“You have each other,” I told them in a more serious tone. “That’s more than I had starting out. Worry more about being a family than a pack. Hierarchy is only there for protection, and you already have safety here.” I looked at the teenagers who waited behind me. “When your children come back, they’re going to have a whole lot of insight into this world to share with you.” I turned back to their parents. “Learn from your children and teach them what you know. Together, your pack will be much better off.”

  The rumble of vehicles caught my ear. I glanced over my shoulder to see a string of cars and trucks heading our way at a far faster pace than they probably should have been traveling.

  “That’s our ride,” I told Stix. “Watch over this place. I’ll have Kiyah call you when she’s feeling better.”

  Stix nodded. “Thank you, Finn.” His eyebrows pulled together and he gestured toward the teenagers and then the other werewolves. “For all of this. We have a lot to learn, but you’ve given us a start.”

  I smiled at him. “I have a lot to learn, too. Maybe someday I’ll be a good leader, but for now, what I don’t know is a lot more than what I do.”

  Stix smiled back. “Spoken like a true leader.” He nodded at my forearm. I turned it over to look at the wolf head brand. “You’ll always be a part of our Pack, Finn.”

  “Thank you,” I replied.

  Chapter Seven

  I turned to face the approaching vehicles. The first one, a big black SWAT-looking truck, was very familiar. It skidded to a stop in front of the students. When Don and Donessa Ruvine left their vehicle with the grace and elegance of their vampire race, the teenagers around me fell back.

  “Where’s Vicken?” the Don demanded without formality.

  Used to his straightforward ways, I replied, “He’s here.” At my push, the bears made their way through the werewolves and stopped in front of me. Vicken’s unconscious form on top of the biggest one looked even paler in the sunlight.

  “My boy,” the Donessa said with a gasp.

  At my motion, the bear lowered. The Don helped me ease Vicken off the bear’s back. As soon as we were clear of the animal, Don Ruvine picked his son up in his arms and carried him to the truck.

  “Thank you for bringing him back to us,” the Donessa said with tears in her eyes. She set a hand on my cheek. “You’re a good kid, Finn.”

  “Please have him call me when he wakes up,” I said. The thought that I couldn’t go to the mansion with Vicken and see to his recovery made my heart hurt. He had put everything on the line to rescue me from my kidnappers, and he had paid heavily because of it.

  “I will,” the Donessa promised. Her gaze turned to Kiyah who was being helped from one of the other bears by Rhett. “This is the girl who gave him blood?”

  I nodded. “She’s suffering from the effects. She needs liquids and rest.”

  “We can see to her care,” the Donessa replied, surprising me.

  I stared at Vicken’s mother. “She’s a werewolf.”

  The Donessa nodded. “I’ve learned to be a bit more openminded when it comes to werewolves.”

  That made me smile. “Thank you.”

  Rhett followed the Donessa to the vehicle. I walked around to the other side where Don Ruvine was busy ensuring the comfort and safety of his son. An I.V. had already been placed in Vicken’s arm by another vampire and the bed he was strapped to in the ambulance-like SUV appeared secure. It hurt to see Vicken unresponsive even to his father’s care. The fear that his head wound could be lethal pressed against my mind. I shied away from the thought. If anyone could help Vicken, it was his family.

  “Take care of him,” I told the Don needlessly before I was able to stop myself.

  Don Ruvine straightened from checking the straps and faced me. “I will. You take care of yourself.”

  “I will.”

  His gaze sharpened as he looked me up and down. “Are you sure you don’t want to come back to the mansion for some care yourself? You appear to have had a rough time here.”

  Rough didn’t describe the half of it, but I didn’t want to get into the details. The fact that Vicken’s father was speaking to me in a fatherly, concerned tone told of how much our relationship had progressed.

  “I’m fine,” I told him. “But thank you.” I looked back at the teenagers who watched us. “I have some friends to introduce to the Academy.”

  “Are they all werewolves?” the Don asked levelly.

  I nodded. “How do you think that’ll go over?”

  The hint of a smile touched the Don’s face. “I just wish I could be there to see it.”

  I smiled. “You’re the lucky one.” My smile fell. “Please let me know how Vicken’s doing.”

  “I will,” he reassured me with a stately nod. “He will hopefully be fit to call you soon.”

  “I hope so,” I replied.

  Other vehicles slowed behind the vampires. Professor Briggs stepped out of the first car.

  “Don Ruvine,” he said with a respectful bow of his head.

  “Trace Briggs,” the Don replied. He glanced at the werewolves behind me. “You’re going to have your hands full, Professor.”

  “You just wish you were the one teaching,” Briggs shot back.

  The Don gave a regal nod. “As much as I’m sure they’re afraid of you, they would be terrified of me.”

  Briggs’ grin deepened, highlighting his scar. “You say it like that’s a bad thing.”

  The Don smiled a true smile before he climbed into the back of the SUV with Vicken and his wife. A vampire shut the door, then drove them away.

  Professor Briggs used his cane to limp to me. “Are you alright?”

  The last time I had seen the professor, his anger at me for defending Uncle Conrad had made me wonder if he would ever forgive me. That thought vanished at the concern in his voice.

  “I’m fine,” I told him.

  His eyes narrowed. “Finn,” he said in a tone that let me know he guessed more than I had told him over the phone.

  “I’m alright for now,” I hedged. “But my friends need a ride to the Academy.”

  His gaze flickered over my shoulder and his eyes widened. “These are all werewolves?”

  I fought back a laugh at the fact that it was everyone’s first question. “Yes, all of them. And they’re coming back to Haunted High with us.”

  The professor studied the group who waited nervously near the huge front door of the Den. The unease that wafted from the werewolves filled me with sympathy.

  “Professor, they’re choosing to leave everything they know to go to the Academy. They need a little compassion,” I told Briggs.

  The professor narrowed his eyes at me. “When have I been lacking in compassion?”

  At my look, he gave a smile that twisted the scar down his cheek. “Fine, Finn. I can have compassion, believe it or not.”

  “I’ll believe it when I see it,” I replied.

  “Finn!”

  “Dara?”

  I turned at the sound of her voice. Dara practically flew from a car driven by Mercer. The empath didn’t slow and instead ran into me full force so that I had to catch her in my arms to avoid being bowled over. She kissed me soundly.

  “I was so worried about you!” she said when her feet touched the ground again.

  Professor Briggs cleared his throat.

  Dara threw him a knowing look. “Don’t even pretend to be appalled at our kiss, Professor. I can feel that you’re more amused than anything.”

  Briggs actually chuckled. “I never thought Finn would find a girl that could put up with him.”

  Dara grinned as she stepped away from me. “He might surprise you, Professor.”

  “He already has,” the professor replied.

  Headmistress Wrengold reached us. The older woman’s gray curls were tamed by a red and gold shawl. Her simple housecoat with the pocket watch on a gold chain and the matching brown dress pants made her appear modest but dignified. She stopped near me, gave a nod of welcome, and turned her attention to the werewolves.

  “My name is Headmistress Wrengold, and I am in charge of the students that attend The Remus Academy for Integral Education,” she introduced.

  The smile she gave the teenagers was kind. I could see them warming to her and remembered feeling the same trust toward the Headmistress the first time I met her. The realization that she was far more equipped to lead them than I was eased some of the anxiety I felt about their wellbeing.

  “I don’t know if Mr. Briscoe mentioned that we have had a rocky relationship with werewolves in the past,” she continued, “But we have since survived that hardship and have learned enough about each other to ensure that our relationship is a good one. That being said,” she opened her arms in a sweeping gesture. “The Remus Academy for Integral Education would like to welcome you as students of our esteemed school.”

  The werewolves cheered along with some of their parents, which surprised me. Perhaps not everyone had been thrilled about Meg’s leadership.

  The Headmistress gestured behind her. “Please choose a vehicle to ride in. We look forward to showing you our Academy.”

  “Should we tell them it’s haunted?” Dara whispered.

  I grinned at her as we watched the students rush past us. “They’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Professor Briggs, Mr. Briscoe, I request your company on the trip back,” the Headmistress said in a tone that left no room for argument. She smiled at Dara. “And you are welcome to join us, Ms. Jade.”

  “We need somewhere the bears can ride,” I said.

  The Headmistress looked from me to the bears that lounged near the students.

  “The bears are coming with us?”

  I nodded. “They can’t stay here. They’ve been starved and used to eat werewolves who fail the Gauntlet. They deserve a peaceful life.”

  “In the forest?” the Headmistress guessed.

  I was grateful she didn’t ask about the eating werewolves part. I nodded. “I thought they would be alright there.”

  She considered it, then nodded as well. “They will, but I don’t know how well the animals will ride in a vehicle.”

  “They’ll do just fine,” I replied. I lifted a hand to the animals. “Come on, bears. Time to go home.”

  I felt the surprised stares of my professor, the Headmistress, and my girlfriend when the bears rose and crowded around me. Each one appeared eager to get his or her head scratched, and I was happy to oblige.

  When Rhett opened the door to the moving truck I had ridden in to the Gauntlet, the bears needed only a slight push to climb inside. They seemed as eager to leave the Den as the teenagers were.

  “Is there an explanation for this?” Professor Briggs asked.

  I nodded and looked at the Headmistress. “Somebody once guessed that I was an Alpha. It took being confronted by bears driven vicious through starvation for me to believe it.”

  The Headmistress gave a single nod with a proud smile. “I took a chance on you, Mr. Briscoe. I can honestly say I never guessed where that would lead us.”

  “The students who haven’t had a chance to be put to the Gauntlet are grateful,” I replied. Sadness filled me when I thought of Lunera, Durnin, and Ross. “But others will never have the chance to grow up away from that kind of fear. Thank you for trusting me enough to give them the opportunity.”

  The Headmistress nodded. “Let’s go home.”

  I smiled. “I like the sound of that.”

  The adult werewolves waved at their children as the vehicles pulled away. Tears showed on some faces while pride was visible others. I couldn’t help wondering how much life would change at the Den now that Meg was no longer in charge. Perhaps things would go back to the way they were before I was brought to the Den, but I hoped not. At least the Gauntlet wouldn’t be used with the teenagers gone. They would have a lot of restructuring to do. I was glad the younger werewolves were gone from the chaos.

  The seats inside the SUV faced each other like a limousine. By the scent, it was the Headmistress’ own vehicle, though Mercer was the one who drove. Relief at seeing the gruff Mage away from his bed in the infirmary swept through me. He nodded when I climbed into the vehicle.

  “Didn’t think I’d see you alive,” he said in his low, gravelly voice. His customary expressionless face didn’t reveal how he felt about the statement.

  “I thought the same about you,” I replied.

  He gave a grunt that could have been laughter before he followed the caravan of vehicles away from the Den. My shoulders slumped against the seat. With Vicken cared for, the Gauntlet gone, and the Den fading away in the distance, I felt as though I could finally breathe. Dara’s hand held mine and she traced patterns across the back of my arm as though she couldn’t help touching me. A sigh of relief escaped me and won a smile from her.

  The Headmistress spoke up several minutes after the Den had disappeared from sight.

  “The gateway between our world and that of the demons is getting stronger,” she said. “I am reluctant to bring new students to the Academy. If it wasn’t for these extreme circumstances, I would have denied them until the demon problem was dealt with.”

  Her tone caught my attention. “What’s going on?”

  Professor Briggs spoke up. “Your team has been hard-pressed to keep the demons away from our school. Chutka knows we have the pieces of his heart and he’s trying desperately to get them back before we destroy them. He knows his chance of gaining access into our world comes from those pieces.”

  “The werewolves can fight,” I said. “They’ll listen to me.” I didn’t point out that they had to. I was still getting used to the idea myself. I didn’t want to take away anyone’s ability to make their own choices.

  “We can’t put them in harm’s way just after freeing them from what sounds like a terrible situation,” the Headmistress said.

  “If you heard what it’s like at the Den, they’re used to being in harm’s way. They’ve been training for the Gauntlet since birth, pretty much. At least we know they’re strong. They can be relied on,” I replied.

  Professor Briggs shook his head. “We didn’t accept werewolves into the Academy as your own private army, Finn.”

  The implication smarted. “I know that, Professor. I’m just saying—”

  “You’re saying we can use them because they’re students,” Briggs replied. “I’m saying we can’t use them because they’re students. It isn’t right.”

  I met his gaze. “I’m a student and I fought to protect the school.”

  “That was different,” Briggs began.

  “Because I was the only werewolf,” I finished for him. I wasn’t sure if it was the fact that I had survived death at least two more times in as many days, or the fact that their readiness to accept werewolves now after all I had gone through stung more than I was willing to admit, but I was done trying to play nice. “Professor, Headmistress, you’re looking at this the wrong way. The werewolves are strong. They’ll be willing to protect the Academy because it’s all they have.”

  “You’re wrong, Finn,” Briggs replied sharply. “If I understand correctly about what they went through at the Den and this Gauntlet, you’re asking them to prove themselves by using their strength to protect our school. How is that any different than the Gauntlet?”

  “Because they’re not going to die if they fail!” I shot back heatedly.

  “Won’t they?” Briggs asked, holding my gaze. “If we fail to keep Chutka from the Academy, we all die.”

  The starkness of his words stole a bit of my fire.

  Dara set a hand on my back and I winced.

  “What was that?” the professor asked, his gaze searching.

  “Nothing,” I muttered.

  “Finn,” Dara began.

  Anger so hot and demanding surged through me I couldn’t contain it. I turned and slammed a fist into the window next to me. It shattered, but the glass didn’t fall out.

  “Mr. Briscoe, contain yourself,” the Headmistress scolded.

  I lowered my gaze, embarrassed that I had lost my cool. “I’m sorry, Headmistress. I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” I apologized.

  “It’s the heart,” Mercer said with a glance in the rearview mirror.

  Everyone looked at me.

  “You feel it?” Dara asked.

  I stared at her. “The pieces of the heart are here?”

  Professor Briggs nodded. “We couldn’t leave them at the Academy. Chutka’s demons have been targeting us. It’s the only way to keep the students safe.”

  “But the pieces are in ironwood,” the Headmistress said. “You shouldn’t feel their effects.”

  “But he does,” Dara said. “I can feel it.” She gave me an apologetic look. “I’ve felt your frustration grow the longer we’ve been in here. I thought it was just because you’re healing, but—”

  “Healing from what?” Briggs asked.

  I couldn’t take the silence that followed their words. I sighed and pulled off my shirt, then turned my back so they could see.

  “Finn, are those whip marks?” Dara asked in shock.

  I nodded. “Like I said, it’s good we got the kids out of the Den. They’re really into corporal punishment there.”

  I moved to put my shirt back on, but Briggs grabbed it. “When did you get those?”

  I thought back. The days had really blurred together. “Three days ago, I think. I broke a few rules about not hurting members of the Pack.” A grim smile crossed my face. “At least they won’t forget anytime soon.

  “Shouldn’t that have healed by now?” Dara asked.

  I nodded. “Yeah, but I got shot, then there was the Gauntlet, and then they tried to feed us to the bears. I also got branded,” I said, holding out my arm to show them the wolf head. I forced a light tone when I said, “I don’t think my body knows how to function right anymore.” I took the shirt back from Briggs and slipped it over my head. “Life hurt a lot less when I was human.”

  The professor watched me closely. “Are you sure you’re up to going back to the Academy?”

 

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