Betrayal

chapter one

Chapter One

        

         I scowled as I looked at myself in the mirror with a scrutinizing gaze. There looking back at me was a short girl with diamond blue eyes, dark, tangled hair that fell in loose curls about her face, and soft pink lips. Her body was a lean and muscular, but she was not a woman most men would go after: her assets were too small (meaning I had small breasts and a small ass). With a sigh, I dragged a brush through my knotted hair and pulled it back into a braid.

Today was not the day that our team was to complete the course to test our skill and decide where in the academy we were to be placed. Two months ago we were placed in four-man-teams with an older captain. My team consisted of: Kale a tall blonde with green eyes: Fane, a lanky brunette with greenish brown eyes: Jace, a stocky blonde with hazel eyes; and our captain. His name was Dakarian Shadranok; he was 6'8'' with black hair, grey eyes, and a muscular body. He was ruthless in training and he hated anyone who tried slacking off, taking an easy way out, liars, and most of all he hated traitors. He was a mystery because no one knew anything about his past before he came to the academy and he never talked about it. The only thing he cared about was training. He didn't care if it was four in the morning he'd come to my dorm and he woke the other girls up and dragged me out of bed for a training session. Everyone was afraid of Captain Shadranok or Shadow as so many called him. Then as I pulled on my cargo pants I heard Captain Shadranok banging on the bathroom door.

 "Hurry up, Fallon!" he yelled and I scowled and my roommates hissed.

They hated me because he woke them up every morning at four because he came and got me for training at four every morning. Although, I didn't have to worry about them pranking me anymore after what happened: one time they put syrup in my hair and Shadranok chewed their asses because it took me forever to get ready and they never did it again.

"I’m almost ready" I muttered and walked out grabbing my boots and he stood with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

I was always the first one he woke up and then we woke up the others. I was always the one who he made train extra and he watched everything I did.

When I finally finished putting on my boots, he stalked out and I ran after him. We walked to the guys’ dorm and I blushed as a guy walked down the hall nude and Shadranok raised an eyebrow. They all roomed with shadow, but he always woke me first. I was always left in charge when he was gone and the team knew I was second in command. The guys were still asleep and I watched as Captain Shadranok flipped on the light and said, "Get your lazy assess up!" They all groaned and I saw they'd slept in their clothes. They rushed around like zombies until they finally were ready and Shadow stood impatiently glaring at them. "Hell, you take as long as girls to get ready. Fallon got ready faster than you three did" Shadranok growled in annoyance and they ran out to his black lifted hummer truck.

I sighed as I watched three grown men crawling into the back seat of the truck and opened the passenger’s door and vaulted into my seat.  I always sat in the passenger seat and Captain Shadranok always drove.

There was snow on the ground so I scowled when the commander kicked it in—the tires spun—and he sighed. "Minx, did I scare you?" he mused as he glanced at me with his analyzing grey eyes and I glared at him.

"You’re going to kill us one day with your driving" I grumbled irritably and he chuckled.

"Maybe one of those three fools, but not my second in command; you're too important for that. I am careful with you in the truck, but I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m not new to driving in the snow" he muttered in amusement and I scowled at him as he sped through the campus towards the testing facility. Then I dawned on me he said he wasn’t new to driving in the snow; that was a hint to his past and it meant he was from somewhere that got a lot of cold weather. I glanced back as I heard Fane and Jace swearing at each other as the three of them squished in the back seat.

"Damn it, Kale. Stay in your own space" Jace growled as he shouldered Kale and I shook my head; they acted like three brothers on a long road trip and sometimes I felt like I was their mother, but they never crossed Commander Shadranok.  

"You all sound like little kids back there" I teased and they glowered at me with hatred.

"Captain, why does she get to sit shotgun? She’s the smallest out of us all and we are all squished back here" Kale grumbled and the commander scowled at him in the rearview mirror.

"Because she's my second in command and she doesn't mess with the damn radio. Also because I said so" Captain Shadranok growled and I smirked as the three of them crossed their arms like pouting little boys.

"Why did you choose her? Why is she your second?" the boys whined and the commander glowered at them.

"Because she isn't an idiot like you three can be" the commander muttered and they rolled their eyes.

“But she’s a woman and she’s…” Commander Shadranok cut Fane off as he slammed on the breaks and the hummer came to a screeching halt making my seatbelt lock as I slammed against it; however, the captain had reached out his arm and pushed me against the seat so I wasn’t hurt. The guys groaned and Shadranok put it in park as he turned around and looked at Fane with anger in his icy grey eyes.  

“You think that you’re a better candidate because she is a woman? You chauvinist fool, she is a brilliant agent and she has valuable leadership qualities unlike the rest of you, but she also works harder than you all. Lastly, don’t ever question my decisions, I am your commander and you are to follow my orders, not the other way around” Shadranok snarled and they all flinched at his harsh tone and I touched his arm; he looked at me and I sighed.

“Shadow, we want to be early” I reminded him and he nodded as he put the truck into drive. I looked back at the three guys and shook my head, yet Kale glared at me.   

"You like her more than the rest of us so you favor her" Jace accused, pointing at the commander, who was smirking as he looked back at them in the rearview mirror, and I raised an eyebrow in amusement. Commander Shadranok didn’t even reply to the comment as he turned his attention to the road, but he glanced back at Jace and said, “I was going to give you all a rest day after the testing, but I think we need more training and conditioning today, so once the testing is done we are going straight to the training center.” We all glowered at Jace as we drove towards the testing facility and the commander smirked.

Never cross the captain: he always wins because he will find a way to make you suffer—he loved to make the whole team suffer for your insubordination and they make sure you mind your P’s and Q’s.  

“Damn it, Jace, I was going to play video games and sleep, but you opened your stupid mouth and now we have extra training” Kale bemoaned and Jace looked at the floor.

“Jace, I had plans for this afternoon as well and your big mouth ruined them” I grumbled and everyone looked at me in surprise.

“You had plans? You are Adelina Fallon, you live to train; you don’t have a real life” Fane gasped and I rolled my eyes at him.

“Yes, I had some very important plans, but now they are off” I sighed and they all looked at me curiously.

“What were your plans?” Kale inquired and I smiled.

“If you must know I was going to dinner off campus with some old friends, from high school, that are in town, but now I’ll have to cancel” I muttered and Commander Shadranok raised an eyebrow at me.

“You have friends? I just thought you and Commander Shadranok were born here and raised like soldiers all your lives” Jace gasped and we all glared at him in annoyance.

“Jace, just shut up” Fane hissed and smacked his comrade on the back of the head; I snickered as Jace yelped in pain and Shadranok smirked.

“Well, here we are at the facility and as usual there is no one else here yet” I mused as I looked out the window and Captain Shadranok turned off the truck.  

They believed that Captain Shadranok liked me more than them? That was actually really funny.

Captain Shadranok didn't like anyone.