The Guard - North American Headquarters

Maryland, Present day

Ezra POV

"And you're absolutely sure that it was him?"

Here I sit hours later, in my commanding officer's overly organized office.

Everything is neatly stacked and prepped, and whenever I'm here I can't seem to relax. It feels too stiff, too perfect. It gives me the creeps to be honest. Not that I am a slob by any means, but neat freak doesn't come close either.

"Positive. What, you don't trust me?" I calmly ask, trying to cover up the irritation I hold at his questioning.

His name is Onyx, and he's not the nicest guy.

He is the only lycan commanding officer working for the Guard in our region, and that goes to his head sometimes. Onyx has loads pride to spare.

His firm set, sandy brows are always rigidly set in a nearly permanent scowl. As per usual, his piercing, black eyes narrow at me over his expansive desk while he taps his shoe under the desk.

"I trust you, but you know full well that the Red Alpha hasn't been spotted in over two years. Seeing his sidekick is massive news. It's hardly believable," He sighs, itching his bald head, "but I do believe you."

I lean back into my chair, sucking in a deep breath and trying to relax a bit and failing miserably. I can't help but be on edge.

As thankful as I am that Onyx gives me the time of day, he's hardly gracious as far as this situation goes.

Even just one little word from me asking if my team could investigate was shot down immediately as I knew it would be. He reacted as if I was some raging lunatic to even suggest such a thing.

"We have some trackers following the trail that the albino nuisance left behind, apparently he landed somewhere in Virginia near a college town. Nothing's set in stone yet. We're having our best people follow up. No need to get your panties in a twist." He continues, observing my clear unease with a smirk brimming with smugness.

His twitchy fingers straighten a ballpoint pen beside his sleek laptop. Everything has to be tweaked to his liking or he can't function properly.

Truth is that I can't accept that I hadn't even been considered for the mission. I knew I could be shot down, but a little part of me had been hopeful that now was my chance. I thought I would be trusted with something bigger by now.

It's the Council's choice, and I have to be okay with that. Let's just say it's easier said than done.

My hard work never gets the recognition it deserves despite me being in the top of my class for the past 52 years. Any mission I'm assigned is accomplished with flying colors, and no complaints.

The Council members of the Guard approve all promotions. I haven't been promoted in over two decades. The reminder of it is like an itch inside my brain.

People in my team come and go on occasion, some are promoted, but most get sent off to packs to become warriors. A terrifying prospect to me. That would me all my hard work down the drain.

A few of my past team members even settled down when they found their mates. They hadn't complained.

I want, no, I need to be a higher ranking warrior. I can not stand being someone who gets handed simple little chores like a delivery boy.

A soft, tentative knock sounds at the door of Onyx's office. His nostrils flare as he mumbles for whoever it was to enter.

The door opened and revealed his mate, Gena.

She not a lycan like Onyx and I, but a werewolf. She's lean and strong as she stalks into the office with purpose. Her hazel gaze fixes on me, then flickers to her mate.

Gena's uncomfortable, the scent of distress seeping out of her skin like a dark perfume.

"Ezra, you are dismissed." Onyx demands, concern in his tone. He clearly reads something in his mate's eyes and wants me gone. I understand, it is a private moment after all.

I'm happy to leave as my skin is getting tighter and tighter around my body.

I stand and storm out. My fists stay clenched while I stomp to my bunk as quickly as possible. I can't seem to escape fast enough, my lungs need some air.

Like usual, the hallways are shadow filled and brooding. The pungent aroma of gunpowder and metal burn my nostrils, flaming into the back of my throat like a deadly poison.

Home sweet home, right?

When I enter my room, Reid sits up from lounging on his bed. Our sleeping areas are parallel on either side of the room. His on the right, mine to the left.

The room included a small bathroom, and two closets. It was a lot shoved into a cramped space. The beds are both queen sized to accommodate our larger frames, but my feet somehow find their way down until they hang off the edge of the mattress by morning.

Sometimes I find it frustrating just trying to move around in here. I require more space than this to maintain my sanity. There are times when I go to the train ring room just to experience open space.

It's always a relief when we have a mission so I can escape these tiny confines that suffocate me every day.

I carefully step around Ace who is sprawled on the ground, holding a magazine above his head. He appears to be reading intently despite the odd angle. He never strays far from Reid's side.

"So?" Reid prompts. I sink into my bed and shake my head, glaring at the smoke gray tile flooring between my boots.

"Bummer. Really. Such a bummer." Ace mutters, a strong lack of interest in his voice. His glazed eyes scroll over the pages without so much of a sideways glance to either of us.

Reid leans down and snatches the magazine out of his brother's grasp.

"Hey!" Ace snaps like the moody teenager that he is.

"Our leader is pissed and all you want to do is read about human celebrities?" Reid asks, completely incredulous. He holds the magazine away from his body, pinching the shiny pages between two fingers like it's covered in mold.

"The drama is entertaining, what can I say? Way better than hearing Ezra wallow all the time." My head flickers up to glare at Ace.

"Watch yourself. That mouth of yours will get you in trouble." I bark at him. He should know better by now.

"That seems to be something I hear a lot lately." The young lycan complains, rolling those emerald green eyes while he shifts his hands under the back of his head. He's completely comfortable laying on the cold, hard ground.

"Well, there must be something to learn from that, huh?" Reasons Reid. Ace closes his eyes and begins humming, effectively ignoring him.

I have no siblings... that I know of that is.

My birth mother abandoned me in a park when I was just three years old. No trace of her was found, not even a scent left behind.

The Creature Protection Organization, otherwise known as the CPO, took me in. I was adopted out to a wealthy lycan family by the age of five.

Growing up, I had no siblings, and my adoptive parents were a bit unfeeling. Being practically invisible as a child was confusing. Trying to combat that, I never stopped trying to receive any attention I could get. Good or bad, it didn't matter what kind of recognition it was, I just wanted them to see me somehow.

When I got older I found out that my parents hadn't adopted me out of love, not that that was at all surprising to me.

They wanted me for status, plain and simple. My mother wasn't able to conceive after over 200 years of trying.

Infertility was looked down upon in their lycan high society. So they did what any scheming, filthy rich person would do. They planned an elaborate lie to boost their status among their neighbors.

Somehow they managed to pass me off as their son. They said my mother's pregnancy was a rough one, so they had hidden her away until her health was back to normal. I don't think any of those rich lunatics actually believed the scam.

When I turned sixteen I had thankfully escaped.

Lycans usually shift for the first time at eighteen, but some can shift earlier. Some say the stronger you are, the earlier you shift. As soon as I shifted, I was gone. The Guard took me in, and I thankfully hadn't seen my phony parents since then.

"Where's Hyrum?" Ace's comment breaks through the silence, evaporating my thoughts then and there. Reid rolls his eyes before replying.

"Where do you think? The training room."

"I don't really know why. The guy's a beast already." Shoots back Ace.

"All of us should be training. You were slow on the stakeout yesterday." I reprimand, then I'm standing, feeling fidgety suddenly as if I need to do something.

I'm still not over being shot down for mission consideration. I hate being seen as inferior. It makes my skin crawl.

"Well, if I had known that it would turn into a chase then maybe I would have been prepared." Ace uses as an excuse, and Reid snorts like a pig at that comment.

"Right... that's a big maybe." Ace slaps his older brother on the ankle, making him shout out in surprise.

I smile at the playfulness of siblings. Reid is at least 300 years Ace's senior, and his mother's pregnancy had been an accident.

A happy accident, that is.

They love Ace with every fiber of their beings, and I try to not let it make me jealous.

I've always been alone, and I always will be. It's just something that I have to accept. There is always that doubt in the back of my mind that Moon Goddess will ever give me a mate.

I don't deserve a soul mate, and I don't want one.

The door suddenly bursts open, and Ace screams dramatically. The mountain that was Hyrum fills out the doorway, blocking every trace of light behind him. His features are grim, purple eyes tracing over us one by one.

"What's wrong?" Reid demands, jumping to his feet.

"He's on his way."

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