MAX
Youâd think with all the years I spent under my dadâs watchful gaze, Iâd be better prepared for the situations we found ourselves in. But the jungle training was a disaster for all of us.
We left Africa with ten of our alphaâs failing the final test. Theyâd have to go back and do it all over again.
I was just relieved I wasnât one of them. I couldnât shake the feeling that it wasnât entirely their fault they didnât pass.
No one could have prepared us for the human tribe we stumbled upon in the jungle. We were forbidden from killing them, that was one of the rules.
We also werenât supposed to reveal our werewolf identities. The tribe was aggressive, almost animalistic.
They seemed to be mostly men, and they were fighters. One night, as we were eating dinner, they snuck up on us.
The jungle had fallen eerily silent, and with our heightened wolf hearing, we could hear their soft footfalls closing in. We knew from their scent they were humans, but we werenât expecting them, and we certainly werenât expecting half-naked men with long spears to emerge from the brush.
The ten who failed did so because they panicked. We were taken to the tribeâs village, unable to understand most of what they were saying.
We had to figure out what they wanted from us and then escape without hurting them or getting ourselves injured or killed. We were stronger, faster, and harder to kill than them.
Those were our advantages. When one of the tribal warriors led two of our men to a hut filled with women, they were even more confused.
The women swarmed them, stripping off their clothes and touching them everywhere. Many men would have found it exciting to be surrounded by so many women, all wanting to touch and satisfy them.
The women were in awe of the size of our alpha males, both our bodies and our appendages. When it became clear they were trying to mate with them, the two men bolted from the hut, ran into the forest, and shifted.
They failed the test because they shifted. They risked exposing us.
Iâm not sure I wouldnât have reacted the same way. It was unsettling and strange, to say the least.
The others who failed did so for various reasons. One killed a tribal warrior who challenged him to a sparring match.
It was over before it even began. Several others also ran off and shifted in the jungle, disappearing until we returned to our base camp.
In the end, those of us who remained snuck out in the dead of night and ran as fast as we could for hours. We arrived at our base camp to find the trainers waiting for us, along with the ten who had already failed.
I had never been happier to leave a place. I didnât want to repeat this experience, and I felt for those who would have to go through it again.
We returned to Italy, and without any break, we were ushered into the next phase of training. With winter here, I knew it wouldnât be long before I was taken into the mountains for my cold weather survival test.
I was looking forward to checking that off my list and moving on. We were now halfway through the first year.
I was counting down the days until I could go home and see my family, even if it was only for a short break.
***
The next few months flew by, and before I knew it, it was March. We were heading to Arizona for our desert training and survival.
We were finally away from the castle and foreign countries, at least for those of us from the United States. It felt good to know we would be on home soil for a while.
Our desert survival training would take place in Arizona, hosted by the Phoenix pack. Weâd be staying in the warriorsâ barracks.
I didnât mind, considering it meant I was closer to home. As I packed up all my belongings, I made sure not to leave anything behind in Italy.
I was ready to leave. It was a beautiful country, and I appreciated the culture, but it wasnât home.
Plus, I had spent too much time under the kingâs watchful eye. The trainers had told us that the king already had a list of potential recruits for his Army.
I wanted no part of that, even if it was considered an honor. The flights back to the United States and then to Arizona were long.
It felt even longer than when I flew to Italy. Derek was sitting across the aisle from me, making notes and writing a letter to his mother.
He had made great progress when he was forced to learn to control his wolf. He was almost a different person now, and I kind of liked the guy.
We would never be best friends, but we could be allies without me wanting to punch him. I felt like that was progress.
He would occasionally look up from his notes and ask me a question about whatever he was reviewing, but other than that, he kept to himself for most of the journey. Alpha Michael and Derek had a major fight one night, beating each other up.
When it was over, they shook hands and agreed to a truce. Michael finally admitted that he had set Derek up but was still angry that Derek went through with it because it involved his sister.
Derek told him that his sister was promiscuous, and he should have known better than to send her to try and trap him. That started the physical confrontation, but it didnât last more than ten minutes before they both backed off, bloodied.
There hadnât been any issues between them since. They didnât hang out, but they also werenât trying to kill each other anymore.
I was skeptical about whether the whole thing was truly over. Derek assured me he was done with it, but every now and then I would see Michael glaring at Derek.
I was curious to see if he would let it go. We had a lot more time together, and these two had more time than I did.
At some point, Iâd be long gone, and Derek wouldnât have me there. I hoped he would form alliances with some of the other alphas.
It was the only way heâd survive the next three years. When we finally landed in Phoenix, it was close to midnight.
My sense of time was all messed up. We all needed rest.
We were loaded onto two large buses and driven far out of Phoenix, somewhere to the North. We were told we were near Sedona, which was nice.
It was a place Iâd always wanted to visit. After nearly an hour on the bus, we were shown to our quarters and told that breakfast was available from six till eight in the morning.
If we missed it, we could always ask the cooks for leftovers or a snack. We would have the day off to recover from our jet lag.
I didnât even bother with a shower; I just collapsed onto my bunk and fell asleep. I missed breakfast, having slept till ten.
I wasnât the only one; everyone was exhausted. Most of us made it to the dining hall for lunch, and probably ate more food than you would have thought possible.
We were hungry alphas who had been training hard for months. Derek and I spend the day getting to know the pack land.
Weâre drawing a lot of attention, too. She-wolves are everywhereâlounging in their yards, strolling through the park, wandering the streets of the small town.
Whispers and stares follow us wherever we go. I do my best to ignore it, but itâs hard when theyâre so obvious.
As dinner time approaches, Derek and I head toward the dining hall from our barracks. Weâre chatting about how good it feels to be back home.
Derek tells me that Beta Elijah from his pack, who also happens to be my uncle, just welcomed another pup with his mate. Theyâre up to five now, with no signs of stopping.
We laugh, wondering how they find the energy for all those pups. As I round the corner to enter the dining hall, I collide with a petite redhead.
She stumbles, and I catch her arm to keep her from falling. âIâm so sorry, I wasnât watching where I was going,â I apologize.
Green eyes look up at me. I canât help but smile at her.
Sheâs stunning. âItâs perfectly fine. Are you okay?â
âYes, I think so. I should make a habit of looking up and not burying my nose in a book, I guess.
With all you alphas walking around, I might end up with a broken nose.â She giggles and looks away, blushing.
âHmm. Whatâs your name?â I ask her.
Derek stands off to the side, his eyes wide as he watches our interaction. âDonât laugh.â She hesitates.
âItâs Ginger.â
âWhy would I laugh at that? It suits you.â
Her smile lights up her whole face. âAlpha, thank you.â
She steps back, her eyes darting to the ground. âI should probably get going, sir.â
âPlease, itâs Max. Not Alpha. And definitely not sir.â
She nods, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. âOkay, Max. Goodbye.â
She waves a little as she walks away, her steps light. Derek turns to me, his eyebrows raised.
âWhat was that all about?â Weâre walking toward the food line, the smell of grilled meat wafting in the air.
I shrug, my mind still on the girl who just left. âIâm not entirely sure.â
And Iâm not. Itâs been a while since I felt the urge to engage in a casual conversation with a female.
But something about Ginger is different. I want to know her more, even if itâs just as friends.
Sheâs one of the few who doesnât throw herself at me just because I spoke to her or touched her. Itâs refreshing.
And intriguing. She intrigues me, that much is certain.