"I may be your second chance, Wade, but I will not be your second choice."
Reeling from the death of his mate, Alpha Wade tried everything in his power to bring her back to life. So consumed with raising her from the dead, he almost missed his secon...
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THE first week at the Training Grounds was coined Welcome Week, but I couldn't help but feel the title was not justly desired.
I felt the opposite of welcome.
After my brief interaction with my mate and Alpha, Beta Finn showed up to the scene. He had been slightly out of breath and annoyed. He said a few words to Alpha Wade before guiding us back through the secret bookshelf door we had entered.
I quickly learned Alpha Wade's office connected to the Training Grounds through an elaborate system of tunnels. He could navigate to and from different parts of the pack without so much as a notice.
The journey back through the tunnels felt longer than the original trek through them. Beta Finn glued his mouth shut. Only the sounds of our echoing steps and Beta Finn's heavy breathing could be heard.
When we finally surfaced back to the Training Grounds and subsequently made our way to the dormitory, Beta Finn showed me to my room. The room resembled more of a closet than a dorm room.
The room was just large enough for a twin bed, nightstand, and closet. No other furnishings would fit in the cramped space, not even a window. The room reeked of stale cleaning supplies, and at least I could be comforted by the fact the room had been cleaned at some point.
"This is your room," Beta Finn had said when he unlocked the door with a key card. "Your schedule will be posted in the lounge tomorrow morning."
Beta Finn handed me the white key card and watched over me as I stepped foot inside the room. He had been careful with his word choice, choosing to not say more than necessary. The icy reception from my pack's Beta sent a chill of disappointment down my spine.
I had asked, "Have I done something wrong?"
I knew if Beta Finn believed Alpha Wade's suspicions of me, he would not handle me as he would the other pack members, but he did not seem filled with rage like Alpha Wade had been. Beta Finn, instead, had a cooler, more subdued approach, and it was startling.
"No," he huffed, his chest raised. Beta Finn still lingered near the door, his eyes narrowing. He then clarified, "No, but you are not what Alpha Wade needs right now."
"What does that even mean?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
"Nothing." He rattled his head. "It means nothing."
Without another word, Beta Finn left me speechless in my door room. Frustrated, I flopped on the flimsy mattress and ran a hand through my tangled hair. Pounding my head into the pillow, I closed my eyes and tried to convince myself my rough beginnings at the Training Grounds would not be a pattern.
But my reassurance had been for nothing. The rough happenings kept piling up.
Shortly after I had been escorted to my dorm room, I tried to mind link Olivia. I wanted a sympathetic ear to lean on, and I knew she would be chomping at the bit to hear about how my first interaction with my mate went, even if it left a lot to be desired.
