CHAPTER 3 – GLOWING RIVER PACK

Sloane P.O.V.

Luckily Axel accepted my proposal, so I am on my way to Glowing River Pack with my Beta, Daniel, to discuss the details. I brought a couple of warriors along for protection; you never know what might attack you while on the road, these forests crawl with rogues and hunters, they are not safe for anyone.

We reach their pack’s gate, and they let us through, I am amazed at the beauty of their houses and buildings, all very new and modern, a stark difference from our pack’s country style. I need to work harder to give our pack members a better lifestyle, I already feel guilty for depriving them of such luxuries.

I am a lousy Alpha. Sigh.

We reach the packhouse, a three-story mansion also very modern, it’s mainly white, some of the walls are made of glass, so that you can see clearly from the outside the common areas, such as the living room, dining room and activity room.  There’s even a huge pool outside! I am amazed at the opulence and grandeur of this building; I would never be able to afford building something like this! Where is Axel getting all the money from? Maybe he has some very remunerative business going on. I make some mental note to ask him about it; I wouldn’t mind learning a thing or two.

We are escorted to Axel’s office, which is on the second floor, Daniel and I keep looking back and forth, drinking in all the beautiful amenities of their packhouse. I want to live here! Can I renounce my title and come live here? Although, I’ll have to put up with Axel on daily basis, and I don’t think I’ll be able to stand that. Better a life in poverty!

We enter his office, spacious, a huge L shaped white desk positioned in the middle, with transparent chairs placed in front of it. The left wall is made completely of glass, displaying a breathtaking view of the pack lands and of the swimming pool below.

My mouth must be hanging wide open, because Axel asks me with a glint of amusement, “Like what you see?”

I turn my attention to him, putting back on my signature blank expression. He’s wearing a black suite with a white shirt and a light blue tie, which matches his stunning blue eyes. The man is fine, I give him that, he’s tall, muscular, handsome, and he has that allure of bad boy that makes him just that sexier; I would fall for his charms too, if I didn’t know well enough how much of a disgusting pig he is, only the thought of it makes my skin crawl.

He has played even one of my best friends, Daisy, he let her believe that he was very much in love with her, and after he got his way with her, he left her, telling her that she was not worthy of becoming his Luna, that her pack was poor, and he wanted nothing to do with filthy plebeians.

That’s why I was very surprised when he showed interest in me, my pack is not wealthy, we are just an average country pack, so in his eyes I should be plebeian too! I need to find out what he’s really after; he can’t have put all this farce up just to get in my panties! Well, maybe, I wouldn’t put it completely beyond him. We’ll see.

“I must admit that the view is amazing, your pack is incredibly modern and well taken care of. I am pleasantly surprised,” I reply politely, but aphetically, not giving away how surprised I really was.

“Surprised. What were you expecting? Farms and cottages?” he asked with a laugh.

“Well, that appears to be the main standard around here,” I reply feeling a little irritated at his comment, and also ashamed, considering that at my pack, we have farms, and the majority of the houses are made of wood.

“Feeling embarrassed, Alpha Sloane?”

His nagging is getting really annoying now. Shouldn’t he be trying to win me over? This way of talking will only earn him a punch, real soon.

“Not in the least, it gives me the sprint I needed to want to do better,” I reply evenly, faking indifference. “It might have cost you a great sum to renovate the pack to such an extent?”

“Money is not an issue for us, we have plenty, I can lend you some if you need. I wouldn’t even ask you for interests, only for some of your time,” he says, eyeing me from head to toe.

I feel a shiver run down my spine at his lecherous gaze. I am happy today I chose to wear nothing revealing, blue jeans, a white shirt, buttoned up to the top, and a light grey oversized blazer.

“That’s very generous of you, thank you. I will think about it,” I reply with a small polite smile.

I would never do that, of course, indebt myself to a snake like him, it wouldn’t be a wise move.

Ultimately, the meeting goes on for three long hours, but we manage to plan out pretty much everything, and although I am dog tired, I am happy with the outcome. Axel is being very generous, he’s going to take care of the majority of the expenses and is going to host both the boot camp and the ball on his land, while my pack will provide the manpower.

The boot camp will start next week, and will last for two weeks, it will be held in the gymnasium and training grounds. The children will be taught combat, both in human and wolf form, and werewolf history. The children of both packs will participate, and Axel said he will extend the invitation also to the Silver Moon Pack, which he has a good relationship with.

The ball will be held at the next full moon, which is three weeks away, in this same packhouse, which has also a ballroom for special events.

I will help with the training and with the packhouse’s decoration and buffet arrangement for the ball. I can’t wait to get started!

Axel is giving us now a tour of the training grounds, so that we can decide how to organize the classes in different training locations.

He has his hand on my lower back since we exited his office, and it is making me incredibly uncomfortable. I need to find a way to make him drop it, without being rude.

My eyes suddenly focus on a warrior who is training hard in the vast gymnasium. Sweat is trickling down his body, his naked chiselled chest is an armour of hard muscles, and I want to run my fingers through his every line and hard bump. His movements are powerful and precise; I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of his blows. He’s strong and elegant, while his blond curls flow around him like a golden halo. My beautiful mate.

My treacherous heart starts hammering in my chest at the sight of him, and I hope Axel doesn’t notice, because I don’t want anyone to know about us, not until I’m sure he can accept me. It would be just too embarrassing to be rejected in front of everyone, and my dad would definitely have my head if I caused such a scandal.

Goldilocks seems to notice me too, because he stops training to stare at me, or better, stare at the spot where Axel’s hand is resting on my back, and he doesn’t seem pleased about it.

Luckily, in that moment, Axel’s secretary approaches us and asks Axel to take care of an important matter, he leaves quickly, saying that he will catch up with us later.

Now that I am free of his creepy hand, I look again at Goldilocks, but he has resumed training, ignoring me completely. What is his problem?

I notice that the other warriors who are training in the field are all paired in couples, he is the only one who is training alone, maybe they are an even number.

I decide that this is my chance, it is now or never.

I approach Goldilocks with a quick stride, and tap him on his shoulder, being careful not to be struck by one of his blows.

He turns perplexed and then stares at me in surprise.

“Can I spar with you?”

He keeps staring at me puzzled, like I just said something weird he can’t understand. I feel the need to explain myself.

“Everyone has a partner except you, and we will start the fighting boot camp soon, so I need to test the general level of training,” I say, trying to keep my expression and voice void of any emotion, when in my mind I’m screaming “Say yes! Say yes!”.

“I like to train alone, and I think you can gauge our level by watching, you don’t need to get your hands dirty,” he replies curtly, my heart feeling a pang of hurt. Why can’t he just give me a chance? What does he have against me?

If he thinks I am going to backup this easily, he’s in for a surprise.

I get into my combat stance, my fists raised at my chin’s height, my legs bent, ready to lip forward.

“Take your stance,” I tell him seriously.

He rolls his eyes, and turns around without even sparing me another glance, letting me know that he is not going to fight me.

“I’ll count to three, and then I will attack. You are warned,” I say sternly, but he still keeps ignoring me.

“One. Two. Three.”