All Chapters of CHASING MONSTERS: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Morning came harsh and gray. The barracks hummed with activity, but Sophie felt the shift the moment Jax walked in. He was colder than ice, his gaze hard and unreadable, offering her nothing. Pandora, however, was practically draped over him, her voice sweet and petulant as she whined to the others about how tired she was, how she’d been kept up all night. Sophie’s jaw tightened, but Jax cut Pandora down quickly enough. “Enough,” he said flatly, stepping out of her reach. “You’ve got your place here, but don’t step out of line. Ever.” Her pout collapsed, but she didn’t let go. The day was grueling. Hours of weapons drills, hand-to-hand combat, and live-fire exercises. Sophie was passed from one team member to the next, sparring, testing, proving herself. Sweat soaked her shirt, muscles screaming, but each time she picked herself back up, sharper and faster. Even the seasoned hunters were impressed. Old Man Harris watched her with his steady, weathered gaze. When they finally brok

The ride back to base was heavy with silence. Blood, sweat, and ash clung to every hunter, but Jax and Johnny were nowhere to be seen. The squad filed off the trucks and headed toward the showers, muttering about the barracks bar, needing to drink the night’s carnage from their minds. Sophie washed quickly, the water running red at her feet until the drain swallowed it all away. By the time she dressed, Shiloh was waiting in the corridor, arms crossed, eyes hard. “You think you’re going home again tonight?” Shiloh asked bluntly. Sophie frowned. “That’s the arrangement.” Shiloh shook her head. “Not anymore. This isn’t drills or training missions. This is war. You need to be here, in barracks, ready to move at a moment’s notice. We’re on duty from now on.” She raised her voice at the passing hunters, who slowed, eyeing her warily. “All of you—no more late nights and hangovers. War doesn’t wait for you to sober up.” A few muttered complaints, but no one challenged her. When they w

The barracks pulsed with life when Sophie arrived before dawn. Trucks rolled out, men and women jogged in formation, the clang of weights and the snap of rifle fire echoing in the air. It was never still here. Never quiet. She slipped into the gym and found Shiloh already working through a brutal set of pushups. The older girl barely looked winded. “Your grandfather’s here,” Shiloh said, her voice low but sharp. “With Jax and Johnny. Big meeting scheduled for ten. Urgent.” Sophie nodded, tying her hair tighter and grabbing the heavy bag. They trained in silence, each blow Sophie drove into the canvas easing her nerves only a fraction. Breakfast followed, the mess hall thick with the smell of coffee and sweat. Sophie sat with Shiloh, leaning closer. “One of the wolves…” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I think one of them was killed in my basement last night. The screaming stopped. Then nothing.” Shiloh’s brows lifted slightly but she didn’t respond, her expression carefully neut

Sophie woke before dawn, the barracks still cloaked in darkness. She lay on her bunk, staring at the ceiling, thinking of the rogue in the basement. She hadn’t heard anything since the night of the screaming. Only silence. Had the Alpha been killed? Had he told anyone about her? The thought coiled in her stomach like a snake as she dressed in her training gear. When she reached the gym, Johnny was already there, spinning a blade between his fingers and cracking jokes at Cole, who smoked by an open window despite the posted signs. “Another day in paradise,” Johnny said brightly, flashing Sophie a grin. “You ready to spill some blood yet? Because I am.” He mimed licking his lips. “Like a kid in a candy store. Except the candy fights back.” Sophie snorted despite herself. Shiloh appeared at her side, hair tied back, expression dry. “Ignore him. He gets off on his own hype.” “That’s not all I get off on,” Johnny quipped, earning a thrown towel from Cole. Sophie laughed. She couldn

Sophie spent the day with Shiloh, the barracks unusually quiet with most of the squad still recovering from the recent battles. A casual daytime party had formed at the barracks bar—volleyball, beers, and loud laughter—but Sophie and Shiloh stayed to the side, quietly observing. Penelope and Pandora strutted in skimpy bikinis, preening and making sure all eyes were on them. Sophie and Shiloh exchanged glances, smirking as Nina joined them. “I’ll gut those bitches if they so much as look at Marco,” Nina whispered. Marco, oblivious, followed the volleyball action, while the three of them quietly joked and laughed, enjoying their own camaraderie. Johnny soon wandered over, chest puffed out, joking about how everyone must have been checking out his muscles. The group laughed, and the volleyball games began. It quickly became a battle of skill and pride: Nina, Shiloh, and Sophie versus Penelope and Pandora. Sophie’s perfectly aimed shot smacked Pandora in the face, eliciting a squeal an