Page 2 of Brutal Reign (Shadowed Heirs #5)
2
PRESENT DAY
“ P lease don’t hover when we get in there,” I grumble as I hop out of the back seat of my parents’ SUV, slinging my duffel over my shoulder and slamming the car door shut behind me.
It’s bad enough that they’re insisting on dropping me off at training camp like I’m a child. I’m sure I’ll catch looks from the other recruits when my dad escorts me into the squad complex, puffing out his chest like the big bad Alpha wolf he is. The last thing I need is him making a scene about his baby girl leaving the nest, then threatening every guy within a five-mile radius to keep their hands to themselves.
I’m already under a microscope as it is. There’s never been a female Alpha in our alliance before, and after Dad made the announcement to our pack a few weeks ago that he wants me to succeed him when he retires, the bigger guys have been side-eyeing me like there’s blood in the water. All the more reason to prove myself at training camp and establish myself as a warrior. Once they see that I’m formidable in my own right and not just a weak, coddled little Alpha’s daughter, it should quash any challenge to my ascension.
At least I hope it does. The idea of leading my pack someday doesn’t intimidate me, but facing a challenge to taking the Alpha rank would be a disaster. Everyone would find out the ugly truth about me; the damaged pieces of my soul I’ve gone to great lengths to keep concealed.
No pressure.
“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know,” Dad mutters as I make my way over to where he’s waiting on the sidewalk. He extends a palm, wiggling his fingers in a ‘gimme’ gesture for my bag.
I adjust the strap on my shoulder, holding on tight. “I’ve got it,” I huff, stepping past him to head for the complex gate. “And I’m not changing my mind!”
He doesn’t understand why I want to do this– why I need to. Grandpa Anders didn’t bat an eye when my dad left home to move up to the squad complex, nor did the pack ever question him inheriting the Alpha rank. Daughters are held to a different standard than sons.
My mom gets it, though. She immediately plasters herself to Dad’s side, reminding him not to be so fucking overbearing. Okay, she uses less colorful words than that, but I don’t hear the specifics as I pick up my pace, speed-walking in the direction of sweet, sweet freedom.
As grueling as the security squad’s training camp is known to be, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to get out from beneath my father’s thumb. There’s overprotective, and then there’s Theo Jacobsen– but I’m hardly daddy’s little girl anymore. I’m eighteen, and I haven’t been the angelic daughter he envisioned for a long time now. Then again, what did he really expect? I’m his .
Back in the day, my dad got into all kinds of trouble. He slept around ( barf ), drank too much, and damn near got rejected by his fated mate over his antics. Good thing my mom’s a damn saint, because he’d be lost without her. But honestly, did he really think the apple would fall far from the tree?
Not that I sleep around. Or drink too much. I do like whiskey once in a while, though, and I hate following rules. Rules are bullshit. Rules are for parents who think they can shelter their daughter from the world, then expect her to navigate it without screwing things up. I can’t learn from the mistakes I don’t make, and damnit do I know how to make ‘em.
The gate for the squad complex is standing open, the crowd forming on the field buzzing with excitement. It’s far from my first time here, but today, I feel like I’m gazing upon it with new eyes. The L-shaped building that houses the dorms, facilities, and offices looks taller. The indoor arena at the far end seems larger. Even the walls that enclose the outside perimeter of the practice field don’t feel confining; they’re liberating. All I see now when I look at this place is possibility.
I quicken my pace as I stride through the gate, tossing a wave to my parents over my shoulder and aiming to get lost in the crowd. It’s not hard with the six buses parked on the field. They shuttled in squad hopefuls from each of the packs within our alliance’s territory, recruits streaming off them and rushing over to the side of the building to drop their belongings. I can’t help but feel jealous of every kid stepping off those buses. I’d give anything to be just another normal teenager with a normal life, but instead, I’m River Jacobsen, Alpha Theo and Luna Brooke’s beloved only child. I’ve never had the luxury of normal .
After dropping my duffel amongst the other recruits’ luggage, I scan the crowd for a flash of violet, quickly spotting my friend Hayden and jogging over to join her. Her odd hair color makes her easy to spot. I once considered doing something similar to my own hair, but when I asked her about it, she went into detail about how labor-intensive it is to maintain the pastel violet hue and I quickly lost interest. I barely have the attention span to occasionally apply makeup, let alone sit in a hair salon for hours on end every six weeks.
“How’d you manage to ditch the parentals?” Hayden asks as I approach, tossing an arm around my shoulders and guiding me into the fray.
“I didn’t,” I grumble, flickering a glance toward the far corner of the field where the elders are congregating.
Hayden winces. “Well, at least you made it here, eh? That’s a step further than I thought you’d get.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I snort, shrugging her arm off.
“You know what I mean,” she sighs. “C’mon, the rest of our pack’s this way.” She pivots around, beckoning me with a flick of her head.
I swivel my gaze from side to side as we shoulder our way past the other recruits, sizing up my competition as we thread through the masses. Though most are strangers, there’s a few familiar faces in the crowd– and one in particular I’ve been dreading seeing.
My heart skips a damn beat when my gaze snags on the guy that towers over all the rest; a six-foot-six menace with a jaw cut from stone and a grin that would make the devil himself swoon. Sebastian Walker is surrounded by people vying for his attention, but I know all too well how dangerous that attention is and how hollow it leaves you feeling once it’s gone.
We were friends once. Best friends. Up until a few years ago, Seb Walker and Ace Conway were the center of my universe, and it felt like the three of us against the world. Then one day they suddenly woke up and decided they were too cool to hang out with me. They dropped me like a bad habit, and it broke my fucking heart.
I try not to think about those days anymore. Last I heard, Seb and Ace are still joined at the hip, though, so it’s weird that only one of them showed up at training camp. Rumor has it that Ace decided to forgo the squad to apprentice under his dad at his family’s tattoo shop. Part of me wonders whether that’s the truth, or if Seb cast him aside, too.
I snap my head back around before the asshole can catch me looking his way, following Hayden over to join the rest of our packmates. There are eight other kids here from Summervale, and while most of us run in different circles, the comfort of familiarity draws us together. It isn’t long before we fall into easy conversation, speculating about whether we’ll do any actual training today and what kind of torture the squad leaders are planning to put us through over the next six weeks.
They may look big and bad, but the squad leaders don’t scare me. They’re the daughters and sons of the other Alphas in our alliance. Our parents are tight, so I’ve known them all my life, and I’m even related to some.
Maddox and Avery Kessler are cousins from my mom’s side, while Iver and Lo Anderson are cousins from my dad’s. That only leaves Tristan and Sloane Masters, who are basically family now through mate bonds, and the three Raines siblings: Archer, Andie, and Ares. For me and Seb, training camp is just a formality– based upon our parentage, there’s a place carved out for each of us in squad leadership once this is all over. It’s our birthright.
I catch sight of my cousin Avery and her new mate exiting the building onto the field, so I jog over to say a quick hello and remind them to take it easy on me. I’m not above using my connections if it’ll help me make a mark at training camp, especially because seeing Seb has already knocked me off-kilter. Whenever I’m around him, I’m reminded how insignificant I felt when he and Ace iced me out and my self-confidence seems to evaporate.
“Whoa, is that him?” Hayden asks when I return, making heart eyes over my shoulder at Avery’s mate.
Everyone’s heard about the scandal of my cousin being kidnapped by the shifter hunters only to discover one of them was her fated mate. Cameron Knox didn’t even know he was part shifter until he wolfed out on the night of the full moon and their bond snapped into place. Needless to say, his loyalties shifted, and he wound up being integral in bringing down the hunters’ Guild that had been terrorizing our kind for the past decade. He’s the reason we’re all here– now that the hunters are dealt with, training camp has been reinstated.
I glance back at Cam, smirking to myself. “Yep,” I reply, popping the P. “And if you don’t want to get on my cousin’s bad side, I’d wipe up the drool.”
Hayden’s face reddens as she sheepishly averts her eyes. “Shit, he’s gorgeous,” she breathes, fanning herself.
“So is Avery,” I reply with a shrug. “Would you expect her mate to be any less?”
“No, but damn . He’s got some half-brothers, doesn’t he? Any chance they’re single?” She licks her lips suggestively, winking.
Hayden’s a little boy-crazy… or a lot . Pretty sure the only reason she signed up for training camp was to gawk at all the hot, sweaty dudes on the squad.
I roll my eyes, chuckling to myself as the crowd around us suddenly quiets and I swivel to face the center of the field. The squad leaders have formed a line, staring out at us with hard looks on their faces designed to intimidate. It’s definitely working on my peers. Everyone around me is suddenly standing ramrod straight, giving them their undivided attention. My cousin Madd is positioned in the center of the line, and he claps his hands together to silence the last of the chatter as he steps forward.
“Listen up, recruits!” Madd booms, clenching his jaw tight as he sweeps his stony gaze over the field. “So you’re here because you wanna be warriors for the security squad, huh?”
Heads bob eagerly and I find myself nodding along, captivated by his powerful, authoritative tone.
“Then you’re in the right place,” he continues, folding his heavily tattooed forearms across his chest. “Over the next six weeks, we’ll be evaluating each of you to see if you’ve got what it takes to be an elite warrior for the six-pack alliance. We’ll assess your skills. We’ll push you to your limits. You’ll eat, sleep, and breathe squad life, and if you survive, then you might just be lucky enough to make the cut.”
Everyone stands a little taller, the spike of excitement palpable.
“Most of you won’t, though,” Madd adds with a smirk, sucking the energy right back out of the field of hopefuls. “We only take the best of the best, and the purpose of training camp is to weed out the weak. If you can’t hack it, we’ll send you packing. It’s that simple. Every day you’re here, you’ll be tested.”
The recruits around me are suddenly looking pale-faced and terrified, hanging on Madd’s every word as he reads us the riot act. I guess that’s fair, since Maddox Kessler is a scary motherfucker to most people, but I see straight through that dark, menacing facade. The growly Alpha is a big softie underneath. Only for the people he loves, which is why I consider myself lucky to be one of them.
“Your first test starts right now,” he continues, flashing a wolfish grin. “Fifty-four of you showed up here today, but there’s only fifty bunks in the barracks. You’ll need to earn your bunk by putting in twenty laps around the track, and once they fill up, that’s it. The four of you who finish last will be going straight home.”
We draw a collective gasp. They’ve never weeded out recruits on day one before.
Shit, I guess Avery wasn’t exaggerating when she warned me the stakes would be higher than ever at training camp this year.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Madd asks, cocking a brow.
All hell breaks loose as everyone sprints away in a panic, bumping into one another and scattering like mice. Hayden grabs for my hand, yanking me with her toward the track that lines the perimeter of the practice field.
Fuck my life .
I fucking hate running. Weight training, I can do. Hand-to-hand combat? Count me in. But throw some cardio at me and it’s a hard pass. I’d rather chew glass and swallow than run twenty laps around this damn track right now.
Ironically, two laps in, my throat feels a whole lot like I actually have swallowed shards of glass. It burns with exertion, my lungs heaving from the effort, and by the tenth lap, I’m ready to just collapse on the track and admit defeat. Then a few recruits start to lap me, and it’s the kick in the ass I need to grit my teeth and push on, despite feeling like I’m fucking dying. If I go to hell, though, this is how I’ll be punished for eternity– with running .
When I finally complete my twentieth lap around the track of doom, it’s a miracle I haven’t dropped dead. I’m sweaty and hyperventilating; my leg muscles are jelly. Madd and Avery share a laugh at my expense as they give me the nod to go grab a bunk, and I flip my cousins the bird as I make my way past them and over to the side of the building to grab my duffel.
At least I made it. And by the skin of my teeth, judging by the looks of things when I push through the doors of the squad complex and turn left to enter the recruit barracks. It’s a flurry of activity inside, more than half of my peers already staking their claims on the rows of bunks inside the large room.
“Saved you a bunk, Riv,” Jake Decker drawls, stepping out from between a pair of them right by the door, as if he’s been waiting for me to appear.
I snap my head his way, raising a forearm to wipe sweat from my brow. Jake’s the son of my dad’s Beta, but we’ve never been particularly close. Unlike most other packs, our Beta’s family doesn’t reside in the packhouse, and the two of us just never had much in common. It’s sweet that he’s looking out for me here at training camp, and it definitely bodes well for the two of us working together as Alpha and Beta someday… but that doesn’t mean I wanna bunk with the guy.
“Jake,” I breathe, still panting from that horrendous run. “I, uh…”
A flash of lilac catches my eye, and I glance past him to see Hayden waving her arms at the back of the room, beckoning me over.
“Looks like Hayden already grabbed me one,” I say, forcing a polite smile to my lips. “Thanks, though!”
Dodging past Jake before he can reply, I make a beeline down the aisle of bunks toward my friend, thankful as fuck she just saved me from that awkward interaction.
When Seb and Ace dropped me a few years ago, Hayden picked me up. She randomly sat down at my study table in the school library one day and asked what song I was listening to through my headphones. We chatted about music, and by the time I left, I’d officially made my first female friend outside of the Alpha kids. The two of us just clicked.
Strangely enough, we couldn’t be more different. Hayden likes reading celebrity gossip rags and getting all dolled up, while I prefer tinkering with my motorcycle’s engine and wearing ripped-up band tees. Still, it somehow works. We’re yin and yang.
“Do you want top or bottom?” Hayden asks as I approach, grimacing as she takes in my haggard appearance. “Jesus, Riv, what’d I tell you about working on your cardio?”
“Top,” I croak out, sliding my duffel off my shoulder. Moving past her, I heave my bag over my head, slinging it up onto the top bunk.
Good thing Hayden’s a decent runner, because she secured us a prime spot in the barracks. Our bunk is all the way at the end of a row, tucked in a corner.
“You’re a freak of nature, you know that?” Hayden chastises, leaning a hip against the metal frame of the bunkbed as she watches me wilt onto the lower mattress. “I’ve never met anyone as fit as you who can’t run. I mean seriously, how can you run circles around people while you’re sparring but barely jog a mile on the track before needing a rescue inhaler?”
“Sparring’s different,” I grumble, curling forward to rest my elbows on my numb thighs.
“She’s got a point,” a male voice interjects, and I turn to see a toned guy with strawberry-blonde hair poking his head out from behind the end of the neighboring bunk, where he’s unpacking his things into the cubby. “There’s a big difference between sprints and endurance running.”
“This is Gus,” Hayden supplies, throwing a thumb in his direction.
He steps around the end of the bunk and moves toward me, wiping his palms off on his athletic shorts before extending one in my direction. “August Atwood,” he greets, flashing me a wide grin.
I weakly lift a hand, placing it in his. “River Jacobsen.”
“Oh I know who you are,” he sing-songs, winking at me as he backs away to resume unpacking. “Alpha Theo’s daughter, right?”
“You must have me confused with someone else,” I mutter.
Hayden rolls her eyes, pushing off from our bunk and kicking my foot as she passes by me to get to her suitcases lined up near the end of the bed. Because of course Hayden Price packed for training camp like she was embarking on an elaborate, two-month vacation.
“Don’t mind Riv, she’s a sarcastic bitch when she’s forced to do cardio,” she quips, tossing me a wink as she grabs for the handle of a suitcase.
I make a face at her before flopping backwards on the bed with a groan.
“Is this bunk taken?” a deep voice drawls.
I lift my head to see a gorgeous dark-skinned guy approaching us with a massive backpack strapped to his back, eyeing the bottom bunk across from ours.
Gus ducks out from behind the bunk in question, his green eyes sweeping over the newcomer skeptically. “No, but all the other meatheads here have been avoiding it since I’m not hetero.”
“Doesn’t bother me,” the new guy remarks, shrugging his backpack off his shoulders and tossing it down onto the lower mattress. Then he steps toward Gus, extending a hand in greeting. “Kendrick Hall.”
Gus slaps his palm into his. “August Atwood, my friends call me Gus.” He nods toward Hayden and me. “And that’s Hayden Price and River Jacobsen, we just met.”
Kendrick snaps his head around, a dark brow lifting when our eyes meet. “ The River Jacobsen?”
“I’m starting to suspect I’ve already got a reputation around here,” I grit out.
He chuckles, flashing me a roguish grin. “Nah, but your dad does.”
I roll my eyes. “Story of my life,” I sigh, waving a hand dismissively as I let my head drop back down onto the bed.
“C’mon, get up,” Hayden huffs, coming back around the side of the bunk and grabbing onto my arm. I groan as she forces me to my feet, then points up at my bag resting on the top bunk. “Your stuff isn’t going to unpack itself, and these beds aren’t big enough for two.”
“Apparently those guys think they are,” Kendrick muses, glancing across the barracks to the bunks situated in the opposite corner. Seb and his friends have claimed them, and it’s no surprise that they’re already making a spectacle of themselves.
Beau’s sprawled out on a lower bunk, a red-haired girl straddling him with her tongue down his throat. Eli’s putting the moves on a pair of brunettes, evidently trying to coax one or both onto the mattress of the neighboring bunk with him. Seb’s wearing that trademark aloof expression of his, casually leaning a hip against the metal bedframe opposite his friends while a tall blonde plasters herself to his front, desperately grasping for a crumb of his attention. Micah’s evidently the only one who can keep it in his pants, busying himself with unpacking his belongings and seemingly oblivious to his friends’ display.
It must be obvious which interaction I’ve zeroed in on, because Gus suddenly appears at my side to fill me in, bumping his shoulder against mine. “That’s Chandler Stetson,” he provides, joining me in watching the girl feeling up my former best friend. “She’s from Westfield like me, and she’s a total Alpha chaser.”
“She’s in luck, I’ve heard Seb only likes blondes,” I bite out.
Chandler loops her arms around Seb’s neck, tossing her head back on a laugh while my stomach curls in on itself. Then Seb’s dark-eyed gaze suddenly lifts, colliding with mine from across the room.
I don’t flinch. Not even when Chandler pushes up on her tiptoes and leans in to drag her tongue along the harsh line of his jaw. Seb’s stare burns into mine, but I don’t react. I just turn away and grab my bag off the bunk, carrying it around to the cabinet at the end to start unpacking.
On the outside, I’m completely unaffected by Seb Walker. But on the inside, I’m choking on resentment; seething with hate. It’s the kind of hate that burns you up until you feel like you might combust.
The kind that can only be borne from love.