Legacy

Chapter Five - Alpha Training Begins

Eileen had run to the place she always ran to: a secluded area on a rocky cliff ledge. She’d stayed there all night, even though it hadn’t brought much peace or rest. She watched dawn approach with her chin resting on one knee.

Despite everything, the sun continued to rise.

She wished she could just be okay. She wished she could be unaffected by his presence. But she couldn’t: when she was trying to ignore him, she had to think about ignoring him. When she was thinking of maybe talking to him, she was thinking about him. She couldn’t escape.

Most of all, she wished he’d never come back.

Growing irritated, she grabbed a sizeable rock next to her and chunked it over the edge. It crashed into rocks closer to the bottom of the drop and sent them tumbling to the bottom as well. It didn’t make her feel much better.

With a small smile, Eileen realized alcohol probably couldn’t even fix this. That was a first.

She heard someone approaching her hiding spot, and she wasn’t surprised. As soon as she’d arrived she’d been on edge, waiting for someone from the pack to come and attempt to bring her back. No one had showed until now.

For one moment her heart constricted, thinking it might be Gray. But no, she couldn’t remember bringing him here. This was her spot alone.

Her father entered the space and sat down next to her, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the cliff. They sat there in silence, just watching the sun rise. It cast beautiful colors against the sky and surrounding foliage.

“For some reason,” her father said, tone light. “I don’t think you’re happy.”

Understatement of the year, but Eileen found herself smiling. She’d always had a good relationship with her father. “Not exactly, no.”

“I see,” he said, nodding wisely. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t know,” Eileen said, folding her legs. “It’s about… Gray.” Even though it might be awkward for the both of them, it wasn’t like Eileen had a female figure to go to about boy things. “I don’t like that he’s back.”

Her dad snorted. “You don’t like that he let you win.”

“Thank you!” she said, exasperated. “Nobody else seemed to notice that he did that.” She frowned and dropped her head onto her knee again. “And he just did it to talk to me, which was stupid. He’s stupid.”

“Maybe,” her dad allowed. “Or maybe he really wants to talk to you.”

Leveling her gaze with his, she said, “I don’t really like how everyone thinks I should talk to him. Actually, I’m getting kind of suspicious; is everyone conspiring against me?”

He smiled. His face appeared tan and weathered from years in the sun, but genetics—the werewolf kind—were on his side. “We’re just trying to support you.”

“Even after he pulled a stunt like that?” Eileen said dully. “And I saw the two of you laughing and shaking hands. What’s going on?”

Taking in a deep breath, her father looked skyward. “You’ve aged, so I guess you expected things would change anyway. Normally when a child of the Alpha ages, they begin their Alpha training.”

“Like the twins.”

“Like the twins,” he agreed. “Which is already an unusual training arrangement. Since I already have two to be training right now, it doesn’t make sense to add a third. Especially when it’s already going to be enough of a challenge to decide who takes over.”