The Night Children

Part 23

Gabi

"Shouldn't you be downstairs interrogating Gael?"

"Frank and Ty are down there to make sure he behaves, I'm letting him stew a little," answered my dad.

He looked at me meticulously and frowned.

"You're too predictable Gabi, I should have known the guys would be too soft with you."

"What?"

We'd been in the gym ever since my dad dropped the bomb on us, Gael was being arrested. That was four hours ago. Training with my dad was exhausting. I was sweaty and my hair was a beautiful mess. My dad, on the other hand, looked as dashing as usual, even with his old sweat suit. Damn him.

"When you fight, you always do the same thing, you always rely on your legs more than your fists. You always use your right leg first, then left fist, right leg again, and again. Your moves are predictable. You need to evolve, because the people you'll fight will watch you carefully and see your weaknesses very quickly."

"In the meantime I managed to put both your second and your third on their knees recently."

"You got lucky, that happens once, and then they wait for you to go back to what you know best."

"Which is?"

"Defense. You need to be more aggressive. Attack, be ruthless."

I gaped.

"I don't want to be that kind of Alpha."

"That's the only kind of Alpha there is Gabi."

He lunged and grabbed my neck to send me flying at the opposite side of the mat. Before I had time to recover he took my feet and yanked me upward.

"Alphas have responsibilities, we have over two hundred wolves in our pack. Many of us mix with humans, one day someone is bound to make a mistake, which means you'll have to uphold the law."

He released me then and I sprawled on the mat, breathless.

"What does the law say when a wolf reveals himself to the human world?"

"He must die," I answered, getting on my knees.

"How is the death sentence supposed to be carried?"

"The wolf can choose a clean, disgraceful death, or decide to fight the Alpha."

"Which means you'll have to fight someone, to the death, and you won't have the luxury to just defend yourself. You will be challenged Gabi. You're a female. You're young, many wolves will be tempted. Many rogues will be tempted. You need to impose yourself. Be stronger. Being the Alpha means going for the kill. Mercy is a luxury you can only afford after you've been at the head of your pack for at least a decade or two."

He kicked me in the chest with his left foot and I fell on my back.

"You can't just sit there and wait, attack! Why are you looking at me while I talk? Are you gonna let your enemies sweet talk you too?"

I stood up and threw myself at him, putting him flat on the mat. I slammed my right fist in his jaw, reversed our positions and clasped his throat between my arms, squeezing firmly, while he wriggled on top of me. I let him go and stood up quickly when he stopped moving.

"That..." he started, "was much better."

He sat and turned to face me. His red face made me want to gloat but I refrained, not sure how he would take it.