Chapter 2 - Kelsey
A crunchy layer of snow coats the meadow as I head toward the security building to check in for the morning.
I’ve had a few hours’ sleep since my shift last night.
Some people can’t function that well on too little sleep.
I’m lucky I can. Not too many days in a row, but all in all, I know how to push myself to get past those physical limits set by our minds.
Our bodies are capable of so much more than we think.
You can feel tired, you can feel drained, but you can push past anything if you focus on the right things.
“Morning!” My best friend’s voice carries clearly through the crisp air.
“Mira!” I say happily, “How did you sleep? How is Logan my favorite little munchkin on the entire planet?” Her baby boy is the cutest thing ever.
“He’s still asleep, and I left Jace to deal with the morning stuff today while I steal a moment to get a run in. These days, I hardly seem to have any time to myself,” she grins, clearly not unhappy about it at all. She’s an incredible mother. She’s an awesome person.
We came from the same experiences. We both grew up without our parents.
I don’t remember mine at all. They sold me to the Alpha of this pack when I was very, very young.
It’s not uncommon for that to happen. Packs need omegas for breeding.
From what I hear, they took one look at my mother—who was beautiful beyond words—and accepted the deal, hoping I’d be the same when I grew up.
Shortly after that, there were reports that my parents were going rogue. I could have spent my life trying to figure out why it all happened… why they sold me. Why they went rogue. Why they left me in the hands of a stranger. But to dwell on the past like that only drags you down.
Despite learning from a young age to let go of those haunting questions, I still suffered the consequences of being an orphaned outsider.
I was bullied terribly.
Mira, too. The bullying turned us into outcasts, shunned by almost everyone.
But unlike Mira, who chose to retreat from the world and hide in her small spaces, become smaller than she deserved to be, making herself a shadow to stay out of people’s way… I made myself bigger, louder, and stronger.
I don’t judge her for becoming a recluse. And in the end, she has a beautiful life. But I could never do that. I could never hide or back away from a challenge.
The bullying made me stubborn and ambitious. It made me want to prove myself a hundred times more.
“Your wolf must be excited for the morning run,” I say, walking with my friend, while our paths move in the same direction for a while.
“Actually, she’s anxious to be away from Logan. But she’ll relax once I’ve shifted and she can stretch her legs. I think a lot of the anxiety comes from being cooped up too much,” Mira says. Her wolf, Mika, loves the solitary run in the mornings. I guess having a kid changes everything.
“How are things going with the security team?” Mira asks.
“Last night was quiet. We patrolled until around three, and then the next shift took over,” I reply.
“Three?” Mira stammers. “But it’s…it’s five thirty. Surely you aren’t headed back into work now?”
I chuckle and shrug, and she shakes her head. “You’re a little crazy, you know that,” she laughs.
I nod,” I know, but it’s why you love me so much!” I shout as I jog away from her, where our paths split. “Enjoy your run!”
She waves, grinning after me.
Mira and Jace have worked together to bring some incredible changes to this pack. Jace came back from Black Ops Training with an entirely new approach to what this pack needed, and it’s made everything better.
The opportunities he created for the omegas have helped me secure a better position on the security team.
Before he took his place as Alpha, I worked my freaking ass off to join the team, but they had me in the lowest possible position.
It was still insane for me to have gotten that far, being an omega and all, but now the omegas are allowed to do anything they want.
And that means I am aiming to become one of the team leaders. Why not? I work harder than most of the guys. I am working longer hours and pushing through worse conditions out there.
I’m not naive. I know the men are stronger physically, but mentally… I could take on any one of them, and that makes me dangerous.
In a fight, your mental strength is far more valuable than some people understand.
“Kelsey, the boss wants to see you,” Matthew says as I walk into the building.
“Oh, what’s going on?” I ask.
“How the fuck should I know? Do I look like your messenger boy?” He snaps.
I roll my eyes and grit my teeth. He’s not worth the breath it would take to tell him he’s an asshole. He’s always an asshole, and me explaining that to him isn’t going to change a thing.
A lot of the guys here don’t like the fact that I’m here at all.
Yes, they want to support their Alpha, but having a woman on the security team in the same position as them gets them worked up.
They view it as an insult, and when we aren’t in front of the team leaders, they don’t miss an opportunity to let me know I’m not entirely welcome.
That’s not a new concept to me, though, having been bullied my entire life.
I ignore it. I deal with it. I push past it. But that doesn’t mean it’s not annoying as hell, and it sometimes ruins my day.
Misogynistic morons need to catch up with the new times.
“Kelsey!”
“Yes, sir?” I stand up a little straighter as I step into the team leader’s office.
“We’ve had rogue sighting reports. I’m putting you straight into the field. I know you worked late last night, so I….”
“I’m rested and ready, sir,” I blurt out.
“Good. Taylor and Luke are on duty with you. They’re almost ready to leave, so you'd better hurry,” Gerard says, dismissing me. I press my lips together to stop the miserable groan from slipping out of my lips. Then I smile and nod and turn away from Gerard.
I never complain. Not even now, when he’s unknowingly set me up with the worst two men on the entire security team. The two who have it in for me the most out of everyone.
I walk boldly into the locker room and find Taylor and Luke stripping down to the bare essentials before they shift into wolf form for the patrol.
“Oh, fuck sakes, we’re on babysitting duty,” Taylor complains when he sees me.
“Fuck it, it’s not like she’ll keep up, so it hardly matters,” Luke speaks to his friend as though I’m not right there.
I don’t say a word. They are both fully aware that I’m faster than the two of them put together. Speed is my strength, and I’ll outrun them any day.
I kick off my shoes and throw them into my locker with my jacket and the keys to my cottage.
They continue to talk about. Insulting me. Mocking me. Taunting me.
I continue to ignore them and grit my teeth.
Don’t waste your energy.
If it really was a rogue sighting, that means the pack is in danger, and my job is to protect them. That’s why I’m here. That’s what I train for. It’s what I work for on a daily basis.
Throughout training, they made my life hell, and most days at work, they make my life hell. But fuck them. And fuck their horrible attitudes. I know what I want and where I’m headed in life, regardless of them trying to hold me back or slow me down.
They won’t succeed. No one ever has.
With Jace as our Alpha and all the changes he’s making in our pack, all of the shit I’ve gone through in my life to get to where I am is finally going to be worth it.
I’ll prove to every single one of those bullies, and the ones I’m dealing with right now, that they were wrong about me.
Luke and Taylor don’t bother moving into the privacy cubicles before they shift.
They strip off the last of their clothes and do it right there in the locker rooms. I know better than to give a show, so I hurry into a cubicle, pull off my gym shorts and sports bra, and shift quickly, knowing they won’t wait even a second.
My body shimmers with an electrical current that shoots through me like lightning. Shifting into my wolf form isn’t painful. It’s almost ticklish for a moment, and then all I feel is sharp, unrelenting energy pulsing through me.
Kala stretches out her long limbs, then stands and shakes her long, icy-blue-grey coat out.
Finally, I thought you were going to sleep forever. She teases me wordlessly.
I giggle and push the cubicle door open with my snout.
As expected, the guys are gone.
Ready to run like the wind? I ask.
She doesn’t bother answering. Her claws dig into the wooden floors, and she’s off at full speed, darting out of the locker room, down the hallway, and bursting through the double doors that lead outside.
As soon as the morning air touches her nose, she lets out a yelp of excitement.
The air smells incredible when I’m in wolf form. Everything is a thousand times sharper and clearer.
The stench of their masculinity is easy to follow. They took a wider path, trying to outsmart me. Pathetic.
Scent tracking is a child’s game. I have no idea why they even bothered.
In less than two minutes, I’ve caught up with them.
Luke growls in disapproval, and as I stream past him in silence, he sidesteps to knock me.
Oh, look, it’s the dirty grey bitch, Luke mutters.
Pity she didn’t trip and fall off the cliff edge last time we got stuck with her, Taylor snaps.
Maybe this time she won’t be so lucky? A little misstep?
Maybe a little assistance on that, mister?
The threats are empty. Or at least I hope they are…
To be honest, though, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if they decided to try and take me out of the game.
If they could make it look like some kind of horrible accident, I’d bet a year’s salary on the fact that they would go for it.
So perhaps I shouldn’t soothe myself by telling myself the threats are empty, and I should be more realistic.
Luke keeps side-stepping into me, and I change pace, running slower and then faster so I’m not stuck right next to him. But then Taylor starts doing it two and nasty laugher spills from their thoughts as I stumble and almost falter in my usually perfect glide.
Kala is losing patience and snaps at Luke’s ankles.
He growls and snarls and takes a genuine bite at my back leg, which I only just manage to dodge.
Dammit, you assholes, there are rogues out here somewhere, and you’re not focused on the mission. You’re putting all of us in danger! Just as I scold them, a dark brown wolf comes shooting through the trees, crashing straight into my side.
The impact from his solid body knocks the air out of my lungs, and Kala yelps in shock.
Rogue! Luke shouts.
Another wolf streamlines from the trees, and his jaw locks onto my hind quarter.
I spin and snap at his face, tasting blood as my canines sink into his ear and rip a long tear through it. He yelps and releases his grip on me, giving me a chance to turn to face both of them.
Go around the side while I’ve got their focus on me! I shout to my team.
But I’m entirely alone.
Utterly and horrifically… alone.
They left me here. They actually left me here alone to fight two massive rogue males all by myself.
This is a death trap.
We can do this! Kala snarls.
I huff out a sharp breath. We don’t have a choice! I tell myself as the second rogue wolf paces in a wide circle, trying to get behind me.
It’s impossible to keep them both in front of me, so instead of waiting for them to take the first move, I leap at the wolf in my line of sight. He snarls and launches.
His jaw locks around my front leg, and mine locks over his shoulder.
I rip at his flesh as he bites down harder on my leg.
The second wolf slams into me and pins me to the ground, but still, I don’t release my lock on his friend’s shoulder.
They growl and snarl and bite at me, and I fight with everything I have inside me.
I did not fight my entire life against every obstacle thrown at me just to be taken out by two rogue wolves alone in a forest.
I will not die like this!
But reality is a bitch, and these two are both stronger than me. Neither of them is letting me up onto my feet to give me a chance to outrun them, and I can smell the heavy iron scent of my own blood.
Out of nowhere, a familiar wolf slams into the first wolf, literally snapping his spine in the process.
The rogue screams in agony as his body is thrown through the air and hits a nearby tree.
The force of impact makes me yelp in fright, but as soon as I realize it’s Miles, our Beta, I have renewed strength and a flood of relief.
Miles grabs the downed wolf by the throat, shaking him brutally while I spring to my feet to face the second wolf. He flies at me, and I duck beneath him to grab the flesh of his neck, tugging and ripping.
He manages to break free, but in a split second, I lock my jaws over the side of his throat again.
I’m exhausted but not willing to give up, far from it.
The white snow coating the ground is quickly becoming red and pink with spilled blood.
Miles comes at the rogue wolf from behind, launching over him and pinning him to the ground.
The Beta’s massive wolf is playfully named Mudder, but there is nothing playful about him when given half a chance to show his strength.
His huge, muscular body flexes, and the agility in his movements shows his years of Black Ops training.
There is only one wolf in our pack who he can properly train with, and that’s the Alpha, Jace.
The others are too weak compared to him, and he always has to subdue his strength a bit.
I can’t take my eyes off him, and Kala is so excited by his presence, I swear it’s like she’s never seen a male wolf before. Calm the hell down and focus! I scold her as my eyes trace over his beautiful dark chocolate coat. His fur moves like silk as he fights.
I step forward to help him, even though he clearly doesn’t need it, and pain shoots through my front leg.