2. CHAPTER 2
The Dark Hunters have worked hard and sacrificed way too much to build the reputation we have now. I understand that they need to fill the empty spot in the pack and it’s not the first nor the last time that this will happen, but I don’t get why the higher-ups decided to put an Omega with us.
“Yours is the only pack that doesn’t have any Omegas,” my mother tells me, defending the orders she’s been forced to carry out.
“And for good reason too,” I insist, my neat ponytail swaying left and right as I shake my head in disbelief. “I’ve trained my wolves hard to get them promoted to Deltas. We’ve finally started getting better missions and now you stick a newbie into our group. It’s not right.”
“I have my orders and you have yours,” my mother says with a tone of finality. “I trust you’ll do what needs to be done. The newcomer is in your care and it’s up to you to train him. It’s quite simple, Alyssa. If you don’t want Omegas in your pack, then make sure that he climbs through the ranks.”
Understanding the weight of the assignment she has set on me, I lift my chin slightly higher, then raise my hand to my forehead in a salute. My mother’s eyes soften as she returns the salute before returning her attention back to the papers on her desk. As the Alpha Captain, she is in charge of ten packs, including mine and the other three belonging to my siblings. The idea was that wolves’ lives wouldn’t be needlessly risked if the people in charge cared.
I leave her office to update the pack on the latest news about the new Omega. Blaine stands to attention when I exit the three-story building where the offices are located. The top brass claimed the center of the military encampment, which isn’t such a bad idea because, in the event of an attack, they’re immediately protected by several lines of wolves. They might also feel more relaxed being far away from the barracks where the Omegas who either didn’t attend the Academy or have simply failed to pay attention to their classes, are just learning to use their abilities.
“What’s the word, Alyssa?” my Beta asks me, not bothering with the formalities once we get a bit further away from the building.
“We’re getting an Omega,” I tell him, doing my best to suppress my frustration. I have my orders and I can’t afford to show my pack my true feelings about it. This isn’t a democracy and if I give them the slightest bit of insight into what’s happening behind the scenes, they might forget themselves and share the opinion that they’re not allowed nor in the position to have.
“Okay,” Blaine says in acknowledgment, and while his tone is indifferent, I have no problem reading his face. We’ve been working together for far too long for him to be able to hide his emotions from me.
“He wields darkness, and we have an opening,” I say, keeping a steady rhythm as we walk toward the south of the camp where the barracks are located.
“I suppose there aren’t too many packs with our abilities out there,” Blaine comments. “While Prince Gavin’s Shadows are the most notorious ones, your sister’s Lightbringers are the ones to beat if we want to get the best missions.”
“Tiana’s in charge of Shadows now,” I correct him. “We’ll all make sure that newbie trains hard. We don’t want to fall too far down the rankings now that we’ve finally gotten the taste of going out.”
“I’ll set up a rigorous routine for him,” Blaine tells me, a small smile playing on his lips.
“Not just for him,” I say, slightly lowering my voice as we approach our barrack. “Pack is only as good as their weakest member. It’s important that we’re a well-oiled machine that’s capable of predicting each other’s moves when out on the mission. Everyone trains together.”
“But we’ve already been through all those tasks,” Blaine complains in a rare show of disagreement.
“Then you’ll have no problem doing them again,” I reply coldly, silently reminding him of who’s in charge. “There’s nothing wrong with brushing off your most basic skillset.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Blaine says with a submissive tone. “I’ll make sure that Sarah prepares the pack for his arrival.”
“Good,” I confirm. “He should be here soon.”
All the barracks are the same with the ground floor serving as a sleeping and washing up area for the lower members of the pack along with the second Beta, while the higher floor is split into two suites consisting of a private bathroom and bedroom with a desk. The larger one belongs to Alpha and the smaller one to the first Beta.
The Dark Hunters rise to attention when Blaine and I enter, some of them jumping up from their beds as they straighten themselves up to their full heights and salute. I return their salute, then make my way up the stairs, to get to my desk. I am eager to look up the files in our database on the new recruit. If I want to push him up the ranks, I need to get familiar with his strengths and weaknesses.
The shutters of my windows are closed shut, not allowing even the smallest ray of light to enter. My eyes immediately adjust as the Night Vision clicks in. I make my way straight to the computer in the far corner, putting the light setting as low as it goes.
A new email awaits me, basically notifying me about the newest addition to the pack with his personal file attached. I click it open and wait for it to load. When it still says that there’s only one page, I download the file again. There must be some kind of a mistake. I do it again and again and even consider replying to the email to tell them that I’ve gotten a corrupted file, but something tells me that this is it.
I finally pull up the file on the screen, my eyes quickly scanning through whatever little information someone hastily put in.
Something’s not right here, my wolf tells me, and I quietly grunt in agreement because this is definitely shady.
“Garren, 28 years old, wielder of darkness, black hair, lean physique,” I mutter the few facts that they bothered to write down. “Graduated from the Academy, but no professional training. Extra skills and abilities unknown.”
That’s not enough, my wolf complains. We can’t work with this.
We have to, I tell her. We’re just going to have to fill in the blanks by ourselves.
Half an hour later, Blaine knocks on my door to inform me that the newbie has passed the encampment’s boundaries and should be here in a matter of minutes.
“Get the pack in line in front of the barrack,” I tell him. “I’ll be down shortly.”
“Yes, Alpha,” Blaine says in confirmation and bows his head ever so slightly. With the door open, we’re within earshot of the wolves, so he has to stay formal. My favorite feature of Alpha’s suite is definitely the sweet soundproof installment of the combination of both magical and non-magical properties.
Once Blaine’s gone, I wait a couple of minutes to give him a chance to set everyone in order before I join them. After I turn off the computer, I step into the bathroom long enough to confirm that there’s not even one light brown curl sticking out of my ponytail. If I want to demand the best from my wolves, I have to lead by example.
The slight commotion from the outside reaches my ears when I go down the stairs, which is unusual because my wolves know better than that.
It must be the Omega, my wolf tells me and I make a small sound in agreement.
It seems like we have our work cut out for us,I reply, suppressing a groan. We’ll get him in shape soon enough.
“Attention!” Blaine calls when I step out of the barrack. “The Alpha is here.”
The eight wolves are set into a neat line, with my two Betas Blaine and Sarah standing at one side. On the other far side, standing in a way that I can’t claim he’s a part of the lineup, is our newcomer.
I make my way straight to him, then face him head-on. While the file mentioned his black hair and dark eyes, it didn’t do him justice at all. His facial features are as if they were sculpted by a Greek god himself. His chiseled jaw and high cheekbones further highlight his unusual handsomeness. He could’ve passed for being a prince and no one would be the wiser.
“Hey, sexy,” Garren says with a cheeky wink and even smacks his lips together in what must’ve been an air kiss. “How’s it going?”
Oh, boy,my wolf says in a mixture of horror at his reaction and amusement at what we’re about to see.
I glance at Blaine and give him a small nod. My Beta responds immediately, steps out of the line, and walks up to the Omega.
“Five hits,” I tell Blaine, then look at Garren. “One for every word he said without permission.”
Blaine doesn’t need to be told twice, his fist already connecting with Garren’s stomach. The Omega’s eyes widen in shock and disbelief, his knees buckling as the air gets knocked out of him.
“That’s one,” Blaine announces and even though the rest of the wolves are staring straight ahead, they’re aware of what’s happening. “Four more.”
Garren’s bent over, his breathing heavy. It doesn’t look like he’s taken a hit in his life. We couldn’t have gotten a worse addition to our pack.
“Get up,” Blaine orders, but Garren doesn’t show any signs that he’s heard him. “You don’t want me to deliver the hits with my foot.”
After the longest of seconds, Garren makes a move and pulls himself up on unsteady feet. When he looks at Blaine, his eyes are full of hate and resentment. It’s just another thing that needs to be trained out of him. I don’t mind using physical violence if nothing else works. It’s not like I’m afraid of him getting hurt more than his wolf can heal.
Blaine punches him in the stomach again, sending him to his knees with an angry groan. He doesn’t even realize that Blaine’s actually being kind to him for not aiming for his liver. It’s the most excruciating type of pain and would incapacitate him instantly, especially since he’s not used to taking hits.
“That’s two,” Blaine announces, then waves his fingers. “Get up.”
To his credit, Garren straightens himself again, but the look of hatred isn’t gone yet. Knowing Blaine, he’ll take it as his personal mission to subdue the Omega.
Garren’s muscles tense as he braces himself for another punch in the gut, his eyes locked on Blaine’s in silent defiance. Blaine moves again, his fist flying too fast for Garren to react, but this time he aims higher and hits him square in the jaw. The strength of the punch throws Garren back to the side until he lands awkwardly on his ass.
“That’s three,” Blaine says with a hint of amusement in his tone. “Get up.”
Garren spits blood on the ground, then uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth. He takes a moment, but eventually does get up and gives Blaine an infuriating smirk. With his arms wide, he lifts his chin up.
“Is that all you got?” Garren teases, his teeth covered with blood.
Blaine’s hand clench into fists by his side, his shoulders slightly trembling with fury. He gives me a sideway glance and I nod in return, silently allowing him to do what needs to be done.
It happens so fast that Garren doesn’t have time to react or even wipe that smirk off his face. Blaine does a little spin on his foot, gaining momentum as he in turn begins to lift his foot high, high up until it hits the side of Garren’s face. The Omega’s head violently jerks to the side, a splatter of blood flying out of his mouth.
“Ugh,” Garren groans weakly from the ground.
“That’s four,” Blaine announces, his eyes gleaming with triumph. “Don’t worry. This time, I won’t ask you to get up.”
Before the words land, Blaine pulls his dominant foot back and kicks Garren straight in the liver. The new Omega cries out in pain, the sound probably the most horrible thing I’ve ever heard.
“That’s five,” Blaine says, a small smile playing on his lips. “He’s all yours, Alpha.”
I give Blaine a curt nod, which is a sign for him to return to his post at the top of the line. Garren’s still clutching his side, his body curled up into a fetal position.
He’s saying something, my wolf tells me, and I realize she’s right, so I focus my heightened hearing his way.
“You’ll all pay. I won’t forget this. You’ll be sorry. You’ll beg for my forgiveness,” Garren mutters under his breath, repeating the same four sentences like a mantra.
His breathing’s coming a bit easier now, which means that his wolf must be doing its job. It’s taking him too long for my liking. If it doesn’t improve, we’ll have to work on training him to speed up the healing process. When on the frontlines, it can mean a difference between life and death.
“Get up,” I order with a barely audible voice.
The shift in Garren’s body confirms that he heard me. I give him a moment to gather himself, actually rooting that he does it because I’d hate to call Blaine again, but I’d do it without a hint of hesitation. As a woman, I need to show them unwavering strength, otherwise they’d come at me like vultures.
Just as I open my mouth to get Blaine, Garren moves his arms and puts his weight on them to push himself up on his knees. From there, it’s all about holding a semblance of balance as he stands on his unsteady feet.
Impressive, my wolfobserves, and I’m inclined to agree with her. Newbie might not know how to take a punch, but he’s stubborn enough to push through the pain. Maybe there’s hope for him yet.
“The pack is only as strong as its weakest member,” I say, repeating the same words that have been drilled into us since the Academy days. “We are only as efficient as our communication and collaboration. Forget about your family. The pack is your family now. The Dark Hunters are the only thing that matters.”
Nice speech, my wolf says with amusement, remembering too many times when my mother and father put the needs of their packs above the needs of their family, their kids.
“We’re going to breathe as one, eat as one, exercise as one, and sleep as one,” I say, giving a slight introduction into my next set of tasks for them as I pace up and down the line. “Since our Omega needs a moment to heal, you’re going to help him clean the barrack, starting with the bathrooms. I want all the toilets squeaky clean and the showers spotless.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the Dark Hunters say as one.
Garren’s eyes widen as he no doubt realizes that his stay here won’t be a walk in the park. I admit that I’ll push him harder than I’ve ever pushed anyone else, but only because the rest of the wolves are at least Deltas, and they’re all eager to get our hands dirty with anything other than cleaning.
“When you’re done,” I continue and stop pacing right in front of Garren to look him in the eyes. “You’re all going to run ten laps around the boundaries of the whole encampment, do one hundred push-ups, one hundred pull-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats, and fifty burpees.”
Hardcore, my wolf comments approvingly. We both agree that the best way to keep our troops in line is with strict discipline and rigorous training. When we”re not on a mission, it”s crucial to engage the pack sufficiently. This ensures they”re too preoccupied to voice complaints and so exhausted that boredom and overthinking are kept at bay. That last part should be left to me.
“You have until dinner to do all this,” I say, then glance at my Beta. “Blaine will keep me informed on your progress.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the Dark Hunters chorus.
“Remember,” I continue, my eyes back on Garren’s bloody but still quite handsome face. “If one of you fails, you all fail.”
“Yes, Alpha,” the Dark Hunters echo, and even Garren’s lips move ever so slightly, which is progress. He’ll get there. It’s his first day, so he needs to learn how things work, but tomorrow, he’ll have to integrate or the whole pack gets punished as one.
“Dismissed,” I say, and pause to watch them turn toward Blaine, who leads them into the barrack to start cleaning.
He’s going to hate you, my wolf says.
Good,I reply. If he hates me, it means he’s alive, which is all I want.
Adele’s death wasn’t your fault, my wolf tells me.
My pack, my responsibility,I reply with a note of finality, then go back to my suite.
I need to come up with a plan to bring Garren up to speed as fast as possible to put him on track to become Delta. The war with the witches is getting worse, and right now, we’re not exactly on the winning side. It’s important that we do our part before it is too late.