Page 29 of Of Daggers and Deceit

I swallowed a painful lump and intentionally scanned the remainder of the room. Plain, midnight blue paint coated the walls that weren’t entirely covered by mirrors with deep blue padded mats lining the floor for protection. A small, open-shelved cabinet sat off to the side with a few water bottles and clothing, along with a couple of benches on the wall that totalled the amount of furniture in the room. It was basic, but still nicer than our homes.

Grunts and heavy breathing filled the room along with the thump and smack of punches and kicks. The vicious intensity with which these Alpha trained made it abundantly clear we were all here for the same reason: to protect the ones we loved, no matter the cost. I found I could, at the very least, feel an invisible tether of comradery connecting them to me simply because of that.

Klarissa had her hands on her hips, a snarky smile on her face, which she managed to maintain right up until I stood directly in front of her.

“Welcome Defective,” she purred, undeterred by Bodhi’s sharp glare.

I gave her a warm smile despite it; she would learn just how much control I actually had soon, just as they all would.

“This is our smaller training squad, Raya. We divvy up often, working to each other’s skills and expertise. Each of us here leads our own squad out on the field, so I thought it would be wise for you to start here with us.”

I nodded in confirmation to Bodhi, who gestured his hand towards the woman with dark braids down her back, encouraging her to step forward. She almost bounced towards me, taking my hand in hers. “I’m Apple. It’s nice to finally meet you, Raya!”

I couldn’t help but smile back, her grin only growing larger, exposing the small gap in her front teeth. “It’s nice to meet you, Apple. I look forward to getting to know you better.” Her smile didn’t falter, though the light in her eyes slightly dimmed. My own lips quickly dropped. I would need to change the way I acknowledged people. The only time we had was the present.

Bodhi clapped his hands together, jerking my attention back towards him. “Alright, we may as well get into it. Klarissa?”

I barely had time to blink before Klarissa was gone, and in her place, a large, sleek cat stalked towards me and bared her teeth with a low growl. I forced my body to lock into place to stop my instinctive want to retreat. She shifted back just as abruptly and turned her back on me with a mocking sway of her hips.

My mouth parted in shock. I blinked, and I missed seeing the actual transformation. Irrespective, it was incredible to witness. Her shifted form was as stunning as she was. I checked myself out in the mirror behind her and just as quickly looked away, dissatisfied.

“Bohdi is the tactical lead in the field. Klarissa is his second. They overarch all of us here.” I nodded along to Apple’s explanation as Hayden joined her, stepping slightly away from me. I granted them space, shuffling back a few steps to allow enough room. Standing side by side, they made a stunning pair, with Hayden’s pale skin in wonderful contrast to the depth of Apple’s.

With a small smile, Hayden shifted first into a huge, thick black snake with yellow eyes, followed by Apple into a slightly smaller, though still oversized, snake, whose tail rattled gratingly behind her.

I couldn’t stop my instinctive step back this time.

I hated snakes.

At my retreat, they shifted back quickly. Hayden looked apologetic, trying to reassure me. “We would never hurt you.”

I scrunched my face up in frustration at myself. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t stop that response. I haven’t seen any shifters in their alternate forms, and you were both a lot bigger than I was expecting.” I fiddled with my ring nervously, annoyed for showing any weakness.

Bohdi’s encouraging grin lit up his face, and I couldn’t help but return it: he knew how deep my aversion ran. The bastard knew of their forms and hadn’t even prepared me.

My gaze followed him as he moved forward to stand in the centre of my vision, facing forward. “Raya, I want to warn you: I’m not like the others. Please remember, I’m still me, and I would never, ever hurt you.”

His eyes searched my own, waiting for me to say it was okay to proceed. It was. I was excited. “I know.” His chest rose and fell with purposeful breaths as he nodded and took one step further away from me.

“It’s still me,” he murmured with soft eyes before slowly stripping down.

I averted my eyes up to the ceiling briefly. I was already extremely nervous and didn’t know what to expect. I knew he would be bigger than a typical animal, based on the size of the others’ forms. But with him, never once had I been able to guess his shifted form. Nothing had ever come to mind.

Once I saw the colours shift in my peripheral, I slowly, so very slowly, lowered my gaze back to him.

To it.

The initial emotion that flooded my muscles was terror and an itching desire to run as far and as fast as I could to use up the adrenaline that ricocheted through my system. My breathing came in short and fast, so I focused on it, just as Mum had taught me; otherwise, my power was going to go haywire.

I kept my face and body language entirely neutral for his sake; the other Alphas were watching me carefully, measuring my response. I was now, after all, one of them. I would need to start acting like it. However, what stood in front of me was no distinctive animal, though some sort of bird was likely closest. Bohdi stood tall and proud, terrifyingly unknown and magnificent. Monster may have most appropriately described him.

I stayed still and observed him as he allowed me a moment to take him in. He was huge, standing closer to eight feet tall. He still had many human-like features: a broad, defined chest and arms that still looked the same. His powerful legs were still there, though his feet were now feather-covered claws. His head had also changed to look more like a mix between an owl and a man, still with the same strong jawline and mouth, though he had much larger eyes that were entirely glowing amber. The more incredible part of his shifted form were the huge wings that hung loosely at his back. He could fly—I would forever be jealous of that.

Bohdi clasped his hands together and rubbed the backs of them with his fingertips: his nervous habit. He was still him. I edged my way forward to reassure him I wasn’t afraid, even though it wasn’t entirely true. I knew I would get past it, that it would just become a normal part of my life, but it still took some getting used to.

Step by step, I crept forward and slowly, almost cautiously, reached out my hand to touch him.

Would I hate it?

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