Training and Preparations

Alexander Bennett stalked back and forth his arms out to his sides, his steel blue eyes never leaving the man in front of him. He could feel the heat of the early morning sun as it warmed the muscles on his bare back. He stilled his breathing, his toned muscular chest slowly moving in and out. He flipped his dark midnight black hair back off his face with a simple flick of his head, smirking as he made a come hither gesture with his right hand, taunting his younger brother.  Toby let out a low growl, his blue eyes darkening as he lunged at Alex. Anticipating the move, Alex smirked and lunged at his brother as the two met in a tangle of sweaty limbs. Toby grabbed Alex by the back of his red basketball shorts and flipped him over his shoulder, crashing him to the ground. Alex growled, grabbing Toby by his t-shirt, ripping it from his body. Toby let out a throaty growl “That was one of my favorite shirts,”

“Awe.. poor baby,” teased Alex, throwing the remnants of the black t-shirt on the ground behind him. “Now what are you going to do about it?”

Toby jumped at Alex, swinging at him. Alex dodged the first blow but the left hook caught him in the jaw, tossing his head to the side. Alex spit blood, his eyes darkening. He lunged at his brother and they wrestled across the ground, landing punch after punch, until Toby landed a strong knee into Alex’s ribs, effectively knocking the wind from his chest. Alex groaned, doubled over on the ground as Toby jumped up, in a Rocky type victory stance.

“Yeah...Woohoo!” he shouted, laughing at his older brother on the ground. He turned to his two other brothers, Ethan and Jamie under the shade of the nearby trees. Ethan was sitting on the ground, leaning against the trunk of the tree, his thin cotton tank top drenched with sweat from their early morning training. He watched his younger brother in amusement, as Jaime stood next to him, leaning against the same tree, his grey t-shirt tucked into his black jogging shorts. They shook their heads, laughing, drinking Gatorade and wiping the sweat from their brows. Neither one willing to let Toby know what was happening behind him. 

Toby never saw it coming as Alex’s leg swept out and knocked his legs out from under him. With in seconds, Alex was on top his brother, instantly pinning him to the ground, his hand around his throat, his claws extending slowly. 

“Never turn your back on an enemy...” Alex growled, his canines starting to extend towards his brother, just mere inches from Toby’s face, “it could cost you your life.”

Toby nodded. His hands went up to Alex’s hand, the small drops of blood from his claws beginning to show on his neck. Toby’s smile left his face. He knew his brother was right. Alex was always right. That’s why his father chose him as the one to train the warriors. Ethan and Jaime moved towards Alex, but a low growl stopped them in their tracks. 

“No disrespect Alex, but let him go.” Ethan stated calmly, not daring to take another step. He understood where Alex was coming from. Their father, Alpha Michael Bennett did not tolerate any kind of weakness from anyone, least of all his sons. 

“Yeah come on Alex,” Jaime coaxed from the side, reaching towards his older brother, “Toby understands don’t ya Toby.” Toby nodded as he held onto Alex’s hand around his neck.  Alex slowly retracted his claws and let his brother up. Toby let out a loud breath, rubbing his neck. Ethan shook his head and retrieved some items from the tree line as Jaime helped Toby up. Returning to the group, Ethan walked over to the three, handing Alex a towel and Gatorade. Toby picked up his tattered t-shirt from the ground, laughing.

“Way to go jerk,” he playfully punched Alex in the shoulder, Alex gave him a side eye. “This was my favorite t-shirt.” He tried to put the Metallica logo back together on the front of the shredded material.

“Well you shouldn’t have worn it to work out in!” Alex laughed, throwing a sweat towel at his baby brother. “Besides, it was an old rag anyways.” 

Toby feigned pain in his chest and grabbed his heart, “What? How dare you insult the great 80’s band Metallica! That’s...that is blasphemy!” The brothers laughed as they finished their gatorade and stretched out, getting ready for another training session. This was how it was every morning for them. Early morning training was mandated by their father. He expected all of his warriors, male or female, to be at the top of their game at all times. And he held his sons responsible for setting the bar high. 

Alexander Bennett was the oldest of the four Bennett brothers, and at the young age of 25, he was set to be the future Alpha of the Red River Pack, the largest in all of North America. The Red River Pack had a reputation of being the strongest, most ruthless pack around. They were tough, take no prisoner types, who started their training at an early age, and kept it up.  Alex’s father, Alpha Michael, had led the pack with an iron fist. He placed Alex in charge of training the pack’s male warriors, and keeping them in top condition. Michael Bennett expected nothing less than perfection when it came to his warriors, and held his sons responsible for any mistakes. He was firm in all things, from his home life to his business dealings. 

The Red River Pack had been successful in blending in in small town, rural Wyoming because of Alpha Michael. He worked hard to be sure his pack had many sources of income. This way they could stay hidden. There was a small werewolf run town near their land, but their  main source was their lucrative cattle and horse trade. Yeah, I know, wolves dealing with horses and cattle is against nature, but Alpha Michael not only used it to make connections with the human familiars around his land, but it also allowed him to keep an eye on any packs in the area. The Red River Cattle Company managed thousands of head of cattle on hundreds of acres of land. And they excelled at it. The company even hosted a Rodeo yearly with a $250,000 jackpot for the winners. The brothers looked forward to the event every year. It gave them a chance to breathe and enjoy a little friendly “human” competition. His father started it as an opportunity for local packs to come and meet, strengthen treaties, and meet their mates. It wasn’t until word got out to the human world the past two years, that things were a little more tense. Alpha Michael did not stop anyone from entering, but he relied on his sons to help keep the humans safe, and keep the peace. But this year was different. This year Alex felt strange, almost off in a sense. He felt something was coming. He couldn’t explain it, but he couldn’t shake the constant nagging in his mind. 

Boys, I need you at the house. A loud voice echoed in the brother’s heads through their pack link, snapping Alex from his thoughts. The brothers stopped grappling with each other and immediately jumped up.

Yes Alpha, Alex replied as he reached forward, grabbing his shirt from the ground. The four gathered the rest of their things, quickly jogging from the training grounds and off towards the Pack House. It soon turned into a race, which brother could get there first, and each one tried to trip, push and out run the other. 

The boys stampeded inside, clamoring over each other in a race to see who could cross the threshold first, almost breaking the large oak door off it’s hinges. 

“If you four break that door again I swear I will beat you all until you can’t sit for a week!” A slender brunette who appeared in her 30’s yelled from the kitchen. She stomped towards them, wooden spoon in hand, her brown eyes on fire.

“Sorry Momma,” Ethan mumbled, his eyes cast down as he scooted out of her reach and behind Jamie,”It was Jamie’s fault!” He pushed his brother straight into his mother’s swing as the spoon connected with Jaime’s rear end, causing a loud growl to burst from her son’s mouth.

Arabella Bennett just shook her head and smiled. At 55 years old, after being Luna for most of her life, and raising her four boys in the pack house, she was used to her boys and their friends rough housing all over. It was just another day to her. The controlled chaos of being the Luna to the Red River Pack was nothing new. “You four had better not keep him waiting.”

“Yes Ma’am”, Toby responded, reaching for a cookie from the counter as he walked towards the grand staircase that led towards his father’s office. Alex had already started up the stairs, pulling his white t-shirt over his head as he started up the large wooden staircase. His younger brothers followed suit close behind, Toby grabbing a clean t-shirt from his mother as he walked past. 

Once they reached the first floor, all horseplay and shenanigans ceased. The boys straightened their backs and pushed their shoulders back. Alex walked towards his father’s office noting the door closed. Out of respect, he paused outside and knocked. 

“Enter,” the deep voice on the other side responded, and Alex gave his brothers a knowing look. That tone was one they all came to know. No fooling around or joking with the Alpha. It was all business. Alex squared his shoulders as he turned the brass knob and entered.  Even just sitting at his desk, Michael was an imposing figure. His salt and pepper hair was always kept short and styled in a Marine style haircut. His light hair was a striking contrast with his deep green eyes. 

“You called us father.” Alex stood in front of his father’s desk, hands behind his back, chest up and shoulders square, like a soldier awaiting his marching orders. Ethan, Jamie and Toby followed suit. This was normal for any type of interaction with their father. Alpha Michael was very military like in his interactions with his sons. 

“Are the warriors ready for the weekend?” his father continued to thumb through the papers on his desk, reading through name after name of registrants who would be participating in their events scheduled. Most of the registrants were from neighboring packs. Friends of his and their pack members. He looked forward to the Rodeo, but with these three days always came the possibility of problems. There were the normal human familiars that were there every year. The ones who knew of the packs. But he was concerned of any new names on the list. He wanted his warriors to be prepared for anything. And to prevent anything. He would take no chances.

“Yes sir,” Alex replied, looking straight forward, “we have our warriors patrolling the perimeter and also making sure to patrol the rodeo grounds as well. All should go as planned.”

Alex understood his father’s concern. This was only the second year that they had allowed actual humans, not familiars, to participate with the packs. It could be a tense situation if anyone should misbehave. The rodeo was a place for packs to enjoy themselves and maybe even find their mates. A sudden motion from his father’s desk made him break his concentration. His father leaned back in his leather chair, resting his chin in his hand.

  “Shit..” he hissed against his hand, his brow furrowed.

Surprised by his father’s reaction, Alex broke his soldier like stance and glanced at his brothers, who simply stared back at him, waiting for some sort of direction. Alex looked at his father, who sat there, rubbing his chin as he stared at a paper in his hand. 

“We may have a slight complication,” Michael paused, unable to tear his gaze away from the registration slip. His mind wandered to a distant memory.  He held the paper out to his son as he sat forward towards his desk. Alex noted his father’s eyes glass over, then he heard his mother’s footsteps coming down the hall towards the office. Michael had linked Arabella. Something felt wrong, almost urgent. Alex looked down at the paper. It was a registration for the weekend’s Rodeo. On it, it listed several events...Barrel Racing, Pole Bending, and Ranch cutting/sorting. He didn’t see anything amiss on it. He did note the registrant was unfamiliar to him. She was 18, and coming from a small town approximately an hour and a half away. His mother entered the office, her brown eyes centering right on the paper in his hands. 

“Are you sure Michael? It’s been so long.” She reached for the paper from her eldest son and inhaled sharply when she read the name at the bottom. “Oh dear,” She handed the paper back to her husband, who handed her another registration that seemed to go along with the first one. 

“What is the problem sir?” Ethan gave his father a confused look, glancing at his brothers who shared his concern. This was so unlike his parents. To see Alpha Michael this distant and concerned over two humans entering his territory for a three day rodeo was unheard of. 

There is something they aren’t telling us.. a deep voice inside Alex’s head rumbled. 

Quiet Zander, Alex tried to hush his wolf, pushing him to the background, he had enough to deal with besides arguing with his wolf over the obvious. You think I don’t know that? 

“We will need to increase the patrols, both around the perimeter and through the rodeo grounds. I want to be notified immediately when she arrives. Is that clear?” Alpha Michael placed both papers on the desk, standing up and looking out the office’s window at the pack’s grounds. His wife moved to his side, rubbing her hand against the small of his back, effectively calming the storm in his eyes.

“Yes Sir,” responded his sons, all but one.

Alpha Michael noted the lack of response from his eldest son, and turned, seeing his son picking up the papers from his desk. “Is there a miscommunication son?”

“No sir,” Alex faced him, holding out the papers, “Who is Samantha Collins?”