Alpha Squad: Boot Camp

Chapter Three

Chapter ThreeEric and Adam pulled into the base early in the afternoon. It had taken longer than predicted, mainly because the directions hadn't been as straightforward as Eric had assumed before setting off; Google Maps clearly didn't know everything.

The other, perhaps even more significant reason was lunch. Eric's encounter with the mystery woman at the motorway services had been a huge distraction. What was it about her that had affected him so?

After their break, he'd made Adam drive and spent the entire rest of the way reliving his short encounter with her. She was so different from any of the women he'd been with before. The way she carried herself: proud and confident, right until the moment they spoke. Her polished and very proper exterior hid a vulnerable, gentler side which she seemed uncomfortable with. She was not the sort of woman who liked to show weakness.

"That must be it." Adam pointed at the square concrete building at the end of the scruffy looking asphalt track they'd followed for the last couple of miles. Adam parked between an old army green Land Rover, which looked like it had been here forever, and a couple of more modern sedans. Adam was right, this had to be the place. And at least they weren't the first ones here.

They both got out and looked around. Although Adam and Eric were city shifters, their instincts still guided a lot of what they did; surveilling their surroundings before entering a new place was simply routine for them.

Although the larger training area they found themselves on was a proper training establishment which was buzzing with activity, this particular part, with its run-down hangar, overgrown barracks, and discarded old equipment and vehicles, seemed to be mostly disused.

The perfect home for a task force that from its inception was never meant to be relevant in any way. Eric sighed.

"This place looks mental," Adam remarked.

Eric shrugged. "I can't say I'm surprised."

"Do you see that?" Adam pointed at an old tank, which had seemingly been abandoned in the middle of a field. "Do you think they'll let us drive tanks?"

Eric frowned. Looking at the amount of weeds beside the tank, nature was doing its best to reclaim it for itself. And despite all he saw here, Adam still seemed excited. He shook his head. There was nothing he could say to his little brother to convince him of anything. He had to work the reality of their situation out for himself.

"Certainly not that one," Eric said.

"I wonder who else is inside." Before Eric could stop him, Adam started marching toward the front door and stepped inside.

He only barely caught up with him indoors.

"Hello?" Adam called out.

They both followed a couple of male voices coming from further inside the building, when they were intercepted by a petite female in uniform. "Mr. King, and, uh, Mr. King, I presume?" she said, checking a list on her clipboard.

"Eric King, yes, this is my brother, Adam," Eric said.

Adam nodded in agreement and stretched out his hand at the woman.

"Private Callahan. Um, if you'll follow me inside, we can get you settled in." The woman stared at Adam's hand for a second, didn't reciprocate the gesture, and abruptly turned around and took the lead down the hall. Adam shrugged and followed her with Eric closely on his heels.

The building was well beyond its prime. A fresh coat of paint, no doubt applied in preparation for Alpha Squad's training here, did not disguise the musty scent of the old walls below. The smell of abandonment clung to the building too staunchly to be scared off by a spot of home improvement.

As they got further inside, the voices they'd heard grew louder.

Private Callahan stopped in front of a door, then turned around and stepped aside. "Your quarters. I'll be in the office by the entrance if you need me."

Before they had the chance to say anything, she had already walked off again. Clearly it was a busy day today, with all the new recruits arriving one after the other.

Eric shrugged and turned the handle. Immediately, the chatter inside stopped. The door opened with a loud creak. Again, the fresh paint did not fool him. This place was old and had until recently been completely unloved.

He stepped inside and was greeted by three pairs of eyes. Two men had occupied a bunk bed to the left of the room, whereas the third sat by himself at the far end.

Human, human, wolf. Eric's nose told him as much.

"Hi there, I'm Eric King, this is my brother, Adam," he introduced himself, approaching the nearest human to his left with an outstretched hand.

The man, who looked to be in his forties, eyed him suspiciously. His controlled body language and trim physique suggested he had some kind of military or police training.

Despite waiting for a couple of seconds too long, a handshake was not forthcoming, so Eric withdrew his hand. Then he glanced up at the younger human male who lounged on the top bunk.

"Ben Cooper, Border Force. The grumpy sod in the bottom bunk is Craig Bentley, Special Forces."

"That's Captain Bentley, to you, Cooper," the other man barked.

Ben Cooper made a gesture, brushing his remark aside. "If you say so, mate. We're all stuck in the same rotten boat together now, though, aren't we?"

Eric nodded, slowly. "In the same boat, indeed," he mumbled as he crossed the dormitory, approaching the only other shifter in the room.

"And you are?" Eric asked.

"Thomas Blackwood." The wolf's eyes darted from the humans back to Eric. "Wolf, from the Rannoch clan."

They shook hands. "Brown bear. New Alliance, London branch," Eric said.

The older of the two humans—Bentley—let out a snort, but didn't speak. Eric shot him a disapproving glance.

"I'm Adam." Eric's brother joined his side in front of the wolf's bunk bed. "Do you know if anyone else is joining us?"

Thomas shrugged. "The team leader isn't even here yet. A Major Williams, from the British Army, or so I've been told."

Eric nodded. "Very well. I suppose we can take that bunk over there, then." He lifted his luggage and set it down on the bottom bed. Adam did the same with the top bunk.

As Eric sat, and finally lowered himself onto the firm mattress, which squeaked under his significant weight almost as much as the door hinges had done, he felt very far away from his regular life. He'd joined only on Henry's urging, and ten minutes into the wretched affair, it already seemed to be a disaster. They were supposed to be a team? The divide between the human and shifter elements were deep; how would they overcome that kind of ingrained suspicion and prejudice?

Eric didn't know much about the armed forces, or even law enforcement, but he did know that in a role like this you had to depend on the person next to you, sometimes trusting them with your life. That was how the old as well as New Alliance had functioned too. He absolutely did not trust the humans, especially Bentley, who hadn't even bothered to greet him and Adam when they came in.

Adam climbed up onto the top bed, making the metal frame groan even louder in protest. This contraption better hold.

Eric took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He should have just stayed behind at that service station, perhaps tried to strike up more of a conversation with the mysterious woman who had caught his eye there. Or ideally, he should have risked Henry's disapproval and refused to join the task force. Anything was better than this.

Back to the mystery woman. And what a woman she was. A regal beauty, with a voice that had set his heart alight. His inner bear had tried its best to claw to the surface; he'd hardly been able to control the urge to shift right there in front of her.

How would she have reacted if she'd seen his true form? Things had changed since the New Alliance's little stunt, coming out to the entire world media, but they hadn't changed that much for everyone. Humans were still apprehensive, and why wouldn't they be? Most of their kind were pretty damn scary looking.

Would she have screamed and run away? Or would she have been intrigued?

He would never find out of course, because he'd let that opportunity pass him by when Adam had dragged him back to the restaurant for lunch.

Where was she now? And was she thinking about their little encounter as much as he was?

So many questions he'd never get the answer to…

Instead, he was stuck here in this decrepit old building with a bunch of people, none of whom seemed to want to be here. Except Blackwood the wolf, maybe. He had seemed like the most cheerful person here after Adam.

The sound of the door disturbed his gloomy thoughts, but he tried to ignore the intrusion.

"Attention!" Private Callahan's voice filled the dorm.

Eric opened his eyes and sat up straight on his bed. The top of his head almost touched the springs underneath Adam's mattress above.

The private stepped aside and another woman marched into the room.

Was he still daydreaming? He could not believe who had entered—the woman he'd just been fantasizing about.

"Major Williams would like to say a few words," Private Callahan said.

Major Williams. Eric was speechless. He had expected a grey-haired man, gruff like the SAS guy across the room, but perhaps more polished. Their commander was a woman. His woman.

Major Williams scanned the room, slowly, pausing on each of the other trainees for a moment, then moving on to the next. Until she spotted Eric. She looked away instantly. Of course, she'd recognized him as well, and she did not look pleased to find him here.

"I am Major Janine Williams, your team leader. Welcome and thank you for joining Alpha Squad. Starting tomorrow, I will conduct your training, evaluate you, and report on the progress of this task force with the relevant higher authorities. The first phase of training starts in the morning and will last two weeks, at the end of which you will all be graded on various aspects of your performance. Anyone who is deemed unfit to continue will be asked to leave at that point, before phase two begins. Any questions?"

Questions? Eric had so many of those. He did not speak, though.

"What do you mean, unfit? I was told I was being transferred here permanently," Ben, the younger of the two humans complained.

"You shall address me as Major Williams or Ma'am, first of all. Secondly, this task force is not a joke. Only those who are worthy will make the cut." The major glared at him from across the room. Eric couldn't help but be impressed by her show of authority.

Cooper folded his arms and pressed his lips together.

"Do you understand? What's your name?"

"Ben Cooper, Ma'am. Yes, I understand."

Eric had trouble suppressing a smile. She wasn't going to take any crap from anyone, that much was obvious. It would only be a matter of time before Adam and the major would clash similarly. Amusingly, he found himself rooting not for his brother, but for the woman. Training under her command could get interesting.

She glanced at him for a split second, during which he did his best to hide his reaction. He would play along, fall in line, and do his best to fit into the squad. He owed it to Henry, but that was not the only reason. Fate had handed him a second chance after he recklessly failed to get her details earlier today. No matter what, Eric was not going to waste the opportunity. He'd prove his worth to her one way or another before training was over.

"All right then, at ease, everyone," the major said, "You have a big day ahead of you and I suggest you take rest."

Eric nodded, mostly to himself, and lay back on his cot again. Perhaps this whole Alpha Squad nonsense had a couple of silver linings after all.