Page 70 of Sawyer

“I mean, after graduation from the enforcers and the choices we made. Do you have any regrets?”

“Yes,” he replies. “Leaving you.”

I didn’t expect the admission, and I sit up in my seat, my eyes popping open. Rumor and I went through the academy together. We weren’t roommates, and we didn’t even have the same friend circles. Alphas and deltas barely hung out together, but we graduated together and ended up on the same assignments.

“What?” Classy, real classy, Bryn.

“You heard me.” Rumor glances over at me as he turns down the road leading to the mountain’s east side. “We never hung out before Sawyer. We only ever worked together, and I don’t want your knot in my ass, so don’t go thinking I have some weird romantic feelings for you.”

I chuckle, because many packs are free-for-all. “Noted.”

“You are pack, though, and I don’t want to walk away from that, nor do I plan to. You feel like a sibling, and I know neither of us will walk away from Sawyer,” he says, surprising me. “So letting you walk away, and letting Sawyer walk away, are the only regrets I have,” he murmurs.

“I don’t plan to walk away from her,” I admit.

“Then tell me what you regret.” He pulls onto the old logging road. He won’t be able to get far, but he’ll get us out of sight.

“I was reassigned from babysitting spoiled alphas” —the words feel heavy on my tongue, because I’ve never uttered them to another living soul— “and I was sent to a testing facility. I didn’t know what they were testing me for, only that I had a new assignment afterward. Rumor, I’m the monarch’s asset.”

He throws the SUV into park and looks at me, his expression shuttered. His genuine emotions slide behind a mask few deltas can pull off. “That’s why you believe there’s more going on here than what meets the eye. Those programs, which you are saying you were a part of, were supposedly shut down by the previous monarch after the peace treaties between all designations.”

I nod slowly, not trusting my voice.

“Then let’s see what the monarch has for us.” He kills the lights and climbs out of the SUV, heading to the back.

Following him, I climb down and gently shut the door. The forest is quiet, but not to the point of a predator lurking in the woods. Just silent. Moving to the back, I stand beside Rumor, and he slaps a flashlight into my hand before lifting the floorboard to reveal gun storage.

“So,” he begins, glancing at me, “not so good ole boy.”

I snort. “I have clearance levels that tell you that, yes, I am a good ole boy.” I grab a gun and slide it into my waistband.

“What’s your clearance?” He turns toward me, and I feel his competitiveness rearing its head. He’s always been like this, having this drive to be the best. It’s disturbing.

He also won’t out-clearance me.

“What do you have?” This feels so much like those days we spent patrolling together. It’s a comfort that I haven’t had in a long time, because as an asset, I have to work alone.

“Level four.” He stands before me, all smug and proud of himself.

I whistle. “Impressive. How many dicks did you have to suck to get there?”

“Fuck you.” He slams his SUV door down, casting us into darkness. “Only one.”

I try to control my laughter, but it’s almost impossible.

“What do you have?” He’s curious—too curious.

The enforcers rank clearances one through five, the latter being the highest, but I honestly never made it past the second clearance with the delta enforcers. “Depends on which branch you are asking about,” I state quietly.

“The monarch classes.” He grunts. “Of course. Fine, what did you get with the enforcers?”

“Two.” I’ll give him that. It’ll feed his competitive nature.

“Ha, I outclass you.”

“Just not right now. I’m on official monarch time.” I think I’ve waited long enough for my eyes to adjust. Rumor doesn’t have to wait as long as me, since he is a delta and his night vision is impeccable. It’s why deltas are often assigned to alphas—we complement each other.

“Come on.” He leads me around the side of his SUV.

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