6. Six

We were being watched.

Sloane knew it, too. Her gaze kept darting around, and her punches landed all over the place like she wasn’t paying attention.

I clapped my hands together, drawing her attention back to me. “Again. Don’t be afraid to hurt me.”

She needed to show these alphas that she was strong. They were watching her, waiting for her to make a mistake.

She grumbled beneath her breath and shifted her feet, sinking farther into her stance. She balled her fists until her knuckles turned white.

“I’m trying.” She glanced over her shoulder and then shut her eyes, letting out a heavy sigh.

I held my hands up by my face so she could punch them. “Ignore them. Keep your eyes on me.”

Sloane threw a right hook. Her fist smashed into my hand, making it jerk back.

I grinned despite the pain radiating through my wrist. “Good. Keep doing it like that.”

She shook her hand out. “I don’t like performing for an audience.”

I wiggled my hands. They stung from her well-placed punch. “Me either. But you’re alpha now, and everyone’s constantly going to be looking at you. Keep hitting like that. You need to show them you’re strong enough to defend our pack.”

She narrowed her eyes, and her face hardened with determination. She jabbed with her left hand. It smacked my palm hard enough to send a jolt of pain ricocheting all the way to my elbow, which made my eyes water.

I flexed my fingers. “Keep that stance and do that again.”

She threw another hook and then a jab. “I don’t understand why we’re doing fist-fighting practice. We should still be fighting as wolves, like we did before we came back up here.”

I motioned for her to punch again. “Not all fights will be in wolf form. But yes, we’re going to continue to practice that too. I want to make sure that you are prepared for any type of attack.”

Her lip curled up in disgust. “You mean, in case I get smacked with wolfsbane again?” Her brows dipped into a scowl. “You don’t think I did well enough when I fought against Mikey?”

I took a step back as she hit my hand with an exceptionally brutal punch. I shook it out, but it didn’t take the sting away. “Mikey trained to fight his entire life. He was savage and brutal but could never get past his need for revenge. He didn’t think when he fought. All the other alphas have been training to fight most of their lives too. They might not be as sick as he was, but they’ll be just as strong. And if they’re tactical at all, they won’t strike without thinking things through.”

She shuddered and turned her head to look over her shoulder at the group of men gathered to watch us. “I don’t know if I can be that strong, Lincoln.”

I dropped my hands to my sides. “Maybe you won’t be as physically strong, but you have other things that you can use to your advantage.”

She arched her brow as she jabbed the air with both hands. “Like what?”

I took another step back and watched her form as she continued to throw punches. My hands hurt to the point I might need to shift to make sure they healed. I ignored the pain since she was doing what she was supposed to.

I held my hand out so she could see how red it was. “First of all, I think you punch harder than you realize.”

A small smile formed on her face.

I held up two fingers. “Second of all, you’re fast and small. That’s an advantage. Most of the alphas are big and clunky and could never move as fast as you can.”

She’d beaten me in our race today. Hands down, no questions asked, she was faster. Probably the fastest wolf I’d ever had the honor of running with.

Sloane tugged her hair, pulling it out of the ponytail and then re-wrapping it back up. “We should get some sort of gloves or something to protect our hands.”

She looked down at her red knuckles, and one of them looked like it might be on the verge of bleeding.

I grabbed her hand and ran my thumb over the sore spot. “At the risk of sounding like my father right now, this is actually a good thing. You need to become accustomed to the pain.”

Sloane laughed as she gave me a bewildered look. “You’re right. You do sound like your father.”

My eyes slid shut as my grin faltered. My heart shattered, and I saw red for a moment. I never wanted to be compared to my father, but in this instance, I knew he was right.

And I was the idiot who’d brought him up.

I opened my eyes and kissed her knuckles. “In a real fight, you’re not going to have gloves or anything to protect your hands or any other part of your body, for that matter. It’s better to learn the real pain now during training so you know what to expect.”

She scrunched up her nose. “It makes sense. And I don’t want you to think that I think you’re like your father.” She reached out and cupped my face. “Because you’re nothing like him. You’re kind, passionate, and loving.”

I took a step back and looked down at the ground. The sad thing was my dad had been that way at one point. Before my mom and Hannah died. I could still remember a time when he would hug me and tell me he loved me, and I could do no wrong in his eyes. It was a distant memory now, but it was still there.

My mom’s and sister’s deaths had changed him.

“I hope I never lose that,” I admitted.

She kissed my lips. “You won’t. I won’t let you.”

I tucked my thumb underneath her chin. “That’s what I love about you. You’re so full of hope. Our future is going to be bright.”

Her gaze darted to the side. She blew out a breath, and her shoulders hunched. “Tell that to them.”

I followed her line of sight. Another alpha had joined the small group watching us.

I swallowed and shook my head. “It’s natural for them to question you. They don’t know you like your pack.”

She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. “But do you think I can beat one of them if they challenge me?”

I wanted to say yes, and it was on the tip of my tongue, but I wasn’t sure. I’d never seen them fight, and Sloane was new to the whole fighting business.

I put a hand on her shoulder. “I think you can do anything that you set your mind to. Part of it is about who the fighter is, but the other part is who wants it more. And you have heart.”

She backed away from me and fiddled with her hair again, taking it down and putting it back up. “We should finish up for the day. I want to take a shower and get some breakfast before everybody finishes it off.”

She didn’t wait for me as she turned on her heel and marched back towards the enforcers’ house. I followed a few steps behind her, reaching out with the thread that bound us together.

She was anxious and full of turmoil. I couldn’t tell if it was because of me, and I hadn’t done my job at calming her, or if it was just the entire situation.

No one had challenged her yet, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Electricity crackled in the air. Tension that felt like it could rip the sky open at any moment.

A challenge was coming. I needed to make sure my mate was prepared for it.

We’d gotten up early today, had run and fought as wolves before anybody woke up. I had another intense training planned for later. I didn’t want to push Sloane too hard, but I wasn’t going to let her fail.

I jogged up the steps and stopped the door before it shut. The smell of waffles and bacon wafted in the air, and my mouth watered.

Sloane disappeared into the kitchen, and I followed after her. She handed me a plate and then grabbed bacon and a few waffles.

She poured two full glasses of orange juice and then arched a brow at me. “Where do you want to eat?”

She should eat here with the pack, though I would prefer the quiet of her room. It was important that she started making her presence known.

Before I could tell her as much, Willa dragged out the chair she had her leg propped up on. “Sloane, come sit.”

I nodded at Willa, who gave me a small smile. The younger girl might not be a fighter, but she was someone we could trust.

There weren’t any other chairs, so I took up a spot leaning against the counter behind Sloane.

Willa and Sloane put their heads together, saying something I couldn’t quite hear.

I shoveled bacon and waffles into my mouth at the same time. My belly rumbled loudly, like I wasn’t trying to fill it as fast as I could. In between heaping bites of food, I took a swig of my juice as I gazed around the room.

Even in the small enforcers’ lodging area, there was still a sense of familiarity and family. But this was Sloane’s pack in here now. Everyone else was new. Sloane would need to find a way to get the packs to mingle and become united under her.

Mark filled up a glass of orange juice and came to stand next to me. “The lumber should be delivered this afternoon. We can start more construction work either later today or tomorrow.”

I nodded. “Good. Getting everyone housing will boost morale. Does Sloane know yet?”

Mark took a few big gulps of his orange juice. “Not yet. I’m just passing it along. She seems to be having a good conversation at the table.”

Mark was right. She was fully engrossed with the whole table, not just Willa.

Good. The more she interacted, the better.

I cut off a piece of waffle. “I’ll let her know. She wants to finish building the residences first. That way, everybody has a place to stay.”

Mark finished off the rest of his juice, swallowing hard enough that I could hear him as he drank it down. “I know. It will be good for everyone to have a bed, four walls, and a roof around them.”

“Agreed.”

Mark set his glass on the counter and folded his hands over his chest. “She didn’t look good. You shouldn’t have her out there around the other alphas like that.”

I ground my teeth. I wasn’t sure how she looked to everyone else, but my hands told me that she’d packed one hell of a punch when she threw it just right.

“She has to practice,” I said. “There’s no way around that.”

Mark’s jaw worked. “The alphas are questioning her already. She can’t show weakness.”

I narrowed my eyes at Mark. “I would never put Sloane’s safety in jeopardy. She’s showing that she’s willing to learn how to fight.”

Mark grunted. “And also that she doesn’t know how to fight. Lincoln, she looks weak.”

A growl bubbled out. Mark took a step back. I wanted him to be a little afraid of me right now.

“Your sister is not weak,” I hissed. “She’s anything but. I know a challenge is coming. She does too. She’ll be ready, but she needs people to believe in her.”

Mark rubbed the back of his neck as he leaned in and kept his voice a hushed whisper. “Look, I understand what you’re trying to do, Lincoln. But this pack can’t afford to lose another alpha. My mom has lost my brother and my father. What do you think it will do to her if she loses her daughter, too?”

My stomach knotted. My heart thudded painfully. It would kill Kathleen to lose someone else. She tried to hold herself together, but it wasn’t a secret that she was barely hanging on. Not that anyone could blame her.

I put a hand on Mark’s shoulder. “Sawyer and I won’t let anything happen to Sloane or the pack. I give you my word.”

Mark held my gaze for a moment longer before nodding. “Good. I hope you’re right.”

I felt Sloane coming closer before I saw her.

Her hand covered mine, the one that was on Mark’s shoulder. “Everything okay?”

I could hear the hesitation in her voice.

I mustered a smile. “Yeah, Mark was just telling me that the lumber is going to be delivered this afternoon.”

Her gaze shifted between the two of us like she wasn’t sure if she believed me or not. Then her eyes lit up, and a smile spread over her face. “If it gets here early enough, we’ll start building immediately. It will be nice for everyone to have a home of their own.”

Mark pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “I have to get going to guard duty.”

Sloane squeezed between us and hugged her brother. “Be careful out there.”

He held her for a moment and then pulled away. “Don’t worry. I will.”

He waved and then backed away.

Sloane licked her lips and looked at me with worried eyes. “Do you want to tell me what that was really about?”

I reached for her hand, intertwining our fingers. “Come on. Let’s get back to the room and shower.”

She opened her mouth like she might argue, but she snapped it shut and gave my hand a tug. I let her lead me through the kitchen and down the hallway to the room that she’d taken.

I followed her inside and locked the door behind us.

She crossed toward the window, put her hands on the sill, and peered outside. “Brandon and Mark doubt me?”

Oh no, was that what she thought?

I hurried to her and wrapped my arms around her, resting my chin on her shoulder. “No, absolutely not. Your brother is one of your biggest champions.”

I knew that for a fact, and I was glad that my voice conveyed that because I wanted her to believe that too.

I kissed her cheek. “He’s just worried for you. He saw the other alphas watching you.”

She melted against me, letting her head fall back onto my shoulder. “Our family has been through so much the past few months.”

I kissed her temple. “I know it’s never easy. The pain of losing a parent or sibling never fully goes away.”

She sighed. “I was hoping you would tell me it got easier.”

“It does get easier, sort of. I promise. But there’s a space in your heart that never really is whole again. I don’t know if that makes sense or not.”

She closed her eyes, and her head wobbled on my shoulder as she nodded. “It does.”

I smoothed my hand up and down her arm, but before I could say anything, the familiar hum of Sawyer pulling on our thread and connecting surrounded me.

Sloane stood straighter and pulled away so she could turn. The moment Sawyer materialized, she flung herself at him, holding my hand and pulling me along with her. The three of us embraced, sandwiching Sloane between me and my brother.

Sawyer gave Sloane a quick kiss on the lips and then put his hand on my shoulder. “I wish I could tell you I was here because I had all the time in the world. But I don’t.”

Sloane put her hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Sawyer stepped back. “Dad’s not coming here right now. He thinks that your pack is going to dissolve because people won’t bow to you.” His attention drifted to Sloane.

“Sawyer,” I snarled.

Sloane didn’t need to hear that. She was already having her own doubts. He didn’t need to add fuel to the fire.

The damage was done, though. Her face fell, and she looked like she might be on the verge of tears.

He opened and closed his mouth a few times. “My dad doesn’t know you, though. Not really. He doesn’t understand how strong you are. You’ll pull everyone together. I know it.”

She clapped her hand on her thigh, went to the bed, and flopped back on it so she stared up at the ceiling. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

Sawyer closed his eyes and mumbled under his breath as I glared at him. When he opened them, he met my gaze.

“There might be another chance to prove yourself,” he said. “There’s a pack about five hours from here. It’s small, less than thirty people. My dad has put a target on them. If you could win them over before he has a chance to get there, I think it would help you a lot.”

The bed creaked as she shot up. “When is your dad going to be there?”

Sawyer shook his head. “I’m not sure. We’re still regrouping from the fight. But soon. Like really soon. I’ll make plans to reach out to you immediately once I get the details.”

She pursed her lips. “Give me the number or the name. I’ll call them right now.”

She pulled out her cell phone and stared at Sawyer expectantly.

I nodded at my brother. We both knew she needed this to not only help cement her place as alpha, but to help protect her pack as well.

We couldn’t mess this up.