Run! The Black Wolf's prey.

Chapter 34 - Excuse me, Commander

It had been a long and uneventful night. John and his friends had taken turns going on patrols, but Nolan had not showed up again and the woods surrounding Pine Ridge had been calm and quiet, as if all wildlife sighed with relief after their battle.

John had spent most of the night sitting on the porch, gazing at the waxing crescent moon, trying not to hear the muffled sounds of Zack and Joanna exploring their new lives as true mates. He was happy for them, of course. They were good people and really deserved each other!

Yet, he couldn’t keep himself from thinking about Isabel… Images of her kept coming into his mind; her vivid hazel eyes, their colour changing with her mood, and her soft rosy lips. The look on her face before their first kiss, when she had that little mischievous smile of hers, suggesting that she was just as into him as he was into her. Her long legs wrapped around him and the taste of her as they made love…

These memories were haunting him, digging their way into his soul, creating a feeling of emptiness in his chest. It was almost too much for him to handle.

He had never felt so strong about anyone before, and now he had to get used to the thought of never seeing her again. It felt like he was ripping his own heart out, but he couldn’t see any other way?

The only reasonable thing to do was to put the pack and the tribe first. It was his responsibility, what he was born to do, and he couldn’t let his feelings for a human cloud his mind, no matter how beautiful and special she was to him… He also had to remind himself that this was the best way to keep her safe from Nicholas.

The horizon behind the trees was glowing with vibrant pink colours as the sun was beginning to rise, the crescent moon on its way down behind the Pine Ridge peak. John hadn’t slept the whole night, but he wasn’t feeling tired, he rarely slept more than a few hours anyway.

He smiled at the memory of one of those nights with Isabel, when he had been lying in bed awake, watching her sleep. She had slept with her arms above her head, her lips slightly parted, looking as innocent as a child… And then, somehow, she had felt his gaze and had sleepily opened her eyes, smiling at him drowsily before pulling him close. She had been so trusting, believing in him and their budding relationship... He loathed himself for betraying her trust.

He quivered, vehemently taking off his jeans, and shifted into his wolf. He had to go for a run, or his thoughts would drive him crazy! He took off and started running, trying to clear his mind. He ran and ran, and continued to run for hours, until he eventually returned to the Pine Ridge premises, his physical exhaustion taking away a little of his anguish.

When he finally came back to Pine Ridge, the main house was busy. The children were sitting in the front yard, quietly playing in the gravel, and the grown-ups were cleaning and scrubbing away the blood stains from the day before. All activity seized, however, as John arrived, everyone admiring the massive black wolf running towards them with its mighty leaps.

“We were starting to wonder if you would ever come back,” Luke arched a brow, bringing John his clothes.

John shifted into his human form, giving him a wry smile in return, and put on his jeans. His toned muscles were bulging after his exertion, his bare chest glistening with sweat, and strands of his dark and wet hair were framing his face.

Some of the female wolves from the Pine Ridge pack were practically purring as they watched him approach the front porch with vigorous steps. Electra leaned against one of the pillars of the house with her arms crossed, her big curly hair falling to her shoulders, and she gave him a wide grin.

“Hello Boss,” she chuckled. “I think you’ve got yourself some admirers.”

“Very funny, Electra,” he replied dryly. “OK, everyone, it’s time to start our practice. Whoever considers him or herself to be a fighter, step forward,” John called.

All the female wolves stood up immediately.

One of them, an attractive young woman with long brown hair, walked up to him and put her hand on his chest as she wet her lips. She tossed her hair to the side, exposing her long un-marked neck, looking up at him through her thick eyelashes.

“I’m Vera,” she smiled, her brown eyes glowing. Her fingers trailed from his sternum all the way down to the waistband of his jeans, and she bit her lip seductively. “Do you want to take a shower before we start?”

“Maybe not a shower right before we start our training?” John looked at her amusingly. “But maybe you can show me what you got, and we’ll see if anyone needs to shower afterwards.”

“Of course, captain,” she smiled sweetly.

“Any male warriors, or do you only have female fighters in this pack?” John crossed his arms and looked around.

A few men started approaching him, not looking too eager to impress. John sighed. He had a long day ahead of him.

They were practicing from morning until late afternoon without any breaks. John, Luke and Zack were training the others, giving them instructions and teaching them different techniques in combat. Zack had military training, in addition to his Alpha training together with John, and his input was very valuable when it came to tactics and skills. They practiced in both their human and wolf forms, and after several hours of tough combat practice, they were all covered in scratches and bruises from each other’s fangs and claws.

“Excuse me, Commander Black Wolf,” one of the Pine Ridge pack omegas hesitantly approached him.

“Yes, my friend?” he replied kindly. His mother had taught him to never disrespect the omegas.

“Dinner is served, Commander,” she blushed, looking at her feet.

“Thank you,” John smiled at her, and she ran off.

As he turned around, he faced their improvised battle arena where the fighters were practicing in groups. Most of them had taken a break already, and Zack was seated with his group on the ground, sharing some experiences from the military. Luke’s group was still practicing with the crossbows, aiming at a distant tree. Randall had also been allocated one group, and they were currently standing chatting quietly as they were watching the female fighter’s group, led by Electra.

“Lost your motivation, guys?” John walked towards them, arching a brow. “Or are you just too mesmerized by our female wolves?”

“We’re just admiring the girls’ fighting spirit,” Randall grinned at him.

John turned to look as well. Electra was indeed pushing them; they were still in fierce combat training in their human forms.

The women were standing in a ring, surrounding the combaters, currently being Electra and Vera, and some of the girls had cuts and bruises a little too deep than necessary for the first day of training.

“Come on, girl,” Electra was mocking her opponent. “Don’t you think I heard you bragging to the other girls before? You think you could be the Luna of the River Valley pack? Prove yourself!”

She was standing with feet wide in a low fighting stance, her claws elongated.

“We haven’t practiced like this for ages,” Vera hissed, circling Electra with vigilant steps. “Not everyone can live like the Black Wolves. We cannot spend several hours training every day, like you do.”

“Oh really, so what do you do that’s so important? Combing each other’s hair? Polishing your nails? Or maybe looking after the males, preparing your wombs to carry their pups?” Electra scoffed. “In our pack, females are just as worthy as the males. We’re not just breeding mares.”

“You b***h!” Vera shouted, jumping at Electra, aiming at her throat.

“That’s more like it,” Electra laughed, easily shaking her off.

“You’re being too hard on us, Electra,” Joanna was also standing in the ring, arms crossed. “You’re right. We have been lazy, not preparing ourselves. But we don’t have the same opportunities as you do. Our pack is not so big, and we cannot afford to send all our wolves to the Alpha, Beta and Luna training schools or summer camps. I am the only one from our pack who had the opportunity to go.”

“Then maybe you should have taught the others what you have learned,” Electra easily fought off another of Vera’s blows.

A deep growl interrupted them as Zack entered the circle.

“How dare you disrespect my mate?” he snarled, looking at Electra menacingly.

“It’s OK,” Joanna stopped him. “She’s right. I should have. I was too concerned about how to find a suitable mate, I didn’t think of our need to protect ourselves. And I haven’t really been a good role model for our female fighters.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself,” Zack looked at her with gentle eyes. “You’ve had the future of the whole pack on your shoulders. It must have been difficult.”

“I think it’s time we take a break, everyone,” John walked into the circle, placing himself between Electra and Vera. “Go clean yourselves up, and we’ll have some dinner.”

“What are you doing?” John asked Electra when the others had left. “Remember, you’re their guest! Not their enemy.”

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” she grinned at him. “These girls need to find some fighting spirit. I’m just giving them a helping hand.”

“Whatever you say,” he laughed, putting his arms around her shoulder. “You crazy bitch.”

“You fat ass,” she snickered, pinching his belly, hardly getting any grip of his tough skin.

Electra was like a sister to John. They were the same age and she was the daughter of Bran, his father’s Beta, so they had been playing and teasing each other since they were pups. She was one of the few people John trusted completely.

“John, Warren wants you to call him,” Luke joined them as they were walking towards the large table with food that had been put up behind the house.

“Sure,” John started gnawing a piece of grilled chicken as he dialled Warren’s number.

“John,” his father’s voice rumbled. “How’s it going?”

“Good,” John walked away from the others. “How are things back home?”

“All well,” Warren replied. “We have arranged so there will be at least one fighter from each of the Western Tribe packs that will go to Pine Ridge pack to stay, from tomorrow and onwards. So you should be able to come home tomorrow.”

“Sounds good,” John was relieved. He hadn’t been sure the other pack Alpha’s, besides Zack and Liam, would agree to send any of their fighters to a pack that wasn’t part of their tribe, at least not yet.

“So, I’ll see you tomorrow…” Warren hesitated.

“Is there anything else?” John suspected there was something his father didn't tell him.

“No, that’s all. Bye.” Warren ended the call.

John had just gone back to the others as his phone buzzed. He was sure it was Warren again, but when he looked at the screen, it said something completely different...

“Sheela, what's up?” he answered the call, having a bad hunch.

“John,” she whispered at the other end. “I’m not supposed to tell you, but I think you should know..."

"What? What's going on?"

"One of the pack cars is missing. And no one has seen Nick for a few hours… I think he has left.”

John froze. Nick? Missing? What was he up to...? And why hadn't Warren told him?

“Thank you, Sheela. You did the right thing,” John hung up, staring in front of him, desperately thinking of what to do. There could only be one reason why Nicholas had gone missing, and why Warren didn't want him to find out about it...

Isabel.

“F.U.C.K!” he bellowed.

It became dead silent as everyone stopped chatting and stared at him in surprise.