Alpha Divided
Chapter 24

The night was quiet as I stood on the quad. No birds chirped. No cicadas sang. Not even a breeze to ru them before I saw them.

he grass. My hands shook as I waited for the vampires to show. I took deep breaths, partly to calm myself, but also so I'd know when they were close. I'd smell Dastien had convinced me to take off my shoes. Apparently they were a bitch to rip through when shifting fully clothed. He didn't try to make me shift, but he made it clear that I should if I needed to. He was hiding between the buildings. I couldn't see him, but I knew he was there in wolf form watching out for me.

I dug my toes into the cool, damp grass and reached into my pocket to palm one of the vials. I had thirty, Please, let that be enough.

I sensed motion behind me and spun. The smell hit me. Death and decay. Old blood and rotted meat.

So much for the Cazadores keeping the flow down.

Wolves jumped from the forest to meet the vampires in a clash of fangs and fur.

The alarm sounded, the soft wail alerting the students we were under attack.

It didn't take long for the seniors to swarm out of the buildings in wolf form. I focused on the figures i

The wolves bounded toward the vampires, but I waited where I stood. They'd be here soon.

ed as vampires swarmed the campus.

floating toward me. Hair like straw. Faces rotted and disgusting.

I knew enough about witchcraft to know that I didn't need to say the words aloud. As the first vampire approached, I threw the vial. In the name of Jesus Christ, I purify you. Nothing happened. I froze. With or without my magic, the words should work. Should I shift?

In the name of Jesus Christ, I purify you, Claudia's clear voice rang out beside me as she tossed anoth Thank God for cousins.

I let out a shaky breath and Claudia stepped in front of me. "Careful, prima. Your magic must be seale Magic shouldn't factor into throwing potions, but I didn't have time to figure out the problem. Three vampires had Dastien pinned down and the wolves were being pushed back as more and more Cover me while I get the jars out, I said to Claudia.

I slipped off my backpack and grabbed the jars. I'd been hoping I'd be able to fight at least a little, bu Another vampire flew at us, and Dastien finally burst free-he jumped on its back, snarling. Where in the hell were Luciana and Mr. Hoel?

A voice cried out. Kill the wolves! I didn't need to turn around to know who had arrived.

La Aquelarre.

They wore all white. Luciana was wearing one of her long skirts. Really impractical.

She paused her jog to the quad. Her face turned red as she stared at me.

One down. One to go.

Night turned to day as the potion exploded and the vampire burned to dust.

m flooded the quad. The other brujos were throwing vials as fast as they could, but it wasn't going to be enough. o much. I needed these jars gone. Now.

As helpless as I was, I needed to wait a few more seconds. As soon as I spotted Mr. Hoel, I could destroy the jars.

Luciana threw a vial in my direction, but it fell way short of me and shattered against the ground, sending off a puff of fire and smoke.

You don't want to do this, I shouted. Turn back now.

She laughed. You're weak. I have your power.

Do you?

She raised her arms, and the scent of sulfur filled the quad. The ground rumbled.

She was calling something from below the earth. My pulse sped. This wasn't what I'd seen in my dream. This was way, way worse. If she managed to summon something from hell...

I'd been to enough church masses to know we were all doomed.

"If you do this, there's no going back. You're damning yourself and every member of la Aquelarre along with you."

Listen to her, Luciana, Claudia said. Think about what you're doing. This is evil.

Luciana didn't even look at Claudia. She was too far gone. Magic flowed around her like wind, raising her hair and making her skirt flow around her legs. But that wasn't what had me scared. It was the look in her eyes. And the fact that they'd turned completely black. Not even a hint of white was left in them.

I had to stop her before she finished this spell.

A figure in white dashed toward us. I moved to meet him, but stopped just as he dashed between Luciana and me.

Mother! Daniel said as he ran in front of her. Stop! You can't do this. You'll kill us all. When she didn't respond, he turned to us. We have to stop her.

When Daniel hadn't shown up at St. Ailbe's, I was worried I was wrong about him. It felt good to be right.

Let's knock her out, I said. If she won't stop casting, then we just shut her up.

Luciana's lips moved rapidly as the wind grew around her. She raised her arms to the sky and a red light from the ground rose around her.

Daniel shook his head. It's too late. The spell she's doing...it's a chain reaction. Once it's started...

So what do we do? I shouted.

Enemy Weres streamed in from the parking lot, led by a certain wolf I remembered from my nightmares.

Now. I needed to smash the jars. They were both here, and if Luciana was using some of my power to call up whatever that was, then I needed to cut her off. Fast.

A vampire swiped at me, and I dodged out of the way and hit the ground rolling. The vampire lunged again, and I heard Claudia shout the incantation just before the vampire's ashes rained down on me.

Shit. This was getting bad.

Before one more thing could go wrong, I threw the jars as hard as I could on the ground. Both jars bounced and started rolling away from me.

My heart dropped into my stomach. No. Oh shit.

What's wrong? Claudia said.

The jars. I pointed at them as they rolled deep into the fight.

Is that what I think that is? Daniel asked.

Yes.

I'll get them, Claudia said.

No. I grabbed her arm before she could go. It's too dangerous.

I'll be okay. She ran after the jars before I could stop her.

I didn't have time to watch her. A mass of black fur headed my way and I took off running. I dodged around a tree, but it was still on me. I could hear it panting. I looked over my shoulder and it was already leaping into the air, teeth bared in a snarl. I dropped flat on the ground, and the wolf soared overhead.

Before I could get up, a vampire was on me. I didn't have time to think as anger heated my blood. I wasn't going to get bit. Not again.

My hands partially shifted and I punched through its chest, ripping out the heart. It collapsed against me and I gagged from the vile stench. I pushed the body off and climbed to my feet, but I was covered in black vampire goo. The half-decayed heart still throbbed in my hand.

Thank God Meredith had been right. I was still a Were. Just not an alpha one.

I tossed the heart on top of the now-still vampire.

Daniel gagged, quickly covering his mouth with his hand. That's disgusting.

Understatement of the year. I wiped the vampire goo on my pants and reached into my pocket with my clean hand, grabbing a vial. Do you mind? I asked as I held it out to him.

He took the vial and ignited the vampire. You got any more?

They weren't doing me any good, so I unloaded my stash on him. Be safe.

Bright bursts of magic were flaring all around me as wolves and witches fought. I tried to replace Claudia but it was chaos.

Where in the hell were my f*****g jars?

I spotted Dastien's gray and white fur. The battle had taken him farther away than I'd thought. If something happened, I wanted to be closer to him. I took a breath and started across the quad.

The earth rumbled again as Luciana's chanting grew louder. I swayed on my feet, trying to stay upright, but something slammed into my side hard enough to break ribs. I hit the ground wheezing. I couldn't stop. I had to get it off me. I had to get to Luciana before she finished calling up that hellspawn.

Jaws snapped at my neck, but I managed to hold the mass of jet-black fur off of me.

Oh shit. It was Mr. Hoel. It was happening.

I heard Dastien's howl, and knew what was coming next.

I struggled to stop him, kicking at the mass of fur and muscle that pinned me to the ground, but I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe.

Mr. Hoel started to shift. It was disgusting. His face half wolf, half human. Grotesque.

This was why people were afraid of werewolves. Because of monsters like Mr. Hoel.

His claws dug into my neck. You're dead, mutt.

No! Daniel shoved Mr. Hoel with all his weight, pushing the wolf away.

I gasped as the weight lifted.

Mr. Hoel snarled, swinging his claw-like paw. I watched as if in slow motion as Mr. Hoel's razor-sharp nails went through Daniel's neck like butter. Hot blood rained down on my face.

Oh God. Oh God.

Daniel gave a sickening gurgle as he slowly crumpled.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears. It was all I could hear as Daniel hit the ground.

This wasn't supposed to happen. I was the one who was supposed to die. Not Daniel.

Mr. Hoel, still frozen in his half-shifted state, snarled at me. You won't fight. That's an order.

For a second I froze. I couldn't move. His alpha powers had worked, and I couldn't disobey. He stared at me, his claws dripping with Daniel's blood.

Then something amazing happened.

My whole body burned. My vision went white, blinding me, and my back bowed up from the ground like a million needles pricked my skin. But it wasn't a bad thing.

This was good. So very good.

Chérie! Move! Now!

My powers. They were back.

If Claudia was the one who'd just broken the jars, I owed her big time. But I didn't have time for thanks.

Luciana's chanting grew louder and I spun toward her. The light around her was gone. Her back was to me, but I knew from the way her chanting had grown frantic, she was pissed. And she still hadn't seen Daniel.

Chanting back was the best thing I could think of. In the name of Jesus Christ, I cast you back to hell. I had no idea if it'd work, but I kept saying it. Hoping something would change. The third time I thought the words, the ground stopped rumbling.

Thank God.

I lay there for a second, and then I sat up.

Mr. Hoel was backing away from me. He couldn't get away with what he'd done.

I didn't hesitate. Rage swamped my body and I shifted fully.

The jars! Luciana yelled, but it was too late. Where are you, you little bitch?

Mr. Hoel spun around, toward Luciana's angry tirade, and I took advantage, leaping at him. He glanced at me at the last second, but it was too late. My teeth sank into his neck.

The taste of copper filled my mouth in a hot wave.

Luciana was running toward us, screaming something unintelligible. I had seconds before Luciana closed the space. When she did, she'd see Daniel, and I didn't want to know what she'd do for revenge.

I knew the second she'd seen him. She stumbled before changing direction. She'd glared with pure rage, but now her features twisted between rage and sadness. I wasn't sure which was worse.

No! Luciana screamed as she knelt beside Daniel. Lightning crashed down around the quad as she sobbed. The ground had stopped rumbling, but the scent of sulfur still hung in the air. She might not be able to use my powers to finish calling up whatever demon she'd been summoning, but as she looked at me, hate filling her eyes, I knew it wasn't over.

You. This is your fault, she yelled.

Dastien howled as he bounded across the quad. He slid to a stop between Luciana and me. Her hands glowed as she stared me down.

I spared a glance around. Fires burned throughout campus.

The vampires were all burning or already turned to ash. Their stench had begun to clear.

Wolves fought wolves. Brujos fought wolves. And the handful of brujos on our side fought their own coven.

It was bloody. Howls and screams of pain tore across the night.

Wolves. Hear me, Donovan's thick Irish accent echoed, cutting through the chaos. You will stop fighting. Now.

At once, the wolves on both sides of the battle stopped their attacks.

When the Weres froze, the witches stopped in place. They looked to their leader for some direction, but she was still sobbing. Kneeling beside Daniel.

He'd saved my life.

Maybe all of our lives. Nothing but his death would've stopped Luciana.

Why had he done that? What was he thinking? I couldn't breathe. I'd been imagining he was a traitor, but instead Daniel had traded his life for mine.

He was gone. It was my fault.

A brujo came to help Luciana stand. She whispered something to him, and the man bent to pick up Daniel's body.

She held her head high as she turned to us. I will bury my son, but I'll be back. The covens are coming. She pointed a long, bony finger at me. "You will pay for this."

Two more coven members immediately flanked her, and the rest fell into place as their group hustled away.

No wolf dared to move as the witches left campus. Not under Donovan's watch.

You wolves who have fought against us are banished from the packs. Consider yourselves lone wolves who will be hunted and killed if you so much as sniff our lands again. You have thirty seconds to get beyond our boundaries before we start chasing. Run. Now. More wolves than I would've thought-at least thirty-took off running into the trees.

But one wolf stayed. His white coat was streaked with blood. As he shifted, I recognized his long, blond beard. The old ways no longer work, Ferdinand said. He was the one who'd pushed for the tribunal. Who wanted me to go to the coven's compound.

It wasn't just Mr. Hoel who was directing the wolves.

It was Ferdinand. One of the Seven.

I thought it was you, Sebastian said. You've grown power hungry over the last century.

And why shouldn't I be? I'm the oldest of the Seven.

Not by much. And you're the most full of ego. Pride. Anger. You're not worthy to be a member of the council, Donovan said. We should've done this long ago.

Donovan and Sebastian joined hands, and murmured something in Latin.

Ferdinand shifted with a snarl, and took off running. Donovan, Sebastian, and Mr. Dawson shifted and bounded after him.

I sat on the ground, still in wolf form. Exhausted. Dastien butted his head against mine with a whimper.

I wanted to check on my cousins and the others, but suddenly I was too exhausted to even move. I needed to change back and take a shower. I needed clothes.

After a quick look around the quad, I found the twins huddled together with the other brujos. They were crying, but otherwise unharmed.

Dr. Gonzales moved through the pack, checking on the injured.

Dastien bumped against me again, and then started toward his cabin.

This time I followed.

A little rest and then we'd figure out the next step.

Luciana would be back, and we needed to be ready.