Chapter 4

Troy’s POV

I look over at my clock its five am, with a sigh I get up and go for a run to clear my head. I didn’t get much sleep last night, after leaving dad at the bar with Grace, Jax let it slip that his Mate Harper is best friends with Octavia, so when we got back to the packhouse I followed him to the Beta suite to ask Harper about my Luna to be.

Of course, she wouldn’t tell me much only that she has a wild side and has been through hell this past year, although she did say 'you couldn’t miss her in a crowd'. Whatever that means.

After my run I get cleaned up and have breakfast. Looking at the time it is almost eight am dad should be in his office by now, so I go there to ask him how his night went with Grace in the hopes of distracting my own troubled thoughts.

“Morning dad, don’t you look very chipper today” I say with a wink.

“I am son, I want to thank you for convincing me to come to the bar last night. I haven’t been this happy in a very long time.”

“I’m glad I could help, so I take it things went well with Grace last night then?”

“Oh yes very well, you can expect to see her around here a lot more from now on.” He says with a smile “That was fast, but I am truly happy for you dad, I like her she’s nice and it will be good for Vi to have a mother figure around again you know since she is getting to that age and all,” I say with a grimace; when she wolves shift for the first time and learn to control their wolf it’s like a human teenage girl going through puberty only ten times worse and Vi will be fifteen shortly after my coronation with Octavia.

“Oh, Goddess I have been so busy thinking about your coronation and the Blood Moon Pack I completely forgot to organize your sister’s birthday.”

“It’s ok dad, leave it to me I will get it sorted. Since I will be Alpha when Vi turns fifteen it will be my responsibility anyway.” I say standing up straight.

“This is true, well-done Troy I am proud of you for taking on Alpha responsibilities already. And on that note, I received a call from Uhtred while you were having breakfast… they have left Blenheim already and he will update me as they get closer.” I nod in response.

After a few moments of silence my father asks “How are you feeling now about meeting Octavia? Do you know what you are going to say to her when she arrives?” I think about it for a moment.

“I thought I would just wing it, get a feel for her emotions when we meet before I decide on how to approach her. I am told she has a wild side and doesn’t have full control of her elements yet, so I don’t want to do anything to set her off. I will be polite and calm and welcome her as best I can.”

“Wow son, you really have matured these past couple weeks.”

“What can I say dad, I will be twenty in a couple of weeks and married in a couple months, my life has gone from boring and dull to exciting and hopefully fulfilling in the blink of an eye, I couldn’t be more ready for this. That doesn’t mean to say I will change completely… I still love a good challenge.” I say with a wink.

“Boring and dull huh.” He replies crossing his arms over his chest.

“You know what I mean… I haven’t exactly accomplished much in the past couple years dad.” I say mirroring his posture.

“Is that how you really feel Troy?” my dad replies with a sad expression in his eyes.

“Well, I mean, yea kinda.” I shrug.

Then the unexpected happens… my dad hugs me like a real hug not just a pat on the shoulder two full arms around my torso squeezing me.

I stand there stunned for a moment before I hug my dad back. This feels strange but nice, I can’t remember the last time we did this. We stay like this in silence for a while before I pull away asking “Dad Is everything ok?”

“I am so sorry I haven’t shown you enough appreciation over the years son. You have accomplished more than you know… without you I don’t know how I would have survived raising your siblings and running the pack after your dear mother was taken from us and not only that, but you saved their lives that day and you didn’t even have your wolf yet. You stepped up and took charge of them when I couldn’t, you put together the training program we have today, you graduated school early and at the top of your class, you’re not only kind to your Pack members but you are firm with them you don’t let them walk all over you yet you are willing to potentially sacrifice your happiness to keep them safe. Son you are a born Alpha, a great one at that and I will be proud to call you MY Alpha when the time comes.”

At the mention of my mother’s passing, I start to tear up, I tried to hold it in but looking into my father’s tear-filled eyes a couple stray tears slip past my lashes running down my cheeks.

“Thanks dad that means a lot to hear you say that, and I appreciate everything you have done and allowed me to do to become the man I am today. Always.” I say with a smile giving him another hug.

“Always.” He replies.

“Well, isn’t this just the cutest thing you have ever seen.” We both turn around to see Grace and Beta Jax standing at the door watching us, Jax looking a little uncomfortable as if he has been caught spying while Grace is teary and smiling.

My father walks up to Grace and gives her a kiss on the cheek then turns to Jax, “Everything ready?” Jax stands up straight “Yes Alpha, all set.”

What the hell was that about?

“Fantastic great work Jaxson thank you.” My father continues.

“Uh what is going on?” I ask now confused.

“Oh, nothing just a small wedding gift I am having prepared for you and our future Luna.” My father replies with a cheeky grin and walks out with Grace in hand.

“Hmm ok what is it?” I ask Jax when my father is out of ear shot.

“Sorry man Alphas orders I can’t tell you... But I can say that you will love it and you might even shed more tears.” He says giving me a playful nudge.

I roll my eyes nudging him back. “So, bring me up to speed on the warrior training, I need something to keep my mind off Octavia’s arrival in a few hours” I say heading for the front door.

“Umph.”

“Looks like you need to brush up on your training man.” Jax says laughing while holding out a hand to help me up off the ground.

I brush myself off, “It would seem your right, so let’s get started, I still have a few more hours to kill before Octavia gets here.” I take off my shirt and stand back in the circle ready to spar, “You want defence or offense?” I ask Jax while he does the same.

“You take offense.” I smirk knowing I have the advantage here. Jax maybe a great warrior but his defence is just as rusty as mine, so it’s my turn to put him on his ass.

And that is exactly what I do. We switch around tactics for a while before taking a break, “You wanna try drills in wolf form, show these trainees how it’s done?” Jax asks.

“Yea sure after lunch. I need to check with dad on Octavia’s progress then we can get back to it.”

Jax nods and we head back to the packhouse for lunch.

“Hey dad what’s the status report?” I ask finishing my lunch in the dining hall.

“Uhtred called a few hours ago they stopped in Kaikoura to see the seals, they should be here in another couple hours although, I assume they will need to stop again somewhere to feed Nicklaus so depending on how long that takes and how many stops they make I will let you know when they stop again and how far away they are.” He responds.

“Ok I will be training with Jax and the warriors today so you will find me on the field.” I say getting up to walk out.

When we get back to the training field Jax gets everyone’s attention. “Alright today we are going to pair up and practice sparing in your wolf form, Troy and I will go first to show you all how it’s done and what we expect from you.”

With that Jax and I get ready, taking off our clothes to shift into wolf form. I have a slight advantage here as I am an Alpha my wolf is huge whereas Jax’s wolf is a little bigger than the average shifters wolf.

Jax mind links me when we have both shifted, “Ready?”

“Born ready.” I link back.

With that we fight; Jax leaps off his back paws into the air towards me so I sprint as fast as I can but before I come in contact with him, I leap into the air under him bucking my head back and flipping him over me, making him land on his back but he quickly recovers and is coming for me with lightning speed.

This time I let him come to me and brace for impact digging my heels in the dirt, lifting my front up we collide and he knocks me off my paws, we roll around trying to go for each other’s neck and with my larger size I manage to pin him down and wrap my jaws around his neck giving him a tight squeeze but not hard enough to draw blood, he yields and I let him up to shake off our fur. After a few more drills both displaying offense and defence and a few quick kill manoeuvres, we shift back into human form.

Getting dressed and panting from the work out we stand back in front of the trainees and explain the rules; must not draw blood, avoid breaking bones if possible, and take turns between offense and defence.

Pretty simple really but being wild animals sometimes our wolves take full control and try to go for the kill. That is why we have these training sessions so we can help our warriors learn to control their wolves and ensure they can follow orders.

We watch the warriors train for a while when my dad comes up to me “Troy your princess is almost here, they have just left Springfield and should be about half an hour away I suggest you shower.” He explains wrinkling up his nose at me.

Jax chuckles. “You to Beta Jaxson, you are expected to be there to greet them to.” With that he turns back in the direction of the packhouse.

Now it’s my turn to laugh “At least I’m the only one that smells like a wet dog.” Jax laughs in response.

“You go hit the showers, ill finish up with the warriors then I’ll go get ready.” I tell Jax he nods and jogs back to the packhouse while I walk around observing the wolves.

I am about to tell them to shift when I hear a howl and the metallic smell of blood hits my nostrils.

Running to the other side of the field I see a she wolf has shifted back into human form curled up in the foetal position cradling her right side, which is covered in blood, I kneel down to assess her wounds, it’s not too bad a couple broken ribs have ripped through the skin.

I command everyone shifts back to human form in my Alpha voice then ask someone to help me hold her down while I set her ribs so they can heal; shifters heal very quickly so if I don’t set them right now it will be extremely painful for her later.

Once I have set her ribs I take off my shirt and put pressure on her wound, her breathing slows down a little and the skin starts to wrap itself back together, I pick her up bridal style and carry her to the infirmary giving another command as I leave “I want the shifter responsible to stay put in wolf form until I return, everyone else run laps and cool off, when I get back there will be a lesson.”

I drop the she-wolf off in the infirmary and make sure she will be ok before running back to the training field to teach this wolf a lesson.

I know Octavia will be here soon so I will have to make this quick, I send Jax a quick update and tell him I won’t have enough time to shower before meeting her. great my first impression I’ll be sweaty and smell like a wet dog.

When I get back there is one wolf standing in the middle of the field awaiting his punishment. I mind link the others to come back and gather round while I take off my pants to shift.

I bare my teeth and growl at the wolf, “State your name and reason for your actions.” I link the wolf in front of me.

“I am Alister, I am sorry Alpha, Breda pinned me down and my wolf refused to submit, I lost control of him, and he retaliated, I will accept any punishment you give me I am truly sorry.” He says bowing his head to me.

I growl trying to control my own anger, “Alister the purpose of these lessons are to teach you control of your wolf, when to submit and when to attack. Your punishment will be to fight me, and you will learn to submit.”

With that I lung at him and attack. He is stunned for a minute by my words and isn’t fast enough to react, I grab his neck with my jaws and flip him in the air over me then before he can hit the ground I leap again grabbing the back of his neck (making sure not to draw blood) and pin him to the ground with all my weight on him he has no choice but to submit.

I can sense his wolf take control of him and tries to throw me off, but he is no match for me, and I tighten my grip around his neck letting off a deep grow to show him he needs to submit, he still refuses so i growl again putting more Alpha dominance into it and finally he starts to submit.

While holding him in place my wolf hearing picks up the rumble of a v8 with ACDC playing ‘highway to hell’ and the most beautiful laugh I have ever heard.

I mind link Alister “Do you now understand submission?” his eyes flicker brown from silver and I can tell he has taken control of his wolf, so I let go of his neck but stay standing over him to make sure he doesn’t attack again. “Yes, Alpha I understand, and I will practice my control.” He links back and I order him to shift back and run laps in human form to cool off.

Shifting back myself I quickly put my pants back on, scolding myself for not having a spare shirt.

I tell the others we are done for the day and to clean up then i start running towards the packhouse, I can see a dark purple Camaro with black racing stripes in the driveway and then all of a sudden, the most amazing scent hits my nostrils, Coconut and Jasmine with a hint of vanilla and apricot it’s so intoxicating I almost stumble on my feet.

And that’s when I see her exit the car and I stop dead in my tracks she is… the most beautiful creature I have ever seen in my entire life.