Chapter 347: Team Up

Rebecca’s POV

After breakfast, I grabbed my empty tray and turned to leave the dining hall with Aaron and the others, eager to escape the tension in the room. Between the constant whispers about Rola and Kaden, Melvin occasionally looking in my direction, and my own brain refusing to mind its business, breakfast had somehow become almost as exhausting as the morning training.

"Rebecca."

I froze, squeezing my eyes shut for a second before turning around. Melvin was walking toward me with a smooth, effortless stride, a confident smile playing on his lips. I stood my ground, already annoyed because I knew with absolute certainty where this conversation was headed.

"It’s been a while," Melvin said, stopping a few feet in front of me.

"It’s been a few months, Melvin," I reminded him, keeping my voice flat. "Specifically, since the last time you tried to convince me to have dinner with you."

Melvin let out a light laugh, raising his hands in defense. "You make it sound like I’ve been harassing you."

"Sending flowers, gifts, letters, and formal invitations to my father’s estate after I’ve told you no several times is dangerously close," I shot back.

He chuckled, his sea-blue eyes sparkling. "I’ve missed that attitude of yours."

I rolled my eyes, but Melvin’s smile softened, and the playful spark in his eyes gave way to sudden seriousness. "In all honesty, Rebecca, I heard what happened at Plant Pack. I know your friend Stephanie is among those captured by the tiger shifters."

I blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt shift in his tone. For a moment, I forgot about all the flowers, unwanted invitations, and ridiculous gifts he’d sent me over the past year.

"I’m truly sorry," Melvin continued, his voice quieter now. "We’re going to do everything in our power during this joint operation to bring her and the rest of the prisoners home safely."

The sharp edge in my posture softened slightly. "Thank you, Melvin. I appreciate that."

"I mean it. My people have been studying everything we know about Dark Fire since the attacks began. Dragon fire isn’t the same thing, but there are similarities in the way supernatural fire reacts to other forms of energy. That’s one of the reasons I’m here."

That immediately caught my attention. "Do you think dragons can destroy it?"

"I think anyone who tells you they know exactly how to destroy it right now is lying," he answered honestly. "But dragons understand supernatural fire better than most species. If there’s a weakness we can use, we’ll find it."

It wasn’t exactly the answer I wanted, but it was better than false hope. I nodded slowly. "Then I hope you’re right."

Melvin watched me for another moment before his lips twitched back into that familiar, charming smile. "So, have you finally reconsidered having dinner with me?"

And there he was.

"No," I answered instantly.

"Did you even take a second to think about it?"

"I didn’t need to."

Melvin laughed out loud, shaking his head. "One day, Rebecca. One day you’re going to say yes."

"You’ve been saying that for a whole year," I reminded him, folding my arms over my chest. "You keep getting disappointed."

I scoffed and made a move to step past him, but Melvin took a half-step into my path, his expression shifting into something deeper and more deliberate. "Actually, I’ve been thinking about making my intentions toward you much more formal."

My brows pulled together in a tight frown. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Before he could answer, a loud voice cut through the dining hall from across the room.

"King Melvin."

We both turned. Kaden was standing near the exit, flanked by two pack commanders who were waiting for him. His eyes were locked in our direction, but his expression gave absolutely nothing away.

"The commanders are waiting for you in the war room to review the dragon territory maps," Kaden said, his tone entirely professional.

"Right," Melvin acknowledged before turning back to me, his smile returning. "We’ll finish this conversation later, Rebecca."

"I was hoping we wouldn’t."

"You’ll survive."

I narrowed my eyes at him for stealing my line, but he was already walking away. My gaze inevitably drifted toward Kaden, who was still looking in my direction. For a brief second, our eyes met, but his face was blank. I couldn’t tell if he had overheard a single word of our conversation or if he even cared.

It doesn’t matter, I told myself firmly as I pulled my eyes away. I don’t care whether he heard or not.

At exactly twelve o’clock, all forty-two candidates assembled back on the south field. The sun was high overhead, warming the dirt beneath our boots, while a cool afternoon wind kept the temperature comfortable. My body still hurt from the morning exercise, but after a shower, breakfast, and some rest, I felt considerably better. Kaden stood at the front of the training grounds with Kane, Logan, Melvin, and several commanders, while Rola stood among the candidates this time, looking nothing like a future queen in her black training clothes and ponytail.

"The afternoon session will focus entirely on combining abilities," Kaden announced, his deep voice carrying effortlessly across the field. "Breaking through the Dark Fire barrier at Plant Pack will require multiple gifted fighters working together. Having a powerful ability means nothing if your energy interferes with or weakens your teammate’s ability."

He began reading names from his clipboard, pairing people up for different tactical tests. I stood beside Aaron, watching as Brenda was paired with Julian and Marcus with Silas.

"Rebecca and Rola," Kaden called calmly.

I froze and slowly turned my head toward Rola, who was standing a few feet away. She offered me a bright, cheerful smile.

Of course. Because sharing a bedroom apparently wasn’t enough.

We both stepped forward to the center of the field. Kaden walked over with one of the commanders, his expression unreadable as he looked between us.

"Rola will test her power suppression directly against Rebecca," Kaden instructed. "Given that Rebecca possesses multiple supernatural traits, we need to establish how suppression affects a hybrid system."

Rola turned toward me, lifting her hand. "Are you ready, Rebecca?"

"Ready."

She reached out and gently took my hand. The reaction was instantaneous. It wasn’t painful, but it was strange enough to make my entire body tense. A sudden coldness spread beneath my skin, and within seconds, the familiar warmth of my Fae magic completely vanished.

I tried to teleport two feet to the left.

Nothing.

My boots remained firmly planted in the dirt.

"What the hell?"

In three years of intense training under Drake, no one had ever managed to completely shut down my spatial magic like this. I reached for the invisible force I had learned to control over the years, but that was gone too.

Laura? I called internally, my heart beating faster. Laura, are you there?

I’m here, Becca.

Relief washed through me. Can you still shift?

Yes. She didn’t touch me.

I tightened my hand into a fist and noticed that my physical shifter strength was still there too. "My wolf is still there, and my normal werewolf strength hasn’t changed."

Rola released my hand and nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense. Your wolf isn’t an ability. She’s part of you. Apparently, I can suppress the special abilities connected to your Fae blood, but not your basic werewolf nature."

"How long?" Kaden asked.

"Usually around five minutes after direct contact."

I tried teleporting again.

Still nothing.

"Hey, Rebecca!" Aaron yelled from the sidelines. "Look at that. You finally have to walk on two feet like the rest of us normal people."

I turned and glared at him. "I can still walk over there and punch you into next week, Aaron."

He immediately raised his hands. "I was simply making an observation."

Laughter went through the candidates, and even Rola laughed beside me. Exactly five minutes later, the familiar warmth of my Fae magic returned. I immediately teleported five feet to my left.

"Suppression cleared," I reported.

"Good." Kaden made a note on his clipboard. "Now we test the perimeter field. Rola, project your suppression field around yourself."

Rola moved toward the center of the marked area and closed her eyes. A faint wave of energy spread outward from her body, and my Fae power reacted immediately, almost as though it wanted nothing to do with the space surrounding her.

Honestly, I couldn’t blame it.

"Rebecca," Kaden said. "Attempt to teleport directly inside her field."

I squared my shoulders and focused on the patch of grass beside Rola. It was only a few feet away. Easy.

I pulled at the space around me and teleported, but the moment my magic touched Rola’s field, everything went wrong. My connection to the destination vanished halfway through, leaving me with the horrible feeling of being caught between two places. Before I could regain control, something violently threw me backward, and my back slammed into the dirt hard enough to knock the breath out of me.

"Halt! Stop the drill!" Kaden’s command roared across the field.

"Rebecca!" Rola rushed toward me as her suppression field disappeared.

I rolled onto my side, pain shooting through my shoulder and ribs. "I’m fine."

Before I could properly sit up, Kaden was already crossing the field toward me. "Medic."

"I said I’m fine," I protested, forcing myself upright. "It just knocked the wind out of me."

The healer rushed over anyway and crouched beside me, but I immediately shook my head. "I don’t need a healer."

Kaden stopped beside us, his green eyes fixed on me. "You agreed to follow commands without argument if you wanted to remain in this unit, Candidate Rebecca. Sit still and let the healer inspect you."

I stared up at him, already knowing I had lost the argument.

Damn him.

He knew exactly which promise to use against me.

I clamped my mouth shut and allowed the healer to examine my shoulder, ribs, and back.

"No internal damage or broken bones, Alpha King," the healer finally said. "Just minor bruising."

The healer stepped away, and I pushed myself to my feet, brushing dirt from my clothes. Kaden turned toward the gathered candidates.

"Pay attention to what just happened. This is why we’re testing your abilities here before relying on them in enemy territory. If Rola’s suppression field can disrupt Rebecca’s teleportation before she reaches her destination, then Dark Fire may be capable of doing something similar. Until we understand exactly how Dark Fire reacts to spatial abilities, Rebecca will not attempt to teleport directly through one of those barriers. We don’t know whether it would simply throw her backward or do something much worse."

My stomach tightened. That hit harder than falling onto the ground. Teleporting straight into Plant Pack had been one of the biggest reasons I believed I could help Stephanie. Somewhere in my mind, I had imagined getting close enough to the barrier, teleporting inside, finding her, and somehow getting her out.

Suddenly, that plan didn’t seem nearly as simple.

"I need to try again."

Kaden looked at me. "No."

"I wasn’t prepared for the resistance. Now that I know what it feels like, I can push harder."

"We learned exactly what we needed to learn."

"No, we learned what happens when I don’t fight it. We don’t know what happens if I push through."

"And I’m not going to let you repeatedly throw yourself into a suppression field until something worse happens."

"This isn’t about my damn ego!" My frustration finally broke through. "Stephanie is trapped behind a wall of Dark Fire. I don’t know if she’s hurt, hungry, scared, or what those people are doing to her. Every day she’s still there is another day something could happen to her. I can’t just stand here and accept that the one ability that might get me to her is useless."

The field went completely silent. Kaden’s expression remained firm, but before he could answer, Rola stepped closer.

"Then we don’t send you through the barrier while it’s at full strength."

I turned toward her, breathing hard. "What?"

"You’re here to rescue your friend, right?"

"Yes."

"Then that’s the goal. Teleporting through the barrier isn’t the goal."

My anger slowly began to fade.

"My field stopped your teleportation because I was actively suppressing the place you were trying to enter," Rola continued. "If gifted tiger shifters are maintaining the Dark Fire, maybe we don’t fight the barrier itself. Maybe we weaken the people maintaining it first. If I can get close enough to suppress one of them or weaken their connection to the Dark Fire, there might be a temporary opening. Even if it only lasts a few seconds, that could be enough time for you to teleport through safely."

Kaden looked between us, considering it. "It’s a viable strategy. We don’t test it against actual Dark Fire until we understand more about how the barrier works, but it’s worth exploring."

I looked back at Rola.

She gave me a small smile. "See? You’re not useless yet."

I blinked. "Yet?"

Her smile widened, and a laugh escaped me before I could stop it.

Oh, this was bad.

This woman was becoming a serious problem. Not because she was beautiful, and not because she was rumored to be dating Kaden, but because I was actually starting to like her.

Could she please do something annoying?

Anything?