11
Jace
Two weeks. It has been almost two weeks exactly since I hooked up with that girl in Clearwater, and I still can’t get her out of my head.
This hasn’t ever happened to me before. Sure, I’ve had one-night stands with women, and some of them were pretty great- but my thoughts about this one are bordering on obsession.
At first, I thought it was because the anonymity of the whole encounter made it feel more exciting, almost dangerous. But it wasn’t just that. It washer- everything about her. For starters, she was a total knockout; quite possibly the most beautiful woman that I’ve ever had the privilege of seeing up close. Then she had this air of confidence about her- she radiated energy and strength, seemed like the kind of girl who knows what she wants and doesn’t take any shit from anyone. And when the two of us were together… the sexual chemistry was combustible. You can’t fake chemistry like that.
Which is why I have to find her. She said she only wanted one night, but one night with her isn’t nearly enough. I’ve gotta have her. I’ve been bugging Ryder about her incessantly, but he swears up and down that he can’t think of anyone in his pack that matches my description. I went back to the Clearwater Tap the following Wednesday hoping I’d run into her again, but she wasn’t there. It’s starting to drive me a little fucking crazy, like I’m chasing a ghost.
The guys can tell I’m distracted. We’re having a meeting to discuss details of forming the reserve squad, and my buddy Thomas keeps elbowing me every time my eyes glaze over. I catch an elbow to the ribs for the fifth time, shooting him a sideways glare.
“If you’re up for it, Jace, I think it’d make the most sense,” Gray says, looking over at me from his seat at the head of the conference table.
Shit. I totally missed what he said. I lean forward, pinching the bridge of my nose between my thumb and forefinger and squeezing my eyes shut. “Uhhh… up for what, exactly?”
Gray sighs, folding his hands in front of him. “For taking the lead on training the reserve squad recruits. We’ve got about eighty of them signed up and they’re starting next week.”
I open my eyes, nodding slowly. I guess it does make sense for me to take the lead- Gray, Ryder, and Brody are Alphas of their own packs, which eats up a lot of their time, and Thomas has already taken on more responsibility around here by working with the IT unit and getting the new border security system up and running. Compared to what the other guys have on their plates, I’ve basically been sitting on my ass.
After the close call in Denver a couple weeks ago, we’ve been working to formulate plans to shore up our defenses for a shadow pack attack. Our first actions are adding more staff to our IT unit, since the shadow pack’s attack on Denver involved cyber security, and building a reserve squad to protect the six-pack in the event that most of our trained squad has to go to Denver to aid their pack in fending off a physical attack. The reserve squad won’t live at the complex year-round like the other squad members; they’ll just come back one weekend a month to brush up on combat training. Their initial training will be a little more intense, though.
It won’t be as rough as our summer training camp is for new squad recruits. We really put those kids through the paces, weeding out the best of the best to become permanent squad members. The recruits that signed up for the reserve squad are people that either got cut from their training camp round or have never gone out for the squad before. Either way, they won’t be as skilled as our current members, and we don’t expect them to be- serving on the reserve squad is completely voluntary and with any luck, the reserves won’t ever see battle. We just need to get them trained up enough so that if they do, they can hold their own.
“You’ll have help, of course,” Gray continues, leaning back in his chair. “Faun, Casey, Adrian, and Loganiel all volunteered to assist with training, and other squad members will cycle in and out as needed.”
I grunt in affirmation, nodding. “Sure, sounds good.”
Gray narrows his eyes at me, slowly arching a brow. “You sure? You seem a little…preoccupiedtoday.”
Damnit. I hate that he’s calling me out.
“Nah, man, I’m good,” I breathe, leaning my chair back on two legs.
“Don’t even tell me this is about your mystery girl again,” Ryder groans, scrubbing a hand over his face.
“Mystery girl?” Thomas asks, giving me a little nudge. “There’s a mystery girl?”
“He’s been going on and on about her for weeks,” Ryder adds, rolling his eyes.
Thomas punches my arm playfully. “Dude, why am I just finding out about this?”
“You’ve been a little preoccupied, yourself,” I shoot back. I quickly realize how salty it sounds and add “not that I blame you for spending time with your mate.”