Blood Moon (Alpha Wolf Academy Book 3) Read online

  Blood Moon

  ALPHA WOLF ACADEMY: BOOK 3

  JJ King

  Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Next In Alpha Wolf Academy…

  Before There Was Alpha Wolf Academy…

  About the Author

  The characters, places, and events portrayed in this book are completely fiction and are in no way meant to represent real people or places.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to others. If you would like to share this eBook with another person please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Copyright © 2020 JJ King

  All rights reserved.

  Kindle Edition

  ISBN- 978-1-989794-03-6

  For my girl, Candace, who talked me through every twist and turn.

  Acknowledgments

  This one goes out to all the fan girls (and boys). See, I’m a geek. I grew up with two older brothers and followed in their comic book & epic fantasy loving footsteps. I love Star Wars, Star Trek, Star Gate, and Battlestar Galactica. Give me a “star” and I’m there! I also adore Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Vampire Diaries, and Twilight.

  What I’m saying is, I’m a geek.

  So, this one is for my fellow geeks and freaks, who just love disappearing into another world. I hope I’ve created a world you can slip into and adore.

  Chapter 1

  Sweat dripped into my eyes, stinging them, blurring them, but I ignored it and kept my focus locked on the man standing across from me. His eyes were narrowed and his stance ready to strike out. I watched his gaze, measuring his intentions rather than reacting to his movements, as I’d been taught, as I’d been practicing.

  A wicked grin lifted my lips, baring my teeth as I paced to my left, legs crossing smoothly so my body stayed centered, balanced, ready.

  When he decided to strike, his eyes shifted, ever so slightly. I ducked, moving my body into a dance that moved me out of arm's reach, out of danger. Still in fluid motion, I pulled my fists in tight, rotated my core, and snapped a leg out with a roar of exertion.

  His eyes went wide for a split second, then dark as he tumbled to the sparring mat in a heap of muscles and sweat. He sat there, head swaying, saying nothing for a moment while he pulled out his teeth guard and undid the strap to his helmet.

  “You almost knocked me out,” he said in a voice edged with disbelief. When his dark gaze lifted to mine, though, there was only pride coloring them. “Damn good job, Elena.” Tomas climbed to his feet on unsteady legs and clapped a hand to my shoulder for support, which I graciously gave with a huge grin. “Down girl,” he muttered with a chuckle.

  “Never,” I retorted, pretending to deliver a jab to his midsection.

  Tomas grimaced and shook his head. “Not ready for another round yet.” He lifted a hand to his head and blinked slowly as if trying to dislodge the cobwebs there. “Maybe not for a while.”

  I left him swaying and went to retrieve our water bottles and towels from the nearby bench. “Here.” I tossed him the towel first and waited while he mopped up his face to pass him the bottle. My water tasted like ambrosia as I chugged it greedily.

  I moved to the wall of mirrors and picked up two twenty-pound dumbbells. “Where did you learn krav maga like that?” I asked, lifting the weights slowly to my shoulders then back to my waist while I studied my new trainer’s reflection.

  He was good, I’d known that the first time we’d sparred. Since Anthony LaFlamme had Alpha responsibilities, not to mention a wife and children, he’d sent one of his most trusted men to train me in the ways of the Jedi. When Tomas had shown up the week after the plane crash, I’d been nervous but excited to meet him.

  In truth, he’d saved me. After the plane crash, while most of the others had headed home to recover and move through the stages of guilt and grief, I’d stayed at Alpha Wolf Academy because I didn’t have much choice in the matter. My uncle Viktor, the Alpha of Russia, had gotten too close for comfort once again in his quest to murder me like he had my entire family.

  I’d been slowly slipping back into the chasm of survivor’s guilt that had started tearing me down since I’d learned the truth of the attack on campus back almost a year ago when Tomas had knocked on my door.

  I blinked at my reflection in the mirror as that realization struck me. Almost a year had passed since Viktor had destroyed the illusion of safety in my life. In all our lives. Everyone on campus had been rocked and most had lost someone. The guilt had been overwhelming, even with counseling, and had only gotten worse, despite my efforts to the contrary, after Viktor had taken down the plane I’d been on with a bomb. I’d survived, again, while others had died.

  Tomas had spared no bullshit in confronting me on the topic. I’d been strong enough to survive, he’d said, but it wasn’t enough to just survive. I would have to be strong enough now to actually live. That’s when I’d started fighting back.

  Something had shifted in me when my Alpha voice had manifested, and I needed to learn more about it, about me and what my body and mind could do.

  “Have you talked to Bash yet?” Tomas called out as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into his bag. His defined muscles gleamed with sweat. I admired them, not from sexual curiosity, I had Bash for that, but from a new knowledge of what it took to achieve that level of definition. I was finally starting to use my body to its fullest capabilities and was getting stronger every day. I turned my gaze back to the mirror, to the definition in my arms that hadn’t been there before, and grinned.

  I bit down on the edge of my lip and finished my last rep, then laid down the weights and reached for my towel again. “I’ve seen him, but we haven’t talked,” I said with a heavy sigh. “Not really. And the longer we go, the worse it gets.”

  “Then have it out with him. Maybe what the two of you need is a good fight.” Tomas grinned and gestured to the mat behind them. “Get him here. Make it a literal fight. It’ll be good for you both.”

  I considered his advice. Things had been weirdly formal between Bash and I for a while now, as if we were constantly walking on eggshells, trying to avoid the obvious conversation. He’d been pulled away by family obligations over spring break, while I’d been splashing in the ocean with my parents and friends. I’d come back to AWA tanned and toned with most of my personal relationships in a good place while he’d come back with tight shoulders and eyes dark with strain and stress.

  Maybe a good fight is exactly what we need.

  I reached my hands into the air above my head, stretching out all my muscles, and arched back with a groan. It was early, barely 6:00 am, so I’d have to wait to instigate our little confrontation. I’d gotten used to waking with the sun over the three-week break and found I liked the quiet of the day before the world awoke.

  “I’m going to do a few laps around campus. You up for it, old man?” I arched an eyebrow at him speculatively and grinne
d, then sat on the mat to pull on my sneakers.

  He tossed his towel at me and I dodged it with a laugh. “I’ll give you old man,” he muttered. “But, no, I can’t this morning. I have a video chat scheduled with Anthony in an hour.”

  “Don’t you mean Alpha LaFlamme?” I asked in mock seriousness.

  Tomas shook his head. “It’s still weird to call him that. He deserves it, he’s a great Alpha but I can’t help it. I’ll always think of Pierre as my Alpha.”

  “What about Sylvie?” I rose to my feet and pulled on the lightweight jacket.

  “We’re lucky to have her,” Tomas said earnestly. “The LaFlammes are good people.”

  I nodded in agreement. He was right, they were good people. Before the attack, I’d known there were people who were nicer than others, kinder, smarter, whatever. I just hadn’t realized that some people had evil inside them, actual evil, not the “I’m annoyed with you so I’m going to be shitty” kind of emotion. Viktor had willingly snuffed out innocent lives for power and was intent on blowing up anyone who stood in his way now.

  Too bad that person was me.

  “See you tomorrow morning, then,” I said, heading towards the door. I wanted to run while my muscles were still warm and limber. I pulled my earbuds from my pocket, turned on my favorite mix, and popped them in.

  The air was warm with the promise of heat. The quad would be filled with students soon but, for now, it was just me, the flowers, and Imagine Dragons.

  I fell into a rhythm that matched the beat of my heart. It was meditative, I’d found, sometimes almost hypnotic, and my favorite time for deep thought. I’d worked through a lot of personal hang-ups on the trails of my island getaway.

  I missed my friends and family, but it was nice knowing they were happy and safe. Sara and Bethany had been offered spots at Alpha Wolf Academy with me, courtesy of The Sisterhood, but they’d discussed it in length and had decided that they’d prefer island life while they could get it. The tutors employed by The Sisterhood would ensure they kept up their education while they kept up their tans.

  I couldn’t blame them, even though my heart had leaped at the thought of having them close. From their perspective, AWA had come under siege and had one of its planes blown up with me on it. They’d begged me to take time off and stay with them, it was safer they’d said. They were right, of course, it probably would be safer, but I had responsibilities and had to be at AWA to fulfill them.

  Plus, my soul was incomplete without my mate and he was here.

  The Sisterhood was becoming a bigger part of my life. I’d attended another meeting with Sylvie and Katherine and had met more important women than I could keep straight. It sometimes felt like a blur, too much in too short a time.

  That was the crux of it, though, time. Most Alphas had a lifetime to prepare and learn about the responsibilities and expectations of ruling a pack and I’d only just begun. I had so much to learn, the pressure of it sometimes felt like a vise pressing in on my chest.

  It was tempting to give into the dream that this had never happened, that I was a normal wolf, free to live my life. That wasn’t my reality anymore, though, and I was getting better at accepting that. Viktor would never stop hunting me, so I could either hide for the rest of my life or fight back and win. Katherine was a big help in that area. She knew what it was like having a mad man focused on you.

  Sylvie and Katherine were a blessing in the midst of all this mess. They’d become like family to me. Mom had just about lost her mind when we’d visited Wild River at the end of our island vacation but, once she’d gotten to know the Alpha as a real person, they’d made friends quickly. It was probably killing her bit by bit that she couldn’t brag about her new friend to everyone back home but, as far as they knew, my parents had gotten jobs out west and were living normal lives just like everyone else.

  I picked up my pace as the music changed from slow to manic, grinning as my body responded to my will, strong and fast. Adrenaline and endorphins kicked into high gear, filling me with a sense of weightlessness as I bounded around the corner of an old brick building…

  … and straight into someone dressed all in black.

  Chapter 2

  I bounced off the hard chest and flew back, arms thrown wide in a futile attempt to catch my balance. Before I could hit the ground, a hand darted out, only a blur, and grabbed my wrist.

  “Old Ones, Elena!” The black hoodie fell back from Bash’s face. “Are you okay? I didn’t see you coming.” He tugged me upright and into his arms.

  I automatically wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of him. I’d missed the simple comfort of being in his arms and wanted to enjoy it before the strain of our problems colored the moment.

  He smelled so fucking good, it stirred up all my woefully deprived juices. I tucked into him closer, pressing my body against the hard length of him. The way his body shifted and the smell of arousal that wafted from him a moment later told me he felt the same way.

  It was a start, I thought, then decided to go with Tomas’ suggestion of a spar to clear the air. I opened my mouth to ask him when he’d be free.

  “Do you, ummm,” Bash began slowly, pulling back so I could see the nerves in his emerald eyes. “Are you free for coffee?”

  “What? Now?” I asked. I glanced down at my sweaty clothes.

  Bash smiled. “How about in half an hour? I’ll meet you in the blackberry grove.” At my nod, he ran his hands down my arms, linked his hands with mine for a moment, then pulled away until our fingers slid apart.

  I watched him disappear in the direction I’d just come from and frowned down at my fingers, where the tingle from his touch was already fading. I pressed them to my mouth and prayed we’d find our way through this then ran as fast as I could towards my room to shower.

  I dressed in my school uniform, not knowing if I’d get the chance to get back to my room to change before my first class. In concession to the promised heat, I left my blazer hanging in the closet and went for a thin cardigan, fitted white blouse, and plaid tie to go with the plaid skirt I’d gotten specially tailored to fit my 5’10” height. I added an academy tie pin to bring the whole look together then stared at my reflection in the full-length mirror mounted to the wall.

  If someone didn’t know the difference, they’d think I belonged, I thought. But I didn’t belong, not really. I just didn’t belong anywhere else either.

  I fluffed my hair once and applied a slick of gloss, wanting to look pretty for Bash, then shook my head at my reflection, grabbed my backpack, and walked out my door.

  I found Bash in the blackberry grove, as promised, holding two large coffees from my favorite kiosk on campus. The scent of vanilla wafted out of mine, making me smile. He knew my favorite drink; he knew my favorite candy. He knew me. I took a sip and the warmth from the coffee mixed with love for my mate. I put the cup down on the stone wall and reached for him.

  He tasted like blackberries, coffee, and man, a potent mix. I wove my fingers through his dark hair and pulled him down into a searing kiss.

  His hands came to my hips and pulled me in as his head tilted to deepen his access to my mouth. Pent up sexual hunger burst out of us both and, for a moment, I lost all sense of place and time and just devoured him.

  The chuckle of an older gentleman as he walked by the little tucked away garden with a smiling woman on his arm, broke us apart and brought a rush of blood to my cheeks. I wasn’t a prude by any sense of the word, most wolves weren’t, but I’d been on the verge of jumping Bash in the middle of campus as the academy woke up around us.

  “Good morning,” Bash said in a raspy voice in his best attempt at ignoring the obvious pheromones pumping off us both.

  Their echoes of “Good morning” floated back to us as they strolled away.

  I erupted into a fit of giggles the moment they were out of sight and buried my face in Bash’s neck. The way his chest hitched from laughter mad
e my heart warm.

  “Maybe we should sit,” he suggested, skimming his hands down my arms to pull me back enough to look down at me. His eyes were alive with laughter and arousal.

  I retrieved my coffee then sat on the bench tucked into the corner, turning so I could look at him. He never failed to make my blood sing but even without his heart-stopping looks, he had my heart.

  He toyed with my free hand absently and sipped his coffee. The tension that had been there for weeks rocketed up again. I chewed on my lip for a moment then decided to bite the proverbial bullet.

  “He’s gone, Bash.” I said quietly and felt my heart sink when his fingers stilled.

  He nodded slowly. “I know.”

  I swallowed and tried to keep myself from tearing up. The bond between us was still growing but it was enough to let me feel what he felt, the uncertainty, the nerves, the doubt. I closed my eyes and focused on sending what I felt to him.

  “I know you’re sorry.” Bash raised his gaze to mine and sighed. “You don’t have to be sorry for the kiss. I’m not an asshole, Elena. I know that wasn’t your choice.”

  A chill ran up my spine, chasing away all the heat that had gathered under my skin. It was apparently time to finally talk about it.

  “Why did you wait so long to tell me? That’s the part I don’t understand.” His voice was low and thick with emotion that punched out at me. Bash’s emerald eyes were tired and shattered when he looked up at me.