Chapter 1

Taelin-

This was it. The day I have been waiting for, for two years. When I first came here to become a warrior in the Royal Guard, I thought that if they accepted me, I would be able to start right away. Then I found out I had to go through two years of vigorous training and skill tests to even qualify.

Today was the day I would find out if I were good enough to join. At first, I had been the laughingstock of everyone. Twenty other highly trained werewolves had also arrived the same day as me, except only two of us were female.

I had figured I would be the only female since there had been no other she-wolves that have been in the Royal Guard. After training for the last two years, and getting tested for skills and endurance, now I know why. The training course was tough, and I am honestly surprised I had made it this far.

The other female that had applied, had been sent home after the first three months. Not because she was unable to keep up, but because it had been too hard for her. The guys had made it a point to make things difficult for us since they didn’t think we could hack it.

Some of them still didn’t think I belonged, but for the most part, I proved them wrong. I had to work twice as hard as the rest, training to become faster and tougher, but I never gave up. There were a couple of guys that tried to stick up for me, but I quickly shut that down.

The last thing I needed was for some guy to come to my rescue when I was trying to prove that I belonged. Now we were all standing in line, waiting for the Alpha King to let us know who would become a member of the Royal Guard and who would be sent back home. We started with twenty-one, but now we were down to twelve.

Only six of us were going to be able to join, which didn’t put the odds in my favor. If I did manage to get chosen though, I would be granted a place on the Guard and sent on my first mission. I was excited, but nervous at the same time. The last thing I wanted was to go home and show everyone that I wasn’t good enough.

In the past two years, I haven’t heard from my mother except for once about eight months ago. She sent me a letter telling me that she loved me, and she was praying for me, but she wished I would return home and give up this dream. Whereas I heard from Theo at least once a week, except for the past four months.

I knew he was more than likely busy with being Alpha and all, but I did miss him. Maybe because I have been away from home for so long, I was able to figure out how I felt about him. I still didn’t love him the way he loved me, but now I believed that I could.

I missed hearing from him and couldn’t wait to go home to see him. Once we received our mission, we were allowed to return home for two weeks. Either way, I was going to be able to go home and see everyone.

“Do you really think they are going to let you join? Women don’t belong on the frontlines.”

I turned around to face the one who spoke, but I didn’t need to look to know who it had been. Seth Pierce. The hotshot. He thought that just because he was the nephew to the Alpha King himself, he was a shoo-in for a spot in the Guard.

It wasn’t that he was wrong, but I doubted it was because of who his uncle was. He was one of the best in the class, so I was pretty sure he would get in. I just wasn’t about to let him continue pushing me around, which has been his goal from day one.

“I guess we will see, won’t we?” I told him, before turning around and facing the front of the room once more.

“You have to be kidding me. Women are not as strong or as fast as us men are. Go back home where you can be safe and have a bunch of pups.” Seth spoke, except this time I didn’t turn around.

“I was strong enough and fast enough to lay you flat on your ass yesterday,” I said, intentionally ignoring his last remark.

“Lay off her Pierce. She has made it this far.” Another voice spoke.

Again, I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Frank Houser. The bulldozer. Although Frank earned his title. He was as big as a house and didn’t need the skill to take out his enemies. All he had to do was plow right through them.

“I can handle myself.” I told Frank, looking over my shoulder towards him and offering him one of my rare smiles.

Frank, I actually liked. At first, he gave me a challenging time, but it didn’t last for very long. He was quick to realize I was able to back up my words. He was even someone I enjoyed training with. There had been a few nights he had caught me outside training on my own.

Being that I was a female, I did have a few disadvantages that the others didn’t, but I also had a few advantages as well. For one, I wasn’t as large or as strong as them, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t use my body weight to get behind my attacks. The advantage I did have was, that I was smaller, meaning I could move faster and get in and out of places more easily.

“I know you can. I am just getting tired of the hotshot running his mouth as always.” Frank said, rolling his eyes toward Seth.

“You are an idiot if you think she should be here. She should go back home.” Seth said, sounding annoyed.

“You keep talking like that and I am half tempted to think that you like her.” Another voice spoke.

Jack Tessler. The Brick. He got his name because he was hard. Hitting him resulted in broken fingers, wrists, and hands. Which I have done a few times.

Since I was the one who gave everyone their nicknames, I didn’t have one. Which I didn’t mind, since I wasn’t going to give myself one. I doubted any of them would give me one either.

“Bite your tongue.” Seth growled, then I heard something that sounded like a thud and then a curse.

“You are the idiot.” Frank laughed, which piqued my curiosity enough to turn around.

Seth was holding his wrist and glaring at Jack, who was holding a hand to his face. I didn’t need to ask to know that Seth took a swing at Jack, which resulted in a broken bone. Shaking my head, I turned back towards the front and waited once more.

I didn’t care if Seth liked me or not. He was too much of an asshole to give him a second thought. The only thing I cared about right now is for the Alpha King to make his appearance and let me know if I was accepted or not. For the remainder of the time, I chose to ignore the others.

After what felt like an eternity, the Alpha King finally entered the room holding a couple of folders. I watched as he walked towards the front of the room, spreading out six folders on the table he was now standing behind, facing us. My stomach turned and I felt as if I were going to throw up.

“First, I want to thank you all for stepping forward to put your lives on the line for the sake of our kind. Your sacrifice is appreciated. If I could, I would take you all, but I only have a place for six of you. Those that don’t make the cut today can reapply in six months. Over the past two years, I have watched all of you closely, so my decision was not an easy one to make. When I call your name, come retrieve your folder and stand up here with me.” The Alpha spoke, as he looked from person to person.

“Frank Houser.” The Alpha called out.

“Jack Tessler.” He called out again.

I wasn’t surprised those two were called forward. I would have been more surprised if they hadn’t.

“Nate Myers.” The Alpha called out, except this time I was a little surprised.

Nate wasn’t bad, but I didn’t think he was that great either. Every time he and I had a sparring match, he rarely won. There were far better candidates in my opinion.

“I am sorry, I meant Matt Myers.” The Alpha spoke, calling out Nate’s brother.

“What about me?” Nate asked, his voice rising slightly making him sound as if he squealed.

“You can reapply in six months. Nick Rous.” The alpha said, sounding harsher than I would have thought, before calling out a new name.

I tried not to look over at Nate, as I heard him run out of the room crying. Keeping my eyes forward, I felt as if I were going to throw up. That was four names already, only two more to go.

“Chris Sedgwick.” The alpha called out.

I knew at that moment that there was no way I was going to make the cut. As much as I hated to admit that Seth was right, I knew he was going to be chosen. He was probably the best out of all of us, not to mention he was the Alpha King’s nephew.

I didn’t much like his attitude, but he was a much better fighter. Not that I haven’t taken him out a few times, but I think that had been all just luck. I almost didn’t want to be here any longer, because I was sure Seth was going to make a comment about me going back home.

I looked at the Alpha, waiting for him to call out another name, but he just stood there. His gaze moved from person to person, as if he were trying to decide something. I don’t know why he was taking so long, since he had the last folder sitting directly in front of him. I was sure they already had our names in them, along with our application.