Under the Alpha King's Gaze

Chapter 2

Ariel-pov

The next morning felt like it came too soon because I was so tired from the night before. I stayed in bed until I heard a knock on the door, it was my mother. "Hey sweetheart, how are you feeling this morning"? She asked in a soft motherly voice that I didn't know I missed so much. I yawned and started to stretch my arms and legs. "I am still a little tired but I am happy to be back home". I replied as I crawled out from under the covers and walked towards my mother to give her a hug. She embraced me; her hand rubbing my back softly.

"I am so happy that you are home my dear. Why don't you wash up and come down for breakfast". She offered as she unwrapped her arms from around me and started to leave. "Oh and your things arrived this morning. I will have someone bring them up for you, okay? See you down stairs". I smiled and thanked her for letting me know. I went to my bathroom, brushed my teeth, and put my hair in a long curly ponytail.

I took a moment to look at my self in the mirror. I have tanned skin, light green eyes, light and dark brown long curly hair that reaches my hips. My body is toned but curvy, with a big chest, and ass. My thighs are thick but muscular and look proportionate to the rest of my medium frame. I have a moon crescent with blue roses tattooed on the inside of my right forearm. I also have a stethoscope that swirls into a heart on my left wrist.

My wolf's name is Cora and she is sassy, care free, and loves to run and hunt for squirrels (of all things). I can tell that she is happy to be back home and she is asking if we can go on a run soon. I tell her we will later on this afternoon and she seemed satisfied with that.

I finished getting dressed in some leggings and long T-shirt. I went straight to the kitchen where I could smell delicious food. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage and orange juice. My stomach rumbled as I said hi to everyone in the room and took a seat on the stool in front of the counter.

My mother smiled at me and said for me to grab a plate and take a seat at the dinning table. My father, brother, his mate Sarah, Keith and other pack members joined me at the table. Within just a few minutes we were all eating, laughing and talking.

I looked over to my dad and asked if I could go to the pack hospital after breakfast so that I could talk to Dr. Mitchell about picking up a shift or two and learning about how he runs things. My dad smiled and said sure. He seemed excited by my eagerness to get to work.

"Ariel, I will ask that you train with Keith and the pack warriors at least twice a week. I want you to stay strong and healthy after all". He said with a prideful smile. I nodded and smiled at the thought of training with Keith. My cheeks blushed slightly at the thought, as I returned to eating my delicious breakfast.

"The training, and doctor stuff with have to wait Ariel, we have dress fittings in an hour." My mother said as she reached across the table for some syrup to put on her pancakes.

I stopped eating and looked at my mother with a puzzled look. "What do you mean mother? Why do I need to get fitted for a dress"? I asked waiting for a reply. My mother looked up from her plate with a smile and said "You need a dress for the upcoming winter banquet. It is next week and we are all going. Your brother and Sarah will be honored and acknowledged as the new alpha and luna of our pack along with other formalities that need to take place". She explained so informatively.

I was speechless, I had forgotten about the yearly banquet I had only ever been to one but it was during the former alpha kings rule. I finally mustered up a response and agreed to go to the fitting but insisted that after I would be able to see Dr. Mitchell. My mother agreed and we got up to start cleaning up plates from breakfast.

After helping in the kitchen I went up to my room to relax. A few minutes later I heard a knock on the door. My mother and three other people walked in with notebooks, hair supplies and a rack with dresses with them.

I stood there amazed at the beautiful gowns and began thinking about what style they would choose for me. They worked on me for a few hours, making me try on different styles of dresses and make up. It was extremely exhausting, by the time they were done I was so tired that I just wanted to lay down. I decided that I would go to the hospital to see Dr. Mitchell tomorrow instead of tonight.

The Next Day

I woke up early ate a banana and went on a run. I felt bad about not keeping my promise to her yesterday. Cora was so happy to be out running wild and free. My wolf is dark brown and my eyes turn dark green when she is in control. I settle in the back of my mind and let her run, chasing squirrels and prancing about. After a while I come back to the pack house and I go up stairs to shower and get dressed.

After my shower I head back down stairs to make myself a sandwich and head to the hospital. I hear my mom coming down the stairs and I don't want her to stop me so, before she could see me I run out of the house and dart to the pack hospital.

Our pack hospital is quite grand and we have some of the latest technology in it. "I am so happy to be here" I say to myself. "We are happy to have you are here Ariel". I turn around to see the face of the familiar voice that came from behind me. "Dr. Mitchell, hi, how are you? It's been so long. The hospital look fantastic by the way, I mean wow.". Dr. Mitchell chuckles and gives me a warm hug. "It's good to see you Ariel. You have been missed but I hear you have your doctorate now and just finished your surgical residency ". He exclaimed with a proud smile.
"Yes, I have. It was really tough but I made it through". I replied with a big smile.

I pulled out the folder that I had with me and handed it to him. The folder had copies of my diplomas, clinical hours, surgical reports, and published articles that I helped put together. Dr. Mitchell looked at me and asked what was in the folder. I explained what was in it and as I listed off each item the surprise in his face reached new levels with each announcement. "My Goddess this is impressive for someone so young. I don't even know where to start or where to put you". He said thinking out loud. "How about I start with the nurses for a little while. I would like to get a taste of how things run around here". I suggested. Mitch looked at me and nodded his head. "I think that's a good idea. I will put you with Mrs. Rachel tomorrow if you would like". I nodded, said my goodbyes and walked to the training hall where I hoped to find Keith and the other warriors.

When I got to the training grounds Keith was shirtless, sweaty and in the middle of pinning a tough looking male pack member down to the ground. I could hear clapping in the distance, so I looked and saw a group of females under some trees watching the warriors train. It appeared that Keith had a fan club and they were not ashamed to let her fondness for him be heard. I turned back to look at the training session and decided that now was as good as any time to walk out to the field and start training like my father requested of me.

Keith stopped what he was doing and smiled and said hi to me. "I was wondering when you were going to show up". He chuckled as he wiped his face with a towel and then took a swig of his water. His chest glistened with sweat and it was hard not to notice how defined his muscle were as he moved his arms. They naturally flexed with each movement and it was hard to focus on what he was saying. "Hey, Ariel go ahead stretch and run 2 miles to get warmed up and then we can run through a few moves. okay"? He said gesturing to the trail that was a few feet away. "Oh, okay, yeah, sure. I will be back in a few".

I went off to the side to stretch and then took off running. I love to run and I am pretty fast, after running the two miles I felt warmed up. I decided that I was ready for attack and defense training so I went back out to the field. When I got back to the field everyone was still hard at work. Keith paired me up with a female pack member and it took me no time to find my rhythm and pick up on the drills. Sadly Keith didn't really talk to me much or pay attention to me, every time I looked his way he would distract himself with someone or something else. I guess my crush was one sided or he just genuinely was not interested, I mean we are not mates so I can't fault him for not wanting to waste his time.

After training was over I went to my room to shower and get ready for dinner. I was feeling exhausted and I had no real interest in talking or visiting much. I finished dinner said goodnight and went to my room to sleep.

The next few days I went and worked in the pack hospital with Nurse Rachel and Dr. Mitchel; I did my best to learn their system and help out anywhere that I was needed.