When I walk into the arena I stop just short of colliding with Sean.

"Damn it," I mutter under my breath.

"Good Morning again, Ili," he says softly, smiling at me as if he wasn't crushing me into the ground twenty minutes ago. My skinny jeans have dirt on them and my red blouse is destroyed, but hey, yeah, good morning, dick.

I glare at Sean. "Why are you here and not in your class?" I snap, ignoring the slight thrill his smile gives me. It's just the stupid bond. My she-wolf sniffs and turns up her nose. She liked our red shirt, too.

Sean stops smiling. "Conner wants to settle Bailey in. I don't start my training class for another half hour." He watches me intently as he says this. His eyes fall on the smear of dirt on my sleeve and narrow.

I just nod, looking past him. I don't care. I don't care about my dirty 'nice' clothes or my never-mate's dark eyes boring holes into the side of my head. I watch my friends and packmates greet each other and inhale slowly. Cinda smiles and waves from under Teddy's arm and Frieda gives me a smile, but no one approaches me.

Damnit, Sean is scaring them off. "Go away. You're frightening my friends," I hiss at him.

Blankly, he looks around. A few of the smaller, weaker wolves actually turn away and hustle off when they notice him watching them. Sean frowns, "I'm not that bad, right?"

I roll my eyes. "You are almost as harsh of a trainer as Beta Teague is."

"That's why he teaches the upper level trainees," Alphason Conner cuts in as he approaches us with a grin on his face. "Morning, Ili."

"Hi, Alphason," I say shyly. I grew up tagging along with Braxton and sometimes their younger sister, Velia, but Conner was always just a shade too old for me to play with.

"Hi, Luna Bailey!" I'm much more enthusiastic about greeting my new luna, even if she's a little hard to spot. Alphason Conner is hovering over the tiny female so closely that I can only see her puff of golden-brown hair past his arm.

Her head pops around Alphason Conner. She smiles at me and I smile back. Bright hazel eyes meet mine, twinkling with mischief and intelligence. "Hi, Ili. Call me Bailey, please." My she-wolf internally fangirls a little, twirling excitedly in a circle as if chasing her tail. Our luna asked us to call her 'Bailey' a second time. We're friends with the new luna, we celebrate silently.

"Well, I guess I can leave you with Ili," Alphason Conner sounds completely unconvinced that this is a good idea.

"I'll be fine, Conner," Bailey pats his chest. I can hear the eye-roll in her voice.

He does, too. "Be safe, honeygirl. You have your phone, right?" He pats her jeans pocket like an over-protective father. Then he squeezes her bum. Oh. I blush when it hits me that I'm ogling a private moment. I don't move away, though. My she-wolf won't let me. If she had opposable thumbs she would superglue herself to her luna's side. It's a little embarrassing.

"Yes, Dad," Bailey says sarcastically.

I laugh quietly. So does Alphason Conner, but his smile is much more suggestive.

"I thought we agreed that it's 'daddy,' babygirl," he croons mockingly.

"Conner!" she hisses, blushing pink.

I think I blush, too. I look down at my shoes, studiously pretending to not notice the two lovebirds embracing each other. My wolf keeps studying them. Maybe she is hopeful that if Alphason Conner could be so happy with a choicemate then we can have one too, despite what Sean thinks. Conailey is totally couple's goals. Alphason finishes saying goodbye to Bailey when she pushes him away in exasperation as the five-minute-warning airhorn bleats in the distance.

"Bye, ladies," he says reluctantly. He kisses her cheek one last time before backing away a few steps. Sean just nods in our direction as the males finally leave.

"Jeesh, you'd think that he was leaving me to the wolves or something," Bailey mutters.

It surprises another laugh out of me. She smiles in return and I feel myself relax a bit. "Ready for mythology class?" I ask.

"I'm really excited about it," she admits.

"Just a fair warning, there's a lot of arguing in that class. Every family has their own beliefs in our myths," I tell her, "and you're a fresh, brand-new set of ears."

"So I'll be lambasted with every opinion out there about wolf people myth?" There's a definite note of excitement in her voice.

"Pretty much."

"Fabulous," her voice is breathy with wonder. I adore this girl. Still giggling, we walk into the classroom together.

"Bailey!" I hear a familiar voice shout. Looking up, I see Braxton's sister Velia waving madly at me. I like Velia, but she's so popular that we never really had the time to become close.

"Hi, Ili" Velia greets me happily when Bailey and I claim seats next to her.

"Hi, Velia."

"So, I heard that the LoboGris would be teaching this class," Velia whispers to us.

"Beta Rique is," Bailey offers. "Conner told me last night."

I hear a murmur from the females ebb and flow through the room. Even I straighten up a little in response to the excitement that spikes in the room after Bailey's announcement.

"Beta Rique is a fantasy come to life. I mean, if you like tatted-up manly males who are marshmallows on the inside when you see him with his pup and mate," Velia states matter-of-factly.

I give her a sideglance before meeting Bailey's eyes. We both start to laugh.

"What?" Velia asks huffily.

"Your Dad?" I ask her at the same times Bailey says, "the Grim?"

"Ew. Just ew," Velia shudders a bit. "That's beyond-"

"Hola, Bella," a smooth, low voice interrupts us. Velia goes absolutely stiff as a young male, maybe a few years younger than us, slides into the seat next to Velia. His dark eyes fix on her profile as she steadfastly ignores him. He reaches up and brushes a lock of chocolate-brown hair out of his eyes. He is, as Velia says, 'tatted-up' and despite his young age, is probably a very 'manly-male.' Bailey and I exchange a look. Velia would normally be all over this male, flirting away. Instead, she looks ready to bolt.

"Buenos Días, Class," Beta Rique walks into the room. He glances at us all, his eyes lingering on the young male sitting with us. A flicker of surprise is smothered quickly, but the small quirk of his lips tells me what I've already suspected; Velia has found her mate.

I look around her and Bailey and smile at the young male as Beta Rique sets up his laptop at the front of the room. "Hi, I'm Ili. This is Velia and Luna Bailey."

"Vicente, Ili, Luna," he responds politely with a nod. "Velia," he croons her name in greeting. He edges closer to Velia. "Do you have a pencil I can borrow, Bella?" he asks her.

She huffs, crossing her arms, her shoulders stiff. "You didn't come prepared for the first day of class?"

"Mi primo, my cousin," Vicente nods toward Beta Rique, "made me come last minute, sí?"

"Why?" comes her whip-fast response.

"I was getting into trouble, Bella," he murmurs. "Wanting to join the Lobos."

I eye him skeptically. He looks way too young to be anywhere near the LoboGris's version of the special ops team.

"Are you too young to be here?" she snaps.

"Sixteen," he admits softly. "Just shifted a few months ago, Bella."

She stiffens even more. "I'm nearly twenty," she practically growls. "So you can stay over there for the next two years, pal." She points across the room.

His smile is wickedly sexy. It must run in the family. "We'll see, mi mujer preciosa. We'll see." He doesn't budge his seat, of course.

Beta Rique begins class before Velia can retort to Vicente's words. If the faint scent of arousal smacking the air is any indication, Velia is in big trouble.

"This month is going to be so much fun," Luna Bailey whispers to me. I sit back with a smile. It sure is.

---

"Fuck!" I grunt as I'm punched in the gut again. Brutal. This place is fucking insanely ruthless and I was raised by Dad. Granted, I quit training when Caroline died and missed years of development because of it, but fuck.

"Again," the male fighting me, Beta Orion, intoned seriously. I think he doesn't like me, or most likely doesn't like the Grim family, because I honestly think he's trying to tear off small parts of my body. There are parts of my body I would miss. I'd like to keep my balls.

I take up my position without complaint. Three grueling weeks up here and I can already feel a difference. My body is one giant, festering wound. I'm tired. Yet my wolf and I are ready to fight again, barely noting the aches and pains plaguing us.

"Once more," Orion says again when I hit the ground hard, rolling to avoid the foot heading straight for my groin. "Faster."

This time I manage to complete the flip, grabbing his leg and scrambling to get him into a hold.

He praises me with a grunt. "Now on paws," he adds with the hint of a smile. It's a cruel smirk and internally I brace myself. "We run the mountain, today."

I hide the shaking in my legs as I stand. Taking a step forward, I grit my teeth and shake off the shooting pains in my feet, my ribs, and my head. The pros of this hellhole are how much stronger and faster I am in such a short amount of time, the cons are easily ignored. I only have seven toenails left, for example. I'm hoping Ili doesn't mind.

My wolf shakes out his fur, taking deep breaths as his eyes focus outward, toward 'the mountain.' It's just a pile of rock, I tell him silently. We can handle this shit, no problem. It's one of the last parts of hell-week (should be hell-month but I didn't name this shit) of the RustClaw training.

Orion claps me on the back. "Let's start, yeah?"

We start running. Racing, to be precise. Already nude, I follow in Orion's footsteps, trying to remember all of the advice and warnings from the wolves who have run the mountain before. Stay on his heels, shift to paws when he does, shift back to feet only when you need hands to climb. Don't slip over the edge.

Breathe.

I steady myself and concentrate on pushing through the aches and pains. Gradually our path becomes steeper. My calves start to burn, but my lungs are still good. Orion's feet kick up dirt and leaves as I run after him, scrambling down into the riverbed.

He swims on feet, so I don't shift, either. The water here comes from mountain runoff. It's like plunging my entire body into an ice bath. Good thing we ice after training. The river feels like a thousand needles being plunged into my skin all at once, but I know the danger here is when my body goes numb and I can't feel the pain at all.

The water is pulling at me. The current threatens to suck me under. My toes, then my fingers go numb. Orion still hasn't shifted, the bastard. I guess he's just going to let my balls shrivel up into frozen ice cubes instead of ripping them off.

When we reach the other side I've lost a little distance between us, but Orion pauses to shake out his own numb limbs before letting the rip of his shift come on. A good thing, because exhaustion is pulling at me, my muscles shaking violently as I pull myself up onto the opposite riverbank. I shift to paws, my wolf on edge, ready to run and regain the space he's lost in the river. It burns hot as my body morphs, and I understand why Orion swam on feet instead of paws. Warm again, I race after him.

I feel good when we hit the first cliff-face. Orion shifts back to feet more quickly than at the river and starts to climb. My eyes narrow. I shift, but I give over my eyesight to the wolf within. He can see every flicker, each tiny movement, of Orion's fingers, helping me find the handholds to climb.

I don't fucking like heights, but I hate feeling like a pussy more.

"Faster, Brax!" Orion shouts down to me. My wolf lets out a strangled howl in response. I whip my limbs into moving more quickly. My wolf and I start to develop a rhythm. Hand over hand, step over step.

Abruptly, the rock under my left hand shift. I hear Orion curse. The entire cliff-face is crumbling, I realize as debris falls on my head and into my eyes.

Instinctively my claws erupt from the ends of my fingertips and out of my broken toes. "Fuck, that hurts like a bitch."

"Speaking of little bitches," Orion says from above me, "don't be one. Climb!"

We fly up the cliff. The falling rock becomes something to dodge instead of cling to. I go over the top of the cliff with a roar.

"Now we run!" Orion shouts. And it's a race again.

The view that appears in front of me lies like a mirage at first. The forest of trees, the boulders, and caves ends abruptly into an endless blue sky. At the sight, vertigo hits, and my wolf staggers. We would probably sink to our knees to recover our equilibrium, but Orion Ferax is staring at us.

The entire valley of the RustClaw is spread out below. More mountains are behind us. The river winds below, curving along the base of the mountain chain like a pretty blue necklace.

We made it.

Laughing, Orion clasps my shoulder. "Good job, Braxton." I grin in response to the usually stoic male's congratulations. "The last male to do so well on his first mountain was your brother."

I don't know if Orion knows how much that means. My wolf starts to strut. He's a strong male. Ili will love us.

---

Trey rolls up with about a dozen of his packmates and enters the training ring. The few LoboGris males turn to look, faces impassive other than a smirk here of there. My ClearHowl wolves erupt in low warning growls.

"Fuck," I sigh. Did I have to get stuck with the former alphason of the RedMoon? Honestly, I feel some sympathy for the dude. He let his father, the late alpha of RedMoon, dictate to him and fuck him around. Trey ended up causing Conner immense pain, rejecting Bailey, then losing his psycho replacement mate, Lydia, when his own mother killed her for fucking Trey's father. Yeah, Trey's a dick, but I can't exactly judge, can I?

That doesn't mean I want the responsibility of training these wolves. Worse, I don't really think that Bailey needs to see Trey's physical deterioration because he lost her to Conner. She's such a sweetheart that she may inadvertently encourage Trey's attention. Then, Conner slaughters Trey, and Bailey lives with guilt for the rest of her life. Not worth it.

My gaze drifts to the low-roofed, vine-covered white adobe walls of the classroom building, where Iliana is studying with Bailey. I made sure they had classes together. Bailey will be good for Ili. Ili needs friends.

Worry for her burns in my gut as my wolf paces, scratching. Usually, I can lower my dosage when I'm training. It gives me an advantage physically and mentally because he's so focused on beating the shit out of the trainees. Today that concentration may be a problem.

Rolling my shoulders back, I force my eyes away from the classrooms and back to the wolves who are milling around quietly.

"Line up!" I order.

They fall into line, even Trey, and stare at me quietly. I look them over, searching for weaknesses and strengths alike. Each wolf gets somewhat of an individual training regimen, depending on what they need. It isn't 18-fucking-20 anymore, so obviously not every wolf needs to fight. Some will go far, entering training for the pack's military-style special ops unit. Others just need to stay healthy and fit for a better life. Some, I eye up Frieda, a new recruit Iliana's age, are just checking it out to see if it's something for them.

Last year was my first as a trainer. This year, I note, there is nearly three times the number of females. I see Georgina sidle up to stand near Frieda, who is next to Trey. She looks at me with baleful sorrow. I ignore her.

My eyes rove over them again as Nico, Alpha Carmichael's younger brother, walks over. "You can take the new females?" I say, sounding a little too hopeful. Nico, Luke, and I are the trainers for this class. I'm the youngest, but Nico doesn't want to run the class. Technically, he's on loan from LoboGris and the special ops unit run by Beta Teague's brother, Devel.

He snorts. "All vying for the alpha female spot, sí? Gracias, chico," he says with no shortage of sarcasm. He wanders over to the line and starts to bark orders at the females, pulling out all but Linda and Marcy, who are veteran trainees and near the end of their training with me.

"Alright!" I shout out, "let's start with a warmup. Five miles on feet. Go!"

Our path will take us right past the classroom windows. My wolf perks up just the slightest bit and I feel uneasiness stir. I can just picture my wolf and what he'd do to the female who won't accept him as her mate. The last thing Ili needs is another male attacking her. Maybe I need to up my dosage after all.

We circle to the forest first. I slow my pace to match the trainees, watching to see if any of them are good enough to go north to be trained in RustClaw. So far I can pick out maybe two who would last with Orion for more than two days without suffering a mental breakdown.

Halfway through the run, I pick up speed, sprinting a half-mile to see who can keep up, who falls behind, who keeps up with the sprint but can't recover to finish the last two miles.

I pause in the shade of the overhang of the classroom building. My wolf stretches out his snout, trying to catch a whiff of Ili.

"- so good to be alpha female. I'm sure I'll move up to Sean's group soon."

My wolf's ears twitch in recognition at the sound of Georgina's voice drifting through the window next to us. They must be on a water break.

"I heard he made them run wind sprints until they puked last year. Remember when Rachel puked so bad she had to quit?"

"Rachel only thinks she's good. Clearly, she's a quitter."

I frown. Rachel asked to be dismissed from training because she was pregnant with her first pup. She puked that day from morning sickness, not the run.

"Didn't she nearly beat you to the top spot? Besides, she had her pup."

Yeah. You can't train when you're pregnant.

"Whatever. Take birth control," Georgina says breezily. "Anyway, I am in the top spot, so I should be in Sean's group. He didn't let me join him because he didn't want to show his favoritism."

"I heard he showed favoritism to your bratty sister," the other female says slyly.

Georgina scoffs, "Little Loser Lili will do anything for sympathy. Especially since her would-be sugar daddy left her in the dust. She knows Braxton is hooking up with the RustClaw females."

"I hear they wait for their mates," another voice joins in timidly.

"Braxton is a MateLess alpha male. Every MateLess female will throw themselves at him. Look at what my desperate sister did. So embarrassing."

"Did she really pout for an entire week when he told her skank ass to leave him alone?"

"Of course. I can smell her desperation leaking through the whole house. Thank the goddess I'm moving to the packhouse next week."

"Nextdoor to Beta Sean?" comes the suggestive reply.

"Naturally we want to be close. I may even ask for a connecting door," Georgina laughs.

I hear Luke call out, "break's over! Line it up!"