Page 5 of His Claim
I exhaled through my nose, rolling my shoulders. “Finally.”
“About damn time,” Joren muttered, pushing off the wall. He cracked his neck, eyeing the empty hallway like he’d just thrown a grenade down it. “That thing weighed a ton, Commander. My back’s going to be screaming for a week.”
Rafe snorted. “Falling apart already, old man? Maybe you’re softer than you look.”
“Say that again,” Joren shot back, narrowing his eyes.
Before I could cut in, Gareth grinned and jabbed his brother in the ribs. “Don’t bait him, idiot. You’ll lose some more of your teeth.”
“Yeah, wouldn’t be the first time,” Rafe muttered, rubbing at his jaw, and the others chuckled.
Brenna just shook her head, the corner of her mouth twitching like she might almost smile. “You all sound like pups. Be glad we’re rid of it. I was two minutes away from gutting myself just to escape the stench.”
I huffed a laugh. “You and me both. That thing stank worse than a sewer fire.”
Rafe gagged loudly, overdramatic, and waved his hand in front of his face. “I swear the stench is still on me. If I smell like that tomorrow, I’m shaving every inch of fur off of me when I shift.”
“Please do,” Brenna drawled. “Might improve your chances with the camp girls.”
The brothers groaned in unison.
I let them have their moment. They needed it. Out here on the outskirts, we didn’t get many victories.
I kept my face impassive, my tone casual. “You’ve all earned a night’s rest. Get food, get clean, and for the love of God, don’t bring that stink near the barracks. Dismissed.”
They gave quick nods and smirks before peeling off down the corridor, their voices fading into the hum of the base.
I stayed behind for a moment, staring down the corridor. It stretched long and sterile, overhead lights buzzing faintly, flickering in and out with age. With a sigh, I walked deeper into the base, my boots echoing against the cracked floor. The air was colder the farther down I went, recycled through vents that rattled like old bones.
Wolves moved through the halls, some in armor, others stripped down to their undershirts, sweat streaking their bodies from drills. They saluted or dipped their heads as I passed. Their eyes always flicked away quickly, respect mixed with the kind of fear I encouraged. A wolf who didn’t fear his commander wasn’t worth having in my unit.
I rounded a corner into the main thoroughfare, where I heard the sound of raised voices and the bark of orders ricocheting through the air. The mess hall opened to my left, the scent of roasted meat hitting me in the gut. Beyond it, the barracks lined up in squat rows of reinforced doors.
The base had once been a Cold War-era missile silo. The tunnels had collapsed in places, but the central chamber still stood, repurposed into a fortress. Rusted beams arched overhead like the ribs of some great beast, patched with steel plates and bracing. The shadows never left the corners, no matter how many floodlights we mounted.
A pack of rookies marched by with their armor hanging loose, their boots still too lean. One sneezed as he passed me, and his squad mate elbowed him in the ribs, hissing under his breath. They were pups, barely blooded, but they’d either improve quickly or die. That was the law out here.
At the far end of the chamber, a group of officers stood near the tactical board. It was covered with maps sprawled across the surface with lines of red ink marking the human Resistance patrols, known smuggler trails, and outpost perimeters.
Waiting for me with that familiar smug bastard’s smirk was Captain Haldor.
“Commander Varek,” he said, dragging out the title like it tasted sour. “I heard you brought the Nyktos beast down yourself. Quite a trophy.”
I stopped in front of him, leveling my gaze. “Not much of a trophy when it’s rotting on a slab.”
He chuckled, the sound dry. “Still, the Council will be pleased. Imagine what they’ll do with that carcass. Turn it into a weapon, perhaps. Or find a way to engineer that kind of savagery. Maybe even both.”
His words crawled under my skin, but I kept my jaw clenched tight. “If the Council wants monsters, they can find them in their own ranks. We don’t need to make more.”
That earned me a long look. His nostrils flared, his wolf scent ripe with challenge. Around us, the other officers went quiet, ears pricked. Wolves didn’t need raised voices to sense when two alphas were bristling at each other.
“You sound worried, Commander,” Haldor said, his lips curling faintly. “Or maybe… tired?”
The air between us shifted, a low growl vibrating in my chest before I could stop it. My claws itched to tear through him, to shut him up by choking him with his own blood. Instead, I took a slow step forward, closing the space between us until my breath stirred the hair at his temple.
“Careful, Captain,” I murmured. “A wolf who mistakes restraint for weakness doesn’t live long.”
For a beat, silence reigned. Then he smirked again, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He dipped his head a fraction, just enough to signal his retreat.
