In The Beginning, Chapter 83

When the warriors returned that evening to the training grounds, I could hear in the stories they were telling, and the jokes being exchanged that the team building exercise had worked, and I had managed to work out some of my frustrations.
“Who played the invader before the Alpha?” I heard one of the younger ones asking Alex as they all made their way to the showers.
“Until his graduating year, it was always teams. The Etas would guard the flag, the Iotas would try and capture it, only when it was Alpha’s turn he left his fellow Iotas, stole the clothes of a Zeta to throw off his scent, and quietly incapacitated half the graduating class before getting the flag and back to the barracks before the Etas even realised. So, thinking we would get him back, the next year we asked him to help out, sent him with the flag, and everyone still in training went after him. Three bastard days before they caught his scent, he got fed up with waiting and went back to the pack house. The freaking omegas had washed the flag and everything, while he was sat eating pancakes!” Alex had accrued quite a gathering of warriors to listen to his tale by the chuckles and heckles I could hear from the large shower room. The barracks had a giant wet room for warriors to rinse themselves down just off of the training grounds, the laundry was adjacent to it, and they all had small lockers available for a change of clothes. Their rooms in the floors above were pretty basic, but all had a small bathroom with a shower, and every floor had a large hot tub, there was also a sports therapist on site for any injuries. I was in a shower room tucked away at the back of the laundry, that also shared a wall, and a vent with the wet room. Allowing Alpha’s for decades to get a read on his men. “So, finally, he is about to graduate Zeta training, so we tell him, he can’t be involved, and he challenges everyone, they can guard the flag, and he will come after them alone. “Two hours and seventeen minutes later, up he pops with the flag. To this day those men swear they had every inch of their perimeter covered, and he didn’t get past them.”
“Well, you know who he’s descendant from right?” Robert asked, oh here we go I thought silently chuckling as I scrubbed the paint from my skin. Their plan had been good, they paired up, one in wolf form, one in human creating a wide perimeter with the rocky mountains behind them, they had the high ground, and their backs protected. But I knew these forests better than anyone, except maybe Ben, and my father. Part of the old mining shafts that we had sealed off to build the prison extended out here, I masked my scent as I looked for the entrance. It didn’t take long for me to clear their first perimeter. The second had two wolves per human, at strategically placed intervals, all on high alert. It was almost too easy, I stayed low in the undergrowth, giving them a wide birth, until I found the old fallen pine. It had been uprooted in a rockslide when I was a kid, and Ben and I had spent months exploring every nook and cranny. As I suspected, they had a small gap near it, as any wolf nearby would see something trying to go over, but they hadn’t considered going under. I shifted back using my hands to silently shift the plants aside and slither into the hole. The splintering wood had created a fissure that had been eaten, rotted or chipped away, simultaneously hollowing and smoothing out the trunk, until a grown man could just crawl through. Opening up at the base, there was a narrow gap between two of the rocky outcrops that had anchored the toppling giant. I picked up some of the small pebbles as I slipped directly behind the men, but they would see me the moment I pounced. So, I set up the rocks, stacking them precariously, and silently shifted down the mountain, the four Zetas around the flag had their eyes glowing and alert, their ears trained for any sound. I heard the soft whistle of the wind and smiled, the rocks fell, all four turned in that direction, as I pounced, shifting mid-air, taking all four out, as they tumbled into each other and over the ground. I snatched the flag in my mouth, but I got hit in the leg, with the paint guns we were using in lieu of live ammo, as a Zeta got to his feet. They still failed to sound the alarm until I was barrelling past the third perimeter, the wolves I had passed giving chase and howling for reinforcements. They chased me down when I was close to the barracks, Alex and two trainers, one from each pack, acting as referees declared it a draw. I was hoping the bruise would be less noticeable before I went home. Charlie had a meltdown when I had been injured on the second day of training, we were having the warriors chase the Zetas. The object was to corner a human Zeta, by teaming up. I was also in human form, sending orders to Alex and Robert, who were with Zetas from each pack to direct those chasing using the link. A young wolf I didn’t know got too excited, nearly took a Zeta's head off, I was able to get between them in time, I had to dislocate the kids jaw, and took a claw to the face. Charlie threatened to leave us to heal on our own if either of us was that stupid again, after a Zeta who had witnessed it said I had ‘clotheslined his jaw’. I had the feeling that if Theia hadn’t witnessed it and encouraged her to heal us to strengthen her powers, she would’ve left it to our wolves. I was brought back to the present with murmurs I couldn’t work out from the warriors, before Robert continued. “His father is a direct descendant of Tyr, son of Odin and Frigga, while his mother’s family, are the Lyall’s.” It never ends, I thought to myself as I finished up, while my warriors continued to exaggerate, and swap stories. The truth was far less exciting than the theories I could hear being batted about as I dried off, leaving them to their speculation, I dressed, and left. The exit was well hidden, so by the time I came around to the front of the barracks, there was no way of knowing where I had come from, for sure. Alex and Robert were headed to their cars, as I appeared from the shadows, enjoying the flex of Alex’s jaw when he realised, I had snuck up on him.
“Alpha.” He nodded, but he said it through gritted teeth, it annoyed him to no end that I could still do it, but considering he gave me my first lessons when I was a kid, and he would encourage me and Ben to steal him treats from the kitchen, he only had himself to blame.
“Sheriff.” I replied, another jaw twitch. Thanks to a little interference from the federal government, we had to elect a sheriff, as the city viewed us as too remote for their services to cover, which was fine by us. But it meant establishing a fire station, and sheriff’s office, as Delta it made sense for Alex to run, unopposed, for sheriff despite his resistance. Those that don’t make the rank of Eta, join the fire department, where their protective instincts can help the pack, and they can use the skills we taught them while fighting forest fires. “We should make this a weekly thing, make sure the other watches get a turn.” I instructed as I ducked through the trees.
“Yes Alpha.” The replied in unison.
“Hey you wanna ride?” Alex called as they realised, I was heading for the Track, as the path through the forest had been nicknamed by the warriors.
“Nah, it’s quicker if I run it.” I laughed, slipping my EarPods in before leaving the men, I would only be doing about two miles of the run, then I could use the path the staff uses to get to the house. I had it down to twelve minutes, although I wasn’t running with a bruised thigh then, so it took me fifteen. I kicked my shoes off and made my way into the library. Charlie was sat on a ridiculous knitted pillow with various books, diaries and notepads dotted around her, she even had flashcards. I chuckled at the insane sight before me, she had several pencils shoved into her hair, keeping it piled on top of her head, while she was scribbling furiously onto a notepad, her tongue between her teeth. “What are you doing?” I don’t know why I was asking; it had been the same thing every night since Charlie told Theia that explaining the physics or chemistry of something made it easier to understand. Between that and the books Hyacinth brought, and my mother had started dropping things off randomly too. Insisting Charlie requested a book or that they had talked about a topic, only for Charlie to know nothing about it. But when she saw they were books on the pack, our laws, stories, there really was no pattern, she accepted them gladly, pouring over the detailed explanations whenever she had time. She had even started reading them at breakfast, Ms Michaels tattled on me to Kathy when she saw Kendra getting Charlie breakfast three days in a row. Because the next day she came in at seven thirty and insisted on making Charlie a decent meal, I almost had to order her to tell me what was going on. My mother had spread the word that Charlie was finding it difficult to find time to prepare for her Luna ceremony, and the omegas had fallen in line behind Ms Michaels to make sure she was able to prepare. And guilt me into a cooking lesson once a week. Charlie looked up from her notepad, a curl falling across her face.
“Studying.” She said, the exact same response I had gotten all week, although this is less crazy than the murder board, she has going trying to build a family tree for herself. “Do you feel like ordering in tonight?” She asked, and I realised she had started packing everything away.
“You don’t have to stop if you are in the middle of something.” I smiled, but deep down I liked that she would stop whenever I came home so we could make the most of our time together.
“Any longer and I may never come back up for air. Besides, I remember the stories better when you tell them to me.” She smiled, piling up the books, and wrapping herself around me. “Especially when you get the oils out.” She purred, and my cock throbbed.
“Hmm, I was looking forward to a bath tonight, but if you would prefer a massage, that could be arranged.” I smiled, as she ran her hand under my shirt.
“We are wasting so much water.” She whispered guiltily, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You don’t have to worry about that.” I smiled, but she cocked her eyebrow to show me that was never going to happen. “The house has an independent water source.” I admitted, while she put her hands on her hips, still questioning, fuck she made me hard. “When I did the renovations I hooked up a solar pump to a natural spring, that fills our water tank and supplies the house.” She blinked at me, and I could see the gears turning in her head.
“How many gallons per minute does the spring produce?” She asked and I had to shrug.
“Why?” I asked with a chuckle.
“If it’s producing enough water for several houses, we could build the first of my designs here!” She squealed excitedly. Grabbing a notepad to start working it out.
“Not tonight, please? I promise to send everything to Kendra tomorrow.” I whispered as I pulled her back against my body.
“We should order food first.” She whispered as I unclasped her bra, my hands ran down over her ass.
“You order, I already know what I’m going to eat.” I teased as I lifted her, I carried her to the love seat, and set her on her feet. I knelt down, and removed her pants and panties, throwing them aside. Then lowered her onto the seat, my hands and lips stroked her legs until she was glistening with arousal for me.