Alpha Rick
Chapter 36

Livie

I was eager to get there. I ran the whole way back, hoping they hadn't started without me. I sighed, smiling as I see that they were just about to commence.

"Luna! She's here!" some of the younger girls say, making me smile and waving at them. There were so many members spectating. It's been a handful of times an alpha and his luna have visited, from what I know, but never have they been asked to join our practice grounds.

"Well, well, well... The queen finally joined us. I thought you had run scared, Luna Olivia?" Leah says in a hushed tone, but I faked a bright smile, not letting her phase my good mood.

Practice time is one of my favorites throughout the day because I see how happy our members are. They take practice very seriously because they know our safety depends on it. So I look forward to it as well.

"Of course not. I wouldn't miss it for the world. But- as a Luna, you should know... Duties come first. And I was called to attend to something first. But don't worry, I'm nice and ready to be the punching bag again." I say with a smile, but inside, I was in turmoil. Leah had done a lot of damage to me back in her pack. Not only physical but mental pain as well.

She was a narcissist. She loved to break you with her words and loved to make everyone feel small, worthless, and insecure of themselves. She coveted her time of torture on the weakest link, and back then, I was her favorite target. There was no other person she favoed as a punching bag more than me, I was her favorite toy to use for practicing her kicks and punches.

"Good. Can't wait to see what you've learned. If you've learned anything at all, that is." she says, chuckling and looking at Evelyn who smiles as well.

"Baby, you're here. Listen, Luna Tara from the Crescent Moon wants to partner up with you. Is that ok?" Ricky asks, making me smile. "Yeah, of course. We just need one more," I waited for Leah to volunteer, but she hesitated a second too late. "I'll do it." Evelyn cut in, making Leah and I look at her. I wanted to make sure Leah was on my team, but hell, beating Evelyn on the way seemed like a good idea too. She had made my life hell too, so I was going to have a little fun making sure I left her far... Far behind. "Good. Luna Leah, you can partner up with Margot and Chrissy." Ricky says, placing his arm around my waist with a smile and gesturing to Margot and Chrissy as they make their way toward us. "Wait. You expect me to race against a beta's mate and an omega?" she asks Ricky, chuckling. "What's wrong with that?" I ask, making her look at me irritatingly.

"Do you feel incompetent against them?"

"Of course not. I want a real challenge, not an easy race," she says, folding her hands over her chest and smacking her teeth together. "Oh, believe me, I won't go easy on you," Margot says, making me chuckle inwardly. Margot looks harmless, but she's so good and one of our strongest. And Chrissy... Well, she was one of our omegas, but strong and full of energy. Plus- she wanted to pay back Leah for the way she was treated in the dining room. So I was very much ok with it.

"Fine. But don't think I will wait for either one of you. I WILL win, and I have in mind who want to sprawl with already." she adds, making me chuckle. Indeed, she meant me. And I was going to have fun once that moment came.

The time came, three at a time, they were ushered to the starting line and given the signal to start. Then it was our turn, Leah was in two groups ahead of us. If she was fast, and I wasn't mistaken, she was by the riverbed by now. In our turn, I positioned myself as Ricky taught me. Knees bent, breath in throw your nose out through the mouth. Steady... Calm. I closed my eyes and waited for the whistle.

And there it was. I opened my eyes and took off.

First, the run, three miles to be exact. Then we went over the low wall and ran across the high stepping stones, but they were very slippery. I fell more than once a few times when I had just started my training months ago. But I skipped them with ease. Then we had to go over more walls, steeper, and taller, climbing over them and ducking under others, and next, the tunnel. We went crawling through a long tunnel, representing if we ever had to go through the sewers, we zigzagged over a maze, dodging through it as cement buckets were thrown amidst the run.

I passed one girl after another and was just getting to the fallen tree stump when I see Leah fall to the water spring under it as she tried to run across it. "Well damn," I say as I jump onto the stump and run with ease across from it. One obstacle after the other, I run, dodge, climb, and slide across until finally, I see the end of the line.

I run and see that I had been so excited to finish that I had nearly passed every single girl except the first group of ten that went before my group. I ran harder, seeing them cheer me on, and slid across the ground remembering to keep my ears vigilant. Zane threw a large bag of sand, but I dodge it. I heard a thud and a grunt as the bag hit one of the warriors. "I'm ok. Keep going Luna," she says, after she saw my concerned face.

I turned and continued, finishing just seconds later. "Woooo-hooo!" Freya cheered in my head as we triumphantly became the first line to cross the finish line. Ten minutes later, Luna Tara made her way out of the heavy greenery and to the finish line, then more and more warriors, until almost at the end came Leah, covered in mud, and sand and soaked from head to toe. Evelyn was worse as the limped, making Leah hold her for support.

She had hurt her ankle and was left far behind the others until Leah had to help her up. In a real incident, we would stop to help each other, but in the obstacle, it was every man for themselves. You finished as if you were on your own. And I could proudly say I finished triumphantly.

But it was hot, and I had run the whole way with my jacket still on, and this was only half because now our wolves would run the course as well. So I took my jacket off, making Leah and Evelyn look at me in shock as they see I was no longer the scrawny little omega. I was fit, very fit, and had all the right muscles in the right places to prove my strength.

"Good work Mrs. Dannelly," Ricky says as he hands me a towel to dry my sweat and a bottle of water to ease my thirst.

"Thank you, Mr. Dannelly. I heard you came in first... Like always." I say teasingly as he wraps me in his arms and kisses my lips. "You know it. Black is eager to start too. Come on, let's go join the rest." he says, smiling as he takes my hand and we walk together back to the starting line. After ten minutes of break to catch our breath and drink water, we were ready to start again.

My eyes couldn't help but feel unease as I feel Skylar's eyes on me once Ricky and I joined the group. This time, every wolf would start together, men and women. All of us shifted into our wolves and lined up. Skylar continued to look at Freya, making her aware his eyes were on us. "If he thinks he can come and apologize to you now, he is asking for trouble, Livie. It's too late for that shit. He better stay away." Freya says, making me chuckle.

"Never mind him. Go to Black, he's eager to run beside you." I say, making her joyful. She begins to gallop and whimper happily.

Black and her smile at each other, embracing each other and closing their eyes as they enjoy their time together. The whistle goes off and all the wolves take off. But there is no surprise... Black is the first to cross the finish line, followed by alpha Enzo from the Crescent Moon pack. The Blood Moon pack alpha follows, then Zane, followed by Skylar's wolf, with Freya just a second behind.

Leah is left furious as her wolf crosses through the middle of the race. Evelyn is again one of the last wolves. They had been so comfortable with their lifestyle that they had stopped working out and practicing. They were no longer in their best shape, but then again, the training that Alpha Noah and his beta had given them was not as good as they had thought.

In the end, even Chrissy, our young omega, had crossed the obstacle course before Leah and Evelyn, making me feel so proud of her. She was so strong for her tiny age. I can't wait to see how strong Chrissy becomes.