14. Demanding respect

Aleida’s POV

It’s amusing to watch as the warriors get punished by alpha Paul, all of them looking like toddlers who get scolded for eating candy before dinner. I chuckle to myself by the window as I look out from upstairs. Alpha Paul has given me the most elegant room in the whole packhouse, despite my reluctance. According to Paul, I deserve nothing less than the best, and who am I to contradict when the man insists. It’s clear that alpha Paul respects me deeply; more and more wolves feel similar now after my story of what I’ve suffered through leaked into society. I went from being that girl whom no one cared about to be one of the most powerful in the world and all that happened overnight. Isn’t it funny how fast the wind sometimes turns? What surprises me most is how little it has changed my life; of course, I’m glad that the truth has come out. But at the same time, I honestly don’t care about all the sympathy I’ve gotten after that because that wasn’t my main goal. My biggest dream by telling the truth has always been to encourage others who feel the same way as I did and who have been exposed to come to light; no one should have to feel like that. My second goal was to encourage more women to take their place in our sexist society and show that we can do the same thing as the males, not for someone else’s sake but for their own. She-wolves aren’t weaker than males, and the only thing that can cause our downfall is if we stop fighting and begin to accept their opinions. My girls should never have to feel weaker and less needed just because a man says so. I’d rather die than have my sons grow up to be two of all the thousands of sexist wolves in our city. No, it’s going to be all right with my cubs, I promise. Bit by bit, I’m going to break all the sexism in town until the only thing left is the particles of something that once was, and I don’t care if I’ve got to burn the whole world down for that to happen. I’m tired of what’s happening behind closed doors and out in public places; it’s enough now. My thoughts arouse a determination within me with a certain undertone of annoyance, and I intend to use that against the warriors I’m training. I quickly change into tight training shorts and a tank top before putting my long hair in a bun in the middle of my head. I open the window and notice that several warriors look anxiously at me with dilated eyes. Aw, do they worry that I can’t do this? I jump out the window and land safely on the ground in front of them with a laugh.

“You-you just jumped from the third floor!” exclaims one of the younger ones.

“That’s right, yes,” I answer with a smile.

“How come you’re not hurt in the least?” another warrior asks.

“Hybrid. The strongest creature on the planet, remember?” I giggle and point to myself.

His cheeks turn red from the embarrassment, and he lowers his head. I giggle and give him a pat on the back before standing next to their alpha. He looks questioningly at me, and I bow to his ear to announce that the training starts today instead.

“Warriors, training has moved forward,” he says, and they all solidify.

“What!? But we were supposed to train tomorrow,” one of them exclaims anxiously.

“Huh, strange that you suddenly show fear of training with me after you just an hour ago pointed out that I’m just a woman, and low-key meant that I’m weak,” I say with a raised eyebrow.

“But alpha!” one of the warriors whines.

“That’s enough!” alpha Paul’s voice thunders over the training field, and everyone whines by his aura except me because mine is stronger. “Queen Aleida is the one in charge here, and she also has authority over me. She’s my alpha, and you will obey her command!”

Every single one of the warriors silences and lets their alpha’s words blend in. They don’t seem to understand yet what great power I have over our entire community; all I need to do is snap my fingers, and the whole city is up in flames within a few minutes.

“You do what she says, or you’ll encounter her anger, and that’s no funny thing,” alpha Paul tells them before turning to me. “Have fun, queen Aleida.”

He bows and walks away without looking back once. The moment alpha Paul is no longer visible, the men’s expression changes from respectful to disgust, which annoys me. I stare at a warrior who must be a few years older than me, and I see that he wants to challenge me.

“Come on, boy,” I say with a sweet smile on my face.

He throws himself at me, and it’s easier to throw him into the ground than it was with those before, and they were amateurs. When I throw him down, the power I use makes the air in his lungs disappear from the impact. I crouch down near him, and now I’m angry.

“Don’t you dare try to challenge me when all the training you have now is what I had when I was still walking in diapers,” I growl and show my massive sharp fangs for everyone to see. “You don’t want to be an enemy with me, boy; I promise you that.”

I get up and stand in front of them again with a stern look that studies them all carefully. The other warriors help the man up from the ground, and they still don’t understand anything because the anger is still there. It’s the last thing needed to unleash my aura that makes everyone fall to the ground.

“None of you seem to understand what’s going on here, which is why I’m going to explain it so you can stop fussing. I have power over you, all the other werewolves, and also all the vampires in the whole world. There’s nothing I can’t do to you. I can force you to shift, make you fight each other to death, force you to kill your mates, make you choke your puppies, etc. But why would I do it when it’s undeniable that all I have to do is show with my aura what power I possess? This is the last time I warn you, my hybrid doesn’t like to be offended,” I growl, and this time they seem to understand what they’re doing. “I’m your queen neither you like it nor not, and it remains only to accept it because your alpha was the one who asked me for help from the beginning, not the other way around.”

They line up in a row, their backs straight, and avoid eye contact. As I’ve said before, werewolves, and above all, the males are like dogs; you have to show who decides by ensuring dominance. Now that I’ve done that, they’ll follow my orders without any problems, neat, right?

“Now you finally understand,” I say, laughing. “Ten laps around the territory, ninety push-ups, and ninety sit-ups. Go!”

They immediately run away, and I run along with them all the way. My body isn’t large, and I’m certainly not tall, but I have a powerful physique that can handle more than most. Many warriors look surprised when I run with them but don’t say anything about it. In the last two laps, I run backward and don’t fall once. This is how I and Elisa train to keep the concentration; she has control behind my back, and I forward. All the time, when there’s an obstacle, I jump over it without any problems while watching the warriors, smiling at their exhaustion. Finally, we come back to where we started and do the exercises I ordered. I don’t think I even need to mention that I’m the one who finishes first, and I haven’t sweated in the slightest. Thanks, hybrid genes! The warriors have trouble finishing what they started, but instead of yelling at them, I encourage them.

“Come on, guys! You’re almost done; you can do some more!” I shout and help some by doing more exercises next to them.

When everyone is ready, I wave to the omegas to get to the place with water bottles and bananas to everyone present. The omegas leave the things before hurrying away again, and the warriors look at me confusingly, as if I’m testing their loyalty.

“Come on, guys,” I giggle. “I haven’t poisoned it if that’s what you think. If I wanted you dead, you’d already be dead. You deserve this after all the work you’ve done.”

“Why are you so kind to us after we treated you like shit?” one of them asks while taking a bottle of water and a banana.

“Because I’m not like all the other alphas out there who demand respect and obedience,” I say, and they look at me confusedly again. “I said I expected it from you, and you reacted the way I wished you would react. Respect and obedience are nothing you demand; it’s earned.”

“You tested us!” one of the younger warriors exclaim, and I nod.

“Yes, I tested you. If you listened directly to what I said, you would’ve been weak. You’re not dogs that are only to obey orders; despite the wolf side, you’re also people, as you have proved,” I reply and smile. “You should never, ever obey orders directly without thinking when it comes to new people because you don’t know their purpose. My purpose is to help you in your training, and that also includes your instincts.”

The warriors smile at me and seem to understand what I mean. The previously tense atmosphere is now instead relaxed, and it doesn’t matter if they don’t trust me yet. It may take the time it takes; therefore, I sit down on the ground opposite them.

“You don’t trust me yet, nor should you, because you don’t know me. I hope we can at least be nice to each other. Therefore, I now let you ask whatever questions you may have,” I say in a confident tone and look at them encouragingly.

“How old are you?” asks one of the younger ones.

“I’m eighteen years old,” I respond with a smile.

“Damn, you’re almost the youngest of us!” exclaims the same person, and I laugh.

“And yet I’m the strongest,” I say with a wink.

“Have you met your mate?” another asks and blushes when the others laugh at him, including me.

“In fact, I have. I also have five puppies with my mates, alpha Kian and alpha Miliano,” I answer.

“What!? Please don’t tell them I asked you that! I’m too young to die!” exclaims the young man.

“It’s okay, honey,” I answer and giggle. “You shouldn’t fear my mates. If there’s anyone you should fear, it’s me.”

We continue with the questions for quite a while and have fun together, although we were done a long time ago. But this is one of the few opportunities I have to get to know my people, and I’m not going to ignore that chance. Then comes the question that I wished I wouldn’t get.

“What are you afraid of?”

“I’m afraid to hurt my puppies, mates, and family,” I respond with a sad smile. “I almost accidentally killed my brother, alpha Nathan, when we were trying to train to control my shift.”

“Is that the only thing you fear?”

“When you’ve laughed death in the face as I’ve done since I died and resurrected, there’s nothing left for me to fear; except to lose control.”