Emerald Pack Town
The recruits and I arrive downtown. My mother, Jessica, and the other girls are shopping. We try not to make it obvious that we’re here to watch over them as we approach the little restaurant where my mother likes to eat.
“Luke! Hey, baby. I missed you so much!”
Shit. I forgot Wills, Elaine, and the rest of their crew are here. Elaine crashes into me and tilts her head for a kiss. I turn my head just in time and push her backward to avoid further contact. This girl cannot take a hint. Any kind word, sometimes even a smile, is instantly taken out of context.
Ignoring her, I shake Wills’s hand. “Hey, man. What are you doing here?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
He quirks his brow. “I texted you earlier. We all arrived a day early for the ball. Haven’t seen you for a while and wanted to hang out, catch up.”
“Ah, yeah, sorry, man. Been busy. Must have missed your text.”
“No worries. You’re here now. We can hang and catch up later tonight at your place. Just like old times.”
How the hell do I always get sucked into their bullshit? The worst part is I never know how to say no.
Darwin clears his throat. “Sorry, man. We’re here to grab some lunch, pick up some supplies, and then head back to the training center. We recruits have plans—last hoorah before the ceremony and ball. You’re gonna have to catch up later.”
Wills narrows his eyes at Darwin. I add, “Sorry, man. Got plans. I didn’t know you guys were coming.”
His face instantly changes from irritation and suspicion to indifference. “No worries. We already ate, but we can hang until you get your shit. We can catch up tomorrow night.” I nod. Elaine pouts, arms crossed over her chest. Wills whispers in her ear.
Cassie, another girl in their group, stares at Liam like he hung the moon and stars. I huff a breathy laugh. Liam adopts his usual pinched expression and tries to ignore her. The other two girls have their hooks into Sodie and Stan. I leave them to their own devices. If they know what’s good for them, they’ll stay far away from this bunch.
The recruits and I grew closer after Jessica’s disappearance. When I first started with the recruits, some kissed my ass while others didn’t like me right off the bat. They assumed, because I was the Young Alpha Prince, I would get away with anything.
They were wrong. I was bullied the most, and expectations were much higher than for everyone else. Slowly, over time, many of them dropped out, fed up with Marcus, Boris,and Dustin’s antics. The ones who remained simply kept to themselves.
I look around the recruits intermingled with the preppy kids from my former private school. True friends stand out among the group, and I feel lucky for the opportunity to be among them in the program.
When Wills and Elaine drift farther away, I slap Darwin on the shoulder. “Thanks, man. I appreciate the interception.”
“Just doing my job.” I raise an eyebrow at him. He smirks. “It’s our job to protectallof the royal family. My gut instincts say these friends of yours, especially your girlfriend, are nothing but trouble.”
I grimace at his reference to Elaine. “She’s not my girlfriend, and yeah, those two are always up to something.”
He laughs. “I think someone missed the memo ‘cause that girl thinks she owns you.”
I shudder at the thought. “Right. So, I roped Emily into doing recon for Mission ‘Keep the Powers Twins away,’” I chuckle.
Darwin brightens. “Emily?”
“For some reason, Elaine is scared of her.”
“I can see that. She’s pretty fierce.”
Poor dude. I can practically see the hearts floating in his eyes. She will break his heart. Darwin and Emily worked together to hack into some of the government’s security systems searching for Jessica. Darwin might not be the best recruit in combat training, but he is wicked smart with computers.
That’s how Shadow found him. Darwin was expelled in his territory for hacking into the school’s system and changing fellow classmates’ grades for a nominal fee. With the rise of technology, Shadow thought we needed more recruits familiar with technical operations.
The leads didn’t agree, until we needed him. Darwin was the first person Liam thought of when Emily suggested usingthe airport and port systems. He not only hacked into the LS territory systems but the Northern A ones as well, and then some. He proved himself, and although we are not best friends, I couldn’t be prouder of him that he stuck with it these past two years and finished.
“So, how close are you and Emily?” Darwin finally builds the courage to ask.
“I didn’t sleep with her, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
He sighs. “I wasn’t, but thanks for the info. I mean, are you close enough to know if she’s dating anyone, met her true mate, that kind of thing?”
