tone spurred him faster. He forgot about pain, Drogan’s death, and the Academy itself. All that mattered to him was reaching his love and making sure she was alright. Fear that the Demons had reached the school pulsed through him. Now that their Alpha was dead, there was no telling what they would do.

“
Alex!”

He rounded the corner of the fallen Wolf Den. His steps faltered at the sight in front of him.

Kaynan and Chet stood on one side of a huge cement support beam. Vance and Rafe stood on the other. Both sets of werewolves were trying to lift the beam off of Jaze. Siale knelt by Jaze’s side and held his hand with tears streaking down her face. The pain of the dean’s expression ate through Alex. Brock, his face covered in dried blood and one arm held tightly to his side, tried to do what he could to ease Jaze’s pain.

Alex ran forward and forced the Demon to take over. Though his injured body tried to protest, Alex forced it to obey. Blue filled his vision and the Demon surged through his limbs.

“
Alex, wait!” Kaynan protested.

Alex ignored him and grabbed the end of the cement beam. Using all that remained of his strength, he lifted the pillar. Alex’s knees shook. He gritted his teeth and lifted higher. It took every last ounce of strength from the Demon to hold the beam high enough to clear the dean’s crushed body.

Kaynan reached under and pulled Jaze free.

“
Clear,” Chet shouted.

Alex let the beam go. It fell to the floor with a resounding crash and broke into pieces.

Gray swirled through Alex’s vision when the blue left. His legs buckled and he fell forward.

“
Easy,” Rafe said. The golden-eyed werewolf lowered him to a sitting position on the ground. Siale put a hand on his arm, her soft gray eyes filled with tears.

“
Alex.”

The sound of the dean’s voice was enough to bring Alex back to his knees. With the help of Rafe and Siale, he crawled to Jaze’s side.

Jaze held up a hand. His fingers shook with the effort. Alex took it in his own shaking hand and wrapped his other one around it.

“
Alex,” Jaze whispered again. His dark brown eyes were filled with pain and his breath wheezed each time he sucked in a gasp.

“
I’m here,” Alex reassured him.

Jaze looked at him, but his gaze was distant as though he didn’t see the younger werewolf kneeling in front of him. “Take care…of…William and Vicki,” the dean said. His words grew quieter with each syllable.

“
Jaze, are they alive?” Siale asked anxiously.

“
We can’t find them,” Kaynan said, agony bright in his crimson eyes.

Jaze lifted his free hand and pointed with a trembling finger. Siale jumped to her feet and raced with Kaynan to the corner where Brock’s cousin Caden used to prepare the weapons. The huge gun safe had been embedded in the wall. Dents showed in the black metal, but the door was otherwise unharmed.

“
What’s the combination?” Kaynan called.

Jaze closed his eyes. A tear slipped down his cheeks. “Six, one, one.”

Kaynan spun the dial.

“
The day Nikki and I got married,” Jaze continued. His words were more of a sigh that spilled from his lips. A drop of blood followed.

A baby’s cry broke through the air.

“
Oh, thank goodness,” Alex heard Kaynan say from the safe.

“
Aunt Siale,” little William sobbed.

“
I’ve got you,” she replied.

Jaze said something Alex couldn’t hear. He leaned down.

The dean raised his free hand to the empty air and whispered, “Nikki, I’ve missed you so much.”

Alex’s tears fell on the hand he clasped. “Don’t go,” he pleaded.

A slight smile touched the corners of Jaze’s mouth. “You’re even more beautiful…than I remember.”

His labored breathing sounded harsh to Alex’s ears.

“
I-I don’t know what to do without you,” he told the dean.

Jaze’s gaze focused on his face. A knowing look Alex recognized touched the dean’s pained expression. “You’ll…know,” he said. He winced and shifted as though trying to find a more comfortable position. He gave up and a weak smile touched his lips. “You’ve…always known.”

Alex shook his head. “You’ve always helped me.” His tears dripped down his nose to the dean’s hand.