Rise of The Phoenix Alpha

The Start

Axton

Four Weeks Prior to Chapters One (Two Weeks Before Axton Dies)

“Axton your breakfast is ready!” I hear the shout as I finish getting dressed. Rolling my eyes after I hear my father add to that “Axton you are going to be late!” One thing Dad can’t stand is even the appearance of tardiness. I stomp down the stairs quickly and grab the travel coffee mug and breakfast sandwich. “Thanks for breakfast. I’m out.” I linger a bit hoping Evan gets his ass moving. Dad barely glances up from his coffee as he scans something on his laptop. “Have a good trip Dad.” I say as I raise my hand in his direction. His head lifts to spare me a glance finally. Not a warm one; nothing but a serious intensity. “I will. Make sure you look after your brother and stepmother. Don’t forget you are acting as on call Beta while I’m gone. You should be able to handle that little. Alpha Jacob will link you anything he needs done.”

“Got it.” I tell him before I turn and almost bump into Reyanne. She slides to the side about to say something snappy to me about watching for her. I’ve heard it so many times before.

She’s my father’s second chance mate. I receive a warning look before she turns to find my younger brother, Evan racing our way. “Oh Evan, here’s your breakfast and lunch.” She says cheerfully and I suppress the urge to make a face forcing my feet to begin walking to the door slowly. Evan snags his bag shouting “wait up Ax!” I nod and hold the door open letting him race past me.

He falls into step with me as we walk toward the training center. “Thanks for stalling. I couldn’t find my shoe. What have you got today?” He asks his light blue eyes darting to me. My brother is the usual Beta stereotype, super broad shouldered and stocky with muscles. He’s got dark brown hair and topped out at six three. He’s almost a carbon copy of Dad though the eyes are so different. Our father, Beta Xavier Stone, has light brown eyes. He always says we got our eyes from our mother. Hers were a silvery blue Dad said. Evan got the light blue and I got the silver, like we split her eye color.

“I have the seventeen-year-olds today. You?” I grab his bags of food to toss them with mine into the trash can we are passing. Reyanne has to be hands down the most horrible cook in the pack. The eggs were burned along with the toast in those breakfast sandwiches. Mike, one of the head warriors will bring us breakfast. He’s eaten at our house before. She can make coffee at least. I finish the cup she made me and listen to Evan “I got the fifteen-year-old group.”

Evan has only been running training classes for about eight months since he turned eighteen. He’s good at it though.

“I’ll see you at home this afternoon. Dad’s leaving on that trip to Opulence Pack in a few hours.” I snort lightly as I utter the name aloud. How arrogant it sounds.

“Heard that Alpha is a serious prick. Took over three months ago and he’s got issues like mommy abandonment kinda issues.”

“Possible female pack member abuse? Maybe that arrogant pack name is fitting for their egos after all.”

Evan nods grimly. “Wonder what Dad will find. I’m sure he’ll be there a while if it’s that serious. Alpha Jacob is hoping it’s all rumors and exaggerations.”

I give a quick shake of my head with a grimace. “When it makes it to a council investigator it’s usually mostly true. At least that kind of thing has become more rare since the Moon Goddess judged the wolf world again. Guess the problems will all rise from those who didn’t have their wolves or were too young at the time to be committing crimes.”

Evan “Lane asked to go with him but he refused. His dad didn’t argue strangely.”

I frown at that. Lane is Alpha Jacob’s son and will take over in five or six years. He’s only nineteen but a trip like this would be good experience for him. We’ve been friends with him since elementary school. He’ll be a good Alpha like his father.

I’ll have to ask Lane later why Dad wouldn’t let him go. For the next few hours I focus on training and then reorganizing the gyms. We got new equipment and I need to inventory it before setting it out and removing the old weights and machines. It will take me a day or two I figure.

That afternoon I get home first and hear Reyanne upstairs. I start that way and see clothes piled on my bed for me to fold. I ball my fists trying to calm the anger that threatens to come forward and it’s not because I have laundry to fold. We’ve asked her to leave our clothes and stay away from our rooms repeatedly. Hearing drawers shutting in Evan’s room I walk that way. Stepping into the doorframe, I clear my throat. Reyanne jumps three feet in the air I swear.

“Oh Axton I didn’t know you were there!” She laughs nervously as she slips Ben’s socks into the drawer. I take in the tight pink dress she wears and make sure to keep my eyes averted from her below the neck. Must be going out with her friends tonight. As soon as Dad leaves, she’s running off with her friends. It’s no secret in our household that Reyanne loves to go out with her friends and live it up. At least to Evan and I.

“You don’t need to do our laundry Reyanne.”

She lets out a nervous laugh. “Oh no it’s my pleasure. Why I’m a homemaker. Anyway, I thought Evan would beat you home. Did something happen?” She looks around me or tries to. I more than fill the doorway. “No, he went to dinner with his friends at Clicks.”

“Ah I see. Well, I’m off for girls night. I won’t be super late. I left some sandwich stuff ready to go. I’ll cook tomorrow night I promise. Will try not to wake you when I get home.” I move so she can dart down the stairs and out the door fast.

Muttering curses, I move to start checking drawers. Underwear one first I figure since I saw what she did with the sock one. Sure enough I’m right. I snap a few quick photos for Evan before I add it to my collection. Time to clean these out again soon. Maybe I’ll do that this weekend if Dad’s still gone. I reach behind the small wall partition in my closet to find the hidden bag there. Done with that, I take my phone out again to get Evan’s whereabouts.

Evan gets the pictures with the caption “coming home?”

He sends me an angry emoji followed by “five minutes away. She gone? Wish she would stay out of our stuff. She can’t even fold it right either.”

“Yep girls night. I told her you went to Clicks.”

“Thanks Ax!”

I start dinner as Evan trudges in. “I’ll cook dinner.” He offers.

“Already started. Evan.” He looks at me worried at my tone. “Maybe I should talk to Dad about this when he returns. The disrespect is…..unbelieveable.”

He snorts. “Cause he’d soooo listen to you. He’d accuse you of instigating it. Maybe…maybe you and I could get our own place. We’re old enough. Dad and Reyanne should enjoy the privacy. What’s it been; like four years?”

I nod. “I’ll get the ball rolling tomorrow. See what Alpha can do.”

I catch him looking at the only family photo we have with Mom. It’s on a shelf in the living room. Reyanne broke the glass in it once and the fury that emanated from our dad was extremely terrifying. We are all four sitting on a picnic blanket. Mom holds me and Dad holds Evan. I was four and Evan was almost two. I can see our resemblance to her in subtle ways. I wish we had more photos of her but the rest were destroyed along with her and our previous pack.