Page 22 of Villainous Fate

Any cadet breaking this code will be removed from further training and could be ineligible for their assigned shadow apprenticeship.”

He finishes the rules, and there’s a muttering from a cadet to my left.

“What is your question, cadet?” he sighs audibly, and I can hear him rolling his eyes, probably because that kid is an idiot.

“How were the partnerships determined?” the voice asks, and I pause for a moment, hoping it actually gets an answer.

“Worried you won’t have your BFF, Stone? It was random. We don’t even know who the pairings are. We will find out when you arrive, should you be so lucky. Any other irrelevant questions?” he asks, snark evident.

Stone… Why doesn’t that name sound familiar?

I had been given the names of all of the assumed cadets from our enforcers weeks ago to study their pack alliances, and I don’t recall anyone named Stone.

I don’t have long to think about it because before I can process it anymore, a sharp pain laces through my neck as I’m stabbed.

Shit, here we go.

Chapter 13

Marcus

Fuck

Pain in my shoulder and neck tells me my landing was less than graceful. I mentally go back through what I remember before they drugged us.

No shifting. Find the other half of my map. Get to the site.

The minor inconvenience of having to keep some other Alpha alive long enough to get there is one I’ll have to deal with when the time comes.

Without moving, I focus on my hearing, listening for anything unusual. Outside of the whistling wind, which causes small snow flurries to sprinkle onto my skin, the area is quiet. I attempt to sit up from my position on the frozen ground, snow crunching beneath me with each weight adjustment. Opening my eyes and extending my muscles, I get a feel for the area.

I’ve been dropped near a clearing in the trees. Based on the sun's position over my head, it's about noon, and the sun's rays filter around me in a beautiful display. It’s cold, with snow covering the ground in every direction, but I anticipated it would be in Colorado in early December. If I had to guess, I would put it around 10 degrees, and for a moment, I’m thankful my father forced me to arrive in my winter gear rather than pack it.

I can see my breath as it leaves my lips in white clouds, quickly dispersed by the wind. There are trees in every direction, save for the circular clearing in front of me, and I am glad I was left somewhere with a landmark to go off of.

At that thought, I reach into my pockets, looking for the map half I was promised, and come up empty.

Where the fuck would they have…

Turning around, I scan the area and find my pack hanging from a snow-covered branch on the far side of the clearing, with no footprints anywhere around the base.

Not suspicious at all.

Being careful to stay near the edges of the clearing to ensure there isn’t some bigger trap here, I make it to the other side and note anything that looks out of place. At the base of the tree, which holds all of my possessions, lays an unusually large pile of snow from the surrounding area that was attempted to be smoothed out, but whoever was in charge of this did a shitty job.

Fucking mind games.

My old roommate, AJ, warned me they like to mess with your head by adding twists to every challenge to see who can be part of their elite training retreats.

All of this shit is asinine, in my opinion.

It took the Alpha himself asking me to attend in his son’s place to get me here, and until a week ago, I wasn’t even sure he knew my name. My parents were middle-ranked pack members without pack jobs or any higher-up connections. My mom is a school teacher, and my dad is an emergency room doctor. Their only true status shift came when I awakened, and my wolf was an Alpha despite my breeding.

I'm not sure either of them wanted me to be an Alpha, but the Fates made that choice, and now here I am, eight years later, heading off to some bogus training school instead of finishing my senior year with the rest of my friends.

All because Johnathan Barton couldn’t be bothered with actually living up to the expectations placed on him in the pack, and instead, he had booked himself a one-way ticket to anywhere else days before this retreat. No notice. No word on when he would be back.

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