by Ruby Brooks
Hayley would love it here.
I stretched out my shoulders when the pair came to a stop in the middle of nowhere.
“Now what?” I asked and Andrew pursed his lips.
“We wait.”
“Wait for what?”
“The team to pick us up.”
“You don’t know the way back from here?” I kicked at a loose rock, watching it tumble down the hill. I was tired, grumpy, and hungry. Not a good mix for someone with low patience.
“No, we… We get drugged. They make us unconscious, so we never know where the base is exactly.”
“Incredible,” I muttered and Ella nodded, the misery written all over her face.
Headlights flooded the gaps between the trees ahead of us and I tried to reign in any influence I had that was lingering in the air. If they did drug me, and I had no reason to believe Andrew was lying about that part, I’d need a higher dose than these two. If I reigned it in enough, perhaps the alpha strength would be enough to keep me out of the fog entirely.
You listening to this, wolf? I need you to protect me.
“Whatever,” he grumbled.
So, that was a yes then.
A woman hopped out of the vehicle, a weapon in her hand. Of course she came with a tranquilliser gun. She had already fired one into Ella's shoulder before she caught sight of me. Ella shuffled towards the car, her head bowed.
Get a backbone, Ella.
I had a soft spot for her already, I couldn’t help it. The defeated set in her shoulders made me want to grab her, shake her, and remind her she’s a fucking animal capable of taking care of herself.
“What’s this?” The woman asked Andrew.
“This is… I don’t know who this is, ma’am.”
“Cole,” I interjected. “Cole Anderson.”
Something flashed in her eyes and she smiled, slightly.
“Excellent work, Andrew.”
He preened at the compliment and I wanted to gut him. It was my idea and the prick couldn’t hold his own in a fight even if he wanted to.
“Get in the car,” she continued, firing a dart at him, too. Ella was already falling asleep inside the vehicle. He slunk off, too, leaving me with the human.
I subtly inhaled and was surprised to notice she was entirely human. Humanity and arrogance rarely mixed well when it came to fighting shifters and this woman would realise it sooner than later. She smoothed back her already impossibly smooth hair, giving me a once-over. She didn’t even bother to hide the fact she was checking me out.
I schooled my features into a neutral expression and reminded myself what was at stake here. Who was at stake here.
“I’d like to come with you,” I announced, when I realised she was waiting for me to speak.
“Why?”
“What can I say? The shifters have ruined my life. My parents. My pack. I’m all alone.”
“Oh.” Pity began to form on her features and I forced back my glee. “Why would you want to join us though?”
“Revenge.”
“I see.” She tapped on her chin before pulling out her phone and dialling a number. I opened up my senses, since she wouldn’t tell anyway, and tried to listen out for my pack. Some of them were coming this way, probably to save me.
“Don’t come.” I projected my voice and was thankful the tranquillisers already worked on Ella and Andrew. “I know what I am doing. When I need you, be there.”
I felt the hesitation from the group, just as I expected, however many of them muttered in agreement. They probably thought I had lost my mind, but they weren’t alone in that. So had my wolf and just about anyone in the Steelman pack who watched me deteriorate after Hayley was taken.
“You call me a prick,” my wolf muttered, “but you’re the prick. Prick.”
I snorted in laughter and tried to cover it with a cough. The woman gave me a puzzled look and I went back to being neutral, shrugging.
“Yeah, Nathan? You will not believe who I have in front of me.” The woman positioned the phone between her ear and shoulder, as she loaded another dart into the gun. It looked like the same dosage as the other two got, and I hoped I was strong enough for this.
“I’ll protect you, prick.”
Is that the best insult you have? I fired back at the wolf.
“No. This one is: weak.”
Ouch. It did hurt, and so did the bloody dart.
I rubbed at my shoulder, wanting her to think it was hurting me more than it really was. I could feel something trying to take effect and the connection to my wolf slipped away. I mimicked the way Ella and Andrew moved towards the car and I felt the woman’s eyes on me.
When I slid into the back seat, I closed my eyes. I wanted the sleep to take me under, especially as the chemical had eased my headache, but I kept my attention on the road. I committed every bump, turn, and traffic light to memory, just in case I needed it in the future. As soon as I could write it down, I would.
I certainly hoped my pack would come for me when I needed them, otherwise I was well and truly fucked.
Chapter 15
Hayley
I knew I was early for our latest training session, but I wanted to observe the other members of our group as they came in. You can learn a lot about a person by the way they walk, if you look closely enough.
The lights flicked on as I entered the room and I sat on the floor in the farthest end. Someone had already set up various punching bags, speed bags, and skipping ropes. I was looking forward to another active session because tossing knives at a target was incredibly dull.
I ignored the memories that were threatening to resurface from my first training session with Cole and Mia. I needed to focus.
Andrew and his friends were first. They swaggered as they walked but they didn’t notice me until they had already sat down on the other side of the room. They bent their heads together, laughing about me, but I had a secret smile of my own.
Pride comes before a fall, I wanted to croon at them. I didn’t. I’d let my kicks take them down instead.
“Be careful who you make enemies with, Hayley,” Andrew chortled. I rolled my eyes, chewing on my lip. No idea where his threat came from, but I didn’t want to waste my energy dwelling on it.
Ella came in next, her hair hanging down in waves and she was fussing with it. While Andrew was confident, Ella was the opposite. Her head was always bent and she sat to the side, away from everyone. I wanted to know what her story was but I couldn’t get attached to anyone here.
Others piled in after that. Some were confident, overly so, while others I couldn’t get a full read on.
Carl shuffled in, a notepad in his hand. Bile curled in my stomach after what he tried to do to me, but I refused to let him see me rattled.
“Morton,” he barked. “In the middle.”
I rose to my feet and ignored the gasp from people whenever my surname was mentioned. I rolled my shoulders as he pointed to a bag in front of me.
“You warmed up?” he asked, not bothering to hide the fact he was checking me out. It was fucking disgusting.
“No.”
“Good. Show me what you got with cold muscles.”
I swallowed past my nerves. This was my shot to prove myself and finally get outside. Unfortunately, I had to focus on memories with Cole and Mia in order to punch. I kept my chin and elbows tucked in and tried not to cringe when my first shots were off – still. I’d had enough practise at this since I was allowed to train again and I should have been better.
I drowned out all the noise in the room. It had been months, but muscle memory soon kicked in. I was panting, sweat running down my face, my knuckles bleeding, but I didn’t stop. I punched until Carl was pulling me off, complimenting me.
“I don’t need your praise,” I spat, pulling away from him. I needed to get his fucking hands off me. I marched over to the water table, pouring myself a large cup. I made eye contact with Andrew and smiled to myself when he was the one to break it
first.
“At least put some wraps on your knuckles,” Carl muttered, coming over, and standing next to me to watch one of Andrew’s friends do the same as me.
“He’s shit,” I commented, loud enough for the guy to hear. He faltered on the next punch and missed the bag. “When am I going outside?”
“Bit eager, aren’t you?”
So would you, dickhead. “I heard there is a new alpha nearby,” I whispered, not wanting the others to overhear. “I want in on it.”
“Once a Morton, always a Morton.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before Carl answered, Andrew’s friend gave up. I rolled my eyes and didn’t move from the table as he came over for water. I kept my eyes adverted, watching the next recruit.
“Can I get some water?” The guy asked. He was panting from exhaustion, as sweaty as I was.
“You can.”
“I mean, can you move?”
“No. You have plenty of space.”
He sighed but poured his drink anyway. I don’t know why I felt the need to stand my ground, but I was pissed. These people in here don’t realise how fucking good they have it. I also wanted to be seen as the one in charge, not Andrew.
Andrew’s friend stormed off with his drink, but I kept my eye on Carl. I didn’t want to let him out of my sight, worried he may try and corner me again when I wasn’t expecting it.
“Well, what did you mean?” I asked as Carl came over again, bitching about the recruits’ shots.
“Morton? Only the most elite hunter family to have ever existed.”
I swore, pretending I didn’t figure that out already. “Of course.”
“You actually didn’t know?”
“No. My parents are dead.”
“I know but… I thought they would have said something.”
“Do you know who killed them?”
“Yes. We are still investigating the circumstances.”
“What do you know about them?”
“Nothing.” He slid his eyes over my body and I wanted to throttle him. “I don’t hunt much anymore. I prefer training recruits.”
We didn’t speak after that, instead we watched the other recruits. Carl tried suggesting he could talk to me about my parents more when we were alone, but I kept my face blank and gave him a solid no. What a creep.
I walked back to my room before the others had finished training. I didn’t like the idea of being confronted because right now, I just wanted a hot shower, and more food.
“Fuck my life,” I muttered. Nathan was outside of my door.
“You have impressed Carl,” he said, skipping over the usual pleasantries. “As a result, we have all decided to let you go out on missions.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the full story about my surname?”
“Because your family history is none of my concern. You’re welcome, Hayley.”
He marched off, leaving me bewildered again. Voices were coming up behind me, and I slipped into my room, double locking my door.
Coward. I knew I was, but I had no one looking out for me here.
I didn’t want to face anyone else again today. My knuckles had scabbed over but were still tender. I could win a fight tonight, I was itching for one, but I need to remember what Andrew said.
Be careful who you make enemies with.
Ominous prick.
✽✽✽
A loud bang on my door made me shoot up in bed, my heart racing. Whenever I come back from training, I shower, and put fresh training clothes on to sleep in. Right now, I was grateful for that forward thinking. The banging started up again and I mentally prepared myself for what was on the other side.
It was far too early in the morning for it to be Nathan or other facility members. Besides, they would have let themselves in by now.
I pressed myself against the door, trying to figure out how many were out there. Too many. I braced myself for hell as I opened the door.
Andrew was leaning against the wall, hand propped against my door frame.
“What the fuck do you want?” I snapped.
“Hayley, when will you learn?” He leaned down slightly to meet me at eye level. I could see myself in the reflection of his dark irises. “You aren’t in charge around here, I am. You know what happens to pups who upset the hierarchy?”
I raised my eyebrows, unimpressed. “Humour me.”
“They get punished.”
He tried to hit me, but I blocked it, and push kicked him. I would have been fine if it was just myself and Andrew, but everyone was there.
Even Ella.
“I didn’t have this down as your kind of thing,” I muttered, glaring at her. She shrugged in response, but I could see the hesitation there.
Fight back against him, I wanted to scream at her.
I was outnumbered, but I didn’t want to be known as someone who went down without a fight. My scalp burned from where someone had grabbed my hair, and I lashed out at anyone that came close. I had no idea how to fight in a group and I desperately needed my wolf.
Where are you? I begged.
Andrew wasn’t holding anything back. He dragged me off the ground; I hadn’t even realised I had fallen. I felt blood drip down my jaw onto my, now ripped, top. Holding me by my throat, my toes barely touching the floor, I began choking on air.
“Are you going to give me my respect now?” Andrew asked.
“No,” I rasped. He punched me in the stomach, and I hissed in pain. The world began spinning and black spots danced in my vision. “Go. To. Fucking. Hell.”
He punched me again, and he surely must have cracked my ribs at the very least. I felt to the floor, gasping, and crying. I let the tears fall as the group slowly dispersed, kicking me as they walked past.
I don’t know much time passed as I lay on the floor as Micah found me in the morning before the alarm went.
“Bloody hell, Hayley, what did you do?”
“What did I do?” I screamed at him. “I didn’t do anything. Get the fuck away from me. Why are you always around here when something is happening?”
I slammed my door in his face, collapsing again on the other side. I didn’t want to listen to his bullshit excuse for coming to see me this time, and I wasn’t even sure I could trust him. I double-locked the door with shaking fingers and I wasn’t going to be opening it for anyone. Fuck training today, I could barely crawl into the shower.
When the hot water hit my wounds, the sobs came. I couldn’t stop them and I fell to my knees, my entire body shaking. I watched as my blood swirled down the plughole, going from red to a pale pink until it was finally clear.
What was the point of being here?
I missed my parents. My grandmother who made sure I’d learn how to shift. Tristan and his pack, who all took a chance on me. Kian. Mia.
Cole.
Fucking hell, why was I alone here?
The crying came harder when I realised no one was going to save me. I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to save myself anymore.
✽✽✽
I heard more banging at my door, but I ignored it. Mo found me under the shower, the water ice cold, and shut it off.
“Hayley,” she murmured. “You can’t show weakness.”
“I am weak.”
“No, you are not.” She wrapped a towel around me and gently massaged my shoulders. “You’re Hayley fucking Morton, and you are going to show them all you are a badass alpha-woman, who doesn’t take shit from anybody.”
My mouth fell open and I let out a hysterical laugh. “What?” I croaked. My rubs hurt to laugh, but I didn’t think there was any permanent damage.
“Repeat after me.”
“Okay.”
“I’m Hayley fucking Morton.”
I stifled a giggle. “I’m Hayley fucking Morton.”
“I’m a badass alpha-woman.”
“I’m a badass alpha-woman.” I couldn’t help the snort this time. “Are we rehearsing a new scene o
f Cool Runnings?”
Mo ignored me. “And I don’t take shit from anybody.”
Mo made me repeat it about five times until we both giggled, and I sighed, defeated from the events of the morning.
“I’m dead if this ever gets out to my colleagues.”
“I won’t say a word,” I promised. “Am I in trouble for missing training?”
“No. Carl seems to like you.”
Mo helped me to my feet and caught me cringing. “Carl is a prick. He, uh, sexually harassed me.”
“I know. Well, I know he has done it before.”
“Why don’t the hunters do anything about it?”
“Do you not think we have tried?” Mo sighed, and gave me a sad smile. “Hayley, they are corrupt. All of them. I dare say, with what happened the other night… I think you are going to save us all.”
“Even Nathan?”
“Maybe I was wrong with that one,” Mo admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.
I wanted to pry her for more information, but she placed her finger over her lips. Nathan came into my room and took one look at me in my towel before quickly looking away.
“What the fuck happened here?” He barked.
“Hayley was attacked.”
“Right. By who?” He still wouldn’t look at me and my cheeks were flaming in embarrassment.
“No one. It doesn’t matter,” I answered. I was going to dish out my own punishment for this.
He shook his head. “I’ll let you off today, but if this happens again—”
“It won’t. I’ll make sure it doesn’t.”
He spun on his heel and marched out of the room. Mo flashed me a smile before following, locking the door for me from the outside. I picked up the phone to order some food, my stomach growling in appreciation.
Tossing my ripped clothes in the rubbish, I left a note to whoever came to clean my room every few days asking for another set of uniform. When the door knocked half an hour later, I forced myself not to shake as I opened it.
I’m Hayley fucking Morton. I’m a badass alpha-woman and I don’t take shit from anybody.
The food never tasted so good before and I slowly started to believe Mo’s words.
