2. Lean into the Future

***Unknown POV***

The only light in the office is coming from the computer screen, and all of my senses are alert and waiting for danger. If I get caught doing this it could ruin me, but she deserves this and more for being from such a weak pack. How dare she keep stealing what is mine, over and over again. Everyone loves her and thinks she is such a good little soldier. Screw this, I worked for it and she swooped in at the last minute to take it from me. Well, now neither of us will be able to attend. Let's see how she likes rejection for the first time in her life. I navigate to her personnel record, maybe I should look around to see what skeletons she has in her closet of pity parties for the lost pack. That pack was weak, and it got what it deserved. If they were stronger, they would have been able to protect themselves from the rogues that killed them all and burnt down their homes. Too bad she wasn't there when the rogues came. Maybe then I would have gotten the posting I deserved in the Protector's Guard.

He was supposed to help make sure I was put on the Protector's Guard, but doesn't want to cause any suspicion meddling in military affairs. I get it, it was the one thing I was supposed to earn as part of our deal. Foolish jerk doesn't realize that there is so much more going on than he thinks. He thinks he is in charge of anything, but I set this all in motion. I will be the one that succeeds where those warlocks failed 1,300 years ago. He is just a pawn sitting high and pretty in the palace. I will have to work another way to get into the palace.

F**K! I think I heard a door opening downstairs. No time to check her records, but I can still cancel her orders to the Officer Leadership Academy. Just one more moment... and done! Stupid twit wouldn't pass the course anyways, like she could ever be an officer. Now all I need to do is sneak out without being noticed, which shouldn't be hard. It isn't like I have been noticed since she came along.

***Rolf's POV***

As I am walking back up to the training fields, I link Axel. Dude, where are you? I had a call with my uncle and need to work out some of that sparring tonight.

Hahahahah man, you know at some point he is going to call me to hog tie you and bring you back. I won't but I expect you to break me out of the dungon.

Axel was part of the agreement. I was lucky enough that my best friend was deemed enough of a bodyguard to keep me from needing a squad of Protectors following me around. He is also the only one here, other than General Onyx, that knows exactly who I am.

You should have been here, there were a couple of year fours down here sparring. They look pretty good. May want to recommend them for the P-Squad in a couple years.

Just because you are going to have straight laced and be a Protector doesn't mean you get to choose your squad.

How do you think your uncle convinced me to slum it out here with you all these years? Plus, this chick is pretty hot, she came down to help pop in the others chick's shoulder. Not a sound out of the fighter but that looks like it hurt like hell.

You know they are soldiers in training, right? I can't see anything but a little yellow chick getting a broken wing when you call them that.

You're the one that needs to be politically correct, I only have to worry about making sure no one breaks your wings.

As I walk up, I see Axle standing by the bleachers watching some of the sparring groups. He is a few inches talker than me, and is vain enough to constantly be at the gym maintaining his massive build. He is the only wolf that makes me feel small when I am standing next to him. If his size wasn't enough to make him stand out in a crowd, the red hair he keeps cut short makes him easy to spot.

There are only four groups out there since it is Friday night. I only see one female soldier standing with a male at the other end of the grounds talking. Axle keeps looking over toward her, and then back to one of the sparring groups.

"Hey, miacid, where are the soldiers you think should be on the squad?" Calling someone a miacid is like calling a human a neanderthal, which is much nicer than Axel deserves sometimes.

"The guy over there with the hottie is one of them. Not sure where the other chi... I mean other soldier went." Axel did look like he got his paw caught in the cookie jar saying that, so at least there is some shame.

"Any of these groups catch your eye?" I asked while looking around the four groups, I didn't see anything that stood out as spectacular. They were all pretty good though. Considering they were all sparring on a Friday night, these are the groups of wolves that take their training seriously.

"Not really, but it was a good idea to come out to the fields instead of the gym tonight. That doesn't mean you won't need to get that work out done before bed tonight though." Axel's focus on my physical training is another reason I like to keep him around. I get too deep in studying strategy that I wouldn't leave the lecture halls if he didn't make me.

"Alright, let's get to it." I sigh, already having the stress of going home weighing on my mind let alone the weights that Axel will have me carrying later.