The whispers spread before dawn.
A recruit had vanished. One of their own—young, cocky, too loud for his own good. He'd crossed Elena once, sneered where he shouldn't have, and then he simply… disappeared. No one dared say Dominic's name, but the silence carried his shadow. In Command K, silence often meant survival.
Still, tongues wagged in corners, murmured beneath breaths.
"They found his bunk empty."
"Not even his boots were left."
"Elena was the last one he spoke to."
But no one spoke openly. They'd seen enough to know better. Dominic's empire fed on fear and blood, and neither were ever in short supply.Elena felt their stares. She didn't care. Let them whisper. Let them watch. Her dominance was no longer a fragile mask—it was carved into her, stitched into her bones. And though she bore the ache of the punishments Dominic had given her, she found a twisted satisfaction in it. She was harder now. Sharper.Dominic's shadow followed her everywhere—even when he wasn't in sight.Among the new faces was one who didn't slouch under the weight of Command K's walls. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Eyes clear like polished steel. His name was Jay.He wasn't just another desperate body dragged into Dominic's empire—he had chosen this. Rumor had it, Dominic was his role model. The ghost he chased. The standard he wanted to live up to.Unlike the others, Jay didn't look at Elena with fear, or resentment, or envy. He watched her with something sharper—respect. He had seen the way she snapped at the doomed recruit. He had seen the aftermath in the eyes of the others. And instead of doubting her, he bowed to it, silently acknowledging her authority.That unsettled her more than disdain ever could.The next morning, drills tore the recruits from their bunks. Sweat and blood were currency here; weakness, a debt you couldn't afford.Dominic appeared without warning, cutting across the yard like a blade through flesh. His presence alone strangled the noise from the air. Conversations died. Feet stilled. Every gaze turned.
He walked the line of recruits, boots crunching against gravel, eyes scanning, weighing, discarding. Until they landed on Jay.
"Step forward."
The yard tensed. To be called out by Dominic wasn't honor—it was trial by fire.
Jay obeyed without hesitation.Dominic circled him slowly, voice low, deliberate."I've heard the whispers. The boy who trains until his bones give out. The boy who doesn't fear pain."Jay's jaw tightened. "Fear's a waste of time, sir."The yard sucked in a breath. No one spoke to Dominic like that.But Dominic's lips curved—not into a smile, but something darker. Approval laced with challenge.
"Good. Then prove it."
Two veterans stepped forward at Dominic's signal. Men carved from violence, scarred with years of bloodshed.
"Take him."
The fight was savage. Jay was swallowed between them, blows raining from every angle. A fist split his lip, a boot cracked against his ribs. He staggered, bled, grunted—but never fell. He countered with raw grit, landing blows that snapped bone and sent one man sprawling. The second fought harder, dragging Jay to his knees, but Jay clawed his way up, slamming him into the dirt.When the dust settled, Jay stood trembling, bleeding, but alive. The yard was silent, every recruit holding their breath.
Dominic stepped forward, voice a blade sliding against Jay's ear.
"Not bad. But strength alone won't save you. Remember that."
He turned away, dismissing him with the same ruthless finality he gave to corpses.
"Clean yourself up. You're not dead. That means you still have work to do."
Elena's chest ached as she watched.
She had seen Dominic test recruits before—most ended with a corpse rotting in the dirt. But Jay? Jay had been measured, not destroyed. Shaped.
Dominic saw something in him.
And Elena felt it like a knife against her throat.
For the first time since stepping into Command K, she realized she wasn't the only one Dominic's eyes followed.
And she hated it.
The sweet, soft part of her whispered: He's strong. Maybe he'll stand with us.The darker, sharper part hissed: No. He'll take what's mine. And I won't let him.
One night, when the recruits staggered back from a brutal drill, Elena stepped into Jay's path."Elena," he said with that same nod of respect. Calm. Unshaken.She stepped closer, eyes sharp. "You're rising too fast. Be careful whose shadow you step into. This place eats its own."Jay's gaze didn't waver. "I'm not here to take anyone's place. I'm here to prove myself."Her lips curved, sweet yet sharp. "Proof won't keep you alive. Dominic doesn't settle for proof. Proof is never enough."He didn't flinch. Didn't smile.
"Then I'll just have to be more than enough."And he walked past her, leaving her with that gnawing ache twisting inside.
By the end of the month, the whispers had hardened."Elena is dangerous."
"Jay is unstoppable."
Two names carried the weight of Command K now, circling like wolves around Dominic's empire.But in Elena's mind, only one truth echoed—Dominic was hers. And she would carve out anyone who threatened to change that.
Even Jay.