Chapter-15

                                                                         Ivy

“You are late, warrior.”

What in the Goddess's name was he doing here? But he was here, his eyes, that deep, intense gaze doing inexplicable things at the pit of my stomach. My heart almost felt like it would plummet out of my mouth.

“Er…I…” I didn’t have a reply. What was I going to say? That I ended up sleeping late because you were haunting my dreams last night?

“Maybe elaborate what he was doing as well?” Silver giggled.

“Discipline is the first thing a warrior should possess, don’t you think?” he taunted. I wanted to retort back with something nasty as we both stared at each other, neither breaking eye contact but held back because he was right…I was late.

“Yes…Alpha,” I said, keeping my voice firm. He let out a low, guttural growl in response, and I wasn’t sure if everyone else heard it but I did. When I risked a peek at him, his eyes were a shade darker, jaw even more tense.

“Take your place,” Asher commanded. “This was your first strike. Next time…well, there better be no next time.” Gritting my teeth, I took my place at the back, deciding to ignore him for the entire training session.

“Not there,” I looked up and Asher gave me a commanding look.

“This is where I always stand,” I replied evenly, trying not to lose it now.

“Not anymore. Come here…at the front,” he pointed with his eyes to the empty place between Graham and Reed and right in front of…him.

“That’s the place for the leaders.”

“And?”

“I am not a leader,” This was getting crazily embarrassing now. Every eye was fixed on me, watching me like a hawk.

“You are the first female warrior in GrayCrest history. If my brothers deemed you worthy of that title, then I believe their judgment. But I do want to see what made them so sure in the first place, since I am in charge of the GrayCrest army. And I can’t do that if you are crouching at the very back.” he replied, his voice hard.

So he was challenging me and questioning my capabilities. He was kind of digging his own grave here because given the chance, I would show him what I was capable of. I would love to see his face when I beat him at the sparring sessions. So far, I haven’t taken part in that but I have watched. And learned. With a deep breath, I took my place, shooting him a look that conveyed my thoughts on him loud and clear—none of them positive.

“Good,” Asher nodded, taking a step towards me. He stood taller, seeming more broader than he did yesterday as he peered down at me with his intent, somewhat drunk eyes.

“This is your position from now on, understood?”

“Yes, Alpha,” I said, meeting his gaze. A blanket of heat wrapped me in its embrace in the wake of his proximity, the strong, formidable scent of leather, bourbon and cedar wood making my head spin a bit. I could feel the warmth of his body even if he was still a few inches away from me. It made my throat go dry with thirst like they show in those Twilight movies.

“It’s good to see you can follow orders,” he murmured, thankfully moving back. “Boys, I hope we haven’t been lagging off in my absence?”

“No, Alpha,” everyone said in unison, a symphony of heavy masculine voices.

“We will see,” Asher said. “Graham, Reed…anything we need to worry about?” I wasn’t sure but I did notice his eyes narrow at the leader of the warrior for a second.

“No Alpha,” Graham shook his head.

He was a hefty guy with slick blonde hair, tattoos and piercings and gave off really evil vibes. He had one of those hulk like bodies that really turned me off and his behavior just added to it.

“Just a few rogues here and there. Nothing out of the ordinary,” he added.

“Same for me,” Reed nodded. He was leaner with ginger hair but had a less evil touch to him than Graham.

“Good. We all deserve some peace,” Asher made a face. “Anyway, winter is coming and that means it’s time to train extra hard. Even though we are adapted to facing heavy winters, it can still get hard. Especially for those patrolling the final perimeter. So, before it hits, let’s all be well-prepared. Reed, this is more important for you. Hunting and snow don’t really go hand in hand that much, and you know that,”

“Yes, Alpha,” Reed said.

Everyone listened with the utmost attention, even myself. And I couldn’t help but marvel for a moment at the authority Asher Gray commanded just by the way he spoke. He stood straight and his angular, rugged face shone in the bright sunlight. His arms were veiny and looked like they could kill with a single punch. He wasn't heavily built like Graham, but he was strong. And very masculine. Asher’s eyes flicked to me momentarily, and I quickly averted my gaze, not really wanting to get caught gawking at him.

“Winter is also the favorite time for those assholes, cowards of the enemy packs to attack, so we need to come up with a better plan for guarding our perimeters and boundaries. Reed, Graham, let’s catch up tomorrow to discuss this with Logan and Noah,” he muttered.

Both Reed and Graham nodded, and the latter shot me a sideways glance before his lips twitched in a smirk. No doubt trying to show off how important he was.

“Duh, he is just a warrior. You are his mate. You will be the mother of his pups,” Silver snorted. I almost choked on my breath at that comment.

Mother of his pups? Me? Not in seventh hell.

“The eight months that I have spent at BlackRiver have taught me quite a bit and you will be amazed to know how warriors in different packs work. I had a lot to learn and I will be eventually passing it on to you all. But now, let’s start with our usual perimeter run followed by the rest of our schedule. Physical training will be intensified over the week and the same goes for your wolves. The monthly fight-offs will now be weekly, so we can work faster towards building our strength as a unit. And no one will be spared from that,” he shot me a look and I scowled in response. Again, he was challenging me.

And his challenge was duly accepted.

“Graham, lead your men. You know what to do. Reed the same for you,” Asher added, waving his hand.

“Yes, Alpha,” Both Graham and Reed nodded before turning to the boys.

“Come on boys, let’s get this going!” they said, and the boys immediately followed the leaders.

The perimeter sprint was a quick sprint across the entire GrayCrest perimeter, starting from the primary perimeter and ending at the final perimeter at the foot of the mountains. That was quite a distance but nothing for these powerful warrior wolves. Graham and Reed kept track of whoever reached the perimeter first versus the last and at the end of the week, the strongest performers were rewarded while the weakest were trained harder.

I wasn’t particularly in any group because I was the odd one out but I still followed Graham because he was the leader of the warriors. It was a hassle to shift without the jerks spotting me naked. Not that I cared about that anyway. I started to follow after Graham, but suddenly, a strong grip on my arm pulled me back with a jerk and I blinked when Asher gave me a look that clearly deemed me as stupid.

“What?” I scowled.

“Where do you think you are going?” he demanded.

“You asked us to start the run, didn’t you? Just following your orders, Alpha.”

“So, you are gonna strip and shift in front of all those men?” he said, stressing on the word strip.

“You’d rather I strip in front of you?” I inquired sarcastically, and it gave me immense satisfaction when his face darkened.

“Watch your mouth, Ivyanka,” Asher warned.

“Just to refresh your memory, I have been here three months and, trust me, I have done that plenty of times. I am sure your boys have seen my naked body enough to be bored by now.”

“It was different before,” he said, his voice gruff and I noticed he was breathing harder, the warmth coming off from him almost feeling like fire now.

“How?”

“You were not my mate then.”

“Oh, so you do admit I am your mate.”

“Everyone knows and the last thing I need is people gossiping about Alpha Asher’s mate stripping naked in front of the warriors. You are no longer just Ivyanka, you are the Alpha’s mate. Regardless of how we feel towards each other, we can’t deny that. And this title comes with its own consequences.”

“So what do you want? Shall I put on a ball gown then?” I didn’t mean it as a joke but his full lips twitched in a grin which he quickly hid and shook his head.

“No…from today onwards, you will train with me for the most part. At least where you need to…strip, I mean shift. Meet me at the primary perimeter in five,” he muttered and, without another glance, he turned on his heels and walked away while I stood there, gaping at his retreating back.

What did he just say?