Demonic Regime

Chapter 50: Alpha General

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A walk through the garden I thought would be a good idea, but it was simply awkward. Bruce wasn't talking. It probably didn't help that I shut him down pretty hard last night. It was nice of him to be in human form, at least.

"So..." I left the path and went to a tree. "What have you been up to?"

Bruce shrugged and followed.

"Alpha stuff?" I sat and leaned against the trunk.

Nodding, he let out a deep breath. "I'm kept busy."

"I bet." I picked at the grass. It was more interesting than this conversation. "Did you go to college?"

"Online."

"Cool, what in?"

"Military tactics is my main focus."

I perked up. "What? That's a major?"

He nodded. "I attend the Northern Military University. Bloodhound's main responsibility is to oversee and run the armed forces for Northern Ridge."

My mouth fell open. "Oh, wow. That is news to me."

Was I mating into a military family? I was used to politics, but I hadn't even been to a dominant training session.

Bruce put his hands in his pockets and wandered about the area.

"So, your mom is like the head of the military?"

He nodded. "It's a bit surprising, right?" He smiled to himself. "She seems too nice, but she trained me growing up. She can be terrifying."

I swallowed hard. "That means, you'll be.... one day, you'll be alpha over the military?"

"Yeah."

"That has to be stressful." I took a deep breath. The thought was a bit daunting.

"I've grown up knowing what is expected of me."

I glanced at him. Bruce seemed so calm about it. Being responsible for protecting a pack as large as Northern Ridge would scare me to death. My shoulders sank. I was going to be his mate. I was going to be mated to the Alpha over the military.

"Does that make you nervous?"

"What?" I snapped out of my thoughts. "Nervous about what?"

"You're going to be the mate of the next Alpha General. My dad said it can be a bit overwhelming. They weren't arranged, though."

"It is." I swallowed hard. "That's the title, Alpha General."

He nodded. "My mother's title, and one day she'll pass it to me."

"Are you nervous? The title of alpha is a lot, but that adds even more pressure."

"If I think about it too much, it can be." He scanned the area. "But it was a position I was raised to fill. Um..." He rubbed his neck. "You won't be expected to do anything with the military. My mom forbids my dad from doing training. He got hurt once when I was a pup. He broke his leg, and ever since, he stayed home to take care of me. I don't want to risk anything happening to you."

I laughed. "Bruce, I have never trained a day in my life." I motioned to myself. "Human form is even more prone to injury."

"But once we mate—" He sucked in his cheek. "If you can shift..."

"Case told me all about training. It sounds miserable, so I'm fine with not experiencing it. Especially in a pack I don't know much about. Northern Ridge sounds like it's a bit more intense than Midfield."

"A little," said Bruce. "I've done joint training with Midfield, so I have a good idea what it's like on both sides."

"There's your answer." I lifted my hand. "I'm fine sitting at home."

"What about swimming?" He shifted his weight. "We have a full-size pool at the training facility. We use it every now and again, but most of the time, it's empty."

Nodding, I shrugged. "We'll see. I'm not sure what my future swimming career will look like."

"What do you mean?" He frowned. "Everyone says you're on track to be a national team member."

"I don't know." I tugged at the grass. "I'm trying to figure things out."

He paced along the path. "Changing packs means changing national teams. Whatever you decide, I'll support, but the head coach did reach out to me. They want to work with you."

"They do?" It was exciting, but I also didn't want to swim for another pack. "Because I'm going to be your mate, or do they think I can do it?"

He struggled not to smile. "They don't care who your mate is; they want to win. Packs aren't going to battle anymore, so all we have left is sports."

"True," I breathed. "Midfield has that feeling too. We don't have to fight over territory so sports will have to do."

"Northern Ridge isn't that different. It's colder, I'll admit that."

I laughed. "And I can't shift, so I'm always going to be freezing."

Bruce shook his head. "We can turn up the heat."

"That's nice, my brother and sister would yell at me to get another blanket rather than turn up the heat."

He shrugged and wandered about the area. "When does swimming start?"

"After Christmas is our major meets. Practices have already started."

"Could you send me your schedule?"

I arched a brow. "You don't need to come. You're an Alpha General in training. I'm sure you're busy."

"I already asked my mom. I want to support you, and she said she'd let me off so I could."

His mom was interesting. I think she had some other motives to let him off.

"I'll send it," I replied. "I should probably talk to my coach. I've been skipping practice."

Bruce faced me. "Because of me?"

"More the situation than you." I laid my head back. "I have nothing against you, Bruce. It is the whole parents promising their pups to other packs or to anyone that I don't think is right."

He shrugged. "My mate would always have to be approved. When I graduated, my mom warned me that it was possible my mate would be chosen for me. It's part of the rank."

"So I made the cut, then?"

Bruce slowly nodded. "I will say my grandpa, Jet, was kind of pushing for you. He doesn't do that often."

"Did he tell you about the shifting drug incident?"

His shoulders dropped. "Sorry. Jet takes things too far, and that was way too far."

"I got to be a werewolf for a month." I shrugged. "I'm not going to complain. Though, my mom may punch him the next time she sees him. She's still mad."

"Good to know." He rubbed his face. "I'll make sure I'm around to stop it from going beyond that. Jet has a bit of a temper." Bruce faced me. "So... so do you think this could work, potentially? I know it'll take a lot of work, and we need to get to know each other. But I think we could be good together."

"You never know"—I stood and brushed off my pants—"with time, anything could happen."

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