“Yes. It was nineteen years ago,” the captain said. “At first, the teams were way smaller, only five or six people in each, and we had only one building to ourselves here at the base. We trained and lived with the other units, and used their equipment, so the first few years were rough. We had a lot to learn, equipment to get, and people to train.

“At times it felt like we were nothing but a public joke. The terrorists weren’t afraid of us. They really made us run around for nothing. It was too easy for them to fool us and kill us. We lost men. Good men… The four guys I started with only lasted a year or two… It’s a miracle I survived. Most of the original captains are now gone. There’s only two left besides me.”

I listened in silence while he spoke, trying to picture the world he was painting for me. I’d been too young around that time to remember what it was like, but I’d heard similar stories before. I couldn’t even understand the amount of people who’d died because of True Order.

“But things changed. We grew and learned. The governors paid a lot of money from their own pockets to give us what we needed. That’s why they own us now. We’re their crown jewels, their bloodhounds. Governor George Morgan paid for the construction of our homes, for example. All twelve teams now have their own bases because of him. And when his daughter, Lilah, inherited his title as the new governor, she paid for our public spaces, like the grocery store and the bar.”

I looked around carefully when he drove past the gates of our gated neighborhood, memorizing everything I saw so I wouldn’t get lost if I ever had to move around alone. As Captain Hale showed me around, he kept talking about the base, how and when everything was built, and who paid for what. This all was part of the seminar I was supposed to be watching, so I was grateful he took his time to show me the buildings I needed to learn about.

Then… He stopped his car in a small parking lot and turned off the engine. We both sat there in silence, staring outside. My chest suddenly felt heavy as I watched the countless white stones spreading into the distance in front of us.

It was a graveyard.

“We got better. The terrorists finally feared us,” Captain said quietly. “But the cost was great. These men and women, alphas and omegas, gave their lives protecting our country. I’ve buried too many of my own boys and girls here…”

I said nothing, and let him honor his fallen. There were so many graves… Hundreds of them. Maybe mine would be there, too. My only wish was that I’d die on the battlefield, not get killed by the Lace or a rapist.

Captain Hale let out a quiet sigh. “We were hopeful. We were better than them. Stronger than them. Eliminating them was like swatting flies. But like flies, they just kept coming. Just when we thought we got the hang of it, three of the biggest groups joined forces, creating an army of their own.”

“Jomica,” I said with a nod.

“That’s right,” he said. “Vaughn Johnson, Henry Mitchell, and Ruben Campbell. They started the war that lasted for several years. And they were rabid. They only wanted to kill as many as they could. More people died. More buildings were destroyed. They nearly turned our entire state into an apocalyptic dystopia.”

“But you guys stopped them. You destroyed them,” I said.

“Destroyed…? I wouldn’t say so. There’s still some out there, in the shadows, trying to grow strong again. But yeah, we did kick ass, and killed most of their leaders,” he said, smiling a little. “I actually came face-to-face with Campbell more than once. Called himself Rubell.”

“Like the disease, rubella?” I asked.

“He got really pissed when I called him that,” he grinned. “But he got back at me by shooting me in the shoulder.”

He moved his shirt a little so I could see a big scar right below his collarbone.

“Still pisses me off,” he grunted. “But I got my revenge. Shot him twice and kidnapped his lover.”

“What?” I asked, chuckling.

“Yeah…” he said, chuckling as well, but it faded fast. “I know I messed him up. Those shots should’ve killed him, but his body was never found. I know he’s still out there. It’s been years, and no one ever heard a word from him again, but I know… He is alive.”

“Are there people still looking for him?” I asked.

“Of course, and I keep my tabs on things as well, but I think he’s left the country. For now,” he said. “Anyway. Let’s continue with the tour, shall we?”

I nodded, and he fired up the engine and continued driving. He showed me the rest of the base, where to find the gym and the training fields, the canteen, and the three exists leading to the outer base. He then looped back around to the store and parked his car in front of it. But he didn’t get out. Instead, he turned to me.

“Any questions?”

“I’m still trying to process all this new information, sir,” I said. “If I come up with something, I’ll let you know.”

“Sure. You can always ask the boys as well. And Reid. They’ll help.”

I snorted when he mentioned Reid, which he sure didn’t miss.

He smiled at me. “He’ll warm up to you, don’t worry. And if he gets too difficult, come to me, and I’ll arrange something.”

I shook my head and sighed a little. “It’s fine. I understand him. It must be easier to hate me. And if it’s better for him, I can make sure he’ll never like me.”

“No, don’t do that,” he said slowly. “He needs a partner.”

“You said that yesterday, but you didn’t really elaborate,” I noted.

“Because this job will slowly eat us alive,” he said. “We all need someone by our side. Someone to share this life with. The bond we share with our partners gives us strength and keeps us sane.”

“Yeah, don’t know if I can give him that,” I muttered, looking away.

“You know, I think you two will be just fine,” he said with a chuckle. “Come. I’ll show you how to pay with your tag.”

When I followed him into the store, I still thought of Reid. He’d already left when I woke up this morning and hadn’t returned home, so the last time I spoke with him was when we had that conversation during the night. While I held the knife. It kind of felt idiotic now. An elite soldier like him could easily assault me in my sleep…

I stopped when that thought escaped my mind. I hated that thought. I hated the fact that getting assaulted was always the first thing on my mind. I hated it. I’d thought that after getting here, it would finally end. That I’d finally be safe from it.

Maybe that was also a reason my mind was breaking down… I’d held myself together for so long, but it still wasn’t over. It would never be over…

“Riley?”

I looked up when Captain Hale returned to me. I realized I was standing in the middle of the main aisle, gaining weirded looks.

“Sorry,” I said, shaking myself. “You’re right. It’s been a rough weekend…”

“It’ll get easier,” he said reassuringly. “Once you get to know us and learn the ropes.”

“You sure about that?” I asked before I could stop myself.

He nodded, patting my shoulder. “I’m pretty sure about that.”

He told me to grab something for myself, which I did without really paying attention to it. My focus was on the captain. I… I tried to find proof I couldn’t trust him. A weird look or a perverted smile or threatening posture, anything. But no, nothing. There was no way he could…

When he said… When he said we all needed a partner by our side to keep us sane… I realized I desperately needed a person I could trust to keep me sane. Captain Fernand had been that person to me until now, and losing him had thrown me off balance harder than I ever could’ve imagined.

“Okay, so remember, no one is allowed to touch your tag,” Captain Hale said when we were paying for our food. “Do not give it to anyone. So, when you pay, you press it against the reader here like you’d do with your card, but it’ll ask you to confirm your purchase with your fingerprint as a safety precaution. Like this.”

I watched while he swiped the machine with the tag, which then let out a quiet beep. There was a round glass panel at the bottom of the device that lit up, and he pressed his index finger on it.

“You can always pay with other methods, but this way, you don’t have to carry your wallet around. It will get deducted from your salary,” he explained. 

“Got it,” I said, and took my turn to pay for my stuff.

For a moment there, I was sure the tag would be declined. I still feared Stoll was doing everything he could to humiliate me, but the tag worked.

“And now you know how to use it,” Captain said with a smile.

I followed him out of the store and stopped to look around next to his Jeep, trying to memorize the place while he opened the doors. I was pretty sure I remembered my way back to Lion’s Gate from there.

“All good?” Captain asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Just trying to figure out where I am.”

“Did you?” he asked.

“Yeah. Lion’s Gate is that way,” I said, pointing at a small patch of trees behind us.

“You’re right,” he said, but stopped to watch a few alphas walking past us.

They were giving me stares that made me uneasy. Like I was fresh prey. I looked away, my omega getting scared. It could tell those guys weren’t happy to see us here.

Captain Hale stepped closer to me, but still stared at the guys until they vanished behind the corner. Then he looked at me.

He hesitated for a moment, but then he spoke. “I uh… I don’t know if I should bring this up, but… I know… about the hell you’ve been through.”

“It’s fine, sir,” I said a little too fast.

He nodded slowly. “Right. I’m sorry I brought it up.”

We both stayed silent while we climbed back in the car, and he continued driving. I stared out the window for a moment, then glanced at him.

“I mean… It’s over now, right?” I said quietly, looking away.

“It is over now,” he said. “I’ll make sure of that.”

I nodded, shivering. “You know I don’t believe you, right?”

“I know,” he said gently. “Maybe one day, you will.”

“I’d like that,” I whispered.

It didn’t take us long to arrive back home. Captain parked the car, then turned to watch me. I had to take a moment before I was able to look at him. He gave me a kind smile when our eyes met, and slowly, he moved his hand closer to me, stopping it to hover over the gearstick.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to let my hopes up. I didn’t want to… I didn’t want to trust him. A small, sick part of me wanted him to drive to the middle of nowhere and rape me there so I could go back to how things used to be. It was easier that way.

But why would I want that…?

I moved my hand and touched him. He had big veins, hot skin, and countless small scars, and I took my time to study them. Why was it so calming…? 

“I promise I will work hard to earn your trust,” he said softly. “That’s what I do here. Every single one of my boys has their own story to tell, and I had to earn each of their trust when I first got them.”

“What kind of stories?” I asked quietly.

“Bad ones. Heartbreaking ones. Fear. Abuse. Torture. Neglect. Death. None of them are fully healed, but I will work with them as long as they need me,” he told me. “And I’ll work with you when you’re ready to let me. But first, we’ll take our time getting to know each other a little better.”

“Sounds simple,” I said, still moving my fingers on his hand.

“Only time will tell how simple it’ll be,” he said.

“Makes sense,” I muttered.

We both fell silent. Captain just sat there, holding his hand still for me. This was weird as fuck. He was my captain, for crying out loud. And yet, I just sat there, moving my fingers on his skin like it was a sane thing to do.

But… For some reason… I needed it. The omega in me found it calming, and I… Well… After all that pain, this was… nice.

It was really nice…

And I was better not getting used to it. I pulled my hand away.

“Ready to go inside?” the captain asked.

“Yeah,” I said, and left the car.

I wished I could believe him. And I wished I didn’t believe him at all. Because… There was a small part of me that already did believe him.

And it scared me.

[Patreon subscribers have 2 new bonus chapters up on tier 2 (total of 7 bonus chapters now up), plus the whole 10-chapter story of how Nico Angelos, Captain Hale’s partner, ended up on the team on tier 3! Link below in the banner]