Chapter 343: As A Team

Rebecca’s POV

​I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. For a few seconds, I had absolutely no idea where I was. Then everything came back at once. Kaden’s territory. The special unit. Training. Stephanie.

​I turned my head toward the clock beside the bed and groaned when I saw the time. 5:27 a.m. Wonderful. I had managed to get about three hours of sleep, which was apparently the perfect amount of rest before putting myself through whatever terrible training the Alpha King had planned for us.

​I pushed the blanket away and sat up, rubbing both hands over my face. My body was tired, but my mind had refused to shut down for most of the night. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought about Stephanie. I wondered where she was sleeping, if she was sleeping at all, whether she was hurt, hungry, scared, or even still alive. That last thought had kept me awake more than anything else.

​I refused to believe she was dead. Stephanie was alive. She had to be. And if joining this unit gave me even the smallest chance of bringing her home, then three hours of sleep was something I could survive.

​I climbed out of bed and quickly changed into black training pants, a fitted training shirt, and my boots. After pulling my hair into a high ponytail, I stopped in front of the mirror and stared at myself. "You can do this."

​By 5:42, I was leaving the east wing. The hallways were quiet, with only a few guards and servants already moving around. I remembered the way to the south field, which wasn’t exactly something I was happy about. Three years had passed since I had lived here, yet my feet still seemed to remember the halls.

​I passed one particular corridor and immediately looked away. No. We were not doing that this morning. I didn’t come here to walk around remembering everything that had happened three years ago. I wasn’t Ruby anymore. I wasn’t wearing a choker, and I wasn’t trapped here. If I wanted to leave, I could teleport back to Stone Pack whenever I wanted. Reminding myself of that helped.

​Still, walking through Kaden’s territory again felt strange. Some things had changed, while others looked exactly as I remembered them. A few paintings were different, parts of the building had clearly been repaired, and there seemed to be more guards than before. But I wasn’t here for any of that. I was here because of Stephanie, and that was all I needed to remember.

​When I reached the south training field, most of the candidates were already there. Some were stretching, others were talking in small groups, and a few stood completely alone. Several people looked at me the moment I arrived, and I immediately knew why. Great. Last night’s little performance had clearly made me memorable. Apparently, teleporting into the middle of the Alpha King’s speech and refusing to leave was an excellent way to make a first impression.

​"You’re the teleporter."

​I turned toward the woman who had spoken. She looked somewhere around thirty, with sharp blue eyes and dark brown hair pulled tightly behind her head. She was stretching one arm across her chest while studying me with open curiosity.

​"Apparently, that’s my new name," I replied.

​A small smile appeared on her face. "Brenda. Northern Crest Pack."

​"Rebecca. Stone Pack."

​"Oh, I know."

​Of course she did.

​Brenda lifted one hand before I could ask about her ability, and a clear wall suddenly appeared between us. I blinked and reached toward it, but my fingers met something completely solid even though I could still see her perfectly through it.

​"Force fields," she explained before lowering her hand, causing the wall to disappear.

​"That’s useful."

​"I’d certainly hope so. I left my husband and two children at home for this."

​Before I could respond, a male voice suddenly came from directly beside my ear. "Mine is better."

​I jumped and spun around, but nobody was there. "What the hell?"

​Laughter came from behind me. I turned again and found a short guy with bright green eyes standing there with a huge grin on his face.

​"Aaron," he introduced himself proudly. "Thirty seconds of complete invisibility."

​I stared at him. "You could have introduced yourself like a normal person."

​"Where’s the fun in that?"

​I shook my head, but a small smile escaped anyway. At least the people I was possibly going to war with weren’t completely boring.

​"Ignore him," Brenda said. "He’s been doing that to everyone since he arrived."

​I laughed softly before my attention moved to a quiet man leaning against one of the wooden posts nearby. He had dark hair and a serious expression, and unlike Aaron, he didn’t seem interested in introducing himself to anyone. What caught my attention, however, wasn’t the man himself. It was his shadow. The sun hadn’t fully risen yet, but there was enough light for shadows to stretch across the ground. His should have remained beneath him, but instead, it moved. I watched as the darkness slowly crawled away from his boots, traveled across the grass, and climbed the wooden post beside him.

​"Shadow manipulation?" I asked.

​The man looked at me. "Julian."

​His shadow immediately returned to his feet. I waited for him to say something else, but he didn’t. Okay, then. Apparently, we had found the complete opposite of Aaron.

​A much larger man nearby noticed me looking around and walked toward us. "Marcus," he introduced himself.

​I looked up at him, then a little farther up. Moon Goddess, the man was huge.

​"Rebecca."

​"Energy absorption," he explained. "Magic, supernatural attacks, anything carrying supernatural energy. I can take some of it into my body and release it again."

​My eyebrows rose. "How much can you absorb?"

​Marcus shrugged. "Depends on the attack."

​"And if it’s too much?"

​"I pass out."

​Well, that sounded safe.

​Before I could ask anything else, someone standing away from the rest of the group caught my attention. He was tall, with silver hair and faint glowing marks running along the side of his neck before disappearing beneath his black training shirt. I knew him.

​"Silas?"

​The half-Fae warrior turned toward me, and recognition immediately crossed his face. "Princess Rebecca."

​I frowned. "Don’t call me that."

​"Your father warned me you would say that."

​"Then he should have also warned you that I hate it."

​Silas smiled slightly as he approached us. I had seen him several times during my visits to Drake’s kingdom, although we had never spent much time together. He was one of the three half-Fae warriors Drake had told me he was sending to join the special unit.

​"I didn’t know you were one of the three he chose," I said. "Which ability is yours again?"

​Instead of answering me, Silas looked directly at Aaron. A second later, there were two Aarons standing beside me. I blinked and looked from the first one to the second. Both of them grinned.

​"Oh, absolutely not."

​Brenda laughed as one of the Aarons disappeared.

​"Illusions," Silas explained. "They don’t last very long, but they’re real enough to fool most people."

​The real Aaron looked impressed. "Can you make ten of me?"

​"Unfortunately."

​Aaron’s smile widened. "We’re going to get along very well."

​"I already regret showing you."

​I laughed and took another drink of water. For the first time since arriving in Kaden’s territory, some of the tightness in my chest eased. These people weren’t just names and strange abilities written inside a folder anymore. They were people who had left their homes and families because they wanted to help. If we survived whatever training Kaden had planned for us, these were the people I might eventually have to trust with my life.

​Before I could say anything else, the entire mood on the field changed. Conversations stopped and people straightened almost at the same time. I didn’t need to turn around to know someone important had arrived, but I turned anyway.

​Kaden walked onto the field with Logan beside him. Three senior commanders followed them, and Kane walked on Kaden’s other side. My attention immediately went to him, and for the first time that morning, I relaxed slightly. Kane. Finally, someone I actually knew.

​Our relationship hadn’t always been easy, but after everything that happened three years ago, Kane and I had become friends. He had helped me when I needed him most and had even risked his relationship with his own brother to help me escape. So when his eyes moved across the field and reached mine, I gave him a small smile.

​Kane looked directly at me and gave me absolutely nothing in return. No smile. No nod. Not even one of those tiny expressions people gave when they were pretending not to know you.

​"Candidates, form a straight line," he ordered before looking away.

​I blinked. Excuse me?

​Everyone began moving into position, and Brenda touched my arm before walking toward the others. I followed her, but my eyes remained on Kane. He still wasn’t looking at me, which was very interesting. Either Kane had somehow forgotten who I was overnight, or somebody had spoken to him before training.

​My eyes slowly moved toward Kaden.

​Of course.

​I couldn’t prove it, but I was willing to bet good money that Kaden had told Kane and Logan to treat me exactly like every other candidate. Fine. If that was how we were doing things, I could be professional, too.

​Probably.

​Kaden stopped in front of us. He wore a fitted black tactical shirt and dark training pants, his black hair pushed away from his face. He looked nothing like the man who had argued with me in the hall last night. His expression was calm, controlled, and completely focused on the people standing before him.

​His eyes moved across the line and eventually reached me. I expected some reaction, even if it was only a slight pause, but his gaze passed straight over me without stopping. Strangely, that bothered me more than I wanted it to.

​Which was ridiculous. I had spent three years wanting exactly this. Distance. No personal drama. No Kaden interfering in my life.

​Apparently, getting exactly what you wanted could still be annoying.

​"Listen carefully," Kaden began. "Today isn’t about showing off your powers. Every person standing here has already proven that they possess an unusual ability. What we need to know is whether those abilities remain useful when you’re under pressure."

​He stepped aside, and that was when I properly noticed what had been built at the far end of the training field. High stone walls, wooden towers, deep trenches, moving targets, ropes, and several small buildings covered most of the area. I could even see royal warriors positioned along different parts of the course.

​"What the hell?" Aaron whispered somewhere behind me.

​For once, Aaron and I were thinking exactly the same thing.

​"My commanders have created a fake enemy camp," Kaden continued. "Your goal is to get from this side to the other, locate the prisoners, and bring them safely to the extraction point."

​"That doesn’t look simple," Brenda whispered.

​"No," I whispered back. "It really doesn’t."

​"Our royal warriors are positioned throughout the course. They will attack you. Their weapons aren’t deadly, but they will hurt. There are traps throughout the camp. Some are obvious. Others aren’t."

​Wonderful. Nothing like the threat of physical pain before breakfast.

​Kane stepped forward. "You’ll work in teams. Every member of your team must reach the extraction point. If you abandon someone because they’re injured or slowing you down, your entire team fails."

​His gaze moved across us, and once again, he showed no reaction when he reached me. Oh, he was definitely doing this on purpose. Kaden had spoken to him. I knew it.

​"And before anyone thinks their ability gives them an easy way through this course," Kaden added, "it doesn’t. My commanders already know what each of you can do. The obstacles will change depending on the abilities of your team."

​My confidence dropped slightly. So much for teleporting straight to the finish line.

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