Chapter 21: The Alpha's Command

Trojan’s POV

Alpha Kione is sitting across from me in the pack house conference room, his arms folded while two of his senior wolves sit beside him. Maps of the surrounding territories cover the table, marked with the places where the vampires crossed our boundaries.

I personally would rather be anywhere else than sitting in front of him. Mainly because just seeing his face makes me want to shoot him in the neck. But here we are, talking pack safety.

“They walked straight through your borders,” Kione says, tapping one of the marked areas on the map. “No warning. No formal challenge. If your patrol hadn’t caught them when they did, they would have been inside your residential sector before anyone noticed.”

He doesn’t have the real details of what actually went down, and I prefer it that way. Anything Kione knows, the entire East Wood ends up knowing.

“I’m aware,” I answer, keeping my voice measured.

He glares at me like I’ve been ignorant. “Then you understand why the rest of us are concerned. If vampires can cross into your territory that easily, none of our borders mean anything.”

Yeah, and I could be out there finding out why the fuck vampires are moving freely in werewolf territories, but you’re keeping me here. I don’t say it.

I’m about to answer when a howl tears through the pack house, making my wolf snap to attention.

There’s pain in that howl, but it isn't the pain of a normal shift. I know the voice before I even have time to think about it.

That’s Billie.

I push away from the table and head for the door.

“Trojan?” Kione calls after me.

“Meeting’s over,” I throw back without stopping.

I shift the second I hit open ground and take off toward the academy. My wolf is already running at full speed, following the connection between us and the distress coming from her direction. Something I’ve never felt before, not even when she was cornered by bloodsuckers.

Miles tries to stop me but I use the connection between Alpha and Beta to tell him to follow me with clothes.

By the time I reach the academy courtyard, students are scattered everywhere. Some are running toward the buildings while others are standing around staring at something near the edge of the yard.

A couple of them have shifted and are already dashing away from the scene. The humans are on high alert. This is that shit I told the council about regarding taking on human students. Fucking hell.

I turn my head and see her.

She’s crouched low, her hands pressed into the grass as she stares toward the agriculture building. She's not fully human, but she's not in her wolf form either. Her fingers have turned into claws, her teeth are longer, there’s longer hair on her face, and something about her eyes makes my wolf tense.

There is a girl standing several yards away with a bandage wrapped around one hand. Billie's eyes follow every movement she makes.

The moment she starts moving toward the girl, I charge.

I slam into Billie from the side, knocking her off balance and sending us both rolling across the grass. She snarls and tries to get back up, but I plant my weight against her and force her back down before she can reach the girl.

She fights harder than she should. Her claws scrape against the ground as she twists under me, trying to get past me. I growl and bare my teeth, but she keeps fighting.

‘Billie!’ I push the command through my Alpha voice.

She freezes for half a second.

Then her head turns toward me, her eyes still wild.

‘Enough.’ I growl.

The command leaves me stronger this time, carrying the full weight of my Alpha authority.

Billie's body shudders beneath mine. She tries to move again, but her limbs stop responding the way they were a moment ago. Her claws dig into the grass, and she lets out a low, frustrated grunt.

I hold her there and keep my eyes locked on hers. ‘Look at me, Billie.’

Her breathing is rough, but she finally does. I can see nothing but hunger in her eyes. Not the hunger of a wolf after a hunt. Something else. Something I don't recognize, like a wild animal.

Then she blinks, and I finally see the fear, confusion, and recognition returning to her eyes. “Trojan,” she manages, her voice rough from whatever is happening to her. I ease some of my weight off her without letting her get up.

‘Stay down,’ I tell her.

She obeys, but her attention immediately shifts back toward the girl near the agriculture building. The student is being led away by another person. Billie follows her with her eyes, and I feel her body tense beneath me.

‘Don’t,’ I warn her when she starts shifting her weight again, and she looks back at me, breathing hard.

“I can smell her,” she says, her voice strained. “I can smell her blood.”

My wolf stiffens at the admission. The wound is small, and there is no reason Billie should be reacting to it like this. I glance toward the girl again and then back at Billie.

‘What happened?’ I ask.

“I don't know.” Her claws dig deeper into the grass. “I wanted it, Trojan.”

I don't like the way she says that.

I lower my head until I'm close enough that she has no choice but to focus on me. ‘You are not going after her.’

Billie closes her eyes then, and cries. “I was going to hurt her.”

‘You won’t.’ I keep my voice firm inside her head. ‘You just have to listen to me.’

Her body trembles beneath mine.

I push the command just enough to remind her who I am. ‘Stay with me.’

Her breathing slowly begins to settle.

The strange shift hasn't disappeared. Her claws are still there, and her teeth are still wrong, but the wildness in her eyes has faded enough for me to see my Billie.

I look around the courtyard at the students already holding their phones.

I lift my head and look at Miles when he finally reaches us. ‘Clear the yard. Get everyone inside and take every phone you see. Nobody leaves until you've dealt with this.’

He nods and puts the clothes on the ground before moving through the crowd.

I turn my attention back to Billie. Whatever this is, Momo isn't controlling it. I let out a deep Alpha howl, forcing her to shift back into full human form. The claws and the hair slowly start to disappear.

I shift back to human form only after I'm certain she isn't going to lunge for anyone again. I quickly pull on the clothes while keeping my eyes on her.

I wait until she has fully shifted and scoop her into my arms, taking her home.