Page 1 of Wolf Desired
CHAPTERONE
ALYSSA
“Welcome to the first day of Hell,” the burly instructor snickered as he walked between two perfect lines of people.
Not people, Alyssa reminded herself. Shifters. At least the twenty-one males in the line opposite hers. Her line consisted of seven humans, agents who had signed up, or in her case been assigned, to the DSA’s training program.
Being the only woman in the program had already left her tense. Now, she had to deal with one of those shifters staring at her since she entered the clearing of the government facility in the Nebraska National Forest. The green-eyed shifter stood tall, hands behind his back and his head held high, his eyes focused solely on her, even as Graves, their very human instructor, walked past him between the two lines of trainees.
Green Eyes held her attention too easily. Twice now, she had tried looking away from him and failed. The shifter exuded an air about him that said he wasn’t one to back down. She found herself entranced by him, especially with his eyes. The edges seemed to glow. That had to be a reflection of the sunlight or some other optical illusion.
When the corners of his mouth kicked up in a salacious grin, she let her eyes flow over the rest of him. He stood out, not the tallest shifter there, but certainly the most impressive. At six-three with dark hair, Green Eyes had a commanding presence to him, one that made her stomach and other parts of her flutter. Thick, well-defined muscles showed through his black t-shirt. Stunning. A work of art, really. A very deadly work of art.
A low growl came from somewhere down the line of shifters, past Green Eyes. Someone didn’t like her giving Green Eyes the once-over. Deep and sexy, that ominous sound reverberated through her, practically making her toes curl from the pure animalistic nature of it.
Her cheeks flushed. Not a normal reaction to any male, let alone a shifter. She surveyed each shifter, determined to find out who had growled. None of the other shifters appeared to be watching her.
Maybe she imagined the growl. Or the reason for it. Graves had a way of pissing people off.
Something inside her pushed her to look for the source of that growl as if she needed to respond to it. Or acknowledge it. How or why, she had no idea.
Alyssa cleared her throat and straightened her posture, trying to ignore the feeling that she was losing her grip on reality, that she didn’t have full control of her thoughts or feelings. This was not the time to lose focus, and she definitely shouldn’t be staring at any shifter, least of all Green Eyes. He could snap her in half without breaking a sweat. Did shifters sweat?
Of all the stupid questions. . .
Alyssa chanced another look at the striking shifter and again, her body stirred. Despite his size and that very serious expression, she didn’t fear him. Something deep inside her trusted him, which made absolutely no sense. She didn’t trust anyone easily.
“Fraternizing with the enemy is risky, Artemis,” said Nash, the FBI agent next to her.
The enemy. That’s what the other human recruits called their shifter counterparts in the program. Except shifters weren’t the enemy, she was sure of it. Her instincts said as much. Unfortunately, the DSA, the Department of Shifter Affairs which had signed the treaty with some of the biggest wolf shifter packs in the Midwest, didn’t know enough about shifters to give her and the other agents a thorough briefing. Most of what she knew about shifters had come from her dad, and he was the last person she could trust.
“And remember, you’re on the same side,” Instructor Graves added, as if reading her mind. “You all come from different backgrounds. I don’t fucking care if you came from the FBI, the Secret Service, or if your alpha forced you to be here. You now belong to the DSA, which means you will get along and you will learn to work together.”
“Or?” Alyssa asked aloud, instantly regretting it. Graves walked down the line and planted his feet practically on top of hers. The agent stared down at her with cold, ice-blue eyes, using his impressive height to intimidate her. At five-seven, she could hardly be described as short, but Graves towered over her at six-seven or six-eight.
Alyssa stood her ground, clasping her hands behind her back in a classic military stance, despite how that made her t-shirt stretch tight against her breasts. She hated standing out, which was why speaking out had been stupid. Thinking of her father and his anti-shifter rants had dug up a lot of her anxiety, chipping away at her remaining control. This was her chance to learn about shifters and prove to herself that she wasn’t anything like her bastard father.
“Are you challenging me, Artemis?” Graves said, using her codename.
“Just asking a question, sir,” she said, tilting her head back so she could return his glare. This wasn’t her first time up against a male instructor who didn’t want a female trainee.
“I should send you back to the Secret Service right now.”
“But you won’t,” she said. At least she prayed he wouldn’t. She needed to be here for more than the job.
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m the best sharpshooter you have.” The humans had gone through some basic weapons assessment this morning while waiting for the shifters to arrive. The higher-ups at the DSA would be assessing Graves on his effectiveness here, which would include marksmanship proficiency scores.
“You may be the best marksman, but you’re also the most arrogant.”
She almost corrected him and saidmarkswoman, but she’d pushed him enough. Trying to make a light-hearted joke would get her nowhere, since Graves had no sense of humor. She needed to blend in, not stand out as the only woman, a fact that was painfully obvious.
Across the way, Green Eyes seemed to ignore Graves and focused on her. She shivered, not used to such intense scrutiny. He wasn’t staring at her breasts or her body.That, she got all the time. This shifter stared at her face, her eyes, her expressions.
“Are you even listening to me, Artemis?” Graves asked.
“Yes, sir.” She retrained her attention to him. Best not to aggravate Graves. She couldn’t help anyone, least of all herself, if he threw her out. Alyssa wondered if the shifters had to prove themselves, too. Probably not. The higher-ups wanted them here, for their superior strength, sight, hearing, scenting, and self-healing skills.
