1. Mila

Chapter one

Mila

T hree bullets hit the target, blowing the head clean off my dummy. Yet I hold my stance, preparing for the gun's kickback.

The room stops, and I lower my weapon, removing my ear protectors. I glance over at my instructor.

Horace is a Beta male and a formidable one too. He’s hard on us all, but that’s because he has to be.

It's a terrifying world out there. Well, for the Omegas in our society. The most revered and cherished designation. Everyone wants an Omega because they produce the strongest offspring, and that's why they need to be protected.

Traditionally, it’s the Alphas' job to protect and take care of the Omegas, but not all Alphas are trustworthy.

That’s why the government has implemented its new initiative: the Beta Trials. A brand new scheme where Betas are trained in combat, and later placed with a pack to act as an extra protective measure.

As you can imagine, the Alphas are furious with this new enterprise. They don’t need help when it comes to protecting their Omegas, especially from Betas.

Most Alphas view Betas as a threat. As if it is our sole purpose in life to steal away their precious Omegas.

Alphas don’t like anyone touching what they deem their property.

Me, personally? I couldn’t care less. After all, I only joined the government’s training program for my elderly father.

He's sick, and he needs around-the-clock medical care.

The training pays too well. Once we graduate, our income triples.

I am currently in my fourth year of training at the Beta Academy. In just a few months, I will graduate with honors.

I’m the best in my class. I’m the best in hand-to-hand combat, and I am the best when it comes to shooting a gun.

Soon, the government will start its first round of selections, and Instructor Horace thinks I will be the very first Beta to be called up and joined with a pack.

The other Betas don’t like me because I'm at the top of my class, but I never did any of this for glory; I just wanted to keep my father safe.

Instructor Horace steps up beside me. His eyes trail toward the dummy and then back toward me. He nods.

“Good work as usual, Stone.”

I give him my thanks, and the room falls graveyard silent. There are a few mutterings, but no gunshots.

Instructor Horace snaps, “Back to practice, the lot of you. You wanna make the first selection? Then train!"

A few of my classmates stumble, readying their stances once again. Instructor Horace grumbles and marches toward a skinny Beta male with a nervous disposition.

He was holding his gun all wrong. Now he is going to get a firm scolding.

I move my eyes back to my target, thinking of the only person who matters in this world.

Dad.

He's all the family I have.

And he is worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tears. ***

“I heard her father is about to kick the bucket. That’s why she signed up for the Beta Trials…”

Laughter echoes through the locker room, but I ignore them.

Jealousy is an ugly trait after all.

We’ve just finished training for the day as I gather my things from my locker. Soon it won’t even be my locker anymore.

If I make the first selection, then it will belong to someone else.

Some other shiny-eyed Beta will take my place with the hopes of being placed within a pack. That’s if they make it through their first year.

My class were the guinea pigs. The first team of recruits to be selected for the Beta Trials. Many of us made it, but others failed.

We started at fifty and ended at twenty-five, and tensions are extremely high.

No one knows what the future will bring, or what our grades will be.

If I fail, I won't get another chance.

The Alpha governor is already on board with the trials, albeit begrudgingly, so we should have no problem with the Alpha population. The Omega population is very far and few between, and they hardly get a say in any matter.

Seems unfair. It should be up to the Omegas who they want to protect them.

At least they can finally choose their own packs now.

Our society is made up of three populations, but we only have two cities: The Alpha and the Beta City, respectively.

But there is no Omega City.

The Omegas just live with their Alphas once they find their pack.

Before, the government matched every Omega to a pack through a specially curated algorithm based on DNA, likes, and interests.

But all that changed when scent matches came along.

Scent matches are a pretty new phenomenon, and it all begins with the Omega. Alphas are drawn to an Omega's perfume, and from the moment they inhale it, they are sworn to protect, fighting tooth and nail to keep their mates alive and comforted.

We learned about it all in theory.

Doctors still don’t know how it works, but it almost sounds like something from a fairy tale to me.

To find your pre-destined mate…

True love.

“She’s so smug, but she has no idea she’s just a guinea pig. Does she think the government actually gives a shit about her or her dad? Ten bucks says she won’t last five minutes with whatever poor pack gets stuck with her...”

More harsh laughter and I slam my locker door at last. “You know I can hear you, right?”

My classmates stop, but there’s no missing the smirks on Heather and Jason.

Nothing but a pair of bullies.

Heather is useless at hand-to-hand combat, and Jason can barely hold a gun. But for some reason, they take their anger out on me.

I’m not going to just stand here and let them talk shit about me or my dad.

No one disses my dad…

“Just stop, okay? You’re all capable soldiers. So, there’s no need to tear me down.”

Nothing. The smug pricks continue to smile as if they are in on some secret or something.

In all my four years at the academy, I have never grown close to anyone. I couldn’t allow myself to.

If they had known…

My father wasn't the only reason why I joined the Beta trials.

Heather scoffs and grabs her bag. Then her gang of fools follows her example, leaving me alone in the locker room at last.

I'm always the last to leave.

There’s a reason why I have to train harder than the others, why I have to run the extra mile.

It started halfway through first year. Just a small whiff of gingerbread here and there. It became more prevalent when I sweated.

However, it has yet to happen. As of this moment, I am still Beta. The harder I train, the more I can keep that gingerbread scent at bay.

I have no ambition to smell like a Christmas cookie. No matter how sweet it may be.

Quickly, I grab my small spritz bottle and dowse myself with desensitizer. It’s pretty strong stuff, bought off the black market.

It masks my scent, enough to be undetected by the government.

The academy makes us do random drug tests, so tablets are a no for me.

So, I have to make do with the desensitizer and training that extra bit harder.

No one will be any the wiser. If my secret gets out, then I will be kicked out of the Beta population, and then my father will be left alone.

Like hell that will happen.

I am Mila Stone, and I am a Beta. Nothing more, nothing less.

And I am going to get through this. By this summer’s end, I will be placed in a pack, and no one will ever suspect that I am anything other than a Beta.