Silas’s P.O.V
“The soldiers are ready for training, Alpha Silas.”
Anika’s Beta…no, my Beta, Wayne, bowed in front of me as I approached the dining room early in the morning.
Hearing him address me as their Alpha, his voice filled with reverence and loyalty, a surge of determination coursed through my veins.
During the early days of our training, I had been merciful toward them, gauging their strengths at first, trying to see what lengths they could push themselves to get to. They did seem to be capable of great feats, however, unfortunately, it was just not enough.
I had to push them further. And so, I had to become the scary Alpha that had no regard for their well-being, just as long as they did what I wanted them to do, in order for them to become as strong as the fighters of my previous pack.
How else were we to defeat them if we weren't on par with them, right?
“Good.” I nodded, as Wayne stood up from the ground, his head still bowed. “Gather them at the training grounds. I’m going to teach them a new drill today.”
The prospect of reclaiming my pack and clearing my name rested heavily upon my shoulders, driving me to push myself and those under my charge to their limits. It gave me the same rush I had felt back when I taught the same regimen to my old pack.
I was not the most sentimental man, but I still felt a tinge of nostalgia as I watched them fall in files and obey my orders. I felt a wave of longing for my old pack…
Every day, I devoted myself to training the soldiers, molding them into a formidable force.
Their physical strength and tactical prowess were crucial in our quest for justice. I had to keep pushing them to become better.
I didn't care if they complained or if they were exhausted. I didn't listen to their words or spent time with them outside of training.
It wasn’t because I didn’t see them as family or didn’t feel a connection towards them. I did, of course, any Alpha would feel a connection to the people they trained. And I definitely did care for their well being.
However, from what I understood of the Sapphire Valley Pack, they had gotten used to a very specific lifestyle prior to my arrival.
Anika had saved these wolves when they had been kicked out of their own pack; hurt by their own loved ones and tossed aside when they were no longer needed. Anika had brought them together. Given them a place to stay and assigned work to them by forming a pack which consisted mostly of outcasts.
But these wolves had spent the most of their days here cheering for Anika as their savior Alpha and in merrymaking rather than training and strengthening themselves. As a result, they were in no shape to fight a war against a fully trained pack army.
With every strike and every maneuver, I saw the potential within them, yet I cannot deny that they lack the same level of tenacity and skill as my former pack. They were strong, yes, considering that they were wolves of different status and dominancy, but not as strong as I wanted them to be.
Frustration gnawed at my core as I pushed them harder, demanding more from each training session. They had to be more, they had to be better. They had to be stronger.
Most of all, they needed to understand that their days of laziness and merry making were over and they needed to strengthen themselves so they could take on a real army.
Otherwise, we stood no chance against Ezra's pack.
I knew some of them harbored ill will toward me because of this. I knew that their dislike for me fostered, and soon it was possible that the dislike would turn to hatred.
I had them in the first half, so to speak. I had given them a false sense of security, being the reasonable and calm trainer and Alpha, before releasing my true colors when I saw that they weren't good enough.
But so what? So what if they hated me? This was all for the greater good. I was training them to become better fighters for both their sake and mine. And coddling them and throwing parties wasn’t going to win them wars. And wasn’t that what Anika had been planning all along? To get back at the packs that threw them out?
Sweat dripping from furrowed brows, muscles straining with exertion, and the air reverberating with the resolute determination to reclaim what is rightfully mine — ever since I got reinstated as the Alpha of this pack, my subordinates had never known a day without the physical exertion of our rigorous training.
“Keep going! Don’t stop!” I bellowed at the soldiers as they trained beside me. “No one rests until I tell them to.”
I refused to settle for mediocrity, knowing that only through their unwavering dedication could we triumph over the treachery that had stained my name.
However, my relentless pursuit of strength and control did not come without its consequences.
Anika, the once Alpha of this pack, struggled to relinquish her authority and yield to my leadership. She was the assertive dominant type, so I understood if she was having a difficult time adjusting to now having the more submissive role as the Luna.
But honestly, a pack did not have two Alphas and she chose this path herself. She volunteered to be the Luna. She gave me the option, and I took it. But now that the pack was putting me in a higher position, letting me take the reins…I could see her struggling with it.
Our disagreement simmered beneath the surface, like an untamed fire threatening to consume our newfound alliance.
I was insistent on putting my foot down. I believed in what I was doing. And I knew that I was right, and I knew she did, too, it just wasn't very humane, and that was her issue.
Which was why I wasn’t surprised to watch her storm into my office, that I had created right next to her own a short while ago, after my session for the day was done and I had just ordered the soldiers to go back to their rooms and take a good night’s rest.