War Claim (The Claim: Book 3)

Chapter 45 - Chloe (Part 2)

Random bursts of rain drenched the land in the days that followed with the heat and humidity rising to suffocating levels. Thunderstorms lit up the sky at night and Chloe would watch from her bedroom window as the rain came pummeling down.

During one of the evening thunderstorms, she spotted Animkii running across the valley to his parents' house. Darkness enveloped the land before she saw him leave.

The storms did nothing to abate the heat—if anything, they only exacerbated the humidity.

The warriors alongside Chloe couldn't help but groan and go through the motions half-heartedly in the mornings that followed. The Head Male and Female Warriors didn't push, knowing that it was a struggle for all.

A break finally struck after another thunderstorm rolled in and a cool breeze from the north followed. Great sighs of relief lifted everyone's spirits even though it was still hot, it wasn't as overbearing as before.

Finishing up her training for the day, ahead of the others, Chloe trudged to the water cooler and grabbed herself a drink. After chugging down half the bottle next to the female she'd been training with, she glanced over to her father, standing next to Alpha, Luna, and Mik—and Animkii.

Lowering the bottle to catch her breath, she eyed the small gathering while her heart did a little tap dance inside.

His skin was a lot darker from being out in the sun for hours. His arms were as thick as ever and his legs like tree trunks.

She caught herself staring and salivating like an animal for a second before shaking off the hypnosis and wiping the drool from the corner of her mouth.

What was he doing here?

Well, he is the future Alpha, her subconscious told her.

Of course, the future Alpha should be present to oversee some of the training. Chloe knew that he was busy so it was surprising nonetheless.

Chugging down the rest of the water, she tossed the empty bottle into the recycling bin and strode across the field to her father and the higher-ups.

"Hey," she gasped, still catching her breath from the intense training when she reached the small group. "What's going on?"

Animkii was the first to notice her as he stopped talking with the others and they all turned their attention to her. He gave her a warm smile. "Good morning, Chloe. Finished already?"

She nodded at him, studying everyone else's faces as they remained tight-lipped. Even her father looked somewhat stiff but cracked a small smile.

"Yeah. What's going on?" she repeated.

"Shame," he replied. "I was hoping to watch for a bit. Would you like to join me in the training center in hopes of catching Ann before she finishes her training as well?"

Chloe shrugged. To be perfectly honest with herself, she was curious about how Anwaatin's private training was going. Anwaatin always finished before her so she never got a chance. "Sure, Alpha."

She followed him up the grassy knoll to the main pack houses. The sounds of the warriors still sparring behind her faded slightly as her heartbeat pounded in her ears.

"I really am disappointed that I came right at the end of your training," Animkii told her. "I was looking forward to seeing your progress, but I guess I didn't finish my work fast enough this morning. So for sure, I want to see Ann's progress. I haven't seen her train since you started doing summer training with the pups a few years back."

Chloe's heart jumped in her throat. She remembered that time, smelling his scent on the trail around the glen the pups had been training in. "So you did spy on us."