I - The Race
The day began as ordinarily as any other day. Ellis Greymoon awoke when the early rays of the Sun just began to peek over the horizon. He ate a quick breakfast, changed into his comfiest pair of workout shorts and his favourite, well-worn grey hoodie, and went to meet his brother for his morning training session.
At almost twenty-five years of age, Ellis was next in line to ascend as alpha of his pack once he made his first transition on the full moon closest to his birthday. Unfortunately, his journey towards alphahood was not going to be an easy one, even with his brother guiding him through his training. Not only would he need to train himself both mentally and physically for the next six months, he would also have to find himself a suitable wife - and mate - by the full moon closest to his birthday... Which, this year, just happens to be on his twenty-fifth birthday.
Sucks, right?
Down in the gym, his back slammed hard into the crash mat as Tony pinned Ellis for the umpteenth time that morning. Ellis groaned beneath him, Tony’s forearm across his throat making it difficult for him to recover his lost breath. Tony wasn’t holding him hard, but his brother wasn’t going to make it easy for him to get out from underneath him either.
“What are you going to do now, Ellis?” Tony smirked, the lightest sheen of sweat was beginning to plaster his light brown fringe to his forehead. The pale yellow-brown eyes that all of their pack shared shone with mischievous amusement.
"Geroffme!”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”
“I said, “Get off me!“”
Ellis wrapped his arms around his brother’s waist, intending to roll himself on top, but Tony read the move perfectly. Using Ellis’s momentum to throw him, the pair tumbled for a few seconds, only stopping when Ellis hit the wall of the gym. Tony finally conceded and slid off, leaving Ellis a sweating and breathless mess on the hardwood floor. He opened his mouth to make some sarcastic comment about Tony giving up too soon, but stopped himself when he saw the state his brother was in.
Tony sat on the floor beside Ellis, one hand clutching his chest as he stared at the ground, inhaling desperate breaths of air into his lungs. His arms trembled slightly, a sign that he was struggling.
At twenty-nine years of age, Tony should have already ascended to alpha. Unfortunately, Tony had what is called dyspnea, which meant that he sometimes had difficulty breathing, and could not be the alpha as the threat to his life and the pack as a whole would be too great if word of his dyspnea became common knowledge.
Did he begrudge having to pass the alpha role onto his little brother?
No, of course not. Being the brother of the ascending alpha came with perks of its own. There was no one Ellis trusted more to watch his back as his chief beta than his older brother and best friend, Tony.
“Are you okay?” Ellis asked as he propped himself up on his elbows, genuinely concerned. He’d seen Tony have a couple of episodes before, but they seemed to be coming more and more frequently.
“I... I’m fine,” Tony gasped, finally having inhaled a half-decent breath. “I just... need a... a minute.”
He rose slowly, still clutching his chest. Ellis prepared himself to catch Tony if he started to fall, but Tony stood as proudly as he could in his condition. He inhaled several deep breaths before dropping his hand from his chest, his episode seemingly over... for now.
“Get up. We’re going to try again.”
Ellis groaned in frustration as he dropped back onto the ground, staring at the ceiling despairingly. It wasn’t as though he didn’t want to train anymore, he wanted to be the best that he could be, he just didn’t know how much more of an ass whooping from Tony he could stand to take. If they weren’t busy wrestling, Tony would have Ellis working the punch bag or lifting weights or running laps until he couldn’t walk anymore.
Training was intense, but it would all be worth it when he finally ascended.
“Come on, Ellis,” Tony sighed exasperated, “if you give up now, you’ll never be able to defend yourself against challengers. They’ll chew you up and spit you out like a day-old piece of gristle.”
“Piece of gristle... That’s a good one,” a chuckle sounded behind them.
Ellis sat up as Tony turned to face the newcomer in the room. Ellis’s best friend and "brother" Maxwell - a.k.a Max - was late to training as always. He stood in the open doorway with his hands on his hips and a carefree expression on his face. His blonde hair was still stuck up from where he had just crawled out of bed, a loose curl hanging down upon his forehead. As a former omega, Max was meant to joke and have fun at his superiors expense, but since he’d been declared Ellis’s beta-in-training, he was supposed to act mature and take his duties seriously. Unfortunately, he hadn’t... Yet.
“Where the fuck have you been, Max?” Tony shouted his voice echoing in the cavernous room, “your training was supposed to have started half an hour ago.”
“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Max shrugged nonchalantly.
“You’ll never make a good beta if you can’t be bothered to show up on time, Max,” Ellis warned his friend.
“Don’t sweat it, Ellis, you know that when push comes to shove I’ll run circles around Tone when it matters,” Max smiled smugly. He never did know when to keep his mouth shut.
“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you put your money where your mouth is, and prove your worth as a beta?”
“Sure thing, Tone. Just name the game and I’ll be sure to ace it,” Max grinned confidently at Tony.
“You and I are going to have a little race.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, Tony, considering-” Ellis glanced dumbstruck at his brother, certain that he must have misheard him.
“A race, huh?” Max tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Oh... You were being serious?” He added when Tony remained straight faced and silent, his challenge sincere.
“Alright, Tone. I accept.”
Tony might as well have offered Max his life savings for all the good this race is going to do him, Ellis thought moodily.
“If I win,” Tony started before Ellis could verbally interject, “you have to stop calling me ’Tone′, and you have to attend one-on-one training sessions with me for a month starting at sunrise every morning.”
“Seriously?” Max groaned disapprovingly.
“What’s the matter, Max? Are you scared you’ll lose?”
“I’m not scared of you, Tony. I just want to know what do I get if I win?
“Name your prize.”
“If I win, I get to keep calling you Tone,” Max declared after a small pause for thought, ”aaand you have to refer to me as ′Maxwell, the greatest beta that ever lived’, for an entire year.”
“It’s a deal,” Tony agreed to Max’s terms. “I just hope you’re prepared to lose, Max.”
“Bring it on, Tony,” Max winked at Tony.
Ellis followed Max and Tony silently outside. The Sun hung high in the sky; its light and warmth shining down upon the city they called home. The streets were busy with bodies enjoying the late Spring weather as they milled in and around the many boutiques and coffee shops that lined the side street closest to their gym. The three males made their way to the nearby park, the calming breeze that rustled the leaves in the trees brought with it the sweet smells of running water and freshly baked donuts drifting over the river.
“I still think you’re a pair of idiots for agreeing to do this,” Ellis reprimanded Tony and Max as they found themselves a good starting point for the race; the water fountain with the hideous cherub statue.
“Don’t worry, Ellis, I’ll go easy on him,” Max nudged Tony in the arm with his elbow, much to Tony’s annoyance.
“We’ll see who goes easy on who, Max.”
“Let’s just get this over with,” snapped Ellis before the pair could start arguing again.
“The race will be one lap around the park,” he instructed, looking at Max and Tony in turn to make certain that they were paying attention to him. “Whoever gets back to me first wins. If either of you breaks the Mundane Challenge rule, you will be disqualified. Agreed?”
“Sounds fair to me,” Max shrugged.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“May the best wolf win,” Max held out his hand for Tony to shake.
“I already plan to.” Tony ran off, leaving Max standing surprised and confused in his wake.
“HURRY UP, SLOWPOKE!” He called just before he became swallowed up by the trees that lined the nearby walkway. Letting out a growl of frustration, Max took off after Tony, leaving Ellis standing alone and friendless in the middle of the park.
With their competitive nature and inability to sit still for long periods of time, it wasn’t uncommon for challenges such as the race between Tony and Max to occur. But being a werewolf in a human dominated world would never be as easy as it looked, so the Lycaon Council - the overall leaders of the werewolf community - came up with the Mundane Challenge rule as a way to protect their secret lives.
It was a simple rule that allowed weres to partake in the same sports and challenges as the humans did, as long as they didn’t exceed their physical capabilities.
Knowing it would take a few minutes for Tony and Max to make their way back to where he was waiting, Ellis pulled his phone from the pocket of his hoodie and took a seat on the wall surrounding the fountain. As he swiped absentmindedly through the apps on his phone, looking for nothing in particular to do-
“Good afternoon, Ellis.”
He jumped up from his perch, almost dropping his phone into the fountain’s water when his father’s voice took him off guard. Elijah Greymoon glowered at him, his golden-yellow eyes slightly narrowed as he regarded Ellis with a disapproving expression.
“Oh, he-hey, Dad, what’s up?” Ellis quickly stuffed his phone back into his pocket as he tried to look as innocent as possible, but it wasn’t easy to do when he’d been caught slacking off red-handed.
“You want to know what’s up, Ellis?” Elijah asked, crossing his arms over his chest, the muscles of his biceps straining against the long sleeves of his T-shirt. “I dropped by the gym to see how you were getting along with your training, but what I walked in on was an empty room. Would you care to explain what you’re doing out here playing on your phone instead of training with your brother and Max?”
“Well, uh, you see...” Ellis stammered, choosing his next words carefully. “Tony and I were in the middle of training, but Max was late and then... Then Tony issued a challenge to Max, and now they’re racing around the park as we speak. I’m surprised you didn’t pass them on your way over here, actually.”
“I swear to Lycaon, Ellis, you boys are going to be the death of me,” Elijah cursed. Exhaling a heavy sigh, he ran a hand through his thick mane of dark brunette hair. “When are you two going to get it through your thick skulls that Tony’s not like the rest of us? He shouldn’t be issuing challenges, let alone compete in one, and a race of all things. As the ascending alpha, I expected better from you. You shouldn’t have encouraged Tony to take part in this foolish game.”
“I did try and stop him, Dad, but you know how stubborn Tony is. Especially wherever Max is concerned,” complained Ellis, not that it would do him any good. Once Elijah started on a rant about Tony’s health it was hard to stop him; even when Ellis had already heard every lecture under the Sun several times before.
“Listen carefully to me, Son,” Elijah said, a lot softer than Ellis was expecting, “Tony’s condition isn’t just going to go away, he’s stuck with it for life, and letting him partake in this race was very irresponsible of you. I know that Max is your best friend, but if you don’t learn to reel him in he’s going to walk all over you as alpha, and then what do you think will happen with the others?” He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze. “I want to trust your judgement, Son, but you haven’t given me a reason to do so thus far.”
“Jeez, thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad.” Ellis shrugged off his hand. If it wasn’t his brother always criticising him for messing up in the gym, then he was constantly getting critiqued by his dad for something he didn’t even do. No matter what he did, he felt as though he couldn’t do anything right.
“Watch that tone with me, Ellis, or else-”
Whatever Elijah was about to say was cut off by the sudden reappearance of Tony and Max. Tony slid to a stop, doubling over the wall of the fountain as he struggled to draw in a deep breath of air. Max fared even worse as he tripped over his own feet and landed on his hands and knees in front of Ellis and Elijah.
“Okay... I concede... You’re better than me,” Max panted, clearly exhausted by his last minute sprint.
“Perhaps that will teach you to not issue challenges to opponents stronger than you in future,” Elijah smirked snidely. Max physically jumped as he turned to face him.
“Oh, he-hi, Elijah.” He scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I, uh... I didn’t see you there.”
“Don’t worry, Max, you’ll be seeing plenty of me when you and Ellis are assisting me with sentry duty until further notice.”
"Seriously?!” Max complained, turning his nose up in disgust.
“Do you want to make it indefinitely?”
Max opened his mouth to complain further.
“You’d better quit while Dad’s ahead,” Ellis growled in warning.
“N-No, thank you, Alpha. I’m good.” Max thankfully backed down.
“Good. Now, I want you and Ellis to head back to the gym and finish up your training for today. As for you-” he grabbed Tony when he attempted to sneak past him. “I’m suspending you as Ellis and Max’s trainer, effective immediately.”
"What?!” exclaimed Ellis in shock.
"No!” Tony shouted defiantly at the same time. “You can’t do this, Dad!
“I can, and I have, Antonio,” Elijah growled his full name threateningly, stopping Tony from saying whatever protest was ready to slip from his lips. “I want you to go home and rest, and don’t you even think of defying me again, or else I’ll have Miles lock you in the infirmary until Ellis’s ascension. Do you understand?”
Tony opened his mouth, looking as though he was about to protest, when...
"Fine,” he muttered, his shoulders slouching with defeat.
He shuffled past Ellis and Max without a word, his head bowed, and his eyes focused on the floor. Ellis had never seen his brother appear as broken as he was now; not including the day of the accident that had left him with his dyspnea, that was. He suddenly looked a lot older than his twenty-nine years, it was almost as though by taking away his right to train Ellis that their father had signed Tony’s death certificate already.
“What are you two still standing around here for? Move!”
Ellis and Max scarpered before their alpha could condemn them worse than he had done Tony.
"Tony’s screwed, isn’t he?” Max finally plucked up the courage to speak to Ellis as they made their way back towards the gym.
“What do you think?” Ellis snapped in response before running ahead, leaving Max to tail sheepishly along behind him.
