Chapter 6 Strip!

• Ice-cold water splashed on her sleeping face, waking her up with a gasp.
• Rhaeven jumped up, coughing and shivering.
• A soldier stood over her, looking at her disgustingly with an empty bucket in his hand.
• “You’ve had enough sleep, Jackal’s blood! To the training yard, now.”
• Rhaeven blinked. The training ground? At this hour?
• What for?
• Her entire body ached, and her mind was slow in catching up to things, from a lack of proper sleep.
• Rhaeven’s eyes narrowed, as she sat still, not fully understanding what he meant.
• She’d barely had time to pull herself together when he returned, his voice high and filled with disgust.
• “Do not make me repeat myself, human filth!”
• He pulled her very roughly to her feet, and Rhaeven almost stumbled as she struggled to maintain her balance.
• Disoriented but not wanting any more trouble, she dragged herself towards the clearing behind the stables, following the other boys who looked like they’d been dragged off their beds as well.
• They were all headed to the training ground.
• She shut her mouth tight, gritting her teeth against the chilling cold, but it wasn’t the cold she was worried about.
• Her fear of the unknown hurt her much more than any cold.
• She nearly bumped into a boy as she slowed behind, and he shoved her off the road to the amusement of Luther and his twin among other boys.
• They began to point at her, laughing as she drew closer to the lines, but she paid them no mind.
• They could laugh all they wanted, it didn't benefit her in any way.
• A boy behind her smiled as she stood in front of him, revealing two crooked teeth in the middle of his mouth.
• She avoided him as she looked to the front of the line.
• “Afraid, little human?” The boy said, and she turned, preparing to throw words at him.
• “Move faster, you’re stalling the line!” A soldier threw at her irritatedly and she obeyed, forgetting the boy in that instant.
• A command sounded at that instant, sharp and loud.
• “Next, shirt off!”
• Rhaeven paused, then staggered backwards and swallowed with difficulty as she recalled what this was.
• A routine inspection.
• For recruits and prisoners.
• She knew because the same procedure was done back home, but for humans.
• Not wolves.
• They did it to ensure that they carried no branding or markings of the enemy.
• That the prisoners had nothing to hide.
• What happens when they realize she wasn’t what she claimed, or rather what they’d assumed she was.
• A boy.
• Her hands began to shake, not from the cold. But from her thoughts that threatened to silence her forever.
• Would the Alpha throw her to his fellow wolves?
• Or would he kill her? Was that what her dream had been about?
• And the vial, would he discover it?
• Would the Alpha brand her then parade her for all to see?
• Her chest began to beat faster and her legs stayed stuck.
• Refusing to move.
• “Move it!” One of the guards barked.
• Trembling, Rhaeven moved forward as she watched the boys begin to pull off their shirts, one after the other.
• Luther was first, then his twin.
• She was four people away from discovery.
• Then Three.
• Two, now.
• She closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate when a scream sounded from the opposite side of the yard.
• Everyone turned, including her.
• One boy who looked like he was her age mate hurried into the yard, panting hard as he dragged his bloodied foot against the ground.
• “He bit off my toe! The new one. He’s freed himself from the chains!"
• In an instant, the guards scattered shouting over one another as the boy screamed, “Hurry!” throwing himself on the ground in tears.
• Rhaeven staggered backwards, as disbelief clouded her mind.
• What was happening? The boy looked human.
• Who was he referring to?
• Was it a monster? Just like the wolves?
• “Shut your mouth and rise, now!” A soldier shouted at the boy, urging him to pull himself together.
• The inspection line scattered as the boys and everyone else made for the cells.
• Rhaeven sighed in relief as she took four steps backward, blending behind a recruit who was vomiting the contents of his stomach, like he couldn’t stand what had just happened.
• She stepped aside in fear, unsure of which way she should go, when she looked up a hill opposite where she stood and saw him.
• The Alpha.
• His hands were clasped behind him, and he stood unmoving.
• Staring straight at her.
• Rhaeven gasped, shocked to find out that he’d been up there all along, supervising the whole thing without as much as a word.
• And now.
• She couldn’t tell if he’d seen her, really really seen her.
• Rhaeven wished the ground could open up and swallow her.
• It was better than standing here like a fool while he stared straight at her without as much as a blink.
• Could he tell from up there?
• She nodded, it wasn’t possible, was it?
• She stood still, unable to move as his eyes pinned her in place, like he was searching for something, anything.
• To hold against her.
• Unable to hold his gaze any longer, she made to lower her eyes, but he turned his back.
• And vanished.
• Rhaeven staggered backwards, bumping into another soldier, who simply swore at her, before pushing her out of his way.
• She stood, not hearing a word he’d said until he turned to leave.
• Then she let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.
• The inspection was over for now.
• The boy with the bitten foot had saved her this one time.
• The chaos the monster who’d bitten him had unleashed would delay everything.
• But it will not stop her still having to strip her shirt in the presence of everyone.
• Whether she was ready or not.
• Her shirt would come off.
• She knew the Alpha would make certain of it.
• And when it did, there would be nowhere safe for her.