The Alpha King Call Boy: Chap 47-128

A cool wind whipped across the palace grounds, drying the mud and sweat on our bodies into a hard crust. Kayden and I returned the tools to the shed and then parted ways, hurrying to our rooms to get ourselves cleaned up.

We met back on the training field just before the break of dawn. The pack came trooping out of the palace minutes later, jogging over to the field in perfect time with the rising sun.

Their chatter died down, pace slowing as they neared me and Kayden.

“Good morning, men.” They inclined their heads in to acknowledge me. “We’re going to start with sparring practice this morning. Find a partner you haven’t worked with in a while and let’s get going.”

The pack did as I instructed, spreading out across the

field in pairs and beginning their fighting practice.

Kayden and I paced between them, watching.

Counting landed blows. Confirming some things we already knew about who was in good fighting shape and who was moving too slow, taking too many hits or touching the ground.

I came upon one pair that was looking particularly pitiful, and stopped in my tracks.

My wolf began itching with anger at the sight the two men. Their form and footwork was sloppy. They looked tired and bored.

My skin flushed warm, heart pounding with adrenaline.

These were not soldiers who would be ready to go into battle tomorrow if we were called to war. And that

is something that could happen any minute of any day, with no warning whatsoever.

My body was ready for an instinctive display of dominance in response to this appalling performance by men who were supposed to represent me, were supposed to be loyal to me and uphold my standards.

“Come with me,” I told them. Then I mindlinked the rest of the pack, told them to stop what they were doing and pay attention.

I led the two pack warriors, both men in their late twenties who’d been with me for a handful of years, to the center of the group.

“Two on one,” I called out. I began walking a slow circle around the men. “Take me down. No holds barred. Give me everything you’ve got.”

I stretched my shoulders, threw my arms back and forth to loosen them up, rolled my neck and cracked it. The two men assumed defensive stances, turning slowly to keep their eyes on me as I prowled around them. The rest of the pack formed a larger circle around the three of us, inching backward to give room, making a little arena there in the center of the training field.

The pair of soldiers were doing their best to keep their chins up. I could sense how very little they wanted to fight me. Neither felt prepared. Neither wanted to strike first.

Fine.

I waited until one of them looked briefly at his feet, and pounced on the other.

I had the one man on the ground immediately.

When the other reacted, lunging at me in an attempt to tackle me off the first man’s back, I caught him by the neck with one hand and used his forward momentum to flip him hard into the ground. I threw him face-down right beside his buddy.

I flattened my body over the first man, pinning his arms over his head. He struggled, but I had him incapacitated. Then I moved up into a seated position with my left knee between his shoulder blades, kept hold of his wrists with one hand, and used my right arm sweep the second man into a chokehold, grasping his neck in the crook of my elbow and pulling his back into my chest. His hands flew up to fight my grip, but I pulled tighter till he gave up and tapped out.

I released the chokehold and he slumped forward onto his knees, then to his fours, coughing. I stood, releasing the other man I had pinned underneath me.

I paced a few yards back and said, “Again.”

The pair righted themselves as I started circling them for a second time.

For a second time, they failed to initiate. They waited for me to attack.

For a second time, I had the both of them in submission in less than a minute.

“Again.”

I fought the two soldiers in front of the pack until I was sure they were thoroughly humiliated.

By the time I decided we were done, they were exhausted and depleted, looking near fainting. But they were uninjured.

The rest of the pack grew serious. They worked a lot harder when we came back together after a short break. I had them bring out weapons and targets when they returned to the field and we began target practice.

Across the board, performance was improving. No one here wanted to be next to be singled out and made an example of. But we were not finished yet.

Around the time when we would usually be finishing up our morning training, I told the pack to take five for water. And then return for strength training.

Kayden took half the team to the weight room and I kept the other half in the field. He had his men doing rope climbs and up-downs on the salmon ladders. I did push-ups with mine. The guys that dropped before we reached 1,000 reps, I told to stay down till we

were done. They got to start over with sandbags on their backs after the first set.

“Final task,” I announced, once Kayden had brought the rest of the group back to the field. “Distance sprint.”

I pointed to the hill that crested over the pit Kayden and I had dug into the opposite side of the slope.

“Run due west,” I instructed. “When you crest that hill, the last leg of your sprint will be down a sharp incline.

Turn around when you’ve hit the shade of the tree line. Sprint back up the hill and back here. I’m timing you. If you don’t make it back in under twelve minutes, you’re going to run it again until you do.”

The pack was utterly exhausted. But I liked what I was seeing in their eyes.

Resolve. Determination.

They did not want to fail another test. And they really, really did not want to do this sprint more than once.

I counted them down. Kayden started a stopwatch and off they went.

The gradual slope toward the hill was the easy part of all of this. The pack went surging forward fast, running full sprint, sweat-drenched and adrenaline-fueled.

The dozens of men reached the hill within seconds of each other. And one by one they went flying over it.

I watched as the fastest of the men went over first. A few simply vanished from view. I did catch a glimpse of a couple gray tails as men shifted into their wolf forms and stretched forward to leap over the chasm.

These ones had felt the change in terrain underfoot.

They had paid attention, sensed danger, and reacted the way they should’ve.

Within the space of two seconds, the entire pack was out of sight. I heard at least four or five thuds that I knew were bodies landing in the bottom of the pit or crashing first into the edge and then falling in.

I brewed more coffee while taking another shower, and drank the whole pot as I got ready afterward. My hair had become a filthy, tangled mess that I had to comb out carefully after washing.

Once that was done, I dialed the palace doctor on the way into my dressing room.

She picked up and I put the call on speakerphone, set the phone down on an empty shelf, and got dressed while we talked.

“I paid Iris a visit early this morning,” the doctor said.

“Her condition is much better today. She seems in a fairly stable mental state this morning. Much more clear-headed, at least. I plan to check on her again later. When will you be seeing her today?”

“I’ll be on my way over there in just a few minutes.” I finished buttoning my shirt, tucked it in and selected a belt. “Do you know if she’s already eaten breakfast?”

“Actually, yes. I offered her a mild pain killer for her headache, and insisted she eat something before taking it. I ordered room service for her.”

“Thank you. I appreciate the care you’re taking with her.”

“She is my patient,” the doctor said matter-of-factly.

Then she cleared her throat and made a very quiet, almost silent “hmm” sound.

“Something else?”

She sighed. “I fear it’s not my place to tell you, sir, what to do, or…”

I understood her meaning. “You can skip the formalities, doctor.”

“Very well.” She sounded resigned. “I need to ask you to try to be patient with Iris. Recovering traumatic memories that have been suppressed for years… this can be very stressful, very draining for someone like Iris. Give her some time. Time to rest. Time to adjust.”

“I will take that under advisement. Thank you, doctor.”

I hung up and closed my eyes, took a breath. Tried to summon the requested patience. Finished getting dressed. And headed over to Iris’s room.