Chapter 2

Bailey

"Listen up," Patrick said as he called the meeting to order. "I know you are all very excited to be here and all. Most of you probably thought this internship was going to be a cakewalk. Spend some time being cool here at headquarters so you could go brag to your professors and friends next semester. And as the first class to do this, we're all still learning and trying to figure out how to run things."

I still couldn't believe I'd gotten in. No other freshman had. The rest of the team were juniors and seniors, and two of them had already graduated. It was a little intimidating, but I had worked hard to earn this spot and I was proud of myself for it.

It was a little disappointing to be missing out on my first semester of college with my friends, but I was optimistic that this early internship would pay off long term. I already knew I wanted to work for Westin Force, or at the very least be on the Pack security team.

"So, with that said, you all know that our field teams are all in Australia right now. I hope I don't have to remind you all that this is a top secret facility. What you learn here cannot be shared outside of these walls. You may discuss amongst yourselves, but that is it. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir," we all said in unison.

"Good. Now, when I call your names, please pair up." Patrick started calling out two people at a time until all but four of us were standing around the room. "Here are your assignments. Please report to your designated leader for further instructions." He handed out an envelope to each pair. "Dismissed."

As they left, I looked around to find Jude, Chandler, and Luka still sitting there as well.

"Excuse me, sir. Do we have an assignment as well?" Chan asked.

All three guys were seniors at the ARC and absolutely gorgeous. I could stare at them all day long, even though I knew I'd never actually act on it. I was saving myself for my one true mate anyway. The only person I would have made an exception for was my best friend, Oscar. That hadn't exactly worked out well. He thought I should give dating a chance, but I just wasn't sure I understood the point. If I were looking for a compatible mate, then sure, but I'm not.

Still, they were fun to look at and flirting with them might even be fun, but even that wasn't worth doing something stupid and losing my spot in this internship.

"Sir?" Luka asked.

Patrick looked up from the file he was reading. "You four. Yes. Well, I supposed you're stuck with me. Who's ready for a road trip?"

He tossed us each a file from the stack he was reading through.

"Pack up. We leave in an hour."

"Leave?" Jude asked.

"I know that wasn't part of this job. Hell, I specifically said not to even ask me about such a thing during your onboarding. But things change. All my top teams are currently in Australia on a very important mission involving the Collectors. They've turned up some disturbing news and we need to warn a few of our allies and double down on security in certain areas. Think you lot can assist me with this?"

"Yes, sir," we all said.

My heart was starting to race with excitement.

A mission? We were being assigned a real mission?

He had asked for help, not just observation. I was so giddy it was difficult to stay put in my chair.

"There's some basics you need to know there. Save it for the plane. You don't have much time to pack your things and meet me back here. We'll ride to the airport together." He sighed. "Don't make me regret this. I picked you four because of the promise you've shown in this program already. So make me proud and do as you're asked and we'll all be just fine."

The second he dismissed us, we all ran from the room and straight to the elevator.

Westin Force Headquarters was hidden below Westin Lodge. We lived in suites in the Lodge. It was nicer than my family's home, and safer too.

I shuddered, thinking of my uncle there. Uncle Craig had moved in shortly after my father died. I was five. I barely knew my dad, but his brother had insisted that it was his job to step in and take care of the family. . .more like for us to take care of him.

My home life had always been bad. I was younger than my siblings by ten years. My brothers fled almost immediately, but my sister was stuck there until she turned eighteen, though I rarely remembered her being home as she always made excuses to be anywhere but there.

That had left me alone with him.

He'd never actually touched me. Yelled and demanded this or that, but never once had he laid a hand on me. My mom was another story. I knew she had interceded on my behalf many times, and I tried desperately not to do or say anything that would upset him.

To the outside world, we'd been a normal family and he had been praised for stepping in and taking care of us. If only they knew.

Oscar was the only one that I'd ever confided in about stuff like that. I made him swear never to tell anyone, especially not his family. He was the nephew of our Alpha and my uncle would kill me if I ratted him out to the Alpha.

Mostly, I was just grateful to be away from there for now. Though I worried non-stop about my mother. She couldn't just run away because when I was seven, she'd chosen to take him as a compatible mate with the promise that he would never lay a hand on any of us kids.

Mom would probably die if she knew that I knew that. But when you're a kid, grownups just seem to forget you have ears or something.

Pushing all those bad memories from my mind, I opened the door to my room and set to work packing. When I opened the folder Patrick had handed me, I saw our destination—Ravenden.

A quick search told me we were headed for Arkansas and the temps were wildly varying from day to night, so I packed a little of everything, just in case. And then went into the bathroom and packed a toiletry bag.

I had never been outside Westin Pack territory before. I was so excited that I could barely contain it. Because of that, I arrived at our meeting location fifteen minutes early and had to wait. It didn't take long before annoyance set in. Where were the guys? And why hadn't they rushed the way I had?

With only one minute to spare, they rushed in with their suitcases looking disheveled just seconds ahead of Patrick.

Our leader took one look at them and then to me and scowled.

My heart dropped when he shook his head.

"They just got here, didn't they?" he asked.

I wasn't positive about who he was talking to, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Suitcases? Really? You boys are going to have to learn to pack a whole hell of a lot lighter. Take lessons from Bailey."

I bit back my surprise as I did the happy dance inside, praying it didn't show on my face.

They all turned to look at me with my single large back pack stuff full of everything I thought I might need.

I just shrugged.

What was I supposed to say?

"Move out. You three will learn if you're gonna stick around here beyond this internship."

We were quiet on the way out of the Lodge to Patrick's vehicle, where we loaded up and he drove us to the airstrip. The Westin Force jet was awaiting us there.

It was a surreal moment as we walked across the tarmac and up the stairs. I wanted to pinch myself to make sure it was all real.

"Take a seat and buckle up," Patrick instructed.

I did as I was told. The guys took a little longer as they struggled to drag their bulky suitcases up the narrow stairs.

An irritated Archie, the mole shifter that oversaw headquarters, was impatiently following them.

Once they were all on board, Patrick shook Archie's hand.

"I'm glad you decided to join us. I think this will go a lot smoother this way."

His comment earned him a beady-eyed glare.

"Jef will be handling things from here. We're already scoping the area of Ravenden for the most optimal surveillance. Trust me when I say we have it under control."

"I never doubted that for a second. And you are free to utilize our interns however you need. They are at your disposal."

He snorted and looked my way, then to the guys who were all standing around uncomfortably awaiting orders or something.

"Um, sir? Where do we store these?" Jude finally asked.

I hadn't thought about that. I'd just shoved my bag under one of the seats.

Archie sat down and placed his own bag under his seat. That made me relax a little, like just maybe I hadn't screwed up already.

"Normally you'd just store it under your seat, but obviously you can't. So put it in here."

Patrick got up and opened a section of the wall that looked like a closet on the other side. It was a tight squeeze, but they somehow made it fit.

"Now take your seat and buckle up," he ordered.

Chan took the seat next to me. I could sense his wolf was on edge.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"I've never been on a plane before."

"Me either," I confessed.

"I hate this already."

"You're going to be fine. Just breathe and focus on something else. Anything else."

He nodded, but as the engines revved and we started to move, Chandler grabbed my hand and squeezed it tight. Despite the pain shooting up my arm, I didn't complain or pull away.

"It's okay," I whispered in what I hoped was a soothing tone.

"Thanks," he finally said, giving my hand one more squeeze, but this time it was different and I wasn't sure if I liked it or if it made me uncomfortable.

"I hope you all can relax now. The hardest part is always take off. It fecking sucks. So settle in and go over the briefs I handed out. If you have any questions, let me know."

Chan cringed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I packed mine in my suitcase."

I snorted while trying not to laugh.

"Here. You can share mine."

"Really?"

"Sure. It doesn't do any of us good to piss Patrick off, so just keep quiet and we'll go through it together."

"Thanks, Bailey. That's really cool of you."

For a moment, I wondered if maybe Oscar was right. Maybe dating wasn't entirely bad. As long as I kept my heart in check, spending time with someone or even having a boyfriend wouldn't be that bad, especially with a guy like Chan.