Werewolf Academy Book 1: Strays (21 page)

He was surprised to hear voices from below when he stepped in the closet. He closed the door behind him and listened for a few seconds.

“We have no idea how they found her, or why he was holding her,”
Brock said.

“You have some idea,” Vance replied.

“That’s a discussion for a later date,” Jaze answered.

At the sound of the dean’s voice, Alex raised his hand to the
door; all talking below ceased.

“Why is Alex up there?” he heard Jaze ask quietly.

“He was down here,” Brock replied.

“What?” Vance demanded, his tone heated. “Why was a student down here?”

“What matters is what he saw,” Jaze answered, his voice level. “Is that why he’s here?”

Alex could picture Brock nodding. He felt bad for putting the human in the situation, but he needed to talk to Jaze, and Brock’s honesty was the only thing that could get him through the door.

“He saw it all,” Brock said, his voice showing the same exhaustion Alex felt. “He and Cassie both. They watched the rescue.”

“Let him down,” Jaze said.

Footsteps sounded on the stairs.

“He shouldn’t be down here,” Vance argued. “He of all werewolves. If
Drogan was to capture him—”

“Then we have all failed,” Jaze finished quietly.

Brock opened the door. He gave Alex a weak smile around a sucker that was in his mouth. “I figured you’d be here,” he said.

Alex
gave him a humorless smile in return. “I didn’t want to miss the party. By the way, how’d everyone get here without me hearing? I was listening for cars.”

“Let me keep at least some secrets,” Brock replied.

Alex nodded in answer and followed Brock down the stairs. He paused at the sight of the werewolves who had been a part of Jaze’s team sitting around an oval table.

“You’re welcome here,” Jaze said.

Vance’s expression told otherwise, but Alex ignored him. He took the seat Jaze indicated.

Jaze studied him for a minute in silence. As much as he wanted to ask all the questions that had been swirling around in his mind for the past few hours, Alex held his tongue.

“What would you like to know?” the dean asked, his attention fully on Alex.

“He shouldn’t know anything,” Chet pointed out, though his tone was less harsh than Vance’s.

Jaze met the Alpha’s gaze. “You all know how this affects Alex and Cassie.” An affectionate smile touched the dean’s lips when he saw the tired expressions on his team’s faces. “Get some sleep, everyone. It’s a school day in about,” he checked the clock above Brock, “Two hours. Better make them count.”

“Can’t we just tell the students we slept in?” Kaynan asked, stifling a yawn.

Alex fought back a small smile at the same comment Trent had made, though Kaynan said it without the whine.

“I’m sure Grace could cover for you,” Jaze replied with a chuckle.

“And leave my wife to those animals?” Kaynan asked, his tone aghast. He glanced at Alex and winked. “Not that we’re much better.”

Alex answered with a good-natured smile.

Kaynan rose and patted Alex on the shoulder as he walked past. A few of the others did the same before stumbling tiredly up the stairs. Alex wondered how many alarm clocks would be broken in the morning.

“Go ahead, Brock,” Jaze said, dismissing the human.

“Are you sure?” Brock asked. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on the monitors and with Mouse out repairing equipment. . . .”

Jaze nodded. “Go ahead. I’ve got things down here.”

Brock gave him a grateful smile and gathered up a few bags of snacks for his trip up the stairs. “I’m wasting away without your mother’s cooking,” Brock said with a sorrowful sigh. “I’ll catch some shuteye and be back in a couple of hours.”

“Take what you need,” Jaze said.

When the door closed above to leave only the two of them in the security room, Jaze sat back in his seat. Alex imagined he looked as tired as the dean, but he couldn’t rest until he had some answers. Now that everyone was gone, Alex leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

“Who is she?”

Jaze nodded at the question as if he had been anticipating it. There was a light of understanding in his eyes that was tempered by sadness. “I’m sorry you saw that. I wished I could have explained it first.”

“We insisted on being down here.” Alex rubbed his eyes with one hand. “I just don’t understand what it was that we saw.”

Jaze took in a slow breath. His gaze was searching as if he debated how much to tell the student. He let the breath out slowly. “You’ve been like a son to Nikki and I,” he said.

Alex nodded, keeping silent.

“You’ve gone through so much.” Jaze opened a hand. “I have, too,” he said with a weary smile. “I suppose that’s why I felt we could help you and Cassie. We wanted you to live a normal life.”

Alex didn’t know what the Alpha was getting at. He was anxious to have his question answered, but it felt like Jaze was stalling. Jaze never stalled as a matter of principle. He was always straight-forward and honest. The direction the conversation was taking confused Alex even more.

He couldn’t hold it in any longer. “I just want to know who she is.”

Jaze was silent for a few seconds. When he spoke, he gave Alex a sad smile. “She’s your mother’s twin sister.”

Alex stared at the dean. He was filled with amazement and disappointment at the same time. The part of him that hoped Cassie’s words were true, the part that wished his mother had somehow survived the night, faded to leave the gaping hole his parents’ death had created in his heart. It hurt to let that hope go, even though he had known at the time how ridiculous a hope it had been.

Yet the other side was filled with relief. He had felt something when he saw the woman on the screen, even though he knew she wasn’t his mother. Now he knew why. She was family, perhaps the only family Alex and Cassie had left.

Alex shook his head, thinking aloud, “I didn’t know Mom had a twin sister.”

The dean gave a gentle smile. “
There are quite a few things you don’t know.” Before Alex could ask any more questions, Jaze held up a hand. “Those things will be cleared up in time, but now is not the opportunity to address them.”

Alex nodded, as much as he wanted to ask. He had never questioned Jaze’s words, and
refused to start doing so.

“I will explain what I can,” Jaze continued. “You know that
Drogan has been looking for you and Cassie. We put that to revenge against what Jet did. He brought them down and pretty much single-handedly freed the werewolves General Jared Carso and his men gathered to destroy. Jet made them look foolish, and even though he died, I don’t think they can forgive that.”

“So why capture my mom’s sister?” Alex asked.

Jaze’s brow furrowed. “We can only figure that they meant to use her as bait. Whether you knew your mom had a twin or not, if you saw her, you would try to rescue her.”

The truth of Jaze’s words burned in Alex’s chest. He knew how fatal such an action would be, but he would have tried.

“Is she alright?” Alex asked.

Jaze nodded. “She suffers from dehydration and
minor wounds as a result of Drogan’s captivity, but I think she’ll be okay. She’s in our safe house across the forest from here.”

The need that burned in his chest to ascertain her safety surprised Alex. “Can I see her?”

Jaze hesitated, then shook his head. “I don’t think now would be a good time. There’s a reason your mother kept her existence from you. If it was to protect her, we need to make sure both your safety and your aunt’s is taken into consideration.”

“I understand,” Alex said softly.

His words surprised Jaze. “You do?”

Alex nodded. “I don’t want her to end up like my mom. If not knowing us will keep her from that, then it’s worth it.”

Jaze’s gaze softened. He set a hand on Alex’s knee. “You have carried so much, and you’re still so young. I lost my dad when I was seventeen, but I wasn’t there.” Memories flooded through the dean’s eyes. Alex could tell he was seeing things that haunted him. “I couldn’t imagine going through what you did at your age. When it’s safe, I’ll introduce you to her. Until then, we’ll do everything we can to make her comfortable.”

Alex nodded. Jaze’s words and confidence meant the world to him. A yawn caught him by surprise.

Jaze smiled. “You better get to bed yourself.”

“What about you?” Alex asked.

Jaze stretched. “Oh, I’ve got another few hours in me.” He winked at Alex. “You don’t have to worry about this old man.”

Alex
smiled as he stood. “Oh, come on. You’re only what, forty?”

Jaze
barked out a laugh in reply. “I’m younger than that, Alex.”

“
How old are you in dog years?” Alex asked.

Jaze pushed him toward the stairs. “Get to bed. I don’t need your cheekiness.”

Alex laughed and ran up the stairs. He paused at the top and turned. “Jaze?”

Jaze looked up at him. “Yes?”

“Thank you for saving my aunt.”

“You’re welcome,” Jaze replied. “We’ll do everything we can for her.”

Alex shut the door behind him and walked up the stairs to his room. A few of the early rising students said hello to him in the hallway. He mumbled barely audible answers before making his way to his room. He almost fell into an exhausted heap on the bed until he remembered that Cassie was beneath the red blanket on top. Alex let out a sigh, grabbed a pillow, and settled on the floor.

“It’s not her, is it?”

The heartache in Cassie’s voice made all of the emotions from the past few hours storm back. Tears burned in Alex’s eyes.

“I thought you were asleep,” he said, sitting up.

Cassie pulled the blanket down just enough to look at him. Her eyes were rimmed with red. “I knew it couldn’t be her. But I hoped. . . .” her voice fell away.

Alex opened his arms and Cassie came down to sit in his lap like
she used to do when they first lost their mom and dad. He held her close and felt her shoulders shake as she began to cry. He wondered how many hours he had spent holding her and consoling her, trying to keep his sanity at the same time past the empty void that filled him at the thought that their parents were gone.

“It’s okay,” he whispered quietly int
o her hair. “You have me, Cass. I won’t leave you alone.”

She sniffed. “Do you remember the way she used to sing to us to wake us up in the morning?”
she asked, her voice muffled.

Alex blinked quickly, willing the tears not to fall. “Yes,” he said, his voice almost steady. “She sang, ‘Zipadeedoodah’, and it would always make us laugh.”

“And if we pretended to still be sleeping,” Cassie began.

“She would tickle us until we gave up,” Alex replied. The tears began to slide down his cheeks. “She smelled like strawberries.”

“And cookies,” Cassie said. She gave a little giggle that ended in a hiccup. “She used to tell the best bedtime stories.”

“She always checked for monsters under the bed, too,” Alex said. The sorrow that filled his chest made his heart hurt.
He remembered the million things his mother used to do that made their lives wonderful, the games they used to play, the things she would teach them how to cook.

“Do you remember making lemon bars?” Alex asked past the knot in his throat.

“She got mad at us for getting covered in powdered sugar,” Cassie replied. Her laugh ended in a sob. “Then she chased us around and we had a big powdered sugar fight. In the end, the entire house was covered. Dad said he thought a sugar bomb had gone off.”

“Yeah,” Alex remembered with a smile despite his tears, “Then we all attacked him
with the sugar. He looked like a giant snowman when we were done.”

Cassie wiped her cheek with a corner of her red blanket. “Dad had the warmest hugs.”

Alex nodded. “I used to think that nobody could hurt us with Dad around. He was so strong.” His voice choked off.

“He used to play dollies with me,” Cassie said. She cried as she spoke, “He did the voices and everything. He said every daddy needed to remember what it was like to be a child.”

“I miss them so much,” Alex admitted, saying the words he had refused to let himself speak for years because he was afraid of the pain they brought, and of admitting that they were never coming back. Seeing what he thought was his mom’s face, then having that taken away again had brought the ache back so fresh and real he could barely breathe.

“I do, too,” Cassie said. She leaned against Alex’s arm. His sleeve was soaked with her tears. “Mom used to fall asleep on the couch waiting for Dad to come home for work.”

“She said she couldn’t sleep in the bed without him because it was too empty.” Alex sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “I remember the first time Mom told me we had a brother. You were asleep, but when it was close to the full moon, I had a hard time sleeping. When Mom checked on us, she saw that I was awake. I asked her to tell me a story, and she told me about Jet.”