The Alpha's Fight

Chapter 8 - A Secret Way Out

My injuries had barely stopped hurting from the previous day and now they had a dozen more companions join them after another rough training session with my father. I would be turning up at school tomorrow looking as though I had fought in a war over the weekend, which wasn't entirely inaccurate.

This time, instead of a dislocated shoulder, it was a dislocated knee I had suffered, as well as several more broken ribs. While I had been able to relocate the joint this time by myself, walking on it was incredibly painful. Scott and Jayden had managed to help me back to my room and grab me some ice to help with the swelling; they were the only people I didn't mind in my own personal space. I would be fully healed again in a few hours, but the bruises and pain would linger once more.

While I attempted to shower and change, my two friends braved the pack dining room to fetch us all some dinner; venison sausages and sweet potato bake with a pecan crumble topping. I managed to pull a thin long-sleeved t-shirt over my head and a pair of shorts so I could continue to ice my injury. I caught sight of the heavily red, purple and blue marks all across my side in the mirror.

"How's the knee?" Jayden asked as I lay on my back with a pillow under my leg on my bed.

I groaned, "I'm actually glad to be at school tomorrow." Just five short days and I would have to do this all over again.

I propped myself up on my elbows, "how was your warrior training?"

"How do you think?" She nursed the faint bruise on her own jaw she had earned today. None of us has escaped unscathed.

She had to go with her father. He was expecting her to become a pack warrior like him. Although I knew she wanted to be a warrior, she was also dreading it. Coupled with her fast-approaching shift, she would pack on more muscle, giving her the masculine figure that she was desperately trying to avoid.

"Hey!" Scott suddenly exclaimed, making me jerk unexpectedly and twinge my leg. "What if you said you wanted to be a tracker?"

"That's actually a decent idea. Scott could help train you and your father will probably see it as an honour," I sat up and swung my legs over the edge of my bed. My ice pack had fully melted, so it was pointless now.

The trackers trained for their stamina and their fighting style focused on their speed. As such, their physiques were finer and more svelte.

"But what if I'm no good?" She grimaced, absentmindedly rubbing her chest.

"Don't worry about it, I'll cover for you," Scott gave a supportive crooked smile. "I'm staying positive here that one day we're gonna be running the show, and you'll be able to train however the hell you want... are you ok?"

I looked over to Jayden, who was now fanning herself, appearing flushed.

"Jay?" I reached out to feel her forehead, she was burning up and there was a slight tremble to her skin.

Oh shit! It was happening, she was shifting!

Both Scott and I had felt the moon's distance waning, so thought the time most likely for her shift had passed us by again. Guess I was wrong.

I tried to sling Jayden's arm over my neck to help get her outside, but Scott gently moved me out of the way.

"Don't worry, I got her," he nodded down to my injured knee. "Get the doors."

With a slight limp, I led the way to the woods outside, crossing paths with few people in the perpetually empty pack house. On the way, I mind-linked her parents to what was about to happen. Jayden was close with her mother, a lab technician in the pack clinic, but she was on a late-night shift and unable to get out of it. Although Jayden was somewhat fearful of her father, it was best he knew to avoid any backlash. Luckily, he was on patrol and on the other side of the pack. He said he was disappointed to miss his son's shift, but Jayden wasn't in the least bit upset about it. If any of us messed up and said the wrong thing in his presence, Jayden may never live to see her wolf.