The line clicks as Avery hangs up, and I smirk. She’s the oldest of our little group of female alphas. You could call us a pack if you extend that definition to include a friend group spread across different cities because if we spend more than a week in the same town, we bite each other’s heads off.
Given that I’m the youngest, she’s always been like an older sister to me. She’s the one I trust most for life advice.
And if Avery thinks this isn’t a mistake…
Then I’ll see it through.
CHAPTER
SIX
MYLO
My alarm buzzesat five AM, but I’m already half awake. Before I hit snooze, I shake out a white circular tablet from the pill keeper on the nightstand and swallow it with the cup of water I left there the night before.
It’s the ritual upon which my entire life depends, one I haven’t failed since my eighteenth birthday. If I could scrub the omega gene from my DNA entirely, I would.
I’ll just have to trust the strategies that have gotten me this far, no matter how close-quarters with an alpha I’m going to be. This opportunity is important enough to take on the risk.
Calculated risk is basically my entire career, anyway.
Now that the shock has worn off, I’m ready for the challenge. I only have two more training days before the big stunt—two days to learn the fight choreography, build rapport with the stunt team, make sure I’m nailing the director’s vision, and fifty other things.
No problem.
Last night’s welcome dinner was a great head-start on getting to know the stunt crew. It’s a great team, tight-knit and hard-working, but still committed to having fun with it. And the info packet finally came through to my email. I skimmed it last night, but I was dead tired, so I pull it open again.
At the top, bold text simply states:Electra 2.
It’s absolutely surreal to be working on a Detective Marvelous movie. It doesn’t get more ‘household name’ than the DM franchise.
Christine is playing Electra, obviously.
Haley O’Hare’s character—our character—is Melinoë, though most mortals know her as the Mad Shadow. Her main powers are camouflaging in darkness, teleporting, seizing mortals with temporary madness, and superhuman fighting skills. In the movie’s plot, she rises as a nemesis to Electra, working under the orders of her father, Thanoseid, one of the most powerful supervillains in the DM franchise.
Villains tend to get the more interesting plot arcs, and Melinoë is no exception. I’m already dying to see Haley in action and get a feel for how she’s interpreting the character.
But first, more training. I pile into a van with the rest of the stunt crew at five-thirty sharp, and we trade stories all along the winding drive.
Then it’s a few hours with the fight choreographer, Andy Chan. His kindly face starting to show its age, and he stands a few inches shorter than I do, but he could kick my ass in a heartbeat.
I try to forget that he’s another legend, responsible for all my favorite Kung-Fu movies, as I get into the zone, soaking up as much of the choreography as possible.
One of the few reasons it’s possible for me to ramp up so quickly is that Andy’s choreography is utterly intuitive. He plays into the actual decisions a skilled fighter would make based onwhat’s coming at them, adding flair in a few places but generally making sure the fights still feel grounded. He warns me that the choreography will continue to adapt to make full use of the surroundings, and I’m elated.
By the time we break for lunch, I think I’ve earned Andy’s confidence. That was my last anxiety. But if Andy’s ready to put his faith in me, I know we’ll be able to pull this off.
I stick to a light lunch, knowing I’ll be yanked around later. Then it’s a whirl of wardrobe, hair, and makeup. I stay focused on getting to know the team, which is my best possible distraction from thinking about having to see Christine again.
The trio of women overseeing Melinoë’s character seem to have great rapport. First there’s Kristen from Wardrobe, a freckled redhead, who pointedly introduces herself as an Australian before quickly taking my measurements.
Then there’s Keysha, whose sunset ombre micro-braids I enthusiastically compliment as she holds up a couple of wig options, gently teasing me about having a bigger head than Alanna.
We start chatting, but Sharon hurries me into a chair. She’s a charming woman in her fifties, and as soon as I catch her saying “Ope!” we bond over being from the Midwest.
Soon, I’m a spitting image of Haley.
“You even have similar cheekbones!” Sharon coos as she gives me a shave. Not that I grow much to begin with, but the less there is to work around, the better.
