I'm a ribbons and lace kind of girl. Well, at least I would be... in an alternate reality where my very purpose in life wasn't to hunt down and kill the demons plaguing our world. But alas, here we are, and blood and guts are my unfortunate accessories most days. At least I look good doing it. Tonight, I am sporting the darkest crimson of a Kavrock demon or more specifically a small horde of them. The leeches had put up minimal fight when I descended into their den with the rest of the Order. They are small, around three feet long, but are deadly creatures with their wicked sharp teeth and extra claws. A total of sixteen to be exact running down both sides of their low, rotund underbellies.
Their life goals include sucking the life force out of any creature it could find and hiding out in dank, dark holes. They had become a nuisance in the farming plains, killing livestock and pets indiscriminately. This nest had wiped out several dozen flocks before we had been called to intervene.
The moans and groans of my comrades around me indicate that they too are covered in filth and ready to shed it. Luckily, we have all grown accustomed to being near naked around each other since we share a unisex locker room, for lack of a better term. Articles of clothing are hitting the floor all around me. I am almost down to my sports bra and undershorts when a booming voice fills the room.
"Nice work brats." I smile at Emeree. She has been training us for years. This was her go-to term of endearment for us. "Alpha, debrief in ten." I nod in ascent of the command. Even if I was the Alpha of the Order, Emeree was still my teacher. I would always follow her commands.
"I will make it a fast shower." I call heading to an open stall in the adjoining room. I had just gotten most of the blood and goo off when powerful arms encircle my stomach and a pair of lips land on the side of my neck. I whirl to face him with a smirk. "I have a debrief in ten." His lips curl into a mock pout. "I'll make it up to you later." I reply silkily running my hands down his chiseled chest. Rowan might as well have been named by God himself since his body did indeed stand like a mighty tree.
"You better." He replies after a quick peck on the lips.
I saunter out of the shower room wrapped in a towel, squeezing the excess water out of my long hair. "You coming?" I call over my shoulder.
"Be right there." His reply traveled through the water cascading over him. Though there was technically no Beta to my Alpha. Ro and I had long been partners in all things. I have always tried to keep my role as Alpha from becoming a point of contention between us. To me, he was my equal. No matter what magical happenstance said.
Eleven minutes later we stand side by side in the Guard's center of operations. Five high ranking Guards sit at a long table before us. My damp hair knotted in a bun on top of my head, I recount tonight's events. "It certainly was...messier than anticipated. Once we got into the nest there were nearly six dozen." A half dozen somber looking faces nod from behind the semi-circle table. "We killed all the ones in house. I ordered Briar and Bishop to stay behind for the night to see if any more straggle in."
"As always, we are grateful for the protection of the Order and your leadership as Alpha, Ariana. We will pass along the debrief to the King and to Braddock." Renner's words seem like a dismissal, so I turn on my heel just as a different voice speaks up.
"It's so goodto have you back in the field Ariana." I gave a curt nod to the petite woman, whose name I cannot remember, before continuing my exit with Ro at my side.
Once we were safely out of earshot I say, "I've been back three months. How much longer are they going to remind me?" I try to keep my pace with Ro who does not acknowledge for a few seconds.
"It doesn't feel like it's been three months, Ari. You were gone longer than you've been back." He gives me a side glance and I nod silently letting my retort die on my lips, another thing I would hold back to keep the peace.
Minutes later I make my way into the twenty thousand square foot facility we use for training. I know before even opening the doors that I would have company. Luca has his back to me wailing on a speed bag. I let my bag drop to the floor with a dull thud and settle onto a nearby mat to stretch. I am in a deep bridge pose when I feel his gaze slide over me. I keep my eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge the shiver it sends down my spine. When I settle back into a half pigeon pose and open my eyes, I know he is close.
"You were, are, and always will be a great Alpha. Don't let anyone diminish that." He is close enough that I saw the shift in his pupil dilation as he said it. With some people the small smile I give in response would have been inadequate or wrongly received. Not with Luca. He took the smile as a gift and gave me one in return. My heart aches for his company. We had been so close growing up. All three of us had been. Ro, Luca, and I had been best friends since birth. One day long after Ro and I had become something more, I looked up and realized that my beautiful, supportive friend Luca was on the outside. Once I had tried to close the distance between us and now, we stand with an even greater impasse between us.
We hold each other's gaze for several more seconds, much longer than appropriate. "Later, Ari." He says finally before exiting soundlessly. I stare at the doors for several moments after he passes through them. Things were so much simpler when we were kids. Before Ro and I were bound to each other. Before we were pledged to the Order. Who am I kidding? We've been pledged to the Order since birth, but I remember a time when it didn't feel that way. I remember the barn. The smell of honeysuckle. The stars. An internal alarm jostles me from my thoughts. My Alpha alert system was blaring. Briar and Bishop are engaging hostiles. I tear from the building with inhuman speed and am still zipping my black hoodie when I appear before Easton three buildings away. "Portal. Kavrock nest." I barely utter the words when my body shudders as it is hurtled through space. I am already activating the Alpha Mark on my right hand when I land in the middle of the demon nest two point five seconds later.
Briar and Bishop are each engaged with three Kavrocks when I land. Another dozen or so continue streaming in through the entrance. The rest of the team would be thirty minutes out in high-speed tactical vehicles. Summoning portals for travel are taxing. Easton had already created three portals for us tonight. He wouldn't be doing another. The twins and I are on our own for the time being. "Nice of you to join us, boss." I roll my eyes at him before joining the fight.
We are exiting the cavern, another two dozen Kavrock dead, when our reinforcements arrive. To my genuine surprise, Ro and Luca are together in the first vehicle to arrive. Ro does a sweep of the immediate property before coming to stand in front of me where Luca already stood. Luca finishes giving me a silent and brooding once over before walking away, but not before seeing Ro plant a kiss on my lips. "Just had to charge right in? Couldn't wait for backup?" Ro asks with a smirk patting down the length of my body.
"Hey! She was the backup!" Briar shoots over his shoulder as he climbs into the second vehicle that had arrived with Cass and Mae. I shrug my shoulder with a laugh that turns into a wince. Ro's eyes widen.
"I'm fine. Just a scratch. Briar got a pretty big gash on the head and Bishop has a dislocated shoulder. Let's deal with what's left when we get back to base. I'm ready for another shower and bed." I blow Cass a kiss with a thumbs up watching the twins crawl into her backseat.
"Mine, I hope." Ro says depositing me into the backseat.
"Yes. Yours." To my surprise he gets into the opposite side, sliding in next to me leaving Luca to drive. I settle into Ro's chest, ignoring the eyes that peer at me through the rear-view mirror. The sun is already rising as we head back to the city.
I wake up the next morning alone in Ro's bed. A note sat on the bedside table reads, "Thought you could take the opportunity to sleep in a little." I am simultaneously annoyed and amused by my boyfriend's attempt at chivalry. In reality he just wants to run drills himself this morning. He had also apparently forgotten that I have a lecture with the first years this morning at the Academy and had already passed supervision for the morning's training over to him. Regardless, I take my sweet time in the hot shower. I may have accelerated healing, but I am still sore from my long night killing demons. I can feel the tension leaving my muscles as I stand under the cascading shower. In the mirror I notice my bruising already turning a pale yellow. By dinner, they'd be gone.
As I am throwing my gear in my bag, my watch beeps. "Crap!" I grab my bag and my water bottle before racing across the quad to the Academy. Luckily, I slide in just as Professor Ailor is introducing me.
"You are here to learn. To grow. The professors here at the Academy have been chosen to teach the next generation of magic. You are not beginners anymore. You are novices. Your classes will be harder. They are training you for your future. Your future depends on how well you do in the next four years. Your placement in the coven will be taken directly from the results of your exams, your instructor's evaluations, and the wisdom of the Council. It is imperative that you understand that you are being evaluated each step going forward. Don't wait until Senior year to take things seriously. You are going to be taught spells you never knew existed, mix potions that have permanent side effects, and be trained to utilize the full extent of your gifts. There is something very important you need to remember. Our powers always have limits. No matter how powerful your gifts are, you can only pull from the well you've prepared. It is important to exercise these gifts. To control them. To strengthen them. But is it just as important that you exercise your body and your mind. When my team goes into battle, we take weapons and we fight with our hands far more than with our magic, because there is a limit to our magic. I am Alpha, but I am not infinite." I continue my slow circle around the outer perimeter of the classroom.
"We are bound by our Covenant. The laws that govern our coven and allow us to live in peace and balance with our fellow coven members. We are also bound by laws of the universe. Not the laws of physics, but we are bound by the Rule of Three. The Law of Return." I saw holding up three fingers. "Whatever magic we put out into the world, be it positive or negative, comes back to us threefold. Our choice to hurt or heal has consequences. I am Alpha, but I am not invincible."
"Our gifts are bestowed upon us by the Creator for purpose not pleasure. We must be vigilant of that responsibility. We are also responsible to our coven, to our Council, to our Covenant. No one is above the Covenant. I am Alpha, but I am not irreplaceable."
I enter the training facility twenty minutes later. Ro is running drills while also watching a sparring session between Mae and Cass. Soundlessly I creep up behind him and take his feet out from under him. Of course, he is ready and meets me with a swift roll and I end up on the bottom. I laugh until something primal takes over in his eyes. I grab a fistful of his shirt and pull his face to mine with force that takes him by surprise. He put hands on the mat on either side of my head to steady himself. We have already pulled apart a couple of inches when Briar began his cat calls.
"Get a room, lovers." Cass teases with a twinkle in her eye. She covers her eyes in mock astonishment. Mae standing opposite her gives me a long, hard look before pouncing to try and catch Cass by surprise. She fails and winds up flat on her back looking up at Cass. I feel Ro's weight lift and let him pull me up with him.
After giving him a swift smack on the rear, I remove myself several mats away and settle in to stretch, surveying my team.
Cassia (Cass), my best friend and confidant, continues to keep Mae on her back move after move. Her innate gift, Astral Projection, is what she deems useless during hand to hand, but she doesn't need it. She is powerful in her own right. She says she works harder in hand to hand than some of the others to make up for her gift's ineptitude. She also says that's why Ro works out like he does. "Overcompensating." She tells me often with an eye roll.
Rowan is built like a big, glorious tree, but his biceps pale in comparison to his powers of the mind. Ro is blessed with many mental gifts such as empathyand suggestion. His gifts being primarily mental have often been a sore spot for him, though I constantly remind him that to control the mind is to control the person. Empathy for instance makes him a walking lie detector. But again, Cass says he overcompensates for this perceived slight of magical hand by making sure he's stronger and faster. Which he usually is.
Briar and Bishop, the twins, have little in common besides their looks. Starting with their gifts: Fire and ice. Luckily their respective personalities line up with these. Briar is all fire and guns blazing. Rash, arrogant, carefree (or careless in my opinion most days). Bishop, the ice to his flame, is meticulous, calculating, and quiet.
Maeve (Mae) is the baby of the group in every way. Spoiled, entitled, and often careless. Her gift is precognition. Seeing the future (on occasion) seems to make her think she's all-knowing. Her Seeings are so few and far between that she often gets frustrated with her gift. She works one on one with some of the most powerful Seers in our coven. They assure us that her erratic gifts will be more controlled with time and training. If only I could get Mae to take her training seriously. She tests my patience and ability to lead daily. Ro likes to say she's teaching me to be a better leader. I tend to disagree.
And then there's Luca. If Ro is nature, Luca is smoke. Fluid, changing, adapting, which also lends to his gift. Shapeshifting. Luca can shift into anyone or anything. I've seen guys abuse potions or spells that imitate his gift by using it to "upgrade" their appearance. Luca doesn't need to. He's a beautiful storm of a man. I cannot tear my eyes from him., thoughts lingering in regret.
Holy hell. I'm only nineteen. Regret should not hold such meaning for me. Which brings us to me. The Alpha. Literally born to lead. I embody the hope and strength of our people. I am blessed with power over molecules. Slowing to the point of stasis, accelerating to the point of combustion. Again, it is poetic that my gifts should give me control over the very makeup of the earth. My gifts however are not limitless. For all of us, using magic is like using muscles. We can flex them, use them, even abuse them, but there are always limits.
In three weeks, I will turn twenty. This day will be celebrated by a lavish party in my honor followed by a sacred, private ceremony for the Order, select members of the coven, and the Council. I will be Unbound. The fullness of my powers released within me. When the Order are seven days old, a binding ritual is performed. This is to limit our magic while we are young. It is an act of protection for the child, the family, and the coven.
As the eldest member of the Order I will be Unbound first, the rest to swiftly follow. By tradition even though I am a mere three hours older than Rowan and four hours older than Luca, they will each have to wait a month between ceremonies. The rest of the Order will follow no sooner than one month, but not before their twentieth birthday. Briar is older by mere minutes but will be unbound a full month before his twin Bishop. While Mae will have to wait almost a full year for her birthday. I am both terrified and excited at the prospect of untold power. I would probably feel better if there was something to compare it too. Unfortunately, my being the first female Alpha isn't the only thing that has changed with the Order. For instance, there have never been siblings in the Order before. Now we have twins. The age gap between myself and Mae is also the longest recorded gap. To say the Council is concerned about these deviations is the understatement of the century (or at least a third of it) and the unknown is terrifying.
A fireball whizzing by my head brings me back to the present. Briar is grinning like an idiot, Bishop has his hands clasped in front of his mouth like a prayer, while Luca and Ro have already begun backing out of the way. I feel the change shift in my eyes, electricity crackling in my blood, muscles humming with indefinite possibility. I could have charged across the room and knocked him on his glib ass before he could react. I could have thrown him on the mats with a burst of molecules from where I sat. Instead, I stand with slow deliberation. All six of my comrades watch my limbs carefully unfold with rapt attention. Briar still wears a carefree smirk, but I notice the muscles clench in his throat. It is my turn to smirk. I slowly unfurl my right hand to reveal a growing ball of fire.
"Hell no." Briar's eyes widen just in time for me to throw it straight at him. Oh yes...did I forget to mention that little tid bit?
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