\[Rosco’s POV\]
‘Have you gone mad?’
Fabian’s question sends a wave of annoyance through me as I continue to watch William while he eyes Elise, who is completely oblivious or just doesn’t care.
‘Maybe.’ I grumble.
‘You’re softening around the edges.’ He chuckles, angering me even more.
‘If you’re just going to nag me, you can fuck off.’
Instead of responding, Fabian lets out a laugh before I feel his presence disappear, so that I’m in my head alone again.
Sighing, I let my gaze travel across the warriors who are still doing their stretches, and when I feel they’re more than ready to begin their training, I draw in a breath.
“Fall in line!” I command.
Growing quiet, I wait once again as everyone does as instructed, falling into an at-ease position. Once no one is left moving, I begin to pace.
“As all of you are aware,” I begin, deciding to address the reason for this sudden training. “Our lands have been attacked by a skilled enemy. A few of our ranks have already lost their lives defending our pack, and to ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again, we will be attacking.”
At my words, nods of approval and smirks of excitement begin to form on the faces of the warriors, while others continue to look displeased.
“We have two weeks at most to get into shape for this attack.”
I knew that I was asking a lot, but William was only given a month to prove himself along with the warriors my uncle would be sending. Although I was mostly doing this for my pack, I was also doing it for him. I knew that he was working hard to become alpha, and I couldn’t let that opportunity slip away because of me.
“Within those two weeks, I’m going to whip each and every one of you into murder machines, and if you can’t seem to do that, then your help isn’t needed.” I say now. “There is no room for loose ends or hindrances within my regime, do you understand?”
Instantly, a roar of agreement erupts, echoing around me. They fill my body with a thrum of excitement over the upcoming battle and make me feel ill at ease.
“Now!” I say, drawing attention again. “We will be practicing hand-to-hand combat. Even though most will be fighting in their wolf forms since that is when we are the most powerful, I want a few of you to be ready to fight as humans and use weaponry.”
For today, I wanted to see what these men and women were capable of doing. Did Roger whip them into fighting machines, or did he leave them slack just in case they one day discovered his treachery and turned against him?
“Stay in your groups and square off. William and I will be evaluating you and correcting as needed.”
“What?” William hisses, shooting me a look. “You didn’t tell me you’d be using me to help with your teaching.”
“Why else would you be here?” I chuckle. “Keeping my gaze on the warriors in front of me. Did you think I brought you here to just twiddle your thumbs? You were left here in order to help me deal with the enemy. Because of that, it is best that everyone here is more than capable of properly killing. I already know those my father will be sending will be able to do it, but I have yet to see what these warriors here are capable of.”
Due to Denali’s pregnancy and tying up all the loose ends of the trouble that was surrounding us, I didn’t get a chance to do a full evaluation of the pack. Now that danger was in our future, it was time to do just that.
“If you have a problem with it, you can go ahead and go back to Crystal Fang with your tail tucked between your legs.” I continue. “There isn’t any room here for half-assers, got it?”
For a moment, William doesn’t speak as he takes me in, and when he gives a nod of defeat, I know that he isn’t going to argue any further.
“BEGIN!” I roar, spurring everyone in front of me into action.
Remaining in place, I scan the crowd, studying the dynamic between the two who are squaring off and taking in their technique. Although they seem to be skilled in what they’re doing, it is easy to tell that there is definitely room for improvement, and it becomes clear that protection wasn’t Roger’s biggest concern during his reign here.
“I’ll take the left; you get the right.” I tell William before I begin to move.
My first targets are Elise and Marty, who seem to be evenly matched. They both move in sync, attacking and drawing back. And as I watch, I come to realize that Elise is actually a pretty skilled fighter, which honestly isn’t surprising.
“Any notes, teach?” Marty asks, giving me a grin. “I’m open to all critiques.”
“Stop being so damn cocky.” I respond immediately. “At least I know that we have two warriors who are able to do some damage.”
Finished, speaking I continue to move, scanning those around me, and only stop when I feel someone reach out in an attempt to connect with me.
Pausing, I let down my wall and waited.
‘Alpha!’ Riley, one of our border guards, says the minute she feels me let her in, ‘There’s trouble!’
‘Trouble?’ I hiss, snapping my gaze toward the northern border where she is located. ‘What kind of trouble?’
‘There’s,’ she begins, but stops as I feel her exerting herself. ‘Please come quick!’
Not needing anymore encouragement, I begin to move, tapping into my alpha abilities so that the world around me begins to blur together. As I move, I can feel William’s gaze on me, but I don’t dare stop until Riley and the others that are with her come into view.
They’re surrounding someone dressed in a long trenchcoat with a hood over his head. From where I stand, I can sense the hostility that is dripping from all of them.
‘Is it them?’ Fabian growls as I burst forward. ‘Are they back this soon?’
‘I don’t know.’ I admit, continuing to feel out the situation.
Even if it seemed like there was some sort of disagreement happening, I didn’t feel the killing intent I had felt from the cloaked figures who broke Roger out. However, given our current circumstances, I couldn’t let my guard down.
When I reach them, I shove my way through the wall of bodies so that I can get a good look at the person standing in front of them. When his eyes come to rest on me, a slow smile begins to spread across his face, and when he pulls down his hood, I let a hiss escape me.
“You must be Rosco!” He booms, attempting to move forward to hug me, but stops as the guards on either side of me let out growls of warning. “Um… could you maybe call off your guard dogs?”
For a moment, I don’t speak as I take in the man in front of me. He resembles my mother almost perfectly, from his wavy black hair to his olive-colored skin and even those honey eyes that watch me.
“You are?” I ask, wanting a confirmation before I made any calls.
“Jose,” he responds immediately. “Didn’t your mother tell you about me? That’s kind of mean of her, especially since you asked me so nicely to come here and help you.”