Becoming Alpha

A gray wolf leapt—grasping the vampire’s neck in his jaws, and slammed it into the ground beside me.



Holy shit.



I rolled away from them as chaos broke out around me. It was a flurry of movement as wolves and vampires moved almost faster than I could track. I tried to spot a way to get through them and back to the dorm, but every time I tried to get up, a vampire would step toward me. There were too many of them, and I was attracting them when I moved. I crouched down on the ground, trying to make myself the smallest target possible.



Dastien was fighting his way back to me in his human form. He wore only a pair of gray sweatpants.



Only one vampire stood between us. Dastien charged at it, but an auburn wolf jumped in between them, taking the vampire to the ground.



This was my chance. I got up and ran as fast as I could, meeting Dastien halfway. A warm arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me from the ground as he ran back toward the building. He threw open the door to the girl’s dorm. “Stay inside. No matter what.” He gave me a tight smile. “I’ll be back.” He stepped back into the courtyard. “Seniors, outside now. The rest of you, stay in the dorms.”



The sound of cloth ripping filled the night as people raced out of the buildings, shifting mid-sprint.



Now I felt like a total wuss. The rest of my class was outside fighting, and here I was hiding. This was all kinds of lame.



“What is it with you and windows?” Meredith met me at the stairs. “Are you okay?”



“I don’t know.” I didn’t have time to wonder why she wasn’t out there with the rest of the seniors. I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time. I had to get back to my window so I could see what was going on outside. The thought that Dastien or one of the others could get hurt—possibly because of me—made me sick.



One of the vampires separated from the group and circled around, trying to surprise-attack Dastien.



“Behind you!” I yelled, leaning out my window.



Dastien shifted instantly into a white and gray wolf. He lunged and tore into its neck. Black sludge spewed from the vampire. Its head rolled off and it crumpled to the ground. Meredith cheered from behind me.



A blond colored wolf jumped into the fight.



“That’s Chris,” Meredith said.



A large brown wolf ran into the courtyard, followed by two more–a black and a white wolf. My hands shook as I watched them fight.



The vampires moved with quick, slashing movements.



A yelp rang in my ears. One of the vampires had torn Chris’ leg. His blond fur stained with red.



The brown wolf ripped into a vampire, ripping off its leg.



“That’s Mr. Dawson,” Meredith said.



I had no idea how she could tell them apart, but I took her word for it.



Before it could rise, wolf-Dawson slashed a paw at the vampire’s neck, severing the head.



My throat was dry as I watched the gore.



The other vampires fled, taking off through the woods. The wolves howled and all but two followed them into the tree line.



Mr. Miller, the chemistry teacher, ran out from the medical building with a bag in his hand. “I’ll finish. Go!” he said.



Mr. Dawson and Dastien disappeared after the escaping vampires.



Mr. Miller opened the bag and took out a bottle. Then he punched through the chest of a vampire, and ripped out a ball of black goo. He dumped the bottle on the vamp and lit a match.



I turned away from the window as my dinner started to come back up. “That’s disgusting.”



Shaking, I sat down hard on the ground.



“Totally,” Meredith said.



My breaths started to come easier after a few minutes. But then the worry for Dastien seeped in. I hugged my knees into my chest.



Holy shit, that was close.



I owed Dastien my life.



There was a knock on the open door. Dr. Gonazales didn’t wait for me to answer. “Are you okay?”



I started to say yes, but hesitated. “I don’t know.” My neck still ached. I ran my fingers over it. “Something burned me.”



The doctor set her bag next to me. “Vampire venom. Toxic stuff. But he didn’t bite you, so that’s good. If it gets into your blood stream, then you’ve got a bigger problem.” She cleaned my neck with an alcohol swipe and spread sticky goo over the spot. “Keep this covered and dry for tonight,” she said as she taped on a bandage. “It should be fine by tomorrow.”



“I thought werewolves healed quickly.”



“This is a supernatural injury. It’ll heal slower.”



Just when I thought I’d get some use out of the whole werewolf thing, it failed me. Typical. “Is Chris going to be okay?”