Rise of the She-Wolf

Vanessa’s pov,

The next day we had training in wolf form. Blake made us compete one on one. He drew a circle with chalk and the wolf that stays in the circle the longest is the winner. After every round, the winners compete against each other until only one wolf remains. Spirit was definitely not the strongest wolf, but all the training made her fast. Somehow Spirit made it to the final which was against Ron. Spirit was amazing but, in the end, she was no match for the brute force of Ron his big Wolf. He was surprisingly quick for such a big beast. It did not matter though because as soon as they changed back to human form Ron high-fived me, “Good fight for a little lady.”

I laughed, “You weren’t so bad yourself for a big chunk of meat without brains.”

Ron gave me a playful push and I felt happy that we became friends. I was starting to care about almost everyone in this pack. Except for that dickhead Allesandro and the Alpha of course. Blake interrupted my thoughts, “Good job everyone. As you can see brute force can give you an advantage. However, don’t forget you are strongest as a pack. Use the mind connection and practice a lot together so you can anticipate each other’s moves.”

He nodded to me, “Tonight there will be a protection shift which will be led by Vanessa. You can pick 3 other wolves to go with you, Vanessa. Who do you want to take?”

I looked around me and decided I would take 2 wolves that I worked with in the T-shirt competition, Ron and Violet. I could use Violet her smart mind and Ron his strength. “I expect you all back here after lunch to train some more and at the gate at sundown.”

For the rest of the afternoon, we trained together trying to get used to each other wolves. Before dinner, I looked for Tomasso to get more information about the protection shift. Tomasso tells me we have to keep watch over 2 restaurants and one casino from Don Lorenzo. “You have to be careful though because the Irish wolf pack is usually heavily armed. You cannot bring weapons though because if the police catch you with weapons the pack will be in trouble. The police are breathing in our neck too much at the moment. Normally you can bribe the sheriff with money, but your boyfriend has too much honor for that.”

I raised my eyebrow, “Is he my boyfriend now?”

“I can tell you like him, Vanessa. Don’t worry though Don Lorenzo is too blind at the moment to see,” he said softly.

I felt a bit horrified I honestly thought I was hiding my feelings better. When I walked away Tomasso said, “Ow and Vanessa, don’t die.”

I gave him a big smile, “Don’t worry you are not getting rid of me that easy.”

I dressed in black clothes that were easy to fight in, quickly ate something, and then headed out to the gate where I met with the rest. We ran to the town in wolf form and then separated into different locations. I went to the Italian restaurant in the center. Violet and Gabriel to the other restaurant at the edge of town and Ron and Sky went to the casino. We hid in the shadows in wolf form so we could keep in contact with each other. The air was cold and windy, the streets were empty and silent. Everything was closed and people stayed inside their homes because Don Lorenzo warned them to stay inside tonight. However, from the outside, it looked like the restaurant was open with bright lights on and music playing inside.

I waited until midnight when I heard a bunch of footsteps. From the mist and shadow, a group of men appeared. They all wore grey 3-piece suits, long coats, and flat caps on their heads. They were heavily armed with guns, rifles, and knives. I quickly counted 7 men and sent a message to the others, “Come to me!”

I changed back into human form and emerged from the shadows. The men looked surprised for a moment but then their leader stepped forward, “Are you lost, bird?”

“You have no business here,” I said without fear.

“Don’t worry bird, we won’t make any trouble if you don’t. Just collecting some debt that Don Lorenzo owes our Alpha.”

“This is Don Lorenzo his territory. You should leave before you take on more than you can chew.”

I felt that my companions had arrived, but they were hiding on the sides waiting for my command. The Irish leader in the meantime pointed his gun at me, “I will ask you one more time bird, move!”

I shouted, “ATTACK!” and let Spirit take over. The Irish man shot his pistol but Spirit her wolf eyes were much better than mine and she dodged it easily. The Irish went into chaos when the others hit them from the sides. Ron his big black wolf crushed 3 of them when he jumped into them. Spirit rushed at the leader dodging bullets in her path. When the Irish men noticed their weapons had the minimal effect, they also changed into wolf form. We just started fighting wolf to wolf when I heard sirens in the distance. Everyone stood still for a moment and then the Irish leader barked, “Run!” to his pack.

I just wanted to command the same when I remembered the conversation Duke had on the phone yesterday. That was his plan to make them run and catch them at the exits of the town. “Change back,” I commanded. They all looked at me confused and Violet asked, “Shouldn’t we run?”

“No, you have to trust me on this. I will explain later. We have to hide for now. Someone knows a place?”

Sky pointed at a big, abandoned building, “The shut-down hospital maybe?”

I nodded and we quickly ran to the building. We hid on one of the lower levels and I told them about Duke his plan. “Thank you all for immediately trusting me and not questioning my decision.”

Violet responded, “You have shown us many times you lead with the interest of the pack in mind. We have no reason to doubt you.”

Ron added, “Too bad the fight got interrupted. We would have made Irish stew from those idiots in their fancy suits.”

We all laughed and the rest of the night we talked and waited for the sun to come up. In the morning we headed back to the mansion and there were no police in sight. I immediately went to Don Lorenzo his office because I expected him to be mad that we didn’t return in the night. When I got there, I found Don Lorenzo, Tomasso, and the doctor. Don Lorenzo seemed very happy. “Ah Vanessa, there you are! Don’t know how you did it but good job. All the Irish men are in prison. That will keep Alpha Colin busy for a while. Besides, it will teach him to keep his nose out of my business.”

I looked at Tomasso and exchanged confused looks with him. The alpha can’t be this happy just because those men are in jail. There must be something else. I wondered if I should ask but Don Lorenzo already started talking again. “More good news. The doctor just told me all the tests came out well. I just need to stop smoking and drinking for a bit and watch the breeding She-Wolves cycles closely. Magister Ember tells me 3 of them are in heat right now.”

He winked at me while walking out of the office, “So I better get to work.”

I gave him a fake smile but as soon as he is out of sight my face changed to disgust. I could see the same expression on Tomasso his face before he walks out. I just wanted to leave as well when the doctor grabbed my arm. “Wait I have to tell you something.”

I turned around and the doctor whispered in my ear, “I lied to the Alpha. The test showed he is barren. He will never make any children. Someone needs to know.”

My eyes got big, and my heart was pounding, “Why didn’t you tell him the truth?”

“He would kill me and just say I am wrong. He would hire another doctor until someone tells him what he wants to hear.”

I understood his point but still felt horrified, “What should I do with this information?”

The doctor looked at me with sad eyes, “I don’t know but I hope you make the right choice.”

He quickly walked out of the office, leaving me with even more secrets and problems that I did not know how to solve…