The Alphas' Legacy (Alpha Eyes: Book 3)

Chapter 16

Zoey

To say the first few days of training was easy would be a blissful lie. I'd hoped that I somehow had miraculously retained some strength and speed from my younger days. But with each exercise that Stitch put me through, I recognized that I was starting from the beginning. I had the muscle memory to know what to do, but I lacked the strength to do it with any kind of power. Stitch was a gracious teacher, though; he never judged or laughed when I fell.

Van peeked in or "happened to pass by" for every lesson. He never spoke to me, simply watched from the shadows where he probably thought I wouldn't notice him. Stitch usually asked me to do one of the exercises that I was slightly stronger at whenever Van came by. For some reason, I pushed myself harder if I knew he was watching. My wolf wanted to impress him. I wanted him to see that I wasn't completely helpless.

We fell into a flexible routine within the week: breakfast; I would spend some time with Luna; training; lunch; planning meeting where the guys would update me and ask for insight into Jax or Midnight pack; afternoon break; dinner. Evenings were a free time that Van's team often spent discussing strategies and I would read or spend more time with Luna. After the harder training sessions, I would retreat to my hideaway to recover and regroup for the rest of the day. Somehow, Van hadn't discovered it yet.

When Bug, Goggles, and Snuff went scouting for a location where we could eventually meet Jax, I went to find Luna to ask about the secured phone line. My mom had said it couldn't be hacked or traced, so I could call if her I needed it. Now that I had a hope of surviving past the rejection, I wanted to start to plan my homecoming.

Luna happily set me up in Alpha Lucas' office, showing me the old-school corded phone and providing the number for my parents' pack. For safety reasons, she remained in the room but promised to give me as much privacy as possible. It didn't matter, but I appreciated her thoughtfulness.

I curled up in the office chair behind the huge desk and dialed the number. The line was dead for a moment before it started to ring. I chewed on my thumb as it continued to ring. When the line clicked on the other end, I held my breath.

"Alpha Darren speaking."

Tears flooded my eyes and my chest squeezed. "Dad?"

"Zoey? Sweetheart, is that you?"

I swiped at my cheeks as a couple tears trickled down. "Yeah, Dad. It's me. I hope it's okay that I'm calling you. Mom and Luna Karina said this line is secure."

"It is," Dad confirmed, "and of course it's all right that you call. Is everything okay? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Dad. I'm... I started training a little with one of the members of the team. They're helping me get stronger."

"Sweetheart, that's wonderful! You were at the top of your class when you left, so I'm sure you'll remember things as you go. You be sure to tell them if they're pushing you too hard. You've been through a lot."

I smiled at that. No matter how old I'd get, he'd always look after me in his dad way. "Don't worry, Dad. I've been setting my own pace."

"Oh, here's your mom. She wants to say hi."

Dad passed the phone, and a different voice blessed my ear.

"Zoey? Is that you?"

"Hi, Mom," I choked out.

"Is everything okay? Are they treating you well? Are you getting the rest you need?"

Across the room, Luna smiled. With her lycan hearing, she could probably hear each of my mom's frantic questions. She also understood a mother's concern for her child.