The Blood Pack (Book four)

Chapter three

~Iona~

I woke up at the crack of dawn. In fact, it was still dark outside. My eyes were aching from being rudely woken at god knows what time by my sister Pearl and her latest conquest. I sighed to myself as I sat up and stretched, the temptation to stay inside my warm bed was so tempting, but I knew better.

We had come here from Warren's pack, our alpha dead and fine thanks to his own greed. Alpha Drake was a complete contrast to what we were used to. He was kind and caring, making sure all of those in his pack were well fed, clothed and cared for. A roof over their head and anything else that we needed.

However, we were all technically still his guests. He had offered to protect us as the humans who Alpha Warren had been secretly selling our members off to were still out there, hunting our kind. He had mated to Sarah, who had become our unofficial leader in the wake of his death, but I was not naïve enough to think that that meant we were safe to sit back on our loreals. I wanted to prove my worth within the pack, my wolf seeking to become more than we currently were.

It had been years since our mother and father were taken, and when Sarah came back, alone, we knew that we would never see them again. Me and Pearl learned very different lessons form this. I became dedicated to bettering myself, becoming stronger and being able to stand on my own two feet. Pearl on the other hand, started to live like every day was her last. As werewolves, we are naturally s****l creatures, but Pearl takes it all to a whole new level. Every night, a different guy, every guy, another tick off her bucket list to sleep with whoever she wanted.

I was afraid that, when the time came and the human threat was gone, we may be asked to leave alpha Drake's pack. I planned on making it so that I could bid to stay here, feeling safe for the first time in years on this territory, and if I had too, I would work twice as hard to ensure that Pearl could stay as well. I may not agree with her s****l antics, but she was still my sister, and the only family I had left.

I finally dragged myself out of bed and got changed into my work out gear, ready to head to the pack house for the morning training. I walked out into the hall and crept past my sisters room, being careful not to wake Pearl knowing how cranky she would be if I did. I turned on the coffee machine, needing caffeine to make me feel more like myself and less like the walking dead.

I heard the creaking of a door down the corridor and knew that it was not Pearl, but whoever she had brought home last night. I had to hand it to the guy, he moved like a ghost, not making a sound as he made his way past where I stood, freezing by the front door when he finally realised he was not alone. He cautiously turned towards me, his eyes running up and down my body before a smirk spread on his face. Oh great, he was one of those guys.

He ran his hand through his tussled hair before taking a large stride towards me. "Hi, I'm Ste a friend of your sisters." his deep voice rang out. I would be lying if I said that he wasn't attractive, he had this rugged bad boy look and his muscles were making the material of his black t-shirt pull like it would pop at the seams if he flexed.

However, I had more important things on my mind, like ensuring me and my sister had a safe place to live when all this was over and so I gave him my own smirk and crossed my arms, deciding to okay my own game. "Really, what is my sisters name?" I asked, giving him a pointed look.

I could see in his eyes the sheer horror of my question as the cogs whirled in his brain, searching for the answer. "Petal?" he answered, in more of a question, not even sure of his guess.

I laughed as I turned around and grabbed my to go cup from the cupboard. "At least you got the first letter right."

I expected the humiliation of not even bothering to remember the name of my sister, who he had just been in bed with, to be enough for him to leave me in peace, but when I turned back, he was still stood there, smirking. I sighed as I twisted the lid on to my coffee cup. "Look, I am a busy girl, so unless your presence has a point to it, I suggest you get out of here."

Ste took a step towards me, making me realise how much his tall large frame toward over me. "Well, I can think of a few things that we could do that just might brighten up your morning."

I could not help but laugh, this guy either not able to take a hint, or confident enough to think I would come around. "You have just kept out of my sisters room and you are honestly trying to get in my pants." I shook my head as I walked past him, making my way to the door. "I have to admit, that is original, but I am still not interested in anything you have to offer, so if you don't mind."

I opened the door and stood to one side, waiting for him to talk out. He walked over, but instead of walking out, he leaned on the door frame, the same smirk never leaving his face." You have the pleasure of knowing my name, but I don't know yours."

I grabbed the handle of the door, moving out of it and making Ste move as I made my way outside. "What so you can forget it like you forgot Pearl's? No thanks. Now if you don't mind I am busy." I huffed, no longer amused by the okay boy who looked at me like I was his next meal.

"Come on beautiful, I know how to make you relax." Ste sung out as he ran along behind me, dear God, was he going to stalk me now.

"Morning Iona." I heard Felix call out as he ran towards where I was walking toward the pack house. "You training with us again this morning?"

I sighed. Don't get me wrong, Felix was a nice enough guy. He was an enforcer in alpha Drake's pack and, but I did not have the time or the heart to out myself out there. When we had first come here, I had been dating Adam, my boyfriend for almost a year. I thought I had found the one and even though we were not true mates, we were so in sync with each other that we might as well have been. That all changed when we got here and he found his true mate. At least he had the decency to break up with me before he fell into bed with her and although I didn't blame him, it still hurt to be so easily dismissed.

Six months later, when I had suffered from touch hunger, Felix had been there, helping me in the only way he could as the two of us fell into bed together. He said he understood that I was not looking for anything more, dedicated to my training and working in the cafe that alpha Drake ran, but I knew he wanted something more. He wasn't pressuring me or anything, but he was always protective of me so when Ste jogged up to my side, a huge grin in his face, I could not help but notice how Felix's jaw twitched with annoyance.

"So, your name is Iona." I sighed again, not having even had a chance to touch my coffee yet and completely not in the mood for all this.

"I thought you would have returned to your own pack by now Ste, you are not usually one for the morning after the night before." Felix growled, his anger obvious as his wolf slipped into his voice.

"I was in my way out when I was accosted by this young beauty." Ste quipped, making me groan at how persistent he was being.

I could see the gathering enforcers up ahead and did not want Ste to make a scene. Pearl already made a point of making me into a laughing stock whenever she could, making it out as it I was a wanna be enforcer with no talent. I knew she was doing it because of her own insecurities but I just could not find the words to stand up to my older sister and explain that all I am doing is for the two of us.

I turned to Ste, giving him a pointed look and straightening my shoulders to show him I wad no longer playing around. "Look Ste. Pearl may be my sister, but the two of us are at different ends of the spectrum when it comes to getting in to our pants. I understand that you thought you would push your luck at another easy lay but I am telling you now, it is not going to happen. So, if you don't mind, like I said, I am a busy girl and I have to get going."

I did not wait for his response as I turned in my heals and stormed off towards the gathered enforcers. Sarah gave me a warm smile as she saw me run over to the line, downing my coffee as quickly as I could given it was still quite hot. She was stood with alpha drake who was talking to William, his head enforcer. William was a good head enforcer and did not mind me joining his training sessions as long as I was not underfoot. I understood his need to focus on the training of his own enforcers, knowing in part that it was to keep us all safe from the threat that was still hanging over our heads.

Felix ran up and stood beside me, giving me a smile and a wink. God, I hope he didn't think that I blew Ste off to be with him. I have explained to him in every way I can that we are just friends. "Right everyone, warm up time." William called out.

With that we all started to do the requires push ups, sit ups and squat jumps. My muscles ached and strained, struggling to keep up with the others but determined to not lag behind. After than, we were on our feet, running laps of the packs territory. My lungs felt like I was breathing in blades of glass with every breath, a stitch in my side would not go away no matter how much I tried to control my breathing and I could feel my pulse in the soles of my feet.

Still I pushed on, only lagging behind my about half a lap in the end. I stopped back outside of the pack house, doubling over as I frantically tried to catch my breath. I felt like I was going to be sick and my dead was fuzzy as I took deep and steady breaths until my heart rate was at a more manageable level and not hammering out of my head.

By that time, all the enforcers had paired off and were already sparing with each other. I mentally kicked myself at not being fit enough to join in, but determined that next time, I would recover faster and get to join in. I took the opportunity to watch the different fighting styles, noticing how the enforcers did not telegraph what they were going to do next. I thought about the time that must go in to getting that good, knowing I had a long way to go.

Finally finished with training William gave out a few words of praise and told each enforcer what they needed to improve on. As they dispersed he came over to me, giving me a welcoming smile. "You did much better today Iona. Try to breath more from your stomach than your chest and it will help with the stitch and your recovery time."

I nodded enthusiastically, not quite sure how to breathe from my stomach but feeling extra motivated that he had took the time to give me my own little pointer. I headed back home, not surprised to find Pearl was still asleep, and got ready to head to work at the café.