Desert Force Academy

Kyra I felt the cool wood from the floor press against my cheek. My hip bone hurt from the angle I was left in. I could smell dust settling, reminding me I needed to dust the house before leaving for the weekend to work. I was excited to be selected as a server for the full moon ball at The Guardians Pack. I had not gotten the official offer yet, but I remained optimistic. I desperately needed the money; my father's drinking had gotten worse, and my wage from the laundry facility was barely covering food now with the increased cost of his problem. I hoped he would drink himself to death, but no luck so far. It was a lot more difficult to do when you are a werewolf. I could hear the heavy fall of footsteps coming back into the room, I slowed my heart rate and breathing as he approached. It was better to pretend to pass out, the beatings stopped sooner. It was not as much fun if he could not get a reaction from me. I felt a sharp kick to the back of my thigh as he stepped over me, then the creaking sound of the chair as he slumped into it. From the sounds of his footsteps, it should not be much longer before he passes out. I felt my wolf slowly healing the worst of my injuries. She hardly ever spoke to me, but I could feel her there trying to help. Usually, she was able to get me to a functioning level before it exhausted her. The bruises and soreness would linger, but I can live with that. It wasn’t always like this. I had a mother once, but she died when I was nine. She was beautiful and loved me. I had a few pictures of her kept safe at a friend’s house; they were a treasured possession of mine, the only thing I treasured. My father had destroyed everything of hers when she died. He hated me for looking like her with my white blonde hair and light blue eyes. I managed to get away from him for a short while after I turned eighteen and found my mate. My mate was a kind man. We had almost two months together where I didn’t live in fear of a bad mood or of something not being perfect. Our alpha believed that being mated to a lower rank made you weak. My father was a warrior, and my mate was a warrior, but my mother had been an omega, so we were not allowed to mark each other. I suppose in the end, when he was killed in a rogue attack, it saved me a lot of the pain I would have felt from being marked. Even though we were not marked the alpha and my father blamed me for his death, saying I had made him weak. I was publicly beaten with a silver laced whip.....twenty lashes. I counted every single one of them. I was left in the dirt bleeding before my friend’s mom, Lana, and my friend Madeline were able to get to me. They took me back to Lanas’ house and cleaned me up. I felt more pain than I ever had in my life that day with the loss of my mate and the beating. I thought it could not get any worse until I heard my wolf cry out. She whimpered and whispered she was sorry. I knew what she meant a short time later when I lost the child I had been carrying. It had all been too much on my body. I wished for death the next two weeks as I healed. Lana kept me focused, saying she would not allow them to take me from her, too. Lana’s daughter was killed by our Alpha’s son when he discovered she was his mate. He believed her unworthy of him. I was pulled from my thoughts as I finally heard my father’s loud snoring, and the bottle clattered to the floor. I slowly got up, taking my shirt off to wipe off the blood that had spattered the floor. Quietly, I went upstairs to shower and get ready for work. I looked in the mirror at the bruises, darkening my pale skin. It wasn’t the worst I had ever had, and the black eye was not something I could cover. Most people were used to bruises and never said anything. Abuse was allowed in our pack and even encouraged to keep us in line. I put on clothes that were easy to change out of so I could put my uniform on at work and snuck quietly out of the house. As I closed the door, I heard his snoring continue, so I knew it was safe. I walked down the road a bit to get to my car, well, it wasn’t my car. It was my friend Madeline's car, but she had left it for me to use when she found her mate. My dad had tried to sell it once, but he couldn’t since it didn’t technically belong to me. Madeline was mated to a famous war general in the Guardians Pack, and no one would dare incur his wrath. That was another reason I wanted to be selected as a server: I wanted to see my friend. I miss her every day. I headed to the packhouse to pick up Alice. She had become pregnant a couple of months ago by a dragon at a full moon ball and was now dropped to the bottom of the pack with the rest of us, trying to survive. The sad thing is, she was turned into the alpha by her supposed best friend, Jessica. That girl was horrible. She was my friend Madeline's stepsister and had been a terror the entire time I had known her, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but I felt bad for Alice. Our pack had no tolerance for half breeds and wolves who could not shift. She looked miserable the entire drive to work. "You know, pouting is not going to help.” I finally told her. I could not take it anymore. “You don’t know what it’s like to lose everything.” She shot back at me. “Watch yourself, you forget who you are talking to,” I growled back at her, causing her to look up. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a lot. The alpha is having my pregnancy monitored, and I have a bad feeling about it. I could only hear parts of the conversation with the doctor, but the words money and dragon were discussed. I think he is going to use this baby as ransom against Ronan.” She finally confessed. “Ronan is the dragon you slept with?” I asked. This was the first time she was really opening up to me. “Yes. The thing is, I didn’t even want to sleep with him. Jessica pushed me into joining the two of them because he wanted two girls. The second night, he only wanted me to stay with him. He was nice. He kept in contact for a couple of weeks and then said he had to go to Scotland and would call me when he got back. I haven’t heard from him since." She confessed. “I am sure he will call when he gets back. Was he your mate?” I asked curiously. “No. It would have been easier if he had been. I could have stayed in the Guardians pack like Madeline did.” She stopped, then snorted in disgust. “Jessica is still furious that Madeline is mated to a war general.” I chuckled. “I’m sure she is, probably thinks it should have been her.” “She does,” Alice replied. “You know she still tries to act like my friend after what she did?” “I’m not surprised. She treated Madeline horribly growing up. She saw a chance to be rewarded and threw you under the bus. Jessica only does things that benefit her and no one else.” I replied like it was obvious. “I know. I just thought she was my friend and that I was different.” She finally said, looking out the window. We arrived at work and changed into our uniforms. Things were not going well, the pack seemed to be getting worse. I knew our boss Emma had Madeline’s phone number, so I knocked on her office door and asked to make a call. “Hello, my love,” I said as soon as she picked up the phone. "I've missed you so much.” Madeline sounded like she wanted to cry. "I miss you too, more than I thought possible," I told her. This was the longest I had ever been apart from her. "Are you alright?" She was worried for me as usual. "I'm doing ok." I sighed. "I hate to ask this of you, but I applied to be a server for the full moon ball in your pack, and I listed you as a reference. I could use the money if you are able to help me get a position. I promise to work hard." "Of course, the head of the kitchen called last week about you, and I already told her what an amazing worker you were. She said you were at the top of her list. Emma gave you glowing references as well." Madeline replied. "Please be honest. Are you really alright?" She knew me better than anyone else. "Yes. It’s just that things here have been strange. I overheard a group of warriors saying our Alpha felt slighted that former Alpha Xander and your mate Johnathan were not in attendance at our ball." I started explaining. "The Alpha has gotten even worse about pack members. None of us have been allowed to move into the apartments at Emma's building. We are required to stay with a parent." "Will you be allowed to come to our pack for the job?” Madeline asked her tone now worried. "I'm sure that will be fine since he thinks it reflects highly on him when his pack members are selected. Also, Jessica told the Alpha that Alice was pregnant with a dragon child. Her parents kicked her out for it, and she's staying in one of the lowest Omega quarters. She's been working with me at Emma's, but the Alpha is keeping a very close eye on her. Alice thinks he is planning to use her as leverage against the dragon or your pack somehow. I feel bad for her, and I just don't know who to turn to. Do you trust your new pack?" "Yes, I trust them. They are good people to their core and will take care of this. Just do everything you can to get to our pack for that job. We are coming home from Scotland today, so we can find out more. Would he allow Alice to come serve as well?" Madeline asked, her mind already working. "No. I don't think he will. I have to go, I can't make this look suspicious, and I don't want to risk Emma. I love you and I will see you soon." I rushed out, knowing I needed to get going. "Be safe, and I love you, Kyra." She replied before I hung up. “This could get you killed if you are not careful,” Emma said to me as I hung up the phone. “I know, but I can’t just sit by and do nothing anymore,” I told her. She nodded and then dismissed me.