Alphas of Summer: A collection of shifter romances

by Lia Davis

  Even Cooper, as stubborn as he was, had become just a little bit more respectful over time.

  And Eric himself? He had actually started to feel like he belonged somewhere again, as stupid as it sounded. Ever since the New Alliance had become less relevant on-ground and more of a media sensation, he had missed the feeling of being a part of something bigger than just himself.

  And so they all found themselves in the kitchen having a quick breakfast when the by now all too familiar sound of Callahan interrupted over the intercom.

  "Cadets, the major expects everyone outside in five for an announcement."

  Eric and Adam shared a look. Not an exercise, or a drill, but an announcement?

  "Don't just stand there looking like idiots. Hurry up!" Bentley barked from across the room and clapped his hands to make his point.

  Eric glared at him. One of these days he'd punch the man and shut him up permanently.

  Still, he was right. Eric finished his breakfast with one last bite and deposited his now empty plate on the table before heading out the door.

  Everyone was outside much sooner than the five minute deadline announced by Private Callahan. The major was already waiting as well, clipboard in hand. How was it that she could look fresh at any time of day, when Eric himself so clearly felt the side effects of lack of sleep and a regular routine?

  "Cadets," she started. "You'll remember I mentioned this training program had a number of different stages when you first arrived. Phase One is now over."

  Eric exchanged a look with Adam and Blackwood, who stood toward either side of him. Then he stared at her again. The woman of his dreams. She was right there and yet they might as well be on opposite sides of the earth. It hurt, but he couldn't look away.

  Why do you avoid me? Do you not realize we’re meant for one another? Eric held his breath and tried to suppress these and many other, similar thoughts.

  "I'd also said that only those who are worthy were to remain on the team." Major Williams paused for a moment, then raised the clipboard in front of her. "I'm pleased to announce that everyone is through to the next phase."

  She looked up and made eye contact with each of the recruits, skipping Eric, much to his dismay.

  Why do you torment me so?

  "Good job, everyone. We will start Phase Two tomorrow. Prepare yourselves, because things get a lot more challenging from here."

  Challenging would be an understatement, more like impossible, a strange voice spoke in Eric's head.

  He frowned.

  "Alpha Squad has received authorization from higher up for advanced military training."

  Eric glanced across at Bentley, whose expression turned painfully smug. He was right in his element.

  "Until now you've been pitched against each other, but going forward, it will be important to work together as a team," the major said.

  Eric glanced back in her direction.

  No matter what the orders are, we're in this together, the strange voice said.

  These little glimpses, these shreds—they were in his head, but they weren't coming from him.

  It's her! His inner bear insisted it was true, even if he couldn't quite believe it. That meant that it was confirmed. They truly were meant to be mates.

  But just because he could hear her didn't mean she could hear him. She was human, after all.

  Eric raised his hand.

  She shot him a quick look. "Yes, Cadet King?"

  His heart jumped as she said his name. "Exactly how advanced is this training going to be?"

  Eric looked around at his team mates. Blackwood was grinning like an excited kid on Christmas morning, Adam had one eyebrow raised in surprise, and Cooper just looked scared. Meanwhile, Bentley simply rolled his eyes. His question seemed valid, though, even if nobody else had been willing to step up and ask it.

  "We will start with an intense survival exercise." Despite answering his question, the major was still avoiding eye contact with him. "But you won't be going out there on your own. We are a team. And we will train as such."

  Intense survival? Just exactly what was Alpha Squad's role going to be when all of this was over? Had his expectations been that off? Liaise with police in shifter related matters, he'd thought. Not exactly Special Forces stuff like Bentley would have done in the past.

  If only we'd met under different circumstances, the strange voice said, sending his own thoughts into yet another tailspin. If only?

  No, his inner bear was not willing to accept defeat just yet, even if the rest of him was mainly just exhausted. How long could he keep on fighting? How long would he hold out hope?

  You're mine, even under these circumstances. You just don't know it yet, he thought.

  Then he shook his head. What a mess.

  "Now, I suggest you use your day off wisely, because we'll push out at the crack of dawn tomorrow. Dismissed!" She turned on her heel and headed back inside with Private Callahan following closely behind her.

  "This is brilliant, isn't it?" Blackwood exclaimed. "We all made it!"

  Bentley left without saying a word, leaving only Cooper and the three shifters.

  "We made it through Phase One," Cooper remarked. "But who knows, with the extreme survival and all. I never signed up for this stuff!"

  "We're a team. And shifters are especially good at survival stuff, even if I say so myself," Blackwood interjected.

  Eric nodded and forced a smile. The wolf was right; they wouldn't let each other fail. Still, he did not feel like celebrating. All was again not as it seemed. He had a lot to think about, mostly regarding the thoughts in his head that hadn't belonged to him. What did it all mean?

  The major had not even looked him in the eye once since his assessment on the first day of training. And his inner bear was not having any more of it. Something had to change or he would lose his mind, especially if they were going to spend more time together going forward.

  And so, rather than stay back in the shared dorm with the rest of the guys, Eric decided he needed time alone to think.

  "Today, I think I'll go out for a hunt by myself," he told Adam as they reached their bunks.

  His brother simply shrugged. "If that's what you want. Though we'd all probably be better off if we took the day to relax."

  No matter how glum Eric felt, Adam's remark made him smile anyway. What a difference a couple of weeks at boot camp had made.

  "You're starting to sound like Mom," he teased.

  Adam grinned too. "You think so, bro? Damn."

  But a spot of motherly advice from the most unlikely person in the room wasn't enough to stop Eric. He collected his backpack and some warm gear and nodded a goodbye at his little brother. "I'll see you when I see you."

  And with those words he was out the door and heading back down the same hallway they had all passed through earlier. He slowed instinctively as he neared the major's office.

  There was a conversation going on inside her office. The major and Private Callahan were talking to one another. Although Eric did not wish to intrude, he could hear it so clearly it was impossible to ignore.

  They did not sound happy. They were talking about orders, just like in the major's thoughts during the announcement. The name General Stone came up.

  What had she meant 'no matter what the orders are?’ What were her orders exactly?

  Eric shook his head. No, he would not do this again, lurk around the major's office, listening in on conversations, just waiting to be discovered by Blackwood, or worse, Bentley. Whatever it was, it was none of his business anyway. He was here as a lowly recruit. Even if he knew what she was dealing with, it wasn’t like he could help her out.

  Eric took a deep breath and marched onward, out of the building. He headed for the tree line of the nearby woods surrounding their compound and put his half empty backpack on the ground. Then he quickly undressed and kept his clothes away before allowing his true instincts to take over.

  He was going for a run in the woods
by himself not just because he was running away from something, strictly speaking. This was also the only way for Eric to really be himself.

  To let his bear roam free and blow off steam would be the only way for him stay in control of his instincts and urges come morning.

  Tomorrow they were going on a survival exercise together, all of the recruits as well as Callahan and, of course, the major. He could survive the wild, no problem, but how was he going to survive being so close to her without acting on his desires?

  He had the whole day to try to run it off and he wouldn't waste another second of it.

  As soon as he had fully shifted, he broke into a trot and headed deeper and deeper into the woods, slipping through a breach in the base's boundary fence on the way.

  They had explored a lot of this area before—Adam, Blackwood and himself—and located the best hunting grounds as well as streams and lakes abundant with fish. But he was not heading anywhere in particular.

  Today he had just one aim: to get as far away from the major as possible.

  Chapter 8

  After the morning's announcement, Janine felt more conflicted than she had since the start of this assignment. Her orders were clear, and ordinarily she would have just kept her head down and followed them.

  But this was different. She had joined the military to make a difference in her life, to mean something to her country.

  And General Stone's orders to sabotage Alpha Squad's success did not seem to help her country, or anyone else. They were rooted in ego, not aimed to serve the greater good.

  She had gotten to know her little team a bit over the past two weeks and started to become personally invested in their lives. Of course, she had felt just a bit more deeply for Eric King than the rest of them, something that had made it even more difficult to do her job properly. In fact, letting Alpha Squad fail and leaving all of this behind would actually make things easier for her in that respect, but that was hardly the point.

  Even if only half of the recruits were here of their own free will, rather than simply being transferred from other agencies, Janine was certain that deep down they were hoping to make a difference too. You did not join Special Forces—in the case of Bentley—or even the Border Agency, where Cooper had been transferred in from, without a sense of idealism. There were plenty of jobs out there that did not carry the same risks with them that law enforcement or the armed forces did, so it took a special sort of person to sign up for them.

  Furthermore, the training and timed exercises they had done so far had shown that each and every one on the team was able and willing to learn and improve. And it was wrong to undermine that. No matter what the general wanted.

  Janine thought about this as she found herself moping behind her desk with a cup of mediocre coffee in her hands. She looked up and noticed that Private Callahan was waiting in the doorway, her head cocked to the side as she was looking at her.

  "Yes, Private?" Janine asked, folding her hands and straightening her shoulders to appear more confident than she felt.

  "Ma'am, I had a thought," Callahan started.

  Janine nodded at her to continue.

  "What if, rather than leaving the cadets to their own devices tonight, we organize a dinner to celebrate? They've completed Phase One, after all."

  Janine stared bleakly at Callahan. Celebrate what exactly? That they were working against all odds with little hope of success, no matter how hard they tried? That the highest-ranking military man in the vicinity had made it his mission to sabotage the team?

  "And Ma'am, I know about General Stone," Callahan added in a low voice.

  Janine frowned. "What exactly do you think you know, Private?" she demanded.

  Callahan averted her gaze. "This is highly irregular," she mumbled.

  Janine gestured at her to hurry up and speak already.

  "Well, the general and I had worked together before, and he made some remarks when I arrived on base which contradicted our official mission here." She stared down at the floor in front of her. "I had to assume that he assigned you here because you and he were on the same page, which is why I never said anything, until…"

  "Well… Then you understand why I'm not keen on celebrating the team just yet." Janine folded her hands and placed them on the desk in front of her.

  "I hope you won't mind me saying this, but your heart is in the right place, Ma'am. And I understand how difficult the situation must be for you, but I just wanted you to know that I'm on your side."

  "Are you, Callahan? Are you willing to disobey the general's orders for this team? Are you willing to risk your entire career for what was essentially supposed to be a PR stunt to boost some politician's popularity?"

  "Respectfully, if you believed that, you wouldn't have thought of ways to help the recruits through the advanced training," Callahan said. "Your idea of accompanying them on their survival exercise goes above and beyond."

  Janine sat back and stared at the private. Janine had thought her meek and eager to just keep her head down and follow orders, but this was a different side to her which she'd never seen before. She had only known Private Callahan for only two weeks, but time had a different meaning while on posting.

  Janine wanted to take the private's words at face value. She wanted to trust her. Callahan had been the only person Janine had spent any meaningful amount of time with while on base, which she realized colored her perception. But if she could not trust someone, who had already taken the risk of expressing opinions which clashed with General Stone's orders, then who could she trust?

  Plus, the situation they found themselves in was already impossible. What was the worst that would happen?

  "Why?" Janine asked. "Why risk everything?"

  The private shifted her weight from one foot to the other and stared at the ground again. "This might sound naive, but despite everything, I really do think this team could make a difference. The recruits have shown marked improvements over a very short time. With the right leadership and guidance, I believe everyone could end up working very well together."

  Private Callahan made a good point. Just the fact that everyone had made it through the first phase of training spoke volumes. Had someone told her on the first day that everyone would make it, she would not have believed it.

  Despite their differences and varying attitudes, everyone had really tried to make the best of their situation.

  "I'll think about your idea—about a celebration—but now I really must be getting on with preparations for tomorrow's excursion. Dismissed."

  The private nodded and saluted Janine before turning around and heading out the door.

  Janine sat back again and folded her hands together behind her head and stared at the ceiling. She hadn't lied; she did have a lot of prep work to do, but she also needed to think.

  Private Callahan had voiced exactly what Janine had been mulling over ever since the general had informed her about the advanced training. Some people spent their entire military careers doing as they were told without ever questioning a thing or feeling a shred of guilt. Janine had been one of them; but then again, she had never received orders that invited this kind of scrutiny.

  The reasoning behind General Stone's orders made sense, for him. He did not appreciate some politician meddling in matters that were none of his concern.

  Frankly, neither did Janine. But it didn't have to be that way, did it?

  Sure, Alpha Squad had been Oliver Teese's idea, but he was not personally in charge of it; she was.

  And although Stone would have put her name forward as a suggestion to lead the task force, he did not have the authority to transfer her out again if she did not do what he wanted. Alpha Squad had been set up by a special mandate approved by parliament. It was the Ministry of Shifter Affairs that governed Alpha Squad, rather than the Ministry of Defence, which oversaw the military.

  That made her position here rather unique.

  This was a big decision, one which would affect he
r entire future. But perhaps it was best to look at the basics: her reasons for enlisting in the first place. Perhaps Private Callahan was right. If they pulled together, Alpha Squad could make a difference too, in an area which was completely underserved.

  Fine. Janine picked up a blank sheet of paper and a pen and started to write out a To Do list to prepare for the upcoming survival exercise. Thanks to her chat with Callahan, she had all but made up her mind. If the general did not press her, she would keep her intentions under wraps for now until she was certain they really did have a shot at success. It all hinged on how the cadets would do in tomorrow's exercise.

  Business as usual, then.

  She picked up the receiver.

  "Callahan. Please make arrangements for a little trip off base for dinner. It's only fair the recruits get a proper meal in them before what I have planned for the morning. Try ‘The Badger and Snake’ on the outskirts of Brecon."

  "Yes Ma'am. I'll let everyone know."

  The change would do everyone good. It wasn't just skill and persistence that made a team; morale was important, too. And it wasn't too unusual to do something like this during boot camp. General Stone—if he even came to know about it—would not question it at all.

  Now when Janine got back to work, she caught a little smile on her face. She felt lighter somehow. Even the crappy coffee tasted just a bit better.

  By five-thirty, Janine had organized her desk, making sure not to leave her training prep lying about the place. Not that she expected anyone to come snoop around while they headed off base, but one could never be too careful.

  As she left her office, Callahan was just passing by.

  "I told everyone to get ready. They should be out any moment now," Callahan said.