Dreaming of Her

***Austin*** "WHAT? Say that again," I demand, gripping the wheel tighter, careful not to veer off the motorway as I drive us home. My father’s voice crackles through the speaker; Joshua is in trouble again. "During combat class this morning, Joshua made a rather cruel example out of a gamma in the same year," he explains. I feel Ella’s quiet fury radiating from the passenger seat. "That’s not like him," she says, her voice edged with steel. "Did the gamma do or say something to provoke him?" Dad sighs on the other end, and I risk a glance at Ella. "Well... she beat him at hand-to-hand combat. In front of the entire class." "She?" I reply incredulously, the absurdity hitting harder. "You heard that right. No young alpha likes to be shown up—least of all in front of others, and cert