The Squad

ANNA

Anna handed me an ice latté when I greeted her in front of headquarters the next morning. “Looking like yourself again, Princess,” she giggled, teasing me.

Before we went to our first squad practice, we needed to empty our lockers and claim lockers in our new locker rooms. To our delight, the first squad and X-squad shared.

It was much more luxurious than the junior locker rooms. The interior was dark wood and black marble.

It had big makeup mirrors and even a small lounge for hanging out and relaxing.

“Damn,” we both said when we stepped inside.

We put our stuff in our new lockers and started getting dressed for practice.

“Why is first sharing with X?” Anna asked while we were still alone, chilling in the lounge, finishing our coffee.

“Well, my mom told me yesterday that the X-squad might be pretty special,” I answered.

“Really? But why have we never heard of it?” she said skeptically.

“I guess I’m about to find out why.”

Just as I had said that, the door opened and several other women entered to get changed. They all glanced at us but didn’t greet us.

I had started feeling a bit nervous. I didn’t know anybody in my new squad, except for our squad leader, whom I didn’t really want to face.

“Well, I guess we should get going,” Anna said, giving me an encouraging smile.

When I entered my new combat studio, there were only three people there. Louisa, along with two men I didn’t recognize.

They both looked rather tough. One of them had a scar on his neck that went down, disappearing under his tank top.

They acknowledged me but didn’t greet me. I nervously kept to the walls as more people entered.

Most of them gave me strange looks, and several of them had visible tattoos and piercings. This squad kind of looked like a street gang.

I didn’t recognize any of them.

“All right everybody, if I could have your attention!” Louisa called once everybody was there.

It didn’t seem to be a very big squad. There were only sixteen people here.

“As most of you have probably figured, we have a new member in the team. Please make Bella feel welcome in this squad!” she announced.

“Isn’t the Princess a little young for our squad?” a black-haired woman asked.

“Normally, Emma, but she’s a good shot, and she has already shown that she has the bravery, and foolery, needed in this squad,” Louisa replied.

Nobody else questioned her, and they all came over to introduce themselves, one by one. Everybody looked like they were in their late twenties and thirties.

However, umbras aged a little slower. I knew that meant that some could even be in their fifties.

“All right, now when most of you have introduced yourselves, you can get on with practice. I’ll talk Bella through what we do,” Louisa said to the group before she walked up to me.

I was surprised when I heard music. We had never been allowed to put on music while sparring.

“All right Bella, the missions we get aren’t the same as the other squads. It’s not all about finding and killing demons,” she began while I watched a duel happening behind her.

They were amazing.

Louisa snapped her fingers to get my attention. I jolted and looked at her.

“We investigate, spy, and deal with difficult or delicate situations. It’s mostly with supernaturals, or very tricky demons,” she said seriously.

“What do you mean by spy?” I asked suspiciously.

Louisa gave me a mischievous smile. “Well, it’s going to be a while before I ask you to do that. You first have to learn the ground rules of this squad, and you have to integrate,” she began.

“The first and most important rule in this squad! Despite what you’ve been taught, other supernatural beings are our friends, and we treat them as such, even when we see them break the law,” she said with a serious frown.

“What?” I asked, looking at her dumbfounded, unsure if I’d just heard her correctly.

Louisa gave me a faint smile. “The second rule, which applies to all squads: no romantic relationships within the squad. Which brings me to the third rule. Always put yourself first. We’re a team, but if you screw up, and it puts the rest in jeopardy, you are on your own,” she finished.

I just looked at her wide-eyed. Did she really think I could learn to spy on other supernatural beings?

Didn’t they hate us?

“Right, I almost forgot, fourth rule. You’re not allowed to talk to anyone outside the squad about what we do and our activities, even though the first squad sort of knows,” Louisa explained again with a serious tone.

“Could you tell me what you meant about having to integrate?” I asked, regaining my ability to speak.

“Make new friends, Bella, that’s what it means.” She smirked mysteriously at me before she looked around the room as if searching for someone.

“It’ll clear up,” she said when I just looked at her, confused.

“Try to get some practice,” Louisa said before she grabbed two swords and called a man named Glenn to practice with her.

Louisa really was something. She couldn’t sense demons and supernaturals like we umbra could, but on top of being able to tell lies, she could sense bad intentions, and she was unnaturally strong.

She was a really good fighter.

I had been watching Louisa for a while when a man and a woman walked in. They were late.

They scanned the room and walked right to me when they caught sight of me.

“Ellie,” the woman said, extending her hand.

She looked almost normal, except for her exceptional beauty and heavy makeup. She looked like a model, with her dark brown wavy hair, blue eyes, full lips, and an hourglass body.

“Bella,” I answered and took her hand.

“We know who you are,” she said, giving me a surprisingly warm smile.

Maybe she wanted to be friends because of my money?

“Alex,” the man said, extending his hand too.

Now, this guy was straight-up hot. He had black hair, brown eyes, and a sharp jaw.

He was tall and had a muscular but slender body.

“You weren’t supposed to be late today,” Louisa said, approaching us.

Ellie laughed. “Sorry, boss, I forgot,” she said.

“Well, I’m watching you! Don’t get Bella into anything stupid,” Louisa said, pointing at her own eyes with two fingers and then at them.

“Want to show me what you got on the mat?” Ellie asked me, ignoring Louisa.

I smiled and nodded. I’d need a new practice partner.

Ellie was an amazing swordswoman, like everyone else in this squad, it seemed. She went easy on me, though, and promised I would get there.

I was still young, and just needed more practice. I wondered if Ellie would beat Anna in a duel.

After a while, we were excused for the weekend. I had noticed Louisa pulling people away to talk to them separately.

After I had showered, I put on my normal clothes and started doing my makeup. I used all natural tones except for a light golden eyeshadow.

“My kind of girl,” Ellie said as she sat down beside me to redo her own makeup. A giggle slipped out of me.

I was used to it just being me and Anna, fighting over a small bathroom mirror to do our makeup.

“They don’t count on kids wanting to put makeup on,” Ellie said, as if she had guessed what I was thinking.

“That’s ridiculous, we’re not kids at nineteen,” I stated. Ellie chuckled at me.

“I agree about the mirrors, but you’ll keep making foolish mistakes, just like a kid,” she said and winked at me.

“Like what?” I asked, feeling a little offended.

“I guess you’ll find out. That’s the beauty of being young,” she replied.

“You don’t look like you’re very old yourself,” I said.

“Aw, thank you,” she said with a sincere smile.

How could you want to look young? “How old are you?” I asked out of curiosity.

Now she laughed at me. “How old do you think I am?” she asked.

“Twenty-two?” I guessed.

“You are sweet,” she said, not revealing anything about how close my guess was.

“Hey, Bella?” Ellie said, smiling at me as I rose to leave. “What do you say we grab a coffee and go to my place, and I’ll tell you a little more about what we do?” she suggested.

“That sounds great,” I replied. It would be very interesting to see Ellie’s apartment.

Ellie lived in a very nice, early twentieth-century apartment complex. It was close to the headquarters, and very central in the city, by a canal.

“Welcome to my, not so humble, abode,” she said when we entered her apartment. I quickly took my shoes off and went to look around.

The ceiling was high and the rooms were big. She had classical-looking furniture in dark wood, and red textiles in all white rooms.

The ceiling had classical patterns, and so did the open doorways.

“Damn, you live nicer than I thought,” I said, impressed.

“Our salaries aren’t shit, you know,” she replied, looking slightly offended. This was my first visit to a friend’s place—if I could call her that.

I hadn’t even visited Anna. We sat down at the black marble breakfast bar.

“So, have you ever heard of Wonderland?” Ellie said, looking amused.

“As in Alice in Wonderland?” I asked skeptically.

Ellie laughed. “No. It’s a club! And not just any club. It’s a club where only supernaturals are allowed inside. Where they get to be themselves without exposing themselves to, or being judged by, humans.”

“It’s an amazing place, really,” Ellie said before sipping her coffee.

“We know a place like that exists? Aren’t they worried we would try to shut them down?” I asked, a little shocked.

Ellie laughed and shook her head. “No, letting them have their safe places means they cause way less trouble for us.”

“There are more places—Wonderland is just the best,” she added.

“And we’re allowed inside?” I asked, still skeptical.

“Not letting us in would be like not letting cops party while off duty,” she explained. That made sense.

“So, putting one and one together. Do we, like…go to these places to spy? Why would they even talk to us?” I asked.

“It’s much more than that. It’s about building connections, really, and Wonderland is just a very good start.”

“Some of us ended up in our squad because we liked to visit Wonderland, and have several friends of other species,” she explained.

Suddenly looking very smug, she added, “And they do much more than talk to us, trust me.”

I blushed, realizing what she meant.

“Oh, you’re blushing. You aren’t still a virgin, are you?” she asked, looking amused.

“Of course not,” I said, and tried to hide my embarrassment by taking a big gulp of my coffee.

She didn’t need to know I’d only had sex once.

“Good! Vampires may be a bit cold and dangerous, but damn, they are good in bed as long as you’re careful. But you shouldn’t even consider them for another six years.”

“Lycans are too. They can, however, be a little possessive—just ask Alex,” she said in a hushed, amused voice and gave me a slight shove.

“So, stay away from both, got it.” I nodded. She really got around, didn’t she?

“Is sleeping with them part of our job description?” I asked, feeling a little worried. It couldn’t be, could it?

“Of course not,” Ellie laughed. “But it’s useful for those of us that want to. It’s the most effective method to uncover sensitive information.” She winked and smirked at me.

“Does that mean we’re allowed relationships with supernatural beings?” I asked. I had grown up knowing that to be a huge no.

“Yes, but you’re not allowed to create any hybrids, if you know what I mean,” she answered, eyeing me with curiosity. I did know what she meant and nodded.

“So, do you want to go down the rabbit hole and visit Wonderland?” Ellie asked me, mischief playing on her lips.

“Yes!” I said, almost too enthusiastically.

It sounded dangerous, foolish—something to lose myself in.

“Good, because we’re going out tonight!” she chuckled.