Alpha Grant: Book 3 of The Alpha Series

15. Norway

Grant

~

We left Blair Castle at four yesterday evening and drove back to Edinburgh. We boarded a plane bound for Oslo, Norway. It was only a two-hour flight, so we landed at seven. I looked at the GPS to see how long it would take to drive to the Rondane Pack and it was two hours away. I decided we would travel there in the morning, so we got hotel rooms for the night. I texted everyone what was going on and then looked to see what time it was there. We were now seven hours ahead of them. It was seven in the evening here, while it was one in the afternoon there. This was going to get harder and harder to message people at a good time of day.

It was now morning and we grabbed breakfast, then headed out to find the Rondane Pack. The two-hour trip was surprisingly short and the landscape was beautiful with its colors beginning to change to fall. I handed Otto my phone and had him take pictures so I could send them to Madison later.

We soon found the small wooden gates to an old village that looked like something out of the shows Vikings or The Last Kingdom. I parked the Tesla I rented and we got out. Uncle Sean told me to find Alpha Kristofer. The guards approached us and studied us closely.

"I'm here to meet with Alpha Kristofer," I told them.

They nodded their heads and one asked in a thick accent, "who are you?"

"Alpha Grant Shanks."

They nodded their heads and motioned for me to walk with them. We followed the guards through the narrow streets of the pack village. As we walked, I looked at the large red or rust-colored buildings. All of them were two or three stories tall and had thatched roofs. At the center of the village was a longhouse that we were led into. The first room in the longhouse was a large dining hall with long tables and benches. To the left was a kitchen where I heard others working and could smell food cooking for lunch.

The guards stopped and we stopped along with them. They turned to us and waited in silence. I took the hint that we would be met , so we stood there and waited for Alpha Kristofer. Soon a man started walking towards us from behind the guards. He had long thick red hair that was pulled back and a thick red beard with a little gray in it. He had a long thin nose and bright blue eyes. His stature was the exact same as Alpha , so I knew that this was Alpha Kristofer.

As he got closer, I put my hand out to shake his. He took my hand and pulled me incredibly close to him before shaking my hand and looking me dead in the eyes. Now I see what uncle Sean was talking about. He was a little aggressive, but that could be fun.

“Alpha Grant. It’s good to meet you,” he said with an expressionless face and watchful eyes.

“Good to meet you, Alpha Kristofer.”

He released my hand and took a step back to look me over as if he was inspecting me. He did the same thing Curt did. I wonder if they were somehow related. Once he was done looking at me, his attention turned to Otto and Krew. I introduced them and he nodded his head while inspecting them next.

When he was done, he looked at me and asked, “So you’re the second oldest of Luna Jamie’s brood?”

“Yes,” I answered.

“That means you have a Lycan like I do.”

“Yes,” I said with a nod.

“I look forward to having a good training session with you in the morning then.”

“I look forward to it too.”

He finally cracked a smile and smacked my arm in good nature. Skoll let his growl out in a heavy and throaty sound at what happened. I saw Kristofer’s smile drop and he got right in my face. Now I see the full extent of the madness I’m dealing with. It’s not really madness, just an aggressive, no bullshit mindset.

“My apologies. My Lycan hates it when females tough me and when men smack me. He’s a really testy bastard,” I informed him.

Kristopher blinked and turned his head to the side before cracking a smile and snorting.

“This is going to be fun,” he said before laughing hard.

Otto and Krew stayed silent behind me, just like I did. I didn’t see the humor, so I wasn’t going to fake a laugh.

When Kristofer stopped laughing he told us, “I will have someone show you to your rooms while you are here. Don’t be a p***y about it either. Stay longer than a week or two before you flee.”

“Oh no worries, I plan to stay for a month before we move on,” I told him.

He nodded his head in approval and motioned towards a she-wolf that was walking up. She was pretty with her long blonde hair and curvy body. She looked older, like she was close to my mom’s age, so this had to be Kristofer’s mate.

“This is Luna Ingrid. She will show you to your rooms here in the longhouse or I could put you in the barracks with the warriors.”

“The longhouse is fine,” I said.

“Alright. When you are settled in, explore the village and get to know the members,” he told us.

He clearly wasn’t about to show us around, so we would need to navigate the area ourselves and mind our manners as we talked with everyone. This might be difficult but we could manage.

We greeted Luna Ingrid and found her really nice. She led us to our rooms, then left us. The rooms were next to one another and we looked around them before heading to the car parked outside the village gates to get our things.

Once we set our stuff in our rooms, I sent out text messages to everyone to tell them where we were and that we were ok. We left the longhouse and walked the village the entire day to meet people. The women were nice to an extent and the men were like the warriors I had met everywhere. They watched us like hawks and I could understand why. We were outsiders in their home and the Alpha hadn’t seen to personally show us around. It was like he was testing us, or waiting for us to screw up.

While walking around, we met a man by the name of Aksel. He was nice but very reserved. I could feel that he was a Beta, but he was our age. He wasn’t the Beta here, but he might be the next one to take over the position.

At the end of the day, we went back to the dining hall along with all of the pack members to eat dinner. When we entered the hall, we saw all the members finding their seats. I looked around and saw Kristofer and Ingrid at a table together. As soon as Ingrid saw me, she motioned for us to come over to their table. I walked over with Otto and Krew behind me. There were several others at the table but there was room for the three of us. We sat down and I turned my attention to who we were sitting with.

We were introduced to Kristofer’s Beta, Leif, who was also Ingrid's brother. He introduced his mate, Nora, and their son, Bard. We got to meet the young Alpha pup, Viggo, who looked to be about thirteen or so. Aksel was an extra Beta to the pack.

“How was your adventure around the village?” Luna Ingrid asked me.

“It was great. This place is amazing,” I told her.

“I’m glad you like it,” she told me with a bright smile.

“Father told me that you have a Lycan like we do,” Viggo said.

“Yes.”

“I can’t wait to watch the two of you train,” he said with a smile.

“I’m looking forward to it too.”

“What is your Lycan’s name?” Kristofer asked.

I looked at him and I knew what I was about to say might have a big reaction here. My Lycan was from Norse mythology.

I let Skoll come forward and speak through me, “Skoll, Lycan of the Sun.”

The smile that I saw on Kristofer’s face was priceless. It even made me smile to see the mad Alpha smiling. That’s what uncle Sean calls this guy and I would stick with it.

I nodded my head towards him and I watched as his blue eyes went gray right before he said, “I am Odin. Lycan of Death.”

I smiled and nodded my head before saying, ”My father’s Lycan is Fenrir and my older brother’s is Hati. We are waiting to see what happens with my younger brother.”

He nodded his head with a big grin on his face.

“Why is it that all of you have Lycans? I thought only the oldest got an Alpha and a Lycan?” Viggo asked.

“It’s because we come from the Forest Goddess. Otherwise, my older brother Eric would have been the only one with an Alpha and a Lycan.”

He nodded his head and food was placed in front of each of us. I looked at the patties on my plate, wondering what they were. They were served with potatoes and steamed mixed vegetables.

“This is called Medisterkaker. They’re pork patties,” Ingrid told us.

I nodded my head and we began to eat. They might be pork patties that looked like small burger patties but they tasted way different. They were good, but this wasn’t my favorite dish I have ever tried. We would see what else they offered here.

Once dinner was over, the dining hall started to empty as warriors went on night patrol or back to their homes and barracks. Families went home to their houses and the people that lived here in the packhouse went to their rooms.

I sent texts to everyone back home in the states and got ready for bed. Nothing new was going on back home and I was pretty tired, so I settled into my bed early.

~

I woke up early and got ready to go eat breakfast before I went to train with the warriors. I sent Madison a good morning text that I knew she would get it in seven hours when she woke up. It was early here so I knew it was late at night there.

I was the first one in the dining hall and it seemed odd. I sat down on a bench and soon a she-wolf from the kitchen came out and gave me my breakfast. I looked at my plate and found toast with eggs and raw fish. I started eating when I was joined by Kristofer, Leif and their sons.

“You’re an early riser,” Kristofer said.

“Sometimes. I wasn't up late talking with everyone, so I was up early.”

He nodded his head and they were brought breakfast. Soon after they started eating, Otto and Krew came in. Once everyone had eaten, we followed Kristofer and Leif out to the training area. It was cool outside this morning but none of us were shivering. Krew and Otto were used to the cold and I was pleasantly surprised by the temperature. I always loved it when the weather was cooler.

We watched Kristofer train Viggo and Leif train Bard. We were joined by Aksel as the pups' training continued. When the pups were done they sat down close by to watch us. Otto looked at me and I shook my head. I knew he was wondering if I was going to show off right away and I wasn’t.

Otto trained with Leif and Aksel trained with Krew. I wonder if Leif normally trains with him? We started our session and I quickly learned that not only did he hold himself like Curt, but Kristofer fought like him too. Once I had a sense of him, I started to show him who I was and what I was capable of doing.

When I forcefully took him to the ground and pinned him there, he had wide eyes and shock written all over his face. He tapped out and everyone watching gasped in surprise. Kristofer watched me closely as I helped him up off the ground.

“I have trained with several Lycan warriors on this side of the world and all of them match me, boy. How are you that strong?” he asked while looking me in the eyes.

He liked strong eye contact when he talked with people. Like he was talking to their souls, not just their minds.

“I don’t know. I’m stronger than my dad and even my older brother. I really have no idea why.”

He looked at me and thought for a second, then looked over at Leif.

“Take him to the Pagan,” Leif said.

I looked at both of them, wondering what they were talking about. I saw Kristofer nod his head and look at me once more.

“The Pagan woman sees things we can’t. She might be able to help you,” Kristofer explained.

I nodded my head in agreement. All of us left the training field and changed our clothes. I grabbed my phone and took it with me. I snapped pictures of the village as I followed Kristofer. Krew and Otto followed me, wanting to see what was going on. The four of us were off to see a woman that might be able to help me.

We left the village and followed Kristofer up to a black SUV. We got in and he drove us to a human village close by. He parked outside a stone house that had a large garden surrounding it. Everything looked wild and beautiful. I snapped a picture of it to send to mom and Madison.

“My mother would love this place,” I commented.

“That she would. She might even get along with this old crow,” Kristofer said before laughing.

We got out of the SUV and followed Kristofer up the walkway. He knocked on the door with four raps before we stood there waiting. The door opened and a woman with long black hair stood there looking out at us. She wasn’t old at all. She looked to be younger than my mother.

“Come in,” she said when her eyes landed on me.

All of us stepped inside and Krew closed the door behind him. The inside of the house was warm and she had herbs drying from the ceiling. It smelled like magic and sandalwood in the space she inhabited. The house wasn’t big but it would accommodate her and a small family if she had one.

“Have a seat in this chair, Alpha Grant,” she said.

She knew my name before I even said it. Magic and witches were insane. It always blew my mind how they worked and knew things. I blew my mind how my own mother knew things.

I looked at the chair that the Pagan had her hands on and it seemed like a normal wooden chair with soft pillows lining it. I cautiously moved over and sat down. She took both of my hands in hers as she stood in front of me and then ran her thumbs over my palms.

“Pearl already told you they are the same, so I don’t need to repeat it. A destiny set in stone will be hard to manage but you will,” she told me.

“Who altered my prophecy?” I asked.

“That magic is unknown to me, but I can say it was magic that did it. Keep looking for that answer and you will see why you are so strong and then when you have that answer you will see why you need to use that strength.”

Still more cryptic answers. f*****g witches. At least I knew that I would find the answers one day. I just needed to keep searching, but would searching drive me crazy?

I nodded my head and said, “thank you.”

“You’re welcome but I’m not done with your group yet.”

She turned her attention to the others. She looked at Kristofer and shook her head. She looked at Krew and smiled at him.

“You will find much on this adventure,” she told him.

He nodded his head and I wondered what all she was talking about with him.

She moved on to Otto and said, “She’s not Navajo, but you won’t be disappointed.”

He smiled and looked at his feet. I knew what she was talking about, his mate. All of us thanked her and left to go back to the pack village. While we drove, I messaged Madison what was going on along with mom. They both wanted to be kept informed of what I found out with my prophecy.

~

The month we spent here was amazing. I've trained harder here in Europe so far than I have trained back home. My favorite meal here was the Rakfish. It was fermented fish and smelled horrible, but Kristofer said I would like it and I loved it really.

We became friends with Aksel and when we got ready to leave, he had his things packed and ready to go. He asked to join us and I happily accepted him. I needed at least one or two more Betas behind Otto. So my Luna had options on who she wanted as her Gamma one day.

Kristofer was crazy but I liked him. Training with him was better than training with anyone else because he was strong, crazy and didn’t back down after he knew what I was capable of doing.

It was now time to leave and head to Spain. I had heard about the Alpha there and the way the she-wolves were. I was warned, but I wanted to learn how to use the rapier so I was going to tempt fate and my Lycan by going there. This might be the biggest mistake I make.