Turning to his warriors, the Alpha barked, "Round up these pathetic excuses for wolves and process their expulsion. They're all going home. Today."

"You can't do that!" one of the trainees cried, livid that the weakest in their pack could stay in the program while the rest of them would be sent away.

They didn't care to leave, but they cared a whole hell of a lot that he got to stay.

"We have a zero tolerance policy here," the Alpha said lowly, the warning in his voice clear, "and you all violated it. The surveillance alone is enough to expel you all. You are all disqualified. You are not fit for service."

Turning on his heel, the Alpha ignored all the protests and arguments as the warriors surrounding the group began to round up the trainees. Cole followed the Alpha, his hand still in Ruth's and guiding her forward.

She followed him obediently, staying close to ensure no one so much as touched him.

While she drew the eyes of nearly everyone they passed - mostly looks of fear, shock, or pure disdain - she only had eyes for her mate.

Cole, likewise, often drew stares of those around him - mainly pity, mockery, and dismissal - but in this moment, he was completely blind to everyone else but the woman whose hand he held.

He knew what others thought of him, and he had a strong feeling she could relate. A match like theirs would get all of the wrong attention... but since they were already getting that kind of attention alone, perhaps - just perhaps - having company along the way would make all the difference.

The Alpha gestured for them to enter his office, and his son and wife followed behind the newly bonded couple - the Luna closing the door softly behind her once they were all inside.

"Alright Cole," the Alpha sighed, "Give me a moment to pull the surveillance, okay?"

"Mmm," Cole hummed, his eyes moving instinctually to Ruth from the Alpha sitting behind the desk.

The Alpha's lip twitched upward, his eyes darting between the two young wolves sitting across from his desk - and despite himself, and the severity of the situation, he couldn't help his gaze warming.

Cole had been targeted since his first day here, arriving as one of two dozen from the Red Fang pack. Their notorious reputation, including the ruthlessness of their Alpha, was well known - but for him, the Alpha entrusted over the program determined to find the future wolves to serve a higher authority, they were particularly unsavory.

To date, he had yet to pass a single Red Fang pack member through the program. In fact, they seemed to make sport of showing up, wreaking havoc, flunking out, then returning home to brag about how they were expelled. To their pack, expulsion from the service program was a mark of pride - and they were an absolute nightmare every season.

Naturally, Cole didn't earn any favor from the Alpha the day he walked off the bus with the 23 others from his pack - small, sure, yet branded a troublemaker in his own mind before they had even arrived at the barracks.

His mind shifted quickly, though, after seeing the boy's own pack toss his luggage in the lake.

Over the past weeks, he'd realized the Cole was very much the diamond in the rough - the rare good one to come out of a place like that. Unfortunately, the abuses he'd endured as a result of his difference were... nauseating might be the best word he could think of in that moment. The things they had done to the boy... his own father had done... he couldn't help flinching at simply the memory of reading the medical reports.

Let alone experiencing them himself.

The move to cross his legs was instinctive, the memory of some of the things the boy had gone through causing him to react without thinking.

He wasn't sure he'd have survived as long as Cole did, if he were truthful.

When the boy arrived he was malnourished - skinny as a rail with his ribs poking through his skin. He was decorated in bruises from collarbone to kneecaps, and they came in every color as they were in various stages of healing. The scars focused mostly on his back, butt, and the backs of his thighs, but he had them in other places as well.

And he's a shifter... if he'd been human, or even hybrid, he'd have died from the abuse long ago.

The Alpha would never had known any of that, though, if the swim in the lake to fetch his luggage hadn't triggered an asthma attack. Cole was taken to the medical facility, and it was there that the severity of his situation was revealed.

It was also then that they discovered he was medically neglected as well - his asthma medications intentionally withheld. He didn't even have an emergency inhaler on him.

Over the past many weeks, Cole had been moved away from his pack and given access to the treatments he needed, including psychological ones to help him with his PTSD, anxiety, and panic attacks. They had gone out of their way to ensure he was never left alone with a member of his pack, and while they couldn't keep them from sparring in training or otherwise engaging throughout the program - they had managed to stop the majority of the abuse.

He had recovered incredibly well with the support he needed. With regular access to his treatments, a well-balanced diet with a nutritionist's guidance until he was stable, and the program's training itself - they had watched him bloom into a very serious candidate for service.

Even if he failed the program, the Alpha had decided - with the blessing of his Luna - to alter the boy's program training and have him certified as a warrior, then invite him to join his own pack. He wasn't far off, and extensions were common for those on the cusp of passing the program - no one would question his actions if he took that route.

Especially not with the way the boy's performance had improved. In truth, Cole wasn't the most physically skilled wolf - he'd never carry a front line or be the top soldier. However, he had a mind for strategy - evasion, clever ruses that end in traps, and otherwise outsmarting the other side was where he truly shined.

He would make a damn good mastermind if he could get through the physical side of the program. The Alpha intended to recommend him for the role of the General's key strategist's apprentice. It had been open for a long time now, and no one to date had shown the mental agility to fill the role.

Cole was the first with real potential.

The Alpha's attention snapped back to the present as the surveillance window opened, and it didn't take him long to confirm Cole and Ruth's story. His jaw went slack when Ruth crashed through the trees and knocked out over 20 trainees like they were mere puppies.

Even for a seasoned soldier, the numbers alone should have at least required some effort.

She breezed through those kids like they weren't even there.

His eyes flicked up to where she and Cole were leaning close, talking softly as they got to know one another for the first time since their meeting.

These two... together? His mind and her brawn? He found himself momentarily taken aback by the potential power this couple could wield if they learned how to work together properly.

An idea formed in his mind then as his eyes darted back and forth between the couple currently unaware of his attention, and he couldn't help smirking at what he hoped he'd just identified as the court's most powerful new weapon.

Well... weapons.

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