Chapter 14 - Passing Alpha School

ONE MONTH LATER

Lilly's POV

Shadow had returned a month ago, from his and Skye's mission, but only he came back. He didn't say anything since the day he returned, the only thing he did say was that he and Skye had found a suitable location for the pack in the event we had to move. After that, he went to the den and laid down in the back, facing the wall, he hasn't moved from that spot since, except to eat and drink.

It was now the start of the final week of Alpha School, meaning we were all to be tested on what we learnt over the last eleven weeks. All the other 'packs' have gone through their testing already and most of them have passed and will become Alphas when we return home, while those who didn't will stay as Betas and assist the Alphas with their tasks.

Since Shadow didn't seem to be alright, I've still been taking on the role of 'Pack Leader'. I was sitting in front of the den, telling the 'pack' how the tests were going to work. Even though I've been doing this type of thing for nearly two months now, it still felt a little weird. Suddenly, everyone in front of me gasped as they looked at something behind me. I looked behind me to see Shadow coming out of the den, "Sir?", I asked, "what are you doing?".

"What?", he asked, "you think I'm going to miss your final tests?".

"I just wasn't expecting you to be out here", I said, "you going to be okay?".

"I can put aside my troubles for one day, Lilly", Shadow said, "besides, it's tradition that the Alpha of the 'Pack' gives the tests".

"Oh, I didn't know that", I said.

"That's okay, Lilly", Shadow replied, then he turned to everyone else, "today is the last day of Alpha School and I hope that after today, you'll all be full Alphas".

Everyone cheered and Shadow held up his paw to silence them, "now, since I wasn't around for the previous two months, I have no idea how your training has been coming along", he said, "so, just make sure you do your best and make everyone proud".

"You're still testing us, right?", Candu asked.

"Yes, I'm still testing you", Shadow answered, "but Winston, Tony, and the other instructors, are going to be there as well".

We heard a howl in the distance, signalling it was now our turn for the tests, "well, it's time", Shadow said, "let's go".

Shadow led us towards the main fields, where we were going to be tested on our skills. When we got there we found my father along with Tony and the other instructors, all waiting for us. Dad saw us approaching and his eyes widened when he saw Shadow, "Shadow?", he asked, "I didn't think you'd be here".

Shadow smiled lightly, which was the first time in months, "I wasn't going to miss these young wolves becoming Alphas", he said, "shall we get started?".

"Of course", Dad said, then he faced the rest of us, "first, you will be in a one on one fight with your 'Pack Leader', thankfully Shadow has returned in time to do that".

'So, that's why he came out of his den', I thought to myself.

"Garth", Dad said, "you're up first". Garth stepped forward into the clearing, where Shadow was waiting and stood across from him. They faced each other and started to circle around each other, Shadow lunged at Garth and Garth took his chance and pounced on Shadow, knocking him off balance. Garth pounced on Shadow again, but he quickly evaded him and while Garth was off balance, Shadow pinned him to the ground. "Good job, son", Tony said, "you passed your first test".

"I-I did?", Garth asked, "but I didn't win".

"Not everything is about winning, Garth", Shadow said, as he helped him up to his feet, "you put up a good fight against me, and besides, no one has ever been able to best me in a one on one fight, so don't take it personally".

"Yes, Sir", Garth replied, then he went to the side of the clearing to allow the next wolf to take their test. Hutch walked to the center of the clearing and stood across from Shadow, after a few minutes, Shadow had Hutch pinned to the ground. Next was Candu, Shadow had him pinned to the ground within the first few seconds. Scar and Claw went after him and the same result happened, so far, everyone had passed. I was watching Shadow intently, trying to see a weakness in his technique, and so far, I haven't. Next was Logan, and then Ashley, after watching Logan fight Shadow, I saw that Shadow used his opponents' moves against them. I didn't see a weakness in Shadow's defense, nor did I see one in his attacks, but maybe I could put him in a situation where he is unable to find his balance. "Lilly!", Dad said, "it's your turn!".

I walked into the center of the clearing and stood across from Shadow, we started circling around each other. Everyone else had attacked first, so I was going to wait for Shadow to attack first. Shadow quickly lunged at me, but I immediately evaded him and hit his side to knock him off balance. He staggered a little, trying to regain his balance, but he quickly found it again. He turned to face me, then pounced and tried to knock me off balance like I did to him. I ran forward and ducked underneath him, while Shadow flew over my head and landed where I was just moments before. We both turned around, facing each other, and started circling again. Shadow lunged at me and I noticed he was just off balance, not much, but enough for what I needed to do. Instead of evading him like last time, I ran towards him and he tried to bring me down with his paw, but I quickly spun around to avoid it. I gripped his foreleg in my paws and flipped him over my back, causing him to land on the ground with a thud. Before he could get up, I jumped on top of him and pinned him to the ground, "I yield", Shadow said, looking up at me from the ground, "you bested me".

I looked around at everyone else, they all had their jaws dropped from surprise, except for my father, he had a huge smile on his face. "That's my girl!", he shouted, making me smile back at him.

I got off of Shadow and he sat up to face me, "good job, Lilly", he said to me, "I can't remember the last time someone else bested me in one on one".

"Alright, you all passed the first test", Dad said, "especially Lilly, whom I am very proud of for beating my Alpha Leader".

"Oh, I didn't know that", I said, "that doesn't mean that I'm now the Alpha Leader, right?".

Dad chuckled, "no, it doesn't", he answered, "let's go conduct your second test now".

Dad and the other instructors led us to another clearing, "Susan, take your position", Dad said to one of the instructors.

A black furred she-wolf with green eyes nodded at my father and walked to the center of the clearing. "What you have to do now is sneak up to her without her noticing you and pin her", Tony explained, then whispered in our ears, "fair warning, she has the best hearing in the packs".

"No I don't!", Susan shouted from the center of the clearing, causing us to go wide-eyed with surprise.

"No pressure", Garth said, "I'll go first".

Garth crouched down and silently crept through the long grass, inching his way closer to Susan. Susan looked in his direction and Garth immediately stopped moving and held his breath. She looked away after a few seconds and Garth continued to slowly move closer towards her. He was now practically right under her nose, Susan looked over just in time to see Garth jump out of his hiding place and pin her. "Good job, son!", Tony shouted at him, as Garth got off of Susan and came back towards us.

During the next hour, everyone else did their test and passed as well, Hutch was nearly caught by Susan when he accidentally rustled a bush. It was now my turn and I knew that Susan would be able to spot me easily with my white fur, so I hid in the piles of snow as I sneaked closer to her. Unfortunately, there wasn't any snow near where she was sitting, so I had to hope that she wouldn't look in my direction as I sneaked towards her. I got as close as I could using the snow, then I risked it and silently crept towards her. Susan suddenly looked in my direction and I quickly curled up and closed my eyes, pretending I was a pile of snow. 'Oh, please don't see me', I thought to myself, 'who am I kidding? Of course she's going to see me!'.

I laid there perfectly still, holding my breath, then I heard Susan stand up and start to sniff the air, probably trying to smell me out. Thankfully, I was downwind of her, so she wasn't able to smell my scent. After what seemed to be like forever, Susan sat back down and looked the other way. I slowly opened my eyes, making sure she was looking the other way, I saw she was, so I began to silently creep towards her again. I didn't want to take the chance of her looking in my direction again, so as soon as I was close enough, I pounced on her and pinned her. Everyone cheered for me as I got off of Susan and Dad was smiling at me, proud of his Alpha daughter. I ran up to him and hugged him, then I pulled away and, without even thinking, kissed Garth on the cheek. We both suddenly had shocked expressions at what I just did and I blushed, "alright, everyone!", Dad shouted at us, over our cheering, "you've all just proven that you can use the skills that you've learned here and we'll be returning home now".

There was more cheering from the others and Dad started to lead the Western Alphas towards the pack area. Garth, Scar, Claw, and the other Eastern Alphas, went off to their own territory with Tony. When we got back after a few hours of walking, I felt someone nudge me from behind, I turned around to see Susan walking behind me. "Oh, hi, Susan", I said, "was there something you needed?".

"Yes, I'd like to speak to you for a minute", she answered.

"Sure!", I replied, "what about?".

"I wanted to talk to you about your performance when you were sneaking up to me", Susan answered, "I wanted to tell you that, I saw you".

"You saw me?", I asked, "but, then why didn't you call on me?".

"The only reason I saw you was because I caught a glimpse of your white fur", Susan explained, "no one can control what color fur they are born with and I wasn't going to fail you for that".

"Oh, uhh, thanks, I guess", I replied.

"I was also impressed by the fact you used the snow piles to hide from me", Susan said, "good thinking".

"Thank you, Susan", I said.

"Don't mention it", Susan replied, "now go on, I think your father's calling you".

I ran off towards my dad and he was indeed calling for me, "yes, Dad?", I asked.

"There you are, Lilly!", Dad exclaimed, "once we get back you are going to lead your first hunt".

"Seriously?", I asked, and he nodded in response, "thank you!".

"Hutch and Candu will assist you in your hunt", Dad said, "now go on, make your mother and I proud".

I ran off to find Hutch and Candu waiting for me by the side of the valley, "you ready, Miss?", Hutch asked.

"Yep, let's go", I replied, then we descended into the valley to start our first hunt.