The Pack of the Rejects

Chapter:8 6 Weeks to War

6 weeks.

That’s all we had.

The warehouse became hell and home at the same time.

Ryder didn’t go easy on us.

"Again," he barked at 5am. "Faster. You think Carter’s guards will wait for you to catch your breath?"

My ribs still hurt from yesterday. Kira limped from a twisted ankle.

But none of us complained.

Elena taught us how to lie. "Cry if you have to. Omegas crying gets you ignored. Use it."

A scarred old wolf named Finn taught us poisons. "Tasteless. Odorless. One drop in his wine and he’s done."

Another taught us how to forge letters. How to copy seals.

Every night I fell into bed exhausted. Every morning I got up anyway.

Kira and I became close. She was quiet, but sharp. She remembered everything Carter’s guards said.

"He talks in his sleep," she told me one night. "About a letter. Something about 'Nightfall.'"

My blood went cold.

Nightfall. The word Ryder used in Chapter 5.

"What letter?" I asked.

"Don’t know. But he keeps it in his office. Locked box."

I filed that away.

Week 3, Ryder started scent training.

"Cover it," he said, throwing me a vial. "Your scent is too sweet. Too Omega. Carter will know you in 2 seconds."

The liquid burned. When it was done, I smelled like nothing. Like air. Like ghost.

"Better," Ryder said. It was the first time he almost smiled.

Week 5, we did mock trials.

I stood in front of all 13 of them and told my story. The rejection. The 3 years. Mara. The Pit.

My voice didn’t shake.

Elena nodded. "They’ll believe you."

Week 6. 3 days before the Council.

Ryder called us all to the center of the warehouse. The map was out again. Thorn. Blackwood. The Council Hall.

"The plan is simple," he said. "We don’t attack. We talk. We show proof."

He looked at me. "You and Kira testify first. Then Elena. Then we drop the letters."

"What letters?" I asked.

Ryder pulled out a stack. Old paper. Burnt edges.

"I’ve been collecting them for 3 years. Orders from Carter. To hurt Omegas. To reject them. To make examples."

He held one up. "And this one. To 'handle the Nightfall problem.' Signed by him."

My hands shook. Proof.

"But," Ryder said, "we need to get into the Council Hall. And that means someone on the inside."

All eyes turned to me again.

"Ghost," Ryder said. "You’re the only one who can walk into Blackwood and not get killed on sight. Not yet."

I swallowed. "What do I do?"

"You go in 2 days before the Council. As a servant. We have a contact. He’ll get you in."

Ryder’s eyes were hard. "You plant this." He handed me a small crystal. "It records sound. Hide it in Carter’s office. We need him to admit it. On record."

"And if I get caught?"

"Then we start the war early." Elena put a hand on my shoulder. "But you won’t. You’re Ghost."

That night I couldn’t sleep.

Kira sat with me. "You scared?"

"Terrified," I admitted.

"Me too." She bumped my shoulder. "But we’re not alone anymore."

I looked around the warehouse. 13 broken wolves.

Now an army.

The next morning, Ryder gave me new clothes. Servant rags. Blackwood colors.

"You look the part," he said.

I looked in a broken mirror. Hood up. Face dirty. No scent.

I didn’t look like Luna Grey.

I looked like nobody.

Good.

"We leave at midnight," Ryder said. "2 days to get in place. Then we wait."

I nodded. The crystal felt heavy in my pocket.

As I packed the dagger Mara gave me, I thought of Chapter 3.

"You want to survive out here? You need to be stronger than the wolves who hurt you."

I was.

Midnight came fast.

We stood at the edge of the woods. Blackwood territory in the distance. Lights flickering.

Ryder stopped me before I went.

"Ghost," he said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"If this goes wrong... I’m sorry. For what I did. For rejecting you."

I stared at him. The Alpha who broke me.

"Save it for after we win," I said. "Then we can talk."

I turned and walked into the dark.

6 weeks of training.

For this moment.

The Ghost was going home.

And this time, I wasn’t running.