Chapter 11 Chapter 11 Riley met the gamma outside the back of the pack house an hour after their meeting. She rubbed her temples, trying to ignore the nausea that rose in her stomach. She had felt fine through breakfast and the meeting, but the discomfort from the early morning had come back slowly over the last hour. "Alright?" She looked up to see Patrick coming towards her. He wasn't as tall as the alpha or the beta, but he was still taller than Riley. He was wide and strong, wearing a pair of gray joggers and a white, long sleeve shirt that stretched across his broad chest. He had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. He raised an eyebrow as he stopped in front of her. "Just tired." She forced a small smile. "I just came off an assignment when I was sent here. I usually take a week or two to regroup between assignments." "We appreciate you coming here so quickly, but no one would blame you if you wanted to take it easy for a day or two, especially after what happened last night." "I'd rather not waste time." She looked up into his serious face. "I don't want to wait around for another attack. The next one could be worse." "It really could be." Patrick sighed heavily. "I really wish we could get this situation under control. People are dying." He motioned for her to follow him and they walked towards the training academy. They passed over the training grounds that included a full track and a field of sparring rings. Riley hadn't been able to see them from Kent's window last night, so she looked around, taking in her surroundings. There were already several groups of warriors training and sparring on the fields. She spotted Max talking to a group of very young warriors, his face stern and serious. Patrick led her into the academy. It was clean and bright inside. The walls were a white brick with pictures of warriors hung down the main hallway. The floors were covered in bright, white linoleum tiles that shone in the fluorescent light. "These are our facilities," Patrick explained as he started down the hall. "The first floor is an indoor track facility and sparring arenas. We try to stay outside as long as the weather permits because you need to be prepared for adverse conditions, but winters are harsh here, so we have everything we need inside as well. The second floor has several weight rooms and the third floor has classrooms and a couple meeting rooms." "What kind of classes do your warriors take?" She asked as they moved through the building to an elevator. "Tactic, strategy, defense," he said as he punched the call button. "Think of whatever classes are offered at the Werewolf Academy. We try our best to replicate it here. We want our warriors to be top notch." "Did you go to the academy?" "Yep." Patrick motioned for Riley to step in first as the doors slid open before he followed her. "I did, as did Max and Kent. But Kent had to leave the academy early because his dad died when he was nineteen. Max and I stayed to finish our training though. Kent used his father's beta and my dad as gamma until we came back." 1 1/3 "Had Kent decided to make Max his beta when he took over as alpha?" she asked curiously as they stepped out of the elevator. "Max told me he wasn't born into the position." "No," Patrick said as they headed down the hall, "but I wasn't surprised when he did. Max was his best friend growing up and he has always been an exceptional warrior. And while Max may play the clown quite well, he's actually extremely intelligent. Kent had suggested that I would be beta before he left the academy, but I wasn't surprised when he changed his mind." "Were you upset about it?" "No." Patrick smiled as he glanced at her. "I was trained to be gamma and that's what I am. I can't be upset about that. Plus, Kent is my friend and my alpha. Whatever is best for him is best for my pack." Riley was pretty sure she liked Patrick too. He led her down a hallway past classrooms, some of which were in use until they reached a large room with a long table that ran down the middle. One wall was made up entirely of glass windows looking out on the training grounds below. On the opposite wall were several large tvs. Against another wall was a large white board calendar that showed the current dates with patrol schedules for different warriors written out in various colors. "This is our briefing room," Patrick said as he closed the door behind her. "We use this to meet with our patrols when we adjust schedules or need to make them aware of situations. It also houses our current patrol schedule." He motioned to the calendar on the wall. "It's very detailed." She looked over the calendar. "Your whole operation is quite impressive. I go to a lot of packs and this is one of the best." Patrick smiled, the pride showing in his eyes. "Kent was determined to improve things when he took over as alpha. His dad was a good alpha, but he was very old school. After he passed, Kent wanted things modernized. That's when he had the old training hall demolished and replaced with our own academy. He got even more intense about things after Lily died. He never wanted someone to get hurt again." "These attacks must be hard on him then," she noted, looking at Patrick. He frowned, his forehead creasing. "More than most probably realize." He turned away from her, opening a cabinet to take some papers out. Riley turned to look out the window for a moment, watching the warriors training on the field. The leaves in the trees were starting to change colors, the leaves yellow, red and orange swaying gently in the wind. Her head throbbed and she closed her eyes for a moment, hoping the pain would ease soon. "Are you sure you're alright?" She opened her eyes to see Patrick watching her. "Yes," she sighed. "But I wouldn't say no to some aspirin if there's any around." He nodded. "I'll grab some and then I'll walk you through the different patrol schedules we use. We've been trying to vary them some more to keep the rogues on their toes, but I would like some trained eyes to help me make them better." "Sure thing," she said as he headed out of the room.