Ch. 391..400

Chapter 0391

Osiston and I spar for what feels like a long time. I am dodging and rolling just trying to avoid being grabbed by his massive hands or put in any kind of headlock which he seems to be a fan of with me. Every muscle in my body is screaming at the long forgotten movements.

Nickolas and I would spar in the backyard of our house on the UMaine campus, but we had to keep it 'human-like' just in case anyone was watching or came around, so it has been a really long time since I have gone full out like this, and I love it.

An arm swipes past my face and I fight to refocus on what I am doing right now. Osiston said this is just an easy spar, but that doesn't mean either of us have left our competitive spirit on the sidelines. I need to know I can still do this and I think he is pushing me to prove that to myself.

He is so fast. And huge, very very huge. His arms are probably the length of most of my body and his shoulders are so wide they make him look, and feel like a brick wall. I have to remember his weaknesses. Well, singular weakness, me. He won't hurt me so he will pull punches to spare me, especially right now when he thinks I'm out of shape and not up to my usual standard.

I duck another swipe to my head and punch right at his thigh. The force sending a jolt up my arm, but also having the same effect of making his muscle cramp up and dropping him to one knee. The doesn't stop him from swiping my legs out from under me as he goes down though and I hit the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of my lungs, I roll to the side before he can hit me or grab me though. I jump up and feel the stretch around my ribs and the burn in my thighs, ready to continue our fight.

"You are doing well, Little One. A little winded, but not as bad as I would have thought with how long you were confined. Now, Jena, what kind of training have you had as an Alpha's daughter? I know you were contained and sedated for a significant period of time, but if we get you the proper nutrition and start to work your body, your wolf and muscle memory should be able to catch you up quickly."

"I still haven't heard my wolf. I thought I would have by now." She sounds on the verge of tears, but is doing everything to have this conversation rationally. "We have been away for days and Doc Sylvia has taken my blood and checked everything, but I still can't hear her. What happened? Will she come back?"

"That isn't a question I can answer. I can tell you that she is in there though. I can feel her. Maybe she just needs more time to heal. We don't know what she was doing to protect you while you were captured and being abused. She will return when she is ready." He pats her gently on the shoulder. "For now we will use her absence to our advantage."

"Huh? How is her being gone an advantage?"

"Because you will have to work harder to protect yourself, making your human side stronger without her, will only benefit you, if your wolf is ever unable to help you again. There is no shortage of spineless pansies that will try and use wolfsbane on a wolf they deem stronger, if you can fight well without your wolf that renders the wolfsbane or any other poison useless and you will be able to better defend yourself and anyone you are trying to protect."

He's appealing to her Alpha nature to protect and I think it's working based on the way she straightens her back. He knows what this capture has done to her and probably has a good idea where her self doubts and fears lie. He's going to push her and he's not going to wait for her to 'feel better' to do it. He's going to build her confidence starting today.

He gestures for her to step in front of him. "Skylar, I want you to watch and analyze like you would with any warrior. Take mental notes of what we can work on and where we need to start first."

I nod and they begin. Jena is more agile than I would have expected and she does seem to have a good knowledge of fighting, but being locked up for a year and barely fed on top of the abuse she took, will weaken any amount of muscle. Osiston is using basic moves that we use on our elementary pups, gauging her reaction time and defensive instincts. I forgot how much I enjoyed teaching and training. Analyzing someone's movement to make them stronger or faster. Jena's movement is shaky, but not hesitant, she knows what she is doing even if her body doesn't really want to do it right now. With time she will be fierce. I can already see it.

He makes her work with no break for thirty minutes, pushing her to her absolute max. When he finally calls for a stop, she is breathing heavily and sweating from every possible place on her body, but the smile that is lighting up her features can't be faked. She loves this as much as I do.

"Go and get food, eat well, but both of you take your time. We need to build your bodies up to take in nutrients again. We can't afford for you to get sick because you gorged. We will train again after and then I want to talk about options for both of you."

 

Chapter 0392

"Well that sounds ominous." I say to my wolf and she just purs a little in my chest.

"I'm just glad we're back. We need to figure out what they used on you that kept us apart for so long. We normally can work off anything, even silver after a few hours. I want to know what Mike and his witches were doing that actually affected us."

"I didn't even think of that, you're right. I forget that all the things Kaley did to me didn't ever last that long, but we were gone a month and I could feel the wolfsbane and belladonna and whatever else they gave me working."

"What's your wolf thinking?" Jena asks, suddenly pulling me from my conversation.

"Oh, umm, she was asking about the stuff that Mike's people gave us. I don't usually have that big of a reaction. My body kind of just gets rid of stuff like wolfsbane with minor effects, but whatever Mike gave us, was enough to mess me up and separate me from my wolf the whole time we were there."

"Really? How did you learn to not be affected?"

"I didn't learn, just born like that and unfortunately I have had some experiences that let me find out the hard way what my body and my wolf can do." I say vaguely. I know at some point I will have to explain to her that she isn't alone when it comes to sh*tty experiences, she just happens to have the worst between the two of us.

"Well, that sounds like a story that needs drinks to get through."

"Yep." I say popping the 'P.' "Now let's eat before everyone else gets back, lunch is worse than breakfast and I have a feeling people left us alone on orders, but I don't know how long that will last. Warriors are worse than a group of middle school girls when it comes to gossip. And I just got back from a mission I should have been too young to go on and came back with a hot alpha female.”

She giggles. "Well I'm glad you were on it, because no one else would have been able to get me out of the hellhole. I wonder how long I'm going to have nightmares about it?"

"No idea, but I can't even imagine what yours are, mine are bad enough." I say as we get back into the cantina.

Some warriors are already in line waiting for the kitchen staff to set everything out. A few look at us, but they are older warriors so they don't gawk and stare. I'm sure used to people coming and going at this point.

Just as I am about to move forward I am tackled in a hug from behind. "Omff! What the hell?"

"Oh my Goddess! I am so glad to see you!" Mina's smell wafts around me before I even recognize her voice.

"Hey!" I turn around to return the hug. "I'm glad you're here. I wasn't sure what they had everyone doing after we got back. I've seen Wyatt, Lillian and Nathaniel but just real quick at breakfast. Where have you been?"

"I've been over at the castle. Since you have been gone, I guess the little vipers have

to get to een trying even harder

to get to Xander and Luna Queen Anne had me there yesterday and today for some small meetings as Xander's plus one. You must have made an impression at the Alpha conference, because all the Luna's and all the daughters were there and some of them were actually paying attention and talking about relevant things." She laughs and I join in.

"The Luna's just realized that they do actually have a voice and are a part of the leadership of the pack. I didn't do anything, but stand with Luna Anne and answer a couple questions."

"First of all, that is NOT what you did.

fet

You put an Alpha in his place and it was classic. People were still talking about it and that was like ten months ago. Several of the Lunas asked to meet you too and you shouldhave seen the look on Alpha King Reggie's face when he told them you were on a mission and unavailable. You would have thought he was a proud dad talking about his daughter's accomplishments. Even Xander made fun of him liking you

better."

I just roll my eyes. "You're ridiculous. Anyway, Mina, this is Jena. She was my cell mate and managed to make it out with me. She's the Female Alpha of the Black Diamond Pack."

"I wouldn't go that far. I don't even know if I have a pack left to be an Alpha for."

"You know we'll search right? That's part of the reason why you're here and not somewhere else looking for them. We want to help and we have the best resources here."

"I'm sure you really don't want to talk about your pack being attacked, but was anyone else captured with you?" Mina asks as we fill out plates and head to our usual table. "I don't know. Everything happened really fast."

 

Chapter 0393

"I'm sure Alpha Reggie will ask you too, so if you want to wait and not have to tell the story twice, we understand." I shared a quick look with Mina.

"You know she's more likely to tell you than anyone else. We need to push her to talk or we can't help. And the sooner the better, it's already been a year."

"Ugh, I know." I link back, while leading us over to our usual table again, hoping the rest of my friends make it in before we are done. "I just feel bad and she has been through a lot. No one wants to relive stuff like that."

"Except, she's going to have to if we want to help her search for survivors."

We sit down and dig in. I try really hard to listen to Osiston's advice and eat slow, but the food is so much better than I remember.

"You are going to throw up, you know that? Slow down."

"Osiston said something like that before we came in, but I am so hungry and the food is so amazing!" I close my eyes practically drooling.

"Well, Warrior Brogen is right, stop gorging, otherwise you're going to have to taste it twice and I can guarantee the second time will not be as good as the first."

We all laugh.

"Why do you call him by his title and Sky calls him by his first name? I noticed that with the Alpha King too."

I shrug, not really thinking about it in a long time. The guys and Xander made fun of me once for it too. "I just call them what they told me to call them. It's going to be weird adding the title back onto Nickolas' name here though, he's been my 'uncle," I air quote, "for so long that I'm worried I'm going to forget and get some kind of punishment." I cringe and they laugh at me.

We eat and talk, eventually joined by

the rest of my friends and they all ask the same questions of Jena. I think they are all looking forward

helping her find her pack. In some

way they all experienced this with her, like me, and we all feel

responsible for helping her. This is why the warriors are here to help

and protect in a major crisis.

Jena and I get to join the group for the obstacle course after our run with Osiston. The run has been by far the worst part. Why did I ever run so much before?!

"Because it kept you from beating

Kaley and her friends every time they did something to you." My woff snarks. You aren't looking over your shoulder all the time or angry and scared here. There isn't any O frustration to burn."

"Well what is going to motivate me now?"

"The fact that you know the guys are training to be better than you as wee speak and neither of us can have that, no can we?"

"You make a solid point. Motivation reinstated."

"What are you smiling at? There is no way you enjoyed that run and now we have to go do more training. You and your warriors are crazy." Jena puffs next to me. "Enjoyed it? No, not a chance, but my wolf reminded me why I train so hard."

"Why is that?"

"My brother and some of my friends from back home are extra competitive and when I get back, I can't be weaker than when I left them. I left with some standards to achieve and I have no idea what they have been up to for the last year. have to assume they have gotten better while I have been under guard and we can't have them becoming better than us." I give her a wicked smile.

“Are you sure it's them who's competitive?" She giggles at me as we pass through the bushes to the obstacle course. "Oh sh*t! This is awesome. We never had anything like this back home."

 

Chapter 0394

"Welcome to training. The instructors sometimes have us go the whole course, sometimes part of it. We work solo and in teams. There's a lot to do just here. We also weight train and spar as a group daily." We walk over to the que at the start of the course and Wyatt notices us.

"Hey ladies! You ready for this?"

"No!" We both say together and then laugh.

Wyatt runs us through the requirements and I pull us to the back of the line so we can watch the other go through. Jena is a good strategist too. We came up with a plan to get through the course. It's an individual run today, but we are being sent every thirty seconds so there are warriors everywhere. It doesn't seem to be a timed thing, but I could be totally wrong since the trainer is looking at his watch to start us off.

It is just like my first time. Everything hurts, I have rips in my hands that are bleeding from the ropes, my lungs and heart feel like they are going to burst out of my chest from exertion. And yet, I feel amazing! I can't stop the smile that has spread across my face. I am exactly where I am meant to be.

I look back at Jena who is following me just to my left flank so she can stay close, but not trip either of us up. She is smiling too. I can't even imagine what is going through her head right now.

We make it through the whole course, finishing by crawling in the dirt and then running across the completion line.

"Good time ladies." Thomas, one of the other Elite lead trainers says.

"Thank you, Sir." We say in unison.

"You are both to report back to the war room after cleaning up. Alpha Reggie and Warrior Brogen want to see you for assignments."

My eyebrows scrunch of their own accord. "Assignments? I thought we would be here for a while retraining and psych evals and all of that stuff."

"I am not in charge of any of that. I just know that you were summoned and that is all I got by way of orders." He shrugs. "Go get cleaned up and changed and make your way to the war room. You have ten... no eight minutes now. I would run." He winks at us and I turn quickly, grabbing Jena's hand and taking off.

"What the hell?!"

"He wasn't kidding. They don't do late around here and I don't want to know what a punishment looks like. So move your skinny ass!"

We run up to my room and wipe the dirt off as best as we can, changing into clean black training gear. An extra set of gear was brought in and laid out on the bed that Jena was in. I wonder if she is going to be in here with me now. But what does that mean for Mina? I'll have to remember to ask when we get downstairs.

I rip a brush through my hair and pull it back into a ponytail, Jena mimics me and we both run down the main stairs giggling. I don't know why I am excited, but I feel like something great is going to happen to

us.

We bust through the doors a little aggressively and both Osiston and Alpha Reggie look up stunned.

"Sorry, Sir. We got here as soon as possible." I say looking between both of them. "Warrior Thomas said you needed to see us about assignments." I huff out a little breathily.

"Take a seat, I think you will like what we have to offer you." Alpha Reggie says, smiling like he's up to something.

 

Chapter 0395

"We were able to do some digging and found out a lot about you and your pack and what may have happened after your capture." Alpha Reggie looks at Jena. "And I need you and Mina tonight with Xander and Oscar. Claws have come back out since your presence hasn't been seen for a while and we need to remind a few people that being mated to Xander is not the spectacle it is becoming." He swings his gaze to me.

"What do you mean you know a lot about me? That doesn't sound like a good thing. And do I even have a pack anymore?" Jena grabs my hand under the table and squeezes.

"You do have a few pack members that made it down to the states, and I am sure there are more scattered around. I have been in touch with the Alpha King of that territory and he was very familiar with your pack's story and was glad to hear that you did, in fact survive. That is a story for drinks when we are done here though. What we found out about you though is that you are pretty savvy with all things computer and I have a job for you while you are here. Are you interested?"

"Without any idea what you want me to do? That sounds a bit sketchy and at the same time a lot of fun. What exactly is the job?"

"We have many people who are top notch with finding people using security cameras and tech in the slow and legal way. What I think you bring to the table is the more black hat side of things, if reports are correct." He tilts an eyebrow up at her and to Jena's credit her face doesn't change, just looks politely interested in the conversation. "Everything we have done to track the Rogue King thus far has been above board and completely legal. All paperwork is accounted for and 'i's' dotted and 't's' crossed. After what we found in the trackers that were implanted in you both and the way you were both held captive and treated I am done playing by certain rules. If you are anything like my Sky here, you are already planning revenge and retribution for everything that has happened to you and your pack. We would like to help you and help keep your head level in the situation since it is close to home, but we are pulling out the stops and want to give you the tools and access you need to nail these f*ckers to the wall. What do you think?"

"Why didn't you start with that proposal? Hell, yes! When can I start?" Jena sits up straight in her seat, close to bouncing out and gripping the armrests hard enough to leave permanent finger indentations. "Soon. There are a couple more evaluations we want you to do first, but everything looks good so far." Alpha Reggie laughs at her excitement. I would be excited too if I found out that there might be a silver lining to this whole situation.

It's exciting to know that there are some of her pack members out there, meaning some were able to get away and she has a family of sorts to go back to when all of this is over. That thought makes me a little sad all of a sudden. I don't want her to leave. We haven't known each other very long, but our time together has done something to bond us and I feel just as close to her as I do Sierra.

"Little One, your job is two-fold tonight. Obviously, stick close to Xander and Oscar. The four of you should not be alone, ever, do you hear me? The threat from your last attack has not been neutralized yet and we still don't know if it's connected to your situation at UMaine or not. We have also not been able to flush out your friend's story about the attack from the Shadow Pack. Keep an ear on all conversations, I want to know anything that might sound suspicious."

"Excuse me sir." Jena asks. “Would it be possible for me to mic up Sky and the others and if you have the equipment I can set her up with a micro camera and try to get some background going with facial recognition, that might help whatever search you are trying to do."

Both Osiston and Alpha Reggie tried to hide their surprise at how fast she is willing to work, but if it helps her get closer to bringing justice for her pack then she is willing to do it. And she is just as smart as they implied since she is offering to 'set me up' with equipment.

"Let us know what you need and we will get it to you, but you will only have about an hour to assemble. Do you need to be on sight to use your tech?" Osiston asks.

"The closer the better, and maybe have a warrior with me so I have mindlink access with everyone. Maybe Nathaniel," She looks at me, "He the friend I met today that does some of your tech stuff, right? Then if something happens, we can appear to be a couple at the party as well, and he can help me set things up more quickly. It would also help to know what happened before and who you suspect so I know what am looking for."

"On it." Osiston states. "And this is probably a good time to exchange stories anyway. Can you talk and make me a list at the same time?"

"Of course. Tell me about this first attack and what it has to do with tonight."

I start with the story of Oscar, Mina and I getting attacked by the lake and then move into the story that Tyler told me about his pack being attacked and being taken over by the Shadow Pack which happens to be the pack we get the most trouble from their Elder here at the castle during negotiations and other territory meetings. His daughter is also a problem for Xander regularly and has doubled her efforts since Mina and I have been gone.

"Well, I agree at this point that is sounds like too much of a coincidence that all of these things have been happening suddenly and the mostly seem to center around Xander and Sky." She looks down at the paper she was writing on, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and looks like she might be talking to herself or her wolf for a minute. When she opens her eyes she pushed the list to Osiston saying, "This is what I will need and if Nathaniel is as good as he sounds, he will know what I am trying to do and catch anything I might have missed making the list in a hurry. We'll need to get started right away, but I should give you my history, just in case it's wrapped in all of the bullsh*t you have been dealing with too."

 

Chapter 0396

"We were attacked in the fall, it was my parents' anniversary and we would celebrate every year as a pack. It was a whole week of parties and games and dances. On Saturday, the final day of the celebration, my parents would reseal their blood bond in front of the whole pack. It was beautiful and special. On the night of the attack though, someone must have been very familiar with our rituals, because during the speech dn toast that my father made we all had glasses of mead and the kids all had juice, no one was without a drink. He finished his speech we all toasted and drank, then both my parents performed the blood ritual slicing their palms and clasping them together thetting a few drops of combined blood hit the earth as they said some incantation. We could feel the pack bond ripple the minute it his the ground and as soon as the ripple started rogue wolves started running at us from every direction. Something was wrong, there's no way that all of those wolves would have gone unnoticed, but we couldn't smell them. We all went into attack formations, my parents, myself, all of our warriors. Our Omegas did their best to shield the children, but we couldn't fight. Everything was fuzzy for me and I had a hard time focusing, it was the most horrific chaos. My arms didn't work and I couldn't make my legs move fast enough when five wolves attacked my mom first. I felt it the minute her neck was broken and our link was severed. My dad was screaming in pain at the loss of his mate. A warrior tried to get me to safety, but I fought him, I didn't want to leave my parents to this fate. If I had listened to the warrior, I don't even know who it was, I would never have been captured and maybe more people would have been spared." She wipes the tears from her eyes, takes a shuddering breath, and looks at each of us in turn. "The last thing I remember clearly is a gray-brown wolf barrelling at us and knocking the warrior and I over. I hit my head on something, making my head throb even more. I don't remember being taken or how long I was out for and I was always kept in a dark cell with one light and now windows. I do know we moved locations twice based on the smell of my cell and the temperature changes. Michael made it very clear why he wanted me and what my 'role' in his plans were." She rolled her eyes at the thought. "I was an Alpha female and he was an Alpha male so I would produce an heir for him that was strong and able to be trained to rule the right way, as he put it. What he didn't know was that I had an IUD put in when I was 18. I hadn't found my mate right away and I didn't want any issues, but I also wasn't going to wait around for Mr. Right either." She shrugged her shoulders. "When I didn't get pregnant right away, that was when the beatings started, in his head sex was going to be a punishment if I was going to be too stubborn to give him the heir he wanted. I did learn that he liked the more aggressive side of BDSM, which sucked, but made him finish more quickly and I could play off being exhausted for longer. Until Sky, he had never brought another female in my cell. I knew there were others, I could hear them screaming, so I'm not actually sure why he changed up the way he did things." She looked at me confused, like I might know the answer. "Other than the guards that fed you and this Micheal, did you have contact with anyone else?" Alpha Reggie asked.

"Not that I know of, but there were a few times that I refused to eat when I figured out they were poisoning my food with belladonna and wolfsbane, and someone put me on an IV that was really strong. I remember voices and the outlines of people, but nothing concrete or specific enough to use to track anyone."

"Speaking of your IUD. I know that Doc Sylvia removed it, she said something about damage, but didn't get specific since it wouldn't make sense to me anyway." Alpha Reggie shrugged. I loved his honest modesty. "But I think that may have saved your life. If you would have produced a child, you might have been kept around to make a spare, but from the sounds of it this Micheal kid doesn't sound like the smartest, most thought out person, and he probably would have killed you when he was done with you. My next thought is, I don't think he is working alone or the top guy anyway, not the way you both described him. He sounds more like the spoiled son who is along for the ride."

 

Chapter 0397

"That's frightening." Jena says dryly. "I agree he isn't the smartest, or I guess it would be the most thought out person, but I did hear him talk to the guards a lot and he for sure knows how to use his words to his advantage."

"I noticed that too, when I was taken. He didn't enter the fight at all, but was close enough to egg people on and that didn't take a lot of effort. Tyler was the same when the guards were giving him a hard time about taking a long time to bring me in."

"Well ladies, I think we have enough for now. We need to leave in about thirty minutes for the castle so you all can get ready with Anne. Don't worry about dinner, she will make sure you are all well fed." He winks at us. "Plan on staying at the castle tonight, no need to bring anything, Anne will have everything you need. Mina is already over there, getting things together with Anne." Alpha Reggie says with a little glint in his eyes that makes him look so much younger. He knows I hate this whole dress up thing and loves that Luna Anne gets me to do it anyway, the same way she gets him to do things. "Jena, Nathaniel is already working on your supply list, he will meet you both at the castle when he is done. He sounded far more excited than I have ever heard him. He may be more Jena's speed than we thought and he was just really good at hiding it." Osiston smiles. "You are both dismissed."

We get up to leave. "Oh, Jena." Alpha Reggie calls. "I know that there are a lot of things up in the air for you right now, but as we put out information searching for your pack members. Should they choose to come back to you we will be more than happy to house them here on Royal pack territory for the time being. Alpha King Markus did say that your pack lands are still a little worse off after the attack. It wasn't a priority when they were looking for survivors. You have no pressure to leave or stay, I just want you to know that we will help in any way we can."

Jena smiles, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and just nods to him. I don't think she can get words out right now. I throw my arm around her shoulder and lead us both out.

"He's not kidding Luna Anne will have everything for us, so we don't need to bring a thing, Unless you have some super secret spy gadgets I don't know about." I give her a sideways look.

"It's not like that." I raise my eyebrows in disbelief. "Okay, maybe a little like that. I figured out I was good with computers when I was little so I used to hack into the school database and change my grade, because I spent as little time in class as I could and as much time outside training as possible. I also may or may not have pranked my dad a few times. But it's been a long time since I have messed with any o that, and technology changes so fast, all the time. That's why I'm glad Nathaniel is going to be with me, just in case there's a better way to do something."

"Speaking of, let's go find Wyatt, we have about fifteen minutes to kill and he is probably eating alone, if Nathaniel is off being your errand boy."

 

Chapter 0398

We both giggle and walk down the log hallway towards the common area where most people are milling about, having either eaten already or just getting back from a training session and socializing before

they go in.

"I didn't realize how many warriors were actually here." Gasps Jena.

"I know! It takes a little while to get used to, but a lot of the warriors who have been around for a while don't live in the compound dorms. This is mostly for the newbies, because we train more often and the trainers need more access to us. But everyone eats here, especially dinner. It's the one time most of us are together."

"Okay, it makes sense, it's just going to take a bit to get used to. There's Wyatt." She points to our usual table.

"Hey! I hear I'm the odd man out tonight while you all get to go on a grand adventure."

"I will trade you my spot next to Xander. I bet you'll look fabulous in a dress fit for me." I laugh at him.

"On second thought, you keep your position and I will stick to guarding Nathaniel and the new girl here."

I shove him. "So you are going to be there? Why would you lie to me? I'm not really good at the feeling bad for you thing." I laugh.

"It can't hurt to try and see how you feel about me, Midge. Just have to keep checking, you know." He wiggles his eyebrows at me and I respond with an eyeroll.

"Are you riding with us then, or does Warrior Osiston have something else set up for you?"

"I get to escort the ladies to the ball." He says in a terrible English accent. "Nathaniel is on his way with all the gear Jena needs to beastmode him in the tech department. Speaking of, I think our ride is rolling up now."

We are all still laughing as we head towards the door. We get about halfway across the common room when my second least favorite voice wafts out of the crowd.

"If it isn't the golden child. Where are you off to now? Going to go warm someone elses bed to get your way? Or get captured like the weak link we all know you are."

"Who the f*ck are you? And what the hell are you talking about?" Jena says before I can even get a word in to move on from having this stupid conversatoin.

Audrina's hand is on her hip and she's flipping her pony tailas she talks. “Audrina, your superior, remember that. And everyone here knows that Sky has just slept with whoever she needed to to get her position here. She hasn't even been on the compound long enough to earn any kind of title other than sl..."

"Don't even finish that sentence.

Midge earned her spot, stop trying to spread gossip. You're not the

favorite and let me tell you a little

secret, you never were." Her eyes go wide at that. "Once you figure out that actually showing up, working hard and being easy to work with Midge.

will get you sent on

is all of those things and you are none of them. That's why she just got back from a mission where she resuced an Alpha female. You don't compare, stop trying."

Wyatt turns around wraps an arm around each of us and leads us out to the front of the compound where a car is waiting for us. No one says a thing as Jena and I climb in the back seat and Wyatt takes the front passenger.

"Is she that aweful all the time?" Jena breaks the silence.

"Only when it comes to Midge here. She's always had a 'better-than-thou' attitude, but she is a decent warrior. I think being made a floor leader went to here head though. Then our Midge came in, three years too young to even do trials for the program, and blew everyone out of the water. Even giving War Brogen and Alpha Prince Xander a run for their money. She also has a special relationship with Alpha King Reggie and Luna Queen Anne, as you will see in a minute. Midge was also special requested for the mission that ultimately ended with us finding you. So it was clearly the right choice."

"Wait, three years too young for the program. How old are you? I figured you were just tiny, maybe an Omega who could really fight. I know you're not now, cause I can feel your aura almost as strong as mine. "Wait! All the time you guys have been together, her age never came up?"

"We had other pressing matters to deal with. She was capable and smart, her age didn't matter at that point. Staying alive did." She looks right at me expectantly.

"I turned sixteen just before I was taken." I am pointedly staring out the window not wanting to make eye contact as that information sets in.

"Holy sh*t! Now it makes what

Micheal was going to do so much

worse. Did on the

y campus with you and Tyle right? Wait! How did you get into college in the first place? You were actually in class with those losers. I have so many questions, but they will have to wait. Wow!" Her attention is all over the place as we pull up to the castle and

and ow? I mean he was

towards the hidden entrance.

 

Chapter 0399

We pull in and all jump out as soon as our driver puts it in park. I drag Jena out the door and to the elevators. Mina should be here already with Luna Anne and I can't wait to see Xander and Oscar. I know they were both there when we we found, but I don't remember much of the interactions now. Wyatt is just behind us laughing.

"Are you in a hurry Midge? You don't have anyone you want to see do you?"

"Shut up Wyatt." I stick my tongue out to him. "I haven't seen them in almost a year. Can this elevator go any faster?"

"Relax Midge, your boys are just as excited to see you."

"It's not just them, I haven't really seen Mina in over a month and Luna Anne. I wasn't able to have contact with anyone not on the mission."

The elevator doors ding and I pam out before the crack is big enough for anyone else. I ran straight to Luna Anne's room and practically barge in the door. The minute I make eye contact with Luna Anne my eyes well up and I run into her waiting arms.

"I missed you sweet girl." She says into my hair.

"I missed you too. I dodn't know how much until right now though."

"How are you, really? We have to sit doen and really talk about your ordeal. And you came back with someone just as impressive I hear." She looks up over my shoulder and I turn around to see Jena standing in the door looking unsure of where to be.

"Hey, come here, I want to introduce you." I wave Jena over.

"Sorry, Wyatt sent me in but didn't follow."

"That's because he's a good warrior and he's standing guard outside." Luna Anne laughs. "He also know he will be subjected to all things girl in here and he knows better now."

"Jena this is Luna Queen Anne. Luna Anne this is Jena the Alpha female from the Black Diamond pack."

Jena looks down at her feet like she does everytime I introduce her as the alpha female of her pack. I don't know why she is shy about it. I know that she doesn't think there is a pack for her to go back to and she doesn't deserve the title because of it, but I disagree. She's a survivor and a beacon for her pack. She needs to own that title.

"Jena, it's very noce to meet you. I am so glad our Skylar found you. Let us know any way that we can help in your search for your pack members And I mean anything." Luna Anne grabs her hand and cups it between her dainty elegant ones and just holds them until Jena finally looks up at her. "You are a part of our pack now too. I really do mean anything you need. Just let us know." Jena

nods her head.

"Midge! Look at you up and around. You need to quite taking such hard blows. Your time with Doc Sylvia and in the hospital is starting to rival our craziest warriors." Mina steps out of the bathroom and laughs pulling me into a hug.

"OMG! OMG! OMG! OMG! I can't

believe you're here!!" Sierra tackles me and we both hit the floor in a pile of legs and arms. "I thought the guys were going to go apesh*t when heard that you were sent on a mission to collect info about sion

Rogue King. They don't kno

t

that

you were captured though I am not going to be the one to drop that bomb on them. I think they would

have burnt the packhouse to the

ground."

"Sierra, I missed you too, but can you get off me." I laugh. "This is both weird and uncomfortable."

She stands and pulls me up from the ground, wrapping me in a side hug as she leads me to the racks of clothes we get to choose from tonight.

"So, this is what I am thinking. I

know Jena is going to be in the background with Nathaniel, but I think you should both be dressed so that if you need to you can blend in with the crowd." SHe looks at all of us.. "Tena, just let me know if you are uncomfortable with anything, Sky doesn't enjoy any of this at all and we force her into every fancy outfit we can." Luna Anne winks at me.

"It should be fine." Jena mumbles out.

"No really, if there is something you don't like they won't be offended. But if you don't say anything, you may endup in some hideous hot pink leather suit." Jena's nose scrunches at the thought. "Uh, really."

"I don't have any hot pink right now, but it can be arranged." Luna Anne laughs as Jena's face falls more. "That's what I thought. Just be honest. We have tone to choose from and just because we are making you dress up deosn't mean that you have to be uncomfortable the whole time."

Jena nods and we are both dragged forward to start the very long process of hair, make-up and clothing options.

 

Chapter 0400

I think the more that I go through this the easier it gets. It wasn't formal wear tonight, not long gowns and tons of hair pins, but it wasn't a power suit kind of night either. I still didn't even know what we were doing here other than playing barrier for Xander and Oscar, who I guess has been targeted by a few of the ladies who have intelligently taken their sights off of the future Alpha, but decided the perks might be just as good going after his personal warrior. Mina and I had a great laugh when Luna Anne told us that. I guess it was quit comical to watch him flounder as several girls tried to distract him at a dinner about six months ago and the attention has not wavered since.

"You should have seen his eyes as they walked right past Xander and straight to him. Pawing all over him while he was trying to do his job and stay near the prince. You would have thought they had three heads the way he was scrambling all night to avoid them. And of course Xander did nothing to help him, poor guy. I had to finally step in and remind them that he was in fact working and had a very important job to do, something his mate would understand and not get in the way of." SHe smiled as she mentioned that conspiratorially.

"Is that why they both need dates tonight?" I ask. "Because they are both being targeted by social climbers."

"Yes, and tonight Reggie is going to talk to all the Alphas in our territory about the impending situation with the Rogue King. We are still trying to flesh out if the information you were given about that guy Tyler's pack is accurate. We still believe you were right and something is going on inside our ranks. There's no way that he could maneuver outside of our notice this well for this long without the help. And while Alpha Sharp is the natural go-to for blame since he seems to always be at odds with someone, I don't think he is smart enough to be a worthwhile asset for the Rogue King. He would more than likely want someone who flies under the radar a bit more. It would be easier to get things done if no one is looking your way all the time. But Alpha Sharp could be part of the problem as a distraction. That is where you will come in, Jena. I am not going to give you any information on the Alphas present tonight. I want you to flush out whatever you can from everyone you can, without any bias from us here. I think we are too close to the situation and that might be part of the problem. So when Alpha Reggie asks, you were briefed and are ready to go, but I want your opinion as an outsider on everyone you witness tonight."

Jena nods her head. "That actually sounds like a reasonable plan and I have Nathaniel who can help me identify people quickly if and when I do find anything."

"That's my girl." Luna Anne smiles. "Now for you two," She looks pointedly at Mina and I, "You both are about to have an irritating amount of resistance from the ladies who have gotten comfortable in your absence and they seem to be playing dirty and not very subtly. Just be on your guard and don't let them goad you into anything. If you don't know how to respond, just smile and stay quiet. The less words from you they have to repeat the better. And they will definitely call you unapproachable or cold and b*thcy, but that is better than words that can be taken out of context. But you won't be able to avoid socializing tonight. Listen for anything out of the ordinary as well and report back to Nathaniel so he and Jena can compare notes with everyone later."

We all nod, understanding our jobs tonight. We all do a last minute check in the mirror before we go and I forgot how good Luna Anne was at this. We look amazing.

We are all in cocktail dresses that hit mid thigh, but that is where the similarities stop. Jena's dress is solid black, long sleeved and form fitting, but when she turns around the back is completely open showing off her honey colored skin. Her brunette hair is in soft waves hitting just at her shoulder blades. Her amber eyes almost glow under the soft smokey make-up. She looks whole and healthy and completely fierce