Zeke

It was six in the morning. I was half dressed with my torso bare and a pair of sweatpants hanging loosely around my hips. Training is supposed to start at seven, but I decided to warm up before then- explaining my lack of clothing. I was jogging around the perimeter of the territory, watching as all the guards stiffened up as they saw me.

Literally everyone is afraid of me. I get why they are though. They didn't know me when I was younger like the older pack members. Most of the guards were only a few years older than me when all the incidents occurred. I never talked to them, they didn't know me. They just knew what they had heard.

I had seen a few of the older pack members last night. Many of them came to the pack house to greet me. We caught up a little. They introduced me to their teenage children who looked as if they were gonna shit their pants. But just like every other time, I shrugged off their reactions. Eventually I will get used to the way they all cower away. Sometimes I get hurt by the small action of my pack members being scared of me. However, it will take time for them to grow out of their fear.

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that someone had started running next to me. "Hey, Joey" I greeted the man as I slightly slowed my pace so he wouldn't have to work so hard to keep up. Joey was an older man. In his late 30s, maybe even early 40s.

He was one of the ones that came to see me last night. He was there when Piper had come to the territory to turn herself in all those years ago. He was also one of the warriors that were with us when I had shot Terence. "Hello, Beta Kingsley" he said respectfully.

Shaking my head, I lightly shoved him. "It's Zeke. Come on you know that" I stated. I hate that title. It reminded me so much of my father. He demanded everyone to call him by his title, nothing else. I barely remember calling him 'Dad' to his face. "What made you decide to run with me?" I questioned.

Joey shrugged and wiped off the sweat that started to form on his head. "Just thought you needed some company. I know people here aren't that welcoming" he said sincerely. I nodded my head in agreement. "If it helps some, my whole family doesn't think of you as the monster. I made sure of it. They all know that you're the reason we're all here in the first place" he informed me.

I stopped running, making him stop also. "Thank you" I said quietly. I didn't know that there were actually people who were defending my good name. "What's your kid's name again?" I asked. Last night, he had mentioned that he had a mate and one or two kids. I forgot how many there were.

"I have a boy who just turned 18. His name's Kamdyn. And a little girl, Kyra. She's turning 16 in a few months" he said with a smile gracing his lips. It was obvious that this man adored both his children. "You'll see Kam today" he told me. I nodded, already expecting that he would be in training. Kyra would probably start training with me after her birthday.

There's another training class for the younger werewolves. They just learn self defense, just in case someone tries anything. That class is with a few guards I think. I'm supposed to be teaching offense, more self defense, and different techniques. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked to see that I had five minutes before training was about to start. "Speaking of which. I gotta go" I said in a rush. Joey nodded at me as I sprinted back to the pack house.

As I got closer to the training grounds, I could hear the voices of the teenagers. "He'll probably kill us during training. Literally" someone blurted.

I slowed down to a walk, listening in to what the others were saying. "He's fucking crazy. I heard that he burned a pack house down with everyone in it" one of the girls whispered.

Rolling my eyes, I opened my mouth to deny that rumor; but someone else had started talking. "I heard that he kidnapped all the children from a pack" that was the last string for me. Sure, they could think that I killed a bunch of people. But children?! That's just wrong. Never have I ever laid a finger on a child. I eyed the guy who said it. He was wearing a pair of dark blue basketball shorts and a white beater tank. His back was facing me. I came up to him and yanked him back from his shirt.

His little friends shrieked and gasped as I lightly threw him to the floor. I didn't want to hurt him, so it was more of a little shove to knock him off his feet. "Rule one: Be aware of your surroundings at all times" I demanded. Everyone was frozen as they started at me. "Get in a line" I commanded them. My voice boomed, it was rare for me to use my Beta voice.

They all stood up straight as the guy scrambled up and got in line. I scanned all of them, seeing that they were all relatively fit; which wasn't surprising considering we're werewolves. "Names and ages, starting on my left" I stated. They all looked a little confused. One of the guys held up his hands trying to figure out his left and right. I rolled my eyes and pointed to my left.

The first one was a girl. "Ashlyn Peters" she said shakily. "I'm 17" she informed me. There were a total of ten people in training. I knew that I had a whole other group, with probably the same amount of people. Along with Ashlyn, there was Kamdyn, 18; Charlie, 17; Tracy, 19; Austin, 18; Dana, 17; Mary, 18; Marcus, 19; Gina, 19; Phillip, 17. Austin was the one who made the comment about me taking children. Mary was the one who thought I burned down a pack house. And Charlie was the one who thought I would literally kill them.

Ashlyn would have to be the one that looked the most scared of me. Marcus tried sizing me up, making me think he's probably a cocky son of a bitch- no offense to his mother. Kamdyn was normal. He didn't look scared of me, nor did he try to challenge me in anyway. He was quiet. The only one he was talking to was Dana, who was also quiet. They're like the outcasts of the group. "Partner up" they all got into pairs in hurried steps.

Marcus and Charlie paired up. Phillip paired up with Kamdyn surprisingly. The girls also paired up. Tracy was with Gina, and Ashlyn was with Dana. Mary and Austin stood, looking at me. "Well, obviously you two are a pair" I stated.

"But she's a girl" Austin stated, motioning to Mary like I couldn't figure out her gender on my own. I rolled my eyes and walked around to look at the other pairs. Austin followed me. "I can't spar with a girl" he complained.

I sighed and stopped walking. "Okay. Switch up partners. No same gender pairs" I demanded. Kamdyn quickly complied and paired up with Dana. Ashlyn grabbed Phillip, gripping his arm for dear life. Charlie, Austin, and Marcus made no move to pair up- neither did the other girls. "Now!" I demanded.

They cringed away, but didn't pair up. "We're not fighting girls" they stated, crossing their arms over their chests.

I appreciate them not wanting to hurt the girls. But this is just stupid. They need to use their common sense if they have any. "You're not just fighting guys. During battle, there will be girls that fight. You can't just skip by them letting a girl take them on. Doing that could get more people killed. It doesn't matter what gender they are, you have to fight during war. You have to kill so that the people you love don't get killed" I said dangerously low, looking at each of them in the eyes. "Now, I won't tell you again. Get in a goddamn pair!"

They were in pairs within seconds. I nodded in achievement as they stood by each other, waiting for my next directions. "Self defense for guys, offense for girls. Show me what you learned. Girls are punching, guys dodge or block" I instructed.

I stood in front of the pairs, watching as the girls threw punch after punch. I walked up to Ashlyn. I caught her wrist midair, startling her. "Sorry" I muttered only for her to hear. I moved her thumb from inside her fist and put it on the outside. "Tilt your wrist down as you punch. It will give you more power" I stated. I twisted her body so she was facing me. "Punch me" I demanded. She dropped her hands and shook her head.

I lifted up her chin so I could look into her fright filled eyed. "It's training. Make a fist. Punch my chest" I instructed. "This may be your only chance" I added quietly. That gave her enough motivation. She lifted her fist and punched my chest. I grabbed her fist again and fixed her thumb. "You can break your thumb if its inside your fist. Don't forget to tilt your wrist" I reminded her. She nodded and I patted my chest for her to hit me again. Her hand made contact with my chest and my body tilted back, but I held myself straight. "Good" I nodded at her.

Moving away, I let Phillip continue to dodge her punches. Which he was pretty good at. He caught her fist a few times and ducked to the side. I moved onto Kamdyn and Dana. Dana was throwing good punches. Kamdyn wasn't that good at dodging. "Look for ticks, Kam" I scanned Dana's body as she continued to punch. "Her foot twitches" I stated. His eyes drifted down just as her foot twitched. He moved to the side, dodging her hit.

Nodding at him, I moved to the next pair. Mary and Charlie were doing well. Marcus and Tracy were also doing good. I could hear Marcus flirting with her as Tracy laughed and said something about his small dick. That quickly shut him up and they focused on the training. The last pair was Austin and Gina. I walked over to them and placed my hands on Gina's waist. I moved her legs with my foot before releasing her. She threw another punch, and I stopped her wrist before she retracted. "Snap" I said quietly, making a gesture like I was snapping her wrist in half. "Pull your wrist back faster" I instructed.

She nodded and swung her fist out before quickly bringing it back and throwing another. Austin didn't have time to react, so he got hit in the jaw. "Don't forget. We have two hands" I told the guy. He growled at me, making me chuckle. I know that I will have trouble with him. "Switch" I commanded.

Hesitantly, the guys started throwing punches, but slowly. "Okay. Now punch like you're actually trying" I demanded.

"I'm not gonna hit a girl!" Austin dropped his hands and began stalking off.

Great. Now I get to chase after a whiny little dick head. "Stop!" I shouted. His feet were planted on the floor as he turned around to face me. I got into his face and whispered so the others couldn't hear us. "I know you probably have parents right. Siblings. Family. Maybe even a mate. During battle, there will be girls. Trust me on that. They will try to kill you and whoever is fighting with you. And you can't just let them get away because you don't want to hit a girl. This is training. There is no way to go through it without a few scratches and bruises. But that's to prepare you for the real thing. That's why we're here" I stated.

"Now get back there and train" I demanded. His jaw was clenched as he walked back to Gina. I watched them train, noticing that the guys were obviously holding back. "Girls! You're small! Use that to your advantage!" I shouted. They listened to me, moving side to side, turning their bodies.

They were hit a few times, but we can work on that. "Stop" the guys stopped punching as they all looked at me. "Sparing. Pick whoever you want. Just get in pairs" I demanded. I was surprised that none of them switched partners. I guess they will listen to me.

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"How was your first day of training?" Nick asked. I was in his office a few hours after our training ended.

I shrugged. "Pretty good. That Austin kid is a dick" I stated. Austin was only a year younger than me, but he acted like a kid. "Said that I kidnap kids" I spat.

Nick sighed. "I'll talk to him" he offered.

I quickly shook my head. I didn't tell Nick so Austin would get in trouble. It was just me venting about an extremely annoying teenager. "I'll handle it. But just out of curiosity. Who's his parents?" I questioned. I'm not gonna go to his parents to tell them how disrespectful their son is. I just want to know why his parents let him believe that bullshit about me. If they were there when I was a kid, then I wouldn't understand why.

Nick thought about it for a few moments. "Brandon and Fiona Roberts" he informed me. "Brandon should be on patrol on the West Border. He's 43, I think. Fiona is 39, maybe. I'm not sure if you remember them. Fiona used to work in the kitchen all the time- still does" he reminded me.

I nodded my head. She visited me last night. She didn't mention Austin. When I was little, she would take care of me with other women as some people helped clean up Piper. Or when Piper was out with Nick, I would be left in the kitchen with all the women. I was fine with it. I got unlimited Oreos. "Yeah. I remember her" I said softly. "I'll leave you to all this stuff" I excused myself.

Deciding to look for Fiona, I went to the kitchen. Why not, right? Only Thalia and Caroline were in there. "Zeke!" Caroline squealed.

Chuckling, I hugged her. "Hey, Care" I said softly before kissing Thalia on the cheek as a greeting. "How've you been?" I asked Caroline as I went to take a pack of Oreos out the pantry.

"I'm good" she said as a smile appeared on her face. "More importantly. Have you met your mate?" she asked. At the mention of my mate, Thalia piped up, eager to hear my answer. I shook my head and popped an Oreo in my mouth. "Well, you'll find her soon" Caroline told me.

Can't wait.

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Guess who's co-writing a story!!! Yes. Me.

Hahaha.... yeah... anyways... I'm writing with SDSUGirl and it's on her profile. It's called Fire Power. So read it cause you love me!!!

I love you guys!!!

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.