Chapter 3 Unexpected Surprise

• In the present day
• “Recruits, form up!
• The order given by the commanding general of that place was heard loud and clear inside the intense training camp in the middle of nowhere. The more than 30 wolves scattered around the perimeter ran and formed into 4 columns. One behind the other, standing at attention, tense, faces straight and hands clasped behind their backs.
• Discipline, it was the first and most important law to be the best. And Lawson Conor, new recruit, high”ranking wolf and aspiring bodyguard in the ranks of the alpha of the huge pack that ran the entire country, would be the best. There was no doubt about that.
• “You were the chosen ones in the initiation test” the general spoke with a low but measured voice, he didn't need to shout, the wolves present there were supposed to have their instincts well developed, and a fine ear” Of you only 5 wolves will be part of the personal guard of the Alpha Demon and will have a life full of achievements and luxuries for you and your family, as long as you fulfill your role and are willing to give your life to the service of the alpha. So give it your best shot, because I don't foresee a promising future for the rest of you.
• One of the things Lawson knew when he entered the camp was that he had only a 10% chance of achieving his goal. He was a strong wolf. Much stronger than his generation, at least in his neighborhood. But he was aware that his new companions would not let him off the hook. They all had the same goal. To get to the top and not have to worry about what he would put on his plate of food the next day. It wasn't that the country was poor. It was just that if you didn't work hard you wouldn't achieve anything and since his mother and brother didn't make the slightest effort, he would have to, as the eldest male wolf in the family step up to the plate.
• Every 5 years they held recruitments to fill vacancies in the manor of the huge pack that spanned the entire country. With the territory under threat of war and constant attacks by infiltrated wolves or betrayals, it was normal for casualties to follow. These were turbulent times and things were far from stable. Many longed for the power of the alpha, too bad that the plans were always truncated.
• Being a bodyguard of the most important figure of the pack was not a task to just eat and go. NO. It was not easy, even though everyone said it was living in wealth, they were very wrong. Only the best and most loyal wolves could be by his side, and even then there were so many assaults on the life of the tycoon that they had to put in a new team every so often.
• And that's where he came in. What a hell of a way to gamble your life, right? But there was the fun part of the game.
• He had been training until he was almost fainting for the day. Running long miles exercising both his human musculature and his wolf form. Long days of weight training and sparring with other wolves as practice. He appreciated his metabolism and his ability to build muscle fast. Thanks to that his body was well structured, his arms were sinewy, his abdomen marked without a drop of fat, his legs thick and strong, although he did not stand out so much, for the moment, next to the other wolves that due to the age of some of them it was normal that they were bigger in all aspects.
• He was engrossed in his thoughts when he felt footsteps on the stage announcing a new guest. He figured it would be the one leading the training sessions. He knew they were led by someone the alpha trusted to guarantee results. But...
• Suddenly the air froze in his lungs and his stomach squeezed to the point that it hurt. Still he took what air he could into his lungs to calm himself as best he could so as not to show his discomfort on his face.
• He could not believe it.
• The general who was standing on the dais making the announcements pointed to the newcomer straightening his back and giving a slight bow as the ultimate respect with his head to his superior
• “I present to you the Commander and leader of the Alpha's personal guard, also known to the entire pack as his shadow, Raven Leus di Morti," he took a breath, beating his chest proud of whom he was presenting, "Your new trainer and supervisor for the entire camp.
• More than one exclamation could be heard from the crowd. Discipline had literally gone to waste when she was precisely a she-wolf barely 5'6" tall, who barely came up to the chin of everyone there. Who was slender, with delicate and even beautiful features that had barely been hardened by hard work and for sure younger than those present, had been announced as their superior and far superior, literally at the tip of the iceberg.
• That she-wolf was second in command of the pack.
• The impression she had made had been great and not for the better. That it was a she-wolf training them, male wolves, most of them overbearing given their nature, was a direct blow to their pride. Until they remembered what the general had said.
• The shadow of the alpha.
• And they shivered slightly. That nickname was not an easy one to forget. The most lethal assassin in the pack under orders from the alpha. He was the person who had kept those who had betrayed and attacked the alpha at bay. No one was safe if it was that person who was assigned the mission to kill. It was even a known fact that she had taken care of 100 wolf terrorists, all by herself, so fast that they had barely been able to react or give her a scratch. After that fact the nickname of the alpha's shadow had followed her through the years and today she could make them tremble as she did at that moment.
• The general made an attempt to quiet them, the hubbub was not diminishing, on the contrary, it was increasing, but Raven stopped him by raising a hand. The older man looked at her intrigued not knowing why she was so quiet. He was sweating under his suit as the aura around the she-wolf was dense and the smell of blood covered her as if it was already part of her. More, to his impression it was not unpleasant. Just exotic. Normally, she”wolves smelled rich, soft, pleasant to attract a mate, but she didn't, and that made her somehow... strange.
• “Silence”
• There was a sudden sound, and then all sound stopped.
• A single word. It had been a single word, but the tone of her voice, which threatened to be sharp, imposed an unwavering order. Raven did not even smile at the demonstration of her power.
• She was used to this reaction to her orders.
• Lawson watched the scene from his position, his fingers still tingling as his body refused to move. A slight tremor ran through him from head to toe, like when you recognize that you are beneath someone, that you are the prey and you are the weakest. And he wasn't the only one, everyone knew it, that she-wolf might be small and seem harmless, but appearances were deceiving, not for nothing was she the one watching the alpha's back.
• Lawson smiled wryly. Weaker, him? No way.
• Raven, how could he forget that name, that face, those deep brown eyes almost black where you could get lost as if in an abyss. Those lips that had kissed him and were soft, that reminded you of a soft smile, not that hard straight line that froze your blood.
• That she-wolf he knew was his destined mate, his mate.