The alpha 2, p.17
The Alpha 2, page 17
Once the betas were thoroughly disoriented, I attacked again and brought the remaining fighters to their knees before I shot out away from them in search of Gray.
But by the time I’d dealt with the beta werecoyotes and started after him again, I realized I couldn’t see his small form rushing through the woods ahead of me. I slowed my pace and strained my ears for the sound of his soft footfalls somewhere around me, but my efforts were unrewarded.
I sniffed the air, but the teakwood and pepper scent remained elusive to my senses.
Gray had managed to get away.
I let out an angry, loud howl, and I threw my head back as the sound reverberated in the air all around me. When I finally stopped, I kept my head back and closed my eyes as I felt the adrenaline start to fade from my body.
Alpha? Nikita’s call echoed faintly through my skull.
Gray got away, I said.
Bastard, Benji cursed.
Where are you two? I started back in the direction I thought I’d come from, and as I did, the voices grew louder in my head.
The beta werecoyotes were nowhere to be found, so I assumed they’d tucked tail and retreated with their coward alpha.
We’re where you left us, Nikita said. Oh, look, there you are.
The omega and the beta stood next to each other under a hearty Douglas fir, and I surveyed their wounds.
Are you alright? I asked. I didn’t mean for any of you to get hurt.
Eh, we threw ourselves into the ring. Benji shrugged his shoulders. I’d say it’s more of an occupational hazard than anything, being a shifter.
I looked at my omega. And you?
I’ll be okay, Alpha. Blood glistened from Nikita’s shoulder, but she didn’t sound overly worried. He scratched me, but it’s almost nothing, and I can patch myself up when we go home. Besides, I’m sure I’ll heal up pretty quick.
Okay. I threw a cursory glance around the woods surrounding us. Let’s get home, then. I don’t want to stick around and see if Gray is going to get back up.
Agreed, my two companions replied.
We set off back through the forest at a faster gait than we’d taken coming in, in an effort to put distance between ourselves and the werecoyotes, and my cycling thoughts all but consumed me as we moved.
If the betas were anything like Gray in combat, then they’d be quick, small, and hard to pin down. I knew my beta werecats could handle the frequent pouncing and the potshots, but the speed could potentially trip us up if we didn’t stay mindful.
And Gray himself promised to be a strong foe, too. If he could disappear in the forest as fast as he did, I worried about the possibilities of an ambush.
Just then, my own betas arrived on the scene, and they slowed their mad dash through the woods when they saw me. They must have heard my howls. One of the werecats stepped forward and let out an inquisitive yowl, but I shook my head and snarled in reply.
There was no fight, so I waved my paw to send them back to where they’d run from, but instead the werecats surrounded Nikita, Benji, and me, and they flanked us and kept vigilant as we made our way back home through the forest.
After an hour or so, I caught a glimpse of the familiar lights of the McMansion glittering through the fading tree line at the top of the hill.
Great job tonight, guys, I said to Nikita and Benji to interrupt the long silence stretching between us. It didn’t go down the way I thought it would, but I’m glad we did a little scouting.
For sure. Benji opened his jaws wide and clenched his eyes shut for a moment. I don’t know about you two, but I am beat. After we get cleaned up, I’m going home and hitting the hay.
Ditto to that, Nikita chuckled.
I guess we better get cleaned up, then. We sauntered toward the bush our clothes were hidden in and began to shift back into our human selves.
“Alpha, we came as soon as we heard your call,” Thomas said immediately. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
The other werecats looked at me expectantly, and they stared at my wounds with concerned frowns.
I looked, too, and I was pleased to see the journey here had given them some time to heal pretty well. They didn’t look good, but they didn’t look nearly as gruesome as they were before.
“It’s okay,” I assured my pack. “We got into a bit of a fight. I can explain the rest once we get inside.”
The betas seemed to have more questions, but none of them were bold enough to push the issue, so we all started to dress in our clothes once more.
The fight against the werecoyotes wasn’t going to be easy, but fighting Gray affirmed my suspicions that it would be a good move for the pack. We could use all the strength we could get.
And besides, it was sure going to be satisfying bringing Gray down to his knees to beg for mercy. I wondered if I would give it to him.
Just then, movement caught my eye, and I looked over at my mate as she craned her head over her shoulder to investigate the wound that awaited her. Relief flooded my veins when I saw that the gouge had already closed up, but still raw and caked in blood, and she peeled the flakes away with her nails before she tugged on her shirt.
My hand’s clenched into fists at the sight of my mate’s blood, and an ember of bloodlust ignited in my chest.
Oh, yeah. There was no chance in hell I would let Gray come out of this fight alive.
Chapter Twelve
Friday morning rolled around two days after our excursion out to Monroe, and even though I was excited for the weekend off from school, I knew it meant our attack on the werecoyotes drew ever closer. The thrill of the coming fight sent my stomach into knots of nervousness and excitement, and I could tell the pack was also ready to make a move on the werecoyotes.
We kept up the schedule of having a beta werecat escort me on campus to keep Aiden’s goons at bay, and I had to admit that after our scuffle with Gray, it was nice to know there was a buffer between me and the werecoyotes, too.
On top of my Alpha worries, I found myself unable to concentrate in class Friday morning thanks to the stress of the audition later that afternoon. I’d dedicated time to practicing on Thursday, but I was still a little unsure about whether I should have done more.
I guessed time would tell.
Finally, my final class was released for the day, and I made a beeline to the commons to grab some food before this afternoon. Benji and Nikita met me at the cafeteria with plates of their own, and we chatted lightly as we ate.
“So, audition today, right?” Benji asked conversationally.
“Yep.” I stabbed some green beans and pushed them into my mouth.
“Are you nervous?” Benji took a swig of soda.
“No more than normal, I guess,” I replied with a shrug. “I just hope I don’t make an ass out of myself in front of the seniors.”
“I think you’re gonna do great,” Nikita said, and then she put a hand comfortably on my lap and smiled. “Even with the limited amount of time you’ve had to practice, you really seem like you’ve made a lot of quality progress.”
“It also helps that I can use the pieces I was already working on for my material,” I joked. “I think if I had to find something new, I’d be a lot worse off.”
“Shame it’s not open to the department to listen in,” Benji mused. “I would have made you a poster and waved pennants around to hype you up.”
“I don’t doubt that,” I laughed, and Nikita covered her mouth as she giggled as well. “If they ever start conducting research on using people’s enthusiasm as a renewable source of energy, I expect to see you first in line.”
“For the right price, of course.” Benji winked. “You think I would sell my mojo for free?”
“Fair point,” I laughed before I took another bite of food.
“You’re gonna knock it out of the park, babe,” Nikita assured me. “I’ve got all the confidence in the world in you.”
“Thanks, Nikita.” I smiled. “And you, too, Benji. You two always know what to say to make me feel better.”
“Oh, so that’s why you keep us around,” Benji snickered. “We’re just your hype-men. Well, hype-man and woman, if you want to get technical.”
“‘Hype-people’ would be pretty gender neutral if you’re worried about being inclusive,” Nikita teased him.
“I just want to make sure to give credit where credit’s due,” Benji said as he matched her bantering energy.
“It doesn’t go unnoticed,” the omega replied and then took a sip of her drink.
“Can I just say how glad I am that you two can get along?” I said as I wrapped spaghetti noodles around my fork.
“We’ve got a common point of interest,” Nikita said, and she glanced over briefly at Benji and giggled.
“That would be you, by the way,” Benji explained.
“Believe it or not, I can put two and two together just fine,” I chuckled. Then I looked up at the wall clock across the room and sighed. “Well, it’s getting to be about time. I better get over to Windsor.”
“You want us to wait for you?” Nikita asked.
“Ehh, I’ll let you know when we’re done,” I said with an apologetic smile. “I have no clue how long this thing will run, or honestly what all is going into it. I’d hate to keep you waiting longer than you needed to stick around here for.”
“Okay, I’ll go back and hang with Eva,” my mate said. “Shoot me a text when you’re done, and I’ll come grab you.”
“You’re spoiling me with the chauffeuring stuff,” I chuckled. “I used to just have to walk everywhere, you know.”
“It’s true,” Benji chimed in. “There was a brief era I remember with a Schwinn and some form-fitting shorts, but then our fearless leader’s bike was lost in a petty theft.”
“Someone stole your bike?” Nikita’s eyes went wide.
“To be fair, I still have the bike,” I said. “Some asshole just picked my locks and stole my tires.”
“That’s insane,” my lover huffed. “Who would do that?”
“I wish I knew.” I popped one last meatball into my mouth and chewed it quickly. “But if I ever find the guy, believe me, he’ll have hell to pay.”
“Unless he’s already got a fine enough hairpiece,” Benji joked.
Nikita wrinkled her nose. “What?”
“You know. To pay. Toupee.”
“Best to let him have his little victories when he can get them,” I said to her.
“Hey!” Benji crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “I’m hilarious, and you know it.”
“Of course, man.” I grabbed my plate and stood from the table. “Alright. I gotta dash. I’ll catch up with you guys later on.”
“You’re gonna do great,” Nikita said once again, and she flashed me a warm and encouraging grin.
“Yeah, go kick ass, dude.” Benji gave me a thumbs-up with a smile of his own.
I said my final goodbyes to the crew, dropped my dirty plate off at the dish return conveyor, and then made my way out of the commons and toward the music building.
The Windsor auditorium was built into the Erickson building specifically for the use of the music program, and we performed pretty much all our concerts and recitals in the gorgeous hall. The ceiling rose up high over rows and rows of plush red velvet theater seats. Ornate designs were modded into the walls, and the fixtures stretched all the way up to the ceiling. Most people didn’t realize it, but when theaters featured these detailed fixtures, it was to help hone the way that soundwaves bounced off the walls, and for the music program, good sound meant everything.
When I stepped into the auditorium, I saw a cluster of seniors chatting down by the elevated pit in front of the stage, and someone had set up a long folding table with a tablecloth, clipboards, pens, and extra loose pages of what I guessed would be our judging sheets.
As I strolled down the narrow, carpeted aisle to the front of the stage, I noticed a few familiar professors chatting near the table as well. Then I picked out Professor Collins from the crowd, and he waved at me as I reached the bottom.
“Mister Rafe!” Professor Collins excused himself from the professors and came over to me.
“Good afternoon, Professor,” I greeted him with a polite smile. “Hopefully you weren’t waiting on me.”
“Oh, no.” The professor waved his hands in front of his chest and laughed. “We’ve got a few students who won’t be able to get here until three exactly, and we’re still waiting for our guest judge as well.”
“Guest judge?” I wrinkled my nose a little in confusion.
“Ah, yes. Dr. Godfrey had something come up with his family, so he had to go home to get that sorted out.”
“Is he okay?”
“Yes, yes. Nothing major, I’ve been assured. He should be back Monday.” Professor Collins started to wring his hands as he looked toward the door. “Please, feel free to mingle. We’ll be getting along shortly.”
“Sounds good.” I waved goodbye to the professor for now and wandered over to the students.
I wasn’t really friends with any of the seniors in the music program, but with all of us taking pretty much the same classes, I knew most everyone by name. There seemed to be a lot more students here than I thought would be, and I thought I caught the scents of a few betas among the group, but I couldn’t specifically pinpoint the smells to certain people.
As I approached, I caught the tail-end of an animated conversation among a cluster of students.
“… so I told him, look, dude, I know you’ve got your own stuff going on, but throw me a bone here.” Cory Mendelson, a viola player, had his arm around his girlfriend and was chatting eagerly with the few students around him. “We’re not reinventing the wheel here, we just need to support Professor Sutherland’s ideas about Gatsby’s green light or whatever. But Devin’s adamant that no, even if his idea of the book is the exact opposite of what we’ve been informed, we don’t need to support the claims we made.”
“So, what did you do?” Mckayla Stark, another violinist, seemed to be clinging to every word of Cory’s harrowing tale.
“We stayed up all night and finished the report fifteen minutes before class.” Cory shrugged. “It sucked ass, honestly, but I don’t care. It’s out of our hands now anyways. Even if we don’t do hot on the midterm, she’s already said we can drop the test score when we do the final. It’ll balance itself out.”
Mckayla nodded as she rolled her eyes, and then she turned her head and noticed me. “Oh, I didn’t see you walk up.”
“Sorry.” I glanced at Cory. “I didn’t want to interrupt you.”
“Pshaw,” Cory chuckled and waved his hand dismissively. “Jesse, right? They got you on pencil sharpening duty for this operation?”
“Actually, I’m auditioning.” I lifted the shoulder I had my violin case slung over, and a confident smile rose up onto my lips.
“No shit?” Cory grinned. “That’s rad as hell.”
“I was wondering who Collins was gonna pin down for the unofficial junior slot this year,” a man balanced against a cello case said.
“He’s done this before?” I asked.
“Irregularly,” Mckayla said. “Usually, he only offers it if there’s a real rock star in the junior class.”
“Which I guess must be you,” Cory finished. “You’ve heard it a million times now, but it really is an honor to be considered. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I felt a rush of blood rising into my cheeks at the unprompted flattery. “I appreciate it.”
“Seems like there’s more people than I thought, though.” The guy with the cello glanced around at the other students.
“Didn’t you hear?” Mckayla giggled. “There’s a celebrity on the bill this year for the banquet. Jack Nolan is coming to town.”
“I thought that was just a rumor to get more students to audition,” Cory scoffed. “I heard the numbers have been low because no one is too eager to play for extra credit alone.”
“Extra credit?” I asked.
“Yeah, they pay us for some of these kinds of events, but for some reason they won’t budge on paying us for the banquet,” Cory replied. “I guess if you want to boost your GPA, the extra credit is nice, but I’d rather get some money out of the deal.”
“I see.” I nodded thoughtfully.
At Everleigh University, recitals fell into three main categories: there were the solo events where the payment was the fact that a whole night was dedicated to your skills, the gigs like what the banquet sounded like where participation would be rewarded with credit toward your degree, and the final, more competitive paid shows where you were compensated fiscally for your time. I didn’t even think to ask Professor Collins what this audition fell under, and though it was a little disappointing to not get money, I personally thought extra credit was a nice enough exchange.
“If you don’t like it, why are you auditioning?” the man with the cello asked.
“If this book report doesn’t get dropped from my grade, I’m screwed,” Cory replied.
Everyone in the group, including me, laughed at the guy, and his girlfriend shook her head and nuzzled up against his shoulder.
“All things considered, I’m just grateful for the chance to give this a shot,” Cory’s girlfriend said as the laughter died. “And I hear that they give you the same food the banquet goers will have. I don’t know about you, but steak, herbed potatoes, and roasted brussels sprouts sounds more appealing than slapped together PB and Js.”
“Fair,” Cory chuckled. “I don’t mean to get too jaded, but there’s just better gigs to do in the spring.”
“Or any semester,” another girl with a violin chimed in.
“I’m telling you, Nolan’s going to be here for this one,” Mckayla insisted. “I’m not saying that makes it better than any other show, but it’s kinda cool.”
“I believe you,” I said to Mckayla. “That’s what Professor Collins said.”
“Well, whether blessed with his presence or not, I’m just looking to get some more experience before this October,” Mckayla said. “I’m thinking about going up to Seattle for the symphony’s open call auditions.”
