All Chapters of First Female Alpha : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Aria's POVFighting for your life is hard enough when you know who you are. Fighting when you're not sure if your memories are real or your identity is artificial adds a whole new level of psychological complexity to combat.But muscle memory, apparently, doesn't care about existential crises.I moved through the Academy guards with the fluid precision of someone who'd been training for this moment her entire life—regardless of whether that life was real or manufactured. My body knew how to fight, how to anticipate attacks, how to turn an opponent's strength against them.That had to mean something."Left!" Caspian shouted, and I ducked just as an energy bolt scorched the air where my head had been. He was fighting back-to-back with Riven, both of them moving with the kind of coordination that comes from trust built through shared danger.Lyra had unleashed another storm, filling the confined space with wind and crackling electricity that made it nearly impossible for the guards to ma

Aria's POVThe emergency broadcast went out at exactly 11:47 PM, reaching every major pack territory within a two-hundred-mile radius. What happened next was either going to save fifty lives or get us all killed for interfering with a "controlled Academy operation.""Response coming in," Hayes announced, his voice tight with concentration as he monitored incoming communications. "Moonstone Pack dispatch reports emergency teams mobilizing. ETA twelve minutes.""Twelve minutes might be too long," Lyra said, watching the fires spread through the dormitory complex. "The smoke alone will kill them before rescue arrives.""Then we go in ourselves," I said."That's suicide. The buildings are structurally compromised, the air is toxic—""And fifty students are dying while we debate safety protocols."I turned to Aldrin. "Building schematics. Where are the emergency shelter areas in those dormitories?""Each building has a reinforced basement level designed for disaster scenarios. If any stude

Aria's POVKira stepped into the corridor with the kind of confidence that came from months of Academy training, her posture shifting to match the authoritative bearing of someone who belonged there."Security Team Beta-Seven," she announced to the Academy guards, her voice carrying the crisp authority I'd heard from faculty members. "Basement levels cleared and secured."I held my breath, listening through the partially open door as three guards responded to her approach."Agent Shadowbane," one of them acknowledged. "We weren't expecting advanced clearance teams in this sector.""Emergency protocols," Kira replied smoothly. "Priority evacuation of salvageable assets before structural collapse compromises the basement levels.""How many survivors located?""Twenty-three in emergency shelter Alpha-One. Mixed condition, but all accounted for. Medical evacuation teams are standing by for transport through the utility access tunnels."There was a pause that stretched just long enough to

Aria's POVThe Academy's return to "normal" operations felt anything but normal. Half the faculty had been replaced with interim instructors from various pack territories, the student body had been reduced by nearly thirty percent due to transfers and medical leaves, and every conversation seemed to carry the weight of recent trauma.But classes resumed, training schedules were posted, and somehow the business of preparing future pack leaders continued."Advanced Combat Strategy," I read from the revised course schedule. "Tuesdays and Thursdays, Instructor Blackwood.""At least one familiar face," Caspian observed, settling into the chair across from mine in what had become our regular study corner of the library."Commander Blackwood wasn't involved in the conspiracy?""Clean record. Regional Council verified his background thoroughly before approving his appointment as interim department head."That was reassuring. After months of not knowing which faculty members could be trusted,

Aria's POVThree days after the investigation interview, I was beginning to understand how condemned prisoners must feel during their final weeks. Every conversation stopped when I entered a room. Every official-looking person who walked through the corridors made my heart skip. Every unexpected knock on the door could be the end of everything.It was exhausting."You're going to wear a hole in the floor," Caspian observed as I paced between our beds for the hundredth time that morning."I need to move. Sitting still makes me think too much.""And thinking is bad because...?""Because thinking leads to imagining every possible way this could go wrong. And there are a lot of ways this could go wrong.""There are also ways it could go right.""Name one.""They could decide that your performance at the Academy matters more than the details of your documentation.""Based on what precedent?""Based on the precedent you're setting. No one's ever tested whether the Academy values competence