I wake up before the sun rises with an uncomfortable weight on my chest. I try to swat it away, earning myself an irritated growl from the sleeping figure next to me.

"Get off me, fat ass," I grumble sleepily.

Killian mumbles something incoherently and rolls over, placing his entire body weight on me. I squeal girlishly and try to push him off, but I'm laughing too hard.

"Your bed sucks. We're sleeping in mine from now on," he smiles into my neck.

He rolls back over and props himself up on one arm, facing me.

"Who says I'm sleeping with you again? You sweat too much."

"And you snore, but you don't hear me bitching," he retorts.

"Fine," I concede unwillingly. "But if you crush me again, I'm kicking your ass."

"Duly noted."

Killian gives me a mock salute before jumping up and putting on work out clothes. I follow suit and we head downstairs for a pack run.

Killian called our allied alphas to meet with us immediately and we were expecting most of their packs to show up this afternoon. Starting today, every pack was in hardcore training mode and I'd be leading practice.

"So should I meet with the rest of the alphas before we start training?" I ask as we set up the practice field.

"You're not leading the training today. You're going with Marcus on a small search party."

"Oh, and you trust me with that, almighty alpha?"

He glances at me from the corner of his eye and gives me an exasperated sigh.

"You know I always trusted you. But I won't apologize for putting my pack first. Regardless, Alice specifically requested that you be on the rescue team."

I smile to myself, feeling a sense of pride that the older woman has already put so much faith in me. Killian tells me where to meet Marcus, so I head back to the pack house, brushing my fingertips lightly against Killian's as I go.

I know it's too soon for any public displays of affection, but it feels weird leaving him with just a simple goodbye. Besides, we're not really affectionate people anyways-So of course I'm completely mortified when he smacks my ass as I walk away, earning us several catcalls from surrounding pack members.

So much for keeping it quiet.

I rush inside, cheeks still burning from Killian's behavior and head down into the basement where Marcus is supposed to debrief the rescue team. I had never been in the basement before, but I'm impressed by what I see.

Underneath the pack house's warm and cozy exterior is a sleek, sterile armory. The steel covered walls are lined with weapons and tactical gear, some of it looking like it belonged in some medieval dungeon. Marcus is standing around a small table with three others, two men and a woman, looking at what appears to be a map of pack property.

"We've already covered most of this. With the exception of Alpha Lucas, we have permission from the surrounding packs to search their properties," the woman says.

I recognize her voice instantly and suppress a groan.

"Hey everyone, sorry I'm late," I apologize as I walk towards the table.

"Are you though?" Lexie mutters under her breath.

"No problem, Rey, we were just going over land we've already searched," Marcus smiles cheerfully, ignoring Lexie's remark. "This is Daniel and Gabriel. They're the pack guards assigned to our search party."

He introduces the other two men in the room and I shake their hands politely. They quickly fill me in on the rescue mission.

"Quick and efficient. I like it," I nod my head in approval.

"Let's get going then," Gabriel agrees.