My Not So Perfect Mate (boyxboy)

Chapter 18

He was none other than Elder Micheal. As soon as his name left Phillip's mouth all I could remember was his scornful face as he pointed a finger at the twelve-year-old me and called me a disgrace in front of my own pack members. He had also graciously sprouted words like too broken, too damaged, not fit to rule, etc.

Yes, this was the only prominent memory I had of Elder Micheal and that was him dragging my name through the dirt for everyone to witness. I was just twelve-year-old hiding behind my father. I had finally been able to achieve a somewhat sense of normalcy in my otherwise terror-filled life with the help of therapy. I still had my sudden bouts of panic attacks and most of my nights were still filled with nightmares but I was at least at a place where I could leave my house and finally be in a somewhere filled with people other than my parents and not totally freak out.

It had been my father's idea to start training me in all the different self-defence techniques. He felt that after I was able to defend myself and hold my own in a fight, it will give me some semblance of self-confidence and make me feels safe, ultimately banish my nightmares for good. I had agreed because of only one reason and one only and that was Sam.

Sam had already started with his training to become the future head warrior of the pack. Despite being a few months younger than me, he was already making strides and was even declared to be the best they had ever seen at his age.

His father had passed around the same time when I was kidnapped. Dad said Uncle George died defending the pack borders from a group of deranged rouges.

I hate to admit that though I had been very fond of Uncle George before my life fell into pieces, I felt little to nothing when I heard of his death. I was just numb to everything at that time. There was still a part of me which had worried for my friend Sam who must have been grieving his father's death but I was in no condition to do anything about it or even think of doing anything about it.

It's was only after I had been finally able to go back to school and meet with Sam that I had for the first time witnessed hatred burning deep in his eyes and shockingly it was directed towards me.

And it was that day that marked the beginning of Sam being a jerk to me and taking every opportunity to bring me down.

First I was very taken aback by his sudden hostility towards me but then there was only so much of his bullshit that I could take before the dam broke and from there it was game on. We became rivals in everything, our ultimate goal being better than the other.

So how was I supposed to be a patient bystander and simply watch Sam becoming the best warrior while I still hid behind my parents to feel safe and protected? I wanted to be the best fighter the pack had ever seen. I needed to become the best Alpha the pack had ever seen.

It had been difficult to wake up on the first day and convince myself to accompany my dad to the pack training grounds. To make myself vulnerable in front of so many people, even the thought of becoming a centre of their attention had terrified me to the very core. When my father had found me sitting on my bed, shaking terribly and desperately trying not to cry, he had just sat beside me, patted my back and said it was okay if I was not ready. He even offered to train me in the backyard of the packhouse away from those penetrating gazes.

He had said the exact words, " Son I will be proud of you no matter what you decide. It's okay if you are not ready, we can wait until you are. Never think that just because sometimes you are a little scared while doing things that other children do naturally that you are any less compared to them. You have gone through so much and have still emerged as a fighter. I am proud of your resilience and your never-dying spirit to still try to live life and become the person you have always strived to become".