It occurred to Zack that he had never actually seen the inside of the original Alpha House. Most of his dealings had been in the old library, which Alpha House had seen fit to turn into their personal party pad. Even Max had his office up there. And of course, Kaine with his own crashpad.

Zack knew Kaine wouldn’t return to his office. nor did he have faith in Max launching any real effort to stop Kaine from using the Magnometer again. Max might even make a play for the Magnometer himself. At best, he would probably just sit on the sidelines and wait to see who came out on top.

Either way, Zack couldn’t trust Max.

And unfortunately, Zack’s friends couldn’t trust him. Which meant he was all alone on this.

Just like old times.

He trotted up the stairs of the old Alpha House. It was a slender-built Victorian house. It didn’t look too big or impressive. Zack had seen the facade when he first attended the mixer with Scott.

What was that? A week and a half ago?

God, it feels like an eternity.

So much had happened since them, including his falling out with Scott. Add one more friend who hated his guts right about now.

Zack understood now he wasn’t good for people. His friends were better off without him anyway. At the very least, they’d be safer.

Or as safe superheroes-in-training could be.

He just wished he hadn’t screwed things up so bad with Rachel. One more regret he’d have to live with.

Zack entered the Alpha House. Once inside, he saw the place was packed with his Alpha brothers. The deep bass of loud music pumped throughout the entire house as Zack entered, pushing through the horde. Max wasn’t kidding. It looked like the entire place was filled to the brim with frat boys.

It smelled like it too.

Zack pushed past several Alpha brothers, trying to ignore the smell of weed, stale beer and B.O. He pushed his hands deep within his pockets and nodded sheepishly to several of his Alpha brothers as he made his way deep inside. He didn’t know what, if any, instructions Kaine had left with the other Alphas.

He also didn’t know if he wasn’t on the invite list anymore.

Fortunately, none of the Alpha bros paid him any mind. The place looked like more of a frat hang-out than a military operation, with various fraternity members leaning against the walls and railing, chatting up their pals and drinking beer. As he passed, he heard most of the Alpha boys recanting their actions during the recent earthquake.

He wondered what they would do if they knew the truth about Kaine. Their beloved leader was out there causing those earthquakes . . . all because of him.

Zack put the thought out of his mind. He looked for someone he knew. He didn’t see Scott anywhere . . . which probably was for the best, all things considered. Failing to spot Scott or any friend, he nodded at the first Alpha he locked eyes with.

“Kaine around?” he asked gingerly, trying his best to act unconcerned.

“He’s upstairs,” the Alpha said with a jerk of his thumb.

“Thanks,” Zack replied as he back-tracked and shot up the stairs.

He took one or two impeded steps, but had to squeeze by an Alpha making out with a co-ed on the top step. Zack sighed and kept moving.

Zack heard Kaine’s booming voice in the next room. He saw the leader surrounded by smaller freshmen - the same candidates he pledged with. He didn’t see Scott with them. Most likely his friend was still stuck cleaning up a mess back at the old library, which was more or less the Alpha frat’s public HQ.

“Hey Kaine!” Zack called to the big man in the center of the crowd. “Start any earthquakes lately?”

Kaine’s expression immediately darkened. He shot a gaze elsewhere. Zack followed his vision to see No-Neck One and Two standing nearby. The two made a beeline towards him, but Zack quickly rushed through the crowd of Alpha brothers, nearly knocking a drink from someone’s hand.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“Hey!” cried one Alpha.

“Watch it!” the one with the drink called.

Zack kept moving through a sea of limbs and biceps. Behind him, he heard cries and shouts as Kaine’s two goons had a lot less luck moving through the crowd given their bigger size. Zack saw Kaine start to move towards an unoccupied space, away from the freshman.

Zack cleared the space with a leap, grabbing Kaine’s arm in the process. He didn’t want him popping away, teleporting to who-knows-where. Kaine spun around and met his gaze but Zack gestured to the baffled Alphas all round him. With that, Kaine shot free of his grasp and then gave a fake laugh, slapping Zack’s shoulder with an equally insincere smile.

“Didn’t see you there!” Kaine said.

“So are you gonna give me back the Magnometer?” Zac said. “Or did we have to do this the hard way?”

Kaine did his best to look confused. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And even if I did, why would I give it back to you? A deal’s a deal.”

Zack flashed a grin at him as if Kaine had something funny. “That was before I knew you were going to use the Magnometer to pretty much destroy the campus.”

Kaine shrugged. “Hey you know what they say? You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few colleges…or something.”

He then raised his voice. “But Alpha House is still standing strong!”

Rows of cheers boomed through the Alpha House, followed by several repeating “A-L-P-H-A” in a rhythmic chant.

Zack wasn’t impressed. “Just give it back and I’ll leave it on Shaw’s desk, no note, no explanation. She’s already spooked. You’ve made your point.”

“You think this was all about some Karen in a pantsuit?” Kaine said. “This was about something so much bigger…and I’m just getting started.”

“Wanna bet?” Zack stood closer to him. He was done playing. Kaine maintained his gracious attitude.

“You don’t understand,” Kaine said. “What Max was looking for…I found it. Great things await.”

The way Kaine said great things brought a chill down Zack’s back.

“Uh huh,” Zack said. “You think Max is gonna reward you? Cuz right now he’s not your biggest fan.”

Kaine gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “I don’t need that washed-up hack. When I go under again, I have enough power to run this place.”

Zack moved in closer. “You do that again and this place won’t be standing.”

Kaine gave another chuckle. “You think I care about this place?”

He moved so close that Zack could smell his hot breath.

“Do you know how the Magnometer works? It makes you one with the earth,” Kaine said, his pupils large. “What I saw down there will change everything. All these people haven’t got a clue.”

He pushed his face closer to Zack. “You haven’t got a clue.”

Zack sighed. “This is your last chance. Otherwise, I gonna bust this thing wide open.”

Kaine drew back with a smirk. “Actually you’re the one who is all out of chances.”

He raised his hands in a theatrical fashion. “Gentlemen, it appears we have a false brother among us.”

Boos filled the air. Zack suddenly felt very self-conscious as every eye fell upon him. The crowd drew away from him. Zack realized an attack could come from anywhere.

“Zack Kestler started this whole mess. He caused the earthquake,” Kaine said. “He’s no longer one of us. Which means we have an opening. First one to take him down gets dibs.”

Several small freshmen stepped forward. Their eyes narrowed at him, their faces lined with disgust and anger.

“Look, guys,” Zack said. “Let’s talk about this. I don’t want to hurt you-”

Before Zack could speak, he was toppling down the stairs. He hit the wooden floor with a thud. He started to regain his footing, only to be sent spiraling out of the front door. Before he knew it, he lay on the concrete, with Kaine towering above him.

“Don’t get in my way again, Kestler,” Kaine said, his arms crossed. “Next time, I won’t be so merciful.”

Kaine disappeared. Zack’s first instinct was to charge in and take the Magnometer, but he knew that wouldn’t work, not with a whole frat of pissed-off Alphas waiting for him inside. He could get the Knightbrand armor, but he wasn’t sure even the mech would sustain that kind of damage from two dozen amped-up Alphas ready to go.

He was out of options. Dejected, he went home.

***

Zack walked in to see Perry, Blake and Rachel waiting for him. He stood stunned.

“You look like crap,” Rachel said, her arms crossed.

“Yeah, I…uhhh….tried to fix this mess,” he admitted.

“How did it go?” Rachel said.

“About as well as you’d expect?” Zack said. “You here to turn me in?”

Rachel stood forward. “I don’t want to hurt you, Zack. I just want an end to this mess.”

Zack nodded. “Yeah. I know. So do I…believe me…”

“So when this is over…we’re going to have a long talk…and you’re going to tell me everything,” Rachel said.

Zack found his spirits lifting. “Yeah…I will…”

Perry gave him a slight smirk. “So…how do you want to do this?”