Chapter 69 Your stance is weak

Chapter 69 Your stance is weak
AXEL'S POV
Without her presence, the pack suddenly felt really empty. I tried to reduce the urge to go over to Moonmist and bring her back but considering the fact that it was her only chance of getting her wolf back. I have to admit that I chose to stay in my room for a very long time, taking in her lingering scent.
I was already awake when she woke up and snuck out of my room, I tried a last minute attempt to get her to stay… which unfortunately failed. And the moment she stepped beyond the territory, I instantly felt it. I glanced at the window, taking in a deep breath, trying to recall my activities for the day.
A knock on my door suddenly broke me out of my reverie. “Don't come in.” I immediately rushed to grab the pieces of Thallyne's clothing scattered around the room, not forgetting to take a huge whiff of her panties which gave me a boner.
I looked at it, giving myself a mental facepalm. Looking around the room once again, nothing seemed out of place. “Come in.” I settled down on my bed, not forgetting to throw a duvet over myself to hide my boner.
The door slowly creaked open, revealing Jake who had a strange look on his face. He sniffed the air a few times before making a face of false disgust. “If I hadn't known better, I would have assumed that you guys went at it like rabbits.”
“How is she? Did she get there safely.” While she was leaving the pack, I asked Jake to issue a secret mission.
“The guy said that there was a little hitch but it was nothing he could not handle.”
Unknown to anyone else except Jake, I had secretly trained a group of wolves to be my shadow guards. They do not appear before outsiders unless necessary, and they are in charge of dealing with some of the businesses I rather not get involved in.
This morning, I asked Jake to dispatch one of them to monitor Thallyne and ensure that she arrived at Moonmist safely. “If he couldn't deal with a few rogues, he should throw himself off a cliff.”
I had specially handpicked them, personally trained them to be able to adapt in any situation, and with them, I could easily conquer any pack… but they are kept hidden in a secret bunker. This is to be a surprise to any of the Alphas that choose to double cross me because, without their awareness, one of the shadow guards has been dispatched to monitor their every activity and report back to me. And one more.. to protect Pink.
“Some reports came back, the Alphas are still conforming to the rules, no one has made any strange movements. It's clear that they are still scared of you.”
“Let them keep watching, someone is bound to do something over the next few days and when that happens, they are ordered to execute immediately.” A cold smirk appeared on my face.
“Yes Boss.”
“Is there anything else to report?” Luckily, the boner that had been sprouting had long settled.
“In fact, yeah. One of the pack up east wants a marriage alliance…” Jake started with a strange smile on his face… one that I did not read too much meaning to.
“That's alright, just arrange for her to meet with Drary. Then fix a date for the wedding,” I shrugged. Nothing concerning my son would bother me anymore, in fact, what I wanted the most was to get rid of him and if a marriage alliance was the solution to get him out, I was prepared to throw him a grand ceremony. “But wait, fix the ceremony after the next two full moons. By then, I should have broken all the ties between him and pink.” I got out of the bed, walk-in towards the end suite bathroom.
“But there is a problem?” I could sense the hesitance in his voice
“Something you can't fix? That's new” I turned around slowly.
“Uh, the one they wanted…. was you.” He backed towards the door immediately, placing a hand over the handle as if he was prepared to bolt away the next minute.
“What do you mean?” The pressure in the room increased.
Jake hurriedly shook his hand. “The alliance is supposed to be set between you and the alpha's daughter. They claim that it was a great match.”
“What else are you waiting for?” I frowned at him.
“What? Should I accept it?”
I glared at my supposed best friend who I was prepared to unalive the next minute. “I second that!” My wolf yelled in my head.
“Is that really a question?” I slowly made my way towards him.
Jake, noticing the danger, suddenly opened the door. “We will revisit this topic in a few days.” Then he slammed the door behind him, running off to safety.
I shook my head, turned around and walked to the bathroom…. As soon as I stepped in, I recalled the scene of Thallyne on her knees, my boner suddenly returned “I need to let some steam off.”
A few jerk offs later, I found myself in the training ground. I tried to get some work done in my office, but such enclosed space wasn't doing anything for my imagination….hence, the training ground.
It was already filled with the sounds of combat way before I stepped into the arena. Claws scraped against the earth and the sound of bodies colliding with one another. Growls filled the air with the scent of sweat, blood, and wolf energy filled the area.
My pack warriors were already pushing themselves to the limit. Good. But not good enough.
The moment my boots touched the edge of the field, several heads turned towards me, they immediately bowed their heads in submission. “Alpha!” They chorused.
“Good.” Even in their wolf forms, they sensed me immediately…. Well my presence was impossible to ignore.
“Go on. I'm here to inspect.” I walked deeper into the arena, my eyes scanned every movement. A group of warriors were sparring in their human forms, fists flying around while some people shifted mid-combat, testing their speed, control and reaction between shifts.
I stopped beside two wolves circling each other. One of them lunged too quickly and his opponent dodged, but he exposed his flank completely. “Both of you are dead.”
My voice broke their focus immediately. The wolves froze mid-motion before shifting back into their human forms. They bowed their heads instantly.
“Explain,” I said coldly, not prepared to point out their flaws unless they had an idea of it.
The first warrior swallowed before answering. “I rushed my attack, Alpha.”
“Yes. Like an idiot.” I responded before pointing at the second warrior. “And you. Your opponent threw himself at you like prey, and you left your side wide open. Any enemy with half a brain would have torn your throat out.”
He clenched his jaw, I saw the look of understanding in his eyes. “Yes, Alpha.”
I moved on with my inspection without saying another word. A circle of warriors were sparring with wooden weapons. One of them swung his blade wildly, relying purely on strength instead of control so I stepped forward and caught the weapon mid-swing. The wood cracked slightly under my grip and the warrior’s eyes widened at my sudden appearance. “Strength without control,” I said quietly, “is completely useless in battle.” I shoved the weapon at him. “You fight like a pup trying to prove himself to his training instructor.”
I noticed a few warriors stiffening, but no one said anything to refute my words. “Again,” I ordered coldly.
They resumed immediately, this time they were sharper, and more focused. Seeing that they had fixed their mistake, I continued walking through the field, pointing out every flaw I saw.
“Your stance is weak. Fix it!”
“You hesitated before striking. Your enemy would not give you enough time to think.”
“You are relying too much on your wolf and not enough on your mind. See it and do it!”
“You’re watching his hands. Watch his shoulders so you can predict his next actions.”
Each word was blunt.. but none of them complained, in fact, they fought harder.
A young warrior shifted into his wolf form mid air and charged at another, but his movements were sloppy. His weight leaned too far in his hind legs, his back legs became unbalanced in the process. I stepped forward and grabbed the back of his neck before he could pounce.
The wolf immediately stilled in my hand. “If you leap like that in battle,” I said, my voice was low and dangerous, “you will land on a blade.” Then I lowered him to the ground.
The wolf bowed his head before shifting back to human form. “I understand, Alpha.”
I turned, scanned the rest of the field but the difference was clear and there were hardly any more flaws.