Human Instincts Page 2
“But humans learned about paranormals over a hundred and fifty years ago. Why now?”
Alpha Grant hesitated and looked at the commander before turning his gaze back onto the four of them. “I can’t answer that right now. But I can say that we hope combining the armies will begin to heal the tumultuous relationship between humans and paranormal beings.”
Dylan had no desire to be the first to do anything, no matter what made him a good candidate. “What trait did we display, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Alpha Grant smiled. “Your protective nature will complement that of the shifters. Christian’s loyalty will match a vampire’s. Seazur’s ability to read people will allow him to fit in with the human army. And Waldon will keep Seazur in line. Other factors helped in the selection process, but those are the main reasons.”
Seazur chuckled, as if there was something remotely funny about the situation.
Dylan started to tell the Alpha what he could do with his selection process, but the commander cut him off. “Dylan Kole and Christian Martin, pack up. You have an hour before the ferry leaves.”
“Yes, sir.” Dylan turned and headed out of the room, Christian, and the two Rogue soldiers right behind him.
It took Seazur one whole minute to goad Dylan. “Do you want advice on how to survive an attack from a demon?”
“Not from you.”
Seazur chuckled. “Oh, I can smell his anger and so could the Alpha, no doubt.”
Dylan just flipped Seazur off as he left the building to get packed.
“This is a clusterfuck if ever there was one,” Christian mumbled beside him.
Chapter Two
The ferry glided through the water jerkily, creating a ride that wasn’t entirely comfortable. The scenery was beautiful with the island’s greenery and white buildings up ahead. He wished the breeze would calm his nerves, but that didn’t seem likely. The air smelled briny, bringing home the fact that Dylan’s entire world had just changed inside of one hour.
He looked over at Christian, who looked as pissed as Dylan felt. “They’re going to slaughter us, and it’s a fucking island, man. There’s nowhere to go,” Christian whispered.
“Fuck that. They try anything, and I’ll kill those fuckers.”
“Nice. That would be really great, if you actually could.”
They both knew they could kick a paranormal’s ass. The human army trained had them well. “Do you doubt my skills?”
“You’re weak.”
Dylan chuckled. “Fuck you, man.”
Two men stood against the rail, rucksacks at their feet. One of the men raised his eyebrows at them, clearly listening to their conversation. They were both about a head taller than Dylan, and both had long hair pulled back into a tie at the nape of their necks. They looked and dressed like human bikers and not like the soldiers their rucksacks suggested they were. “Don’t worry, human. I’ll protect you from the mean paranormals.” The man kissed the air, aiming it at Christian.
Christian smirked back, seemingly not intimidated. Sometimes Christian didn’t think about the dangers of a situation, which probably made him a good soldier.
Christian stood up and walked over to the two men. “You think I need your protection?”
Christian addressed the man who spoke to him, but the other paranormal’s eyes changed, looking more like a cat’s eyes with that long, vertical pupil. When he opened his mouth to speak, Dylan could see his pointy canine teeth. “I think you might.”
To Christian’s credit, he stood his ground and even took a step closer, his back ramrod straight and he chest out as if that made him just a little bit bigger somehow. “Is that supposed to be threatening?” Christian looked at the other man. “Is he threatening me?”
The man with the teeth growled at Christian. “You’re obviously the humans the Alpha mentioned would be joining our army. You need to know just whose team you’re on now, human.”
Dylan was up and out of his seat, standing in front of Christian. Christian reached around Dylan, pointing at the man with the large teeth. He was bound and determined to get their asses kicked. “So you’re trying to scare me?”
Dylan figured he had two choices. He could take the first punch and get the shit storm started so that it would be over with sooner. They’d get an infraction or whatever the fuck the Rogues called a written warning to behave. At least, Dylan assumed the Rogue army worked like the human army, and there would be a violation issued for fighting. Or he could try to smooth over the tense situation. He chose the second, because they had to start acting like the soldiers they were. For all Dylan knew they could be fighting side-by-side with these two men, and he wanted them to know he’d have their backs. He was in the Rogue army, and all Rogue soldiers were his brothers now, paranormal or not. Get used to it, Dylan. “We’re not aiming to start off on the wrong foot here.”
The man leaned against the rail of the ferry. “You have a lot to learn, human. Here’s your first lesson as a Rogue. Don’t start a fight where there isn’t one. Just because a shifter’s eyes change to their animal counterpart and their teeth drop doesn’t mean they’re threatening you. It could mean a lot of things, including that you’re their mate. Now bow your head, because I outrank you.”
Dylan did what the man told him. If he was telling the truth and he was his superior, then Dylan had to show respect. Christian did the same thing. “I’m Dylan. This idiot is Christian.”
A cool hand touched the back of his neck, and when it did, he lifted his head again.
The guy with the teeth smiled and held out his hand for Dylan to shake. Dylan took it as the nice, friendly gesture it was meant to be, shaking his hand quickly and let it go.
“I’m Lennix, a leopard shifter, and this is Rico, a hawk shifter. We’re just coming back from a mission.” Lennix pointed to Rico with his thumb and smirked. “This one could have just flown over.”
“Shut up.” The way Rico blushed, he knew there was a story there, but he didn’t look like he was about to tell it, so Dylan didn’t press.
“That must be cool. To be able to fly.” Dylan couldn’t believe he was even having a conversation with paranormal beings that were marginally friendly.
Either embrace the change or fight against it, Dylan.
Rico shrugged. “I guess it is pretty fun.”
“We just got back from a training exercise with a leopard. It wasn’t you, was it?” Christian sat back down on the bench.
“Not me, man. I’m special operations.” Lennix grinned. “You guys taking Seazur and Waldon’s spot on team five?”
Dylan nodded. “The Alpha didn’t tell us which team, but yeah.”
Rico smirked. “It’s team five. You’re in for some hellish training.”
“That’s great news on this very shitty day.” Dylan hated the day so hard.
“Just wait until Virion’s training tomorrow.” Rico laughed.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
The ferry came to a jerky stop, and everyone’s focus changed. They all grabbed their rucksacks and made their way to the back of the ferry, where they exited the ship using the gangplank. The gangplank was just a big metal platform that raised and lowered once the boat’s stern hit the bumpers on the pier. The metal clanked against the concrete of the pier when they walked across it.
There was a small café just off to the right a few yards in from the shoreline, and Rico headed right for it.
Lennix shook his head and watched him walk in. “Rico has a thing for the barista, but they aren’t mates, so the guy keeps telling him no. It was funny at first, but now it’s just getting sad.” The reason why Rico hadn’t flown back to the island suddenly became apparent. “He thinks he’s being subtle if Markie sees him get off the ferry and then go in instead of making a special trip.”
If he was going for subtle, making a bee-line directly for the place didn’t exactly send that message, but whatever.
Christian looked around Dylan to Lennix. “So that whole mate thing is real? I’ve heard about it, but always thought it was a rumor.”
Lennix smirked. “It’s very real. It just means finding your soulmate. It’s a big deal for paranormals. We take it very seriously, because it means a permanent connection.”
“So that’s why the coffee guy doesn’t want to get with Rico, huh?”
“Yep. Markie’s mate died while on a mission two years ago.” Something passed across Lennix’s face that Dylan recognized as grief. Grief was all too familiar to Dylan. He’s witnessed a few of his friends die over the years and knew Lennix probably had too. Probably Markie’s mate was a good friend of Lennix’s. “Rico hasn’t found his mate, though.”
“I’m sorry, man,” Dylan patted Lennix on the arm, letting him know he understood.
Lennix just nodded, and no one said another word about it. Dylan didn’t want to rehash all his loss either, so he understood.
Lennix took them right to a man who stood with his feet wide apart and his hands clasped behind his back. He had on black pants and a black shirt and looked to be of Asian descent. Dylan knew he was a vampire because of the large fangs visible when he smiled.
He looked right at Dylan and Christian as they made their way off the pier.
Lennix bowed his head at the man and kept it down until he touched the back of his neck. Lennix lifted his head.
“Your mission was successful, I trust?” His voice was soft, and when he looked at Lennix, it was as if the man was the only one he saw. It was almost too intimate, if the nature of their relationship was something more than that of subordinate and leader, which was what all the posturing suggested.
“Partially, Alpha.”
“We’ll debrief after I show the new recruits around.”
“Would you like me to show them?”
The man smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder. “You get something to eat. Rudy is cooking today. He’s holding back something for the new recruits and myself, so you should go now and beat the crowd.
“Man, I love it when the little omega cooks. He’s awesome.”
The other man chuckled. “Go.”
Lennix turned and waved at them both. “I’ll catch you guys later. Probably in the barracks or tomorrow on the field.” He pointed to them. “Be ready. Virion is tough.”
Dylan nodded but didn’t have much time for anything else, because the vampire stood in front of him, smiling at them. Despite the fangs, the smile was a gentle one, designed to put them at ease. It did its job well. Dylan didn’t need to be told to bow to the man. There was something very commanding about the vampire that made Dylan want to show him respect.
Dylan kept his head down until he felt a cool hand on the back of his neck and only then lifted it to look at the man. “Excellent, both of you. I see Lennix and Rico taught you a bit on the boat ride over.”
“Only that, sir,” Dylan spoke.
“My name is Ywain Ma, not sir. I’m the Vampire Alpha on this island. You’ll meet the shifter Alpha sometime tomorrow most likely. His name is Alpha Delco. You may call me Alpha Ywain, or just Alpha when there isn’t another Alpha around.”
Well, they certainly weren’t in the human army anymore. Dylan finally understood how Dorothy felt in the old movie that he had watched with his grandmother when he was a child. “Yes, Alpha Ywain.”
“Now I’m going to show you around. After I’m finished, you have the rest of the day free. You’ll start with team five tomorrow.”
They walked down a small paved road. Several people were on bicycles, but there weren’t any cars lining the street like he would have expected. He jerked a little when he saw a cheetah walk toward them. His hand went to the rucksack instinctively because he had a pistol lying on top of all his clothing. The cheetah had a couple of children following it. The kids were holding hands, and the older one, who looked to be about eight years old said, “What about ice cream, Mama?”
The cheetah seemed to sigh and then turn down another road to the right.
“As you can see, we have a thriving village that makes life a little easier for us Rogues. We treat the villagers with the same respect as we do the military portion of the Roguefalls community. We’re all part of the same clan, after all. You two will follow that as well.”
“Yes, Alpha Ywain,” Dylan and Christian said at the same time.
After the row of shops, several larger buildings sat on a hill. Dylan assumed the military part of the community lived in those buildings, because he saw several men and even some animals training.
An entire team ran around the buildings, a man chanting something. Two wolves went at each other off to his left, teeth flashing as they growled and hit each other so hard it looked like they should have been unconscious from the impact.
“Alpha.” Dylan reached forward and touched the man’s arm to get his attention. When the Alpha turned, he pointed to the two wolves. Each wolf had blood matting his fur, and still, they went at it as if they’re intent was to kill. Dylan sucked in a breath and cursed.
“Training can get rough sometimes.” Alpha Ywain looked at one of the guys standing around watching the horror. “Go get Rudy. Ask him to calm the situation.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“We’re lucky enough to have an omega wolf shifter. He’s also one of the best cooks on the island, and everyone looks forward to his food. You’ll meet him after the tour.” Dylan vaguely remembered learning about omega wolves during basic training. That was several years ago, though, and the paranormal class each soldier was mandated to take was only a few weeks long. Dylan wasn’t the smartest person when it came to learning from books, so he hadn’t retained much.
“Permission to speak freely, Alpha.” Dylan had so many questions.
“You always have permission to speak freely.” Alpha Ywain turned, looking at them both. “Listen, we don’t want you to follow orders because you’re scared of the consequences. We want you to follow orders because you trust your leaders. For that reason, you may say anything you’d like.”
“How many omegas do you have on the island?” Dylan asked.
Alpha Ywain gave Dylan a curious look. “Omegas are very rare, so we just have one.”
Christian elbowed him to get his attention. When Dylan looked at him, his lips had thinned out, and he spoke through clenched teeth. He eyed the wolves fighting with an apprehension Dylan completely understood. “Training is gonna suck.”
Alpha Ywain chuckled. “Shifters heal quicker than humans. It’s scratches only.”
“Scratches. I feel so much better now.”
“We’ll train you in effective kill tactics for several different types of paranormal beings.”
“We’ve been trained to kill paranormal beings, Alpha Ywain. It’s part of basic training.”
Ywain stopped walking and looked at him for the longest time. “In basic training?”
“Yes, sir... er, I mean Alpha. Sorry.”
“When did you go through basic training?”
“Almost six years ago now, Alpha.” Once someone joined the military, they either left after five years or reenlisted.
“Same for me, Alpha.” Christian and Dylan had started out together. They’d been lucky enough to stay together throughout their careers in the military. Hell, Christian was the only one Dylan considered family, and he knew Christian felt the same way.
“Six years ago, the human army was teaching you about paranormals?”
Dylan hesitated to say anything more. It was evident paranormal training in the human army was news to the Alpha. If the scowl on his face was any indication, it wasn’t good news. If there was any hope of Dylan joining the human army again, he’d have to keep his mouth shut.
Dylan looked at Christian to gauge his reaction. Christian gave him a look that clearly meant he shouldn’t say anything else.
Dylan looked at his new leader and just nodded, not saying another word about it.
Roguefalls felt like the other side of the universe rather than just a ferry ride across the lake. The base and training tactics might look familiar to Dylan, but there was an underlying feeling that was different, and he felt different because of it.
It felt like those family vacations his parents used to take him on as a kid. Every time they had taken a road trip and driven through a different family town’s territory or even a paranormal clan’s town, everyone eyed them with suspicion. It had been so uncomfortable stopping for gas in one of those towns that his parents had actively tried to avoid it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just roll through town and pretend he was going to a tourist spot where everyone was a stranger.
The mess hall wasn’t any different from the one back on the human base. The building was just a short walk away from the barracks. The Alpha didn’t rush them through any part of the little tour he was showing them, but he apparently wanted to get to the mess hall. Dylan wondered why until he walked in and smelled something delicious. Having lived on a military base for all of his adult life, he knew the mess hall wasn’t the best place to get a decent meal, but it seemed that wasn’t the case in the Rogue army.
“Well, there’s one positive thing to come out of this shitty day,” Christian mumbled.
“Hooyah.”
The Rogue mess hall also had the most beautiful man working behind the counter serving up food, which was also another positive for the day. The man had a net over his dark hair, and he wore an over-sized white coat. Despite his attire, he was still the sexiest person Dylan had ever seen. He smiled at them as he crossed the room, dimples flashing in his cheeks.
Dylan didn’t even know he’d taken a step in the pretty man’s direction until the man’s eyebrows drew together in curiosity and he stopped halfway across the hall, looking at Dylan with apprehension, as if he thought Dylan would hurt him. Hurting the sexy man was the last thing Dylan wanted to do.