Free Werewolf Academy 07 Chosen by Cheree Alsop

about his life.
    “ Alex, you ready?”
    Alex realized they were no longer moving. The helicopter had landed in an empty parking lot with unlit streetlights. The buildings around them were dark at the late hour. Alex looked up to see everyone watching him. Jericho and Terith were already outside. Cassie and Tennison exchanged a worried look from the other side of the helicopter.
    “ Ready for this?” Trent repeated. He tried to hide the worry he felt, but it rounded his tone.
    Alex pushed up to his feet. “I’m ready,” he said.
    Trent ducked outside with a hand on Alex’s arm. Mouse and Jaze were busy conferring with Darian, the head of the Black Team. Alex was grateful Jaze hadn’t seen his lapse in attention.
    Mouse jogged back over to them. “Darian will take the Black Team through the back. He’s already got snipers on the roof. Heat signatures show a dozen guards, but there’s no sign of Drogan. We’re going in on three.”
    “ You got this?” Trent asked quietly when the others fell into their usual pairs.
    Cassie and Tennison ghosted around the front of the building. Terith and Jericho followed close behind.
    “ I’ve got this,” Alex replied. He jogged after his sister, careful to keep to the shadows in case there was anyone watching from the buildings around them. The fact that Mouse had landed them in the middle of the building’s parking lot said that they weren’t as concerned about the element of surprise as they were about rescuing whoever might be inside.
    In one of Professor Chet’s rants during combat training, the werewolf had explained how letting an enemy know an attacker was coming could put them into their standard defensive procedures; while the element of surprise was valuable, knowing how defenders reacted to an attack told valuable information about whoever was in charge.
    “ Are we concerned about hostages?” Darian asked over their earpieces.
    “ From what Mouse’s surveillance has shown, all warm bodies appear to be performing tasks. Be alert for armed guards.” Jaze paused, then said, “Mouse, the lights.”
    “ Got it,” the small professor replied.
    A moment later, the lights went out in the building. Alex could hear the commotion inside. His muscles tensed and his senses strained, following the movements of the people they were about to confront.
    “ Slow and steady,” Jaze said quietly over their earpieces. “Ready, go.”
    Jericho kicked the door open, then spun to the right in case anyone charged out.
    “ Clear,” Alex said after a moment. He ducked inside.
    His wolven eyesight made out the empty first floor. By the sound of things, the men and women in the building were on the second and third floors. Alex led the way to the stairs.
    “ Cassie, Tennison, sweep this floor in case we missed anyone,” Alex ordered.
    “ Got it,” Tennison replied. His sister nodded, her gaze searching the darkness.
    “ Be careful,” she said.
    “ Will do,” Alex promised. He walked silently up the steps. Trent followed close behind, their footsteps soundless the way Professor Colleen and Professor Rafe had trained them to walk during their outdoor classes in the forest.
    “ We’re taking the back stairs,” Jaze said into their earpieces. “Wait for my command.”
    “ Four bodies on the second floor,” Brock told them from the surveillance equipment. “They’ve been walking set routes. Prepare for armed guards.”
    Alex slipped his gun from the holster. They avoided using firearms whenever possible, but if Jaze felt it was necessary, things could get out of hand.
    Jericho reached for the handle to the door at the top of the stairs. Alex waited on pins and needles.
    “ Go,” Jaze said.
    Alex nodded and Jericho opened the door. Alex dove through. Two guards spun and shot from the end of the hallway. Bullets tore into the wall next to Alex’s head. Alex shot the one on the right and Trent took the left. Both guards fell with small paralyzing darts sticking from