Trials of the Bitten

Part 6

         
After cleaning up the blood on his chin, the Alpha put an tracking bracelet on his ankle and then spent a few hours watching TV with Martin leaning on him. It had been strange.

The next day, Martin was left with about five other teenagers with strict orders to behave and a firm pat on the head from Barney. The five looked at him curiously but no one said anything to him. None of them were speaking at all really. Martin shifted, his stomach uneasy at the idea from today they were actually going to start trying to train him. He curled up, hugging his knees to his chest and just waited with the others.

There was four other boys and one girl, all about his age or younger than him. One of the boys looked familiar and Martin suspected this was Leia's brother, Andy. He had darker hair than his mother but seemed to have the same blue eyes, eyes that seemed to go deep into you. Unlike his older brothers, or any of the older teenagers Martin had met, the boy was skinny. Not unhealthy so but not the muscular figures that the rest of the men in the pack seemed to have. Even the other slightly older teenager in the room was already starting to develop signs he would be big too, but not Andy.

The youngest in the room looked about the same age as Leia and was curled up to a particularly angry faced boy, the one who had broader shoulders than Martin. The two seemed fine together and the older had an arm wrapped over the younger's shoulders comfortingly. It was almost a sweet sight.

Before Martin could get a good look at the others, the large door to the door opened and the Alpha strode in followed by another man with almost the same vibe and stature. Martin felt his stomach drop and his blood go cold. The man looked like TV show bad guy. Like every male in the pack, he was big. Not as big as Barney but big, and also covered in scars. His burly arms gleamed with them but that wasn't what made the man look terrifying. It was the scars on his face. A particularly nasty one running down the side of his face and under an eyepatch.

"Alpha. Virgil," Andy greeted cheerfully as the youngest child shifted behind his older friend.

The scared man beamed at Andy, stopping a little war from him, the Alpha taking an extra few steps to be in front. His eye looked over them al individual and he wore a face was oddly neutral. A man not trying to be scary but it didn't stop the feeling gathering in Martin.

"Children," the Alpha called with a serious smile on his face. "Today you're meeting someone who will help you with your training," he gestured to Virgil who gave a small nod to the group. "Virgil is new to the pack, but not to training cubs. He might look scary to you but as far as I know... He doesn't bite," the man joked, clearly trying to ease the atmosphere. Except while the others laughed slightly, it just made Martin's stomach turn to ice. Was biting people and turning them into monsters a joke here? "Andreas has already had the opportunity to train with him and the results were quite satisfactory, so I hope you will be good and listen to him," the man continued, his eyes fixing on Andy with a soft look in them.

Martin felt something click as Andy stood up and walked over to Virgil, leaning against him fondly. Andy was short for Andreas. The teenager currently standing completely unafraid of the scary looking man next to him was indeed Leia's older brother. "Virgil's a good teacher," Andy grinned, his teeth sharp like fangs.

The man brushed the boy's hair, smiling at him fondly before looking at the small group. "I'm sure we'll get along," Virgil promised with a smile. "One thing I want you to know is that you can talk to me about anything, I know it's not always easy to master the changes of your body. To get along with the instinct inside you. I'm not here to force you to shift under five minutes, I'm here to help you understand the changes and guide you through it," the man explained, letting go of Andreas for a moment and knelt down to be at a lower height. Martin recognised the body language and the meanings behind it. Virgil was trying to seem less intimating. "Let me help you, and we'll do our best together to make you feel better. Ok?"