Page 7 of Alpha Awakened

The young beta wolf gave a breathless laugh, but lengthened her stride.

A minute later, they were sprinting up to the helicopter. The hatch opened and the five of them hustled inside. They’d made it. Pleased at the success of the mission, Hazard knocked his fist against the captain’s shoulder.

“Not too shabby for my first time working with you,” he said with a proud grin.

Ice looked first at the spot he’d punched, then at Hazard. Hazard could see the irritation in those dark eyes, but the captain didn’t deny that he’d done well. Hazard decided to take that as a win.

Chapter 3

The mission over, they flew back to base. Jessica had revealed that they’d injected her with a serum to prevent her from shifting. She’d stayed awake for most of the two days of her captivity out of fear that they’d give her something else while she was unaware. Now she slept, wrapped in a blanket and safely sandwiched between Mitchell and Ortiz, her head resting on the major’s shoulder.

Ice believed she’d been afraid. She’d stank of fear when he’d smashed open the door to her prison. But now, the scent of calm wolf was breaking through that sour smell. It made it past his mask to his nose as she snored her way through the flight.

Twenty minutes later, they began their descent to land and Ortiz shook the exhausted young woman awake. The bird touched down on the tarmac, and the rear hatch opened. After thanking the pilot, the team and Jessica disembarked. Medical staff was waiting to attend to Jessica, the blue lights of their van joining with the lights of the airstrip to brighten the dark night. But before the medics could get to her, two older women rushed forward.

“Jessica!” they cried out in near unison.

Councilor Doucette and her wife. Jessica burst into tears and sprinted across the tarmac to meet them. When the two women reached the young beta wolf, they enveloped her in a tight hug, their sobs revealing that they were desperately relieved to see their daughter returned safe and whole.

When the 448 members drew abreast of the crying trio, the councilor broke away from her family to speak with them. Councilor Doucette was as well put together as she always appeared when Ice saw her on TV. She wore a dark purple suit with padded shoulders, with a white silk blouse beneath, and high heeled black pumps. Her long braids were coiled in a bun at the nape of her neck, secured with pearl tipped hair pins. But while her clothes were impeccable, the lines of exhaustion and worry on her light brown face showed how stressed she’d been. And the bitter smell of worry still tinged her scent. Tears brimmed in her eyes even as she gave them all a genuine smile.

“Thank you all for rescuing my daughter. The past two days were the most difficult I’ve ever had to face.”

“You’re welcome, Councilor Doucette,” Major Ortiz said. “I’m happy we were able to return her safely to your side.”

“She was brave throughout the trip out of the warehouse. You should be proud of her,” Hazard added.

“Jessica is a tough cookie,” Councilor Doucette replied with a tired laugh. “Thank you all again. If there’s anything I can ever do for you, please let me know.”

“You’re welcome, ma’am,” Jax said.

Ice nodded in acknowledgement of her thanks.

She shook each of their hands before returning to her wife and daughter.

Their job done, the 448 headed across the base to gear down in the armory. In the ready room, Ice removed his combat gear — night vision goggles, helmet, tactical vest. All of it came off and went back in his equipment bag.

“Well, Ice, what do you think?”

Ice raised his head from unbuckling the straps on his drop leg holster to look at the major. What did he think about what?

At his silent question, Ortiz jerked her chin toward Hazard, making it clear what —who— she meant.

Ice turned his gaze to Hazard. He watched the young corporal talking with Jax, noting how well the two had already meshed together. He’d been grudgingly impressed with Mitchell’s work tonight. Mitchell followed orders well. The omega was maybe a little too chatty but it hadn’t detracted from the mission. And he’d done a good job keeping Ms. Doucette going until they had her securely on board the chopper.

But that was one mission. It was too soon for him to give a complete assessment. Turning back to Ortiz, he gave her his answer.

“No complaints so far.”

Ortiz snorted but let it drop. She knew him well enough to know that she wasn’t going to get anything more out of him right now.

“I’ve got something to handle up at HQ. Can you show Hazard to our quarters?”

Ice flicked his gaze from the major to their new member. It was obvious that Ortiz was asking him since they’d be working together the closest. She was probably hoping they’d make some kind of connection. Ice knew that they wouldn’t. Still, he nodded. Seeing that the omega was geared down, he called his name to get his attention.

“Mitchell!”

Mitchell immediately turned from his conversation with Jax to respond.

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