Heartless Angels

Chapter 9 – Oakley

Chapter 9 – Oakley

The next morning, Cassie and I check out of the Best Western. Unbelievably, Cassie had hitchhiked from her pack to

Corinth, so she didn’t have a vehicle. I had a pick-up that I had taken from a gas station two hours before I got off my exit at Corinth. So, we were obviously taking my car. If we happened to get into the Elite Ten trials, then I’d leave it somewhere and give the cops an anonymous tip to come and pick it up to return it back to the poor fellow I had taken it from.

Cassie had downloaded Google Maps on her phone and navigated us to the castle in just under an hour. Though tryouts didn’t start until 10 am and we arrived at 8:30, there was a huge line of wolves waiting to get in. We walked to the front, signed in, and then walked all the way to the back of the line.

Based on the information that I had found on their website, we had to make it through try-outs to be considered for the trials. Only 50 wolves would be chosen. Over the next month, those wolves would be put through a grueling set of four trials, ones that they didn’t divulge. Each trial would get rid of 10 wolves. In the end, only the final 10 would remain standing and those wolves would be the Elite Ten.:

Today, we would be assessed on our skills with a variety of weapons, hand to hand combat in wolf and human forms, and strategy. Wolves could be kicked out at any time. Those standing at the end of today would be welcomed into the castle to stay until they were kicked out or made it onto the squad,

We’re standing in the line for all of 30 seconds before this tall, blonde she-wolf introduces herself to us. “Hi ladies! I’m Mary Black, this is my twin brother, Je rry. We’re so excited to be here! We came all the way from Salt Lake’s pack. What about you guys? We are so exhausted, just got in this morning, but don’t let that fool you. We’re still able to kick as s in the tryouts. Don’t doubt that you’re going to see us standing here at the end of the day! So! What are your names? Where are you from?”

Cassie and I stare at the she-wolf, our mouths agape. Personally, I’m wondering how she was able to get through all that without passing out from lack of oxygen. She didn’t take a single breath during that entire diatribe.

The male steps in, seemingly taking pity on us. “Sorry, guys. When Mary gets going, she sometimes gets a bit carried away. She’s safe, I promise. Has all her shots and everything.”,

“F uck off, Jer ry!” Mary says, hitting her twin on the arm, an annoyed look on her face. Though he manages to give us time to catch our breath from Mary’s whirlwind introduction and for our brains to catch up with all of her questions.

Cassie’s the first one to respond, which makes a lot of sense with her quick thinking and witty comebacks anyway. Extending her hand, she says, “Hi, I’m Ca ssandra Sky. Call me Cassie. I’m from Cold Mountain pack. Actually, I think I saw you guys at some of the mate mixers –

“Oh, yeah! I remember you. Jer ry, you had a little crush on her before she literally found her mate before our eyes, didn’t you?” Mary chatters on, completely oblivious to the fact that she’s just shared something that she probably shouldn’t have.

“Mary: Je rry says calmly, though it’s easy to hear the edge of embarrassment in his voice, only amplified by his reddened cheeks. “Do you remember how we talked about the things that you should say inside your head versus out loud?”

“Yes,” Mary rolls her eyes. “Anything that would be rude, hurtful, or embarrassing should stay in my head-oh! My bad,

Jer-Bear.”

Cassie and I try hard to stifle our giggles as Jer ry’s cheeks get impossibly redder. Instead of addressing the nickname, he

just turns to me, clearing his throat before asking, “And who are you? How do you know Cassie here?”

d the hand that he’s offering and give him a smile to let him know that I won’t hold anything that his sister said

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Chapter 9 – Oakley

against him. “I’m Oakley Moon from the Silver Lake Pack. I met Cassie a couple days ago when she saved me from a creepy old lady.”

“You have to watch out for those old ladies,” Jer ry nods, sagely. “You know how they get those bad hips?”

I coc k a brow at him. “Osteoporosis?”

*Street fighting. Don’t let the cane fool you. Granny’s got moves. And she fights d*rty, he tells me with a completely straight face.

I try to bite my bottom l*p to hold back my laughter, but in the end, I can’t hold it in. Both of us laugh and fall into easy conversation while Ca ssle and Mary chatter back and forth with each other, both of them talking over the other. It was amazing that they were able to hear what the other is saying, let alone have an actual conversation,

With our new friends, the hour went by quickly. It may not be the best idea, since we don’t know who is going to get through tryouts, let alone the next month of trials. But it’s hard not to like wolves as welcoming and friendly as Mary and Je rry. Cassie and Mary seem like natural friends and Je rry and I both have a similar sense of humor, so we get along well.

At exactly 10:00, the doors open and wolves are allowed on the castle grounds. Our names are checked against the sign up number that was given to us when we first arrived and we are divided into groups. Cassie and I are together, I guess because we came in together, but Mary and Je rry are split from us. I hope that we get to see them again when this is all over.

It’s weird to be in this castle, knowing that it isn’t really used for its original purpose any longer. Several hundred years ago, we did have a sort of king and queen over all werekind, an alpha and luna that was over us all. But they and their entire bloodline were killed in a huge coup by other alphas who saw their treatment of the people as cruel. Reading what they had done to the people and to humans alike, it did seem like the Crescent line had become quite corrupt and had been that way for a long time. Unfortunately, history is written by the winners, so I don’t know if everything that was written in my history book was real.

Regardless, the bloodline was eliminated and the castle became the seat of our government. Once every year, all of the alphas from the 13 continental packs come together and decide cases, make laws or amendments to laws, and engineer the future of our kind. The Elite Ten are their instruments. They ensure that the laws are carried out and punishments are given to those that are sentenced. They will take no mate, carry no bloodline, and erase their past, including their name, once they are accepted as one of the Ten.

Of course, there are other warriors that represent the continent. We have an army and a navy. Each pack has their own warriors as well. But it is the Ten that are respected by all. It is the Ten that everyone fears. And it is the Ten that will offer me the anonymity that I need. So, it is one of the Ten that I will be.

Ever since I had shifted into this new, beautiful wolf of mine, I feel a new strength coursing through me. I feel invincible, like I’m able to do anything. To my wolf, this tryout seems like nothing, a piece of cake to get past to get to the trials, which are more worthy of her.

When all of the wolves have been processed and put into their groups, a strikingly beautiful black she-wolf climbs to a microphone on a small stage set close to the castle wall. She’s short, I’d say less than 5% feet tall, but the confidence which she exudes could make her a giant. She’s got a muscled frame and moves with the grace of the animal inside her, fully predatory and unapologetic about it. She’s dressed all in black. Black leather pants, black sleeveless-tee, black leather vest, and black Doc Martens. I’m probably 150 yards away from her, more than the length of a football field, and she still intimidates the

hell out of me.

Once she gets to the microphone, she wastes no time addressing us. “Morning. I’m Sophia Knight, the leader of this tryout.

I’m going to cut through the bul lsh it. Most of you won’t be standing here at the end of the day. We’re only taking 50 of you, at

most. That doesn’t mean that we’ll be taking the 50 best warriors. No, that means that we’ll be taking up to 50 of you who meet

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Chapter 9 – Oakley

our standards for the chance to become an Elite Ten. It’s a hard life, one that only the special few can attain. We will put your b*dy through hell, break you down both physically and men tally, and reform you into what we need you to be Most of the population wouldn’t be able to do it, including the alphas of your packs. So, this is your final chance to get the f uck out if that isn’t something that you even think that you are capable of. Because, believe me, over the next few hours, you will be dropping like flies”

She waits a few minutes and there are some wolves that leave. When the last wolf moves through the gatehouse doors, Sophia smiles a smile that does not promise good times. At least not for us. She looks like she’s going to have a f ucking ball. “Let’s get started then.”

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