Page 4 of Brutal Reign
She pauses with the rim of the can against her lips, hurt flashing in her eyes before she averts her gaze and lowers the beer without even taking a sip. “I should probably get back before someone notices I’m gone,” she mumbles quietly, sliding her feet to the ground and pushing up from her chair.
“What, but you just got here!” Beau protests. “And you just cracked your beer!”
“I’ll take it for the road,” she replies smoothly, tipping the can toward him with a smile that doesn’t quite meet her eyes.
Ace nudges my arm as she turns away, but I dart him a glare with a tight shake of my head.
This is the way it has to be.
We both know it, even though it fucking hurts. Even though that look in her eyes is gonna fucking haunt me.
“Nowthat’sa nice ass,” Beau remarks, biting down on a fist as he watches River retreat.
I snap my head in his direction, my upper lip curling back from my teeth in a snarl. “You like having your eyes in their sockets?”
Said eyes widen. “But I thought…”
“Don’tthink, not abouther.Ever. Understood?”
He nods quickly, lifting his palms in surrender. “Yeah, man, of course.”
“Good,” I growl, sliding my gaze back to Ace.
We exchange a long look, but neither of us say a word. Because we’ve already had that conversation and it’s the kind you only need to have once.
The kind that changes everything.
2
PRESENT DAY
“Please don’t hover when we get in there,” I grumble as I hop out of the back seat of my parents’ SUV, slinging my duffel over my shoulder and slamming the car door shut behind me.
It’s bad enough that they’re insisting on dropping me off at training camp like I’m a child. I’m sure I’ll catch looks from the other recruits when my dad escorts me into the squad complex, puffing out his chest like the big bad Alpha wolf he is. The last thing I need is him making a scene about his baby girl leaving the nest, then threatening every guy within a five-mile radius to keep their hands to themselves.
I’m already under a microscope as it is. There’s never been a female Alpha in our alliance before, and after Dad made the announcement to our pack a few weeks ago that he wants me to succeed him when he retires, the bigger guys have been side-eyeing me like there’s blood in the water. All the more reason to prove myself at training camp and establish myself as a warrior. Once they see that I’m formidable in my own right and notjust a weak, coddled little Alpha’s daughter, it should quash any challenge to my ascension.
At least I hope it does. The idea of leading my pack someday doesn’t intimidate me, but facing a challenge to taking the Alpha rank would be a disaster. Everyone would find out the ugly truth about me; the damaged pieces of my soul I’ve gone to great lengths to keep concealed.
No pressure.
“It’s not too late to change your mind, you know,” Dad mutters as I make my way over to where he’s waiting on the sidewalk. He extends a palm, wiggling his fingers in a ‘gimme’ gesture for my bag.
I adjust the strap on my shoulder, holding on tight. “I’ve got it,” I huff, stepping past him to head for the complex gate. “And I’m not changing my mind!”
He doesn’t understand why I want to do this– why Ineedto. Grandpa Anders didn’t bat an eye when my dad left home to move up to the squad complex, nor did the pack ever questionhiminheriting the Alpha rank. Daughters are held to a different standard than sons.
My mom gets it, though. She immediately plasters herself to Dad’s side, reminding him not to be so fucking overbearing.Okay,she uses less colorful words than that, but I don’t hear the specifics as I pick up my pace, speed-walking in the direction of sweet, sweet freedom.
As grueling as the security squad’s training camp is known to be, there isn’t much I wouldn’t do to get out from beneath my father’s thumb. There’s overprotective, and then there’s Theo Jacobsen– but I’m hardly daddy’s little girl anymore. I’m eighteen, and I haven’t been the angelic daughter he envisioned for a long time now. Then again, what did he really expect? I’mhis.
Back in the day, my dad got into all kinds of trouble. He slept around (barf), drank too much, and damn near got rejected by his fated mate over his antics. Good thing my mom’s a damn saint, because he’d be lost without her. But honestly, did he really think the apple would fall far from the tree?
Not that I sleep around. Or drink too much. I do like whiskey once in a while, though, and I hate following rules. Rules are bullshit. Rules are for parents who think they can shelter their daughter from the world, then expect her to navigate it without screwing things up. I can’t learn from the mistakes I don’t make, and damnit do I know how to make ‘em.
The gate for the squad complex is standing open, the crowd forming on the field buzzing with excitement. It’s far from my first time here, but today, I feel like I’m gazing upon it with new eyes. The L-shaped building that houses the dorms, facilities, and offices looks taller. The indoor arena at the far end seems larger. Even the walls that enclose the outside perimeter of the practice field don’t feel confining; they’re liberating. All I see now when I look at this place is possibility.
I quicken my pace as I stride through the gate, tossing a wave to my parents over my shoulder and aiming to get lost in the crowd. It’s not hard with the six buses parked on the field. They shuttled in squad hopefuls from each of the packs within our alliance’s territory, recruits streaming off them and rushing over to the side of the building to drop their belongings. I can’t help but feel jealous of every kid stepping off those buses. I’d give anything to be just another normal teenager with a normal life, but instead, I’m River Jacobsen, Alpha Theo and Luna Brooke’s beloved only child. I’ve never had the luxury ofnormal.