Chapter 6 Education And Training

Morgan I woke up early this morning, and after getting dressed, I went for a run around the territory — a run I take every morning. Everyone I pass along the way either smiles at me or greets me, and I return the favor each time. I run back into the building and hear voices coming from the living room, but I know none of the voices belong to my team members. I stop in the doorway to look at the males occupying the living room. “Good morning,” I say to get their attention, and I see annoyed looks in their eyes. Looks like they don’t like newcomers. Too bad for them — I’m not going anywhere. They better get used to seeing me around. “They’re worse than Nigel,” Amra grumbles in my head, and she’s right. Nigel was an ass, but at least he would return my greeting. Without saying another word, I head up the stairs to take a shower, then get dressed in my standard uniform for the last time. After today, I will be wearing a Commander’s uniform, showing everyone I meet who I am within our unit. My team Captains will receive another uniform as well. I walk down the stairs to see my team members waiting for me, and we all head out to get breakfast. I notice that the other team isn’t in the living room anymore. “When we get back, we’ll discuss the teams and move to our side of the building. The right side of the building will be our home from here on out. The left side belongs to Commander Jaylen and his unit,” I say, and I see a few males and females smile. “Let’s see how fast I can get Commander Jaylen in my bed.” “I hope that team has a few willing females.” I hear in my head and ask Amra if I’m going nuts, but she tells me I’m not. I shake my head to clear my mind and follow my team into the main building to get some breakfast. We get in line at the buffet, and I point out to the others where we will be sitting from now on. Like every unit, we have our own table in the dining room. Every unit sits along the outside of the dining room, and every student or pulled member can sit at a table in the middle of the dining room. Our table is situated near some floor-to-ceiling windows. During breakfast, we all look around at the other units, and I notice that I have the largest unit. Most of them have five teams — our unit is the only one that has six teams. I stifle a smile when I see the other Commanders coming to the same conclusion. By the time we walk out of the dining room, Commander Jaylen walks in with his unit. I see him looking at every member in my unit. I doubt he’ll be able to figure out who the Commander is. Elder Larson is waiting for us outside the dining room, and he guides us toward the library, where we will take our oath. Elder Emmett will recite the oath, and all we have to do is say, “Yes, I will” or “Yes, I do” after every question. There are eight Elders standing around us to make sure we all answer — and to expose those that try to avoid answering. Amra is front and center; she wants to see how some of my unit will respond to the oath. Elder Emmett starts to recite the oath, and each time, everyone answers in unison — that is, until the last part of the oath. “Do you promise to withhold yourself from having sex with your own unit members and those of other units — with the exception of finding your fated Mate among them?” Almost everyone responds with “Yes, I do,” and I immediately know who didn’t respond. Five members of my unit get called toward Elder Emmett, and he asks them why they didn’t answer, each of them saying they hadn’t expected that to be part of the oath. “This is part of the oath because history has taught us that a broken-off relationship causes trouble within or between units,” he explains. He repeats the last part of the oath, and all five answer with “Yes, I do” as we all did. I will make sure they understand the consequences if they break a part of the oath. We all get our new uniforms before we head back home, and I tell everyone along the way to place them on their beds before we divide the teams. My members and I are the only ones inside the building, and I wait in the living room for everyone to show up. I see that a few sit down together — the ones that decided they would become part of a team Captain’s team — and the rest just sit down wherever there’s a seat available. It takes about fifteen minutes before each of them is quiet, and Flora is the one to start talking. “I have already picked my team members, so why don’t I start by announcing my team?” she asks, but I just shake my head. Luckily, she’s smart enough to keep her mouth shut, and I grab the tablet to pull up the list of the teams I made. “I went through each of your files and have come to the conclusion that each of you actually has a brain,” I say, and everyone chuckles. “I mean that you will all be able to understand my reasoning when I explain how I came to my decisions. To make it a little easier, I want to ask you to compare our unit to a Pack. “Pack-members have to answer to an Alpha, but if an Alpha had to talk to every member one by one, it would take forever. For that reason, only one person will answer to the Alpha. Which basically means that an Alpha has different teams throughout his Pack, and he needs to make sure that every team within his Pack is the best it can be.” I explain, and I see all of them nodding their heads. “Flora, have you ever watched the Warriors in your Pack train?” I ask her, and she answers that she has. I ask her if there has ever been a time she questioned their head Warrior’s decision on pairing a team, and she answers affirmatively. “Can you explain to everyone why you questioned him?” I ask her. She explains that one pairing stood out to her. “One of them is very strong and can take down any Rogue he faces, but the other can fight, though he’s no match for someone bigger,” she says. I ask if the weaker one has any other strengths, and she replies that he’s better at spotting an opponent’s weakness. “Flora, that’s exactly why they were paired. One has the strength to take down his opponent, while the other can identify the weakness. Together, they’ll be able to defeat multiple opponents by working as a team. Alone, they might manage one or two, but in the end, they’d likely lose,” I explain. I see the realization dawn on Flora’s face. “I think we all understand what you’re trying to say, Commander. I’ll accept whoever you assign to my team,” Enzo says. The other team Captains nod in agreement. I start with Flora’s team, and one by one, the teams move across the room until only four members remain. “Chaya, Skylar, Danica, and Faith — you’ll be on my team. I’ll be counting on the four of you to help me guide this unit. I expect you to show me that you’re worthy of being in the King’s Army. If you run into any problems, I want you to come to me before I have to report you to the King,” I say, knowing that most of them will come to me if necessary. I had already checked out our wing. As Commander, I’ll reside on the top floor. I assigned the bottom floor to Flora and her team because the five of them are light sleepers. Together, they’ll form a solid front against any intruders, giving the rest of us time to respond. Flora looks surprised when I explain my reasoning, but when she looks at her team, understanding settles in. “We won’t disappoint you, Commander,” she says before guiding her team to their Quarters. The other four teams are assigned to the two floors above Flora’s team. My team and I head up to the top floor. The top floor covers the entire side of our wing. There’s a living room, a kitchen, and an office on the left side of the stairs, while our rooms are on the right side. Faith opens the bedroom doors and, after checking them all, tells me to take the last room on the right. She assigns Chaya to the room across the hall from mine, Skylar to the room next to mine, and asks Danica which room she’d like. Danica chooses the room next to Chaya, leaving the room next to Skylar for Faith. We all head into our rooms to unpack. Flora links me to inform me about the private living room and offices next to her Quarters. I tell her we’ll meet in our private living room later to go over our schedule for training and education.