Alpha Betrayed: A Dark Shifter
Chapter 12

Ford

Natalie merges onto the highway only to take the next exit and get back on the interstate going the other direction.

“They won’t expect a quick backtrack,” she says. “And they can’t have gotten a good look at the car so we should be safe now, darlings. Just to be extra careful, I’ll take a short detour north before we head east again, but now that the tracking devices are scrambled, we shouldn’t have to worry about any unwanted company.”

She beams at Juliet in the rearview mirror.

Juliet grumbles, “Thanks,” in a way that makes it clear she hasn’t fully embraced our new travelling companion.

I glance over my shoulder, arching a brow her way. “I didn’t call her,” I say again. “I promise.”

“Oh, no, he didn’t. Not at all,” Natalie says. “He did fill out an interest form on the university website, but he had no way of knowing just how interested our president would be in return.”

“Why?” Juliet asks. “What makes us different than any other shifter on the outs with their pack? Unless all your students replace out they’ve been accepted via rescue-by-fancy-sports-car?”

Natalie laughs, a velvety chuckle that makes the hair on my neck prickle, but in a good way. “Come now, pet, don’t be coy. Your father is one of the most powerful Alphas around and, it turns out, a very bad boy. As long as you two are alive to testify to what he did to you, we might actually have a chance at holding Hammer Zion accountable for his crimes. Democratic tendencies are spreading, and the time is right to put wicked, human-trafficking murderers behind bars.” She checks the rearview mirror again, swiping a finger under her bottom l*p to clear an invisible bit of lipstick. “Though the acceptance part is a bit more complicated.”

“How so?” Juliet asks. “If there’s an entrance exam, just FYI, Ford’s never met a standardized test he wouldn’t skip to drink beer with the older boys behind the equipment shed.”

I shoot her a glare out of the corners of my eyes. “That was once. In seventh grade.”

She shrugs. “It happened.”

“I was twelve.”

Natalie lets out a trill of laughter and lays a gentle hand on my knee. “Let those among us who haven’t skipped an exam throw the first stone.”

I arch a “take that” brow at Juliet but her gaze is on my knee.

Natalie’s hand on my knee, to be specific.

Huh. Interesting…

“But unfortunately, this exam isn’t one you can skip,” Natalie continues, returning her hand to the wheel. “It isn’t taken with pencils or a scan sheet and those who fail it aren’t allowed to remain within the university walls. It’s the way things have always been done, and we’re all too steeped in tradition to change at this point.” She glances at Juliet in the mirror again. “Not that we would turn you out to deal with your father’s hired killers alone, loves. No worries about that. We’re invested in keeping you safe, you simply wouldn’t be allowed to stay at the school. The president is committed to maintaining an environment of serious academic inquiry. I’m sure you can understand. You don’t become a well-respected institution of higher learning without standards.”

“Where would we go instead?” Juliet asks, some of the guardedness leaving her voice. “A safe house or something while Hammer awaits trial?”

“Most likely, but I can’t say for certain,” Natalie says. “That isn’t my department. I’m in admissions and recruitment.” She grins my way. “I’m the woo, as they say. I’m here to make Lost Moon sound so fabulous you’ll give the B***d Trials everything you’ve got.”

“The B***d Trials?” I glance back at Juliet, who has her wary face back on again, and I can’t say I blame her.

Natalie chuckles as she takes the next exit, slowing the car as we circle around to head away from the highway. “I know. It sounds positively barbaric, doesn’t it? But it’s not. B***d in this context refers to your shifter clan within the school. Each shifter clan has its own dorm, social society, and dining hall. During orientation, you’ll live and study with the other shifters in your clan, who will help prepare you for the testing. But don’t worry, there will be plenty of chances for socializing with the rest of the school. The rivalry between the houses is lighthearted. It’s never stopped a big cat shifter from starting a book club with a cute wolf, if you know what I’m saying.” She laughs again as she leans forward, peering up at the sky. “Looks like we’ll have nice driving weather for the next few hours. Why don’t you two try to get some sleep and I’ll wake you for dinner. We’ll be staying at Lost Moon owned properties for the rest of our journey, and they’re all outfitted with the same tracking device scrambling system.” She turns fully over her shoulder, keeping the car perfectly within the lines as she faces Juliet and says in a pointed voice, “So, you’ll be safe as long as you stay close. If you decide to run, however, you’ll want to get the chip removed as quickly as possible or you’re a walking dead woman. Do you understand, Juliet?”

“I understand,” Juliet says, glancing nervously between Natalie’s face and the road ahead. “But I can’t have the implant removed. I never learned to control my phoenix form. I’ve never even been in my phoenix form.”

“So I’ve been told,” Natalie says, still driving without an eye on the road. “Which is a shame and will put you a bit further behind the other members of your clan on campus but shouldn’t be an insurmountable problem. I know several phoenix shifters who lead full lives, enjoying their creature form without ever going Full Burn. That implant is really only meant to be used in very small children.”

Juliet bristles. “My research showed a lot of cases where adults elected to keep the implant. Can you please watch the road?”

“The road isn’t going anywhere,” Natalie says lightly. “And neither are people who elect to keep their implants into adulthood. That’s for shifters who lead sweet, peaceful, boring lives out in the woods, surrounded by people eager to love and protect them. A young woman with enemies can’t afford to hide her light under a bushel and hope the big bad wolves won’t replace out where she’s hiding.”

“All right, fine. I understand, now please, just…watch the road,” Juliet grumbles, sinking back into her chair with a sigh of relief as Natalie turns.

“Of course,” she says, beaming at me. “And how about you, Ford? What are you most excited about? We have a number of older undergraduate students, by the way. You won’t be the only one. We even have a special dorm for graduate students and older undergrads with families. So should you meet a special lady and decide it’s time to settle down during your years with us, that’s something the administration is happy to accommodate.”

Lips curving, I nod, watching Juliet in my peripheral vision as I say, “Good to know. I have been thinking about settling down, actually.”

Juliet rolls her eyes so hard her head gets involved, but that does nothing to dampen the hope fizzing in my b***d. I saw the look on her face when Natalie was touching me.

I’d bet my gun hand it was a jealous look.

It’s a theory I mean to test tonight.