Page 2 of Alpha Awakened

“Ice.” She returned his greeting before sitting at the foot of the table.

The door opened one last time as Lieutenant Colonel Gibbs, their team’s executive commander, entered, accompanied by his aide. Ice, Ortiz, and Jax all rose and stood at attention until Gibbs nodded at them to be seated. With the colonel and his aide’s arrival, Ice expected the briefing for the upcoming mission to begin. But the aide didn’t begin his usual tasks of turning on the monitors and passing out mission briefs and both Ortiz and Gibbs remained relaxed in their seats.

It was Jax who asked the obvious question.

“What are we waiting for?”

Ortiz leaned back in her chair before answering.

“We’re waiting for the new member of our team. Their transport is running a few minutes behind schedule.”

At the major’s answer, Ice looked at her in surprise. “Why are we getting a new member? We don’t need one.”

“We do. Now that Grayson is retired, you need someone to watch your six,” Ortiz explained. “And it’ll be more efficient for you to have a partner.”

“Been efficient just fine on my own these past three months.”

“But you can’t watch your own back.”

Ice didn’t have anything to counter that. There were many situations where having someone to watch his back could help him stay alive. But he preferred working alone. And he didn’t want to deal with training a new guy to properly work alongside him. But knowing the major was right and respecting her decision, he bit back his annoyed growl and nodded instead.

The matter settled, Ortiz nodded back.

“His name is Corporal Dylan Mitchell.”

That name pulled up a recent memory in Ice’s mind. The soldier he’d spoken with the night of Grayson’s retirement party wore the name Mitchell on his uniform. Mitchell was a fairly common name, however. It was unlikely to be the same person.

“Shifter or human?” Jax asked.

“Shifter.”

“Another alpha?”

“No. An omega.”

Jax raised an eyebrow. “That’s a prize you’ve managed to nab for us.”

Omegas were often an amazing asset to have out in the field. They were fast and lethal. Their small size let them slip in where alphas and betas sometimes couldn’t. And heavens forbid an enemy hurt someone an omega considered as part of their pack.An omega protecting one of their own was vicious - borderline feral.

“Yes. We’re lucky to have him.”

“Let’s not be hasty on that assessment,” Ice said. “We’ll know if he’s a prize after we see how he does in the field.”

Ortiz smiled. “I’m sure he’ll do just fine. I helped train him a few years back. He was stellar then and I’m sure he’s only improved since.” She looked at her watch, then drummed her fingertips on the table in a sign of impatience.

A minute later, the door opened once more and a young solider walked in. Ice took in the new arrival. Black hair. Green eyes. And a familiar smile. Ice clenched his jaw in annoyance. It was him. The impertinent soldier from that night. Fuck.

After closing the door behind him, Mitchell saluted and greeted Colonel Gibbs. Ice was half surprised that he showed respect to an officer. After Gibbs returned his greeting, Mitchell saluted Ortiz next before walking over and clasping her hand in what looked to be a firm grip.

“Major Ortiz. Good to see you again, ma’am,” he greeted the major in a friendly voice.

“You as well. Let me introduce you to your new team. This is Captain Royce Anderson and Corporal Noah Jackson. Otherwise known as Ice and Jax. Boys, meet Corporal Dylan Mitchell.”

The corporal smiled at them both and gave a salute to Ice. “Call me Hazard.”

Behind his mask, Ice raised an eyebrow, mildly curious about the nickname. He didn’t voice his curiosity aloud however, not wanting to invite the man to share a story that he had no interest in hearing. “We’ve met,” he said cooly.

A frown of confusion creased Mitchell’s forehead as he tried to figure out how he knew him. When the memory hit, the frown cleared and his eyes went wide for a moment. He had the graceto look embarrassed, a hint of red appearing on the tops of his ears when he acknowledged their prior history — brief as it was.

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