Stronger by Ang Chris
Chapter 68

I got up early every day that week. They were coming, and it was time for our warriors to understand what it meant to fight for our pack.

I had them run five miles every morning, and then we sparred. I had them all practice their archery, their sword skills. I had them exercise their cores, their arms, and their legs as well.

At night, I’d get them up, and we’d shift, run again, and spar again, but I didn’t stop there.

These wolves were not against using human technology to help them get the upper hand. We didn’t use guns traditionally, but I made sure they all knew how. We brushed up on our abilities, and by the end of the week, I had everyone hitting the target and a good amount that I’d trust to sharpshoot if need be.

I started having our wolves stand guard beyond our walls in camouflage. Annette wasn’t allowed to leave the house once the moon was high.

I know my wife wasn’t one to do as she was ordered, but she was so tired now that she didn’t mind confinement.

My mother, on the other hand, refused, going to the moon pool every night to pray for my safety and that of her first grandchild.

Luckily, Aarron and Brian were happy to accompany her.

“You forget your goddess in times of need. She built you strong, but even the strong need faith to show them the way out of darkness,” she told me.

“Let her pray, Grayson. She can’t do anything else to help you. She cannot fight them; she cannot stop them, but she can pray for her son who’s protecting her,” Annette had explained to me. “I do it too.”

Annette was quite irritable about not being able to fight. It seemed she got more feisty as the week went on. My mother stated she’d be entering a period of energy now after being so tired.

One moment my wife was exhausted; the next, she wanted to rip our enemy to shreds with her bare hands. Elizabeth almost fainted when she saw Annette running laps.

I won’t say it to them, but having Matt and Elizabeth knowing that Netta was pregnant helped her immensely.

When she got sick, they helped hold her hair, they stopped people from giving her foods she could no longer stand. They covered for her fatigue. Most importantly, they protected her with even more attention.

She slipped the other day, and they caught her and took her to the clinic immediately. She had been furious about the fuss they’d made, but I was grateful.

Netta now craved nothing but burgers. Elizabeth made her a burger for breakfast and lunch, and after dinner, she wanted another one.

Lili kept pushing her to eat fruits and vegetables with her burgers, and Annette ate them all as if she’d been starved.

“She’s going to show very soon; the wolf in her is fast growing now,” my mother warned me.

The fear of someone targeting my wife and child washed over me every time I thought of people knowing she was pregnant.

I used to think when I’d have my first child, I would tell my pack the instant I knew, and we would celebrate for a week.

Now, I hid my wife away and ran my warriors ragged for the defense of our people.

She was asleep in my arms when I heard the howl. She stirred a little, but I soothed her, rubbed her back, and rolled her over.

I didn’t bother getting dressed; I just went downstairs and transformed.

Enzo bounded out of the house and down the road. Matt was transformed on the road. Cyrus, his wolf dark brown with golden eyes, was watching over Annette.

We sprinted, our legs moving like trains pumping to propel us forward. I passed Elizabeth as she made her way to my wife, no doubt.

We were out in the forest. There must have been 30 of them; they were attempting to burn us the same, but I had prepared for that. Water hoses were at the ready, and any man with a match was doused with oil himself.

A man burning also ran past me, and I put it out of my mind as Enzo tackled a wolf off of Charlotte and bit down on his jaw.

Charles had three men on him, and I was about to go help when he broke one's ribs and then one's knee and threw them both into the third and then knocked the third attacker out.

James ripped a man’s throat apart with his bare hands. He looked happy to be in the bloody, gory, thick of it.

A warrior of mine yelped, and we bounded over to him. These wolves had no respect; they attacked him in his transformation.

We grabbed the demon by his leg and sunk my claws into my target’s back. We clawed and scratched down his face.

Enzo bounded off of him and launched after a man with a can of gas. Tripping him and growling down on him, I heard him whimper as he saw my teeth. Idiot. He passed out from fear.

A wolf tackled me, or at least attempted to. We turned on them, and we clashed paws and jaws, but he wasn’t nearly as strong as me, and I had him in seconds. We clawed into his stomach and pounced down on his chest ferociously, and we heard a crack.

We looked over the field, and many of theirs were down; the rest were running away. It seemed they were done losing.

We waited a while, letting our warriors get back to the gate and stand guard. Eventually, Matt came back out and changed with me.

We walked back through the roads and to our house before we transformed back.

“This is the second time you’ve come home to me in dirt and blood,” she pouted, standing there in her nightgown.

“I’m sorry, I wanted you to sleep,” I explained why she went to sleep with me beside her and woke to me like this.

“I’m sure it won’t be the last time I see you like this,” she let a tear go. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up,” she extended her hand to me.

I come home hell-bent, and she cleans me up, and somehow I am better.

She cleaned me up again, and I found my peace in her skin, her lips, her touch on me. By the time the sun was up, I felt better.

“Sleep, even if it’s only a little,” she told me, and if I wanted to fight, my body had other plans, and I fell into sleep.

I slept long, and I got up to start going over the losses and the defenses we needed. I found my way to my office.

“Looks like they’re chomping at the bit,” Charlie rolled his shoulder. “Just like you wanted.”

Taking on three men at once was hard even for an Alpha with blood like his.

“I saw your brother out there,” I side-eyed my eldest brother-in-law.

Charlie stopped and turned away from me. I felt him turn cold, “I know. Violence is all he craves.”

“I think that’s why he’s chosen me, a good challenge, and I’m willing to fight,” I sighed.

“He’ll kill himself at the rate he’s going,” Charlie sounded haunted as he spoke. “It’s the alpha blood we have. Blessing and a curse, angry and fiery all the time. You have to use it for good, and sometimes that just doesn’t seem possible,” he sighed. “You know, Annette is the best at dealing with it all. She’s too nurturing and kind to ever let that stuff corrupt her.”

“James isn’t then?” I felt a huge slam of a fist in my face. I felt actually taken out by it for a second, my mind wobbling.

“JAMES!” Charlie grabbed the young one, and from the thud, he had slammed his brother into the ground.

“Spirit,” I slurred, “I can tell.”

“You fucker, she’s completely overstressed, you absolute dickwad! She shouldn’t be like this!” James cussed me out.

“James, stop!” Charlie growled. “You are dangerous!”

“Alpha,” Leon entered the room panting and red. “Alpha... the Luna, she’s... she’s...” Man, the kid runs fast. “She’s passed out. Aarron is with her, and Elizabeth, they’re—”

I walked past him, my mind battered for two reasons.

Annette

I walked down to the clinic. My ears rang as I opened the door. She was laying on the table.

She popped up in an instant. “I’m alright. I’m fine,” she smiled, her eyes wide in anticipation of my freak out.

“It’s a common side effect of pregnancy,” Aarron sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. “She and the baby are fine,” he huffed.