Peyton

I was tossing and turning in my bed, unable to get any sleep after what had happened. I’d pretty much known that this was coming, but nothing could really prepare me for what my body and mind went through. I found the fact that he could suppress me with his aura like that highly infuriating. Finally, I gave up trying to sleep and delved into the books that Sam gave me. The more information I could gather, the better.

I was relieved to learn that werewolves could only conceive when they had sex in the transformed state. The supernatural community still seemed to live with a rather barbaric set of rules compared to modern society. Strength was law and that was pretty much it, it seemed. Ever since the fall of some bigshot family called Luciente, werewolves had a decentralised structure. Each alpha had a territory that was marked and if there were disputes, they were settled between packs, rather violently most of the time.

With all the alphas being male and having a position of unassailable power in the pack, I’d assumed that what I went through last night was fairly common. The book I was perusing was trying very hard to sweep it all under the rug as ‘such activities were for the eventual betterment and evolution of the pack and the bloodline’.

Sometime in the early morning, I fell into an uneasy sleep. Despite going to sleep late, I woke up at the regular time. I made my way down to the office. Sam and Jay joined us a bit later with breakfast. I greeted them. I thought I’d kept my face passive. So I was rather surprised when Jay spoke up

“Are you okay Peyton?”

“Yeah, I’m fine Jay.”

“Did something happen last night?” Jay asked, looking concerned.

“Oh, did Luke take you last night?” Sam asked with a tone that suggested as if Luke took me to the movies last night.

“Take me?” I growled as I felt my anger flare. Sam flinched back from me.

“Whoa, take it easy. It’s fairly common in a pack with an unmated alpha like ours. Don’t take it too personally. In fact, most packs practice it as a rule since it helps a female wolf improve her aura when she interacts with the alpha like that. And Luke’s all about building the strength of the pack if nothing else.”

‘So, it was done for my benefit was it?’ I grit my teeth as I restrained myself from snapping at Sam. I wondered how he’d feel if it was done to him. I fixed him with a glare as he winced and moved away from me a little bit.

“I can see that it’s already working. Do you mind not hitting me with your aura like that Peyton?” Sam asked.

‘Wait, I did what now?’

Jay saw the look of puzzlement on my face. “You probably weren’t doing it consciously, Peyton, but you were directing your aura against Sam right now”.

“Yeah, it was pretty good too. I think you might already be stronger than Layla, though, that’s a pretty low bar to set. Still, having this much aura only a day after becoming a werewolf is really impressive” Sam said while Jay nodded.

“So , I have an aura now?” I asked.

“Every werewolf has an aura. The important thing is the quantity and the ability to make it denser and apply it with your will.” Jay said.

At that moment, we heard Luke coming down the stairs. As he entered the room, our eyes met for a brief moment before he looked away. His face was a mask of indifference, which pissed me off to no small extent. But, I knew that shouting wasn’t going to accomplish anything.

“Good morning Luke. Guess what? Peyton just hit me with her aura. Her aura is pretty darn good for a day old werewolf”.

“I already know that.” Luke said.

‘Oh yeah, the fucker must’ve noticed last night while he was stifling my aura into submission with his aura last night’.

Luke asked Jay to step out with him for a moment. Jay returned a couple of minutes later while Luke headed out.

“Peyton, you need to go get dressed after breakfast. We’re going out”. Jay said.

“Why? Where are we going?”.

“Luke has asked me to train you. We’ll be going to the woods”.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Why did he ask you to train me and not Sam or Rob?”. I asked. I had the distinct impression that Luke was much more close to them than Jay.

“Because, I’m the strongest in the pack after Luke” Jay replied. His tone wasn’t boasting or anything. It was a simple statement of fact.

“For now, I’m gonna catch up to you soon Jay.” Sam piped up.

“Sure, Sure”. Jay replied looking uninterested.

I finished breakfast and went up to change. I donned on some of my workout gear and went out to meet Jay. I had to get stronger. Strong enough that I’d be able to determine my own destiny. Jay had already pulled up his truck by the time I made it down and we set off towards the woods.

We were both silent for a while before Jay suddenly said “I’m sorry Peyton”.

“Why?” I asked.

“I’m sorry that this is happening to you and I’m sorry there’s not much I can do to help you”.

I considered him for a moment.

“You feel sorry? And yet you continue serving him. Words are cheap enough Jay. It’s actions that count.” I said. I saw Jay’s hands tighten over the steering wheel.

“My situation is more similar to your own than you think, Peyton. I’m not here by choice either. Or at the very least, I was offered the same shitty choices that you were.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Peyton, I come from a line of wolves that are known for our superior skills as warriors. I was targeted by Luke because of that. In the end, the choice was between me joining the pack in exchange for keeping my little sister out of it or them taking my sister away by force. The only reason I serve Luke is to make sure that my sister doesn’t end up where you are now.”

There was unmistakable pain in Jay’s voice as he said this. I didn’t know if I believed him yet. But I knew Luke was more than capable and cold enough to do what Jay said.

“What about the others? Did they join the pack the same way too?” I asked.

“No, Layla’s obsessed with Luke and I’m pretty sure Sam and Rob joined the pack for power and no other reason. Unlike me, Luke really trusts them. That’s why Rob is the second in command even though he’s weaker than me.”

I was silent for a while as I mulled over his words. What he said corresponded with what I’d observed about the pack. But, I still couldn’t bring myself to fully trust him. I had trusted Rob and that was how I’d ended up here. Still, Jay was a valuable source of information.

“So, What exactly is it that a werewolf pack does?” I asked.

“Well, the official version is that a pack exists to bring humans protection and good governance from the supernatural community. Of all the supernaturals, werewolves are the most powerful species that need not hurt or kill humans to survive. Apparently, a long time ago, werewolves used to be just as harmful to humans as vampires or wendigos. A family called Luciente changed all that. They turned werewolves from uncontrollable wandering loners to a regimented unit spearheaded by alphas. Somehow, they found a method to sacrifice individuality and freedom to attain more power and control. They used the argument of protecting humans to subdue other werewolves and wage war against other supernatural beings. The principles they established then still function as the basis of werewolf society today. An alpha is technically responsible for protecting the humans in his territory against other supernatural beings”.

Jay looked at me before continuing. “Like I said, that’s the rosy official version. In truth, it’s all about power. Werewolves took command and pushed other supernatural beings to the sidelines because they wanted to hoard power. As you know from personal experience, werewolves have no compunctions about harming humans if it means they can increase their power.”.

“So what is it exactly that our pack does? Do we have a mission statement or something?” I asked.

Jay chuckled darkly. “No we don’t. But if we had one it’d be ‘more power, more money and even more power’. The main source of revenue for the pack comes from a tow truck company. Luke uses it to move money, drugs, guns and whatever else that needs moving. When he first moved into town 5 years ago, Luke offered his services to a local drug kingpin. He refused since he had his own supply network. Luke fired a couple of warning shots against their organisation. But, they chose to retaliate rather than negotiate. Suddenly, the kingpin found that his lieutenants were disappearing, as if they vanished off the face of the earth. His network broke down and the cops found him a month later in an alley with his throat cut. The rival who took over his territory was wiser and he was only too happy to use Luke’s services”.

“Did the cops never manage to get wind of this operation?” I asked.

“It’s hard to tail and find evidence on a werewolf and almost impossible to build a case when all the witnesses end up disappearing. Witnesses aren’t exactly safe in a safe house when you’ve got werewolves tracking them. Luke’s well entrenched in the city now. He’s got enough legitimate businesses set up through shell corporations and proxies that he has no problem laundering money. The whole operation runs like a well oiled machine with Luke’s mundane lieutenants doing most of the day to day work. We’re only asked to step in when something serious happens”.

‘No wonder they weren’t interested in the money I got from selling my mother’s house. The guy probably had millions in cash lying around’. I thought.

“Can the alpha track members of the pack anytime he wants?” I asked.

“I’m afraid so Peyton. You must’ve felt it too right? A connection linking you to the alpha. Luke can use it to track you down any time he wants. It’s one of the foundational facts responsible for an alpha’s power over the pack.” He said.

“Escape’s not easy Peyton. Otherwise I’d have done it already” Jay said as we pulled in at the edge of the woods.

I tried not to show any disappointment on my face.

“So, training. What will we be doing today?”.

“It’s very simple, Peyton. You’re gonna try and stop me from grinding you into the ground”.

“Wait, WHAT?”.