Finally Her Turn

Chapter 4: John

The alarm on my phone starts blaring when it’s still dark out, and I roll over with intent to murder it. What the heck is even going on? When I pick it up to look at the screen, there’s a note saved in the alarm descriptor.

Your training begins at dawn. Love, Uncle Ben.

I didn’t realize he was serious when he was talking to me about that last night. He invited me to come train with him and the elites while they’re here, not because I’m being considered as a recruit or anything but because it’s our pack’s turn to host them for a while and it’s open to anyone from the pack who wants more intensive training.

I might have made a vague comment about being interested, but it was more to be polite than anything. I meant it more as one of those things where somebody says it would be cool to do a certain thing, but then never really gets around to it. I certainly never intended to follow through.

I figured he’d eventually forget about it, and we’d move on, but apparently not. Apparently, he’s expecting me to join them this morning.

“Are you going to turn that off?” Serena complains, unwinding her limbs from mine and rolling over the other way, obviously annoyed.

She doesn’t stay over every night, but she is here for most of them. We’ve been friends since forever, and with neither of us having any luck finding our mates yet, it only makes sense for us to keep each other company. I wouldn’t exactly call her my girlfriend, but we did promise that if neither of us is mated by the time we’re both 25 to just mate with each other. That’s only a year away for me, and a few months more than that for her.

Okay, yeah. She’s basically my girlfriend, and practically my betrothed.

“Sorry,” I whisper back, dismissing the alarm and sighing to myself.

If I’d known I was getting up this early, I might have gone to bed sooner, but it was Friday night so I most definitely did not. This is going to be a miserable, slow day. I can already feel it. Just one of the joys of being the great-nephew of a renowned, respected, drill sergeant of a former Alpha who’s currently in town.

He’s an Elder now, the one who trains the elite warriors for the entire continent, traveling around with them from pack to pack to diversify their training. They’re basically an Olympic team that never gets to do anything cool like compete in the Olympics. I have no idea what they do or why we need them, quite honestly, but if it means getting up before dawn every day, count me out.

Reminding myself that even if he intends to hold me to whatever I said, it will only be for six weeks at most, I drag myself out of bed and to the shower, lowering the temperature of the water to try to make it more effective at waking me up.

I hope he’s ready to be humiliated because not only am I not all that alert yet, but I’m from Crescent’s Boon. Back when he was Alpha, we had one heck of a warrior squad, but the training and preparedness has gotten pretty lax over the years. We only have mandatory training a couple times a week, and it’s more like working out than the military-style drills he favors. I’m not sure I’ll be doing him proud this morning.

At least when I get over there, I discover that I’m not the only one in this family he’s invited to suffer through the humiliation. My cousin Oscar is already warming up, and some of our second cousins have been dragged out of bed as well. The only ones missing from our generation of the Blaine family tree seem to be Alpha William and my own sister, not that it’s all that surprising on either count.

The Alpha probably isn’t looking to embarrass himself, and female warriors are rather rare here. Mallory is definitely not made of the stuff that it takes to survive the normal training, let alone whatever we’re about to endure here this morning.

“You’d better hurry and warm-up because one of the elite guys just told me that Uncle Ben likes to mess with pack guards on the first day. He said that when Elder Benjamin says ‘run,’ we have to drop everything and do it, no matter if it’s first thing or in the middle of a drill. He also said he might even do it right away before he even says anything else,” Oscar informs me, his nerves never more prominent.

I don’t know why he finds Uncle Ben to be so intimidating, but he always has. We’re Alpha wolves too though, technically anyway. We’re not descended from any Alpha wolf who carried the Alpha power, so there is a difference, but he still shouldn’t be getting that rattled. We’re not omegas. But I’m also not about to mock him for it, and for all I know, he’s right. Stretches it is, then.

When Uncle Ben arrives on the scene, the elites immediately snap to attention, leaving the rest of us basically standing there holding our d***s because we didn’t even notice him show up, let alone figure out what to do about it.

“Good morning, warriors,” he bellows out. It carries well enough that I’m kind of wondering if he ever truly gave up that Alpha power.

He starts going over some announcements that make little sense to me, so I assume they’re for his elites. I know better than to zone out though. If Oscar is right about that running thing, it will happen when I least expect it. That’s just how Uncle Ben works.

“Alright, first up we’ll be working on one of our lighter-duty drills, for the sake of our guests. To start, I need you all to separate into four run groups.”

He snuck the word "run" in there and made it sound like part of what he was saying, but the elites weren't fooled. They took off running the second they heard it, but the rest of us are so startled by their sudden departure that I’m surprised no one ends up on his ass. I recover first and take off at full speed chasing after the elites, not caring whether Oscar figures it out or not. He knew the rules as well as I did. He’s the one who told them to me.

“You don’t want to find out what happens to the men who finish last,” I hear Uncle Ben yelling. “Fifty laps, fellas, and then we’ll talk drills.”

I don’t even know what constitutes a full lap yet, but I’m fairly certain that I don’t want to do fifty of them. I’m even more certain that I don’t want to end up coming in last, though. Uncle Ben never makes empty threats.

*************************

“I’ve worked with humans who have more stamina than you,” Uncle Ben chuckles, tapping my shoulder with his shoe.

I’ve collapsed on the ground, pouring half my water on me and the rest in me because I feel completely overheated and also dehydrated. My ability to get up from here is questionable, but I’ll worry about that later.

If his goal was to eliminate as much of our family as possible in one morning, then this was a pretty good plan. My cousin Henry had to be carried out by a couple medics, and Oscar as much as quit before we even finished the laps. Actually, looking around at who remains, it’s just me and the elites.

Oh crap.

“I was last, wasn’t I,” I groan.

“No,” Uncle Ben chuckles, obviously enjoying my misery more than someone who supposedly loves me should. “Your cousin Xavier takes that honor, and he’s already collecting his reward. But you are the only Blaine to make it through this morning’s training, which means you’ve won the golden ticket.”

“If it involves a chocolate factory, then I’m listening,” I jest, surprising myself by somehow mustering up the energy for jokes.

“Unfortunately, there’s no chocolate this time, but it does involve a job that will pay well enough for you to buy some.”

“Hmm, well, still listening.” And still in a surprisingly good mood.

“I have two personal guards, but I’ll need three for an upcoming assignment,” he begins the big reveal. “And to answer your unasked question, I cannot just choose one of the elites because it’s a paid opportunity that I can’t offer to the entire squad. Not only would it violate my contract with them, but it could be construed as favoritism, and I don’t mess around with that.”

Obviously, otherwise he would have just asked me to do this outright. But no, even though we both know he had me in mind for this all along, he decided to make me “earn” it, knowing full-well that I was the only one of my cousins who is fit and stubborn enough to survive one of his grueling training sessions.

“Oh, thank the Goddess,” I blurt out. “I just realized you don’t intend to force me to do this for six weeks. It was a today thing, and for show at that.”

“I’ll take that as a yes then,” he laughs, poking at me with his shoe again. “But I’ll have you know that this would have been considered just a normal morning of training at New Horizon. Mandatory every day but Sunday, just like for my elites.”

“Well, thank the Goddess that I wasn’t born at New Horizon then.”

Though I have heard lots about them over the years, and it's not even a surprise that their Alpha is a lot like Uncle Ben. Must be why he talks about that pack so much. Birds of a feather and all that.

“No, but you will be meeting some of their warriors this upcoming weekend, should you accept my offer. I have business with the Elders to attend to involving their pack, and Elder Stirling is requiring us all to bring three guards since we’re meeting somewhere a bit unconventional and under exceptional circumstances.”

He turns and starts walking away, but I feel like that’s only part of the story. It must be. And now I’m curious as hell and need to know more.

“Wait, what circumstances? What business?”

“You’ll need to drag yourself up off the ground and come with me to find out,” he calls out over his shoulder.

That scheming, conniving, good-for-nothing, favorite great-uncle of mine. I may be bone-tired, but of course I’m getting up to find out the rest of the story. Plus knowing him, the offer expires while I wait.