4. Pretty Boy

Mila’s pov

I was seven when I left here. Mom hadn’t been back here; it had been too painful, but I wanted to support my big brother. He was trying to do something good, and the pack was doing a lot better than it was before he took over.

Alpha Brax, I laughed to myself. Our father had been adamant about naming Brax after himself. Braxton. And now, Brax has never used his full name. Where Brax was kind, funny, and compassionate, Dad had been mean, selfish, and brutal.

Our father had this idea that women were less than men, and he was so threatened by the idea of a female alpha that he hired someone to kill Alpha Aeryn when she was six. Yeah, I wasn’t kidding when I called him brutal.

Who in their right mind pays someone to kill a little girl?!

But Daddy Dearest was double-crossed, and they never killed Aeryn. Instead, they took her and her sister and sold them to a school. The same school where my mom was bought from. The whole thing was so messed up that it could fill a whole book. But thankfully, the story had a happy ending. Both girls ended up at home and found their mates.

And Aeryn’s sister, Elora, is now my brother’s Beta. Take that, dad! A female beta...

Once mom found her birth family, we were raised in the Silver Claw pack. It’s a nice pack, don’t get me wrong, but they have some pretty strict rules about dating. That’s why I am still a big old virgin.

Well, old… I’m seventeen. And maybe it’s also because people are scared to date me. I mean, my uncle is their Alpha, and my brother is an Alpha as well. Plus, I’m pretty good at fighting myself, despite not looking like I would be. If you combine that all with my smart mouth, yeah, I can see why no guy is trying to get into my pants.

There was a tiny voice inside my head that maybe wondered if it had anything to do with my looks, but over the years I had learned to shut that voice off. I might not look like most women in my pack or even my family, but I was still drop-dead gorgeous. The rest of the women in my family were tall and thin, like models, but I was rocking the plus-size model look. And besides, beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. 

My body may have more curves than most werewolves, but well, I enjoy eating a lot more than most werewolves too. And no one cares that Brax is built like a damn bear, so why should they care if I have a few extra pounds?

I put my training bra on and a loose-fitting shirt with my shorts. It wasn’t as cold here now since it was summer, but Brax told me it could get pretty damn cold in the winter, just like at home at the Silver Claw pack.

We trained from a very young age, and most people here hadn’t started training until Brax arrived. So only three years of training, no gamma, and getting used to a new alpha had made these soldiers less than perfect, to say the least.

At first, I watched them, but then I joined in. When I got here, they didn’t expect a big girl like me to be able to handle training, but they were used to me by now and knew what I was capable of. I had alpha blood from both sides of my family running through my veins, so I was stronger than most.

A scent caught me off guard as I watched a man walk towards the training grounds. I hadn’t told Brax I would be here; he kind of let me just do my own thing as long as I kept my promise not to date anyone here and to not stay out at crazy hours.

Not that my brother had any right to talk; his bed was hardly ever empty, but he didn’t date anyone from his own pack. That was something, at least. I just hoped he’d find his mate soon; he is twenty-two by now, and despite how well he’s handling everything, I know he would benefit from having someone to share the burden of running a pack.

Brax has changed since taking over. He is still Brax, but there is something that seems off. And that’s another reason I came here. To support my big brother and find out why he’s unhappy.

The strange man walked closer. The look in his eyes was that of arrogance, but he was pretty hot. His curls were amazing, and he was built like a Greek god. It must be Elora’s brother. Elora and her brother didn’t look alike, but he looked a lot like his older sister, Alpha Aeryn. Same complexion and same full head of curls.

Too bad the first words out of his mouth didn’t match his pretty face.

"You don’t belong here."

I raised an eyebrow and put my hands on my hips. "what does that mean?"

"You’re not one of the fucking soldiers."

"Neither are you." I replied, "Besides, who says I’m not one of the soldiers?"

He looked me up and down, "you don’t look like one."

I wasn’t the only woman here; there were three other women, and there was Billie, who was the first non-binary person to join the ranks of the Blood Rock pack. They had come out a year after Brax took over, finally feeling safe enough to be themselves. Billie was awesome, unlike the jackass in front of me.

"Looks can be deceiving. See, at first I thought, wow, that’s a nice-looking man, until you opened your mouth and I saw how ugly you really were."

"I'm here to assist with training, so get the fuck out of my way or at least stand to the side so you don't bother anyone," he sighed.

One of the soldiers started to defend me, knowing who my brother was, but I shook my head at him. This idiot would soon find out, and he’d pay the price for insulting the alpha’s baby sister.

I ignored the man’s words and began stretching. When he called people up to spar so he could assess their level, I waited until the biggest person volunteered, and then I raised my hand.

"What? If you need to go to the toilet, just go. I’m not your damn kindergarten teacher."

A few laughed, but most knew what I was capable of and were curious what would happen next.

I scoffed, "no, I want to spar with him."

He looked at Lawrence, who was almost twice my size, "what do you think? You better not fucking kill her; I just got here. I’m not sure your alpha will appreciate it."

Lawrence smiled and winked at me, "I have been waiting to fight with Mila since she came here. Let’s do it."

The arrogant jerk seemed to pause when he heard my name. If he had looked past my size, he would have realized Brax and I looked a lot like each other. Sadly, I had gotten my dad’s genes, just like dad. Some packmembers would tell me how much I looked like their old alpha before realizing that was the last thing I wanted to hear. That man treated my mother like crap and only cared for his sons. My sister and I were only bargaining tools for him.

I walked up and took off my shirt, not wanting Lawrence to have something to grab, and got into my fighting stance.

The idiot rolled his eyes at me and stuck two fingers inside his mouth to whistle, letting us know to start. I let Lawrence get one hit in, hoping it would make the pretty fool think I’d lose. He hit me hard on the nose, and I flew back to the floor. I heard it crack, and blood was spouting out, but before Pretty Boy could say anything, I had pushed my nose bone back in place and wiped away the blood.

Again, Lawrence attacked me, but this time I was quicker, and I struck him hard enough to knock him on his ass. I didn’t stop, though, grabbing Lawrence in a chokehold. He fought with everything he had; he even stood up and tried slamming me down, but I wasn’t letting go. When Lawrence realized that he was running out of breath, he tapped out.

"Not bad." Pretty boy said, looking unimpressed.

"Not bad?" I repeated, having just bested the best fighter the Blood Rock pack had.

"Yeah, you’re not fucking horrible, but tricks like this wouldn’t work in a real fight."

Okay. I've had enough now. It had been a while since I had lost my temper, but this guy had a way of getting under my skin. I walked over to him, and it felt like steam was coming out of my ears. Goddess, I hadn’t been this angry since my big sister Lori stole my favorite top and put a hole in it. My fists were clenched, and my heart was pounding inside my chest as I punched the beautiful idiot.

He dodged quickly, but I wasn’t done yet. Punch after punch I tried to land, but each time I missed. Focus, Mila. Focus! Everyone had a weakness.

Instead of focusing on his pretty face, I tried to land a punch in his stomach. Not as satisfying if I succeeded, but better than nothing.

I thought I had finally landed a blow, but as soon as my fist hit his chest, he grabbed my wrist and spun me around. My back was now facing his front, and he chuckled against my ear.

"You’re not a soldier, but you’re fucking feisty, aren’t you?"

I tried to wrestle myself out of his hold, but it only made him put more pressure on my wrist.

"If I let you go, will you stop? Or don’t; I mean, the feeling of your ass rubbing against me isn’t the worst fucking thing I’ve felt." He whispered into my ear.

I stomped his foot hard, and he grunted in pain, but he still didn’t let me go. Not until Brax and this pretty boy showed up. He looked just like Elora, so it must be this dipshit's brother. Too bad I’m terrible at names; the only thing I remember my mom telling me was that their names started with A.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brax growled, and I giggled when the terrible twin let me go.

"Argo, we just got here, and you’re already causing trouble... Elora is going to be angry." The blond brother said.

Argo. So that was his name.

"Airk, shut the fuck up." Argo replied.

"I’m already angry. What were you doing with my sister?" Brax asked again.

I laughed when I saw Argo’s face, finally realizing the similarities between me and Brax. Yeah, beautiful idiot, the signs were there all along.

"We were just sparring, Alpha Brax." Argo said, bowing his head. I rolled my eyes and walked away. What a fool.

"It didn’t look like sparring," Brax said, chasing after me.

"Well, whatever it looked like, don’t worry. He’s the last person on earth I want to hang out with. Arrogant ass."

Brax sighed, "good, because the man is a player, Mila."

I shook my head and chuckled, "and you aren’t? Just don’t play with Airk. Before you saw us, you had a smile on your face that I hadn’t seen in years. Maybe whatever is going on between you could be something real for a change."

"I don’t do real, Mila." Brax replied, before suddenly shifting and running into the woods.

Okay, brother. Great talk. I thought to myself as I entered the packhouse to take a shower. Stupid boys.