Over the next three days, not a lot happened. Gabby was not able to use her leg until it healed so she pretty much just hung around with Gracie in her room with the occasional visit from Leo, Mikey, Donnie and Saffron. Her mom even came in to scold her about the whole fiasco. Gabby had run her idea about Raph apprenticing under Carl by her mom and she had agreed to speak to Carl. Three days after her leg was broken, she was healed and leading Raph to his first meeting with the Thompson Alpha.
"Is it going to be hard?" Raph asked nervously.
"I'm sure Carl will put you through your paces." Gabby replied. "I don't know him well so I'm not really sure what his teaching strategy is."
They walked up to the Alpha's study door and knocked. "Come in." Carl called through the door.
The two of them entered the spacious and very masculine office. He motioned for them to take a seat across from him. They both sat and Gabby kept her bond with Raph strong, trying to reassure him. She knew how nervous about this he was.
"I assume you know a few things about being an Alpha." Carl began without preamble. "What you know about your status is irrelevant at the moment. In order to be an Alpha, you have to know what it is to be a wolf, so that's where we'll start. You'll train with my Junior Betas for a week. You'll live with them, you'll eat with them, you'll run with them, and you'll hunt with them." He motioned to a case on the ground. "You'll learn to shoot this. Go ahead and open it." Raph picked up the plastic case and undid the latches. When he lifted the lid a beautiful compound bow was revealed. "I'll have someone teach you how to use it properly and I expect you to join in on the next hunt. This will be a good exercise for my Betas as well. Learning speed and stealth on two legs is important. Now, I'll give you a week to practice with the bow and then your training with my Betas will begin. I would enjoy what free time you have because after this week you'll be too busy to do much of anything."
Raph closed up the bow case and thanked the Alpha. They quickly headed to the training room where a man was waiting with a target against a bunch of foam blocks that had been set up along the wall. Gabby watched as the man showed Raph first how to care for his bow, then how to knock an arrow, then how to shoot. He corrected his form a few times before he told Raph to just keep practicing. Raph did just that. He practiced shooting for nearly three hours before calling it quits. He packed up his bow and Gabby followed him out and back to the guest wing where he stored his bow in his room.
"You want to go watch a movie?" She asked.
"I'm going to go hang out with Em." He replied walking passed her. She placed a hand on his arms stopping him in his tracks. He tensed up like he was expecting a lecture.
"Just remember, you have a pack that needs your time and attention too." She said.
His body relaxed a little and he nodded. Gabby let him pass and he headed down the hallway to see the little Theta that had captured his attention. It was hard letting him go. Knowing he wouldn't be around them much in just a week had her wanting him to stay close. For all the time that they had spent together over the last month and a half or so, she didn't really know much about him other than the fact that he was stubborn and had a bit of a temper. She wanted to know who he really was, not just the scowling, angry front he put up to protect himself.
The next day, Gabby, Saffron, and Gracie all headed to the male training room to check the progress of the new training they were receiving. All of the turtles were there helping master Splinter by sparing with the wolves. A hush fell over the Betas there as Gabby walked in and Raph looked up from his pinned opponent. Their eyes met and she smiled gently. He stood up and helped the Beta to his feet. He walked over to the group of girls.
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.
"Came to see how training was progressing." Gabby replied. She looked around. "I haven't had a good fight in a few days. You want to go again?"
Raph actually laughed which she had actually never heard before. She grinned and shifted to hybrid. She dove for him while he was still chuckling. They fought as ferociously as ever but there were no wounds this time. There was no blood or anger, just skill against skill. They moved in a deadly dance, landing blows and then dancing away. Coming together and apart and back together again with a speed that wasn't human. Gabby had been paying attention to her own training though and in a move that was completely unexpected, she hooked one of Raph's legs and sent him tumbling backwards. On his way down, he grabbed her and she tumbled down with him, originally landing on top of him but he quickly rolled her under him pinning her arms above her head so she couldn't use her talons on him. She shifted back to human, breathing hard. Her body was pressed tight to his sending little sparks of desire through her but right at that moment she sneezed, right into his face. He scrambled off of her and she rolled around on the mat dying of laughter. She laughed until tears were streaming from her eyes.
"Very nice." Raph said sarcastically as he wiped off his face. He pulled her to her feet, still chuckling.
"I'm sorry." She said between bouts of chuckles. "I couldn't cover my mouth, you had my hands."
"Yeah, whatever." Raph said, but he was smiling.
He went back to training with the Betas for another hour before he headed back to his rooms to get cleaned up. He thought of heading over to see Em but he remembered what Gabby had said the day before about spending time with his own pack. He headed to the entertainment room where he could usually find most of his pack. He walked in to see Donnie and Mikey engaged in a particularly exciting game of Air hockey. Leo and the girls were gathered around cheering on one player or the other. Mikey scored a goal on Donnie and fist bumped Gracie who was next to him. Raph couldn't help but smile. His family was happy and that made him happy.
A few more goals on each side and the game was over. Mikey was the winner by a long shot but Donnie was a good sport about it. They put away the air hockey supplies and looked around at each other.
"Now what?" Mikey asked.
"We could play some COD." Mikey said.
"That's all we ever play." Gracie complained. "Can't we try Left for Dead or Game of War or really anything else?"
"Fine." Mikey pouted. "You go find something then."
Gabby stuck her tongue out at him and went over to the shelving that held the video games. As she began to browse through them, the others settled on the couch. Leo and Raph started in on how well the Betas were doing in Master Splinters training and how they hoped it would make a difference when the time came.
"I wish the time would never come." Saffron said quietly. "People are going to die. Packs are going to suffer." Donnie pulled her close, trying to comfort her.
"Packs have already suffered." Gabby said, her face an emotionless mask. "People have already died. If I have to, I'll die to end that."
"No one's going to die." Raph said firmly. "Besides, that's a long way off yet and we shouldn't be worrying about it."
"Raph is right." Gracie said from the shelf. "No point in getting all worked up over it. It's like Dad always used to say, 'what will come, will come.' There's nothing we can do about it so why worry."
"Your dad was always right." Saffron said.
"Yeah." Gabby said wistfully. "He was the best. Do you remember that time when I was twelve that I wanted to decorate my own room and so I painted everything brown?"
Gracie laughed. "I remember that. Grant and I made fun of you. We told you it looked like a turd and you were so sad because brown was your favorite color. Dad told you it was awesome and looked like a wolf den. He always knew what to say."
"That's how he got to be such good friends with Ben." Came a voice behind them. They all turned to see Brandy and Renee in the doorway. They came in and found seats. "Your dad was the biggest troublemaker." Brandy said, looking at Saffron. "He was always starting fights and being argumentative. He had a strong Beta personality, that's for sure. Tom always knew just what to say to calm him down."
"I remember one time, before Brandy came to the pack, when Ben and I were dating. He and I had a huge fight one night and Ben was about ready to give up on us. We didn't talk for weeks and Tom ended up tricking us into meeting up. Ben was so mad at him but he managed to make him see that it was a good thing. Gabby has that talent. It'll be useful when we have our whole pack back." She looked at Raph. "I don't know if anyone has talked to you, but once this is all said and done and if any of us are still standing, we would like to go reclaim our territory in Minnesota. I know you don't have any connections there but think about moving there okay? There's still a lot of time to decide."
Raph nodded though he was secretly shocked. He hadn't really considered leaving the east coast where he had been born and raised. He hadn't considered that his pack had everything stolen from them and might want it back once the threat was removed. It was understandable but he wasn't sure what he and his brothers would want to do about it.
"I miss the lakes." Ronnie said. "There's nothing in the world like a midnight swim after a hot day."
"I miss the hills by the North Shore." Gabby said. "Climbing to the top was always a challenge but you could see forever it seemed."
"I miss the people." Gracie said. "I'd give it all up to have them back."
"We all would, Gracie." Gabby agreed. "Remember Uncle Jim? He taught us how to fish."
Gracie laughed. "I fell in the first time and never wanted to do it again."
"He had to bribe you with ice cream the next time he wanted to take you." Brandy smiled.
Gracie sat next to her mom, the search for a game to play quite forgotten. She snuggled close, enjoying the comfort and the closeness. "Someday we'll go back there and we'll have a pack of our own and we'll have kids and they'll have aunts and uncles to teach them how to fish and climb trees and hills." She said.
"And a grandma to spoil them rotten." Brandy said.
"Do you boys ever think about having kids?" Renee asked them.
"We never had to think about it before you guys showed up." Leo said. "We're the only ones of our species. We had no reason to believe we could ever have kids."
"And now?" Brandy asked.
"I could have kids." Donnie said.
"Me too." Leo said. "If I found the right girl."
They looked at Raph who looked uncomfortable. "I don't know." He said. "I've never been around them before."
"Well you will be now that Carl has a hold of you. I'm sure he'll assign you to the daycare center for a week or two during your training."
"What?" Raph looked panicked.
"Children are an important part of the pack. Don't worry. You'll be fine." Brandy said. Her reassurances didn't seem to calm his fears.
"I'll be around for that stuff, Raph." Gabby said. "I wouldn't let you go through it alone."
Raph looked relieved at the thought of having her there with him. He gave her one of his rare smiles. Gabby was practically humming with contentment as she looked around at her pack. They were all conversing and laughing and just being a normal pack. She lived for these moments, and she knew she would die for them if it came to it.
Five days later, as gabby was getting ready for bed, she heard a knock on the door. "Come in." She called.
Raph entered the room, a worn book in his hands. He saw Gabby running a brush through her dark tresses and he stood transfixed for a second. He didn't see her hair down often and watching her brush it into perfect long loose curls seemed endlessly fascinating to him, though he wasn't sure why.
"Did you need something or did you just want to hang out?" She asked as she stowed her brush away in a drawer.
"I had a question." He answered lifting the book a little.
"Just let me brush my teeth then I'll answer it. Just make yourself comfortable." She disappeared into the bathroom. She quickly brushed her teeth and ran a wet washcloth over her face. When she exited the bathroom she saw Raph cross-legged on her bed, scowling down into the book he was reading. She climbed in next to him, trying to see what he was reading about.
"So what are you wondering about?" She asked.
"Bonding." He answered. "It says in here that bonds are forged through challenges. How could you have bonded to me if it wasn't a challenge?" He asked.
"Well, since you're a turtle I shouldn't have bonded with you at all, even if it had been a formal challenge. What bonded us was the nature of our fight though. I needed food to survive, and you needed me to submit to save anyone from being harmed by me. It wasn't a fight where I would just tap out and it wasn't a fight where you would just stand aside. Submission by one or the other of us was the only way that fight would end. It was my wolf's submission to you and the way you completely and utterly dominated her that made the bond possible. At least that's what I think. This stuff isn't always a science. There are always special cases and freak incidences."
Raph nodded and looked at her. "I read that when an Alpha is beaten in a challenge, the winner becomes the new Alpha. Some packs have even absorbed other packs like that."
"That's how Aiden takes over packs." She said.
"So if I were to kill Aiden I would run his pack?" Raph asked.
"Yeah." Gabby replied. "And if I killed him, I would win his pack and through me you would become their Alpha. If Carl killed him, he would absorb Aiden's pack."
"What if one of Carl's Betas killed him?" Raph asked.
"Then a choice would have to be made. The Beta who killed Aiden would either leave the pack, or challenge Carl. If the Beta is loyal to Carl and doesn't want to leave the pack, he can challenge or be challenged and if he loses then the pack bonds go to Carl. If the Beta isn't that loyal to Carl, he can leave the pack to run the one he took over. Make sense?"
"I think so." Raph said. He closed the book and climbed off of her bed. "Thanks." He said before he turned around. The silver duct tape across his shell flashed and she just had to know.
"Raph." She called, causing him to turn around. "What's the deal with the tape on your shell?"
The brooding look came back to his face. "It's cracked." He said.
She was shocked. That was a lot of duct tape. She wondered if it hurt. "Does your shell heal?" She asked.
"It takes a lot of years." He said.
"I could try and fix it up for you." She suggested.
He eyed her speculatively. Could she get his shell to mend? She had worked miracles on his ankle but that injury hadn't been that bad. "Do you think it will work?" He asked.
"Couldn't hurt to try." She replied. He shrugged.
"I'll put this book back and we can do it." He said. He went to his room and she followed. He set the book on his night stand and turned to her. "How do you wanna do this?" He asked.
"Just lay on your stomach. I'm going to have to pull all of the tape off. You're shoulder strap is going to have to go too. Pretty much anything touching your shell."
With a cocky grin, he undid his belt which wrapped around the bottom of his shell, leaving him in only his favorite red boxers. He wasn't shy, that was for sure. He climbed onto his bed and lay face down. Gabby went to work peeling the tape off of his back. It left behind a sticky residue that she really didn't want to lick so she ran for a cloth and some rubbing alcohol. She got most of it off and then rinsed the areas with water so she wouldn't have to taste the alcohol as much.
"Can you feel this?" She asked as she dried off his shell.
"Kind of." Raph said. "I don't feel as much in my shell as I do in my skin but I can feel it."
"Huh. Well I'm going to shift and start licking now. Hopefully this works." She said. She shifted to her wolf form and hopped up into his bed. Her tongue began lapping over the cracks in his shell. She stopped when she felt him tense.
"Does it hurt?" She asked concerned. She opened their bond more so she could feel what he was feeling. There were little sparks of pain flashing from the cracks she had started licking.
"I'm fine." He replied. "They always hurt a little anyway."
Gabby continued to lick but she kept her mind in contact with his, sensing when the pressure from her tongue was too strong. It took her a while but she finally covered all of the cracks in her saliva. She inspected it one last time and then plopped down on the bed beside him, still as a wolf.
"It's itchy." He complained.
She shifted and lay beside him, just looking at him as he looked at her.
"What?" He asked.
"Do you miss the lair?" She asked. Her question took him by surprise.
"Sometimes, I guess." He replied. "I grew up there."
"Yeah." She agreed and she just stared at him for another minute.
"You okay?" He asked uncertainly. She was acting weird.
"Yeah. Just feeling a little nostalgic I guess. I miss my home a lot." She said.
"You mean back in Minnesota?" He asked. She nodded. "What was it like?" He asked.
"It was every wolf's dream." Gabby said, her eyes peering past him as though she could see her home before her. "We had thousands and thousands of acres to run and so many landscapes. There were plains and hills and forests and beaches. You could practically smell water in the air it would get so humid in the summertime. The days in the summer were hot and the nights were nice and cool. There was always so much green and in the fall the trees turned all kinds of reds and yellows and oranges. In the winter the snow would pile up and we would run through it. There's nothing in the world like the full moon on fresh snow. It makes the world so bright. It was beautiful." She sighed and looked back at him. His eyes searched hers and his heart filled with understanding and with sympathy for the little wolf.
"I don't know if we'll move back there, but I promise we'll at least go back to see this when it's all over."
"We might not be alive when this is all over." She pointed out.
"We will be." He said. He had to trust in that. He couldn't bear to think of losing any one of them. They were his family now. They belonged to him and he belonged to them. As long as he was able, he would never let anything happen to them.
"Can I ask you somethin'?" He asked.
"Sure." She replied.
"Why stay with us?" He asked. "Carl would be a better Alpha. At least he knows what he's doin'. Your life would be a lot easier and mine probably would be too."
"It's not about what's easy, Raph. It's about what's right. You and your family saved us. You followed us out of your home and you defended us when there was no hope of winning. You stayed by my side through my entire heat even though I know that must have been torture. You may not be a man of many words, but your actions speak for you. You care about us. You're loyal to us. And we love you for it."
"You guys love me?" He asked.
"It's an easy thing to do when you're a good Alpha to us."
A warm little bubble grew in his chest at her words. He was a good Alpha, despite his lack of knowledge on the point. His pack loved him and he loved them. He had never felt more hopeful for the future. He shifted his weight to the side and tugged on her hair in an affectionate gesture.
"I wouldn't be anywhere if you weren't here to help." He said.
Before Gabby could respond, Em came barging into the room. She saw Gabby laying on the bed with Raph and went rigid. Then she turned around and stormed out. Gabby was looking over the edge of Raph's shell with a mildly interested look on her face.
"If that were me I would have screamed at you." She said with a shrug as he sat up.
"You're no help." He growled at her as he put his belt back on.
"I told you I was going to stay out of it." She smirked. "It's not my fault your fuck buddy has a problem with you spending time with your She-Alpha. Though you wearing nothing but your boxers does make it look bad."
"I would've been wearing more if it wasn't for you." He groused as he settled his shoulder strap.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." She said, rolling back onto his pillow and examining her nails. She was smiling though. "I hope she doesn't try to break up with you."
"You could at least try not enjoying this so much." He scowled at her.
"Oh come on, Raph. Would it be so bad if she didn't want to hook up anymore?"
"Yes." He said.
"You could find another girl to hook up with." She pointed out.
"I like her." He said.
"You don't even know her." She said.
"Yeah I do." He defended.
"What's her favorite color?" She asked skeptically.
"I don't know." He said. She raised her eyebrows as though she had proven a point.
"I know you don't know her Raph. You don't bother asking questions, especially when you've only known someone for like a week."
"I know your favorite color." He said, trying to counter her argument.
"Oh yeah? What?" She challenged.
"It's brown." He said. She looked at him for a moment, caught off guard. "I was right wasn't I?" He gloated.
"Whatever." She said. "You better go talk to Em if you want to keep friendly."
Raph left the room grumbling and she laid back on the pillow again. His scent was in the room and she enjoyed it. She looked around again and sighed. She felt like she was getting to know Raph better but he was such a complex person that it was hard to tell what was him and what was his defenses and his insecurities. She hoped Alpha training would bring out the real him. The him that drew her family and his together.
I wanted to thank everyone for reading my story! I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it. I'm always trying to improve my writing so please write some reviews and let me know how I'm doing! Thanks again everyone!