Alpha Zander
Chapter 57

‘You’re welcome, Danni links me, smirking as I pull Ashleigh in a tight grip trying to regain control.

Thankfully, our bond and her scent are the only things helping me not to lose my s**t right now.

‘For what? Pissing off my wolf in front of everyone?”

I snap back.

And, of course, he rolls his eyes but still has his hands up in surrender as Jace glares at him.

The f*****g little t**t knows too much. I swear I wouldn’t put up with him if he weren’t my Beta or best friend. Don’t get me wrong, he knows how to push my boundaries, and no one else can pull the same s**t he does. Even Eric won’t, and we have known each other since we were in diapers. But without Danni, I’d be a lost cause. I honestly don’t think there is anyone who could replace him.

“Jace, it’s ok, he was just saying hello,” Ashleigh whispers, bringing her hand to my chin, softly stroking me and leaning in closer, trying to get Jace to give me back control.

If only she knew how much of an a*s Danni can be.

That’s one of the things I love about her. She is always so trusting and has no clue of the hold she has over us.

Jace was already smitten with her as soon as he found out we were mates, and me, well, I’m just f*****g crazy about he, so I’ll be damed if anyone else is going to put their scent on her. Beta or not, I don’t give a shit.

“Mine”, Jace snarls at Danni before giving me back complete control.

‘Jeez, couldn’t control yourself, huh?’ l ask him.

‘You didn’t like it either. My mate. No one touches what’s mine,’ Jace mumbles back, curling up in the back of my mind, sulking and glaring at me.

‘Alpha, would you like to do the introductions before we begin Richie’s voice rings through my mind.

I look around, and almost everyone is still silent. A few whispers have started up again as people observe our interaction. Most would assume she is my new flavour for the month. I haven’t ever been this possessive with anyone or shown up at training with anyone. A part of me hopes maybe we can do introductions later, but that wouldn’t exactly be fair to Ashleigh she deserves respect as Luna, and they deserve to know that I have found my Luna.

‘Let’s do something quickly now. If you don’t mind,’ I sigh, scrubbing a hand over my face and trying not to look frustrated with this ordeal.

‘The stage is yours, then Alpha’

He nods, and I quickly bring Ashleigh to the front with me.

Addressing my pack has always come naturally to me, but at this moment, replaceing what to say is a slight struggle. Half these blokes knew the stuff I got up to, so you can’t blame them for being curious and a little overprotective of their own children, some of whom I have grown up with.

Silence passes over the pack, waiting for me to speak as we stand in front of the crowd. I can tell she’s nervous being beside me, but she doesn’t falter, she stands next to me, smiling warmly at everyone. Danni, Eric and Billy move to the side, scanning the crowd and making sure everyone is well-behaved.

“I would like to introduce to you my mate, Ashleigh Steward,” I voiced to the crowd.

They all start whooping and cheering that the pack has a Luna. I can see happiness exploding from everyone as I explain who she is to me.

“We will be around the pack grounds the next few days. However, I would like to invite you all over to the pack house tomorrow night for proper introductions and an extended meet and greet.” Now, this part I haven’t exactly told her about or anyone for that matter, so l’m hoping this is something Danni can pull out of thin air for me to get everything set for tomorrow.

I know it doesn’t give me much time, but I would like most of the pack to meet her before we head back toschool on Monday. That way, she would at least know a few familiar faces around the school should she ever need anything. I can guarantee that anyone from my pack would protect her with their life should anything happen.

Yes, we went to the same school, but I don’t think she knew anyone from my pack. We kept tabs on the heirs and ranked members but no one else, so I hope she can meet Amber and a few of my other friends so she is more comfortable walking into the school grounds.

I don’t exactly know Liverpool’s plans for any changes like this. Everything moved so quickly that l’m hoping dad can bring her into the fold so she can at least have a link with the pack members.

I nod over to Richie to let him know he can begin training. I just wanted a quick introduction today. nothing too fancy, so she isn’t so overwhelmed. Richie moves back to the front of the crowd and starts giving directions on what he wants everyone to do this morning.

I can still feel Ashleigh’s nerves all over the place as I pull her off to the side with Danni and the guys.

“Umm.. does anyone know about this little shindig you’re spontaneously throwing?” Danni asks, looking between us both with a raised eyebrow.

I give him one of my best f**k you smirks so he knows that this is all him. He g****s at the realization that he is the one who has to put everything together in a short amount of time and pulls out his phone, tapping away frantically as the other two move toward the group to begin training.

Danni comes back a few minutes later looking less freaked, “I have some Omega’s coming tomorrow afternoon to set up things. It shouldn’t take too long.

They will bring food for everyone and drinks ready by 4.00 pm,” he confirms before rubbing his hands together putting on a smirk wiggling his eyebrows at Ashleigh. “

So what ya say, Beta on Beta? We can finally see who will win?”

Ashleigh looks up at me, questioning if it’s alright. I can feel Jace push forward possessively, and I know he is showing in my eyes right now. My arm latches around her wa!st in a tight grip. He’s really f*****g pushing it today. I didn’t miss the innuendo he’s spelling out there.

I force down the growl that starts to push up in my throat. I didn’t want to say no to her if she wanted to train, but what I would give if it were anyone but Danni.

“Will you three be joining us today?” Richie calls out,

“We have an odd number if someone would like to team up with Derek?”

Derek is in his mid 30’s and has a mate and two kids.

He has been with the unit since he was 18, and his son is just a year younger than Danni. He’s not a bad bloke, a little hot-headed at times, but he’s a good bloke to have on the squad. He was nearly the same height and build as me, but I was stronger, given the Alpha b***d running through my veins.

Before I could answer, Ashleigh jumped at the chance. “Sure, Captain, I’ll be happy too,” She smiles at them both and starts walking towards them.

I tense as she jumps in so quickly. He’s probably been training since she was born, and I know they are uncomfortable with the choice as I see them glance at each other. Derek looks down in submission as she moves closer to them. I know I didn’t want her sparring against Danni before, but f**k, he’s looking like the better choice right now.

“You boys continue chatting. I’ll be over here,” she waves dismissively at us both and moves over to Richie, who looks at me with a silent question asking if it’s ok to proceed.

If I don’t let her spar, I’ll get an ear full of it right here. She’ll be pissed off if I pull her back and say no, but I have to trust her, right? She was training to be the Beta of Liverpool. I know she participated in regular training, so I shouldn’t worry that she won’t be able to handle herself.

I let out a frustrated sigh and nod to Richie, letting him know it was ok to proceed. He gives me a weird look, shrugs and starts explaining what we are doing this session.

I turn back to Danni, glaring at him. He’s in for a few rounds this morning, aggravating my wolf like that. What the f**k does he think he was doing?

“Hey man, come on, I was just being friendly, you know me,” he tries to defend himself, putting his hands back up and slowly shifting back as I stalk toward ,him.

“That’s just the f*****g problem, isn’t it? I do know you. Touch her like that again and I will give you a beating you won’t be able to come out of,” I snarl, feeling Jace’s voice overlap with mine as he bares his neck.

“Duly noted. It won’t happen again, Alpha,” he says. I can see the sincerity in his eyes, and he knows he f****d up, especially when Jace is this on edge.

Lowering his hands slowly, he sighs, “Wanna start then? Offense or defense?”

“Defense”, I grunt, crouching down as he starts circling me.

I try not to be distracted as I hear Ashleigh taunt Derek behind me.1 zero in on Danni and try to focus.

I knew Jace and Zander would have a problem with me sparring against anyone today, especially Daniel, with how he greeted me, so I was hoping maybe a mated male would help lessen the tension. It seems not as I hear them still bickering over everything.

Rolling my eyes at their petty stupidity, I headed toward Derek and Richie. I saw the look they shared as I moved toward them. I’m not stupid. This is what always happens. They think that l’m weak, but that’s fine. Over the years, I have learnt to use that to my advantage. Right now, I am already assessing this bloke as he stands there. He has a few scars that aren’t normal for a shifter, so l know he has been in battle, probably multiple times. Each scar tells a story that most likely still haunts him.

He leans a lot on his right side, meaning he may still have an injury that hasn’t recovered properly. Even with shifter healing, some things aren’t always fixable, another link to his scars and battle experience.

Richie’s glance at Zander carried a silent question.They already doubt my abilities. Even when I was training in my pack, some members who didn’t know who I was, would give me the same look of pity, guilt, and uncertainty. They always assumed they would hurt me, that I waş fragile and that Ollie wouldn’t always be there to help me. Little did they know he was the one l trained with every day. If we didn’t have training with our members, we would sneak off and do our own.

When I was younger, he caught on to what was happening between the pack members and me and saw the toll it was taking on me. Instead of showing me the same pitying look, he was determined to help me, to show me that my size and abilities are useful as a Beta.

He spent the evenings and mornings teaching me new techniques and training me to be as strong as him and men like Derek so that I would overthrow them just as easily when the time came. l admit that having Alpha and Beta b***d may have given me some advantage, but I still trained every day to make sure I was the best person to be by his side when we took on leadership.

Once Richie explains what he wants us to do today, we both nods and start circling each other. My favourite thing to do is taunt the wolf within. This would make them lose control and get all stupid and flustered, especially if they didn’t have as much control over their wolf, to begin with.

As Derek starts circling me, I can tell he’s hesitant to make the first move. Don’t get me wrong, hitting women is always wrong, in my opinion; however, when you are in training or a life and death-situation, manners be damned.

I keep circling him until he gets impatient, which doesn’t take too long. Of course, this bloke is a total hothead. After about the eighth circle, his nostrils flare in frustration, and bronze rims show through his eyes as his wolf peeks through.

Bingo.

He launches at me quickly on the left, trying to tackle me, but he tumbles down as I jump out of the way on the opposite side, giving him a little kick in the ribs as , I moved past.

“Come on, tough guy, like being hit by a girl?” I taunt him, laughing. I see his wolf flicker through again as he pushes himself off the ground getting back into position.

A low growl rises as his eyes darken, zeroing in on me with determination. Perfect, this is exactly where I want him.

I give him a smug smirk as he tries again. I can see he is using his wolf strength as his eyes show a more prominent bronze rim. I haven’t even tapped into Kia yet.

She’s biting at the bit, wanting to be let out, but I won’t if I can help it. Maybe one day but not today.

Derek launches at me again, but this time, I underestimated him. He does a double take as he goes to the left but moves back quickly to the right as I move, trying to dodge him. This time I wasn’t so lucky. Instead of pinning me down to finish the round, he yanks my arm and spins me around quickly, with my back facing his chest and his arm in a chokehold. Thankfully he didn’t dislocate my shoulder. If he had applied more force, maybe he would have.

His arm wrapped around my throat, almost choking me as I struggled to get free. This guy has taken sparring to a whole new level. I see Zander stop sparring with Daniel and make his way over. He is royally pissed off right now. I can’t imagine him seeing me in this position as a good thing, but he needs to learn I’m a big giri and I can take care of myself.

I shake my head at Zander, making him skid to a halt and stop advancing. Daniel is next to him with a smug grin like he knows what I will do next.

My hands reach up to his arm around my neck as I try to tug at it for a release. I can feel my airflow tighten even more as he applies more pressure.

“Nice try, princess, but I think I won this round,” he growls.

I roll my eyes at his stupidity, he flexes a little bit, loosening his grip, waiting for my next move, but before he can do anything, I bring my left heel and slam into his left knee. Surprised by my action, he cries out in pain, releasing his chokehold on me and dropping one knee to the ground. I spin back around and aim for a punch right in the middle of his face. His body slumps down to the ground with a thud, completely blacking him out as I stand back up slowly, trying to catch my breath. Within a second, Zander is by my side, checking if l’m alright.

“What the f**k happened!” he demanded as he checked me over for any scratches and bruises.

“I’m sorry it was my fault. I taunted his wolf, and things escalated a bit more than I thought.” I say apologetically. Zander looks between us before sighing and scrubbing a hand over his face.

“Nice going, Luna, that was awesome,” Daniel grins as he comes up next to Zander before bending down to see how Derek is. “He’ll be alright, just knocked out, but damn, you have a swing on you, If you can knock out Derek like that.”

I just smiled at the comment. I knew Zander was already agitated with everything; I didn’t want to make things worse by responding with something stupid back.

Zander pulled me in close and buried his head in my hair, inhaling my scent, “I should kill him for doing that,” he grumbled. I look up at him to see Jace is in control, his eyes raging in fury.

“lt wasn’t his fault Jace. I knew what I was doing and handled it. I mean, I didn’t even need to use Kia.” I tried to reason with Zander to get Derek out of all of this.

It was true. It wasn’t his fault I taunted him to piss off his wolf. I knew better. I was about to say more when we were disrupted by clapping hands off the sidelines.

I look over and see Alpha Whyatt and Beta Jake.

S**t, I hope I’m not in too much trouble.