Chapter 9: Training at Sunrise

Damian’s POV

    I’m running through the packhouse.My heart is racing. An alert had gone out and anyone unable to fight is being sent to the safe room, the packhouse is going into lockdown. I run for the door but someone grabs me, pulling me back inside and towards the basement to the safe room. I try to fight, but I am small and weak. “Mom! My mom is out there!” I scream as I pound my fists on the arm of the person holding me. Someone is talking, trying to soothe me, but I don’t hear them. All I can think about is my mother out there fighting, “Mom!”

    “Mom! Please don’t go!” I bolt up in my bed sweating and tangled in my sheets. I hadn’t had that dream in years. I hate reliving that night! She didn’t make it back and the Alpha family had gone into hiding. I was told that my mother died protecting the Alpha heir from three rogues while my father fought off the hunter that had lunged for the witch queen. My parents had succeeded in helping the Alpha family escape into hiding, but at the cost of my dear mother’s life. I could be bitter at them, but I am not. I may be bitter towards my father for not protecting her better and I loathe rogues and hunters with all my heart, but I can’t hate the Alpha family. The heir was very young and the witchqueen had been pregnant and vulnerable. I heard from my father  when I got older that it was believed that the second child had been lost due to the stress of the attack and going into hiding. I run my hand through my hair and grab my phone off the bedside table to check the time. 1:05 a.m. Just great! As if I will be able to sleep now! The memories of losing my mother tumbling through my head. She had been my rock, my anchor, the only person who really knew me and loved me unconditionally. Yeah, dad loved me in his way, but it feels more dutiful. It’s like it’s his job to love me, not like mom who loved me through my anger, my tears and sadness. She was everything a mother should be. I miss her everyday, but on nights like this where I relive it in my sleep…the pain is unbearable. It is like my world is shattering all over again. 

     I grab my notebook and pen and head down to the kitchen for a beer. Grabbing a beer from the fridge and popping the top off I take a long swig. Drinking won’t dull the pain, I tried that for a while. No, nothing dulls the pain. It’s always there. Only it’s sharper now. Leaning against the counter I sigh and look at my notebook. I haven’t written in days, I haven’t really had the time and space away from anyone to do it. I finish my beer, placing the bottle in the recycling bin and grabbing another, I scoop up the notebook and slide out the side door. I like the stoop here. It is quiet and shaded looking out to the empty street and silent neighborhood. No one knows that I come here most nights and write…the words I put to paper aren’t for anyone else. If my mother was alive I might share some with her, maybe even write her one like I do whenever the pain of her loss is too much to bear.

    I write for a while losing track of time as I place my pain and frustration into words then something on the breeze reminds me of someone else and the poems take a different turn.

          In my darkest hour 

          Thoughts of her sear my brain

          Burning desire all but consumes me

          Her touch is all that could ease my pain

          Eyes like pools that I want to drown in

         The stars above have nothing on her

          She’s the beauty that I  

          Admire from afar

          I long to hold her and make her mine

          But 

   I stop, what is stopping me? I could hold her, she could be mine if she would let me. I take another swig from my beer. Have I gone soft? Fuck! She is messing with my head! When I love people I get hurt or they get hurt. I get up and finish my beer then go back to bed. I still have a couple hours until sunrise. 

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    Restless sleep eventually consumed me and when my alarm woke me at sunrise for training I was tempted to ignore it, but I knew that I couldn’t. Last night was the first night that my dreams hadn’t been solely focused on the little witch. Yeah, she did factor ito one particular dream, but she hadn’t dominated every one. Maybe I can get over her and forget about how tempting she is.

     All thoughts of forgetting her went out the window when I got tot training. There she stood in a sports bra and leggings next to her best friend, talking to my father. “Selyna, I am so glad you decided to join the training. Ashe told me you had had some reservations since you are not a wolf shifter, but we will take that into account. Damian can introduce you to Riff, I think size wise you would be a good match” I hear him say, gesturing to me as I walk up.

    “No! Riff might be a good match in terms of size, but is far too brutal. Why not match her up with Ashe, they may be bigger than her, but they wouldn’t hurt her” I am surprised to hear myself saying.

     “Oh, I can go easy on her. It won’t be much of a challenge, but I could always kick your ass later!” Riff sidles up giving me a wicked smirk. She may be one of my best

friends but she can be scary. “Hey loverboy, are you afraid that I’m gonna hurt your little witch? You should see your face. I can’t tell if you want to eat her or mate her: she laughs through mindlink. Shit! I must be letting my emotions show and apparently my face says “lust”. 

    ‘You know we could do both. I say we eat that sweet pussy then get on to mating the witch!’ Steele says to me. ‘I’m not talking to you!’ I growl. Scowling, I look between the two girls. “Fine!” I growl and turn heel to go find Spooky and pair off with him to sparr.

    WhenI look at the girls I see Riff teaching Selyna some basic defense moves. She is doing good. ‘And looking real good’ Steele practically purs in lust. ‘I told you I am not talking to you right now’ I huff. The distraction cost me and Spooky lands a hard blow to my gut. “Lucky punch!” I say trying to play it cool.

     “Dude, I wouldn’t have gotten past you if you were not staring so hard at your little witch!” Spooky taunts.

     “She’s not mine!” I growl and redouble my efforts to knock him on his ass. We keep at it for the rest of the training session and I try not to look at the girls again.

     Finishing up, I stak towards my father then I see who he is talking to. I see her pull an oversized hoodie over her skimpy outfit and feel relieved that she is now covered up. Then she grabs a messenger bag off the ground and smiles warmly at my father. “Thank you, I learned a lot and it was fun! I definitely need to build up my strength” she laughs.

     “We have orientation to get to a pretentious coffee calling our names. Shall we?” Ashe smirks with a gesture and bow like they were an old fashioned gentleman leading a lady off on a date. A deep growl builds in my chest and I do my best to keep it from coming out. I don’t know why it pisses me off to see the pair so affectionate. They are only friends, right? Why the fuck do I even care? The growl surfaces and I scowl turning to stalk ino the packhouse. I gotta cool off, business with my dad can wait! I want to punch something. I stalk to the gym and take it out on the punching bag. It looks like we will be needing another replacement since I tore the fucker to shreds. Pounding my first one last time into the mat I let out a frustrated growl then go shower.

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     Showered and dressed, I walk towards my father’s office. The door is ajar and he is on the telephone. “Yeah I am almost sure that I am correct, I just need it to be confirmed, but if I am, the Alpha line will be restored…No! I always enjoyed being Beta and serving the Alpha as second in command…He’ll deal with it…Thank you, goodbye and take care!” I can only hear my father and not whoever is on the other end of the line. Who is he talking to? What about the Alpha line being restored? Did he find something I wasn’t aware of? Did he find the Alpha Heir? Who will deal with what? There are so many questions. I stop and prepare myself. Masking my emotions and tamping down the curiosity I stand tall and heave a sigh.

    I am just about to knock on the office door when it swiftly opens. “Damian! Just who I was looking for. We need to talk!” My father boomed. His voice meant business, but I couldn’t read his expression. Unlike me, who everyone thought was always angry (admittedly they were not wrong…I have had my heart broken not once but twice, once by the loss of my mother, the other by the first and only girl I had cared about and to my father I was little more than just another person to do his bidding), his mask was impenetrable, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something big and was about to let me in on it.