The Alpha's Pride

9.

Oliver's P.O.V

A loud crash resounded from within the cabin, awakening me from my deep slumber. I sat up in bed immediately, intently listening to see what was happening. Multiple footsteps resounded from the front of the cabin. I moved my hand to the side of the bed, hoping to shake Sarah awake. However, the space beside me was already empty.

It must be her, then.

I slid my hand across my forehead, attempting to alleviate the pain of my headache. But, unfortunately, I had not slept long enough. I looked at the clock, my eyes growing wide. It was already 6 am. I was supposed to be training an hour before now. I jumped anxiously out of bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants while bolting toward the front of the cabin.

As soon as the storm door swung open, I could barely believe my eyes.

Noir was already training. With Sarah!

My eyes narrowed while watching the two. As expected, Sarah was just as good as in high school. Her moves were precise and calculated. She was known to do anything it took to win her battles. She embraced fighting dirty, arguing that not all wolves, especially not rogues, would follow proper combat etiquette. Noir was holding back. Noir had deliberately slowed his movements, his attacks less deadly. However, it was much faster than when I began. Still, She was keeping up with Noir. They circled one another in a crouching position. Noir looked like he was warming up, his usual casual grin plastered across his face. After training with him for a week, I knew differently. He was not struggling by any means. However, I could see the beginnings of glistening sweat on his forehead. Sarah pushed him farther than I could, and she hadn't been here an entire day.

"Good morning. You're late." Noir smiled in amusement, standing from his crouched stance. That's when Sarah noticed Me. She stood upright, a large grin on her face.

"Good morning, Ollie kins." Sarah rose to her feet. She wiped her forehead with a small hand towel while giving me a bright smile. She was absolutely in her element. There would be no other reason to be smiling and energetic this early morning. "Your right, Noir. He is late." She turned her attention to Noir, panting from the intense workout.

"Aren't you supposed to be leaving?" I interjected toward her, raising an eyebrow.

"Not anymore." Noir interrupted. My face must have contorted into nothing less than distaste. Noir, amused by my handling of the situation, laughed to himself. "I've had something come up. But, unfortunately, I have to leave for a while. In the meantime, Sarah will train you. That way, you'll be more..." He paused, thinking momentarily. "susceptible to my training."

My eyes widened with disbelief, staring at my uncle slack-jawed. I couldn't believe it. He just asked for my help with something essential a week ago. So now he is leaving me here? With her?!

"You can't do that, Uncle Noir! This training is much too necessary to leave it to her. I need to be trained by you. You're the only one qualified to train me properly." Noir held my gaze, daring me to continue to speak.

"That is enough, Oliver. Once you reach her level, I will continue to train you. But, for now, I have things to attend to. What I have to do is much too necessary to leave behind. It is not important enough, however, to take you with me. I have made the final decision already, and the Alpha approves it. Do you have any further concerns?" The intensity of his gaze bore into my soul. I wanted to object. I could not tell him that I refused to be trained by her. The look on his face was a deeply serious one, a dark contrast to his usual easygoing grin.

"No. I have nothing against it." I nodded to Noir, agreeing with his statement. I watched as his usual easygoing smile returned.

"Good. Then I have no worries; I'll leave in a few hours. So I'll be leaving to pack. Sarah? Go easy on the boy, For today." He nodded toward Sarah with his usual carefree grin before turning to the cabin. I stepped out, allowing Noir to disappear into the run-down place.

"Looks like we'll be all alone for a while, Olliekins. What will we do with all of that free time?"She fluttered her eyes at me flirtatiously. I rolled my eyes in response. Great. I'm not going to get any training done if this keeps up.

"Now. Let's get back to basics, Ollie kins! After all, your mother excused you from combat training in favour of private tutors. So it doesn't look like someone tutored you as your mom thought." I gritted my teeth in response, nodding my head toward her.

God. I hate when she's right.

I had paid off my combat tutor to tell my mother we were training. After all, I was always terrible in combat and had better things to do than repeatedly failing. I eyed Sarah suspiciously as she innocently flicked her ponytail behind her back.

"How do you know I wasn't training? You haven't even seen me in combat?" I crossed my arms defensively. She giggled in response, a conniving smile on her pink-glossed lips.

"Because Ollie kins. You paid off my big brother."

Fuck.

I looked downward, cradling the bridge of my nose with two fingers.

"Okay, fine. You win. We'll start with the basics."

"Let's start training down in the clearing." She grinned, taking off towards the small clearing behind the house. My feet were still aching dully from the previous day's stealth training. I would like to continue my training with Noir. Especially considering he was on the same level as my mother. My mother is a woman that Alpha would come from far and wide to challenge, often being left in the dust by her. I have seen her combat with my own eyes. Which made it hard to believe Noir could be at the same level. But I trusted her judgement. Therefore, I was excited to see what Noir could do. After all, I wanted to be at the same level as my mother and Noir. They were both simple wolves like myself.

Growing up, I heard whispers that my mother was more than a simple wolf; I always chalked it up to jealousy and fear of my mother's performance. After all, you would have to be out of your mind to believe in Demons.

"Ollie kins, are you okay? You seem spaced out". I returned my thinking to what was before me. Sarah had her head slightly turned, watching me with concern. "You can't space out like that in a real battle. You'll be dead already." I rolled my eyes in response, waving my hand dismissively.

"For the thousandth time, please stop calling me Ollie kins. Oliver or Ollie is preferred. And I'll keep your concerns in mind, after all. This training isn't a real battle. So there is no need to worry."

I could barely see the flash of her movement before she was inches away from me, her manicured pink nails nipping my skin as she held my throat in a single hand.

"Anything can become a battle. That's why you always have to be ready." Her face was grave as she looked up at me. There wasn't a single expression on her face. Instead, her eyes fell dark with something I couldn't grasp. "Oh, and I'm not your uncle. So I won't be going easy on you." Within a moment, the rugged look disappeared, replaced by her usual innocent grin. She shrugged her shoulders, and her eyes squinted due to her grin. "Okay?"