The Gift chronicles novel Chapter 1

Book 1 Chapter 34

"'Hello mate'?" Alpha Cain mimicked me mockingly, standing in front of the small throng of people that were watching the interaction, and a burly, humongous man with a serious face stood next to him. "Playing innocent won't get you out of trouble," He growled lowly, even though I didn't feel that threatened by it.

I shrugged and defended myself as much as I could, even know I knew my defense was extremely thin. In my defense, technically I wasn't training, I was merely demoing, no thanks necessary!

Alpha Cain growled at me and stalked towards me , picking me up and cradling me towards his bare chest. "I should punish Delta Carter for letting you come here," He began, and my eyes widened. "But I won't, because I'm positive that you and Gwendolyn somehow manipulated him into taking you guys."

Gwen smiled and waved, completely unconcerned by the seething Alpha. "Hey, Alpha!"

Suddenly, the large man who had been previously standing next to Cain growled and narrowed his eyes at Gwen. "I should have known you would have been involved, Gwendolyn."

Gwen giggled and ran towards the infuriated man, jumping into his arms, to my surprise. He easily caught her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Sorry, babe. Won't happen again." She promised.

The man rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw in annoyance. "You said that the last time when you got in trouble for loosening the tops of the salt shakers in the pack house."

Gwen shrugged. "Merely an oversight, my love."

"And before that, when you almost burnt the house down after leaving the stove on," He continued to scold her, not relenting on his hard glare.

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. In my defense, they should really make those things turn off automatically."

"And before that—" the man began again, but Gwen interrupted.

"Okay, Jax, we get it. I'm such a vexing troublemaker, I need to stop causing chaos, blah blah blah," Gwen dismissively spoke, and waved her hand passively. "Anyways, do you need him anymore today Alpha or can we go back to our house so he can punish me for my indiscretions." Gwen directed her question towards Cain, and her tone indicated that it would definitely be a punishment she would enjoy.

"Jesus, Gwendolyn, have some shame," Jax reprimanded his inappropriate mate, who just grinned wickedly and playfully snapped at his ear with her teeth in response. His grip on her tightened as his eyes darkened in lust, even though his serious expression didn't change otherwise.

Alpha Cain nodded once at Jax. "You are excused for the day, Beta."

My jaw dropped. Gwen's mate was the Beta of Blood Moon and she still had discipline issues? I could only imagine the headache Jax suffered dealing with her wild antics. I smiled slightly when I realized I also was quite the nuisance to Cain.

The Beta respectfully nodded and turned around, Gwen still in tow. She squealed and giggled as Jax threw her over his shoulder and spanked her. Good Lord, these Blood Lake men are barbaric.

Alpha Cain turned towards Carter, who looked terrified. "You are dismissed as well. I will be spending the rest of the day with my mate and you are no longer needed to guard her for today." Carter nodded and was about to head out when Cain added, "And the next time, mindlink me as soon as you know those too are up to trouble." Carter breathed out a sigh of relief that the Alpha wasn't going to punish him, and respectfully nodded and darted out of the training center.

"The rest of you, back to training," Alpha Cain ordered the few bystanders who were watching the ordeal. Many had scrambled as soon as Alpha Cain and Beta Jax pulled up, but a few had lingered to watch in curiosity.

Alpha Cain looked down at me, the fury that once dominated his eyes extinguished. "What am I going to do with you, little mate?" He sighed heavily, making me giggle.

"That's my favorite sound," Cain softly spoke as he traced my lips with his finger.

I stared up at him, unsure of what he would do next.

He placed a soft kiss on my forehead and started walking us out of the training center. When we were almost to the Pack House, he began speaking. "You should take it easy until your back is healed," He chastised me. In all honesty, I had forgotten about the injury until he brought it up.

I nodded, even though I had no intention of listening to him. Why did you assign Gwen as one of my escorts if you knew she was a troublemaker? I asked him.

Cain paused before answering. "I knew you would like her."

I only like her because she's so much trouble, I reminded him.

"I know that. But I want you to be happy and not feel like you're trapped and alone here. I knew that Gwen would be an excellent companion for you because she's also a tough little firecracker," Cain's mouth curled into a small smile. "And I thought she might help bring you out of your shell a little bit. I can see I was right."

I ignored his last comment. Her mate is the Beta, I stated.

"Yes," He simply confirmed.

He's strict, I remarked.

Alpha Cain let out a bellowing laugh as he walked us into the Pack House, sitting us down on the couch, me in his lap. "I would hope so. He's the Beta."

I wondered if Jax and Gwen had as many problems as Cain and I do with our clashing personalities, but I figured that I would just ask her the next time I saw her. Something more pressing was bothering me.