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“Alright now that’s out of the way…” Archer breathes, lifting his brows and glancing around the table, “what do we have to go over this week?”
Avery and I take our seats again and I try to focus on Archer, even though I can feel Madd’s wicked stare burning into the side of my face.
“Tris, Iver, how are you two coming on shooting?” Madd grumbles.
“Good,” my brother nods. “We can start cycling in to lead the training sessions if you need us.”
“Us, too,” Lo adds. “Me and Avery have it down, and Sloane’s getting there.”
“Alright, let’s do Lo and Aves on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and Archer and Tris on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays,” Madd mutters. “Ares can lead with both groups all six days, and Iver and I will come fill in whenever we can get away from our Alpha duties. Cool?”
I don’t miss how my own name is conspicuously absent from his assignment.
“Works for me,” Ares shrugs.
“So we’re just doing afternoons?” Tristan clarifies, glancing around the table.
“Yeah, let’s leave the mornings for our usual workouts,” Archer mumbles.
Madd swings his gaze over to his sister. “How are we doing on the new patrols, Aves?”
“Some growing pains, but they’re adjusting,” she sighs. “If anyone complains too much, we’ll take them off their extra rotation. There are plenty of fighters willing to pick up extra shifts, especially the ones stuck in the barracks.”
Madd arches a brow at her in question and she chuckles conspiratorially.
“I might’ve told them they could move up the waitlist for a dorm based on their participation,” she winks.
“We could always double up in the dorms,” Ares suggests with a smirk. “I wouldn’t mind Morgan or Katya as a roommate…”
“Keep it in your pants, Raines,” Avery admonishes, and I snort a laugh.
“How are we lookin’ in IT?” Madd asks, steering the meeting back on track as he looks to Lo for a response.
“We’re all buttoned up,” she chirps cheerfully. “Got the security system updated, so now we’re just playing with the new VR setup. We’re gonna post sign-ups online so everyone can schedule times to train on it.”
“Perfect,” he nods. Then he pauses, sweeping his gaze around the table and arching a brow. “Anything else?”
Is it just me, or is this the shortest meeting known to man?
“Anyone wanna grab a drink?” Iver asks, pushing his chair back from the table.
Unsurprisingly, Ares is the first to jump on the offer. “Shit, count me in,” he laughs, clapping Iver on the shoulder.
The others mumble in agreement and start to get up, while I glance warily toward Madd as I rise to my own feet. As everyone else starts filing out of the conference room, I stand frozen in indecision, Avery nudging me to follow Lo.
“I’ll catch up,” I murmur, eyes flickering over to Madd. He’s still slumped in his seat, staring at something on his phone.
Avery gives me a pitying look, setting a hand on my shoulder as she skirts past me to leave the room. She’s the last to slip out, closing the door behind her, and at the sound of the latch snicking closed, Madd looks up to realize that we’re the only two left.
His eyes snap to mine, cold and distant as ever, and I heave an exhausted sigh. “Look, Madd, if this is gonna be a problem…”
“Why do you insist on inserting yourself in every aspect of my life?” he snaps, abruptly pushing to his feet and shoving his phone into the pocket of his sweats.
“Excuse me?” I scoff, flinching back. “It’smylife too, Madd! You don’t get to dictate what I do with it, and I’m sick of tiptoeing around, always worrying what you’ll think.”
“Why even ask, then?” he glowers. “You’re obviously just gonna do whatever the hell you want.”
I shake my head. “It doesn’t have to be like this…”
