Page 24 of Brutal Reign (Shadowed Heirs #5)

24

“ I ’ll bet the cut list is gonna be huge today since we’re almost halfway through,” Hayden chirps, her violet ponytail bouncing as she speaks animatedly to Kendrick and Gus. “I mean, I’m not worried about any of us , but just watch, they’re gonna clean house with this one.”

The boys’ gazes lift to meet mine as I creep up behind her, putting a finger to my smirking lips to signal for them to keep quiet as she continues chattering. They smirk back at me, quickly returning their attention to Hayden.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if the squad leaders took out some of the trash this time?” she remarks, clucking her tongue. “I swear I’ll throw a damn party if Chandler and Jake are on the list. Seriously, drinks on me if…”

Hayden’s words morph into a shrill scream as I throw my arms around her neck and tackle her with a hug from behind, knocking her so off balance that we both almost tumble to the ground.

“Hey babe, what’d I miss?” I laugh, tucking my chin over my bestie’s shoulder as my lips split into a wide grin.

Hayden shrugs me off with an annoyed grunt, turning a scowl on me while the boys and I share a laugh at her expense. “What the hell, Riv?” she sputters, smoothing her hair and clothes as she struggles to regain her composure.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist,” I chuckle, lifting a hand to swat her ponytail teasingly. “You’re too easy to sneak up on.”

She huffs out a breath, folding her arms tightly across her chest. “Well warn a girl next time.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” I snort, sticking out my tongue.

She rolls her eyes, cracking a smile and giving me a playful shove. “And here I thought I’d actually missed you.”

“You know you did,” I snicker. “So, what’d I miss while I was gone?”

“A lot ,” Gus cuts in dramatically. “The wolf tournament was gnarly.”

“Yeah, I bet,” I breathe, my pulse kicking up a notch at the mention of it. I’m almost afraid to ask who wound up winning.

“Jake didn’t win,” Hayden supplies, as if she’s reading my damn mind.

“Oh?” I ask nonchalantly.

“Ace Conway took him out in the last round,” Kendrick says, tossing me a wink.

My brows shoot up, but I quickly school my expression, swiveling my gaze around the practice field only to find that both Ace and Seb are conspicuously absent. I’m not sure which annoys me more– the fact I’m looking for them, or the stab of disappointment I feel at the realization that they’re not out here to greet me.

Not that I expected them to be. My expectations are ridiculously low when it comes to those guys, but after spending the past few days getting advice from my mom, I’m more open to giving them a chance. If they blow it, it’ll be on them.

“He didn’t even seem fazed by that injury,” Gus scoffs incredulously. “Just kept throwing Jake around like a piece of meat.”

I snap my head back around, my heart skipping a beat. “What injury?”

“Jake fucked up Ace’s hand pretty bad, he had to go to the infirmary to get it set to heal properly,” Kendrick replies, wincing. “Pretty sure I saw a bone sticking out.”

My pulse takes off at a gallop, my inner wolf surging to the surface with panic and concern for our mate. I clench my jaw, fighting to keep her at bay as I ask, “But he’s alright?”

“Yeah,” Kendrick confirms, narrowing his eyes on me. “Are you? Your wolf’s showing.”

I quickly avert my eyes, running my fingers through my hair as I concentrate on shoving my wolf back into the recesses of my consciousness where she belongs. “Yeah, fine,” I grit out. “She’s just… excited at the idea of Jake being beat to a pulp.” I force a hollow chuckle as I swing my gaze back to my friends. “Bet it was fun to watch.”

“Ugh, I wish you could’ve seen it!” Hayden groans, tossing an arm around my shoulders. “If Madd didn’t have that stupid no-phones rule, I totally would’ve recorded it for you. I’m surprised you didn’t stick around just to see how Jake fights as his wolf. Spoiler alert, it wasn’t that impressive.”

“He did make it to the final round, though,” Gus mumbles.

Hayden shoots him a glare.

“I’m just sayin’!” he breathes, lifting his hands in surrender.

“Yeah, well, I had some things I needed to catch up on back at home,” I mumble, shifting my weight uncomfortably. I can’t tell them the real reason I couldn’t be anywhere near here during the tournament. Avery knows, and I’m lucky she was looking out for me.

My wolf pushes forward again, clawing past my mental barriers– but this time, it’s in response to the sharp tug of the mate bond as Seb and Ace emerge from the squad complex, stepping out onto the practice field. I hate how my attention is immediately pulled in their direction, the world around me fading away the moment I lock eyes with each of my mates.

This biological response is a real pain in the ass when I’m trying to hold onto a grudge.

My breath hitches, heartbeat thundering as they stride purposefully in my direction. I’ve unwittingly captured their undivided attention, and between the intensity of those stares, I couldn’t look away if I tried.

“Oh great, here come your stalkers,” Hayden scoffs wryly.

I barely even hear her over the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears, the twin bonds between me and the boys pulling taut as they draw closer.

“Wasn’t sure you were coming back,” Seb drawls as he approaches, the corner of his mouth lifting in a smirk that’s far sexier than it should be. He comes to a stop in front of me, forcing me to lift my chin to maintain eye contact since he’s a freaking giant.

“Can’t get rid of me that easy, Walker,” I quip, tossing my hair back as I shift my gaze to Ace beside him. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Ace shrugs a shoulder nonchalantly, his lips curving into the ghost of a smile. It’s totally on-brand for him to downplay something as big as winning the squad recruit wolf tournament. The man’s too damn humble– probably because his best friend has enough arrogance for the both of them.

“Alright, recruits!” a deep voice calls out, and we all simultaneously turn to look toward the doors of the squad complex as Javi Cruz steps out onto the field with a crate in his hands, some random guy from the squad trailing behind him with another. Javi’s mated to my cousin Lo, but he’s not a squad leader himself and hasn’t led any of our training sessions before. I furrow my brow in confusion at the sight of him, about to ask my friends if they have any idea what’s going on. Before I have a chance to voice my question, Javi speaks again and answers it.

“The squad leaders are busy deciding which of you will get cut from training camp this afternoon, so me and my buddy Luke here are taking over this morning’s training session,” Javi announces as he comes to a stop in the center of the practice field, tipping his head toward the shaggy-haired guy tailing him. “We figured it might be fun to change things up by heading out for war games this morning.”

A ripple of excitement spreads through the crowd, all of us perking up eagerly at the mention of war games. They’re basically an intense version of capture-the-flag, and it’s definitely a welcome change in pace from the typical Friday morning cardio sessions.

Javi drops the crate onto the ground at his feet, shoving a hand into his back pocket to pull out a slip of paper. “Alright, listen up for your team assignments,” he says, clearing his throat before he starts rattling off our names and corresponding team colors, prompting us to come forward and grab mesh vests from the crates that he and Luke brought as they’re called.

I get fielded to the gold team, while Hayden, Gus, and Kendrick are all fielded to black. Ace shoots me a satisfied grin as he’s also announced for gold, but when Seb’s name is called for the opposite team, he makes no effort to conceal his discontent. I stifle a chuckle as he scowls and grumbles under his breath, kicking at the dirt like a petulant child as he stoops to grab his black vest from the crate. The guy’s obviously unaccustomed to not getting his own way.

Once everyone’s been assigned to a team and is donning their corresponding vests, we file out through the complex gate, our excitement palpable as we hike the trail out to the area in the forest designated for war games.

“Gold team, you’ll be with Luke,” Javi supplies when we come upon the fork in the trail leading to the first bunker, handing the gold flag over to Luke and waving for the other team to continue on with him. “Black team, follow me.”

Seb casts a longing look in my direction as he’s forced to move along, and I swear I see Ace wink back at him. Smug bastard. I throw up a wave to my friends as they depart with Javi, then turn to follow Luke and the rest of the gold team recruits over to our bunker to strategize for the game. Ace sticks close to my side, and I’m actually glad for it since Jake and Chandler were also fielded to gold. Yay.

We approach the small wooden platform that’s been erected in the clearing, Luke hanging our team’s flag off the top before hopping back down and swiveling to face us. “I’ve got a bet going with Javi, so we need to win this thing,” he remarks, rubbing his palms together. “Anyone have any ideas for strategy?”

Chandler shoulder-barges past me, pushing her way to the front of the group. “I want to be on offense,” she declares, lifting her chin haughtily. “I’m one of the fastest runners, so I can cross the boundary line with the flag, no problem.”

“I want to be on offense, too,” Jake puts in, moving to step up alongside her.

“Okay,” Luke drawls, drawing out the vowel as he nods his head slowly. “We’ll need people on both offense and defense, but we should probably work up an actual strategy, first.”

“Just don’t get your patches pulled, what else is there to talk about?” Jake scoffs.

“Our approach, for one,” Ace murmurs, swiping a hand over his chin. “Tactics for how we’re going to get past their defenses, our plan for our own defense to stop them from getting too close to our bunker…”

“Exactly!” Luke exclaims, grinning at Ace like he’s his star pupil. “So, any ideas? I’ve got a few thoughts, but this exercise is for you guys, so let’s hear yours first.”

Jake cuts a glare in Ace’s direction, but he doesn’t even turn his head to acknowledge it, listening intently to the other recruits as they begin throwing out suggestions. Why is his quiet confidence so damn sexy? I find myself instinctively shifting a little closer to Ace, butterflies taking flight in my belly when the backs of our hands brush.

He’s a distraction. I’m barely paying attention to the discussion, sidetracked by how good he smells every time the breeze kicks up and the low, soothing tone of his voice each time he opens his mouth to speak. The harder I try to ignore him and focus in on the task at hand, the more I find myself sliding side-eyed glances his way, my wolf practically purring with contentment just to be this close to him.

After about ten minutes of back and forth, our team finally settles on a strategy that’s somewhat sound, Luke looking a little frazzled as he drags a hand through his hair for the tenth fucking time and blows out a heavy sigh. “Alright, so we’ve got offense and defense set, but we’ll need a couple of people to guard the bunker,” he mutters exasperatedly, glancing around. “Any takers?”

“Riv and I can do it,” Ace offers, nudging me with an elbow.

I snap out of the daze I’m in, jerking my head sideways to meet his ocean eyes. “Uh, sure,” I agree, cheeks heating in a blush. I quickly turn away to hide it, tipping my head down so my hair conceals my face from his view.

“Okay let’s get to it, then,” Luke directs, clapping his hands together. “Everybody go ahead and get in position!”

The rest of the gold team recruits scatter like ants, rushing away from the bunker to get in formation for the start of the drill. One by one, they disappear into the forest, Luke trailing after my teammates to go meet Javi at the boundary line so they can blow the whistle and officially get war games underway. Meanwhile, Ace and I are left behind. Alone. Yeah, this isn’t a recipe for disaster or anything.

He turns to stride over to the bunker, muscles bunching and flexing as he climbs up onto the rickety wooden platform. It creaks beneath his weight as he pivots around, crouching to offer me an arm, and I fight another blush as I reach out to grab on, allowing him to pull me up. The guy is stronger than he looks, though, and the momentum sends me tumbling forward into his chest. I murmur an apology as I step back, way too flustered for my own good.

“How’s your hand?” I blurt, awkwardly attempting to make idle conversation.

Ace’s magnetic stare holds me captive as he arches a brow in question.

I avert my gaze before I get too lost in those blue-green eyes, glancing down to his hands. “I heard you got hurt in the wolf tournament,” I say, though he doesn’t look any worse for the wear.

“Eh, nothing I can’t handle, babygirl,” he drawls, lifting his left hand and twisting it around to demonstrate his dexterity. “See? All good.”

“Good,” I breathe, nodding. A beat of silence falls between us. “Well, we might as well get comfortable, huh?” I suggest, desperate to fill it. Sidestepping to give myself more room, I ease down to sit on the wooden platform, pulling my knees into my chest and leaning back against the shoddy beams that make up the side wall of the bunker. Once I get situated I lift my chin, peering up at Ace. “It’ll probably be a while before anyone makes it over this way.”

He gazes down at me, our bond pulling tightly in my chest as we hold eye contact. Giving me a single nod of agreement, he shuffles over, lowering down to sit beside me.

“So,” he breathes, shifting his weight to get comfortable and spreading his knees. “How was your time at home?”

“Good,” I reply with a tight smile. “I, uh, told my mom. About our whole… situation.”

His brows lift in surprise.

“I just wanted to get her advice on it, and she promised she wouldn’t tell my dad,” I rush out, feeling the need to explain myself since I was so adamant about the boys keeping our bond quiet. “She always helps me work through things, and I really needed it.”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who said we had to keep this a secret,” Ace chuckles, bumping his shoulder into mine. “Do whatever you’ve gotta do, Riv. As long as it means you’ll give this a chance.”

I suck in a deep breath, nodding. “Yeah. Well, let’s just hope Seb didn’t tell anyone when he went home, because we won’t even get to try if this gets back to my dad.”

He furrows his brow, giving a little shake of his head. “Seb didn’t go home. He stayed here to watch the tournament.”

“He didn’t?” I question, scrunching my nose in confusion. Seb never passes up on a chance to blow off his responsibilities in favor of something more fun. “Why?”

Ace shrugs a shoulder noncommittally as he turns his stare toward the trees. “You’d have to ask him.”

I heave a sigh, letting my head drop back against the wall to gaze up at the canopy of leaves overhead. Why do these boys have to be so damn confusing?

The whistle blows in the distance to signal the start of war games, and I lower my chin to look out through the gaps in the front wall of the bunker, watching the edge of the clearing for any sign of movement from the other team– despite knowing it’ll be a while before they show up. Ace joins me in monitoring the forest for any sign of approaching opponents, and the two of us fall into easy conversation about what music we’ve been listening to lately. It’s… nice . Achingly familiar and far too natural.

For the first time, I see the potential for our future together with startling clarity, and it doesn’t scare me as much as it should. But Ace is only one piece of the larger puzzle. All the pieces need to fit together perfectly if this thing has any hope of working out.

He wets his lips with his tongue again, and my eyes drop to track the movement, my breath catching in my throat. Our shoulders are pressed together, mouths suddenly hovering mere inches apart. When did we get this close?

I blush furiously, a hoard of butterflies taking flight in my stomach. Ace lifts a hand to cup my jaw, my heart hammering against my ribs as he sweeps his thumb over the apple of my cheek.

“What are you doing?” I whisper, staring into his eyes.

They flicker down to my lips, then ping back up to meet mine as he murmurs, “Something I should’ve done a long time ago.”

Ace leans in, and without hesitation I do, too, meeting him halfway. Tingles break out over my entire body when the two of us collide, our lips crushing together, mouths melding in a kiss that steals my breath and soul in one fell swoop. Ace’s hand slides down to my nape, pulling me impossibly closer as I tilt my head to deepen our kiss, parting my lips and gliding my tongue against his.

This one isn’t like our last. It’s gentler; more restrained, but no less intense. Sparks simmer between our lips, every sweep of his tongue tempting me to lose myself in his dark abyss. Heat licks up my spine, my heart racing as he nips my lower lip before slowly pulling away, his turquoise eyes opening to meet mine again.

“You already did that,” I say breathlessly.

A gorgeous grin spreads across his face. “Yeah, but not properly.”

My gaze flickers back down to his lips as I lick my own. “Dare you to do it again.”

Ace doesn’t miss a beat in taking me up on the dare. He grabs my face in both hands, pulling me in and claiming my mouth for a second time. The world around us ceases to exist while our lips glide and tongues tangle. The kiss doesn’t last nearly as long as I want it to, though. The sound of a throat clearing has the two of us jerking apart, whipping our heads around to face the front of the bunker.

Seb’s standing at the base of the structure, peering up at us through the gaps in the wall with his arms folded across his chest and a smug smirk creasing his lips. He swings his gaze between the two of us, arching a dark brow in amusement. “Am I interrupting something?”