The Queen Within

Chapter 10

Alandra

After getting settled in, and Ebonie going over a few codewords she would like me to use should the need ever arise, Jonathan, Ebonie and I made our way to the dining hall that honestly just looked like an oversized school cafeteria. Everyone was chatting and swapping seats often. The vibe was so laid back, nothing like it was earlier.

I could hear Roy's footsteps approach us from behind and everyone got silent and stood at attention. Well, everyone but the kids. They just sat at an extremely long table in the middle of the room. Roy politely bowed to me and then shook Jonathan's hand. He stood in front of us, addressing his pack.

"At ease everyone." He said in his booming voice and at once, everyone visibly relaxed. "As you all have been made aware, Our Queen Alandra and her mate Alpha Jonathan are visiting us for a few days. They are here to observe and gather the information they feel is useful. Honor our pack by being your utmost best selves. Show them that we are the best warrior tribe."

There were a few whoops and howls. Roy raised his hand and it was silent again.

"Let's enjoy our feast, and give thanks to the Moon Goddess for her blessings."

"May she bless us" everyone said in unison.

With that, it was back to the laid-back vibe as it was before. Roy motioned for us to follow him to the center table with the kids. Jonathan pulled my seat out and I smiled at him as I took it. The moment I was seated, a little girl with brown curls and a splash of freckles let loose a thousand questions. She had introduced herself as Stella. She was five and a half and doesn't like any food that's green.

Jonathan sat down on the other side of me and Roy took the seat at the head of the table while Ebonie sat across from me. It was nice feeling this relaxed. After a few moments, the food started arriving and I could not wait to dig in. Dinner was garlic and herb-crusted chicken with creamy cheese risotto. Everything was delicious.

While we were eating our apple pie dessert, Roy and Jonathan talked about the training schedules and tried to come up with a game plan that would allow us to see all of them. Once dinner was over, the guys kept talking and I got dragged away by the kids begging me to read to them. I of course couldn't say no, so they took me to the library with Ebonie in tow.

I felt Jonathan touch my mind the moment I was gone but I sent him a wave of reassurance.

The library was beautiful. It wasn't as humongous as the one in our pack, but it was plenty big with floor-to-ceiling shelves of books. The children all ran to what looked like one of those kids' corners and were all arguing about which book to have me read. Stella took my hand and carefully led me to the armchair, yelling at the other kids whenever they got too close saying, "Baby coming through!"

I little boy with blonde hair that went past his shoulders handed me Alice in wonderland. Being one of my favorite childhood books, I was all too happy to read it to them. They gathered around and Ebonie stood behind my chair.

Not a single word was said as I read the story to them. They all seemed captivated by it and leaned in close. Being surrounded by all these kids, made me all the more excited about my own pregnancy. I wanted a baby with bouncing curls and Jonathan's eyes. Maybe even his nose and eyebrows. A little bit of him, and a little bit of me. Our love, given form.

When I just started on chapter six, Jonathan and Roy showed up, and there were groans from all the kids when Roy announced it was time for bed. They quieted down when he promised them that I would read some more to them tomorrow night.

"Remember our manners. What do we say to Queen Alandra?" Roy said to them.

"Thank you for reading to us your majesty." They all said and giggled as some of them said 'maksty' instead of 'majesty'. I smiled at them all and thanked them for letting me read to them and hugged each one good night. They were truly great kids.

Roy filed the kids out and wished us good night as well. We sent Ebonie along her way since I was with Jonathan now as well.

As great as it was to meet Roy's pack and come up with a game plan, it was nicer to be alone with Jonathan. We made our way slowly to the room and chatted about the day and what we have to look forward too.

"I really think this plan is promising," Jonathan said as we entered our room. It really was simple. It looked like a regular loft with a king-size bed in the middle, a bathroom off to the side, and a dresser with a decent size tv on it. I had to be honest, I liked this better. Being surrounded by fancy expensive stuff all the time can be nerve-wracking.

I sat on the bed and as I did Jonathan bent down to help me take my shoes off. I smiled at him lovingly. "You don't have to do that my love. I'm not that pregnant yet."

"That may be, but you are my mate and I want to."

I blushed at that and pulled him closer laying us both down. I needed to be in his arms. I need to feel him around me. As much fun and nice as the day has been, something had been going off at the back of my mind. I felt like someone was staring at me all day. Whenever I tried to reach out to Onyx, she would either not answer, or tell me she will talk to me later. Her non-communication was getting annoying at this point.

There wasn't anything that stood out, or anyone that was particularly noticeable that made me feel uncomfortable. It was just a knowing feeling at the back of my head. With no real proof or any real immediate danger, I decided to ignore it for now. There honestly was nothing I could do about it anyways. Plus it could always just be the hormones.

So instead, I buried my face into Jonathan's chest, inhaling his scent and allowing it to wash a sense of calm over me. This was one of the strongest packs in existence. What could go wrong?

The next morning we were awakened by a knock on our door. Jonathan rolled out of bed as I tried to get lost in the sheets. I heard him talk to someone then he came back to the bed and rubbed my back.

"The training regimen is about to begin. You can stay in bed if you like and I could go."

As tempting as the offer was, I knew I couldn't stay in bed. As a Queen, I had to represent as such. That meant no late mornings. With a heavy sigh, I rolled out of bed too and flashed him a smile.

"Let's go together."

Jonathan nodded at that and after a quick shower and a change into some workout gear, black to match everyone else, we headed down to the training grounds.

By the time we got down to the wide-open field, everyone was already doing laps. Even the kids ran with Roy as he appeared to be jogging very very slowly. He waved at us and we waved back.

"Are you sure about this Alandra? I don't want you pushing yourself."

I rolled my eyes at him and got in pace with everyone else. Pregnant or not, I will not be seen as weak. Jonathan quickly got into step with me and we ran the laps with the others. After five excruciating laps, everyone finally split off into groups. I kept trying to plaster on a smile in between gulps of water. I was getting cranky from hunger and it was already sweltering. Well, that last one may have just been me.

Ebonie joined us and bowed to me. I smiled at her and noticed she had her locs gathered up in a bun at the top of her head. It looked like she had a halo.

Roy joined us not long after, and only after he passed the kids off to the children's instructor. He explained to us that kids just learn basic stamina techniques and only 'train' for thirty minutes.

"First on the list is the hand-to-hand combat training. This is where I personally teach them so why don't you guys watch for a little bit, then you can circle around the other groups. Is that ok?"

We nodded to Roy and followed as he made his way to a group in the left-center. It was a mix of all ages and everyone seemed to be chatting quietly. When they noticed Roy come up, as per usual, they all quickly quieted down and stood at attention.

"Greetings Alpha."

"At ease. Today we are going to be doing sparing partners. This is to show what you all have learned so far, so no holding back. Remember, your goal is to get your opponent to submit to you. NOT to seriously harm. I'm looking at you Jackie."

"It was one time!" An elderly woman said and everyone chuckled. Roy smiled and then ordered them to pair up. I was more interested in what Jackie did than watching the sparing at the moment, but that wasn't the reason why we were here.

After everyone paired up, Roy gave the signal and everyone started sparing. Jonathan, Ebonie, and I walked around the group observing everyone. They all seemed ruthless but never went for a killing blow. They all were clearly very well trained. Even after several minutes, no one had submitted to their partners.

It may not have been as deadly as the battle I went through, but the blood lust was there. I was impressed by the techniques. Jonathan commented on a few people, pointing them out whenever they really impressed him. There was this tall surly looking guy who was paired with a tiny woman, and she had him by the balls. She used their size difference to her advantage and you could tell she enjoyed every moment of it.

Finally, people were starting to submit, and once the last person submitted, Roy clapped his hands.

"Well done everyone. No one got seriously injured. Great job Jackie."

"One time!"

Everyone chuckled again at their exchange. Roy called the tiny woman from earlier to the front and instructed her to run drills with everyone while he took Jonathan and I around the other training groups. She looked a little too eager to be running the drills. Praying for the poor souls that would be under her command at the moment, I refocused on the next group which looked to be a group of teens who were practicing their shifts.

"What's this about?" I had asked wondering why they were going through this.

"The more a person shifts, the faster and less painful they can do it. A battle is won by who can shift the fastest. The few extra seconds it takes the other opponent to change, we would have already ripped their heads off."

I nodded feeling a little slow since it was an obvious answer. The teens were in a line and a guy with a clipboard called them out by name. When their name was called, they came to the front of the group and shifted on the spot. The guy would scribble a few things, instruct them to do simple things like jump, run, bare teeth, stuff like that. After scribbling a few things down, they would be told to go in make-shift changing tent to shift back and put on the spare clothes there.

We watched a handful of them do this before Roy grew rigid next to us and we could hear the snarls in the distance.