Alpha Grant: Book 3 of The Alpha Series

8. Gray Moon Pack

Grant

~

I arrived at the gates to the Gray Moon Pack at three in the afternoon. The rocky cliffs, canyons, arches and mountains of this area were a sight to behold. It gave life to my curiosity and my sense of exploration. I took pictures of the area to share with Madison later today.

The guards at the gate stopped my vehicle and I rolled my window down. Ryan had three guards on patrol at the gate. Normally, I saw two at the gates at home and anywhere else I had been. I wonder why he had so many on duty right now? Was there a security issue?

“State your name,” the guard said.

“Grant Shanks,” I said.

He bowed his head a little while saying, “Alpha Grant.”

What the f**k? Why were all of the Alphas having their members call me Alpha Grant? That wasn’t my title yet.

The gates opened and I drove through to the packhouse. I had never been here before but I had met Ryan before when he came to Hunter’s Moon years ago. I was a little pup then.

When I arrived at the packhouse, I was a little stunned. It looked just like home and I smiled as I parked out front. I saw Ryan sitting on a bench with a woman next to him. It must be his Luna. As I parked and stepped out of my vehicle, they got up and stepped toward me. I grabbed my bag and walked up to the porch, offering him my hand.

Ryan was a little taller than me, by an inch or two. He has bright blonde hair and blue eyes. He was muscular and gave off a bear vibe instead of a wolf vibe.

“Hey, Ryan.”

“Grant, it’s good to see you. You’ve grown a lot since the last time I saw you.”

“Yeah. A lot of time has passed since then.”

“That it has. This is my Luna Jinx,” he introduced the woman next to him.

I offered her my hand and we shook. She seemed sweet and almost timid to new people. She was tall and thin with long blonde hair and light green eyes. She was beautiful.

“Come on in and we will show you to your room,” Jinx said softly.

I followed them inside and up the stairs to the second floor. I placed my things down on the bed in the room they led me to, then went with them to Ryan’s office. We all had a seat and started to talk.

“Years ago your uncle started this same journey as you. What are your goals with it?” Ryan asked.

“To find my Beta, find others that need help and to find the end to my strength,” I answered.

“You’re not interested in trying to find your mate?” Jinx asked.

I knew this would be something that would come up and I had no issue letting others know that I wasn't out to find her yet. I had an answer to the question and it wasn’t so much reluctance anymore.

“Not yet. A mate needs stability and I can’t give that right now,” I answered.

Ryan nodded his head and said, “your maturity shows, but I have a question about your strength.”

“Alright.”

“Why are you testing your strength?”

“Because my older brother couldn’t beat Alpha Curt where I bested him and Grayson at the same time. I want answers as to why the Moon Goddess gave me the strength I have,” I told him.

“Self-exploration to figure yourself out,” he stated and I nodded my head. “I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I also might be able to help you with a Beta. We have several close to your age and a handful that are the same age as our son, Dylan, who's still pretty young.”

“That would be awesome,” I said with a smile.

“Alright, let’s go meet them,” Ryan said.

We got up and left the packhouse. I walked with them to the training field and found a few people still training. We walked up to a group of guys my age and they all looked at Ryan. We stopped just in front of them before Ryan began to speak.

“Everyone, I would like you to meet Alpha Grant. He’s on his journey to start a new pack here in the US and is looking for a Beta. All three of you are up for grabs, so this is your chance to stay or go and make a difference.”

All three of the guys nodded their heads and one by one came up to shake my hand and introduce themselves. The first one was a tall thin guy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. His handshake was decent for a Beta, as he introduced himself as Oliver. The second guy looked like Owen from back home and he introduced himself as Matthew. The third guy was my height with brown eyes, long black hair that he had pulled back into a man bun and dark tan skin. You could tell that he was Native American and it was awesome. He introduced himself with a firm handshake while telling me his name, Otto.

“It’s great to meet all of you. I would like to watch your training session. Unless y’all are done, then get to know each of you,” I told them.

They all nodded their heads and began a new training session. They were all great warriors, but one stuck out as a stronger Beta, Otto. When they were done training, it was dinner time. I followed Ryan and Jinx back to the packhouse while talking with each of the Betas. I learned that Oliver and Matthew were already twenty-one and Otto was nineteen, only a year older than me. None of them had their mates yet, so they were staying in the warriors’ barracks.

We reached the packhouse and went inside to eat. I walked with Ryan and Jinx to a table that had an older guy that looked like a big bear along with a pup that was a young teenager and an older she-wolf. We sat with them and I was introduced to Ryan and Jinx's son, Dylan, and Ryan’s parents, Brian and Claire.

We were soon joined by the Beta family. Ryan’s Beta, Hugh, his mate, Tiva and their son, Nuka, sat with us and got ready to eat. Nuka and Dylan were close, so I knew he was going to be the next Beta.

Matthew, Oliver and Otto sat with me so I could talk further with them.

“I’m going to be up front with the three of you. I have five more packs to visit here in the US before I leave the country for a year or more to travel to other packs. If traveling that much and learning and abiding by those cultures we come across will be an issue for you, then being my Beta won't be an option. If you’re interested in traveling, then this will be an experience for us both.”

Matthew shook his head and said, “that’s not for me. Good luck on your journey, Alpha Grant.”

“Thank you for being honest with me.”

Matthew nodded his head and stayed seated with us. I still had Otto and Oliver's attention, so I was still hoping that something would come of this.

“Where do you plan to go outside of the US?” Oliver asked.

“I’m not sure yet. The next pack that I’m going to is Midnight Forest, where my uncle Sean is. He will help me decide my destinations.”

Otto and Oliver both nodded their heads and we were served dinner. I looked at my plate and found baked chicken, mashed potatoes and a salad. I started eating and noticed the chicken tasted different than I expected it to. I could taste cream and paprika.

“How do you like the Amish chicken?” Jinx asked.

“It's different than I expected, but it's great.”

We finished eating and Oliver and Otto let me know they would meet me tomorrow to train with me. I made my way up to my room and texted Madison while I showered and lay in bed. I let her know that I possibly had a Beta from this pack and she was excited for me.

~

After a good breakfast, I went with Ryan and his Beta, Hugh, out to the training field. I met up with Oliver and Otto there so I could train with them.

“Why don’t you train with me first,'' Ryan said.

I smiled at him and said, “Ok.”

We started training and I started challenging Ryan right away. I wanted to see what he could do against me. He was having a hard time beating me and I was only giving him half of what I knew I could do.

Suddenly, Ryan said, “show me what you got, Grant.”

I didn’t need anything further than that and took him to the ground quickly, making him tap out. I let go of him and stood close by. Ryan lay on the ground looking at the sky while breathing heavily for a moment. When he sat up, he looked at me in surprise.

“Now I see what the hell you were talking about,” he said.

“Told you.”

He chuckled and got up. We drank some water and Ruan trained with Hugh while I got ready to train with Oliver and Otto. After making Oliver tap out, he sat on the grass close by and watched me and Otto. Otto put up a good fight and I made him tap out, but it took me longer than it did with Oliver.

The three of us converged to talk and Oliver said, “I’m not strong enough to be a good Beta for you, but I think Otto is the right fit.”

I nodded my head in understanding. I shook Oliver's hand and he patted Otto on the shoulder before turning to go back to the barracks. Otto and I sat there and talked on a bench until it was lunchtime.

“You don’t have any issues with all the traveling we are about to be doing if you take the Beta position?” I asked.

“No. I haven’t seen much of the world or the other packs and this seems like a great opportunity to leave my mark in some way.”

I nodded my head, then asked, “Do you have any questions for me?”

“You have a Lycan warrior like Ryan does?”

“Yeah. His name is Skoll, the Lycan that chases the sun.”

“What are your wolf and Lycan like?” he asked.

“My wolf is a peace keeper and my Lycan likes to start s**t. The two of them are always fighting in my head.”

“There is an old story in Native American culture that speaks of the two wolves. The story goes: an old Cherokee man was teaching his grandson about life, telling the boy, “A fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil; he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, superiority, and ego. The other is good; he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth and compassion. The same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person, too.” The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?” The old Cherokee man simply replied, “The one you feed,” Otto told me.

I sat there for a minute thinking and Wraith came up and told me, “that’s pretty deep and the man isn’t wrong. I like him.”

“I think I might have a friend in this man,” I told Wraith.

“As much as it pains me to say that I agree with you two, I do. He will be helpful and I like the story. I wonder if he has more?” Skoll asked.

I smiled and turned to Otto, then told him, “the three of us agree that if you want the Beta position it’s yours.”

Otto smiled and said, “myself and my wolf, Enli, thank you. We would have requested to leave with you anyway. Enli is already bugging me to go with you.”

“Enli is an unusual name,” I commented.

“It’s native for, I saw a dog.”

I laughed and said, “Well, I am happy to have you along with me, Beta Otto.”

He smiled and we spent the better part of the day together. He introduced me to the people here at the pack and his parents. As we walked around I noticed just how many people were here.

“How big has this pack gotten?” I asked.

“I think our numbers are over five hundred now.”

“Damn. I need to work quickly to get my pack up and functioning.”

“It would be good to give the other packs some breathing room. I’m sure from the rumors we have heard that a new pack would easily have a group of five hundred itself.”

“f**k. Well, Otto. It looks like we have our work cut out for us,” I said.

“Yes we do.”

At the end of the day, I went back to my room and texted Eric. I was happy that I had my first pack member but I wasn’t ready to establish my pack yet and name it. .

“I have a new best friend,” I sent to Eric.

“The f**k you do. We know it will always be me,” Eric said back, and I laughed.

“LOL. Fair.”

“So who is this new friend?”

“My Beta, Otto.”

“That is awesome! Now you have someone to drag around on your adventure. I hope he knows what he signed up for with you,” he sent me.

“And what did he sign up for with me?” I asked.

“Lots of butt stuff because you want to save yourself for your mate.”

I broke out in hysterical laughter at the asshole. Pun intended.

“LMAO. Fucker,” I sent him.

Our conversation died down there and I sent a text to Madison. I wonder how happy she would be that I was doing what I had set out to accomplish.

“I now have a Beta to drag around with me.”

“I’m so happy for you! Though I’m mad.”

“What? Why?”

What the hell had I done to piss her off? I didn’t do anything!

“You told me not to replace you while you’re gone and here you are replacing me with a new best friend.”

“He’s got nothing on you, Mads, and you know that.”

“Oh, I know. f*****g with you is the best part of every day.”

I laughed at her and we continued to talk. Our joking around and conversations were always the best part of every day.

~

Over the week that I was here, I got to know Otto and his personality. We got along pretty good but this trip would really tell me how well we were really going to get along.

It was early in the morning and it was time to go see uncle Sean. I had my stuff packed and in my vehicle after eating breakfast. I met Otto outside of the packhouse and we loaded his stuff up with mine. We said our goodbyes and got in my vehicle. I got the address on my GPS for Midnight Forest. I texted Sean that I would be there close to dinner time with my Beta in tow. He said he would see us then. I let Madison know we were on the road and we headed out. Nine hours in the vehicle with my Beta should give us plenty of time to get to know one another. Or strangle one another. Let's see how this goes.