5. The Fifth Cohort

WILLOW’S POINT OF VIEW

CONTENT WARNING: TRANSPHOBIC AND ABLEIST LANGUAGE

 Sally leads us to a waiting room, and when my name is called out, I walk into Dr. Shaurya Patel’s office. I’m mesmerized by how dark her shiny eyes are – almost like a wolf’s. After taking my medical history and performing some routine exams, she looks up from her computer and beams at me.

 “You’re all set, deary,” she says. “Now, I will give you your first dose of MBS. As you’ve been informed in your preliminary interviews, you also have the option of taking birth control with it. Is that something you would like?”

 Heat creeps into my cheeks, and Dr. Patel seems to notice.

 “This is a judgment-free zone, Willow,” she says in a motherly tone, with a tight-lipped smile. “I don’t care what your sex life is like, I’m just offering the option of taking it along with your monthly MBS.”

 I am currently on the pill, but that’s not something I’ve ever been allowed to discuss openly. I never got to visit a doctor in the human city, because they would be able to tell something was off with my werewolf’s metabolism. Instead, I came to Mom when I was 15 and told her I wanted to go on contraceptives.

 She wasn’t happy to learn I’d started having sex, but she’s always been my ride or die and so she helped me. She contacted her sister, who still lives in Gathering Storm Pack – Mom’s original pack – and she got a prescription for werewolf pills in her name. Aunt Lyla would purchase them and give them to Mom monthly.

 After our original talk, Mom never broached the subject again and would just discreetly hand me the pills every month. I think she’s disappointed that I didn’t save myself for my mate, but that’s just so old-fashioned. Even Jamie was okay with it. As far as Dad knows, I’m a virgin, waiting for her mate. Or possibly waiting for him to find me a worthy chosen mate. But I’ve had my fair share of lovers and even a couple of serious relationships.

 Getting a monthly injection sounds way better than taking the pill daily, and I knew I would take it when they first told me about it a month ago when I tried out for the Program. I guess I’m still embarrassed to talk about it to “adults”.

 “We are an adult,” Jamie rolls her beautifully purple wolfish eyes.

 “Yes, please,” I gingerly reply, looking down.

 She administers the drug cocktail through a vein in my arm and prints out some documents.

 “You will be in the fifth cohort. Your General is Savannah, and she’s a very skilled warrior and leader. She’ll be outside waiting for you. The one with the pink hair, you can’t miss her.” Dr. Patel says. “Welcome to the Cadet Program, Willow, and welcome to Ghost Pack.”

 I smile broadly, thrilled to once again be reminded that I’m in a pack.

 As Dr. Patel said, there is a young woman with shortly cropped bright pink hair waiting outside the office. She’s wearing military fatigues, and once again I dread the possibility of having to wear them myself. Her eyes are bright green, and her full lips are doing something to me. She looks at me and smiles.

 “Hi! You must be Willow,” she says, sounding so damn excited to see me, with just a hint of a French accent.

 I bite my lip. Then, when she turns her head to the side and I see the bright red mark on her neck, I deflate.

 “Why are we so horny?” I ask Jamie.

 “No idea,” she says, sounding like she does have an idea or two.

 “I am Savannah, General to the Fifth Cohort. This right here is Xenia and Felix. I’m taking you guys to your dorm, the other two will meet us there,” she says.

 I look at the two figures beside her.

 “Hi! I’m Felix. Please call me they/them.” It’s the person who was next to me in the meeting hall. Their grin is huge, and now take a look at their tie-dye t-shirt, capris, and brown sandals.

 “Xenia,” the girl next to Felix says, with a shy smile. She’s short by werewolf standards. Probably like 5’5’’. She has long brown hair and brown eyes to match, and she’s wearing a cute yellow sundress, paired with black sandals. Oddly, has glasses on.

 I love fashion, okay? Sue me. If a guy is super obsessed with hockey and knows the names of all the players and moves, he has a cool hobby. If a girl likes fashion and makeup, she’s vain and shallow. Bullshit. Fashion and makeup are some of my interests, and I’m also a literature nerd and a badass fighter who can kick the shit out of most guys on my 4-inch heels. Those things are not contradictory, they’re just part of who I am.

 I guess I could kick the shit out of most human guys. Fighting with other werewolves will be a different thing. But this program only takes the best of the best, and I had to fight other shifters when I tried out. I didn’t win any of those fights, but I was able to show that I’m good and have potential.

 “Right. We deserve to be here. We earned this spot,” Jamie says. “You do go overboard with your fashion obsession, though. It’s like you wake up every day and think ‘What would Blaire Waldorf wear?’”

 I mentally scoff and roll my eyes at Jamie. I look down. I’m wearing dark skinny jeans, black 3-inch kitten heels, a peach-colored blouse, and holding a faux leather handbag. I look normal, and I look damn fine.

 “That’s because you made an effort to look casual today.” Jamie loves taunting me, but she seems to be sassier today. I guess she’s as excited and nervous to be here as I am.

 We make our way through the Barracks towards our dorm.

 “Don’t worry, I’ll give you guys a tour tomorrow,” Savannah says. “There you go, the Fifth Cohort dorm. I’ll give you some time to settle in, don’t forget you have the welcoming dinner later tonight.”

 Our dorm is pretty basic. There are three bunk beds and our luggage is waiting for us. Two girls are already there. One of them is super tall, with a model’s body and beautiful blond hair. The other one is curvier and has bright red curly hair.

 “Hi!” ginger hair says. “I’m Callie. This is Harper.” She points at the blond girl, who was busy going through her luggage.

 “I’m Willow,” I say.

 “Hey! I think I saw you the day I tried out!” Xenia says. Callie grins at her.

 “Yeah, I think I remember you,” she then looks over at Felix with furrowed brows.

 “I’m Felix,” they say.

 At the sound of their voice, Harper goes stiff and turns around to face us.

 “Hm, this is supposed to be a girl’s cohort.”

 “They’re non-binary,” Xenia says.

 Harper now scowls in our general direction.

 “A tranny. Perfect,” she scoffs.

 Then, her eyes narrow at Xenia.

 “Why are you wearing glasses? You’re a werewolf. What’s wrong with you?”

 I look over at Xenia and I swear to Goddess I can almost see smoke coming out of her ears.

 I had wondered about that, too. A werewolf’s healing abilities are supposed to fix this kind of stuff.

 “Bitch,” Xenia crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t know where you got the audacity, but you need to put it back. What are you? A fucking book villain? You can’t even be original in your insults. Grow the fuck up!”

 “Great. A tranny and a cripple. I can’t believe they put me in this cohort,” Harper huffs.

 In the blink of an eye, Xenia is on top of Harper and grabs a fistful of her hair, pulling at it.

 Harper is shouting profanities and I can feel anger taking over me. For some reason, I feel this… energy running through me. My hands are coiled into fists and my heart is pounding loudly.

 “GUYS!” I bellow.

 Everyone flinches.

 They all look at me. Harper looks surprised. Xenia looks confused. Callie looks scared shitless. And Felix is just grinning, with their hands in their pockets.

 “The fuck was that?” I ask Jamie.

 “No idea,” she’s once again lying to me.

 “Let’s go get ready for this dinner thingy, I can’t wait to look fancy,” I say to Xenia, trying to de-escalate the situation.

 I’m convinced Xenia can take care of herself; I think I’m just trying to distract everyone from whatever that shout was.

 We grab our stuff and go to the communal showers.

 “All her hair is fake, I could feel it when I grabbed it. Basic bitch. She’s like a MAGA Karen,” Xenia says as we walk, loud enough for Harper to hear. We both laugh.

 “I like you,” I smile at her.

 “Me, too,” she says.