Free Strength of the Pack by Kendall McKenna

flesh between his teeth and stepped back. He heard Noah sigh.

    “You’d better go,” Lucas said, his voice rough to his own ears.
     
    “See you in the morning,” Noah said, wolf-eyes glowing silver in the falling darkness.

    Lucas watched in stunned silence as Noah turned and strode purposefully out the gate.
     
    When Noah’s broad shoulders were finally out of sight, Lucas slowly climbed the stairs to the watch tower. The sergeant and a corporal were both looking through night scopes. Lucas assumed they were watching the group of werewolves.

    “They’re shifting,” the sergeant murmured.
     
    “Yeah,” replied the corporal.

    “Is that Hammond running off?”

    “Think so. Is that all of them?”

    “Yep. Nothing out there on two legs.”

    The sergeant lowered his scope and turned to Lucas. “Lieutenant Young, I’m Sergeant Rigby. This is Corporal Irving.” He gestured just behind Lucas. “We set you up in that corner, sir.”

    “I don’t want to be in the way,” Lucas said, glancing around the small area.

    “You won’t be, sir,” Rigby replied. “Irving and I have the duty until morning. Sergeant Hammond gave us orders to wake you at the first sign of trouble. Otherwise, we’ll wake you when our relief arrives, just before daybreak.”

    “You’re sure I’m not in your way up here?” Lucas asked one last time.
     
    “Not at all, sir,” answered Rigby firmly.

    Lucas took him at his word. He spread out his bedroll and settled down on it. Leaning against the wall, he used his pocket Maglite to finish some paperwork by hand. He’d thought he would be sleeping outside on the ground so he’d left his laptop in his hooch.
     
    Rigby and Irving moved quietly around the tower, speaking to one another in hushed tones. They answered occasional radio transmissions from other Marines on watch elsewhere on the base. Sometimes they sat quietly, reading the wall graffiti, left since the last time they stood watch, out loud to each other.

    “I hope Sergeant Hammond didn’t twist your arms too hard to get you to put up with me tonight,” Lucas said with a smile, pulling out the book he’d brought to read

    “He didn’t have to do any twisting at all, sir,” Rigby replied. “He asked for a favor, and you better fucking believe we were glad to do it.”

    Lucas didn’t bother to mask his surprise. “He asked for a favor? He didn’t order you?”

    Irving was shaking his head in the negative even as Rigby answered. “Oh, hell no. He didn’t have to order us. Sergeant Hammond doesn’t have to order nobody.”

    “Why is that?” Lucas sensed he was on the trail of something significant.

    “Sergeant Hammond is a major badass, sir,” Rigby said enthusiastically. “He’s practically a legend. He does it all; he passed sniper school, dive school and jump school. He can run for fucking miles and never gets tired. But he’s not an asshole.”

    “So you know him?” Lucas asked.

    Rigby shook his head. “All enlisted Marines know about him. But no, today was the first time I met him.”

    Lucas considered this information and its implications. He’d always assumed the awe with which everyone treated Noah was because of his True Alpha status. But these Marines were human. Maybe there was something about the human side of Noah that was just as charismatic. Perhaps that explained Lucas’ reaction to him.
     
    Lucas opened the thermos of coffee he’d brought along. He offered some to Irving and Rigby, but they had one of their own. Irving had received a care package from home that he was happy to share with both Rigby and Lucas.

    Lucas had to admit, it didn’t seem like the young Marines were tolerating his presence under duress.
     
    When Lucas couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, he settled down and let himself sleep. Rigby had promised to wake him before sunrise, and Lucas was confident he could trust him.

    His sleep was restless. Lucas dreamed of running across open ground and