Stalked by the Alpha

Part 22: A Fighting Chance

My tongue felt heavy and my head was fuzzy when I woke up early the next morning. I had never been one with an exceptionally high tolerance for alcohol, and the way I was feeling further cemented my status as a lightweight. Trying to shift in the bed without feeling like I had been run over by a truck was proving challenging to me, especially when I realized that I was also being restrained by a heavy arm. That arm was also currently attached to a shirtless Gabe, who was seemingly still in a deep sleep, breathing slow and heavy. He was shirtless and to my growing horror I realized that I was wearing the button down he had on the night before with nothing but my underwear on underneath. 'What the hell happened last night?' I asked myself, panicking slightly. I bolted up from the bed and slid out of his arms, scowling when a feeling of longing came over me. I had to force myself not to crawl back under the covers. After searching the room, I located my dress and heels from last night, the blue material neatly folded and placed on the dresser.

Stumbling slightly, I managed to sneak out of the room without waking Gabe up. Walking down the hallway, I could still see the remnants of the party laying around in the form of red plastic cups and brown glass bottles. I found my room again and slid into the door, flopping face down on my still unmade bed. It only felt like a few minutes later when the door banged open loudly and caused me to yelp and fall off the bed, then groan in pain.

"On your feet soldier!" Paige's voice came from the doorway and I raised my head slightly, staring at her all black workout attire and intense expressions.

I flopped back onto the ground and grunted, "Naw."

"Oh, well I wasn't actually asking you, its my job as your trainer to get you working out, and this is how I'm doing it," she smiled slightly, then cleared her throat and continued in her overly aggressive voice, "On your feet! I want you dressed and outside in the backyard in 10!" She threw a pile of clothes and a pair of tennis shoes on the bed. Without waiting for a response she turned and sauntered away.

I struggled to my feet and and walked over to the clothes. I changed and splashed water on my face, trying to wake up enough to feel less catatonic. I tied the tennis shoes on my feet and walked slowly down the stairs, noting the sudden presence of kids and adults around the pack house. Most of the people my age were probably still asleep or passed out from last night.

I stepped out into the backyard and walked around the pool walking through an open gate. There were woods in the backyard, with a gravel path that twisted into the tall trees and disappeared. It was a beautiful day, with a clear sky and temperatures that were hovering right around cool. There was no sign of Paige, so I took a seat, pulling up grass while I waited.

All of a sudden I heard a twig snap and my head snapped up to see a light brown wolf staring at me. It wasn't even close to being as big as Gabe's wolf was, but it was definitely larger than a regular wolf. I could tell it was Paige from the eyes, and I stood and approached cautiously. She whined quietly at my approach and flipped over onto her back, exposing the soft fur on her belly. I reached my hand out and touched her fur, but had to spring backwards when she snarled and snapped. I tried to approach more slowly, but recoiled again when there was another violent reaction from the wolf.

"Look Paige I don't know what the fuck you want me to do. I don't speak wolf," I said, extremely frustrated. The wolf huffed in an annoyed way and got up, trotting back into the woods. A minute later, Paige emerged again, pulling her tank top over her head.

"So, what was that?" I stood and stretched. My body was stiff from the night before and my joints protested when I moved.

"Your first lesson. As a Luna of a Pack, you have to be prepared to fight for your pack and your mate. And because you are not a wolf, you need to know the wolf's weak spots. Which I just showed you." As she said this, she pulled me along the path and started a brisk jog.

I groaned but followed along at a slower pace. "So that was why you kept growling at me for trying to pet your belly? Because the belly is the weak spot?"

She nodded and then started jogging a little faster. "The belly and the neck are the weakest spots for a wolf, so use that to your advantage in a fight. Now let's go." With that, she took off deeper into the woods.

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Three hours later I reentered the house, sweaty and completely sore. Paige had lived up to her trainer persona of a drill sergeant by putting me through a workout that seemed inhumane, at least by my wildly out of shape standards. After a three mile run, we had started going through some basic fighting techniques, which essentially meant me trying them and then Paige kicking my ass immediately afterward. Sitting at the counter, I slumped forward and rested my head on the cool granite surface. It was comfortable and I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I knew I was being carried up the stairs by a pair of arms I knew well. I opened my eyes and blinking a few times, stared at a pair of warm green eyes.

"I can walk you know." Whether or not I actually could had yet to be determined, but I thought I would give it a shot. Gabe set me down and the second I took a step, my knee buckled and I started to fall. Gabe wrapped an arm around my waist and we started down the hall.

"Woah! Easy there. What happened to you?" Gabe's voice was light and teasing.

"Paige started to train me today. I could ask you the same question about last night you know. What happened? I don't remember anything." I was nervous, but tried to play it off as a casual question.

"Sweetheart, nothing happened. You were so drunk that I got you changed and then you passed out in my bed," he smiled down at me and I involuntarily smiled back, but then I frowned.

"Why was I wearing your shirt then?"

Gabe blushed slightly and said, "That was the only thing you would wear, you said it smelled the best." I blushed as well and we walked in silence until we got to my room. We stopped in front of the door and Gabe cleared his throat and said, "Would you like to go to dinner tonight? Just the two of us? At 7?"

I immediately blurted out, "Yes!" Then blushing furiously said, "It's a date. See you then."

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Their first date! That will be interesting. If you like the chapter, vote! IF you liked a certain part or think there's something I should change, comment! Thank you!

kath