At The Beta's Command

Chapter 3

Ashton

"Training will start in three minutes." I mind linked my pack knowing that they probably are already aware of it. Not half a minute passed and they are now all standing in front of me in wolf form.

"Shift" I commanded and they hurried back to the pack house's backyard to get basketball shorts and to shift. Once done, I started counting them in my head. Forty-seven. Forty-seven new fighters, they are this years' sixteen year old wolves who will start training today. Boys start shifting at their sixteenth birthday and that is the perfect time to train them, yes, they were still hurt from shifting first time but it is better to feel pain over and over and be immune with it than to lay low and not be ready. We will not be called the strongest pack if we are not this dedicated to our trainings.

"Today we will start your training, and I will require you all to fight hand in hand in human form." I saw fear, hesitation and shock on their faces, moving in human form is harder than in wolf form if you are injured so I quickly say "Yes, I know first time shifting still hurts like b***h. But that's the point. You feel the pain today, yes but I promise you in the future you will just ignore it. Our pack fighters are immune to pain, that's why enemies couldn't take us down easy. They cry, we laugh, they whimper, we growl. That makes us the best fighters around the world 'Play the Pain' remember?"

"But Beta, my ribs are still hurting and still broken." says a frightened boy with ash blond hair I recognized as Michael.

"Too bad, huh?" he nodded. Then I used my wolf speed to hold him in his throat and punch his stomach twice before dropping him on the floor. He winced and I saw tears in his eyes. "Pain, you feel it. But your mind can betray that feeling. Now stand up boy and don't cry. Don't think of pain but think of something that worth living for so you can endure the pain."

"When I say Play the Pain, I mean play your fears. Don't let fear eat you, but use your mind to control how you feel. Now, get a partner and start fighting like pain never existed." I said in general.

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"Trainees earlier are complaining about how hard it is to train with their unhealed ribs and still broken bones after their first shifting." Jaden said chuckling. It took a year for a wolf to fully recover from their first shifting so all of them are still hurting. They howl at night at the agony of pain calling the Moon Goddess for help but pain is part of being a complete wolf shifter.

"Oh, that was like us four years ago!" said Nico. The three of us and some others trained when we were all sixteen. Alpha Lukas, Jaden's father insisted that we train and learn how to fight because he heard that rogues are attacking pack after pack with a mission of killing sixteen to eighteen year old wolves. But the group of rogue mutts never came to our land. After I killed Hunter's father, I was assigned in training fighters and declared Beta for Jaden. I can still remember that day, the day when things at Blazing Red Moon Pack changed big time without the Alpha and the pack members knowing it. Only Jaden and I know about that turn of event.

"Wait, remember the time when rogues gone crazy killing sixteen to eighteen year old werewolves?" asked Nico interrupting my train of thoughts.

"Yeah, the reason why we need to train at the young age. Normally, werewolves train at age eighteen." said Jaden. Yes, werewolves normally train at age eighteen but when we saw the advantage and good result of training early we decide to train every wolf boys as soon as they shifted.

"Well, I heard from an elder at the temple earlier that one of the elders paid those rogues for the job." That got my attention.

"Why? Did they say anything?" Jaden asked skeptically.

"Oh, some crazy story saying an escaped white wolf's firstborn must die before the imbalance of the tradition cause death to everyone. Like seriously? A white wolf? Ashton's fur is greyish almost white but not white enough to be called a white wolf. And no white wolf's firstborn lives after the age of ten." He said snickering. Jaden looked at my direction and I know already what's on his mind.

"So an elder paid rogues to kill you?" he mind linked me.

"So that the imbalance must return to normal, or everyone will die" I said back.

"But that's not what the Prophecy is telling." He pushed to my thoughts.

"I know, I must know because my father explained to me everything."

"Whoa there! Are you two mind linking each other? That's not fair!" Nico fake cried. I just shrugged and said "Yes, and so?" the same time Jaden uttered a "No."

"Fine! I'll just go find Sam and hang out with her, she's more worth my time after all." And then he left.

"Hang out my ass." Says Jaden smirking knowingly. "I heard that!" Nico shouted. "Because you were supposed to!" Jaden shouted back.

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Amber

What the...?please still sleepy here you know! Can anyone please shut that annoying beep...oh shoot! My alarm! It's Monday and it was like weekend just flew out the window! After the party last Saturday my Sunday ended with me nursing my hangover and Blake and Moniq making fun of me.

Seriously, who in the hell are capable of laughing for whole day straight? Yeah right, only my best friend and so-called boyfriend can ever do that! They never stopped telling me things I did when I got drunk at the party and I couldn't believe them! I can never ever do those things! Like, who in the hell in their right mind would go to the principal's house in the middle of the night throwing wine bottles at the front yard and screaming "Come get out of your cave jerkman and show us your jerkface so we can post it on f*******:! Oh, and don't forget to wear your neon bling blings for the best effects!" Totally, not me! But Moniq showed me a video from her phone of a very angry Principal Williams shouting profanities I can never imagine he would say at school. But then again, I do not believe I did that, maybe he was just mad because someone interrupted his sleep. That someone couldn't be me, right? And then there's Blake's story of me hopping up and down like a kangaroo at the Starbucks while ordering a pizza. Telling the crew that I wanted a triple cheese pizza and slapping the poor guy for saying that they do not have any kind of pizza at Starbucks. I know right, so why would I order pizza at Starbucks? Obviously, that was not me. Blake, like what I said, was just making fun of me along with my best friend Moniq. But then he showed me a purplish mark at my left cheek telling that I got it when I hop like a kangaroo while making my way out of the café, failing to see that the glass door was closed. End of story? No. the two of them told me that I wanted to streak but Blake just stopped me. Like me? Streak, I mean run naked? No freaking way!

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"Hey, babe." Blake said sneaking behind me while I raid my locker for the things I need for my morning classes. "How're you feeling now?"

"No more headaches but I'm still sleepy like I needed twenty four more hours of sleep!" I said pouting like a child at my lack of rest. Blake smiled at me shaking his head and pecked my lips. "it's okay baby, you'll be fine."

"Hey guys! 'Zup?" Lance greeted us giving Blake a weird man hug.

"Oh, Lance nice party last Saturday huh?" Blake said looking at me funny. Yeah, Blakey you start annoying me this early and you will regret it I swear!

"No, actually I just stopped by to say sorry. To you, Amber." Lance said looking ashamed.

"Ow, why is that?" I asked eyeing him suspiciously.

"Uh, uhhmm...see at the party last Sat? yeah, the cakes were spiked with weeds. Oh, wait don't make that face! Don't get mad, I'm sorry I told Jason not to do it but they still did!" Lance explained apologetically.

"That explains." Said Blake controlling his laughter.

"Whoa. Wait, so is our good little Amber here did something stu- I mean fun?" oh I know he's about to say stupid! Argh! Blake was about to answer when I beat him to it.

"No! I didn't do such thing okay! Well, thanks for informing us about the poisoned cake but next time I go to your party I will never ever eat anything!" and that did it! Blake starts laughing so hard he's now on the floor holding his stomach. I glared at him and kicked his side, that stopped him but before he can say anything I walked out and went to my first class not without hearing Lance excited voice saying "Man, you got to tell me everything!" to Blake. Oh the joy of partying and having fun!

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Ashton

"Beta, rogues are suspected roaming the human town." Says Max one of the patrols assigned at the human town. We also guard humans against rogues in case those mutts decide to create trouble with humans. They were rogues, brainless, heartless and stupid after all. They're willing to expose themselves just to get to us. "Some patrols followed their scents but they lost track." He continued.

"I'll go to the town." I declared. "Better do it myself and find out. If rogues are there we need fewer number of wolves at the human town, chances are we'll be exposed so bring only two patrols with you and I'll bring one more fighter."

"Can I volunteer as your plus one?" Jaden interrupted.

"No, you need to stay at the pack house. Who knows maybe it was just their scheme to destruct us. We need more fighters here than there."

"Okay Beta." Jaden said playfully.

"Sure Mr. Alpha." I replied smirking.

"I really don't understand how you can command the Alpha without him and his wolf being challenged." Nico said amused.

"He believes in my tactics that's all." I replied confidently.

"Besides, Beta's strats and tactics brought us to victory many times before so why not trust him again?" said Jaden who just shrugged like it's nothing. To us, it's nothing but pack members are questioning us about how the Alpha lets the Beta decide and plan for everything, especially the elders. They just got used to it after the third attack that we won against the rogues where even women and children were kidnapped and killed mercilessly. The most tragic attack we faced.

"Whatever, we're going to human town in an hour. Alert the others." I said heading to my room to get change.

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Amber

"Amberly Nicole Daniels!!!"

"Oh my god Moniq please stop screaming! My head still hurts like b***h you know! I just thought it was gone this morning but during the boring Math class it came back. Like seriously? Who cares about the square roots of those stupid numbers?" I said irritated at my best friends enthusiasm. School's over and we decided to walk home. Blake has a practice so we don't have a lift.

"I am telling you how Byron just asked me on date! And you are just nodding your head like it's nothing! Like seriously you should listen! That's what bff's do!" she shouted yet again and this time I decided to hit her at the back of her head.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" she shrieked. "Well, for you to feel how my head feels right now so stop squealing like girl okay!"

"But I am a girl!"

"You keep saying that dude!" was my retort.

"Hey, you were just jealous I got asked for a date!"

"Hey, your face! I already have a hot boyfriend in case you forget!"

"Whatever, you're no fun!"

"Only when my head was aching like this."

"And when you're on your period!"

"Oh shut up! Atleast I am not retarded!"

"OMG! What do you mean by that? Who is retarded?" Moniq asked faking hurt.

"Oh, just someone I know named Moniq from Northern High who unfortunately happens to be my bestfriend." I said grinning like i***t.

"You are cruel. You are evil!" she accused pointing her pink manicured finger to me.

"Oh, but you love me!" I sang.

"Love you? Never!" she said placing her hands to her heart. Oh, my overdramatic bestie!

"Hmm...you keep saying that. Anyway, I need Starbucks like right now. I think coffee could help ease my headache plus, I have a ton of homeworks to do." I said turning left at the intersection heading at the café.

"Then, what ask for pizza?" Moniq said holding in her laughter.

"Can we just pretend it never happened?! I was drugged you know!" I asked hopefully. It looks like Blake and Moniq will never shut up about that fateful night!

"ahhmm, let me think..." and she paused for effect. "How about no?"

"Now you are evil!" I said frustrated.

"And we're best friends because we're both evil!" and we laughed together after that. Yes, we're crazy like that.