Consequences Series

DREW

“Focus on your target, find his weak spot, and attack him there. Use that weakness to take him down.” Alpha Malcom’s voice filled the air as we faced our enemies.

Well, I faced Jake, but Alpha demanded that we release all familiarity and pleasantries when we faced off with our sparring partners. In fact, this was supposed to begin once we stepped onto the training grounds, but I couldn’t be serious with Jake as my partner.

It’d been a week since he’d moved in, and he was just so much fun to be around. He made my days lighter, happier, and he distracted me from my sadness at Elliot’s departure, which was happening immediately after training.

Jake also turned out to be a pretty good shield from Hunter. He hadn’t tried to bully me since Sunday Lunch. But I wasn’t sure if that was for a lack of trying. He’d stare daggers at me every chance he got. And, of course, he’d taken to stalking me.

But he’d never come close, and even when I’d been alone and he could easily have jumped me, he hadn’t, which was strange. He just watched me with those cold blue eyes, like he was doing now.

I glanced at him and he held my gaze.

Alpha called for the attack, and Jake pounced on me, slamming on top of me as we crashed to the ground. Then he started tickling me. I suppressed my laugh—we were trying to be warriors, after all—kicking and whispering for mercy instead.

Jake stopped and my eyes flew to Hunter, who had just been tackled by Henry. Henry got on top of him, and Hunter growled underneath him. But Henry had him; his canines were out and at Hunter’s throat.

Henry pulled away from Hunter’s throat and said something to him. Hunter got angry and said something back, pushing Henry off and standing up. Then Hunter demonstrated his best alpha glare, and Henry’s posture betrayed his submission.

Some people take this training so seriously. And in theory, I understood why. But our pack hadn’t had any major fights in over a decade. Not for thirteen years, in fact. Not since my mother had been killed by rogues.

Jake and I continued to have fun in between serious bouts, and the time passed pleasantly. With him here, I’d started attending the daily training sessions, and my arms showed visible improvement.

Alpha signaled the end of training, and we gathered around him. “OK, everyone, this was a good training session.” He nodded at us and made eye contact with as many as he could. “We’ll have one last round and then we’ll call it a day.”

Murmurs rumbled among the group; each one wanted to prove themselves in front of their alpha. They all stood taller, extended their necks, and puffed up their chests.

Except for me. I hid behind Jake, who chuckled when I did.

“Will the future alpha and beta please step forward.” Alpha Malcom’s words served as a death grip around my heart.

I was grateful that Jake didn’t move to expose me, but I couldn’t hide behind him when the alpha had directly called me out. I took a deep breath and stepped out, then weaved my way through the others to the front.

Alpha directed everyone to form a wide circle around Hunter and me.

As he passed, Jake whispered, “Don’t worry. You got this.”

His smile did little to reassure me, but I knew he’d step in if things got too bad, no matter the consequences from Alpha. With Jake at my back, I turned to face Hunter.

His already dark-blue eyes became darker as we began to circle each other, neither one of us daring to make the first move without Alpha’s say-so.

“All right,” Alpha Malcom said. “You two ready?”

We both nodded and stopped moving. I was now facing Jake as well as Hunter, which gave me a measure of comfort. Hunter got into a fighting stance, and I mirrored him.

“Fight!”

I had never intended to move at Alpha’s signal, but I hadn’t expected Hunter not to move either. What is he playing at? Thinking he’d wait for me to make the first move, I remained frozen for what felt like a solid two minutes. People around us began shifting on their feet.

His nearly black eyes were still on me, but then they darted to something behind me. His entire posture changed at what he was seeing. He balled his fists, hunched his spine, and lowered his head, eyes still locked on whatever was behind me.

I wanted to turn and look, but his eyes became red when they looked back at me, and they froze me in my place.

Whether literally frozen or just scared frozen, I’d never be sure, but I was sure I hadn’t seen him move before I was suddenly on the ground, him on top of me, his canines firm against my throat.

My senses were beginning to thaw, and the first thing I registered was Hunter’s deep inhales of my scent. Then his tongue grazed my neck between his teeth. Then Jake appeared before me and ripped Hunter away. All my senses roared back to full power at that.

“Drew! Can you hear me?” Jake lightly tapped my cheek until my eyes focused on him. Then his gaze shifted to something behind me on the ground. “Shit, his head’s bleeding. I’m taking him to the doctor.”

Jake carried me to the pack house clinic and set me down on an examination bed, holding a cloth to my head while we waited for Jeremy, the pack doctor, to come. I winced at the sharp pain the cloth brought to the wound, but it was the deep ache in my brain that really hurt.

I hissed when Jake pressed against the wound. “What happened?” I asked.

“It was so fast, Drew, really. That guy really is an alpha, I tell you.” He shook his head. “One second you were just standing there, then the next he was on top of you.” He sighed, then his voice turned haunted. “We all heard the sound, though.” Jake shuddered.

I asked what he meant.

“It was so loud, Drew. I don’t think I’ll ever get it out of my head.” He looked at me, and I couldn’t place his expression. “Your head hit the ground so hard that…” Jake’s voice caught in his throat, and I finally understood. “He could have killed you, Brother.”

“So, training got a bit rough today, did it?” Jeremy entered the room, all smiles until he saw the amount of blood on the cloth Jake was holding to my head.

Jake sniffled and stepped back when Jeremy approached. From the corner of my eye, I saw Jake twist away and dry his eyes, then he faced us again.

“Is it bad, Doc?” he asked.

“Let me see here.” Jeremy moved behind me and lifted the cloth. After a moment he said, “Not at all. Scalp wounds are big bleeders, but the incisions are usually small.”

A drawer opened behind me, then cold metal pressed against my scalp. “The thing you have to worry about is the brain damage.”

A tight pinch directly on my wound accompanied by a loud, sharp clack caused me to jump, which made Jake jump.

“What the hell, Doc?” Jake said.

“I’m sorry, boys. I should have warned you.” He extended his hand so I could see what was in it. “It’s a medical stapler. Shouldn’t hurt much. You’re lucky you don’t need stitches.”

“I mean, what about the brain damage?” Jake stepped closer and furrowed his brow.

“Oh, that,” Jeremy said.

A slight breeze hit the left side of my head, and I guessed Jeremy had waved the question away.

“We’re wolves, not humans. We don’t get brain damage.”

Jake relaxed and stepped back again.

When Jeremy finished, he gave me a lollipop and smiled. “Come back if it doesn’t heal within a couple days, all right?” He nodded at both of us and turned to leave.

Jake moved to help me stand when we both heard Jeremy say, “Hunter,” just before leaving the room. We turned our heads in unison, and Jake growled at Hunter standing in the doorway.

Hunter was staring at me, but he addressed Jake when he said, “Get out.”

Jake was taken aback by this, and I was too. Jake was two years older and a few inches taller than Hunter. Sure, Hunter would be the alpha one day, but he wasn’t yet. And Jake had both alpha and beta blood in him. Yet Hunter didn’t seem fazed by his growls at all.

Jake walked straight up to him and got within an inch of his face. “You could have killed him. Why would I ever leave you alone with him?”

Hunter’s eyes still hadn’t left mine. “I just want to talk,” he said through gritted teeth.

Jake didn’t back down, and the standoff continued until I spoke.

“Jake, it’s okay.” When he turned to look at me, I continued. “If anything happens, I’ll shout.” I gave him a smile and nodded.

Jake exhaled loudly and took a step back. He looked at Hunter as he said to me, “I’ll be right outside the door, and if this ~animal~ tries anything, I’ll come back to put him down.”

Hunter’s lip curled in a snarl, but no growl came from his throat.

Jake slammed into Hunter’s shoulder as he walked past him out the door, but Hunter ignored the slight.

Heaviness filled the room as he stalked up to me. But when he reached my side and saw the bandage, his expression changed. It was softer.

I flinched when he brought his hand to my face and grabbed my chin. He turned my head away from him so he could see the wound, then he carefully peeled off the bandage. “It’s not deep.” He replaced the bandage and released my chin. “That’s good.”

I wasn’t sure where to look, so I looked down at my hands. His eyes bored holes into my face, and I wondered why he’d come here. Did he actually care about me? Had Alpha ordered him to come? Was he going to apologize?

He sighed. “Look at me.” He was frustrated, and that puzzled me.

I obeyed, and his deep-blue eyes swam with emotions. The anger and frustration were the most obvious to spot, but there was a deeper, underlining one I couldn’t place. It almost looked like affection, but that couldn’t have been right. Maybe this was what hatred looked like.

“Why are you so weak?” His soft-spoken words caught me off guard.

I had no answer for that.

“Speak,” he said louder, causing me to jump. Then he sighed, ran his hands over his cropped brown hair, and took a breath. “I’m not going to hurt you—why do you always make me hurt you?”

I was dumbfounded again. Was he being serious right now? And did his voice just crack? I opened my mouth to ask him what he meant, but Jeremy’s words from the door pulled my attention away from Hunter.

“Hey, Drew, Elliot’s leaving now if you want to say goodbye.”