Chapter 6
My eyes were gaunt and swollen the next morning, and the several morning to pass after. Alpha Leon had visited numerous times along with my parents taken to meetings in the pack house.
I hadn't left our house. I hadn't even gone to training for days. No one noticed-
Knock Knock I thought.
Dragging my body from my bed felt heavy. I felt like I weighed as much as the thoughts that were running through my head which was plenty.
''Evan.'' I froze with my hand on the handle. It was Luna
''Yes, Alpha?'' I still didn't move.
''Please open the door.'' The door was not locked and she had every right to enter wherever she please but she was kind and considerate of every wolf in the pack.
I opened the door, her soft smile not doing anything to relax me as she made her way to my bed and smiled warmly, patting the space beside her for me to sit.
''I guess you know.'' Her smile faltered as she glanced at me cautiously.
I nodded my answer, my voice hoarse and broken from days without use, the action causing a scratchy feeling in the back of my throat whenever I tried.
''It must be hard to accept.'' She sighed and stared out my window. ''I can't do much to comfort you but to promise you will always have a place here amongst us, even after-''
''You found your fated mate. I just want to find mine.'' My voice was breaking and I couldn't tell if it was only the lack of use or if it was my emotions breaking with it.
''I went through Hell for mine. I lost so much to come here, I gave up everything and my most precious...'' She wiped at tears and furrowed her brows in anger. The anger wasn't placed at me but at her memory she was getting lost in. ''Death was the price of my mate. A loss I bear every day that goes by I can't go more than a day without thinking of what I couldn't save because I was the one who was saved. I will never forgive myself for trading my happiness for the loss of his.''
I didn't pry into her memories. They seemed painful but I couldn't relate to something I didn't understand.
''For low ranking wolves like us, we are lucky to find our fated mate in a million years Ev.'' Her small hand rested on my back and rubbed a large circle into my shoulder blade. ''I would have never chosen this for you but sometimes an Alpha must make a hard choice for his pack and an even harder choice for a friend.''
Her forehead pressed against mine as we both screwed our eyes shut tight, our emotions being fought back by the tiny layer of skin curtaining our eyes. It hurt her to lose me as much as it hurt me to lose her and Tommy.
''It's time for training Ev.'' Our silence was broken, my body feeling a little lighter than before as she led me down the stairs with a loving smile and towards the fields where other wolves were clashing in battle already.
''Glad you could finally join us, Evan.'' The war wolf leading today's training didn't even see me come in as he pointed toward the only wolf without a partner; the pack Beta.
I was dead.
I looked Jaycen up and down and decided what would be on my tombstone already. 'Here lies stupid.'
Jaycen was Beta for a reason. He excelled in strength and endurance. He was a strong mass of muscle but he could move swiftly through a forest matching pace with our fastest scouts.
The only thing we had in common? Jaycen was mateless, however, given his position he has the right to refuse advances of she-wolves. He wasn't interested in them. He didn't strike anyone as a purist who would wait for his true mate but I think he believed more in his job than to find a mate and he was damn good at his job as I was tackled to the ground for the umpteenth time.
Ooft
I could feel the wind sucking out of my lungs and pain in my ribs as I tried to catch my breath.
''Come here, Evan.''
Slowly picking my body up from the ground I walked up to him feeling the broken blood vessels coming to the surface of my ribs.
''Stand in front of me with your back to me.''
I did as I was told, his arms coming around my shoulder and neck locking my head between his forearm and bicep in a choke hold. My wolf immediately went into panic mode as I started squirming in his firm grasp.
''Calm down.'' His muscles clenched and then released.
I was still wide-eyed as my body relaxed ever so slightly, my hands resting under my chin on his arms.
''Turn your head into my elbow, drop it and simply pull out.''
I did as I was told, turning my face into his elbow and pulling down and out towards his other arm where there was enough of an opening to slip out from, my face a mask of astonishment at the ease.
''Now push away at my waist.''
My hands came up and shoved his waist propelling me backward and to safety where I smiled a massive smile of victory, Jaycen doing the same at a smaller scale.
''There you go. Let's try again.''
We did this move several more times until he decided I had learned it well enough and we decided to move on to another commonhold to get out of. I felt amazing at learning this move. It was simple but it would definitely save my life if I was ever in the situation where I needed it.
Jaycen patted my back, his big hand clapping down on my shoulder while he smiled at my accomplishment.
''Good work. Now we'll learn one more. Lay down on the ground for me with your knees up.''
I again did as I was told by laying on the ground with my knees up reaching underneath me to shuffle out a twig digging painfully into my back until a weight pressed down on me, Jaycen mounted on top of my hips on his knees.
I stopped moving immediately, the twig forgotten as his hands came up to my neck cutting off the air.
''Try and get out.''
My body wriggled, tugging at his hands and hitting his chest trying to palm him off of me as his grip became tighter, his expression emotionless as I started to choke on air. I tried striking his face but every time I tried, he simply moved his head backward and dodged it, my hands falling out of reach in his superior position.
''Hey!'' I heard Rhyan yelling and go to strike Jaycen, the war wolf catching his fist as he watched on, shoving Rhyan out of my sight.
''Relax.'' Jaycen spoke slowly to me, his face coming closer to mine. ''Pull your elbows in tight.''
I followed his instructions, trying to dull out the clamping of his hands around my windpipe.
''Now use your right arm to grip my left wrist and your left arm to hold the back of my elbow so I can't pull out of your grip.''
It was scary letting go of the hands around my neck but I did it anyway.
''There you go. Now step your left foot to the outside of my leg. Now simply push your hips up and roll us to your left.''
As he said the last few words, I bucked my hips up and pushed to the left and before I knew it the momentum threw him down to the floor and pulled me to sit on top of him.
The rush of adrenaline had me shocked, Jaycen smiling happily from the floor beneath me, my smile matching his as he congratulated me and patted my arm.
''Well done Evan. That was perfect!'' He cheered.
My arm was pulled up in a painfully tight grip by Rhyan who didn't look half as impressed before he walked away as we were dismissed, some of the war wolves congratulating me in the process of me leaving.
I felt happy that I had finally learned something useful but upset that Rhyan wasn't happy for me, or even acknowledging me for that matter.
My neck itched where the scar had already faded as I dawdled behind him home. Nothing had been the same since that night.
I didn't want to leave this pack on bad terms with him. I had just over a month left here, my birthday was fast approaching and now we could count the 4 short weeks before I was old enough to be taken as a mate and taken from the pack to some pack I had never seen before.
''Rhyan?'' My voice was still low from no use but he heard me, he chose to ignore me though as I continued to call out his name until we got home.
''I have to tell you something.'' My hand rested on his arm as he opened the door, my heart sinking as I looked inside to find dark green eyes staring back at me, hungry and predatory.
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