Page 46 of Specter Bred

"They spent ten years together. Ten years deploying, training, nearly getting killed together. Those weren't just soldiers. That was his family. I've seen him a few times when his eyes get all glossy and he stares out as if he's somewhere else, before snapping back to the present."

I opened my mouth to argue, but Hayes didn't let me get a word in.

"And now Command expects him to walk into Fairfield and do it all over again."

He gestured vaguely around us.

"To Graves, he's looking at a room full of recruits and trying to figure out which ones he's willing to bet his life on."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"But more importantly, he's choosing which ones he's willing to bury."

Hayes rubbed the back of his neck.

"Maybe that's why he's so hard on you. Because you're not someone he's willing to put in the ground."

For a moment, I actually considered it. Not because I thought Hayes was right. He wasn't. But because the image was so absurd, I couldn't help turning it over in my head.

Graves, secretly trying to protect me? The gruff instructor worried about my well-being? Captain asshole tanking my ASOG career for my own good?

The longer I thought about it, the angrier I became.

"Oh, fuck that!"

Hayes blinked.

"What?"

I set the weight down harder than necessary.

"I'm not some omega princess who needs saving."

"Maeve—"

"No!"

I pointed at him.

"If that's actually what he's doing, then it's even more insulting."

Hayes frowned.

"How so?"

"Because it still means he doesn't think I can do it."

My voice came out sharper than intended.

"I've worked my fucking ass off to get here, Sammy. I've trained harder than half the recruits in this program. I've spent years proving myself. Years of being told what I couldn't do, what I wasn't strong enough for, what I didn't belong in."

I shook my head.

"No," I repeated.

The idea left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"If Graves is trying to drive me out because he thinks he's protecting me, then he's no better than everyone else who's ever looked at me and seen a woman before they saw an alpha."