Chapter 4
The next morning, Hazard awoke with the sun. Before turning into bed the previous night, Ortiz had informed him they would be going for a run before mission debrief. Hazard quickly showered, then dressed in a pair of camo pants, gray T-shirt, and his combat boots. After he applied scent blockers to the glands on his neck and wrist, he strapped on his watch, and was ready to go. When Hazard emerged from his room, the major and Ice were both in the kitchen.
Ice sat silently at the kitchen table, eating. His wolf mask was off, but he still wore the three-hole balaclava. Somehow, it wasn’t a surprise that the captain’s face was covered even in the relative privacy of their barracks. He wasn’t in the 448 uniform but his long sleeve, close fitting turtle neck and tactical pants were all black.
Ortiz looked fresh and ready to go. Dressed similarly to Hazard with her dark hair tucked beneath a patrol cap, she’d already finished breakfast, and stood leaning against the counter, sipping from a mug of coffee.
“Do we eat all of our meals here?” Hazard asked after greeting them both.
“We usually eat in the mess hall. But after a mission we eat here in our barracks for the peace and quiet. Gives us a little more time to decompress.”
“Ah, I understand. I’ll join you then.”
“Food is in the oven keeping warm.”
Hazard helped himself to a serving of eggs, toast, and sausage links. He got juice from the fridge, then sat down and tucked into his plate. Across from him, Ice was finishing up his meal. He couldn’t help but notice that the captain’s lips were full and pink. And the little skin he could see around them appeared to be pale. He dragged his gaze up from Ice’s mouth to see the man staring at him. Those deep, dark brown eyes were cold and hard.
Hazard offered him a smile. It wasn’t returned.
Ice picked up the wolf mask from where it sat on the kitchen table and settled it over his face, securing the straps at the back of his head. His body moving with quiet, powerful grace, he stood, taking his dishes to rinse off in the sink.
“I’m heading to the yard,” he said to Ortiz once he was done.
Ortiz nodded in acknowledgement. “See you soon.”
Hazard watched him go, neither surprised nor hurt when the big, quiet alpha didn’t acknowledge him before leaving. He couldn’t help but be intrigued at his aloofness.
A few minutes after Ice’s departure, Jax opened his bedroom door and stepped out. He was dressed in green Legion issued sweats, but he carried his boots in one hand while covering a long yawn with the other.
“Major. When are you going to start letting us sleep in after missions?” he asked tiredly.
Ortiz snorted. “That’ll happen the day I tuck you into bed at night with a mug of hot cocoa and your favorite Cabbage Patch doll.”
Jax laughed. “I won’t hold my breath on that.” He stretched, then sat down to eat.
Ortiz and Hazard chatted with Jax as he ate his breakfast. Once he was done and had put on his boots, the three of them left the barracks together. It was a humid, foggy morning. The sun was barely over the horizon and hidden behind thick clouds. The hustle and bustle on base seemed muted this early, as if those already awake wanted to maintain the peaceful quiet for a little while longer.
“Where’s Ice?” Jax asked as they walked.
“Already at the yard waiting on us.”
They rounded a corner and arrived where Ice waited for them. He stood in a patch of grass, a large, dark shape with gray mist swirling around his feet and the green of trees behind him. Still and quiet, he gave off a Don’t get close vibe. Of course, that stillness made Hazard want to bounce right up to him to tease and play. But he held himself back. He hadn’t established enough of a connection with the gruff officer to feel comfortable playing around with him. He wondered if he’d ever be that comfortable with Captain Ice Anderson. Especially considering their first interaction.
“We’ll go easy with a light jog today.”
“Sounds good, Major,” Hazard said.
“Let’s get to it.”
They took off for a jog around the base. Ortiz was in front, setting a steady pace. Ice followed just after and Hazard and Jax ran behind them, side by side. Hazard concentrated on his breathing. While he loved sprinting after an enemy or going on a wolf run, he didn’t like jogging for jogging’s sake. He could only see the back of the CO’s heads so he couldn’t tell if they liked the run. Jax appeared to be enjoying himself. The corporal ran with a loose-limbed stride, back and shoulders straight, expression relaxed.
“You’ve got good form,” Hazard complimented his teammate.
“Thanks. I ran track in high school. Won a couple of championships.”
“Nice,” Hazard said as they continued down the path. “The only medal for running I’d ever get is for running my mouth. That’s what my mom always says.”
Jax laughed. “I don’t think there’s a competition for that.”
Ortiz turned around, jogging backwards to face them. “You boys sound like you’re having fun back there,” she called out. “Do I need to up the pace and add a few more miles to make it strenuous enough for you?”
Hazard was quick to answer. He didn’t want this run to go on any longer than it had to. “No ma’am!”
She hit them both with a warning look before she refaced to the front. They continued on, the only sound that of their controlled breathing and boots hitting the pavement.
Hazard let his mind sink into the run. He watched the increasing activity on base without letting it distract him from the warmth of the rising sun on his face or the steady pace he maintained.
The mist had completely burned off by the time Ortiz turned and began the return trek. According to the mile markers on the path, from start to finish they’d jogged three miles. Back at their starting point, she slowed and came to a stop. The rest of the team followed suit.
“Good run, boys,” the major said as she started to stretch.
Hazard did a few deep knee bends. Then one by one, pulled his heels up to his ass to stretch his quads. He let out a groan at how good and warm his muscles felt. Catching Ortiz’s eye, he sent her a rueful smile. “Hate the run, love the way I feel afterward.”
Ortiz laughed. “Same here.”
“You’ll never hear me complaining about a run,” Jax teased. “We can do another mile if you want, Major.”
Ortiz snorted. “No.”
Ice remained quiet, stretching his long arms above his head and then changing position to stretch his hip flexors.
Hazard watched him. He didn’t know why his gaze was so often drawn to the captain. He’d worked with other alphas as big. Encountered other soldiers who wore a mask. And yet, something about Ice made him tingle with awareness.
Hazard abruptly turned to face the other way to focus on his stretches. He wasn’t here to ogle his squadmate.
Once they’d cooled down and had water, they headed for HQ. It was time for the debriefing.
The main headquarters was a large, three-story gray brick building. Inside, the white and green linoleum floors were so bright and clean, the bodies of all the personnel moving about were blurrily reflected on their surface. A painted mural took up a section of the wall in the entryway, depicting stalwart soldiers in combat.
Hazard followed along as Major Ortiz lead the way down busy halls, past offices, finally stopping at a set of glass doors. A small black plaque with Strategy Room 6 was mounted on the wall next to the right-side door. It was the same room they’d met in yesterday.
They entered the strategy room as the colonel’s assistant was putting brown folders down on the table in front of each chair. Hazard sat and opened the folder in front of him, slowly flipping through the pages inside. A moment later, Lieutenant Colonel Gibbs walked in and the meeting began.
“Good morning, 448. Congratulations on your successful rescue of Ms. Doucette.”
“Thank you, sir,” Ortiz said as the others nodded.
“I see from your report that there was no information to be gathered on site.”
“No, sir. It was strictly a holding location.”
“And the group defending it?” Colonel Gibbs asked.
Hazard answered. “They were good. Maybe a home-grown militia with some members from a private military company mixed in.”
“We’ll run down their identities and verify that possibility.” Gibbs looked at his aide, and they made a note in their folder.
Ortiz spoke again. “Before we continue, I’d like to take a moment to commend Hazard for his seamless transition onto the team.”
“Seconded,” Jax said. “First mission and it was like he’d already been with us for months.”
“Thank you, Jax. Major. I appreciate that.” He truly did. The team didn’t have to welcome him aboard with praise. They could have been business as usual. On many other teams that would have been the case. Taking the time to let him know he was fitting in, in front of the colonel no less, showed him the kind of people he was teamed up with.
He shifted his gaze to Ice, his new partner. Ice met his gaze head on. The alpha was silent and for a moment, Hazard thought he wasn’t going to say anything. Rejection was starting to sting in his chest when Ice nodded.
“Mitchell was a positive asset during the mission,” he said gruffly.
Hazard smiled. He didn’t ask for much. Acknowledgement that he’d done his part during the operation was all he needed. And it was nice to know that beneath Ice’s gruffness, he was decent enough to offer that acknowledgement.
The meeting continued. When they finished it was time for lunch. The team left HQ and made their way to the mess hall.
Inside, the mess was crowded with soldiers and personnel grabbing their midday meal. Their team had to wait in line for a few minutes before they were served. Once they got their trays of food, Ortiz and Jax set off for a table near the bank of windows on the far side of the room. Hazard followed them. But to his surprise, Ice didn’t. He took his food and left the mess hall.
“Where’s he going?” Hazard asked as he watched the captain leave.
“Ah, that one is a lone wolf,” Jax answered. “It’s rare that he eats with us here in the mess.”
“Oh.”
Hazard was disappointed to hear that. Unfortunately, Ice’s absence fit the vibe he got from the team. They were a group of wolves working together, but they weren’t quite a pack. At least, not in the way Hazard had grown up with. Unfortunately, that was all too common in the Legion. The military accepted shifters within their ranks. But they were treated as humans with few allowances made for the differences in their natures.
He was on a mission to change that. Being assigned to a team that was all wolves and who stayed together in the same barracks had seemed like the perfect opportunity. Learning that they weren’t quite as together a pack as he’d expected was a surprise, but he wasn’t going to let that bother him. It simply meant that he had work to do to bring them together and show the military how much better it could be if shifters were allowed to embrace their true nature.
The table Ortiz and Jax went to was already occupied by three soldiers — two officers and one enlisted. Ortiz introduced Hazard to them.
“Hazard this is Captain Hayes, Lieutenant Chin, and Sergeant Baker. They’re a part of Team Sierra 6. The rest are around. You’ll meet them all eventually. Everyone, this is Corporal Mitchell, newest member of the 448.”
“Call me Hazard,” he said. After saluting the two officers, he sat down.
“I know it’s unusual for enlisted and officers to eat together,” Ortiz continued. But the 448 is a small squad so I prefer to drop some of the formalities. Same for Hayes and his band of ragamuffins.”
“Some of the other officers don’t like it,” Hayes said. “They think it breeds disrespect for rank. But I’m not setting up separate tables for my team when we’re out in the field, so why avoid knocking elbows at the table with them on base?”
“Sounds good to me. I like building rapport with my team, regardless of rank.”
Hayes raised his carton of milk in a casual salute. “I like you.”
Ortiz grinned. “That attitude is why I picked him for my squad.”
Hazard easily accepted the two officers’ explanation for why they ate with their enlisted members. However, it made it even more glaring that Ice chose not to eat with them.
Always happy to make new acquaintances, Hazard joined in with the conversation at the table. Despite the fact that Hayes and his team looked hard from battle, they were all cool to talk to. Hayes, a shifter with brown hair and gray eyes, had a deep scar through one eyebrow. Chin had a youthful face and laughed easily, but his hair was almost completely prematurely gray. And Baker, the only human of the three, had long-healed burns down the side of his neck, disappearing into his uniform collar.
As Hazard neared the end of his meal, his eyes were drawn more than once to the doorway Ice had disappeared through. He decided that now was the perfect time to speak with the captain alone.
“Excuse me,” he said as he rose from the table.
Ortiz glanced at him once and nodded before she went back to her conversation with Captain Hayes. But Jax looked at him, then the door, then back at Hazard.
“Bad idea, man,” he said, shaking his head.
Hazard smiled and winked at the corporal. “Sometimes the best results come from bad ideas.”
* * *
Ice took his tray of food and went to sit at one of the few tables outside the dining hall. No one bothered him here. He liked the solitude of it, especially since he took off his outer mask to eat.
As he made his way through his meal, his mind wandered. Not to tactics and mentally reviewing missions as usual, but thinking of their new team member. Mitchell. He was nothing like Grayson. She’d been an older, taciturn beta. It was... different to have not only an omega, but one who apparently liked to talk as much as his new partner.
He had also noticed that Mitchell’s scent was intriguing. He couldn’t get a full grasp on it as Mitchell wore standard Legion issued scent blockers like all the other shifters on base. But as the morning had worn on, they’d sweated off just enough for a hint of Mitchell’s natural scent to peek through. Ice’s nose had picked up on something bright whenever they were close to one another. He didn’t make any effort to sniff out that bright scent however. To do so would be unacceptable for an officer to do to a subordinate. Besides, he didn’t care what the corporal smelled like. What he did care about was the new member’s performance.
He wanted Mitchell to perform well because every team member’s performance affected their success on missions, and more gravely, whether they lived or died. But also, because Ice’s time in the 448 played a crucial role in his plans for a promotion in rank.
Most high-ranking officers transitioned to roles behind combat lines, working in strategy or intel. But that path wasn’t for him. He needed the action of being in the thick of a fire fight. In addition, as a shifter, he’d have a tougher time getting more bars on his uniform. No shifter had ever been promoted past Colonel. His goal was to become the first shifter to ever make the rank of Brigadier General.
He’d accepted the position on the 448 because Ortiz wanted a second officer on the team. As a captain, Ice should be leading his own squad. However, he was used to working as a solo operator. Since he was more of a loner than a leader he’d accepted. Plus, taking on a job this dangerous would be a big, glowing gold star on his service record. If he did well. If he fucked it up, his plans for promotion would be in jeopardy.
Which is why he wasn’t exactly thrilled to have Mitchell on the team. He wasn’t going to let an impertinent chatterbox fuck up his goal. If Mitchell couldn’t pull his weight, he’d have Ortiz ship him out somewhere else.
On the heels of his final thoughts on Mitchell, footsteps approached his table. Assuming they’d pass him by, Ice didn’t bother to look up from his food. But the footsteps stopped beside him and a shadow fell over his tray. He raised his head to see Mitchell standing there.
“What?” he asked, not caring that annoyance was clear in his tone.
“You are a ball of sunshine, aren’t you?”
To his surprise, Mitchell sat down across from him. The man was either bold as hell or plain, fucking stupid to not only join an officer uninvited but to talk to one he barely knew so casually.
“What do you want?”
“I wanted to apologize for our first meeting.”
Ice crossed his arms over his chest. “Why bother? You haven’t changed your insubordinate behavior.”
Mitchell met his gaze and smiled. Those jade green eyes of his sparkled with the expression.
“I like to think of it less as insubordination and more as being... relaxed.”
Ice silently glared at the omega, unamused and unimpressed.
“Fine.” Mitchell dropped the smile and sighed. “I was hoping we could have a fresh start since we’re partners now.”
“I prefer working alone.”
“Yeah. I kind of figured that. But we are going to be working together for the foreseeable future.” He propped his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “And I bet eventually you’ll grow to like me.”
Ice took a final swallow of his water before he stood and picked up his tray. “Don’t count on it,” he said gruffly. He walked off, leaving his uninvited lunch guest there on his own.