The boy who Gamma Axel paired me with went down instantaneously. He had barely sank into a fighting stance when I swiped his feet out from underneath him and sent him crashing to the ground. I jumped on top of him and pinned him down so firmly he wasn't even able to flail his arms.

I'm ready for a real challenge, Axel, I mindlinked him, and his face contorted in surprise. I really hate that men are always surprised when a woman can accomplish something. I'll teach him a lesson he'll never forget.

"Who do you want to fight, Luna?" Axel asked as I climbed up off of the wolf who was gasping for air. He really didn't know what hit him.

A devilish smirk spread across my face. You, I answered confidently.

Axel sighed heavily. "I had a feeling you might say that. You know that Alpha Cain will kill me if I hurt you, right?"

I laughed dryly. You say that like you could even get a hit on me, pup.

Unlike Cain, who called me pup adoringly, I knew that he would take being called pup as an insult to his masculinity, which werewolves are extremely hypersensitive to.

As expected, my nickname riled him up and his face reddened in either embarrassment or anger. I could see his wolf fighting for control. Men are just so easy to manipulate.

"You may have been the Gamma of Red Crescent, Ares, but I have strength you couldn't even dream of," Axel confidently replied, his canines poking out of his mouth slightly.

No, pup. It is I who has power your brain wouldn't begin to comprehend, I taunted him, and he snarled playfully in response. I couldn't tell if his wolf was angry about my challenging statements or was amused and wanted to play.

"Gather round, warriors. Watch what happens when you challenge me. You may learn a thing or two," Axel winked at me, and I smirked. He was way too cocky for what I was about to throw towards him.

The warriors shuffled around us in a wide circle. I had plenty of space to take him down. Powers or no powers, Axel? I highly recommend for your safety you choose no powers.

"I've seen you throw knives, pup. It's a cute little trick, but useless against my power," Axel smirked, but my confidence didn't falter. I believed in myself way more than I had faith in him. "We'll use powers so I can properly teach you a lesson about who has more strength."

I laughed. Do your worst, wolfie.

Axel's eyes glinted evilly under the fluorescent lighting. He closed his eyes, and suddenly, his skin slowly transformed from tanned skin to a light grey, until he was completely metal.

What the fu-

Before I could gather my thoughts, Axel charged at me. I narrowly got head butted by him, but stepped to the side at the last second. Unfortunately, he predicted this movement and shot his fist in my direction as he past me, and made contact with my side. I gasped for air as I felt the cold metal connect with my ribcage. I was sure he had broken a few ribs, maybe even punctured a lung. Whatever metal he could make his skin turn into was stronger than anything I've ever had to punch.

Axel gave me a moment to recover as I slouched over slightly trying to regain control over myself. He smirked. "Thought the Gamma of Red Crescent was supposed to be unbeatable?" He antagonized me and I growled.

My wolf was dangerously close to gaining control, and I knew if she did he was a dead man.

Instead of responding, I ground my teeth and summoned a knife just to test a hypothesis. I threw the knife directly at his heart, and as I suspected, it clattered to the ground uselessly.

Axel grinned wickedly, flashing all of his canines in an act of aggression and disrespect.

He charged at me again, and instead of moving out of the way, I decided to fight strength with strength.

I punched at his jaw, hard. He flew backwards due to the force of my punch in combination with the force he was rushing at me with.

Despite sending him flying, every bone in my hand was completely crushed. That tactic would certainly lead to every bone in my body being broken.

Due to my accelerated healing though, I could feel my broken ribs slowly starting to heal, even though they hurt like a bitch.

I needed to get my right hand to heal before I could send another punch his way, so I decided to only use my left hand to fend him off until my right hand could take more hits.

He recovered from my punch, and started stalking towards me slowly, likely analyzing what I was going to do next. I decided to simply react to his strikes and avoid getting bludgeoned until my hand was ready to get a piece of the action.

When I didn't make a move, he sent a kick my way, and I did a backflip to avoid getting kicked to the ground. He swung a few more times with his fists, and I narrowly dodged all of them. He was fast, but I was slightly faster. If I didn't have that edge on him, I already would have been dead.

We continued the violent dance, and he managed to barely get a few hits in, leaving random bruises on my body.

My hand was starting to feel somewhat better, so I decided to try another method to take him down. I could tell using his power for so long was starting to make him weary, and it certainly didn't help that he kept throwing powerful punches that didn't land.

I backed up from him, and his brows furrowed i'm confused. Then, as fast as I could, I charged toward the metal man.

As I ran, I summoned a garrote wire, holding it out as wide as I could with my arms. When I was right in front of him, I did a front flip over him, but leaving my arms extended so the wire hooked around his neck.

I held the wire around his neck and used it to jerk him to the ground. I knew I didn't have much time because it wasn't long until he broke the wire, so I summoned a medieval mace and used it to clobber his shin.

He yelled out in pain, clutching the leg that I made a huge dent in. Then, I swung at his head, which effectively knocked him out. One he was KO'd, his body slowly transformed from metal to skin, and where I dented his metal body, his skin only showed signs of deep-tissue/ bone bruises. I was positive he would wake up any minute now.

"Ares, didn't I tell you not to kill anyone today?" Cain's disapproving voice said from behind me.

I turned towards him and frowned. I didn't kill him, only knocked him out. You should choose your words more carefully next time.

Cain's eyes held amusement. "Why am I not surprised that you gave my Gamma a brutal beat down on your first day of training?"

I rolled my eyes. Because I'm a badass. Duh.

Cain laughed, and it was surprising to see him in such good spirits, despite his knocked out third-in-command passed out on the floor next to us.

Cain offered me a sweatshirt, which I gratefully accepted. He then held up the pelt, and when I reached for it, he yanked it out of reach.

"I'm going to wrap you up in it. I want to take you somewhere," Cain smiled warmly, and I was almost disarmed from the genuine grin.

I narrowed my eyes. You said I don't have to be carried anywhere.

"I'm asking you to let me. I will accept it if you say no, but I'm asking you to just please do as I request," Cain spoke firmly.

I weighed my options, knowing that a few pack members were listening in on what he was saying. I sighed and let him wrap the pelt around me, picking me up.

Should you call a doctor for him or something? I asked Cain, jerking my head towards Axel's lifeless body.

Cain shrugged carelessly. "He'll be fine. I'm glad you kicked his ass. He was getting way too arrogant."

I smiled, pleased with the compliment. It seems as though my mate had grown more accepting towards my affinity for violence.

Cain walked us out of the training center, and into the woods, making my curiosity spike. Where was he taking me? I couldn't put my finger on it, but the path felt vaguely familiar. It was harder to tell than it should have been for me due to all of the snow covering the grounds and trees.

Cain's hands heated me in the pelt, and I dozed off for a small nap due to the comforting combination of warmth and the gentle rocking from him carrying me.

Suddenly, I was woken from Cain's gentle kisses peppered on my face, and him whispering, "Do you know where we are?"

My eyes blinked open, adjusting to my surroundings after my nap.

I looked around and saw that we were standing in a snowy clearing, almost nothing around but snow, snow, and more snow.

A little bit in the distance, I could see a cliff.

I smiled. It's where I stabbed you for the first time, I recalled fondly.

Cain rolled his eyes. "Glad to see it brings back good memories for you," His voice was sarcastic but I could feel his happiness through the bond.

Why did you take me here? I asked curiously. It's not like the last time went well.

"This place is very special to Blood Lake," Cain's voice was light. "Besides being the place where I marked my mate for the first time and made out with her," Cain winked and I ignored the blush that flooded my cheeks, telling myself it was just the cold wind eliciting the reaction, "It has historical significance to us. Do you remember me telling you that you would like the past behind this place?"

I nodded, vaguely recalling him telling me that the last time.

"Do you remember what is underneath the cliff?" I nodded. A lake.

Cain smiled. "Yes, pup. A lake. When our pack first began, they had an issue with rogues attacking in the middle of the night. The Alpha at the time, my many-greats grandfather, prayed to the Moon Goddess for help. She could see that he had pure intentions and only wanted to ensure his pups and his pack's survival. So, she created a cliff that overlooks a lake on the edge of Blood Lake territory. Of course before then, the pack wasn't called Blood Lake, but rather Midnight Storm. But the lake was no ordinary lake. When a rogue was pushed into it, they instantly died, their blood being released into the lake water. When rogues caught wind of the deadly lake, they steered clear of Midnight Storm. Even today, there are many rumors that go around about why rogues should never come near our territory, even though many do not know the origin." I reflected on his words, and recalled that I heard a rumor that they posted the dead bodies of rogues around their territory to scare rogues away.

What happened during the winter, like now, when the lake is frozen solid? I asked.

"Good question, little pup. The Moon Goddess makes all Blood Lake wolves stronger, harrier, and more powerful during the winter to compensate for the lake being rendered useless." I nodded at his words. It was obvious he had grown in size and his beard and hair was longer than ever.

"So you see, little pup, Blood Lake owes our entire survive to the Moon Goddess. Without her, we would have been wiped off the face of the earth many years ago," Cain respectfully bowed his head momentarily.

I was silent. I didn't know what to make of all of this. The Moon Goddess coming down to interfere with packs? It seemed unreasonable, but I could see that there was no way I could make Cain see how delusional he sounds.

"We'll head back now, pup. I just wanted to give you a little bit more insight on your pack's history," Cain said as he started walking back the way we came. It didn't escape me that he said my pack, even thought I was technically not officially the Luna.

Cain walked us back in a comfortable silence. I rather appreciated that he tended to leave me alone to my thoughts. Lord knows I am by no means talkative.

When we were about to go into the Pack House, Cain's next words intrigued me. "There's a surprise for you inside." His eyes were mischievous.

I grinned, unsure of what he could possibly give me that I didn't already have, but was excited nonetheless.

Cain opened the Pack House door to reveal...

Alpha Thane?