JAYSON
I look at my watch for like the hundredth time.
"The busses are late." I grumble.
Cass claps my back. "Relax. It's just a few minutes."
Cass is basically best friend number one. With his ripped muscles and brown hair and hazel eyes, he could get any lady he wants. But of all my friends, he's the most like me. Doesn't date, yet doesn't mind relieving himself every once in a while, with a girl. The only thing we differ in is he's waiting for his fated where I'm not even trying.
"I've got shit to do." I stuff my hands in the pockets of my sweat pants.
"We all have shit to do, buddy. Just chill." Luke shoots me a look, telling me to calm down.
Luke's ok, but don't piss him off. Huge anger issues. He's not scary looking. Shorter than me by a few inches, brown hair, hazel eyes, but when he's mad, look out. He's put many in hospital just for looking at him wrong. When he's not a raging lunatic, he really is a nice guy. Huge flirt with the ladies. His tough guy act really gets them going.
I had hoped I could get this over with so I could hide in my office for the rest of the day. It's been over two weeks and I'm still not over my down grade in job position and making me wait is only pissing me off more.
My friend Kale chimes in. The youngest. Big mouth, outspoken and a shameless flirt. I'll have to keep an eye on him when the troops get here. "You know. This could be a good thing. Think of all the hotties." He wiggles his brow and elbows me.
I shove him. "You're here to work, Kale."
He waves me off. "Whatever, you and I both know that's not true."
I shake my head and ignore him. He's young. He doesn't get it.
Deacon, the last of my friends, comes from the parking lot. "They're here." He jogs up and we all stand waiting for the busses to stop.
Five busses in total. All from each of the cities. This is only the first round. More will come in the coming weeks.
"Here we go. Time for kindergarten." I grumble.
Wren elbows me. "Would you stop." She warns.
I watch as the kids all file off the bus. Must be at least a hundred. They're so fresh they even look tiny. Definitely untrained.
I scan the faces of the innocent. They aren't going to like me. I'm planning on breaking them all. We'll see how long they last against me.
Luke steps up. He puts up his hands. "Ok. Everyone?" He waits. "Hey....Ya you.... eyes up here." He talks sternly. He puts his hands on hips. "Alright. Welcome to boot camp! We will have you for four years! Yes. Four years. You will train here.... you will work here......and you will live here. The next four years we will be making soldiers out of you. There is no quitting. We don't train quitters. You will try and when you fail, you will try harder."
I watch the sea of heads as Luke talks.
Then I see her. The long, blonde hair. The piercing blue eyes........The trouble maker of Black Lake. Are you fucking kidding me?
I sigh. Lowering my head and shaking it.
Wren looked at me. "What's your problem?"
I raise my head and look at her again. This time our eyes lock. It's an intense stare. It almost looks like she's blushing as she tucks her blonde hair behind her ear and turns away.
"Nothing. I just saw someone who's going to make my job that much fucking harder." I nod in her direction.
"Who is she?" Wren folds her arms.
"Sarah Reynolds. The terror of Black Lake. The girl's trouble with a capital T. What the fuck is she even doing here?" I scrub my face.
"Well, maybe we can straighten her out." Wren says.
"Or maybe she'll drive us insane."
And that's what she'll do. She's only been here five minutes and already I'm on edge.
I watch her as she pulls her hair into a little bun thing on the back of her head. Her light skin still a slight shade of pink as she glances at me.
I'm getting more agitated as I think of all the hell this girl could cause for the camp....and for me.
We separate the groups into dorm building one. It's two to a room. We march them in and direct them to their rooms.
The rooms are small. Two beds and a couple of desks. Small closets.
The showers, change rooms and laundry are all coed and on the first floor. Mates can share a room, but singles can't share with the opposite sex. So, they're divided into boy and girl groups.
Once they have their stuff dropped off, we give them all a tour. Showing them where everything is.
We also hand out schedules of what their training will look like.
Sarah is in my group. She's whispering to a curly brown-haired girl next to her.
She shoots up her hand.
I know I'm going to regret this. "Yes." I answer her in a gruff voice.
"Um, yeah. Training starts at 6 am?" She says her big, blue eyes are wide.
"Yeah. It does." I confirm.
"K, but, it's a little early, don't ya think?" She smirks. Her stance is cocky. Typical and irritating.
Chuckles are heard from the group.
I close my eyes and sigh. "Sarah, right?" I ask.
"Yeah." She speaks.
"6 am too early for you?" I arch a brow.
She nods.
"Not a morning person, are we?" I stare at her.
She crosses her arms. "No. Not really."
I nod considering. "Ok. Well, how about we make your training.... start at 5am."
"What? That's not fair!" She whines
"Well, guess what, kid. This is boot camp. It's not supposed to be fucking fair!"
She shut her mouth as I glared at her.
The other kids stare at me wide eyes.
"Let's go." I grumble.
As I continued the tour, I could feel her eyes on me. Grating me with every step. I don't know why it bugs me so much. I just need to get through this day.
We finished the tours and led them down to the dining hall. We showed them how it worked and they all sat to eat.
I sit at the Alphas table with all the other Alphas.
"Scaring the newbies already, eh?" Dea says, shoving chicken in his mouth.
I swallow "I was shutting up a smart ass."
I look over my shoulder. She's talking with her friend and glances my way. I scowl and turn back to my food.
"Well, yelling at them, isn't going to get you anywhere." Wren says.
"Whatever. I made her shut up. So, I got what I wanted." I stuff my mouth.
"You seem a little grumpier than you should be." Kale says. "You sure she's not under your skin for another reason?" He bounces his brow.
I drop my fork. "Kale. I swear." I eye him
"I'm just saying. She's pretty damn hot." He goes back to his food.
I pick up my fork. "She's a pain in the ass. Besides, she just a kid. I wouldn't go there." I take another bite.
Kale elbows Cass. "I'd do her." He snickers
Cass sighs. "Of course, you would."
Wren finishes her plate. "Look. We get this gig sucks, but don't take it out on the rest of us, ok."
She stands and walks to the kitchen to drop off her plate.
I follow. "I'm just being real, alright."
Wren turned to me. "Jay. I know you. You're lashing out. You're wound too tight. Why don't I stop by tonight and loosen you up." She gets close, smiling, playing with my cut off tank.
I rub my nape. "Yeah. Ok."
She taps my chest. "Go to your office, try and get some work done. We'll take care of the rest."
I glance down the rows of dining hall tables and like a fucking magnet, Sarah's eyes catch mine. We stare at each other and there's that faint pink color again. Just before she breaks contact.
I shake my head. I don't know what the hell is going on, but I need to get out of here.
"Yeah. Call me if anything comes up." I say gruffly.
"Will do." She says.
And I head to my office to try and get this fucking girl off my mind. I'm worried about the trouble she's already starting. I don't know why I keep looking at her either.
I'll just throw myself into my work and I'll blow off some steam with Wren later. That'll hold me for a while.
****
I pouring through paperwork, going through the recruit files when a knock came on my door.
"It's open." I call
It's Kale. "Hey. Got a minute?" He pokes his head in.
"Yeah. What's up?" I drop my pen.
He stands with his hands in his pockets. "So, you got that girl starting at 5 tomorrow, right?"
I nod. "Yep."
"Okay," He sits. "Who's going to be with her?"
Shit. I never thought of that.
He smiles. "I mean. I'll do it. I have no problems with getting up early."
I shouldn't let him do it. I know I shouldn't let him do it. But this girl is already under my fucking skin and it's only been a day.
I scrub my face. "Uh, yeah. Okay. If you don't mind."
He shakes his head. "Don't mind at all, bud. I'll watch her." He winks.
I point my finger at him. "Behave."
He throws his hands up. "Hey, man. Just helping out."
"Sure." I squint my eyes.
"I'll be a complete gentleman." He chuckles.
I shake my head. "Get out of here."
He jumps up and leaves. Leaving my door wide open.
"Close the door!" I yell.
He runs back, smiles and grabs the door to close it.
As I fill out forms, my wolf is rattling around. It's weird. He perked up when Kale offered to babysit. He's been unsettled ever since. I'll have to run him later.
****
I get out to the field and look around. My hands on my hips. Watching the kids do warm-ups and stretches. Running the circuits.
I see Sarah standing with a group of kids talking. No other Alpha seems to be paying attention, so I'll have to deal with it.
She has her back to me. My eyes go directly to her ass. Wearing those leggings sure shows it off. I shake my head and focus.
I stand behind her and clear my throat. My hands on my hips.
She turns around. Blinking her big, blue eyes at me. The one kid she's standing with looks exactly like her, but in boy form. Must be a family member. There's a taller kid with ink and that little curly brown-haired girl. All just staring at me.
I cross my arms. "You know this isn't a tea party, right?"
Sarah smirks. "We're taking a break."
I bite my cheek at the mouthiness of this kid.
The kid that looks like her, pulls on her arm. "Sarah..." He says quietly. He looks freaked.
I step up to her. "This is my camp. You get break, when I say you get break. 50 push ups now!"
"What?! Not fair!" She furrows her brow, fist clenched.
I get up in her space. I feel suffocated almost. There's a scent coming off her that's invading my senses. Sweet flowers and honey. I dismiss it, but it's hard to ignore. "I told you, kid. This isn't supposed to be fair. Now, drop!" I point to the ground.
She grumbles. Dropping to the ground to start her push ups. Swearing under her breath.
I look to the other three. "If the rest of you don't want to join her, I suggest you stop socializing and get back to practice."
They all let out a "Yes, Alpha" in unison and turned on their heels.
I squat down to Sarah. As she comes up, I say in a low voice. "Continue to fuck with me and I'll make your time here hell." She turns her eyes to me and I give her a nod and a wink. Her blue eyes narrow. Following me as I stand and walk away.
SARAHRemember when Ash said these training places were filled with hot guys?Damn, she wasn't kidding. Some of the recruits are hot, but those Alpha dudes, wow.All of them have hard muscle for days. All belong in a magazine. As I walk off the bus, I scan each one head to toe.Drooling, I swear I'm drooling here. The one has this bad guy look going on. Wearing a black cut off and sweats. The ink on his arms is mega sexy. The next guy is completely hot. Big grin. Looks like lots of fun.The third guy is all Alpha. He can dominate me any night with his tribal ink, thick arms and gorgeous brown hair.Then there's, holy shit, Jayson Duke?Jayson, the son of our Alpha. Man, did he grow up. It's been a few years since I’ve seen him last and it wasn't up close.He's completely ripped. Slightly tanned, perfect skin. Perfectly cut light brown hair and blue eyes. His chiselled features make me heat up.When my eyes caught his, it was like I was trapped. Locked in his gaze. Which made my core h
JAYSONI shouldn't have touched her. I shouldn't have fucking touched her. What hell was I thinking?It was supposed to be innocent enough. Just training right. So, fucking wrong.When I touched her, this electric heat went straight through my body.Her scent of sweet flowers and honey hit me like a truck. It filled my brain. Making me light headed.I had to get away from her. I gave her back to her partner and continued my rounds.But every five minutes, I'm fucking looking at her. And what's worse is the fucking semi in my shorts. What the hell?I can't seem to focus so I pass the group to Wren and head to my office. Kale meets me in the hallway.He claps me on the shoulder. "She's in at 5am again tomorrow?"I put the key in my door and unlock it. "Yeah. Why?"He rubbed his neck. "Just asking. Wondering if you changed your mind."I shake my head. "Nope. 5 am for the whole week.""Great!" He smiles. He claps my back.I turn to him. "Kale, don't even think about it."He smirks. "Whate
SARAHJayson wasn't kidding when he said Luke wasn't a happy guy in the mornings.His favorite thing to do is yell. He yells everything. He barks orders and his temper is short.He kind of scares me. I'm hesitant to spar with him because I don't want to make him mad. The unfortunate part about that is he's impatient."Come on, Sarah! Get off your fucking ass and hit me!" He's just thrown me to the ground for what feels like the hundredth time. I'm out of breath, my ribs still tender and I've had enough of his yelling."You know. I'm right here. You don't have to keep yelling at me." I pant. Holding onto my knees.He gets up in my space, real close. "I'm here at 5 in the fucking morning to train you before I've even had my fucking coffee. I will yell at you as much as I damn well please!" He glared into my eyes.I bite my bottom lip. Slightly arching back. He eyes my face up and down and turns. "Now, you going to hit me or what?""Ok." I say and I run at him. I swing a left then a righ
JAYSON After realizing that I haven't been actually out of this place for weeks, I decided it would actually be a good idea to kick back and throw back a few with friends. Just relax and have a good time. Kale and Dea were seated on either side of me with Cass and Wren across the table. "Damn! This place is crawling with some sweet things." Kale licks his lips eyeing the dance floor. Throwing that stupid smile out to any girl that looked his way. Wren raised her bottle to her lips. "God, Kale. Do you have to be such a horn dog?" Kale managed to pry his eyes from the floor to Wren. "I am what I am, babe." He raises his hands and smiles. "Gross." She takes a swig. Cass chuckles. "At least he admits it. All the rest of you are all liars." I tip my beer back. "Don't include me in this. It's been months since my last hunt." Wren leans on the table. "And why is that?" I shrug. "Just not interested. Random bar hook ups. Gets boring after a while." Kale turns to me. "Naw. You're ju
SARAHI did it. I don't know how, but I did. I made the grumpy Alpha smile. Not only that, I made him actually have fun with me.It was nice sharing that part of myself with him. I don't even share it with Ash. It's a coping mechanism my mom developed to try and stop me from causing havoc. Every day, before school, she'd turn on music and the two of us would crazily dance until we had to leave.Sharing it with Jayson felt almost natural. Like he's supposed to know my secrets. Dancing with him made me feel relaxed. We just met, yet I feel like I've known him for years. Like we could actually be friends.I've been wanting to thank him for the great time I had, but it's Thursday and I haven't seen Jayson since Saturday morning. Cass has been training us all week. I asked Cass where he was and he said Jayson had to head home for pack business for a few days. He's supposed to be back today. So, I'll probably pop into his office after practice to say hi.Cass isn't bad. Pretty fair. Definit
JAYSONI knew it wouldn't be long before the Terror of Black Lake struck. It was only a matter of time.I had hoped that I was straightening her out enough, to actually be a disciplined, young girl. I guess I was wrong.I know her seeing me with Wren had something to do with the tennis ball attack. I just don't know what for. It's not like she can be mad at me. We are in no way together. We're barely friends.But clearly, if her aiming balls at my head wasn't an indication of her being angry, her face, when she was back on the field, definitely was.I wish she didn't see it, but I won't feel bad about it. I have no attachment to her. Yeah, she's gorgeous. Funny, smart, a good fighter. But I refuse to get involved. I won't. And I won't be held responsible for her school girl crush either. So why do I feel like a giant asshole?I probably could've explained myself, but I shouldn't have to. I don't need to explain myself to anyone.Wren insisted I talk to her and I flat out refused. Wha
SARAHI literally cried for days. I was miserable, drained. Hearing Jayson say those words. Hearing him lose whatever hope he had for me, had my guts twisted. I felt awful.Ash tried to cheer me up, but it wasn't working. If I wasn't on the field, I sat in my room, feeling sorry for myself.When Jayson asked me who I wanted to be, at that point I didn't care anymore. I just want to be me and get on with my life. I don't need Jayson to do that.Then he shows up at my door. He looked desperate. Like he was being tortured or something. When I told him about why I was at his office that day, I could see it in his face. The realization of how much he hurt me.It's not the act with Wren. Like I said, I didn't care. But after he just let me fester. He wasn't even the least bit curious about why I wanted to see him. It stung. Stung so bad, I lashed out.Seeing him at my door the next morning. Wanting to dance with me. Made everything wash away. My anger and frustration disappeared. All I ever
JAYSON No. It's not fate. It can't be. I don't deal in it. That ship sailed a long time ago. But I can't deny that even when I'm not looking for her, Sarah's always there where I can see her. And lately, when I'm not with her, I've found myself thinking about her. She's definitely something else. I don't know anyone who would feel free enough to do back flips in a laundry room. And, yes, I enjoyed watching that cute body flex. Damn, she's bendy. I just wish she could control herself. I don't know what Kale did, but fuck, it's only been a week since her last punishment. I have to slow her down somehow. Which is why her early practice isn't on the field. It's in the clearing. "We're dancing again for punishment?" She stands at the entrance in the long grass as I drop my bag by the log and open it. I walk back to her and point at her. "No. You are going to learn to calm yourself." I pull her into the clearing. I pull out a blanket and start to spread it out. "When I was first in