Chapter 19: Chapter Eighteen

DAX

I vaulted from Savannah’s window, landing on the grass with a jarring thud. The knowledge that she was safe transformed my mood entirely. I’d been on patrol when the sirens blared, and my first instinct was to rush to her.

Even though Braxton’s call for assistance echoed in my ears, I had to ensure she was unharmed first. The sound of conflict echoed from the woods nearby.

Once I reached the tree line, my wolf surged forth, and we darted through the trees like a bolt of lightning. The moonlight streamed through the leafy canopy above, casting shapes and shadows across the forest floor.

As I neared the scene, several things struck me. First, I didn’t detect the scent of lycans, and second, the skirmish wasn’t as extensive as I’d imagined to warrant a lockdown of the school.

My wolf guided me to an open field, where he skidded to a halt in the dirt.

~“What’s this?”~ my wolf queried.

Braxton stood in his human form, facing three wolves on bended knees. Two alphas loomed behind them, their expressions etched with annoyance.

My wolf huffed. ~“Seriously? I thought this was a fight,”~ he grumbled.

He shifted back without my prompting, clearly irked by the lack of action.

Braxton glanced my way. “Took you long enough. Seems we had a minor breach. These wolves are from the Werewolf University in Florida. We’re playing them this Friday.”

“This is about football?” I retorted, incredulous.

The young wolves shifted nervously. “We were just trying to scare you. We didn’t mean any harm.”

“How did you get inside?” Braxton demanded.

They exchanged nervous glances. Landon kicked one of them in the back, prompting him to answer, “Two of your freshman shewolves invited us in.

They told the security guard that we were family from their pack. They thought it would be funny, too.”

Braxton ran his fingers through his hair, exasperated. “Our university is on lockdown because of a lycan threat, this wasn’t the time for pranks. I’m calling your coach in the morning. Leave before I lose my temper.”

They sprang to their feet and dashed toward the front gate. Braxton dialed the front desk to inform them of their departure.

“Wow,” I remarked. “They thought shifting and chasing some of our students would be funny?”

Landon snorted. “Yeah, chased a few shewolves through the courtyard. Hilarious.”

“Head back to campus. I need to speak with Dax.”

~Damn.~ I knew this was about my tardiness.

Braxton turned to face me once the others had left. “Where were you? I called for you nearly thirty minutes ago.”

I met his gaze. “It wasn’t thirty minutes ago.”

“Close enough. You went to see her first, didn’t you?”

I squared off with him, challenging him to make an issue of it. “This entire lycan attack is because I defended her honor. They’re after her, Braxton. Of course I went to her first.”

Braxton closed his eyes. “You’re an alpha, Dax. You have to prioritize the pack.”

I clenched my fists. “Piss off. I don’t want to do this right now. Your mate hasn’t been the target of a lycan attack, you wouldn’t understand.”

I left him standing in the field, ignoring his calls after me. All I wanted was to return to Savannah’s room, take a shower, and hold her.

The atmosphere on campus had calmed since Braxton reported the other wolves. The Vice President of the school announced over the intercom that it had been a false alarm.

Some alphas lingered outside of the Luna House, while I sprinted up the stairs toward Savannah’s room. She was sitting on her bed when I entered, engrossed in what appeared to be an old diary.

“Hey,” she greeted, closing the diary. “What happened?”

I shut her door. “Just a prank from the football team we’re playing in a few days. Nothing to worry about.”

She exhaled heavily. “That’s good, right? It’s good that it’s not the lycans?”

I nodded, leaning in to kiss her. “Yes,” I lied.

I hated lying to my luna, but I didn’t want to cause her undue worry. The lycans’ silence was actually making me anxious. I didn’t like being in the dark about their strategy.

“What are you doing?” I asked, eyeing the diary on her bed.

She glanced at it. “It was my mother’s. She left it for me, and I’ve been reading through her entries.”

I studied her expression and sat beside her. “What’s wrong?”

“She was mated to a man named Darius Herrington from The Calhoun Pack. I’m several entries in and his actions are starting to raise red flags. My mother hasn’t noticed yet…”

The Calhoun Pack were notorious for their ruthlessness and cruelty. We’d learned about their pack wars growing up. They fought other packs to steal their possessions and treated their mates like slaves.

Knowing her mother was mated to one of them sent chills down my spine. “Well, we know something happens to him, and she gets a new mate. That’s good.”

She nodded. “Yeah. So, how was patrol?”

I huffed, pulling off my T-shirt. “Fine. I’d much rather have been here than out there, but duty calls. Do you mind if I use your shower?”

Her gaze roamed over me in a way that made me question my self-control. “Sure,” she said, rising and leading me to the bathroom.

The bathroom was a vision in white marble, its gleaming surface putting the Alpha House to shame. I watched as she rummaged around, searching for towels and washcloths.

Finally, she turned and handed me the items. “Call me if you need me.”

My wolf chuckled within me, and I toyed with the idea of asking her to stay, but I refrained.

My body felt worn down from patrol, and as much as I yearned to do ungodly things to her, I didn’t want our first time to be half-hearted because I was too tired.

When I emerged, Savannah was sprawled on her bed, wearing one of my T-shirts with her hair piled on top of her head. I didn’t miss the look of desire on her face as I sauntered over in nothing but a pair of sweats.

“What makes some packs mean?” she asked.

I slid onto the bed beside her and stared down at her mother’s diary. “It just happens. Werewolves weren’t always kind to one another.

“Hundreds of years ago, they fought each other for land, and some packs clung to that mentality, never evolving like the rest of us.”

She turned onto her back. “I hate that my mother was mated to one,” she mumbled.

I nodded, rubbing the pad of my thumb against the span of her bottom lip. “What else does the diary say?”

She sighed. “Nothing yet. She’s still in love with him. She talks about how demanding and domineering he is. Jealous. It sounds really toxic.”

“That it does, though, I can understand the jealousy, and you can, too, obviously.”

She gave me a sidelong glance. “Speaking of, I was serious about her not coming with us to the party.”

I chuckled. “She’s not coming. I’m going to call my mom tomorrow and tell her.”

“I didn’t realize this party would be so fancy. I told Jaka about it and she nearly had a heart attack. Missy helped me pick out that dress.”

My gaze traveled over to the beautiful dress displayed on her ottoman. “Wolves take a new pack member seriously.”

“I’m nervous,” she whispered, biting her lip.

I tucked her hair behind her ear. “You’re going to make a wonderful luna, Savannah. You’ll meet my family before the pack, and you’ll fit right in. Don’t worry. You’re perfect.”

A blush swept across her cheeks. “Perfect is a little farfetched, but I’ll take it.”

I chuckled when I heard Savannah’s phone buzz against the bed. She dug around for it, and I saw the hopeful look on her face that it was her Grammy or Amber returning her calls.

But I could tell it wasn’t.

I fought the urge to look, but I didn’t want to intrude on her space, no matter how badly I wanted to see.

She sighed. “It’s Trent. He said he’s still mad but sorry for calling me a whore.”

I snorted, rubbing my palm down my face. “How kind of him.”

Savannah lifted a dark brow. “Don’t be jealous, Trent never made me feel like you do.”

~“Damn straight,”~ my wolf said.

“And we’ve hardly gotten started,” I whispered into her ear. “I’m hoping we’ll have some time alone at the pack house this weekend. I have a surprise for you.”

Savannah leaned against her elbows. “I love surprises. What is it?”

I chuckled. “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.”

“I think I can get it out of you before this weekend,” she whispered.

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “How so?”

She swung her leg over my hips and straddled my waist. Slowly, she leaned down and kissed my jawline. “I have a few ideas.”

***

“Mom, I said she can’t come.”

Mom huffed on the other end of the phone. “Are you sure she’s trying to break you and Savannah up? She’s always been such a sweet girl.”

Kayden eyed me over his lunch and grinned.

I shoveled in another bite of food. “I’m sure, Mom. She’s been trying to sleep with me for years, and I’ve never been interested in a slut…”

“Daxton Scott Allaire!” she said. “I taught you better than to call girls that.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m just calling a spade a spade. She is seriously delusional. And I think she took long on purpose when I sent her to go get the school nurse—

~Crap.~

“Why did you need the school nurse?” she asked.

Kayden watched in amusement on the other side of the booth.

“Savannah fainted—”

“Oh my Heavens, why?” she shouted. “Is she okay? Why didn’t you call me about it? The poor dear doesn’t have parents, she needs someone she can call.”

“She’s fine. Nurse Withers really couldn’t explain it. She was trying to shift and she fainted.”

Mom was silent for a few moments, which told me Dad hadn’t told her about Savannah not shifting.

“She doesn’t know how to shift?”

I sighed. ~Dig yourself a deeper hole there, buddy.~

“She wasn’t raised with wolves, Mom. Her Grammy raised her. She’s all new to this. She didn’t even know what a werewolf was prior to the university.”

“For goodness’ sake,” she hissed. “This party is going to scare the hell out of her, Daxton.”

“I told you to hold off!”

“I thought you were being ridiculous. ~Geesh~. It’s too late, I’ve already invited everyone…”

“It’s all good,” I assured her. “She’s still learning, and she’s already chosen her dress. It’s stunning.”

Mom let out a sigh. “Alright. I’ll remind your brothers and sister to go easy on you when you arrive. You’re coming on Friday afternoon, right?”

“Absolutely, we’ll be there. I need to wrap up lunch, but you should call Randi’s mom and tell her to arrange another ride. Love you, bye,” I said, cutting her off before she could argue.

Kayden chuckled. “Randi is going to throw a tantrum. That girl is seriously smitten with you.”

“Welcome to the club,” I muttered under my breath.

Savannah’s hand brushed against my shoulder, catching me off guard. “Hey, I thought your lab was running late.”

I shifted to make room for her. “Hey, Kayden,” she greeted him with a small wave. “We had to give a blood sample for a family tree project. It didn’t take as long as I anticipated.”

“Family tree, huh? That must be fascinating for you, you’ll get to discover more about your roots.”

She gave me a curt nod. “I’m really intrigued by it, especially because there’s a gap in my mother’s diary entries.”

“How big of a gap?”

“An entire year,” she revealed. “It jumped from 2003 to 2004. The year she went to live with The Calhoun Pack.”

Kayden’s fork clattered onto his plate. “Your mother was mated to a wolf from The Calhoun Pack? They were notorious and corrupt. They probably wouldn’t even allow her to keep a diary there. They chained their mates up—”

I kicked Kayden under the table and shot him a warning glare.

~“Idiot,”~ my wolf muttered.

The cafeteria doors swung open, and a young shewolf dashed inside. We turned to see a freshman scanning the room anxiously until her gaze landed on us.

She clutched her neck, and I noticed blood seeping between her fingers. Two professors rushed over to intervene, but she pushed past them and halted at our table.

Tears streamed down her face. “What happened?” I asked.

Braxton burst through the double doors moments later, hurrying over as she began to speak.

“I was heading to the post office to mail some letters for my mom.” She sniffled. “And a lycan attacked me. He said to give this to Allaire.”

With trembling hands, she handed me a letter as Braxton gently pulled her hand away to examine her neck. Savannah gasped.

He’d bitten her. A wave of fear, hot and fierce, surged through my veins.

I slowly unfolded the note and stared at the small, cursive handwriting.

~Next time it’s Savannah.~

Nurse Withers must have been summoned, because when I finally tore my gaze away from the note, she was leading the she-wolf away. My wolf howled and clawed to be released, my body shaking with rage.

I could feel Savannah’s fear, and it stoked my wolf’s adrenaline. My mate wouldn’t live in fear of this lycan. I wouldn’t rest until I’d torn his heart from his chest and served it to the wolves.