Alkira's pov-
"Thirty rounds of the ground in human form, and after that, meet me right here." I gave orders to my warriors.
"Yes, alpha." They said in unison and went their merry way.
'Last night was fun. We bonded with our people at a new level. We created a special bond, and their love slowly patched up our broken hearts. It will take time to heal ourselves fully, but with these people, I think we will be able to recover.'
'You are right, Sira. With these people, we will heal.'
'And we will protect them with everything we have got. We can't lose them either. It will be too much for us.'
'I know. That is why we do this once a month to increase their strength and test their minds. How they will react under pressure, check their development, and lead them in the right direction. It is necessary.'
'Yes. It is. I need to talk to you about something, but not now, later. Okay.'
'Okay.'
It was 11 o'clock in the morning. The summer sun will do well for their exercise. I thought to myself.
"Alpha, I just finished hiding all the blood and color-soaked clothes," Xavier informed me.
"Good," I said dismissively.
But he did not go away. He just stood there with questioning curiosity.
'He will not leave until we answer some of his questions if not all of them.'
Sira was right. But I had previously made up my mind about telling him my plan this time as I needed his help.
"Xavier.." I called his name, catching his attention.
"There is no need to hide anything from me. If you want to ask something, then ask away." I said in a monotone, which delivered the message Don't beat around the bush.
"Alpha, I am not questioning what you are trying to do. I trust you completely."
He paused for a second to collect his thoughts. He knew I was watching him intently. It is usual for him to sweat a little over the words as he is talking to his Alpha.
I have told everyone to be frank with me. No need to hesitate to ask me for something. But still, me being an Alpha, everyone was a bit afraid of the power that comes along with the title. Nobody knows I have Alpha blood running in my veins, not that it mattered as I was not the eldest.
The power that comes with Alpha's blood is passed to the eldest child. So, being the daughter of an Alpha only raised my social status and nothing more. I did not want to acknowledge the truth as it comes with another bitter reality: now I do not have a family. Only a handful of people know about my parents being Alpha and Luna. As for the rest of the pack, I am just a girl from another pack who lost everything in a rogue ambush and has carved a place for herself here with her persistent efforts and diligence.
"I understand most of your plan, Alpha. Clothes soaked in blood and color will sharpen their senses. But I fail to comprehend why the clothes are soaked in your blood. Please tell me about your plan."
I detected a bit of pleading in his last sentence. I turned to face him and raised my right eyebrow, clearly telling him that I noticed his slip-up of emotion. In a war zone, we have to mask our emotions. Showing our feelings will only get us killed.
His face was composed, but his ears turned a little red, giving away his calm facade.
"No need to worry, Xavier. I am telling you about my plan at least this time." I added the last part to clear any misunderstanding that might come to him if he thought this would happen again, as it would not.
"I want to see how they will react to it. When they get back, it will be roughly around 1'o clock. They will be exhausted from their run; the sun over their head will make it more intense. I asked them to meet me here. They will notice my absence, and when they see a note saying I am kidnapped by rogues with some blood on it, they will react."
I paused for a second to let the information settle in his mind. He nodded his head, and I continued.
"Now, they will react to it in two ways. One is that they will panic, and the slight scent of my blood in the air will cause chaos. The second is that they will wait for a few minutes to take notice of their surroundings. They will see that even though the blood is still fresh, there is no scent of a rogue. They will realize that it is their special training day."
"Wow. How you come up with these plans, Alpha is beyond me." He said, amazed.
"This is my duty, Xavier. And I love to train them. You know me."
"That is true. I also wanted to ask about the other notes you gave me that I have hidden together with your blood-soaked clothes. What is written in them?"
"They all carry a word. When all of them are collected, it will give them a message and coordinates to my hiding location".
"It is a nice plan to train them and test their abilities. Whenever you do something like that, your respect for you grows a little more every time. We are glad that we chose you that day, not him. It was a tough choice but one we are proud of. Now tell me what role I play in this Alpha."
Hearing those words from him, my heart healed a little.
'They really love us.'
'Yes. They love us, Kira. We are blessed to have them.' Sira said quietly.
"After they have calmed down and the rational side of their brain has started working. You will come from your hiding spot and overlook their work, but you will neither confirm nor discard their suspicions. When they have found all the letters and decoded the message, you will tell them about this training and their progress. Only one of them, who was the first to understand everything, will come to find me. The rest will be staying here waiting for me. Okay?"
"Yes, Alpha, just one more thing. Where will you be hiding?"
"Here." I gave him a piece of paper carrying the message and location-
"A LONG WAY DOWN THE RIO, PATH COVERED WITH HOJA, HIDING BETWEEN THE PIEDRA, TECHO DE PAJA OF FALLEN RAMITA."
"We will be in touch via our link."
With that said, I turned and headed to the jungle. I did not tell him that I would be seeing everything with my own eyes, and only when that one person would come for me would I move to the hideout.
I settled myself on the tree branch, which was securely hidden from others' sight. I waited for my warriors to arrive.
After 15 minutes of waiting, they showed up. I checked my watch, and it was only 12:30 pm. I was impressed. They had gained speed.
Everyone was confused as I was not there. Then someone took notice of the letter stuck in the tree bark with a sharp wooden stake.
The letter was read aloud, and everyone listened with concentration.
I was waiting much less patiently for anything to happen. A few seconds passed but still nothing. I was at the last string of my sanity. Why were they not doing anything?
Then I saw everyone spring into action at once.
They had discussed everything through their mind link!
I was impressed. They have studied their surroundings very quickly and formed a plan too. Moreover, they have hidden their emotions from me. That is something new and exciting. I had thought they would panic for at least a few minutes, but they took me by surprise. Not only did they act quickly, but they also composed themselves too. Satisfied with the scene in front of my eyes, I smiled.
'I think we should move and go to our hideout. Seeing them working skillfully in sync, I don't think it will take them much time to come and get us.'
'You are right. Let us go.'
I was thinking about who would come and get me when someone knocked on the door and walked in. The girl was grinning as she addressed me.
"Alpha, my name is Sharon, and I am here to collect you."
"Training is over, Sharon. You can call me Alkira or Kira, whichever you prefer."
"Okay, Alpha, I mean Kira."
We reached the ground, and I took my position in front of the crowd.
"All of you did very well in today's training. To say I am proud would be an understatement. Now tell me who came up with the plan, mind linking everyone, who decoded the message, everything." I said with a smile on my face.
"Alpha, Sharon came with the plan and mind linked everyone; hence she was the one who went to you. Zack calmed everyone and told them to hide their panic from you. Crista told everyone that it was a fluke. Beth was the one who collected most of the letters, and Ben was the fastest to decode the message." Xavier told me enthusiastically.
While he was telling me the progress step by step, I felt like someone was watching me.
" It was a good idea to mask your emotion from me. I am very pleased with all of you. Now everyone goes ahead and rests. Tomorrow I will be a little light on you with the training." With that said, everyone went their way.
I turned my head and caught the eye of the intruder. We stared at each other for a few seconds, and then he disappeared into the woods.
I needed to follow him.
"Xavier, I will be back later. I need to take care of a few things. Do not wait for me."
Without waiting for his reply, I started towards the woods.
Spanish words:
River= Rio
Leaves= Hoja
Rocks= piedra
Thatch= Techo de paja
Twig= ramita
Special thank you to a few people for their support:-
(1) alphawar
(2) PeggyElmore
(3) xxkathy15xx
(4) EricaAncira
(5) AliceFulton