Chapter 171
Monday, March 5th
(Cole’s POV)
I pause just outside the pack house’s doors, it’s the first time I’ve been outside on my own in over a month. It’s been one hell of a ride since I came to Crimson Dawn six weeks ago today. I’m doing better, I’m not fully healed from my father’s last beating but I’m not on death’s doorstep either, so definitely better.
I haven’t seen as much of my mate as I would like. I guess that’s the best thing for us right now. I’m completely torn between telling this alpha everything so I can stay with my mate and my continued belief that he’s just like the others. He’s not my father, that’s for certain and I could actually live not simply survive if I were to choose to live here.
I close my eyes and inhale deeply with my nose. Easily picking up a variety of scents. Without thinking, I start moving west. I have no knowledge of the land here so for the first time in a long one, I allow my wolf to lead the way.
Alpha was wrong, at least partially. I don’t fear my wolf. He’s been my only source of companionship for as long as I can remember and I can’t begin to count how often he has saved my life but ever since my first shift he’s figured out how to take control and that is where the alpha is correct. I don’t have a healthy relationship with my wolf. That’s something that only comes when you’re able to shift regularly.
Me, shifting back to human is so painful that it takes days, in and out of consciousness, before I can even get off the floor and over a week before I can care for myself. So I have my reasons for the strict control I place on my wolf.
It’s when I come to a stop that I come out of my trance. I’m in front of a building that I’ve never seen before. I take my time looking around me trying to get a lay of the land and pick up something familiar. I can hear movements and shouting inside. It’s late afternoon during the week so my best guess is that they’re in the middle of training.
I reach for the door and slowly pull it open, wincing as I’m hit hard by the noise of a very active sparring session. Holding back my desire to run or to plug my fingers into my ears, I inch my way into what appears to be a huge training complex.
It’s approximately twelve hundred square feet with pillars instead of walls creating sections within the building. The farthest away, on the eastern and western walls, there appears to be doors. The man and woman pictorials indicate that they lead to either a bathroom, locker room, or both.
The training center is split into three sections. The northern most section closest to the locker room has a large variety of exercise equipment. Several treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes line the northern wall made of windows.
The second section within this one contains mechanical weight lifting machines. I spot a handful of prospects utilizing those but considering the numbers I’ve heard about, I would expect a lot more to be engaged in training.
The section immediately in front of me has a wide variety of free weights. There’s a lot more prospects using them but once again it is small compared to the hundred or so prospects that are supposedly training here.
I continue allowing myself to adjust and adapt to the bright light and loud sounds of the room before focusing on the activity going on in the middle of the room. There’s a large mat on the floor, completely surrounded by both prospects and non-prospects. Oddly I can’t pick out a single face from my own pack. Did they all go home after their physicals?
I remember Dallas, Richard and Andrew getting sent home but that would still leave eight wolves from Red Fang not including myself. After scanning the crowd for someone I know, I start concentrating on what’s going on in the center.
It appears to be quite a rugged sparring match between alpha’s youngest son and random prospects. I never did get to hear what his punishment was for assaulting me even though alpha acted like it would be quite harsh. I guess being taken out of the training program wasn’t a part of it.
I make my way over to the center of the building, standing back from the crowd so I’m not touching anyone but close enough to see what’s going on in the center.
Alpha Lucas appears to be having a grand time putting the prospects in their place. No sooner as one is done, submitted out completely on the ground, he’s asking for another volunteer. I watch cautiously for several rounds, as it appears that he’s not tiring, before slowly backing away. He’s getting bored with how slow the onlookers are taking to volunteer and has started pointing to opponents furthering my belief that this is part of training since no one is refusing.
Once I get several steps away I look around again. There are no other trainers around and Jamie is nowhere to be seen. I know he didn’t get sent home yet. He visited me just yesterday and told me that alpha had separated him and the members of the Crescent Moon pack back into individuals instead of maintaining a group punishment.
I turn to start heading towards the door. Unfortunately this seems to be my undoing as I hear Alpha Lucas call my name.
“Cole. It’s nice to see you out and about. I’m testing everyone on their sparring skills. You’re next.”
“No sir, I haven’t been cleared for any testing yet. I was just watching, it’s time I get back to the pack house. It’s getting close to dinner.”
“No Cole. If you’re allowed outside the pack house then you’ve been cleared and it’s your turn for testing.”
I shake my head hard. Alpha has had several meetings with me since I’ve started being able to stay awake and remember the conversations. One meeting was to inform me that he was filing a protection from torture request with the council. I argued fervently against it but he explained that the discovery of low purity silver being injected into my chest the way he did was evidence that my father intended to kill me slowly and in one of the most painful ways known to werewolves. Without my consent he could file a complaint but he didn’t feel right doing it without letting me know it was going to happen. He told me this morning that he was comfortable with me exploring the grounds, that testing would be wrapped up by four but everyone was allowed to do individual training in the annex. I guess that’s what I’ve stumbled upon.
“Cole.” Lucas’s call brings me out of my thoughts.
“No.” I call out again.
I know alpha doesn’t want me testing or training yet and this looks exactly like a training session.
“Cole, I am a trainer and you can not refuse me.”
“Yes I can when I don’t have medical clearance.” I try again to back away from the ring as I have no interest in getting caught up in this.
“Cole, I am commanding you to get your ass into this ring!”
“No!” I am becoming as forceful as he is but it’s to no avail.
Suddenly I’m finding myself surrounded by wolves that I don’t know blocking every means I have for getting out of here. I can feel several pairs of hands on my back, pushing me towards Alpha Lucas when all I want is to get away. My mind is going a mile a minute trying to make sense out of something that doesn’t.
Suddenly they leave me be but I’m not alone. I look around to find that I’m now in the center of the sparring ring with Alpha Lucas on the other side and a crowd has formed around the perimeter.
“Alpha Lucas, let me go.”
“Let’s see how you do now that no one is around to save you. You may have my father fooled into feeling sorry for you but no one crosses me and gets away with it. Now it’s time for you to show me what a weakling you really are.”
Out of desperation I do the only thing I can think of, link with Jamie before blacking completely out as his first hit makes its connection with my face forcing me into the animal I’d rather not be.
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