Alpha Alexander

Chapter Twenty-Four

For the third consecutive time, I landed on my ass, literally, on the merciless grass of the training yard. I twisted my body into a roll and sprang back up on my feet, mere milliseconds before Sarah's elbow came crashing down to the hardened earth. I lunged and tackled her to the ground, straddling her chest with my hand wrapped around her throat. 

The brunette grinned at me, her voice full of approval when she said, "You're learning, Phoebe."

Her calf wrapped around me and she used her weight to roll me off of her and onto my back; her hand found my throat. The movement was so quick my breath was forced out of me and I grunted in pain as my back met solid earth.

"You're going easy on me," I wheezed.

She chuckled. "I don't go easy on anyone—that includes my queen." 

She slid off of me and let me stand on my own. She dusted her hands on her shirt and brushed off strands of grass that stuck to her clothes. "Do you know what your mistake was?"

"I went for the obvious," I answered smoothly.

Sarah nodded sharply in agreement. "Instead of incapacitating me completely, you lunged and went for my throat. Do not go for the obvious kill. Make sure your prey is completely vulnerable before moving in. Going for the throat immediately exposes your upper torso to the wolf below you. Your organs and vital veins are unprotected. Werewolves like a challenge—they're headstrong, but eventually, they know when they've been beaten."

I nodded, making mental notes for myself that I added to the notes I'd gathered over the last couple of days. The sun was starting to go down and most of the other wolves who were training earlier had gone inside for dinner. 

I had asked Sarah to continue practicing with me, but I felt bad asking her to skip dinner completely so I said, "Pick this up again tomorrow?"

Sarah grinned. "Oh, I'm not letting you off that easy, Phoebe." She nodded to the left. "Sprints."

I groaned half-heartedly. "Seriously?"

"You want to train like the pack?" She raised an eyebrow.

I huffed, already knowing where this was heading. "Of course. You know I do."

She pointed to the field. "Sprints."

I mumbled something unintelligible under my breath and took off down the field. An agility training exercise was set up for the younger wolves, using ropes and markings in the field to build up endurance and help them learn to move quickly. I was currently the only pack member using the agility course because the wolves it was originally designed for had since shifted and graduated to training exercises for fully-matured werewolves.

I ran through the exercise, which began with suicide sprints then led into quick footing techniques before ending with upper-body strength. I kept quiet while I went through the course I had gone through half a dozen times over the last couple of days. My breathing was rough and out of rhythm but my heartbeat was strong and unfaltering. 

I learned after the first training practice that I had unlimited access to Alpha Alexander's werewolf abilities. I was stronger and faster than I normally was. I could move a lot more quickly and I relied more on my instincts as I sparred with Sarah. It troubled me at first, me being a more advanced version of myself, because I was 100% human, and humans cannot do that things I discovered I could do. Humans could not spar with a fully grown werewolf and be her equal in strength and endurance. Humans could not run through an intense agility course without spasming into an asthma attack. And humans certainly could not tap into their significant other's energy force as if it were an easily available Red Bull or protein shake.