His breakfast didn’t seem all that appealing after that little revelation, but he ate it anyway. He had a feeling he was going to need it.
Alpha Cornell arrived after about half an hour. Most of them were done with breakfast, and the room quietened as she entered. “I hope you ate a hearty breakfast.” She grinned, all teeth. “You going to need all the energy for today’s activities.”
I knew it.
“Firstly, I’d like to get some of the less interesting but equally important information out of the way. As I said last night, this will be the only meal you have at the council building. All other meals will be at your lodgings.” She smiled again. “Prepared by you.”
A few murmurs sounded around the room, but they stopped quickly when Alpha Cornell spoke again.
“The fridge and cupboards are fully stocked and will be replenished as required. The menus have already been decided and can be found in the kitchen. All you need to do is cook and clean up.
How you divide this task is up to the betas.”
Jason suppressed a groan. He loathed cooking and was rubbish at it too.
“That brings me on to laundry. Sheets and towels are to be changed once during your stay. Again, this is up to you to arrange. I will say that any clean sheets or towels you take out of the linen cupboard must be replaced.”
Now laundry, Jason could do. He suddenly had an irrational urge to put his hand up and say, “I’ll do that.”
“Finally, in the unlikely event of a fire in your building, please find your way here and gather in front of the main entrance.” She clapped her hands. “Now for the ground rules.” Jason sat up a bit straighter, noticing the others do the same. No one wanted to miss this part.
“Some, in fact most of the exercises you undertake will be physical. Some will be competitive, all will require teamwork.” She paused, her expression turning serious. “The purpose of these two weeks is to iron out any differences, grievances, whatever you want to call them, and create a stronger, united pack. I fully expect there to be harsh words said, arguments had, and quite possibly fighting. But on no account is anyone—” She looked over at the beta table. “—and I mean anyone, allowed to shift or half shift during these exercises or at any other time while you’re here. Anyone who disobeys this rule will be immediately removed and dealt with as the council sees fit. I expect all betas to report any such instances, regardless of who it might be.”
She sighed and glanced towards the windows. “As your stay here falls over the full moon, there will, of course, be an exception to that rule. I’ll talk more about it on the day, but for the full-moon run, you will be allowed to fully shift, with certain restrictions in place.”
Sweat prickled on the back of Jason’s neck at the thought of anyone here breaking council rules.
The consequences wouldn’t be fun.
“Each morning your betas will be issued with an itinerary of the day’s events, which they will then share with their units. Some days will have a full description of the events ahead; others may be more vague. And remember, there’s always a chance you might get no warning at all.” She grinned at that, and Jason wondered what the hell that could mean.
Then she focused her attention on Daryl and Jason, and Jason froze. “A daily itinerary will also be delivered to you two.” Jason didn’t think he was imagining the glint of amusement in her eye.
“Most days it will follow the same path as the others, but occasionally you will have your own tasks to complete.”
Wonderfully cryptic.
He didn’t dare look at Daryl.
“Today’s exercise is a nice, straightforward one to get you all started. Our version of Capture the Flag. You’ll be split into two teams, and all the necessary information is waiting for you back at the lodge. Enjoy your day.”
With another smile, she left the room and a stunned silence behind her.
That lasted about a second before the hushed whispers started.
“Okay, then.” Rachel set her coffee on the table. “I guess we’d better get back.”
Jenn sighed next to her and gave a wry smile. “Let the games begin.”
THEY RETURNED to the lodge, unaccompanied this time, and the mood was distinctly different from earlier. A buzz of excitement and anticipation filled the air, and even Jason had a spring in his step. The itch to get started was hard to ignore, and he found himself walking quicker than he normally would.
Daryl matched his pace, they were at the front of their group this time instead of bringing up the rear. “Eager to get back?”
“Yeah, aren’t you?” Jason spared him a glance, not surprised to see his eyebrows drawn together in a frown.
“Not especially.” He looked around the forest surrounding them. “I don’t enjoy being kept in the dark, and I’m not a big fan of surprises either.”
Shocker.
