But...

Ch.2 Misunderstood

Ch.2 Misunderstood

As soon as I walked into the training grounds, everything went quiet, and everybody stopped. "Continue as you were," I said, my voice booming in the once-bustling room. It took more than a few seconds before everybody continued their training.

Our training grounds consist of two areas. There's one outside for the younger or less experienced trainees and an inside training ground for the more advanced fighters. It looks like a large school gym, just without the bleachers. The outside training ground is the group of trainees that my brother coaches. I feel a deep sense of responsibility to check up on the guys and gals from time to time to ensure they are receiving the best training.

However, every time I do, the room goes silent. I can't smell any fear or hesitance, but I can only assume I'm not welcome during training. Maybe I make them nervous. I would visit more if they didn't act like I would scold them whenever I walked into the room.

I continued to watch them train, standing off to the side, when I felt a presence behind me. I quickly turned around to see my little brother. A wave of relief washed over me, and I sighed. "Jeez. You scared me," I said, bringing my hand to my chest in an attempt to calm myself down. He just chuckled and put his head on my shoulder while I went back to watching the trainees. "You're doing a great job. Their form has improved since the last time I was here." I tell Asher, pushing his face off my shoulder. He unhappily groans and goes to stand beside me. He's always been clingy.

"They are better than they used to be, that's for sure. However, they still have a long way to go," Asher told me contentedly. By the way, back to why I came to your office before you left me," I just rolled my eyes at his comment. I wouldn't have gone if you had just told me what you wanted, I think, as I'm half-listening to Ash.

"Hey! Listen to me!" he shouts, snapping his fingers in my face. I look at him and wave my hand in a "go on" gesture. He snorts and continues his question. "Like I was saying," he says dramatically, "when are you going to get a new coach for the advanced fighters? I can't keep training both when I barely want to train one." Ash says in a whiny tone.

I sigh loudly. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. The old coach retired without finding a replacement, and now, I'm stuck with the job. Like I don't have enough on my plate. "If you can find a replacement, let me know. I'm swamped with other projects and complaints, so I haven't even started looking yet," I tell him anxiously.

"Have you looked within the pack?" my brother asks curiously. Yeah, nobody wants to do it because my second in command is the one who trains the advanced group. I think they're scared to work beside me. What did I do to be feared by everybody?" I ask my brother sadly. He puts his arm around my shoulders comfortingly. They're not scared or intimidated; they're just shy. But maybe we can put out an ad or something. I'm going to that concert for the new band I mentioned at the mall in a few days, so I can post one on the bulletin." he says, confident that somebody would reply to one of the most misunderstood packs in the world. I gave my brother a look that said, "Really?" My father, my predecessor, completely tanked our reputation. Apparently, I run one of the most dangerous packs in the world, yet somehow, we've never actually been in a pack war. My father just wanted to prove that we were strong, so he caused some trouble with the leaders of other packs, which is another reason I don't want to go to those stuffy pack leader meetings. Asher brought me out of my thoughts with his sudden exclamation.

"Don't worry! I believe that somebody will reply." He says, remarkably chipper. "All right, do whatever you want, but don't be disappointed when nobody wants the job."

Asher nods and then turns to go back into the pack house. He can be weird sometimes. I decided that it was time I headed back inside as well, not knowing that everybody on the training ground was thinking the same thing. "The leader can be so cute!"

I go back to my office and continue my paperwork—or I try to. Soon enough, I'm on my phone watching TikTok when I come across that band that my brother was talking about. They are really good and have an alternative style. They have a lot of security, though, more than most other groups I see online. These guys have enough for two groups. I quickly found out that this group's members have four Omegas. 'So that's the reason," I think out loud. I looked at all the members, watching for the drummer my brother was interested in.

I learned his name is Milo, and his twin brother Leo is the bassist. I can see why my brother is interested in Milo; he is his type. Now I know why my brother was so adamant about telling me about him. Good luck, brother-in-law.

Anyway, after a few hours, I finally decided to look at all the mail and paperwork on my desk and saw something I never thought I would see: "You are invited to the annual pack leader meeting. We look forward to seeing you there." Its that time of year? They don't usually invite us, though. This is the first time I've seen a letter for the leader meetings in my two years as the Alpha of this pack. After my father did some stupid stuff at those meetings, I was forced to attend; they stopped sending the invitations.

I don't want to go. I'm really not looking forward to next week.