Chapter one - Abaddon

Sweat drips down my back, stinging the open cuts that are taking forever to heal and I'm fairly sure my right shoulder is dislocated, but Levi, the third ranked warrior in my class, is still standing and my father will not accept anything less than first place, even during training, so I grit my teeth and force myself into position.

Levi growls in frustration, he's panting, drenched in sweat and desperate to prove his worth by taking down the future Alpha.

"Come on, Abs, stop playing with him, I'm hungry." Gene, my best friend and the only other person that knows my father insists I ingest wolfsbane twice a week, calls out to me. 

"You're always hungry." I laugh, so used to the pain that my voice comes out cocky and natural.

Levi grunts as he gets into position, his back bent, legs apart, arms out. It's obvious he's going for a take down, leaving his face wide open. If I can catch him just right, I can knock him out and end this before I embarrass myself and pass out right here on the mat.

I wait, seconds tick by and then his thigh muscle twitches, I ready myself, my adrenaline pushing past the pain as he lunges towards me. Slipping sideways I bring my fist around and catch him on the jaw with enough force to send him across the room, where he lands with a dull thud, completely unconscious and I sigh with relief.

"Finally." Gene gets up and passes me my drink, rubbing his stomach, he gestures behind him to the front door. "You want to come to my Grandma's? It's baking day."

"Yes." My mouth salivates at the thought of her apple danishes. Before I can talk myself into bending forward and picking up my t-shirt, Gene has it in his hand, a knowing look on his face as his eyes click to my shoulder. I lower my voice so he's the only one that can hear me. "You think you can pop it back in at your Grandma's?"

"Uh huh." He nods, taking a swig of water from his bottle to hide his reply and swinging my bag up onto his back with his.

"Gene, you've got something brown on the end of your nose there." Levi laughs, now very much conscious and, thanks to his wolf, almost entirely healed. "Everyone already knows you'll be Beta, you don't need to kiss his ass."

"Funny fuck." Gene mutters sarcastically and Levi strolls over to us, his t-shirt sling over his shoulder, water bottle in hand and a couple girls from the year below us giggle from their seats on the edge of the training field.

"I nearly had you there, Abaddon." I grit my teeth against the pain as he unknowingly slaps my dislocated shoulder, but he must notice the rigidity of my body, because he leans back and stares at my arm. "You want me to fix that before it heals wrong?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I hadn't realised." He grabs my wrist without warning, yanking it forwards and popping it back into place. I clamp my mouth shut so I don't cry out, tasting blood in my mouth, from my tongue or cheeks, I'm not sure, but after the shock of the pain, the relief is almost immediate. 

"You owe me a burger now I've saved your shoulder, can't do much with that face though, Quasimodo." Levi smirks and before I can open my mouth to chew him out for being a smartass, we're interrupted by shouting and grunting.

"What the hell's going on?" I bark at the four trainees who missed training today. They've got a girl restrained between them, her long black hair falling over her face, as they carry her face down, bundled up tightly between her, material tied around her mouth to muffle the sounds of her complaints. "I don't want to know what kind of weird sex games you lot are playing. You missed training today."

Her head snaps up and fury burns out of green eyes that I'd recognise anywhere.

"Seraphina? Were you training again? Who with?" I sigh, this girl just won't accept that the battlefield is not a woman's place. Her short reply is muffled under the gag and I really look at her, her mouth is bound, but so are her hands and feet,  Caleb, Joshua, Michael and Gabe are all clinging to her like she'll escape at any moment. I'm actually impressed with her, they should have been able to manage her easily, so I burst out laughing. "It took four of you to bring her in? Fucking hell lads, you've clearly been slacking, deliver her back to her parents, tell her dad what she was doing and then get your asses back here. Levi can take you through drills for the rest of the afternoon."

"Why me?" Levi practically squawks behind me.

"You said I was ugly. It hurt my feelings." I wink at him and he snorts a laugh, shaking his head and dropping his workout gear. Seraphina is glaring at us all from her prone position and part of me almost feels sorry for her. 

As ridiculous as the idea is, she only wants to be able to defend herself. There was a group of girls caught by rogue's last year, they never stood a chance and even though we caught the offender's, well, my brother's new pack did, it sparked some sort of rebellion in Seraphina. 

She was the one who found them and she's been wanting the girls to be allowed to train ever since. She has no idea that by doing this she'll end up getting more people hurt or killed. 

How can the men focus on fighting, if the women they're trying to protect are right there beside them and not holed up somewhere safe?

I don't know why she doesn't understand that and, as beautiful as she is, I pity the man who ends up being her mate. She's not going to be happy sitting at home, raising her children and I wouldn't be surprised if she got herself cast out of the pack.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation? Move." I snap at the guys still holding her, her eyes fixed on mine as though I'm the one in the wrong. 

Her defiance is irritating me and I need to find a more submissive girl to distract me for a little while. I look for Gene, and, as usual, he's already anticipated my needs and is chatting to Tasha and Naomi, two girls from our class who are always willing to have a little fun.

"Guys, grab me lunch on the way back from dropping off the wannabe lady ninja, would you?" Levi shouts, drawing my attention back to the guys carrying Seraphina away from the training field, she's stopped fighting them, her head flopped forward as she gives in and lets them deliver her like a parcel back to her home. I feel the defeat like it's my own, which is confusing, maybe it's because I'm still trying to heal, the human way.

"She's such a freak." Tasha presses herself against me, her eyes going over my injuries and her blue eyes light up when I drop a heavy arm onto her shoulders. "You're so tired, I guess I'll be doing most of the work?"

"Yeah, your parents are away, right?" I already know the answer, but she nods, guiding me away from the field and Levi's increasingly loud complaints now he's realised where we're going.

"Yes, visiting my sister in Alpha Robert's pack." She dips her head, watching me from underneath her eyelashes and nibbling her lip flirtatiously. "We've got the house all to ourselves."

"Good." Gene and Naomi follow us back to Tasha's house, disappearing into another room when Tasha leads me straight to her bedroom, pushing me gently onto the bed and slowly removing her clothing. 

Watching me over her shoulder, she tries to tease me with a glimpse of her skin, and, as much as I want her to cut it out and just get on with it, I can't help thinking that Seraphina could learn a thing or two from her.

No! I don't want to think about that girl right now!

Tasha drops to her knees in front of me, licking her lips when I push my shorts to the floor.

"Oh Abaddon, you're so big." She giggles, as though she hasn't seen it all before. 

"See if you can get it all to fit." Running my hands through her thick black hair, I pull her face towards my lap and she opens her mouth, sucking me in as far as she can go.

Normally, I love watching my erection disappear between the hot lips of a willing girl, their eyes peering up at me, all watery from my cock hitting the back of their throat but for some reason, every time Tasha looks up at me, her blue eyes look emerald green, causing Seraphina's face to replace hers in my mind.

I refuse to get off while picturing that girl!

She's so frustrating, she's disrespectful. We've got such a wonderful pack here, beautiful lands, even the poorest members are thriving. It's everything anyone could ask for and still she's not satisfied. 

What more could she possibly want?

Seeing her earlier, all furious and beautiful, has her stuck in my mind while my dick's halfway down someone else's throat and it's pissing me off.

If she would just accept the way it is, she would be happy, but no, she has to cause trouble wherever she goes.

Tasha starts to cough between my knees before I realise that while I was distracted with my irritation over Seraphina, I've been cumming down her throat.

Now she's affecting my sex life too! I couldn't even enjoy my own ejaculation! 

Miraculously, my cock is still hard, even after cumming as hard as I did so I lie on my back, Tasha rolls a condom over me and happily climbs on top, fucking me while touching herself and groaning loudly at the pleasure she's getting from riding me.

I tuck my arms behind my head, content to watch the show and refusing to allow myself to think about Seraphina again. Instead, I focus on Tasha's tits, bouncing with the rhythm of her movements. She catches me watching them and runs her free hand over them, massaging them and pinching at her nipples, giving me my own little erotic performance.

She'll make someone a perfect mate some day, someone but not me. Despite the wishes of many of the girls I screw, I've got no desire to have a mate, they only create a weakness and as my father says, an Alpha cannot afford to have any weaknesses.

Tasha falls forward, breathing heavily as she cums. I grab her hips, pounding into her from below to reach my own climax.

"Oh Abaddon, yes." She lifts her face to mine, hoping I'll forget myself and kiss her, but I don't do that, ever. I don't see the need to lead them on, make them think this is anything but what it is, so, I turn away, lifting her off me, grabbing my shorts and pocketing the condom. 

I don't think Tasha would do something stupid, but when you're the first in line to be Alpha, you can't be too careful. I don't want some random girl I fucked getting herself pregnant in the hope I would make her my Luna. As if. But I'm definitely not ready to have kids either.

She pouts at me like a child and I take back my perfect mate comments, because I can't stand sulking. 

"You could stay, my parents will be gone all weekend." With her sulky pout still in place, she bats her eyelashes at me again and scoots under the covers, lifting the quilt to give me a peek of her nude form as though she's trying to seduce me into climbing in beside her. But I'm done, she's served her purpose and I'm not the type to cuddle afterwards, we both know this.

"Nah, got things to do. Thanks though." I pat her naked thigh, jogging from her room without a backwards glance.

The wolfsbane must be working its way out of my system, because I feel good, like I'm starting to heal.

'Gene?' I test out the mind link and feel it click into place.

'Not the best timing, Abs.' Even his inner voice sounds strained, so I close off the mindlink and head outside to wait for him to finish up.

"Right in the middle of shooting my fucking load." He shouts at me, walking over while shaking his head. "Do you know how fucking off-putting it is to suddenly have your voice calling my name when I'm mid-fucking-climax?"

"Sorry." I burst out laughing at the horrified look on his face and he gives an exaggerated shudder.

"You wait, next time you're at it, I'm going to get in there." He taps my temple. "Right at the crucial moment."

"You already are." I wink at him, punching his shoulder and he groans, squeezing his eyes shut and waving me away.

"I can't even..." Allowing one eye to open into a squint, he finally smiles. "Hey, it's wearing off."

"Yep, good as new." I nod, raising my t-shirt to see all the injuries have healed. I feel strong again, maybe even stronger than I was before, just the way I like it. 

"I can't believe it took four guys to handle Sera this morning." Gene says and I frown at his use of a nickname for her. Maybe it's the post-coital haze making him forget what a pain in the ass she is. "She must be getting better, I'd kinda like to see what she can do." He hesitates, glancing at me and then shrugging. "You want to go see how Levi's getting on with them."

He likes her!

The knowledge irritates me more than it should, if he wants to try and fuck her, that's up to him. Just because she bugs the shit out of me, shouldn't stop him getting his end away.

"Abs, you alright?" Gene is frowning at me, his eyes looking me all over for injury and I realise my whole body is tense, my fists clenched beside my body.

I start walking, shaking the tension from my hands and trying to loosen my jaw.

Fucking Seraphina, just the thought of her has me strung so tight, I lose focus on whatever else is going on! 

"Let's go see my Grandma." Gene says from beside me and I nod, forcing my annoyance at a certain she-wolf from my mind.

As if she was already anticipating our visit, Gene's Grandma has two plates filled with various cakes and pastries on the table when we arrive.

She smiles warmly at me and pulls Gene on for a hug, while I sit down on one of the chairs, trying not to drool all over the cakes in front of me.

"Go on, eat. I've let the illusion that you actually came to visit me, rather than stuff your faces, go on for long enough." She chuckles, releasing Gene who grabs a large sugary rock cake from the plate before he's even sitting down. 

I grab my favourite apple and cinnamon danish, taking a bite and letting the flavours fill my mouth. They're so good, I could happily live here forever, eating her cooking, growing fat and lazy without even caring that there's an entire pack that it's my duty to protect.

No wonder Gene's grandad has grown a gut and doesn't stray far from home anymore.

"You're a witch." I mutter through another bite of sweet, flaky bliss. "I've heard the story, you tempt us in with irresistible sweet treats and fatten us up for the pot."

"Oh my Abaddon, you are such a sweet, funny boy." She chuckles, sliding another two steaming apple danishes onto my plate from the tray she's just pulled from the oven. 

"He's right though Grandma. They're so good." Gene's already finished his rock cake and is cradling one with strawberries and cream on top as though unsure where to start.

"Well, when you find your mates, you send them to me and I'll teach them all my magical tricks." She wiggles her fingers as though she's conjuring something, then a timer goes off and she's bending to look in the second oven.

Gene's grandad comes in, greeting his mate with a kiss, the love in both their eyes obvious for the world to see and before we've even realised he's noticed us, he has the chocolate cake off of Gene's plate and in his mouth.

"Hey, I was saving that one for last." Gene grumbles as his grandad winks at him.

"I'll get your Grandma to give you another, if you come and help me outside for an hour or so. Your Grandma wants a fishpond, so you can help me dig it." He gestures to the back door and takes another bite of cake, kissing his mate on the cheek and walking back outside.

Grabbing a cake each, we follow him, taking the shovels he hands us and following him to the marked spot.

It's less of a pond, more of a lake, and it takes us a bit longer than a few hours to dig, but when we're finished, his Grandma has two large chocolate cakes waiting and a banquet full of sandwiches and various savoury pastries waiting for us.

"Gene, pretty sure I'm making your Grandma my Luna so she can cook for me all day." I tell him through a mouthful of cheese, egg and flaky pastry.

"I want to object, but I fully understand right now." He groans, holding different pastries in each of his hands. "We need to go on a run later, I can feel the fat starting to grow."

"Totally worth it." He nods in agreement and we stuff our faces, finally and very reluctantly dragging ourselves away when Levi mindlinks and says he's finished training the guys and is heading out to start border patrol. Which is where we need to be too.