Chapter 2 - The First Day

I woke early the next morning. I got up quickly, much too excited to start my first day of training in Takiani. I changed into a pair of black workout tights that I found and then a navy blue tank top. I managed to find a pair of sneakers and I slipped them on also. They fit just perfectly, somehow.

When I waltzed out to the kitchen, Ezra was already awake. The smell of freshly made coffee wafted through my nose and I bit back a moan and my wolf brightened up at the smell of caffeine.

"Morning, princess. Did you sleep well?" Ezra asked me as I leant against the counter. I stared at him carefully for a moment, wondering if I had kicked and cried during the night.

The nightmares started after the incident, and they came every night. Sometimes they were really bad, other times, they were fine. I hadn't woken during the night so I assumed they mustn't have been that bad this time.

Which was a relief.

"I guess so. It feels strange to not be home in my own bed," I told Ezra. He smiled and nodded at me, sipping on his coffee.

"Understandable. Just let me know if I can do anything that'll make your stay more comfortable," Ezra said, warmly smiling at me. My beast calmed, the anxiety and overwhelming feelings dying down for just a moment.

Then, there was a knock on the front door. I smelt him almost instantly.

Henry was here.

I waved goodbye to Ezra and then rushed out the cabin. I met Henry on the grass out the front of my cabin. The sun was only just starting to rise and it made the land before me look even more beautiful.

Henry stood on the grass, surrounded by two other wolves — Alfie who I had met the day before and another wolf that I hadn't met yet.

"Morning, Alison. I'm glad that you're up early for the run. Usually new comers struggle to get out of bed this early," Henry greeted me. I smiled and awkwardly shrugged at him. I was an early bird, always had been.

Back home, I was often always the first person in the whole pack to wake. As soon as I was awake, I'd usually go for a run. I took the track behind the pack house that lead me out the a large flower meadow, in which I would lay down and soak up the sun.

"What can I say? I'm an early bird," I smiled at him. Henry turned to Alfie and the other male wolf standing beside him.

This male was strong, but not as strong as I was. I knew he wasn't an Alpha, the scent didn't roll off him. But he was still strong. His body was all muscle, and he was tall.

The male offered me a smile, to which I slowly returned. Alfie cleated his throat and motioned to the male.

"Alison, this is my son, Kade... and Kade, this is Alison Grey, from Terialta," Alfie made introductions quickly. Kade held his hand out to me for a handshake, and I hesitantly grabbed him hand and I shook it.

Kade smiled at me, and I didn't feel threatened. This male was not after our neck. But that was only because he had a mark on his own neck. He had a mate, he wasn't interested in me. Plus he wasn't cocky, yet. My beast rumbled in approval as we pulled our hand away.

"Alfie and Kade will be accompanying us on our run this morning," Henry told me. I nodded quickly as Henry motioned behind me. I spun around, facing a trail embedded in the dirt. I figured that it must've been a trail often used.

It looked worn out. But at least I knew there was a trail next to the house.

"You think you can keep up?" Alfie teased me. I raised my eyebrows at him and my beast yipped at the challenge. She wanted to show everyone that we were strong. We weren't a weak wolf and everyone needed to know that.

"Try me," I retorted with a small smile. Alfie chuckled a little as Henry lead the run. I followed behind him, jogging at first. It was peaceful.

Everything in the forest was only just waking up. The morning dew was melting off the plants and the wonderful smell of flowers slowly invaded my nose.

I had to pick up the pace when Henry sped up. I ran alongside him for what felt like forever before he let out a loud rumble that seemed to shake the trees around us. He let his beast push forward and he leapt into the air, his wolf coming forward completely.

His four paws hit the ground and he kept running. He got faster and I took that as the cue to shift also. I heard and felt the cracking of my bones before I landed on the ground on four paws.

My wolf hummed in approval at the fact that we were getting to shake out our fur again. She pushed forwards, keeping up with the Alpha male that ran in front of us.

Henry's wolf was a grey wolf. His fur was thin and patchy, parts of his fur missing from the battles that he had fought in his lifetime. His wolf was huge, and he easily was bigger than mine. Although, he was kind of scrawny for an Alpha.

He looked skinny, almost as if his wolf was hungry. But I tore my eyes away from him as I felt a nip at my feet. I look back, earning a sheepish grin from Kade who was now running alongside me.

This male was playful. My wolf liked him. He nipped at our feet every time we looked away to pay attention to something else. He stopped when his father gave him a warning growl after he almost tripped me over.

Kade kept up to me. He looked like he was being challenged, and I liked it. I liked challenging other wolves. It made them stronger and it made me a better leader.

But when we reached the rocky hills, I was the challenged one. My wolf pushed hard, keeping up to Henry's wolf as we ran. The hill was indeed challenging and my wolf liked it. She liked that we were already being pushed within our first day of being in Takiani.

When we came back to the pack, there were people buzzing all around the area. Most people were in their skin, but there was some wolves sparring with each other in their fur. It was fascinating to see how this pack worked in comparison to mine.

Henry shifted back into his skin and I avoided my eyes from his naked body as he reached into the trunk of a tree and pulled out clothes. He pulled on a pair of shorts and then tossed clothes to the two males and handed me a shirt. I took it and rushed behind a bush to shift back and pull on the shirt.

I wasn't comfortable with anyone seeing me naked. I knew that most wolves didn't even care, but I did. I cared too much.

I slipped the oversized shirt over my head and then came out the bushes. I walked hesitantly over to where Henry was now standing with a group of other wolves. I noticed that Kade was walking away to the sparring rings.

Alfie approached me as Henry was rushed away. I assumed that he had Alpha business to attend to. I wasn't bothered by his absence. There was something about him that put my beast on edge. Maybe I wasn't used to being around another Alpha.

"You kept up well on that run, Alison. Quite impressive. Newbies usually struggle on those hills," Alfie told me. I beamed at him. My beast swirled with pride. We were glad that were were getting the recognition we deserved.

"There are some trails back home with a few hills. They were somewhat familiar," I told Alfie, who smiled and nodded at me. He chuckled a little and he crossed his arms.

"I think my son enjoyed you coming. He always says that I force him to be serious all the time. It was good to see him be a little playful," Alfie added. He cocked his head in the direction of the sparring rings, motioning for me to follow him.

Alfie began to lead me in the direction that Kade had walked off in. As we walked, I realised that I really did like Alfie. He was a good wolf and I could tell just by the way he spoke. My beast felt comforted by him and I liked the feeling. It didn't like being intimidated by other males.

"So, the training program for you is quite simple. You're not pack, so you won't train with the other pack wolves. You'll mostly train with Kade, and the other kids from your pack," Alfie explained to me briefly. I nodded at him.

I understood that. I knew that if I wanted to spar with anyone from this pack, I would have to join the pack itself. It was the rules and I wasn't about to try argue with them.

"But, currently, Henry's Beta is out on business. He took a few pack members with him and there's two that you'll definitely spar with when they return. They're just a couple of cocky males, I'm sure you'll be fine with them," Alfie told me, making me feel a little confident.

I wasn't sure if Alfie was telling me that I would show up fine with the boys because he believed it. I knew that I was a strong wolf, and I knew that my blood hummed just like any other wolf. Well, I thought it did.

But I also knew that I wasn't as strong as I could be. There had been so many setbacks in my life that my training was barely an option anymore. I was too caught up in other things to focus on my training.

But maybe being with Takiani for a month would help fix that?

"Okay, so over here are obviously all your sparring rings. We are really big on sparring here. Majority of the days you train, you'll spar with someone," Alfie explained to me. I nodded at him, knowingly smiling.

I wondered who I would spar with first. No one that came from my pack was an Alpha, and I was sure that none of them would want to spar with me. An Alpha against an omega was unfair.

"I want to see what you've got first. I'll call Kade over here," Alfie told me quickly. I nodded anxiously at him and my blood buzzed at the thought of my first spar only happening in a few moments. I stepped into the ring that Alfie stopped in front of and watched as Kade appeared.

He grinned at Alfie and I. He ran a hand through his brown hair and stepped into the ring. I gulped nervously. I hadn't sparred with anyone in a while.

I wondered how good I'd be. Would Kade kick my ass or would he be an easy challenge?

I knew that I wouldn't win this fight. I hadn't been keeping up with my training back home and I knew that beating a wolf who trained every day would be hard.

"No claws or fangs until I say," Alfie said from outside the ring. Kade and I both nodded and we began to circle each other.

I stalked around the ring, eyeing Kade. I was nervous, but I knew that I had to push that aside. I had to show Alfie and Kade that I was more than a girl from Terialta. I had to show them that I was a damn Alpha female.

Kade lunged for me. He swung a fist at my face, and I ducked quickly. He missed me, and then quickly swung again. This time, he nailed me in the kidney. I found myself stumbling back.

He was strong. Kade was definitely strong.

I retaliated fast. I sent my elbow into his stomach and then nailed him hard in the jaw. But Kade wasn't fazed. He socked me in the sternum so hard that it almost took my breath away. My chest ached painfully.

I was too busy worrying about my throbbing sternum that I didn't duck in time to avoid a hard blow to the cheek by Kade's fist. I tasted blood almost immediately.

I growled at Kade and he just laughed. I didn't like his cockiness so I lunged for him. I hit him in the abdomen with my elbow and then uppercut him in the chin.

Kade looked shocked by my blows on him but he didn't let it distract him. He growled back at me, spitting blood. I had made him bleed.

Good.

My wolf yipped in approval as we heard Alfie speak from the sidelines. "Shift."

Kade was quicker than I was. He tore into his beast and lunged at me instantly. I only just managed to get out the way and I let my beast come forwards and out her little shell.

Kade slammed into me before I had a chance to move out the way. He took us to the ground and we yelped as his heavy weight pressed down on us.

We threw him off and we growled at him, a warning to not do that again. My beast and I did not like being sat on. We weren't a damn couch. 

Kade snarled at us. I leaped at him. I jumped onto his back and clawed hard. He just easily threw me off. Kade jumped on me before I could get up. He clawed across my belly and then my back. I wanted to stop the fight, my wounds bleeding.

But I remembered that I needed to like the blood. I need to like letting the wounds bleed. It showed other wolves that I didn't care how injured I was.

I was a fighter and I wasn't going down so easily.

I snapped at Kade. I bit into his paw and I bit hard. Before I could feel my teeth touch the bone, he slammed me into the dirt, my mouth coming away from him.

Kade pinned me down. He bit my neck, clamping down hard. I sighed, realising that I had lost.

I thrust my neck towards him as best as I could and he got the message and stepped away from me. I felt my blood ooze and I tried hard to ignore it.

Kade shifted back into his skin. Yet again, I avoided my eyes as he was handed a pair of shorts. Then, he hold out a shirt to me with a small. I took it in my mouth and bounded away to change.

When I shifted back, I slipped the shirt over my head and sighed as my blood and sweat made the shirt stick to my skin. But I ignored it as I stepped out from the bush and walked over to where Kade and Alfie are still standing.

"You did good," Kade told me with a kind smile before he walked away to treat his injures. I couldn't help but grin in satisfaction.

I had done good.