“I will not say it again, Rowan. Change, now. Every minute we are late to this appointment is another spank we are going to add to your punishment when we get home,” he said calmly, but there was a dangerous edge to his voice.
I had been playing with fire all morning and knew better than to poke the bear when he was reaching the limit of his patience.
I changed in approximately two minutes and was walking out of the door wearing jeans.
Cade rested his calloused hand at the back of my neck, steering me through the hallway. Ryker walked directly ahead of me, sandwiching me between the two of them. His bulky mass obstructed my view, but I began committing everything I could to memory. As we passed the stairwell, I tried to see into the door’s small glass window, but Cade's grip on my neck made turning my head difficult and obvious. I noticed a white box with a red light that looked like some type of scanner on the wall near the door handle.
The hallway stretched on as we passed numbered door after door until finally the space opened into a large common area with a few couches and chairs. Vast windows overlooked the same courtyard my bedroom did, and an elevator adorned the far wall. Cade pulled a key card from one of the many pockets inhis fatigues to slide through a scanner that was like the one I had seen on the stairwell door.
I would need to get my hands on one of those cards if I wanted to even get out of the Dormitory Wing. I assumed they all had their own to come and go freely. Step one of my escape plan: steal a key card.
The elevator dinged and opened wide. Inside, two alpha soldiers were deep in conversation, but their heads snapped up when they scented me. One was redheaded, and the other was tall with dark hair. Hungry eyes met mine, and I immediately felt fear, backing into Cade. I tried to look away quickly, hearing my alphas growl when the other men's views settled on me. Ryker stood in front of us, shielding my body from sight with his bulky form, placing his hand on the gun holstered to his thigh. Their bodies were rigid, on high alert, and tension was thick in the air.
“Damn Ryker, I didn’t know you guys got assigned an omega for your unit. She smells fucking sweet. Where’d you find her? The center?” the redhead asked, trying to see past Ryker.
Before Ryker could answer, Cade stepped in front of me and snarled furiously.
“Keep. Fucking. Walking,” he growled.
They hadn’t seen Cade lurking behind Ryker, as their focus had been on me. When he stepped forward, their eyes widened, and shock passed over their faces. The brunette put his hands up in acquiescence.
“Sorry, Cade. Ignore him; he’s a fucking idiot. We're going,” he said, pushing the other soldier forward and giving us a wide berth.
The redhead also muttered, “Sorry, Cade,” eyes downcast as he passed us. Neither looked at me again.
We crowded into the elevator together, and Cade re-gripped the base of my neck, standing behind me. I took a breath of relief when the door closed, and my body slumped into his as tension drained from me.
Cade leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Don’t talk to anyone. Don’t look at anyone. Stay between Ryker and me at all times. Tell me you understand.”
“Yes, sir, I understand,” I assured him.
I already had the attention of enough alphas; I didn’t need anymore.
“Good girl,” he said, straightening out and gripping my neck tighter. I could feel the possessiveness surging through him, raw and barely restrained
The elevator went down three floors, and its doors slid open to another common area, although this one looked more like a lobby of some kind. Flags, banners, and plaques lined the walls, all of them sporting the Arca logo. Large glass panels separated the space from a training facility, and doors on our side led to the courtyard.
Behind the glass was a state-of-the-art gym, stocked with plenty of workout equipment. Soldiers in casual clothes swarmed the space, jogging on treadmills, bench-pressing weights, doing pushups and other exercises.
I did my best not to make eye contact with any of them, but soon I could feel eyes on me as the busy energy inside the gym stalled. They had all stopped working out to stare at me throughthe glass. The few lingering men in the lobby also stared, while some left quickly at the sight of Cade and Ryker.
My heartbeat got faster, and as much as I wanted to visualize my surroundings, my nerves kept my eyes glued to the floor. People parted and cleared a path as we walked through the lobby and turned down a narrow hallway. There was another scanner, which Ryker swiped this time, and then several more turns.
At one point we passed a huge cafeteria. I could smell the food as we neared it, and even though we only walked by its entrance for a moment, a hush fell over the room as we passed.
Ryker and Cade picked up their speed, reminding me again to keep my head down. I had lost track of where we were and what turns we had taken. The base was absolutely massive, much larger than I expected based on the view from my bedroom. At least I had gotten to see the stairwell, lobby, and courtyard.
I felt confident that the stairwell would be the best pathway for escape. Based on the way every alpha and beta soldier were eyeing me hungrily, I knew leaving through crowded spaces was not an option. It would be dangerous to run into another person, but the dorms seemed relatively quiet. People came and went from their living spaces and didn’t linger.
Finally, we turned down a hallway with a set of metal doors at the end. Two frosted windows adorned the doors, and a small sign above the threshold read “Science Department” in simple green letters. There was another card reader to the side of the door with a call button and keypad above it. Cade swiped his card, but the reader flashed red and made an electronic siren noise. The doors didn’t budge.
Cade groaned in irritation, pressing the call button, which buzzed until a female voice answered saying, “Hello. How can I help you?”
“This is Captain Cade Green. My keycard is not working. I have an appointment with Dr. Anthony Zolkos at 0800. Open the door.”
“Apologies, Captain Green. We recently adjusted our access privacy, limiting it for now. Only science personnel with clearance can use their key cards for entry. I will buzz you in for your appointment and inform Dr. Zolkos of your arrival.”
Cade impatiently checked his watch as the doors swung open. Of course, type-A control freaks needed to be on-time for appointments. We continued down the hallway, approaching a slender and tall blonde woman who stood waiting for us. Her face was sharp like a bird’s, and a set of square rimless glasses rested on the tip of her nose. When she spoke, I recognized her voice from the intercom.
