Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Never in my life would I expect one of my soldiers to get caught with their clothes off like that,” Walter said. There was a great disappointment in his eyes, complete with a tinge of resentment.

“They ganged up on me. There must have been about twelve of them, sir,” I lied.

The weird part was that I didn’t care what he thought this time. I cared about getting caught. I hated coming into his mahogany office, lined with his book collection. I knew that I would never have an office like his. I’d never get to read any books or revel in the delicacies he liked to show off. It was just another nail in my coffin.

For the first time in my life, I had found someone who might understand me. We experienced a lot of the same struggle. He allowed me to be a real gray wolf omega. He made it seem like it was normal.

“You were trained better than this,” Walter said. “You let me down today. I’m going to have to take you off the assignment.”

I fought my hardest to hold back my tears of rage and frustration. I needed to find him again. I needed to know who I really was. I never got a fucking chance to discover that.

“Sir, please. I can do better. I swear to you that I can,” I said.

Walter turned around and paused. He liked to act as if he couldn’t face me whenever I made a mistake. It was another form of control, and he knew that it worked. Only, it was starting to lose its charm. I was starting to have serious doubts about being a member of the militia.

His gaze fixed on a framed portrait of our current president. He was the most “human” a person could be, plain and simple. He didn’t smile in his photo. Instead, his grimace was the strong focal point of the shot. He was tough. That was his selling point to the voters.

“President George Davis,” he said.

“Yes, sir. I know. He’s an honorable man,” I lied.

He didn’t bother to look back at me. “Did you watch the State of the Union address last week?” he asked me.

I shook my head. He knew that I couldn’t. “I don’t own a television, sir. Plus, the barracks lost power a year ago.”

“Liam, when it comes to being a patriot, there are no excuses that are worthy,” he groaned. “Nevertheless, I’m going to be nice and sum it up for you.”

“Thank you, sir,” I said. Fuck you, sir.

I felt like a coward. I was beyond saving. I would be their pawn, forever.

“President George Davis said that we have a duty to defend ourselves. We have, and I quote, ‘a duty to protect our citizens.’ Do you know what that means, Liam?”

I nodded and grumbled, “Yes.”

“It means we have a right to bear arms. We have a right to defend ourselves with force if it comes down to it. He went onto say that we are facing the biggest threat to our existence as a nation. The Gray wolf dilemma is the term he coined. I quite like it. Do you agree?” he asked.

“You know I agree with that,” I said.

“How? Aren’t you a gray wolf?” he asked, knowing the answer full well.

“No, sir. I’m a member of the militia. I’m not one of their kind,” I muttered.

My response pleased him. He turned around and smiled. “Well, that’s what I like to hear,” he said.

I wanted to shift into my wolf body. I would enjoy ripping his face to pieces. But that was just another ability of mine that they stunted. At an early age, they applied non-invasive techniques. Therapy. They made it so that I’d feel emotional pain anytime I thought about shifting.

“Your kind wasn’t supposed to exist. Shifters are an abomination to our evolution. We aren’t monkeys, are we? No, of course not. We are human,” he said.

“What does this have to do with me?” I asked him.

I didn’t want to hear any more of his propaganda. None of what he was saying was true. Nature designed me how it wanted to, and I was slowly realizing my worth as an individual.

He pounded his fist on the table in front of us. “It means we need to step up our efforts. We need to track down that asshole!” He screamed but quickly regained his composure. “I’m sorry. I just get so passionate about these things.”

“I, uh, understand, sir,” I said.

“Liam, I’m giving you one more chance,” he said. “But if you run off or do anything stupid. I’ll find you. I’ll search everywhere for you. I’ll dedicate a team of soldiers that are trained to hunt you down. I will make sure you rot.”

I felt my heart stir. One more chance. Thank god. It meant I could see him again.

“He humiliated you. He left you, naked and vulnerable. You need to pay him back,” a voice said in my head.

But something was different for me now. Once I got my first taste at what life could be, it changed me forever. It was exactly like they said in therapy, except it felt good. It felt right!

“I won’t let you down,” I said, smiling big. I was going to find him, and I was going to learn everything there was to learn about being an omega.

Walter was pleased. “I know you won’t let me down,” he said. I nodded. “That’s why I’m pairing you up with Hansel.”

I wanted to vomit. When the words came out from his mouth, I nearly collapsed to the floor. “But, sir. I can do this on my own. Anyone else will just jeopardize the mission,” I said.

“You were given ample opportunity to prove yourself. You failed. You lost your weapon, your knife, your body armor. Do you know what they normally do to soldiers like you?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” I said. Prison.

“Failure is never an option. Lucky for you, I am a just commanding officer. You can proceed to the mission with help,” he said.

As soon as he finished his sentence, the door swung open violently. “Liam, you son of a fucking bitch!”

Hansel grabbed my neck and ruffled my hair. “Hey, Hansel,” I groaned.

“What’s the matter? You’re not happy to see me?” he asked me with a taunting smile.

“Beyond thrilled,” I said.

Walter clapped his hounds loudly. “Well, I’ll leave you guys to it! I have an important meeting to go to. Gentleman, you can show yourselves out.”

Hansel and I saluted. Walter shut the door behind us.

“So, partner. Let’s start with the basics. Why the fuck were you caught in such a sexy position?”

Great. This was going to be the match made in hell. “I was jumped,” I told him.

“So, you were jumped. So why don’t you have any bruises? What’s up with that?” He was prying for answers. I felt like my cover had been blown.

We walked to the front of the barracks, where the scanning station stood. “Just drop it,” I said.

Hansel laughed so loud that some of the other soldiers eyed us carefully. I was pretty sure that he had been in fights with nearly every single person around us. He wasn’t exactly a prized person around here.

“We all get lonely from time to time. I’m not one to judge someone by their kink.” He choked on his laughter. “But you can’t go around fucking every sad gray wolf that you find in the camps. It’s against protocol, buddy.”

“I wasn’t fucking any wolves,” I said.

At the scanner station, the guards cleared me. Hansel, on the other hand, took a few more tries. They didn’t want to let him through because of his sorted past.

For a second, I thought I was about to get let out alone. I nearly jumped for joy. However, once he got Walter on the talkie, I knew my destiny was sealed.

I wasn’t going to end up with my alpha. I was going to end up with Hansel.