Page 21 of Alpha Varsity (Wolf Ridge High #5)

Chapter Twenty-One

L otta

“Oh my God! You must be made of rubber!” I make my voice sound cheery, as if I’m congratulating Andy on getting defenestrated.

He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. And it doesn’t look like he’s actually hurt. So I just might be able to smooth this over.

I have to–for Asher.

“What the fuck?” Andy staggers to his feet.

“Seriously, did you see that?” I stand in the broken window and make my eyes wide with wonder. “You just flew through a plate glass window without a scratch. That’s amazing. If I had that on video, it would go viral.”

Andy shakes the glass out of his hair.

In my peripheral vision, I see Coach Jamison intercept Asher and escort him in the direction of the parking lot.

Oh fate. He’s probably going to take him straight to the sheriff’s. Or to Alpha Green. I want to run after him and stop him, but containing the Andy situation is the most important thing. If I can’t lock this up tight, Asher’s fate will be sealed, and the pack will be at risk.

But I can still fix this. If there’s one thing I learned in the last four years, it’s how to play in the world of humans. That’s something most people in this town don’t understand.

Andy’s spoiled. His parents are rich. If he takes offense over this, there will be hell to pay. But he’s also an egotistical idiot. So if I can make him feel special instead of affronted, I just might be able to avert the criminal and legal nightmare this could become.

Then we can deal with the pack punishment Asher will face.

I have far less leverage there.

“I don’t know if I would say without a scratch .” Andy dabs a spot of blood on his cheek. He’s clearly still stunned and disoriented from the attack.

“No, really. You are the luckiest person alive. A stuntman couldn’t have done a more beautiful job. You did a full twist in the air and then tucked and rolled. Hang on–I’m coming out there.”

Principal Olsen and three other teachers are already jogging out the doors toward him.

I have to beat them there. I grab a paint rag and spread it over the busted glass in the windowsill, then vault out like I, too, am a stunt double.

It occurs to me that a wolf shifter could make a decent living as a stunt double if they wanted.

“Wow, did you guys see that?” I call out, my face bright with excitement. “My friend, Andy, just went through that window without a scratch. It was epic!”

The principal and teachers are all wolf shifters. They understand the necessity of keeping human-wolf relations at peace. They’re quick to follow my lead. I watch as their expressions of urgency and concern blink away. They slow their approach.

“What happened?” Principal Olsen asks, shoving his hands in his pockets for a more casual look.

I join Andy in brushing glass off his clothing. It’s everywhere–tiny pieces in every wrinkle of fabric. “Well, one of my students walked in on Andy not taking no for an answer, and he picked him up and somehow–I have no idea how–sent Andy through the window. But it’s okay. Andy’s fine, thank God.”

“Thank God,” Mrs. Miller, the Chemistry teacher, echoes.

“You weren’t taking no for an answer?” Principal Olsen uses the sternness of Alpha Command in his voice. While Andy won’t have the extreme biological response to it that shifters do, he should feel cowed by it.

Andy’s face, already ruddy from the altercation, goes an even deeper red. There’s nothing like shame when it comes to a spoiled rich artist who cares far too much about being admired by others. “Well, I–”

“It’s all right,” I interrupt. I have the conversation going exactly the way I want it. I get to be the magnanimous one now, instead of Andy. I’m the offended party, but I prevent Andy from going on the defensive by propping up his ego with my warmth. “I’m just relieved no one was hurt.” I meet his gaze and shake my head. “Seriously, you were amazing. And so lucky. You should definitely buy a lottery ticket today.”

“Wow, that’s crazy,” Mrs. Miller echoes. Thank fate she’s quick on the uptake. “So lucky. Are you into martial arts?”

Andy preens a little. “No. Just naturally athletic. ”

Principal Olsen looks at me. “Do you want to press charges?”

Andy’s head whips around.

“No, definitely not. It was not a big deal. No harm, no foul, right, Andy?”

He blinks at me then at Principal Olsen.

I hold my breath. Please let this work.

Please, please, please let this work.

“Yeah. All good. I’m sorry.” He shakes out his designer t-shirt for any remaining pieces of glass.

“No, me, too.” I put my hand on his elbow and escort him toward the parking lot. The sooner I get him out of this town, the better.

Andy shakes his head as we walk. “How did…how did I go through the window?”

“It was just some freak accident. Seriously epic. I wish you could have seen yourself.”

“What happened to that kid?” He looks around. “I mean, where’s the student who threw me?”

“He was really embarrassed. I sent him back to the office.” I roll my eyes. “These meathead ballers don’t realize how strong they are. He didn’t mean you any harm. I obviously knew I wasn’t in any danger from you, but he walked in right at the wrong moment. And these jocks all have this damsel in distress savior complex.” I flick an imaginary piece of glass from his shoulder. “You’re totally okay, right?”

I can see his pride warring with the spoiled part of him that wants to cry victim. “Yeah,” he says finally.

My pulse is a quick beat in both my wrists. “Yeah, me too.” I’m still pretending I’m the real victim here. I bump my shoulder against his as we walk. “Not cool demanding sexual favors in return for introductions at the gallery, though.” I make my voice light like we’re best friends who had a little disagreement we’re ready to laugh over. “You’re lucky I didn’t throw you through a window.”

He doesn’t take the rebuke well. I went a little too far. He splutters, “Well, I wasn’t–”

“Kidding.” I playfully bump his shoulder again. “It’s fine. I know you didn’t mean it.” We arrive at the side of a shiny black Mustang, the one I had picked out as his rental car. “What is the deal with the gallery, though?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think it’s a good fit for you.”

Asshole. I’m not surprised. I shouldn’t be disappointed. I knew he would answer this way based on what just happened, yet it still hits me like an arrow to the heart. It still feels like an affront to my art. I straighten my stiff shoulders. “Right. Okay, well, I hope it works out for you.”

He takes a slow survey of the parking lot, like he’s getting his bearings and suddenly has no idea why he’s here. His lip curls in familiar sneer. “Well. I hope this teaching thing works out for you.” He infuses a world of pity and condemnation in his voice.

A few days ago that pity and condemnation might have hurt because I felt it for myself, too.

Now, though, I could not give a fuck. I’ve been far too wrapped up in myself and my career to see what’s important. Love is what matters.

And I love Asher.

I will do anything in the world to keep him from being expelled from school and banished from the pack.

Asher

“Get in.” Coach Jamison grabbed me outside and hustled me to his pickup truck .

“Coach–”

“ Get in, Asher .” His voice is hard. Angry. But his scent has a tinge of stress in it. He’s scared for me.

I climb in the cab of the pickup truck and scrub a hand over my face. “I’m done, right?”

“I don’t know.” He throws the car into reverse and whips out of the parking space. The entire team–Varsity and JV–stands at the gate watching us leave. He peels out when he puts it in drive. “I’m getting you off-property before anyone can make that call. I want you to get a fair trial with the council before anything’s decided.”

My stomach’s filled with rocks. “Thanks, Coach,” I mutter. “But it’s all right. I was never going to make it here, anyway.”

“Dammit, Asher. I would love for you to just pull your head out of your ass for three seconds and stop fighting against this pack.”

I drop my head into my hands and freefall off a cliff. Because, of course, Coach is right. All this time I’ve been playing the part of the rebel, feeling like Lotta and the pack did my dad dirty. It defined my entire personality.

Or maybe solidified it. My dad was really the one who made me into a rebel. I rebelled against his tyranny in the ways I could growing up. But when he left, I somehow made him out to be something much better than what he was. I was missing a father figure in that crucial time of puberty and my first shift, and I’d glorified him and demonized the pack.

But now I know he was a louse who deserved it all. I suddenly remember and recognize what an asshole he was. How he knocked me and my mom around. Belittled us. Bullied us.

“Have you ever considered that pack members treat you like a punk because you act like one? All you have to do is step up and be a leader. Instead of pushing against, you could be fighting for something. For yourself.”

Coach’s words are too deep for me to even process, but I close my eyes and let them wash over me. I know he cares, and it means more than I’ve ever let myself feel before.

In fact, I suddenly feel everything.

Way too much.

Shame over my behavior. Over leaving Lotta this morning. Over being such a dick to her when she was the one protecting me. Regret over not noticing that I’ve had an amazing father figure for the last four years–a coach who cares about me like I’m his own. Bitterness toward my dad for attacking my mate and being a shitty father and husband to my mom.

We speed up the hill toward the center of town. “You want to tell me what happened?” Coach demands.

Right.

The incident at hand. The human I just flung through a plate glass window.

“He was…” I draw a breath, trying to remember. It was all a red haze at the time. “He was touching her. She told him to stop. I–”

I have to stop and drag a deep breath in through my nostrils to quiet the red haze in front of my eyes.

“You helped him stop,” Coach fills in.

I nod faintly. My focus is on the road ahead, but I’m not seeing anything.

“Okay. Call your mom. Tell her what happened, so she’s not surprised by hearing it from someone else.”

“Yes, Sir.” My hands move mechanically, fishing my phone out and dialing my mom.

When I tell her what happened, her fear comes across the phone like a cold cocoon. “No, Asher,” she whispers.

“It’s okay, Mom. I’ll be all right, no matter what happens.”

“No… you won’t. You–”

“Don’t cry, Mom. It’ll be okay. I love you.” I’m choking up now, too, but only because I let my mom down. She doesn’t deserve the shame I’m bringing on her with this. A repeat of the shame my dad brought on our family. I end the call before she can answer because there’s nothing more to say.

Coach Jamison pulls in at his house and shuts off the truck. “Come on. Get inside.”

I hop out of the truck. “Am I hiding?”

He blows out an exacerbated breath as he walks to the door. “Not exactly. You’re in my custody. I’d rather be the guy holding you than have the sheriff get his hands on you. Or Alpha Green.”

Alpha Green.

I don’t expect the alpha to take mercy on me. He banished his own son for selling marijuana when he was my age. And it’s not like I wasn’t warned.

Coach Jamison opens the door and ushers me in. As tight as me and my friends are with Coach, he’s never had us to his place. He keeps that line of respect and authority crystal clear. I look around at the small, clean house.

It’s furnished simply with clean lines and modern pieces. There’s a large-screen television on one wall. An apple green rug between it at the gray leather couch.

“Get cleaned up.” Coach points down the hall.

“Yes, Sir.”

I do as I’m told, washing the blood from my hands and my ear. Shaking pieces of glass from my hair and clothes onto Coach’s white tile floor.

When I come out, I find Coach standing in his kitchen ending a phone call.

“Well?” I ask.

“Shifter council. Tonight.”

“Is it open to the rest of the pack?” I already know the answer, but I’m thinking about my mom. She would want to be there.

“No.”

That means Coach Jamison can’t be there either. I will have absolutely no one in my corner when I stand to speak on my own behalf. And speaking to authority has never been my gift. I am well and thoroughly fucked.

This is definitely the end of line for me in Wolf Ridge.

Lotta

“I’m sorry, Carlotta, but it’s out of my hands. Alpha Green called a council meeting.”

I stare at Principal Olsen, my heart beating against my ribs like a trapped bird in a cage.

I just spent two hours explaining to the principal and the sheriff exactly what happened. I worked with Zory, the janitor, to get my window outfitted with plywood. Principal Olsen made the call not to notify the school district, so he’s trying to arrange for some pack members who work as builders to cover the cost of the repair.

Which doesn’t help Asher’s case in the slightest.

A council meeting is serious.

“That hardly seems necessary. This was a school incident, and we’ve taken care of the situation.” I rub my nose to stop it from burning.

“I know you’re sympathetic to Asher, but he has a history of unchecked volatility. While his heart was in the right place, he showed extremely poor judgment today. I hate to say it, but he’s a liability to the pack. That’s why I let Alpha Green know when he broke Eric Damonella’s wrist, and that’s why I called him again today. You know as well as I do how badly things might have gone this afternoon. If it hadn’t been for your manipulation of the human, we would be looking at assault charges or a lawsuit.”

“I know. But that didn’t happen.”

“Where is Asher now?”

I need to see my mate. Crave it with a desperation that’s making me feverish. And not for sex this time. I need to know he’s okay.

“Coach Jamison has him sequestered until the meeting.” He looks at his watch. “But the meeting begins in ten minutes, so he’ll be on his way to the pack hall.”

No. I won’t let Asher take the fall for this.

Especially not when all he has to do to get off is say he’s my mate, and I sealed his lips on that.

I don’t think he’ll go against my wishes, either. He’s too protective of me.

Well, dammit, I’m protective, too.

I’m going to crash that meeting.

“Will you and Coach Jamison be at the meeting?”

“No. Council only.”

Fuck. “Principal Olsen?”

“Yes?”

“May I see Asher’s disciplinary file?”

My employer’s eyes narrow, and he considers me. I am a teacher at the school, and Asher is my student. I believe I have a right to ask for the file, but I’m not certain.

He shrugs, though, and pulls open a drawer in the filing cabinet behind him. He hands over a folder. It’s thick with handwritten and typed notes about Asher’s behavior going all the way back to kindergarten. “Have at it. I can’t see what good it will do you, though.”

“Thank you, Sir.” I take the folder and jog out to my car, leafing through the pages as I go. I have an idea. It’s not fully-formed yet, but I’m hoping Asher’s file will help.

Asher

The Wolf Ridge high council consists of the alpha and twelve members–six female, six male. All, including Lotta’s mom, are from pack royalty–the families with the best blood lines.

Coach sits with me outside the pack hall to wait.

The door opens, and one of the pack elders nods at me to come in. There’s no trace of compassion in his face.

Pack hall is designed like a courtroom with a raised dais built in a semicircle at the front of the hall. Alpha Green sits in the middle, flanked by his council members in no particular order. The room isn’t opulent. Shifters aren’t generally rich. It has more of an Old West feel. Like I could be strung up and hanged at dawn if they so choose.

But banishment is the worst punishment for a shifter. We’re pack animals by nature. We rely on community. Once you’re banished from one pack, no other will take you in. Although that’s not completely true, since Garrett Green, Alpha Green’s banished son, formed his own misfit pack in Tucson and is known to take in other strays.

I keep my eyes lowered as I walk in and take the single chair placed in front of the council platform.

There’s a silence, no doubt intended to make me squirm.

I don’t.

I’m resigned to my fate.

“Asher, you know why you’re here.” Alpha Green’s tones hold deep disapproval.” What do you have to say for yourself?”

I shake my head. “Nothing, Alpha.”

“Excuse me?”

Wrong thing to say. I meant I had no excuse, but based on the thirteen frowns, they took my answer as disrespectful.

“I just mean that I did it. I deserve whatever punishment you deem fit.”

Based on the sounds of disapproval, that was still the wrong answer. I guess they wanted me to grovel or something. I don’t know. Diplomacy isn’t an art I ever mastered.

“Well, go and wait outside while we discuss what that punishment will be,” Alpha Green says.

I stand from my chair at the same time the door bursts open.

“This is a closed proceeding,” Alpha Green snaps.

The scent of jasmine and honey makes me whirl to see Lotta striding into the room holding a thick manila folder. Her eyes flash with determination.

It takes everything in me not to run to her. I need to sweep her into my arms. Get everything out on the table. My apologies. My heart. What she means to me. What I’d do for her.

Kill.

Die .

Even leave, if that’s what she wanted.

“I know. That’s why I’m here. I have something to say related to this case.”

“ Closed proceeding means you don’t get a say,” her mom cries, obviously aghast at her daughter’s behavior.

“No, you will hear me on this.” I’ve never heard such strength come from Lotta. Her wolf is small. She’s quiet by nature. She doesn’t usually project this much power.

“ Carlotta Ann . Get out of here right now.”

“What is it?” Alpha Green asks, overriding Lotta’s mom.

Lotta holds up the file in her hand triumphantly, like she’s just broken Nazi codes. “I have Asher’s file. A record of every disciplinary act he’s been issued.”

Oh, fuck. Shame burns in me. All the fights. The suspensions. The warnings. I’ve never been a model student.

What is she doing?

Lotta slaps the folder down on the table beside me, flashing me a quick, conspiratorial look that makes me forget my self-hatred as my heart bursts into flames.

She flips open the folder and grabs the note on top, reading from the file. “This is from third grade.” She waves the piece of paper in the air, then reads from it. “Asher held John Blackmore upside down by the ankles and shook him.”

My heart sinks, remembering the incident.

Lotta looks around at the council as if she’s just delivered good news. “Do you want to know why?”

When no one responds, she says, “I’ll tell you why! It says, When questioned, Asher explained he was trying to shake loose the pencil John took from his friend Sebastian . ”

Clearly everyone in the room–including me–is having a so what? Moment.

She whips out another paper. “In fifth grade, Asher punched Nolan Sykes. Reason–Nolan pulled up the skirt of a classmate. Seventh grade–he got in a fight when someone picked on a human. Eighth grade–”

“I’m going to stop you there,” Alpha Green interrupts. “What’s your point?”

Lotta is undaunted by the council’s disapproval.

“My point is” –she jabs a finger at the folder– “I went through that file this afternoon. There are nearly thirty incidents of violence on Asher’s part and every. Single. One of them was because he was defending a weaker classmate.” She points at it again. “Every one of them.”

“It’s not an excuse–” her mom begins, but Lotta cuts across her.

“It’s alpha wolf behavior. It’s what an alpha does. And this instinct in Asher, it should have been nurtured. It should have been encouraged and honed into leadership by this pack. By you .” She points at Alpha Green now, and I fear he will banish the both of us.

He remains silent, though. Apparently considering her words.

She paces in front of them, like a courtroom lawyer. “Asher came from a violent household. Everyone here knows that. He wasn’t safe growing up. That’s the only reason I came forward and told you what his dad did to me.”

“Lotta,” I choke.

She meets my gaze, and I see a storm of concern and regret in those beautiful blue eyes.

“And I asked for that information to be kept secret because I wanted him to have a chance to become something different, without that hanging over his head.”

I flinch.

Fuck. She was protecting me. My strong, beautiful, brave, brave mate. I hate myself for hating her.

I want to punch my own face in.

“But did anyone here step in to give him direction or help?” She scans the room with accusation.

I’m floored. Are they actually taking in her words?

“No. No, you just slapped a troublemaker label on him and assumed he’d grow up to be like his dad.”

A beat of silence punctuates the scolding, then Lotta waves a hand at the folder again. “You ignored the fact that his instincts come from kindness and compassion. A sense of protecting the weaker members of his pack–the people he cares about.”

I sink into my chair, not sure my legs will hold.

Lotta–my sweet mate–is defending me like no one in my life ever has.

She’s reframing my reality, same as Coach did, and damn, if I don’t want to live up to the potential they both see in me.

She nods. “Asher Martin is protective of me. I’m part of his pack. He defended me a few weeks ago when I was disrespected by a student, and he defended me this afternoon when I was being assaulted. He didn’t know until today what his dad tried to do to me, but I know he would’ve tried to protect me then, too.”

My nose and eyes burn, and I blink hard, looking at the floor.

“Asher is not a problem, he’s a hero. And if this council would actually recognize and bring out the potential of its young pack members, instead of shaming, pigeonholing, and threatening to throw them out, then more of us young people might be willing to stick around.” She sets her jaw and meets her mother’s gaze, and I want to clap my hands and cheer.

There is no slow-clap though. Alpha Green takes back his council meeting. “Thank you. We’ve heard enough,” he says to Lotta. “Wait outside.” He looks at me.

“Yes, Alpha.” I stand.

“I know you’ll do the right thing,” Lotta says loudly as she walks out ahead of me.

The moment I close the door behind us, I pull Lotta into my arms in a silent embrace. My nose burns, and my throat constricts. “Lotta,” I whisper-choke against her hair.

“I love you, Asher,” she whispers back.

I release her enough to cradle her face, tracing the curve of her cheeks with my thumbs. “I love you so much. I always have.”

Her eyes swim. “You know what?” Tears choke her voice. “Fuck it. Let me make this absolutely clear.”

She shoves the door to the council back open and grabs my hand, tugging me back in with her.

“I said wait outside,” the alpha booms.

Lotta is undaunted. “Just one more thing–Asher is my mate.” She holds up our joined hands. “So if he goes, I go. Just wanted to make that clear.”

Lotta

I fall back against the door laughing. Asher tugs me into his arms, kissing all over my face. He palms my ass, lifting me so my legs wrap around his waist as he deepens the kiss. We’re making out against the door to the council meeting that will determine our fate.

Both of our fates .

Because they are now forever intertwined.

“I want you to mark me,” I pant, rocking against the bulge in his jeans.

“Oh, I’m going to, sweetheart.” His tongue plunges into my mouth. He drags his open mouth across my jaw. “I’m going to mark the ever-living-fuck out of you.”

I laugh.

“I’m going to mark you with my teeth”–he bites my neck–“and my scent”–he slides one hand under my shirt to cup my breast–“and my cum.” His straining cock presses in the notch between my legs. “I’m going to mark you with my fingers.” Said fingers slide over my panties over the crack of my ass.

“Lotta.” He slows his movements and holds my gaze. “Baby, I’m so sorry about this morning. I’m really ashamed that I wolfed out and ran.”

I hold his face between my two hands. “No. Of course you did. You were shocked and upset.”

“Baby, no .” He leans his forehead against mine. We’re connected in so many places–hips, heads, hands, but most importantly–hearts. “You’re the one who has a reason and a right to be upset. I should’ve been there for you. I should’ve…held you.” He swallows. I sense the tension in his body. “I should’ve apologized.”

I get the feeling apologies don’t come easy for Asher.

“I already know you’re sorry,” I tell him. “I feel your suffering. I feel it like my own.” I slide my fingers through his golden waves. It feels so incredible to be aligned with Asher after all our messy prior attempts. We needed this crisis to bring us together. Make us realize what’s important and what isn’t.

“All this time, I thought my dilemma was between my wolf side and my artist side. I thought I had to stay away from Wolf Ridge, or it would stop my career. But now that all feels irrelevant. My wolf wanted me back here to find you. My artist side did, too. You’re my destiny, Asher. My tomorrow. My forever.”

“You’re my everything.” He kisses me, lips slanting across mine, tongue sliding between my lips.

A throat clears on the other side of the door, and we pull apart, both gasping.

I let out a breathy laugh as Asher pulls me away from the door and drops me to my feet.

When he opens the door, we find my mom standing there. “Come back in. Both of you.” There’s high color in her cheeks, but I can’t read her agitation.

Asher squeezes my hand as we enter the council room.

Alpha Green beckons us forward. “We’ve reached a decision.” He does the power move of letting silence descend for a moment before he delivers his sentence.

“Carlotta, I found your defense of Asher thought-provoking, and I do take your criticism of my leadership to heart. I’ve made mistakes as an alpha. And you’re right, perhaps if I had done things differently, population wouldn’t be declining in Wolf Ridge.”

I suspect he’s referring to his banishment of his own son from the pack when he was just eighteen.

“Asher, your instincts do seem to be good, as Carlotta pointed out. But you need to learn restraint. You endanger this pack every time you act impulsively.”

“Yes, Alpha.” Asher takes the rebuke like a man.

“We believe your fated mate will help with the temperance. While we understand the impropriety of your relationship given that Carlotta is a teacher at Wolf Ridge High this semester, we’re ordering you to claim her immediately. It’s too volatile for an alpha wolf to hold off on marking his mate.”

Asher shoots me a concerned look.

I squeeze his hand. If I lose this job, I lose it. My future is Asher.

“The two of you will keep the relationship secret from all humans until Asher has graduated.”

“So…I can remain in the art teacher position?”

“Yes. Wolf Ridge High needs your talent,” Alpha Green says. If my mom had said it, I wouldn’t believe her. I would assume she was just saying that to keep me here. But considering I just threw down over them not recognizing our talents, I’m willing to receive his words as genuine appreciation. Or an attempt at genuine appreciation, anyway.

“That’s all. You’re both dismissed.”

I look up at Asher and find he’s grinning down at me, dimples at full setting, looking transformed. I laugh when he scoops me up into his arms and carries me out on exuberant steps. When we bust out of the pack hall, he spins me in circles, lowering and lifting me like I’m on an amusement park ride. I shriek with laughter, my arms tight around his neck, my joy exploding from my chest.

“Let’s go, sweetheart. You heard the alpha. I’ve been ordered to claim you. And it’s gonna be good.”