Nine – Jasper
Seeing her was like a kick to the guts.
Seeing her sitting with the omegas from the Marshall pack… Well, fuck me. That was more a claw to my balls.
But I didn’t let any of this show as I stood at the front of the stage and lay down the new law. Because as much as the alphasons were glaring at me, it was a done deal. I was making the rules, and everyone on this campus now answered to me.
The assembly kind of fizzled out after that. As the students started towards the doors, I cast a glance over my shoulder at Liam, and he gave me a nod. The arrangements were in place. The room was set up and the technicians were ready. And if the alphasons wanted to act like little bitches about this, I had plenty of hardened security guards to twist their arms.
As for the omegas, most of them were glued to their seats and staring at me in shock. But Reed was in my face before the faculty had filed off the stage. “You’re kidding, right? You can’t tag them like dogs.”
Principal Bregman looked like he wanted to intervene, but I waved him away. There’d only ever really been three rules at the Academy. They boiled down to the basic principle that staff were the authority, but in their absence, pack law applied. I wasn’t even pretending that shit existed anymore. I might have been the youngest Pack Alpha in clan history, and the only one to lead from his school desk, but I wasn’t turning this into a debate. And it sure as hell wasn’t a democracy.
“Your Pack Alphas both agreed to this. Take it up with them.”
Callum just gave me a smirk from the chair he was lounging in, but Reed looked ready to blow. He liked to think he had it all locked down, but I could see the tension rippling off him. One of the perks of alpha power was sensing others’ weak points, and Reed’s were all tied up in his belief he was in control of his base instincts. Stupid fucker.
“The alternative is a removal of all weekend privileges, zero off-site activities and round-the-clock guards. All to be funded from your own pockets.” I looked past him to what remained of our audience. Most of the females couldn’t meet my eyes, but the Head Omegas from both the Marshall and Sawyer packs were staring at me like I was Satan. I ignored the slight frown on Nadia’s face; she wasn’t about to defy me in public, but I forced my features to soften a little. “It’s not a leash,” I told the group at large. “We just want to keep you safe.”
My gaze touched on Vail, who was looking at me like she’d never seen me before. Good. She, more than any of them, needed to understand the rules had changed.
I addressed the cowering omegas. “You probably have some concerns, so let’s try to put you at ease. Firstly, it’s a quick procedure. Ten minutes tops. It’s relatively painless, and you won’t be able to feel the device once it’s in place. A trained technician will insert it into the skin behind your ear. It won’t hamper your shift, or impact you in any way while in your wolf form. And the information we obtain from your tracker will not be used for any purpose but to keep you safe. Any other questions?”
Most of their heads were still bowed, but Reed’s Head Omega lifted her hand. “When and where, Alpha? Will we have to go to the lab to have the procedure done?”
More than one omega gasped at this idea, and a few started crying. I’d anticipated this, but it was the stricken look on Vail’s face that had a growl rising in my chest. I swallowed it down, but Liam must have sensed my struggle because he stepped forward to assure them it would occur on site, and in stages over the rest of the day. I’d wanted to herd them all into the gym and get it done en masse, but the head doctor had looked so appalled, I’d left the logistics in Liam’s hands.
I took a step back as he now answered other questions, thankful once again I’d inherited the enforcer with the job. I knew there was a lot of speculation about where I’d been recently, and the answer was simple. Buried under mountains of paperwork and politics. I’d delegated the non-urgent stuff, but the politics I’d had to handle personally. Which resulted in three blood claw challenges from my dad’s old buddies, all of which had been revoked when they realized they were about to follow him to the grave. Two I’d exiled and the third was now doing scut work for the pack in the frozen north. I figured he’d try again when he thawed out, but that was an annoyance for another day .
What spare time I had was spent trying to clean up the mess at the pack lab. As Michael Warren had promised, he’d become a ghost once he left the Black Denner diner. Liam figured he’d found the tracker on his car, but I didn’t really care. We had agreed a plan, and that’s all that mattered. And without him around to manage the general operations of the lab, I’d been able to convince the other Pack Alphas to temporarily shut down the facility while we conducted a thorough investigation. Some of Liam’s guys were handling it, and the early report I’d received had sent my wolf on a rampage.
Vail had never told me everything that happened to her there. But now I’d read the case notes, and they were enough to make my blood boil. Testing of any kind roused my beast, but the things Vail had been subjected to, sent him into a rage. She’d fucked with me and mine on Hunter Moon, and while I planned to punish her for it, the idea of someone hurting her brought me to the edge of a feral state.
And now she was pale and shaky, not quite believing Liam’s reassurances. She thought this was her punishment. Me carting her to the lab, and back into the hands of a sadist like Klein.
“Marshall pack is first,” I said abruptly, the beast in my voice giving it a ruthless edge. “Follow me.”
“No fucking way,” Reed grunted, while the other omegas fled, happy for the reprieve. He pushed me back a step and I let him steer us to the rear of the stage. Fighting in front of frightened omegas was not going to make them feel safe. But Reed stuck his fat chin in my face, oblivious to their stares. “This is about Vail. And you’re going way over the top with this bullshit.”
I tilted my head, knowing my wolf was staring back at him. “Vail Marrow was the trigger. But only because the Black Denners targeted her this time.”
“More bullshit. This is you trying to control her. So she can’t ever make a move you don’t know about.”
I sneered at him, but only because he was stating the fucking obvious. Of course , it was about her. She’d slipped through my fingers the night of the Hunter Moon Formal. Michael Warren might have engineered a way to get her back to the academy, but for a while she was on the loose. Helpless prey for fuckers like Trey Barakat and the Black Denners. And now she was in Marrow’s sights, her freedom – and possibly her life – were on the line. I didn’t just plan to monitor her every move; when I was finished with her, I’d be in control of her every thought. “If you object, take it to your Alpha, Reed.”
“You think I haven’t already discussed your new rules with my dad in detail? He called me straight after you started swinging your dick at him. But while you’re pretending this is about establishing your new status, I know what’s really got you all obsessed with the omegas.” He leaned towards me. “You can’t stand the fact she’s my omega now. Marshall pack. And just so we’re clear, you try to tag her, or any of my other females, and I’m claiming her.”
“What?” My wolf went so still, I felt my skin ripple in reaction.
Reed saw it and gave a slow nod. “Even you can’t deny a claiming mark. And if I do it properly, and she accepts it, there’s no need for a tracker. Our bond will let me know where she is at all times.” A flicker of amusement lit his gaze. “Don’t like that, do you? Well, you have a choice, Alpha. Push for the trackers, and I offer her the claiming mark. Let it go, and I’ll do the same.”
I knew my eyes must have been burning like the fucking sun, because my wolf was half-ready to push a shift and tear that smirk off his face. But I swallowed back his howl and shook my head. “She hates you almost as much as she hates me. She won’t go for it.”
“No? Because the idea of getting tagged by you nearly made her faint.”
I studied him for a moment, trying to scent a lie on the air. Would he really claim her if I pushed for the tracker? As far as I was aware, Reed had never sampled any of the females in his pack. While the rest of us were running around like moon-drunk horndogs, he was doing background checks on his potential mates. The stupid fucker no doubt had a hundred-point list the lucky lady had to satisfy before she got to ride his dick. Which meant he was probably a virgin. I wanted to laugh in his face, but if there was one thing the male was good at, it was reading the play and working the angles. And I wasn’t sure the whole claiming thing wouldn’t appeal to Vail if he presented it the right way.
Something sour bloomed in my belly.
If I called his bluff right now, he’d happily tell me he hadn’t claimed anyone because he was picky. Waiting for the best mate. The strongest wolf.
My goddamn wolf.
My gaze slid to Vail, and I cleared my throat. “Omegas, you’re dismissed.”
Behind me, Callum started a mocking slow clap, but I barely heard him, because Reed leaned in to punch my shoulder. “Get your shit under control, Alpha. A pack is only as strong as its weakest link.”