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I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “Not many people in the Faction know the truth about my past.”
“Including me, apparently?” I could feel him staring down at me, the magnetic pull forcing my gaze to finally meet his…and I realized that in my haze of rage from the High Faction’s lack of communication, I had neglected to tell Nolan what exactly had sent me running from his office with a confidential file he wasn’t supposed to show me.
He was calling me strong, for Goddess only knew what reason, but I wasn’t ready to admit the truth to him. He hadn’t earned that part of me yet, and I doubted he ever would.
Still, he at least deserved to know that the High Faction had been lying to him, that was more public knowledge than personal. “Yes.” I took a step back and turned to face the target again. “The File was missing a few details that I think may have been pertinent to the team you chose to lead.”
“At least it explains why everyone stares at me like I’m a charlatan.”
I snorted. “Everyone was just…shocked that you were acting like everything was completely normal about you being here.”
“And it’s not, I take it?”
“Nope.” I pulled back the bowstring, sending an arrow whizzing through the air, the thump of it hitting the dummy sending a rush of needed calm through me. “But it’s not just my story to tell.”
“Then why does it seem like the core of the story revolves around you?”
His words sliced through me, puncturing where it hurt the most. My fingers clenched around my bow, the cool metal biting into my palm, helping to keep me centered in the situation.
I straightened my spine, pulling out another arrow as if his words didn’t almost annihilate me. “No idea.”
“Kasha…”
His hand gently brushed over mine, the pressure asking me to lower my bow. For some reason, I did, turning back toward him. I thought he was going to say something, but he hesitated, just staring down at me, confusion wrinkling his face.He looked at me like I was a mystery to be solved, but he had no idea how complicated my life was. I wasn’t just a scattered puzzle waiting to be placed together; I was full of mismatched pieces and plenty missing from the box.
“Kasha…” he said again, taking a step nearer.
My breath pulled sharply through my teeth, hand shaking so violently, my bow quivered.
Something was happening.
But what?
Before my question was answered, the echoing of boots rushing down the hall gained on us. Nolan cleared his throat, stepping away and running his hands through his hair. I turned from him, my dazed mind resharpening itself from whatever trance he had put me in. Had he commanded me somehow as my Alpha, and I hadn’t realized it? It didn’t feel like it, but why else would I hesitate? Why else would I let him touch me and willingly lower my weapon?
“Alpha, Beta.” Rylan, a Dairchta, came rushing into the room, his face flushed.
The panic in his voice snapped me from my overthinking. “What’s wrong?”
“We just got a call through the Comms,” Rylan panted, and Nolan came up next to me, his posture rigid. “There’s a hostage situation in Sanlow. They need backup right away.”
Nolan and I glanced at each other for a mere moment before we both rushed out the door.
Chapter Twenty
The race to Sanlow was a frenzy. All Hierarchy members on Compound were called to action, along with a handful of Deltas and Dairchtas as extra backup. Our group of fifteen was hard to miss as we passed towns and others traveling along the streets on their way home from work, the roar of our cycles echoing into the dark night sky. It might’ve looked excessive, but we had little information, so we needed to be prepared for anything.
The tavern was luckily not located in the center of this town, making it easier for us to maneuver our lectracycles to the outlying area, the local guard already creating a half-mile wide perimeter to keep the general public safe and allow us to work. We crossed through, heading to the large central group that was set up a quarter mile away from the tavern front. We didn’t waste any time, clustering our bikes together before marching right into the fray.
“Who’s in charge?” Beckett asked, Nolan and I right beside him, the rest of the group hanging back to keep the area as organized as possible.
“I’m Commander Reya.” A tall, lithe woman approached us, shaking our hands in quick succession. She was dressed for battle already, sporting a similar leather armor to ours, except where ours was black, hers was a combination of brown bracers matched with a steel blue undershirt, pants, and boots. Her dirty blonde hair was cropped to her head and streaked with magenta and purple. “Thank you for arriving so quickly.”
“Status report, please,” Beckett said. The ride had been just under an hour, but so much could’ve happened in that time, especially for a sensitive situation like this.
“We’ve been on the scene for the past hour, canvassing the area and trying to get as many details about the suspects as possible,” Commander Reya said. “With the glass front of this particular tavern, we’ve been able to monitor the occurrence since we were notified about it a little over an hour ago.”
I leaned over the barricade of carts lined in front of us, some filled with weapons and others empty, most likely used to transport the troops here. Multiple guards were crouched behind them with spyglasses poised at their eyes, the long cylindrical tube enhanced with glass orbs allowing people to see sharper images at a distance.
