WHEN TABLES TURN Book6

ASTRID

"Again," I said, ready for another training session.

He smiled, shaking his head as he wiped the sweat off his brow. "We are taking a break, little wolf. You know your father is proud of you, but don't push yourself too hard."

I needed this. If I trained hard enough, I would beat Asher and become the next military commander. I was almost there, and not pushing myself hard enough was not an option.

"You can take a break, but don't count on me doing that."

Beta Lewis sighed as he watched me walk toward the punching bag. I started hitting it with everything in me. Ever since that day... when he told me to go, it left a big hole in my heart. I was so angry. I had this hatred and rage burning inside me, and this was the only way I knew how to deal with it.

My father was right—I should have been stronger instead of being a weak princess. See where that got me. I kept punching the bag harder and harder. With an angry growl, one final punch sent the bag flying into the wall, and it exploded.

Amayah sighed. "Girl, we have already replaced fifty of those!" she said in disbelief.

Amayah was the girl who worked in the gym. She was in charge of everything here. I smiled at her, a little guilty.

"Sorry, Amayah."

She rolled her eyes as she went to clean up the mess. "Next time, you're cleaning this."

Maybe I should take that break, I thought to myself as I went to collect my gym bag.

"I promise there won't be a next time."

Amayah shook her head because we both knew that was a lie.

I walked toward the shower room. My life had been a mess ever since I walked away from my mate. He couldn't forgive my father for killing his family. I still remembered the sorrow in his eyes when he made that decision. I didn't know what to do then.

I wanted to hate my father for it all—for putting me in that position, for making so many damn enemies—but I just couldn't. I loved my father. He was strong, and one thing I knew for sure was that he did everything for a good reason.

Instead of hating my father, I decided to blame myself for letting the mate bond ruin my life. I wanted to be strong, not a fragile little damsel in distress.

After I took my shower, I made my way to the military intelligence meeting room. Asher was already there, leading the meeting, and for some reason, everything about him annoyed the shit out of me. Fine—maybe it was because he had the position that I wanted. The position I was working so hard to get. And yet there he was, leading us like a bunch of sheep.

I hated sheep.

"Ah, now that everyone is here, let's get right to it," he said, addressing the seventy-five of us.

I sat next to Ayla. She had become a very close friend of mine. She was one tough girl, and I liked that.

Asher cleared his throat before continuing. "As we all know, the East has been a little unsettled for the past three months, and now shit has blown over. We cannot afford for this brewing war to escalate because it will affect our trade and relations with some of the Alphas in the East. We have our suspicions that this war is being aided by one of the most ruthless dictators—Romario Gunzalos."

"Isn't he the leader of the rogue movement in the West? How did he manage to penetrate the East?" Ayla asked, a little curious.

My father suddenly walked in, and everyone could feel his powerful aura.

"The better question is—what is his agenda?" he said. "Why the East? He is after something, and we need to figure out what that something is—fast."

Everyone bowed their heads to the Alpha. He nodded at Asher to continue while he stood by, watching. I could feel him watching me too carefully.

I knew my father had concerns about me choosing this path, but he never hid how proud he was at the same time. I loved that he believed in me and my potential.

My thoughts were quickly disrupted by Asher's voice.

"We will be sending thirty of our military intelligence to monitor and assist the Eastern Alphas' coalition—to let them know they have our full support and to help them find out what Romario is after. If things escalate further than they already have, we will send in our full military support. Any questions?" he asked.

Chase nodded. "Our full military support? How big can Romario's little gang be?" he asked with a smirk.

Chase was always such a jokester. Despite being so unserious, he was one of our best warriors.

Asher raised an eyebrow at him. "Romario was an Alpha before his fall. He is cruel, has a thirst for blood, and should not be underestimated. He has taken down many packs in the West, and he leaves no Alpha alive. He has thousands upon thousands of rogues under him—we've lost count. So take this seriously."

"Is he working alone, or is someone bigger a part of this?" I added.

For some reason, I had a feeling he had to be working with someone—or under someone. Psychopaths like him never really worked alone. They usually had someone more influential pulling the strings while they did the dirty work.

"We have a hunch about that, but we're not sure, which is why we'll be sending in a team. Astrid, you will be part of the team—Ayla, Chase, Miguel, the twin brothers Sam and Zalem..." Asher continued calling out names as I zoned out.

I watched my father walk out and wondered if he knew about the list. Was this a test—to see if I was capable of going on a mission without him? So far, every mission I had gone on, he was always hovering around. I wondered if he would come on this one.

"Earth to Astrid," Ayla said, waving her hand in my face.

I smiled at her. "Is it over?"

"Well," she said, looking around. "Yep. People are already discussing it and betting on the possibility of the biggest war in history happening in the East."

"When do we leave? And have you heard if the Alpha is coming?" I asked.

Ayla frowned. She knew why I was asking.

"Asher will be leading this one. The Alpha apparently has other serious matters that need his attention. We leave tomorrow. Can you imagine? They're not even giving us time to mentally prepare. What if we get there and it's chaos?"

Chase laughed as he passed by. "Calm down, princesses. It's only to monitor and assist. There's nothing to be afraid of—we probably won't get any action, sadly," he said, sounding a little disappointed.

I rolled my eyes at him as I stood up.

"Come on, Ayla. We probably need to pack and get ready."