Rejected

Chapter 23

Alex's POV

"Settle down everyone. Settle down." The crowd had gone from a mighty roar of voices to a hushed murmuring then silence. "I want everyone to welcome Councilman Ular, he will be here for a few days. Please give him the respect he deserves." The Councilman stood up and gave a quick wave of his hand as the crowd clapped respectfully. "I also want to announce that Alex will be joining Blood River with Councilman Ulars approval." The pack erupted with cheers and praise. The whole pack knew that I had protected them from rogues, even if I didn't know them directly, they knew me. The twins had helped with that, building my reputation with some of the pack and the rest found out through gossip and rumors. They didn't know my whole background, but they would soon learn the designed story Alpha Blood came up with. Alpha Blood was laughing when he saw their reaction, he knew that many in the pack wanted to extend membership, but I don't think he realized just how many. "The ceremony will take place tomorrow evening to make everything official, but as far as I'm concerned, she's part of the family." Alpha Blood's words had a double meaning that only a select few knew about. The hoots and hollers continued "And so, as it is fitting, Alex is officially taking my, and my son's, last name. She is my daughter, and while she may not have grown up here, she belongs with us." Alpha Blood stepped away after that last bit and came over to me with a smile. He spread his arms and waited for me to accept the hug. I knew that denying his display of affection would raise questions, and I wasn't opposed to trying. My stomach jumped with nerves and I still felt uneasy. "I promise, it will be quick." Alpha Blood whispered. I nodded and let him circle his arms around me. True to his word, the embrace was not long, and it wasn't as bad as I originally thought it was going to be. His scent was nothing like my fathers, or my brothers, so that helped.

The gathering came to a close and everyone went about their day after they stopped to congratulate me. These were people I would fight for, but between the nerve wracking meeting with the councilman earlier today and the mass amounts of people now craving my attention I was in no mood to socialize. When they reached out their hands for a handshake I had to physically stop myself from flinching away, I just wanted to get out of there. I knew Kole could scent my distress through the Chemo signals, and he tried to help by putting a hand on my shoulder or rubbing a stem of catnip so the calming smell reached my nose. But it only mildly curbed the anxiety.

"I need a run." I turned to Kole with a pleading look in my eye. He nodded and got Tab's attention.

"We're gonna go run a patrol. We'll meet up with you later." Tab only nodded, he knew he couldn't order Kole to stay, and I'm sure he noticed how on edge I was around all these people. "Let's get out of here." Kole and I sprinted to the tree line where we quickly shed our human skin for fur. I was much more comfortable in my leopard form; the power behind every twitch of every muscle, and each flick of my tail, the scents I could pick up, the sharpness of my vision. It was exhilarating seeing the world through my Cat's eyes, knowing that if I came to anything dangerous I could handle it with speed and agility that my human form didn't have and no wolf could match. In this form the only threats I had to worry about were Kole and multiple assailants. And with Kole as an ally both of those scenarios were unlikely. The run started as a way to exhaust our primal animals, but after the third mile it turned into more of a playful game of tag, with some wrestling mixed in along the way. Kole had a knack for giving my tail a light chomp when he came up behind me. In return I would tackle him, bringing him to the ground, and then roll away and sprint a few yards ahead. He wasn't able to make the quick recovery that this move required, but he was able to get going quick enough to catch up to me a few seconds later.

We had completely exhausted ourselves after another four miles and were lounging near a quiet stream. The trickle of the water helped calm the wild beasts inside us. Eventually Kole stood up and nodded his head back to the house. I knew we would be missed if we didn't get back soon, but I wanted nothing more than to stay right here in the shade and let the world fade away. Reluctantly I rose and followed him back to the trees that stashed our clothes.

"If Alpha Blood gets the councilman to agree to letting you into the Academy you'll be leaving soon. Are you ready to be out there with a bunch of Alphas in training? I won't be allowed to come, and neither will the Twins or Myles." He had a point, I nearly lost it today when it was just a few handshakes with regular pack members. Alphas had a power about them that I often picked up on and it normally made me nervous.

"I'll manage somehow. I know Alpha Blood wants this to go well. I'll just take lots of catnip and run it off if it gets to be too much." I shrugged and tried to hide my doubts. Sure, Alpha Blood wanted me to go to this Alpha school, but honestly... I was perfectly happy staying here and training with Kole. Kole knew how to teach me, he knew my tells and how to push me to my fullest. We could read each other, and oftentimes didn't need the Chemo signals to tell what the other was feeling. He was my closest friend, and the only one I shared everything with.

We walked back into the house and were met with a disaster zone. The sound of dishes being smashed came from the kitchen, but what stopped Kole and me in our tracks was when Tyler bolted from the kitchen straight into the living room. A second and a half later a frying pan came flying from the same doorway he just emerged from. It fell short and missed hitting Tyler.

"HA YOU MISSED!" Tyler shouted. A breath later a serving platter flew out and hit Tyler square in the face. "OW! WHAT THE HELL ZACK!"

"Now it makes sense. I wonder what those two bottomless pits are after now." Kole shook his head and we continued to our room. It was best to leave them to duke it out. No one ever really got hurt, and they would be held responsible for the damages.