He had just sat down on his bed when another soldier poked his head into the room. “Come on, it’s time to get your new uniforms.”
“I wonder if we get jammies, too,” Ava snarked.
“Nice to see that you have your father’s smartass attitude,” the soldier replied.
“You’ll have to be more specific. They both can be jerks at times,” she shot back.
“Just come on and don’t be worried about having PJs, you’ll all be getting sweats and T-shirts along with your uniforms,” the soldier replied. “Now, let’s get moving. I would like to get off duty sometime tonight.”
As Jax followed the rest of his class out of the room, he wondered if they were even going to have something small enough to fit him. Or Ava, for that matter. They were both so small they could still fit in Garanimals. Whatever the Academy had was going to hang on them. It was a good thing Jax was a master at rolling up the cuffs of his pants. He had a feeling he would be doing that for several years before he grew enough to actually fit into a Coalition-issue uniform.
They all had to stand in line as two clerks began to pass out the clothing. It seemed to take forever. Jax began to grow tired since he hadn’t slept much the previous night. He started to grow hungry too. When his stomach let out a loud growl, Ava sighed softly.
“I told you, you should have finished lunch. Now you’re going be starving until breakfast,” she said.
A tall female soldier with blonde hair was standing nearby. She leaned over then said, “Don’t worry, the cafeteria is open for a few more hours. You can get whatever you want there. I’ll show you where it’s at after you put your clothes away.”
“We can go there any time we want to?” Jax asked, shocked.
“Well, not while you’re in class or training, but during your free time, yes. We have to keep our future soldiers fed,” she said.
Jax finally reached the counter. Just as he’d expected, the male shifter who was handing out the clothes took one look at Jax then let out a deep sigh. Jax had never felt so small in his life. The clothes were specially made for shifters his age, yet he still wasn’t going to fit them.
“Just give me the smallest size you have and I’ll make it work,” Jax said in a resigned tone.
The male gave him a tiny smile. “Sorry, if you want, I can try to find somebody who can hem the pants for you.”
Jax shrugged. “It’s okay. I’m used to having to wear things that are too large for me. It was that or still shop in the kids section of the store.”
“That has to suck,” the male replied.
Jax nodded then waited as the male walked into the back room. He came out a few moments later, carrying a large bag. He handed to Jax. As he took it, he almost fell over, it was so heavy. Going by the weight, he thought that there must be at least a week’s worth of clothes in there.
“Make sure you put your name on all the tags. That way when you send it out to be laundered they will know who to give it back to,” the male said.
“Wow, we get all our food cooked for us, and we don’t even have wash our own clothes. We’re really getting spoiled,” Jax replied.
The soldier laughed. “Yeah, go ahead and believe that for now. You won’t be saying that after your first training session.”
“Ah…thanks,” Jax replied.
He hefted the bag on his shoulder then joined Ava, who had a bag of her own. They went back to the dorms. Once there, Jax opened his bag then looked inside. He found he had four pairs of sweats, five uniforms, and around ten T-shirts. He also found a pair of boots and some tennis shoes. All the clothing had the Coalition’s symbol on them.
“Well, at least they’ll know where to return me if I ever get lost,” he said.
Ava and the twins laughed at his comment. They put their clothes in their footlockers then headed for the cafeteria. Jax had never been to the one that catered to the soldiers before. He was shocked at how much larger it was than the one for the regular school. It had a million different selections, too.
Jax was really hungry so he didn’t hold back. He grabbed pizza, fries, cake, and then some fruit, before adding some soda. Alvus’ eyes grew large as he eyed up Jax’s tray.
“Do you always eat that much?’ he asked.
Jax shrugged before grabbing a bag of chips. “Pretty much. It drives my mom crazy. She probably thinks I’ll be the first fat shifter in history.”
“If that’s the case, then she would have a fit if she saw your tray,” Alvus replied.
“Just like my dad had one during the ceremony,” Jax drawled.
“What was up with that? I thought all dads got geeked when their kids joined the military,” Alvus said.
Jax waited to answer until they had found a seat. “My dad doesn’t like Mitchell or the Coalition. The only reason why he even allowed me to go to school here in the first place was because my grandfather threatened to disinherit him otherwise.”
Alvus frowned. “Why is he like that?”
“I’ve always thought he’s one of those shifters who hates we’re different from humans,” Ava cut in.
“Why would any shifter feel that way?” Philip asked. “We age so much slower than them.”
“Plus, we’re ten times quicker,” Ava said.
“And stronger,” Alvus added.
“Not to mention smarter,” Philip said.
“Actually,” Jax shook his head, “I don’t think that is true. The smart part, I mean.”
Alvus frowned. “Really?”
“Actually, I’m certain it’s not,” Jax confirmed. “Just look at my dad, he’s proof.”
“Dayam! I guess you have a point there. It’s a good thing I didn’t decide to stay in the other school and shoot for Harvard.” Alvus gave a mock frown.
“Like Harvard would ever want your ass,” Philip said.
“You always have to dash my dreams,” Alvus shot back with a laugh.
They continued to joke around as they finished eating. All the while, Jax kept darting looks around the dining hall. It was so big it was hard to even see all the tables. There were some students there, like them, but more adults. Some of them had scrubs on, but a lot of them were soldiers. All of them looked so big Jax wondered if he would ever fit in. Crap, they didn’t even carry his clothing size at the Academy. He didn’t think a growth spurt was in his future, either, not with his parents also being small.
Then Jax reminded himself about how Noah looked, and that made him feel a little bit better. Besides, it wasn’t like he could change his mind. Even if he could, he highly doubted he’d be welcomed back home.
He wondered what his parents were doing. Most likely his father was still yelling while his mother sat at the kitchen table and said nothing. She had never stood up for Jax before, so he had no reason to believe she’d ever change. He didn’t really blame her…much. Jax had never been able to stand up to his father either. Today was the first time he’d rebelled.
By the time he’d cleaned his plate, he was starting to get tired. He would have thought it was impossible after the day he’d had, but he hadn’t slept at all the previous night. It was probably a good thing since classes started early the next morning.
They put their trays away then walked back to the dorm. Jax was pretty certain he wouldn’t be able to find his way back if he had to. He would just go with Ava for the next few times to make sure. He didn’t want to end up lost and stumble into an off-limit room. He was sure he would be getting into trouble enough as it was. He didn’t need to let his dorkiness add to his long list of insults.
Once they arrived back, they all went to the bathrooms to change into their sweats. Jax climbed into bed. After a few moments, one of the instructors turned off the lights. Jax was almost asleep when the mattress above him creaked. Ava looked down from the top bunk, her hair hanging down.
“Night, Jax.”
“Night, Ava.”
“I told you everything would turn out okay.”
“Yes, you did
,” he agreed.
She disappeared from view. Jax let out a happy sigh. He went to sleep, and for the first time in a while, didn’t dread what the morning might bring.
Chapter Four
They were woken up the next morning by the sound of several soldiers loudly shouting. It scared the crap out of Jax, almost making him fall out of bed. He felt like an idiot until he saw the twins leap out of their beds. Alvus, who had been in the top bunk, even landed on his ass.
A tall male soldier, AKA instructor, pointed at them. “Get dressed and line up in the hall. You have five minutes, so move it.”
Philip rubbed his eyes. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to even finish peeing by then.”
“I wouldn’t test them,” Ava warned. “I heard they don’t like it when they are disobeyed.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Jax said as he looked at the tall male soldier who had given them the order.
Damn, they were all so big. Jax was beginning to think he was going to have a permanently sore neck from looking up all the time. He grabbed a uniform from his locker then rushed to get dressed.
When he finished, he couldn’t help but admire himself in the mirror. Even though the black shirt and matching cargo pants were bagging on him, he thought he looked pretty good. He especially liked the fact it was the same uniform the soldiers wore.
He ran his hands down his pants. The fabric was crisp and had that new-clothes smell. He had rolled the hem of the pants then tucked them into the top of his boots. He brushed his hair so it didn’t look messy. It wasn’t long, but he still had a feeling he would be sent to get it cut into a more military style.
He didn’t have much time to stare at himself. He didn’t want to be late on his first day. He rushed out into the hall then got into line behind the twins. He could sense by the way everybody fidgeted and scuffed their feet they were as nervous as him. Even Ava was unusually quiet, and she was probably the most prepared out of all of them. Her dads had to have told her what to expect.
The instructor who had ordered them about earlier came out. He looked them all over from head to toe. He stopped every so often to tell somebody to tuck in their shirt or make sure that their boots were tied properly. When he passed Jax without comment it was a huge relief. He even let out a pent-up breath.
“My name is Logan, and I will be your head instructor,” the soldier said. “You will be answering to me, and when you mess up I will be the one who disciplines you. Trust me, you will not like my punishments, so I advise you to stay in line, obey orders, and don’t test me.”
Jax swallowed hard. He hoped he could be the student that Logan wanted. The instructor was scary. Jax didn’t even want to think about what his form of discipline would be. He would probably make Jax run until he collapsed from exhaustion or something. Jax had watched plenty of movies about boot camps, and they were all terrifying.
“Okay, you have classroom sessions for the first part of the day then you will report to the training facility. You will be learning self-defense first. You won’t be useful to us until you learn how not to die,” Logan said.
Jax could get behind that plan. He didn’t like the idea of dying and wanted to avoid it at all costs. Dead was not a good thing.
Logan led them to the classroom. As they filed in and took their seats, Jax looked around him in excitement. There were maps pinned on the walls. They had stickers on them marking all the neighboring Coalitions and Packs, or at least that’s what Jax assumed they were. His father had never talked about things like that, and it hadn’t been part of their old curriculum.
On each of the desks was a large stack of books. Jax quickly started to go through them. Each new one made him more excited. There was one of shifter history, another on military tactics, one on different breed of shifters and so much more. Jax wanted to start on them right away, but a small male walked in. He reminded Jax of Andrew and Mitchell. Jax quickly surmised that he must be yet another sibling of the leader.
“Everybody take a seat and be quiet. My name is Keegan, and I will be one of your teachers. I will be dealing mostly with the topics of shifter history and the different breeds you may encounter.”
Ava leaned over and whispered, “He’s from the same litter as Andrew. My dads told me Keegan has a photographic memory and he’s a genius. For once there will be somebody smarter than you in the room.”
Jax couldn’t help but be impressed. He couldn’t wait to start learning new things. His dork side was coming out, and for once, Jax wasn’t embarrassed by it. He knew he was going to love the first class of the day.
“Okay,” Keegan said. “Who can tell me about the Great Raven Attack?”
Jax raised his hand. That was the one piece of history he did know. Jax had spent a whole afternoon in the library reading up on that subject. It had been a year ago, but the information had been so fascinating and terrifying that it was still fresh in his head. Keegan pointed a finger at Jax, indicating that he could answer the question.
“Over twenty years ago the Ravens attacked all the feline homes of this Coalition,” Jax replied. “There were a lot of deaths, although the exact number is hard to indicate.”
“And why is that?” Keegan pressed.
“Because, the Ravens burned down the felines’ homes afterwards. Some of the fires burned so high it made identification impossible.”
“Were there any other reasons?” Keegan crossed his arms over his chest then leaned against his desk, looking around at the class.
Jax cleared his throat. He didn’t want to come across as a know-it-all, but he did know the answer. Besides, he had a feeling he wasn’t going to shine in the self-defense classes, so he probably needed all the brownie points he could get. Keegan nodded that he should continue.
“The Hawks, who were aligned with the Ravens at that time, were supposed to make sure that every feline was dead. The Hawks couldn’t bear murdering children so they took them away then hid them amongst the human population. Mitchell discovered their existence several years ago and began a search so they could be returned to their rightful families.”
“Very good,” Keegan said. “In fact, I was a Lost Shifter myself.”
“I don’t like what’s being said about Hawk shifters. That’s what I am, and we’re huge allies with the Coalition. All of my family even lives at this building. It’s crap we always get blamed for that shit,” a male classmate interjected.
Jax looked over at the student. Jax was pretty sure his name was Haven. He and Jax had never talked to each other before. Haven had the classic appearance of a Hawk shifter, with brown hair and amber eyes. He was even thin and tall like most young Hawks.
“Yet, that’s a fact. You can’t argue with history,” Keegan said to Haven. “Now, that being said, the Hawks did save all those children’s lives. They eventually did align with the Coalition and have helped to find a lot of the Lost Shifters. Look, I have nothing against Hawks. My brother is mated to your leader, but facts are facts. Still, many of the Lost Shifters would be dead or still missing if it wasn’t for the Hawks. You guys have helped us many times over. None of us might have even lived to be here now if it wasn’t for your elders. So, don’t think I am bashing your kind, Haven.”
Haven let out a deep sigh as he rolled his eyes, but he didn’t argue any further. Jax slouched down in his seat. He had only wanted to answer the question, not start some heated debate. He only hoped that Haven didn’t hold a grudge.
Keegan looked at Jax. “What’s your name, Lion shifter?”
Older members of the pack could tell what type of breed a shifter was by the scent they gave off. It was something that Jax and his classmates wouldn’t be able to do for a few years. Until then they all had to play a guessing game.
“My name is Jax, sir,” he replied.
“Nice to meet you,” Keegan said.
Jax nodded in return. He hoped Keegan didn’t ask him any more questions. Until Jax was able to crack open the books and do some serious rea
ding, that would be the extent of his knowledge. Oddly enough, Jax would have done great had they been speaking of human history. His dad had always watched documentaries, and he’d forced Jax to view them as well. It had been boring as hell and useless as far as Jax could see. Unlike his father, Jax couldn’t care less about stupid humans.
Keegan continued to lecture about the Great Raven Attack. Jax was riveted as Keegan shared some facts that hadn’t been in the history books, like how the previous leader, Mitchell’s father, had ignored warning signs. He had thought the Ravens couldn’t possibly be a threat. Jax knew the felines were still at war with the birds.
Keegan put up a picture of a Raven shifter. It gave Jax the chills. The Ravens were over six-feet tall and looked far more deadly than their average animal counterparts. Their claws appeared to be deadly sharp. Keegan said they were able to slice their way through the heaviest of body armor.
A shiver of fear slid down Jax’s spine. Some day he would be out in the field, actually fighting those things. Just thinking about it made his stomach clench in fear. Maybe he should have stayed in the regular school after all.
“I know what some of you are thinking,” Keegan said. “You don’t believe you would ever survive an encounter with one of these things, much less defeat it. I know because I used to think the same thing, but you need to stop worrying. We won’t let you go out into the field until you are older and prepared. By the time you finish the Academy, you will know all there is about Ravens. You will learn about their weaknesses and how best to defeat them. You’ll be taught about them here and in the training facility.”
Jax still wasn’t entirely convinced, but who was he to argue? He just gave a silent prayer for Keegan to be right. Jax really did want to be a soldier. He just didn’t want to croak on his first day. His father would be yelling all kinds of I told you so at Jax’s grave if that were to happen.
“You think this is bad, wait until you see what Snake and Spider shifters look like,” Ava whispered to Jax.
Jax's Rebellion (Coalition Training Academy #1) Page 3
