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I looked up at him, eyes widening. “Excuse me?”
“If you actually think we’re just going to roll over and act as if this new Alpha is welcome, you’re wrong.”
“He’s right,”Taylor jumped in. I very rarely kept my mind closed off to them unless I was desperate to be alone, making it easy for the three of us to communicate like this.“If you hate this guy, then so do we.”
I groaned; that wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
“I appreciate the loyalty, I do.”I sideswiped, our sparring continuing with less gumption as we talked.“But I don’t speak for you two, and I never have. You need to form your own opinion of this man. He’s our new leader…”I hesitated for a moment, attempting to kick Lucas in the shins, but he blocked me.“Don’t form a negative opinion about him just because you think it will make me feel better about being passed over.”
“Yes, but you aren’t the only one who made poor decisions this past year,”Taylor countered. “None of us can understand what you went through, but you know we all fought afterward. We won’t look good in the new Alpha’s eyes once he reads about our past.”
He was right, a lot had happened in the past year, and although most of the actions were mine, they had caused a rippling of reactions from the rest of the Hierarchy; reactions that had gotten most of them in trouble in some way.
My guts twisted, reminding me that the High Faction could have done a lot worse than just assigning us a new Alpha.
“We are a team, Kasha,”Lucas said, sending a punch right to my jaw before I caught it in my hand. He stared down at me, no longer keeping the conversation in our minds. “You don’t have to fight alone. You never had to.”
I gazed into Lucas’s eyes, my grip on his fist tightening. I knew he said these things to make me feel safe, less alone, but he didn’t understand. What had happened in the past year was a place I refused to even visit in my mind. I had locked it away in a prison, never allowing it to escape. My psycho-physician told me that not facing it was only hindering my recovery, but she didn’t understand, either.
No one did.
Chapter Three
The sun was setting low in the horizon by the time I was ready to leave the Compound, dusty lavender and buttercup yellow melting into a royal blue sky, teasing the appearance of the moon. After working off some of my energy, I was finally able to focus enough to go back to my office and begin preparing for the new Alpha’s arrival.
It had been three months since we last officially had one, and I had taken over a lot of the responsibilities to make sure our Faction kept running smoothly. I had hoped the longer an Alpha was unnamed, the more opportunity I had to prove that I was the right choice, to show the High Faction that I was ready for this, even with my past. But it hadn’t been enough. I hadn’t been enough…
I stopped in my tracks quickly, looking up to the sky and letting the breeze whisper against my cheeks, burning my nostrils when I took a deep breath. None of that. I began walking again, letting the hurt feelings stay where they belonged: in the past.
I pushed forward, making my way as quickly as possible to where my lectracycle was parked. The two-wheel contraption was one of the great perks of joining the Onyx Guard; each member was given one to help them travel quicker through their assigned territory. It ran solely on electricity, a powerful engine shining in between the two wheels, a soft leather cushion running along the top of the body before merging into the handlebars at the front of the cycle.
I threw my leg over, shoving my key in the ignition and flipping the switch to turn it on. The engine purred under my legs, ready for me to unleash its full force. I double-checked my gages, making sure there was plenty of energy stored in the engine to get me home and back to work tomorrow. With one more breath, I kicked the balancing stand up and raced off down the street toward the entrance gate.
“Open,”I said into the mind of the Guard currently on duty, a young Delta standing on a parapet that overlooked the tall wall surrounding the Compound. He perked up, flicking the switch so the gate swung open for my lectracycle to race through.
The wind whipped against my face, feeding into me as I gained speed on the abandoned street. I loved my lectracycle; it reminded me of running in wolf form, the thrills of freedom mixed with a touch of adrenaline. In the past few months, I had become a bit overzealous with my speed on the open roads leading to Eroste, the capital city of the territory Seathra. Most people didn’t travel out this way unless they were an Onyx Guard, so I tended to let my desires unleash a bit out here.
I needed it, craved it.
All too soon, I crossed the threshold into the city, slowing down to safely wind through the crowded streets. Seathra was best known for its textile creations, becoming a destination for anyone looking for some of the best shopping in Kazola. The center of town had a daily market for the manufacturers and merchants to sell their wares while the surrounding district held the clothing and household shops. I took my time cutting through the market as merchants began closing up their booths with the setting sun, a few waving to me as I passed.
Once I cleared the shopping district, it was only a few more minutes before I arrived at my new residence, located in the artist district where I lived with my childhood best friend, Lea. I parked in the alley next to it and walked up the steps into the house, where a waft of roasted meat and herbed vegetables greeted me.
“Welcome home!” Lea called from the back of the house. I dropped my bag and keys before making my way into the welcoming warmth of the kitchen. Lea’s black curly hair was secured at the nape of her neck, a few strands sticking to her forehead as she carved into the meat and placed slices on two plates. “Dinner’s almost ready.”
“You are too nice to me,” I laughed, dropping into a chair at our circular, four-person dining table.
“Nonsense.” She placed a plate in front of me before taking the seat across, the two of us diving in instantly. “How was work today?”
My throat constricted around the first bite, the flavors turning to ash on my tongue. “Could have been better.”
“Oh?”
“They assigned a new Alpha,” I mumbled, refusing to look up from my plate. I knew the look she would probably give me, those big brown eyes filled with pity, and I wasn’t in the mood to see it from someone else.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not particularly,” I said, using my knife to sever a carrot in half. “How was the forge?”
