“All right, settle down,” Captain Hale said in annoyance. “There was a meeting going on, and I decided to drop by. I wasn’t planning on taking in anyone, but Steele here has an interesting resume, so here we are.”

“Wait a minute. Did Stoll die or something and no one told us?” a black guy with a foreign accent said.

“No. Stoll was impressed enough to give Steele this opportunity.”

My stomach twisted unpleasantly at that name… But I held my composure… Or tried to…

There was another pause of silence. I held my posture as they all stared at me. It was clear none of them were too enthusiastic about the idea of having me on their team.

“So… How is this going to work, then?” the mountain of a man asked. “He has heats, right?”

I tried to memorize their faces as Captain Hale told them what he knew about me. So far, I didn’t detect too much hostility from these men, and even if they didn’t want me on their team, none of them brought it to their captain’s attention. At least right in front of me.

“So… Whose partner is he going to be?” the same older man asked.

“Well, we have one without,” the captain said ominously.

“Oh, shit,” one of them whispered in amusement.

“Where is Reid, anyway?” the captain continued.

Reid, huh… So he wasn’t going to be happy to have me as his partner. Or having a partner in general. The way these people reacted to the news clearly confirmed their captain’s earlier suspicions about it.

“So, uh, welcome aboard,” one of the younger guys said to me, still confused, but apparently ready to roll with his leader’s decision. “Thank fucking God, I’m no longer the rookie of the group.”

“This is Nico Angelos,” the captain said. “My partner.”

Which explained the younger guy’s accepting attitude toward me.

“Riley Steele,” I said, and shook hands with him, noticing his very scarred lips. Marks of torture.

There were quite a lot of scars on these people… Not that I feared getting hurt, but it sure told me a little about the hell I was stepping into. Though it didn’t seem like the kind of hell I’d actually feared it would be. 

Then I was bombarded with names I wasn’t going to remember all at once.

“Well, welcome aboard, kid,” the mountain man said, offering me his hand as well. “Chandler Ramsey.”

“Keita Amadou. The medic. And yeah, welcome aboard,” the black guy with an accent said, smiling. 

“Damarios Calderon, the second in command here. But you can call me Daz,” the older Hispanic guy said, then gestured at the remaining two. “These are my partners, Ash Williams and Rio Zamora.”

I was surprised each of these men gave me their names and shook hands with me. Some were still not sure what to think of me, and it could possibly cause problems down the line, but so far… so good? I glanced at the captain. I suppose a man like him, a fucking war hero and someone who didn’t mind giving an omega a chance, wouldn’t take people like Stoll on his team.

Even my omega hadn’t shut down completely, and was giving these alphas timid, but curious glances. 

But… Was I actually getting a real chance? Or was this too good to be true?

My bet was on the latter. This was going too well. I couldn’t shake off Commander Stoll’s words, and… I hated to admit it, but that man had already gotten deep under my skin. He’d paid my doctor so he could watch me getting my opening sewn shut after meeting me only twice before. How far would a man like that go to humiliate me?

I couldn’t trust anything that involved Stoll. For all I knew, he could’ve paid these men to act friendly and gang rape me after sunset.

“You’re free to go, boys,” the captain said. “See you at dinner.”

“Yes, sir.”

Giving me their last glances, all of them returned into their rooms, leaving me alone with the captain. He stayed silent until the doors closed down the hallway, then turned to me.

“About Reid…” he began, but paused to let out a sigh. “Like I said, it may not go well with him, but I’m not forcing you two to be partners. That never ends well. So, in case Reid refuses, I’ll figure out what to do next. I’m sure one of the duos is glad to take you in.”

I nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He sighed again and turned to stare down the hallway. “Reid is a good man, but he’s lost too many partners. I do respect his wish to work alone, but… Maybe it’s time to give it a shot.”

I wasn’t worried exactly. Not because of a guy who wanted to work alone, at least. I was still busy fearing this was just Stoll’s elaborate scheme to humiliate me and break my will for good.

“Come. Let’s put your bags away, and I can show you around while we wait for Mr. Lone Wolf,” Captain Hale said, and made his way down the hallway.

I followed him past the suspiciously silent rooms. I knew they were talking, whispering, wondering what had gotten into their captain, and how much trouble I was going to cause. And I understood them. I did. The way my body worked was not only unfair to me, but to them as well. Alphas easily lost control over themselves just because my omega was calling for them. They had all the right to be concerned. It was their lives on the line.

“Here it is,” the captain said, stopping behind the last door on the left.

I’d counted five doors on the left side, facing the big windows on the right, and sixth at the very end of the hallway. Showers, said the sign on it.

Captain Hale opened the door and stepped in, but I stayed still. All these alpha scents, their unbelievably strong pheromones… My omega studied this new scent. It could tell this one, Reid, was maybe even stronger than the rest of them. My omega had never been interested in any of them, but these men… It really was getting curious. It was taking careful steps out of the darkness.  

“Riley?”

“Sorry…” I mumbled, and stepped in, trying to ignore the scent of this big, strong alpha that lived in the room… I could already tell a little something about Reid. Dangerous. Angry and dangerous and so fucking strong…

“Fuck… Uh… I need a moment,” I told the captain and stepped back out.

But it didn’t help much because now I was surrounded by the pheromones of the rest of them. My omega was so distracted it was distracting me…

I never considered this… This had never happened to me before. I didn’t… I wasn’t ready for this. Why was my omega reacting to them? Because they were elite? The strongest in the whole army? 

…Or because it could tell these men were all right?  

Please… I hoped these men were all right… Decent… Friendly… I couldn’t keep letting bad things happen to me any longer. What Stoll did to me… He’d crossed my limits… I couldn’t let that happen anymore. I couldn’t let that happen again…

“You all right?”

I glanced at Captain Hale. I did my best to pull myself back together, but I felt so broken… I’d tried to act like I was fine, but now… With this hope rising in me… It was worse than living in fear.

“I… I’m sorry, sir. I never realized this could be a problem,” I said quietly.

“The scents?”

I nodded. “Everyone kept going on about my heats, about how I would affect you, but…”

“No one ever thought how we would affect you,” the captain guessed, his voice kind and soft.

And it fucking hurt…

“I… I will get used to it. I know… I mean, I should…”

I suddenly felt breathless. My goal was right here. After everything I’d done and let happen… After all that hard work, after all the ridicule, humiliation and every single person who had stood in my way…

But if I’d only end up being used for sex and raped by terrorists like Stoll told me… How could I find the strength to carry on?

I felt a strong, warm hand touching my shoulder. I looked up at the captain, who gave me a soothing smile.

“You’re all right,” he said, then turned to look down the hallway. “Attention!” he spoke loudly, and the alphas returned to the hallway. “Open your goddamn windows. It smells like crusty balls in here.”

“Yes, sir.”

I turned my attention back to the captain. He gave me a little nod before entering Reid’s room. As I watched, he opened the big window wide open, and the fresh air immediately cleared my head.

“I fix problems,” the captain reminded me.

I stared at him, the warmth of his friendly touch still lingering on my shoulder. And I felt better. 

I just had to hold on and keep going. Especially if my omega was right and these people were good people. It could usually sense the really bad ones right away, and it wouldn’t take long for it to see through lies if they had any. 

On top of that, my omega usually hated alpha scents, but this time… It found these scents quite pleasant. So… But that hope almost crushed me… I almost hated it, having hope… I knew I wouldn’t survive having that hope crushed…

I took a deep breath, trying to keep my head empty. I just… I had to keep going.

“Thank you, sir,” I muttered, and stepped into the room.

The room was surprisingly big. And clean. Still no carpets or curtains, but there were two beds in the opposite walls with desks next to them, a large couch under the windows with a TV stand in front of it, a small dining table behind the TV, and large wardrobes on both sides of the front door. There was another door on my left slightly open, revealing a bathroom.

“Here,” the captain said and put my bags next to the unoccupied bed on the right. “This’ll be your bed. Let’s hope we don’t have to haul it somewhere else. There’s a mini fridge at your disposal in the wardrobe, and you’ll get your own laptop for personal use. Just remind me to get one for you – Nico usually deals with these things…”

I slowly turned around, staring at the room. I spotted a microwave and a coffee maker on top of the dining table, and realized there was a piece of wall between it and the TV stand, dividing the room a little without taking away the space.

“So? What do you think?” the captain asked after a moment.

“It’s really nice, sir,” I said. “Not at all what I’d expected.”

“A small, dusty room with a bunk bed and a worn-down closet? Something like that?”

“Pretty much,” I said, turning my attention back to him.

“This is a home for most of us. The army is willing to spend a little extra to keep the morale high,” he said.

I nodded, but my omega suddenly sensed someone new behind us and retreated again.

“Sir?”

We turned around to see a tall, buff man in his thirties, in gray sweats and a black tank top, covered in sweat and pulling off his earbuds as he stepped in. His expression was calculating, careful, and intimidating, like a killer approaching his prey. Every step he took was slow, precise.

And his scent was even better in person…

“Reid, good timing,” the captain said, stepping toward him, while I stayed glued to my spot.

“What is this…?” Reid asked slowly, his voice low and soft.

“I want you to meet Riley Steele. Your new teammate,” the captain said.

Reid glanced at me, his sharp, green eyes quickly scanning me from head to toe, his expression not changing at all except for the lightest wrinkling of his nose. He was not happy I was there, that much was sure.

“Riley – this is Reid Bishop.”