Page 41

Chelsea let out an audible sigh. “It’s personal time off,MissMara. It means you’re free for the day.”

“Oh,” I ignored her snide tone. How was I supposed to know? It’s not like I had a job yet back in Telvia. I tried to shake off the mild embarrassment.

“Chelsea’s, right. You’ve been training solidly for the past month. President De’vor has ordered a PTO day for you. Matias, you’ll be taking part in today’s war game with Chelsea.”

Matias piped up, “I’ve been assigned to Mara as PSD—”

“I’m well aware of that, Alvarez,” Wynters cut in, annoyance singeing the edge of his voice. “But today you’ll be training with Chelsea.” My eyes swiped over to the redhead, only to catch her gaze darting to the floor as a huge grin consumed her lips.

Matias’s face dropped, disappointment etched along the corners of his eyes. “But Mara needs—”

Wynters closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, almost as though he were trying hard not to get pissed off. “I’m sure,” he began with greater force, cutting Matias off before softening his tone, “Miss de la Puente will survive her day without you just fine. In fact, Calvernon will ensure it for you.”

“What?” I said sharply, and it only took a fraction of a second for me to realize I wasn’t the only one that said it either. I glanced over to Wes, who had spoken the same question in unison with me.

Wynters let out a groan, “Come on, folks. What is this? Grade school? Knock this shit off and get with the program!” He twisted his chin to the left in one swift movement, cracking his neck. “Now Chelsea and Matias are participating in the war game. Mara is on PTO and Calvernon is serving as personal security detail. Got it? Now get your asses moving, people, and for crying out loud,grow up.” He didn’t wait for anyone to respond. He just turned on his heels and marched off.

We stood in silence. Disappointment was still carved on Matias’s face, the most victorious smile I had ever seen was on Chelsea’s, and the biggest scowl I had ever witnessed was planted on Wes. I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was going to be a fantastic shitshow.

“Well, better not disobey orders,” Chelsea piped up, her voice just a little too upbeat. She reached over and grabbed Matias by the hand and began pulling him along behind her. “Have a great day off,MissMara.”

Matias looked at me as a small smile pulled on the corners of his lips. He waved, but his eyes still showed his disappointment. “I’ll catch you later.”

I waved back but didn’t say anything, and a minute later, I was left alone with Wes. His grumpy face was all anyone would need to see in order to know he was not happy. I inhaled deeply, trying the best I could to muster up some courage.

“So, what sort of things—”

“Listen, if I’m going to be stuck babysitting you, then we’re going to do this my way, you got that?”

Talk about coming in hot.

Wes shot me a glare before whipping around and walking away.

“Hey! Wait a minute…where are you going?”

But he never responded. He just kept on walking.

Did I really want to spend the day with him? He was always such a jerk to me. At the same time, however, perhaps this was an opportunity to get on his good side maybe? It would make my life easier if things between us weren’t so caustic all the time.

“Today, de la Puente,” he barked over his shoulder.

I trilled my lips.

This was going to be alongday.

20: Stallion

Afterjoggingtocatchup to him, Wes and I walked in silence, hiking back to camp. And it had to be one of the most awkward walks of my life. I tried multiple times to make conversation, but wound up mostly talking to myself until he gave me a look of death, which caused me to shut my mouth and stay quiet for the rest of the hike.

It really was insane to me how much he wasnotlike his brother. Chase had been sweet, charismatic, and charming, but Wes felt so much more like a bull in a china shop. He was crass, blunt, direct, and just…well,moody.

After we finally arrived at camp, I thought I might try my hand at striking conversation again by asking where we were going. All I got was a “you’ll see,” and then we were back in silent mode. Shortly after that, however, we came up to one of the canvas tents, similar to the one I was staying in, and he slipped right in. I hesitated only a fraction of a second before stepping inside myself.

“Hey, Calvernon! What’s up, brother? We thought you were training today?”

My eyes fell upon a dormitory. This tent had four cots with trunks at the foot of each bed. And in the center of the tent was a round table with four chairs circled around it. Sitting in the chairs were two guys, all dressed in their regulatory cadet uniforms. Each one was holding cards in their hands and a deck was in the center with two other decks to the side.

Wes waltzed up to the table, and for the first time since I’d been with the Dissenters, I saw a smile on his face—I even sawteeth—and it was breathtaking. It was similar to Matias’s in that it had a warmth about it that bubbled from the inside out. But Matias usually didn’t show teeth, whereas Wes showed off his—perfectly straight and white as the clouds above. His smile made him look handsome, and two dimples on either cheek added depth to his expression. And at that moment, more than any time before, he looked exactly like the Chase I remembered.