Welcome Stephani Hecht to a special Saturday Spotlight. She's here to share a bit of Jax's Rebellion, part of her Coalition Training Academy Series.
Jax defies his father and joins with the Coalition’s Academy to train as a future soldier. But, that isn’t the only obstacle in the young Lion’s way. He is small, a dork, and the furthest thing from fighting material. He is determined to not let that get in his way. He vows to prove his father wrong and become an asset to the Coalition.
Jax defies his father and joins with the Coalition’s Academy to train as a future soldier. But, that isn’t the only obstacle in the young Lion’s way. He is small, a dork, and the furthest thing from fighting material. He is determined to not let that get in his way. He vows to prove his father wrong and become an asset to the Coalition.
But, as his world changes, Jax begins to doubt his decision. He’s worthless when it comes to fighting. He has to adjust to life away from home, and his only friend is Ava. Will Jax’s self-doubt be his downfall, or will he be able to overcome it to become the shifter he always dreamed of?
They finally arrived at Mitchell’s office. Noah gave
Jax an assuring smile before he knocked on the door. When Jax heard Mitchell’s
voice telling them to enter, his heart started beating even harder.
Noah held the door open. Jax walked in. There was a
chair in front of Mitchell’s desk. The room was large, and Mitchell’s mate, a
Wolf shifter, sat in the back. The Wolf had short brown hair and eyes. He
smiled. Jax smiled back, sat down, then looked at his leader.
Mitchell was big, even by shifter standards. He wore
the black uniform, which made him seem more intimidating. He had super short
brown hair. His hands alone were bigger than Jax’s head. He could have probably
snapped Jax in half if he wanted to, but Mitchell’s eyes were kind and welcoming.
Jax had seen the leader before, he had just never had
a conversation with him. Jax swallowed hard. This was his first impression, and
he wanted it to be a good one, so he sat straight up then forced himself to
meet Mitchell’s gaze. He could do this. He had to do this. Failure just wasn’t
an option.
“Hey, Jax. How are things going?” Mitchell asked.
“Fine,” Jax lied.
Mitchell probably saw right through Jax, but he didn’t
call Jax out on it. Instead, Mitchell folded his hands on the desk then asked,
“Have you made your decision? Do you want to be a civilian or a soldier?”
Jax took in a deep breath. The moment he’d been so
worried about had finally arrived. As soon as he announced his decision, he
wouldn’t allow himself go back.
“Yes,” he said in a slightly shaky voice. “I want to
become a soldier.”
Jax held his breath as he waited for Mitchell to
respond. The leader’s expression hadn’t changed after Jax announced his
decision. He just continued to gaze at Jax. Jax didn’t know if it was a good
sign or not, so it did little to ease his nerves. He was beginning to think
he’d made a huge mistake.
As the seconds ticked into minutes, Jax’s nerves grew
worse. His stomach had twisted into knots, making him even more nauseated. He
was then super glad he hadn’t eaten much breakfast. That way if he did hurl, it
wouldn’t make as big of a mess. Of course, it would crush his self-confidence.
Then again, Jax didn’t have much to begin with, so it would only crush his
pride along with his hopes and dreams.
“I’m proud of you. I was hoping that you would join
up,” Mitchell said. “I could tell by the way you listened to the soldiers when
they came to visit your classroom to talk about the Academy.”
“You noticed?” Jax asked, surprised. Nobody ever paid
attention to him.
“It’s my job to know every member of my Coalition, no
matter how old they are,” Mitchell said.
“So, you’re not going to try and talk me out of it?”
Jax pressed. “I am the smallest one in my class.”
“I have room for soldiers of all sizes in my
Coalition,” Mitchell replied. “You’re not much smaller than my brother Andrew,
and he’s one of the best soldiers I have. Sometimes being small is an
advantage.”
Jax didn’t see how it could be possible, but he kept
his mouth shut. He wasn’t going to argue with his leader, especially since he
was so huge. Plus, Jax totally respected Mitchell. He’d rather slam his hand in
a locker than be disrespectful to Mitchell.
“I’m guessing your parents don’t know you’ve come to
this decision,” Mitchell said.
A rush of panic went through Jax, making him tremble a
bit. “No. Does that mean you’re going to turn me away?”
Mitchell shook his head. “By our laws, this is your
decision alone. They can’t interfere, even if they decide to leave the
Coalition in protest.”
Jax smiled. He couldn’t believe it. He was actually
going to have his dreams come true, and there was nothing his father could do
to stop it. Better yet, he had Mitchell backing him up. Jax felt almost giddy.
“I won’t let you down,” he vowed.
Mitchell nodded. “I know you won’t. Now, get back to
class. It will be your last day as a civilian student.”
