Page 38 of Brutal Reign (Shadowed Heirs #5)

38

“ H ey,” Seb barks out, rudely kicking the toe of his sneaker against the metal frame of our bunkbed to rouse me. “Are you getting up or what, bro? Training starts in ten minutes.”

I roll over with a groan, shifting the pillow off my face and squinting to adjust to the harsh overhead light flooding the barracks.

“You went out running last night, didn’t you?” Seb scoffs, folding his arms over his chest and arching a brow.

“Of course I did,” I grumble, my ab muscles straining as I haul myself upright, twisting to drop my feet to the floor and scrubbing my hands over my face sleepily.

“Y’know, some might call that stalking,” he remarks, a smirk curling his lips.

I shrug nonchalantly, pushing up to my feet and stretching my tired limbs. Considering how little sleep I’ve been getting lately, it probably wasn’t the best idea to sneak away from the squad complex last night to post up outside the Summervale packhouse. River opted to stay behind with her parents after the whole fiasco of telling her dad about our mate bonds, and with how intense yesterday was, I just needed to be close to her. I don’t regret the sleepless hours I spent in the woods, but I’m definitely paying for it today.

Circling around to my cubby at the end of the bunk, I grab my toothbrush and a change of clothes, dragging my ass to the locker room to get ready. When I return ten minutes later, Seb’s still hanging around waiting for me, now joined by Eli and Beau.

“Figured you might need this,” Eli comments as I approach, thrusting a paper coffee cup in my direction.

“Thanks,” I sigh as I reach out to take it, immediately bringing it up to my lips. I take a small sip to test the temperature, then down the rest of the cup in two big gulps, hoping the caffeine will help pull me out of the fog I’m currently in.

When we came back to the complex last night, Seb and I fielded a barrage of questions from Beau and Eli, culminating in us telling them about our mate bond with Riv. Now that her dad knows, there’s no need for secrecy anymore. It was about time to bring our boys up to speed.

“Here,” Seb murmurs, nudging me with his elbow and offering me his own coffee. “You clearly need this more than I do.”

I roll my eyes, but I take the cup and down it, nonetheless.

“We’d better get out there,” Beau murmurs, glancing up at the big digital clock on the wall.

I grunt in agreement, stuffing my feet into my gym shoes and tossing the paper cups into the trash on my way out of the barracks. The four of us stride onto the practice field with less than a minute to spare, our fellow recruits already scattered around the field and stretching to warm up. We’re all on time, but the squad leaders are nowhere in sight. Damnit, I probably could’ve snuck in a few more minutes of sleep.

“So are we friends with them now, too?” Eli asks dubiously, glancing toward Hayden, Gus, and Kendrick as they cross the field in our direction.

“As long as they’ve got River’s back, we’ve got theirs,” I reply with a shrug. Though from the way Seb’s lip curls in distaste when he makes eye contact with Hayden, I know merging our worlds won’t be as simple as that.

“Have you heard from River?” Hayden asks breathlessly as she approaches, pointedly ignoring Seb and addressing me instead.

“Thought you two were best friends?” Seb scoffs.

She snaps her head in his direction, cutting him a glare. “We are , but she’s picked up a bad habit lately of leaving her phone behind after a crisis,” Hayden quips, lifting her chin haughtily and giving him a slow once-over. “Among other bad habits.”

“She stayed the night with her parents,” I cut in before the two of them can continue sniping at each other. “She’ll be back for the afternoon session today.”

“Is she okay?” Gus questions, his eyes rounded in concern.

Shit, with all that’s happened since, I almost forgot about that ugly scene with Chandler in the lounge yesterday. No wonder River’s friends are worried about her.

“Yeah, she’s good,” I reply with a firm nod. “Just wanted to get away and clear her head.”

“Well, I’m glad she’s alright, but she really needs to get back here,” Hayden huffs, folding her arms. “Chandler has been a total drama queen about that fight even though she’s the one who started it. Since River swung first, she’s blaming the whole thing on her and has been campaigning to get her thrown out of training camp.”

“Good luck,” Seb snorts, rolling his eyes. “Riv’s cousins run squad leadership. The chances of them throwing her out are about as good as Chandler’s chances of bagging an Alpha.”

“She’s all over Jake’s dick now,” Gus scoffs, casting a glance across the field at the pair of them stretching together. “They’ve been plotting to bring River down. I heard they were going to approach the squad leaders this morning about that fight in the lounge, and if River’s not here to defend herself…”

Seb’s eyes darken as he follows Gus’ gaze across the field, and from the look in them, I know he’s about to go the fuck off. It’s usually my job to cool him down, but I’m just as furious as he is right now. It’s the blind leading the fucking blind.

He cups his hands around his mouth, calling out loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Listen up, dickbags!”

Eloquent, as always.

“Ace and I were just informed that some of you have been talking shit about River, and that ends right the fuck now,” he snarls, glancing around the field. “She’s our mate. If you’ve got a problem with her, then you’ve got a problem with us. And you don’t want to have a problem with us.”

I stand tall beside my best friend, sweeping a threatening glare over the shocked recruits staring back at us. Chandler’s eyes bug out in response to Seb’s announcement, her mouth popping open.

“What?” she gasps, her lips twisting in an angry scowl. “She can’t be mated to both of you!”

“Fate bonded her to both of us, so yeah, she can,” I deadpan.

“But you’re an Alpha,” Jake scoffs disbelievingly, blinking at Seb. “Alphas don’t share.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know, would you, Decker?” Seb snarls back. “Because you’re not a fucking Alpha, and you never will be. Better start looking for another pack to join, because you’re gonna get your ass handed to you by our girl during that challenge.”

Jake blanches, brows pinching together as he starts shaking his head. “She can’t be Alpha to our pack if she’s Luna to yours,” he stammers.

“She can be whatever the hell she wants to be,” I growl. “Pack rank has no bearing on fate.”

“But she can’t have two fated mates, that’s not how things work!” Chandler shouts, balling her fists and stomping her foot like a petulant child.

“Wanna fuckin’ bet?” Seb growls, glaring daggers at her. “Who the hell are you to question fate?”

The double doors to the squad complex bang open, drawing our attention as Madd and Avery Kessler take the field.

“Why aren’t you recruits warming up?” Madd questions, glowering at us as he strides out. “Stop standing around and get on the track, I want ten laps out of each of you before we begin.”

He waves an arm in command, and everyone around us immediately scrambles to jog for the track, Seb and I exchanging a glance before falling in with our cohorts.

We run side by side for the first lap, then Seb breaks ahead to show up the other recruits by taking the lead. Rather than joining him, I fall back a bit, until I’m jogging right beside Jake Decker.

“I know what you did that night you helped River bring Hayden home from the bar,” I murmur lowly, shooting him a side-eyed glance.

His steps falter and his face pales, confirming my suspicions about what went down that night. He’s lucky I have excellent self-control, or I’d lay him out right here and now.

River will get her pound of flesh from him soon enough, and I can’t wait to watch her take this sleazy asshole down. I wish I could do it on her behalf, but this is her challenge to fight, not mine. I don’t have to like it, but I have to respect the order of things.

“The next time you lay a hand on her outside of a sanctioned matchup, it’ll be your last,” I growl, leaving him to stew over that threat as I pump my legs faster and jog ahead, satisfied when I glance back and see the petrified look on his face.

Good . He should be afraid. I may be known as the level-headed one, but I won’t hesitate to protect what’s mine .

As if I wasn’t already feeling like a zombie when I went into this morning’s training session, the Kessler twins pushed us to our limits with a grueling cardio circuit, followed by partner sparring. By the time they released us to go to lunch, food was the furthest thing from my mind.

While the other recruits skipped off to the dining hall, I returned to the barracks and climbed right back into bed for a power nap. I figured I’d be woken up when everyone came back here after lunch, but instead, I’m pleasantly surprised when the tug of the mate bond pulls me from my slumber.

She’s back.

Blinking my eyes open, I push against the mattress to sit up, leaning forward to peer toward the entrance of the barracks. River strolls in looking like a goddamn vision, her eyes meeting mine instantly.

“Hey,” I rasp, my voice still gravelly from sleep.

She beams a smile at me that lights up her whole face. “Hey yourself,” she replies as she struts down the aisle in my direction. “What are you doing in here all alone?”

“Waiting for you,” I drawl smoothly.

She arches a dubious brow, and I shake my head with a low chuckle.

“Catching a quick nap,” I admit, shifting over to make room for her and patting the spot beside me. “How was home?”

“Good,” she sighs, her signature scent flooding my senses and delivering a hit of dopamine as she drops down onto the mattress, her thigh brushing mine. “Slept like a baby. My wolf was really relaxed, almost as if one of her mates was nearby…” she trails off, narrowing her hazel eyes in suspicion.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I mumble, smirking.

She rolls her eyes, knocking her shoulder into mine with a soft laugh. “You need sleep too, ya know.”

“Not as much as you. How are you feeling about everything that went down yesterday?”

“Good, I guess,” she breathes, crossing one long leg over the other as she reclines back on her elbows. “My dad seems to be coming around. Well, kinda. He at least agreed to back off and let me make my own decisions about how to move forward, so I’m taking that as a win.”

I turn at the waist to glance down at her. “He hates us,” I deadpan.

She hisses in a breath through her teeth, wincing. “He’s… not a huge fan of Seb.”

“Probably didn’t help that he basically told your dad we’ve been fucking you,” I snort.

River throws her head back on a groan. “That damn mouth of his…”

“I’m sure he’ll make it up to you by putting it to good use,” I smirk, licking my lips as my gaze drops to rake over her fit body, mind wandering to filthy places.

She rolls her eyes, reaching out to whack me on the arm. “He’s just lucky my dad didn’t kick his ass. Things could’ve gone a lot worse for all of us last night.”

“We’ll win your old man over eventually,” I sigh, dropping back on my elbows beside her.

“Seeing how my wolf reacted to you guys went a long way with him,” she muses, the corner of her mouth lifting as she turns her head to meet my eyes. “And my mom thinks you might be onto something with the whole marking thing.”

My pulse picks up speed, my inner wolf surging forward eagerly at her suggestion. “I’m ready whenever you are, babygirl. Just say the word.”

“Soon,” she replies with a coy smile, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “So, are you gonna tell me what I missed at training this morning?”

I fight back a wince, but evidently not well enough because her expression falls.

“What?” she frowns.

“Jake and Chandler were plotting to get you thrown out of camp, so we handled it,” I say coolly.

River narrows her eyes on me. “How?”

“By telling everyone you’re our mate.”

She draws a short gasp, eyes widening.

“Is that a problem?” I ask carefully, searching her eyes for any flicker of indecision. “I mean, now that your dad knows, we figured it wasn’t a secret anymore…”

“No, you’re right,” she breathes, her brows furrowing and a little crease forming between them as she glances away. “I just… it’s weird to have it all out in the open, y’know?”

“Nah, because now I can do this whenever I want,” I growl as I roll onto my side, cupping her cheek and leaning down to capture her lips. She melts beneath me as I kiss her hard, nipping her lower lip before pulling back to gaze into her eyes again.

“Hey, that reminds me,” I murmur, reaching behind me to grab my phone and earbuds out from underneath my pillow. Handing her the earbuds, I unlock my phone, queuing up the last song I listened to as she slips them into her ears without question. This is kinda our thing, so there’s no explanation necessary.

I hit play on ‘ Carry You Home’ by Alex Warren, watching her face intently as the music starts to play. I’m not sure if she’s heard it before, but when I listened to this song earlier, I knew it was perfect for her. For us .

The corners of her mouth lift as her lips spread into a smile, her wide hazel eyes colliding with mine.

Yeah, she gets it.

She reaches a hand out to grab a fistful of my t-shirt, pulling me back in for another kiss. I smile against her lips, stealing a headphone from her ear and slipping it into my own so we can listen together.

I’ve always loved music, but I swear it sounds ten times better with her.