I jogged my way to the training grounds and apologised to Sean when I arrived.

"It's okay, Alpha isn't even here yet." He chuckled, pulling me in for a side hug.

From where we stood, I could see most of the wolves warming up for the day. As usual, more than a few stared at us, and I couldn't help the blush that covered my cheeks. It was just a habit to hug Sean, I didn't even think of the audience.

I pulled away with a frown, but he just laughed at me. Phoenix's essence filled the area and I turned to see him approaching from the house. His eyes were hard as he stared at the two of us, every step made in a calculation.

"Go join the girls," Sean mumbled.

I nodded and quickly walked my way over to where Molly stood. She gave me a once over and a grin before also hugging me. Today she wore a pale green sports set.

"Hey Sherbet, how you been?" She smiled.

I shrugged with a smile. "Busy training and doing the gardening."

"Oh yeah, you'll have to show me what you're doing. I'd love to see it." She grinned.

I nodded in return, flashing her a small smile of my own. There was no time for chatter as Phoenix stepped up beside Sean and everyone went silent. He was practically demanding people's attention today; something must've frustrated him already.

"Today we are sparring in human and then wolf form. You must be paired with someone you have not sparred with in a while." He demanded. "Choose wisely."

He said no more as we all began to choose a partner. I was surprised to see one of the twins approach me and gave me a friendly smile. Going by the freckle under her cheek I guessed it was Miley.

"I'll go with you. We've not sparred before." She smiled.

"Sure." I nodded and smiled at her as she linked her arm with mine.

Sean walked over to the girl's side and clapped his hands. His eyes roamed over us before they quirked in amusement at me awkwardly standing with Miley's small form clinging to mine.

"Ladies. Fight to dominate, push or force your opponent out of the circle. No cheap shots. Today you're all fighting in one circle so beware of the other matches... Once you have pushed out your opponent wait until another is ready and continue until one remains. You begin on my count." He demanded.

Miley unlinked her arm with mine and stood a few feet away. I sighed nervously, knowing how quick she really was since I had been running with her every day. Also, the fact she often got to the second round of the fights, I knew I didn't have a chance.

She crouched down slightly and cracked her knuckles. Her usual innocent expression merged into one of concentration as she studied me. I forced my emotions to disconnect as I met her crouch with my own.

"3...2...1...Match!" Sean shouted.

I barely blinked before she was on me. Her fist collided with my face before I could react, and I held my ground to not stumble. My hands forced her backwards and thanks to her light weight, she staggered.

I kept my defensive for quite a while as she attacked me. She was swift and well trained, a true small terror if she ever got on a battlefield. Her fists flew at me faster than I thought possible as she pushed me around the circle.

She got a few good shots to my face and stomach followed by a good kick to my shin before I was able to block her leg. I grunted and stumbled backwards and the next thing I knew, I fell on my butt at the edge of the circle. She stood above me with a smirk but before I could react her foot kicked at my chest.

I inhaled sharply as I fell backwards, my head smacking on the tarmac. I groaned in pain, my hand darting to the painful spot in comfort. I pulled myself upright on the outer side of the circle, grimacing when I noticed blood on my fingers.

"Oh gosh Nova, I'm so sorry I didn't realise I kicked you so hard." Miley gushed, her hands spreading out in front of her.

I gave a tight smile but shrugged her off. "It's okay, I'm not a great fighter."

"Miley!" A female voice shouted.

She tensed before turning just as her next opponent charged at her. I looked away once they engaged in their fight and grunted as I touched my head again. I could feel it trying to heal itself, but the blood still coated my hair.

Looking around me I noticed Sean approaching me, his long legs taking huge strides as he rounded the circle. He was practically jogging to reach me. I looked around for something to hold against my head in the meantime but came up short.

"Nova!" He gasped. "Are you okay? I looked away for one second and I look back to see you covered in blood."

I grimaced. "Not really covered in blood..."

He sighed and appeared to look around too. "Here."

I gave him a nod as he handed me a towel and rolled it into a ball. He pressed it on the side of my head, and I reached up my bloodied hand to take it from him.

"Thanks," I mumbled. "You should focus on the match, only three girls left."

He sighed, scanning my face as he stayed crouched next to me. "You gonna be okay?"

I shrugged and smiled at him. "Yeah, it's not too bad."

He sighed but nodded and stood to his feet. He remained beside me for the remainder of the match. I could feel eyes on me and turned to see Phoenix's hard gaze as usual. His posture was tense, arms fisted at his side and his eyes appeared dark from this distance.

'You alright?' His voice floated into my mind.

I smiled and gave him a small nod as I turned my attention back to the match. I pulled the towel down from my head and rolled it to the clean side. I dabbed it against the cut and was pleased to see nothing but drying blood. Must have been a small scratch.

I turned my attention to the circle and watched as Jess once again was defeated by Kelsey. She screeched when she hit the ground out of the circle, and I chuckled in response. It was great to see one of your enemies get their ass kicked.

"Not fair! I totally had that." She squealed.

Kelsey rolled her eyes, but Sean stepped forwards and declared her the winner. We all clapped for her win as she stepped out to go stand by her friends. Molly approached and sat beside me, her body covered in healing bruises.

"Do I smell blood?" She wondered.

"Yeah, it was nothing." I shrugged.

She nodded and turned her attention to the men. "I wonder if my mate will come tomorrow."

I chuckled; she had been desperate for her mate to be found for a while now.

"I mean, the number of men out there he's got to turn up eventually, right?" She frowned.

"Of course. He'll be the perfect match for you." I smiled.

She sighed. "How's your mate situation going?"

I cast a glance at the men on the field to see they were all huddled around the last two fighters. Phoenix's eyes stayed fixed on the match, and I sighed as I observed him standing in full concentration.

"It's getting better, not so tense."

"I have a question..." She paused.

I turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "About what?"

Her mind suddenly pushed against mine and I let her in. I could sense the hesitation as she thought over her words.

'The other night when we were drunk, I don't remember a lot but a few fuzzy things.' She explained.

I tensed; the seriousness of the mind link had my palms begin to feel clammy. Where was she going with this? Why did I feel nervous?

'I remember us laying behind a bush in our underwear.' She laughed. 'And I remember you telling me you had a secret...'

I did? I wondered.

She paused and looked up at me briefly before staring back down at her clothes where she picked dirt from the fibres.

'You said your mate... was Alpha Phoenix.'

My eyes widened in surprise, and I swallowed the harsh lump down my throat. I did what?

She chuckled. 'Yeah, I know, crazy right? We had a lot to drink... But it just felt like such a real memory.'

I felt so nervous, my eyes casting glances at people around us as though they could hear our conversation. I didn't have a reply to her question, and a part of me didn't want to tell her. A bigger part of me wanted to admit it, so then I'd have a female input on my mate situation. She was my best friend, I couldn't hide it from her forever.

I swallowed and chewed on my lip. I had to tell her, right?

'Nova?' She wondered. 'It was just a dream, right? I mean, Alpha Phoenix and you... just are complete opposites... I would never...'

It's true. I whispered, avoiding eye contact.

'What?' She gasped.

Phoenix is my mate.

'Nova... I don't ... I don't know what to say.'

I shrugged. It's why I was brought here, why I'm on the good floor of the house.

'That explains why my wolf won't let me hurt you in any way.' She mumbled. 'Why hasn't he claimed you yet Nova? You're our Luna!'

He won't tell me. It's all too complicated.

'But he brought you here on the basis of being mates, he's gotta have feelings for you. He treats you right, right?'

Kind of. He avoided me for a while and then he cosied up to Lyra.

'Please. Lyra is just a distant cousin of his or something, I hear all the gossip in the store.'

She is?

She shrugged. 'Don't take my whole word for it, it's gossip.'

We laughed and I mused over the situation. I had heard different things. They had a past, didn't have relations, had an arranged mating and now they were cousins? I didn't know what to believe.

I turned my attention to the men when they all cheered, and I noticed the fight was over. They all patted the champion wolf on the shoulder before dispersing into animated chatter.

Sean called for our attention, so we got up and made our way over to him. He led us towards the larger male part of the training grounds and had us all wait for the next announcement. The group of sixty or so men all began to approach us and I kept myself pressed against Molly as their huge forms blocked out the view of the trees behind them. They reeked of testosterone and adrenaline.

"Listen up," Sean commanded. "We are shifting and fighting until the last one. I will not discriminate on gender so it's all of us together. You must stay in this field and not venture into the trees or go past the four corners marked out by the observers."

I looked to where he was gesturing to see four guards standing at equal ends of the field.

"Pass these and you are out. Fight to pin, no cheap shots as usual. Do not let your wolf take full control, you know the drill." He clapped his hands. "We ready?"

Wolves around me cheered in agreement but my wide eyes stayed glued to Sean in hopes I could get out of this. But Cel was pacing, feeding on the energy of the pack.

"You have two minutes to shift and get ready," Phoenix spoke.

Wolves around me bowed and dispersed to shift. I turned to Molly with wide eyes, scared of the fight. There were around one hundred wolves, I didn't want to do this.

"You're shifting?" She gasped.

I nodded. "For Cel."

"Oh Sherbet." She cooed and pulled me into a hug. "Stick together. I'm sure Cel will kick butt. I can't wait to meet her."

"Mind links open to me and your Alpha!" Sean shouted over the sounds of shifting wolves.

"Wanna go first?" Molly asked.

I wrung my hands together and shook my head. "Together?"

She smiled softly at my nerves and pulled me off to the side so we could shift away from others. I swallowed harshly and observed the people around me shifting. They stripped nude and I watched in fascination as their skin and bones began to break before morphing into their wolf. Colours of all kinds streaked across the field, so many large and so many strong builds.

"Ready?" Molly asked.

I turned to look at her and blushed when I saw her standing in just her pants. She giggled at me but gestured for me to do the same. I shook my head and slowly took off my shoes and leggings before placing them over the side-line. I didn't want to take off my t-shirt but slid my bra off from underneath it and pulled my arms back in. I'd rather rip this top than be nude.

"Let's do it." She smiled. "One...two... three-"

I hesitated my shift and instead found myself watching her form. Her back snapped and her legs cracked, grey fur sprouting from her limbs before she fell on all fours. I was always fascinated by the shift and wondered why I didn't shift that way. Was it to do with my heritage or was Cel just some kind of freak wolf?

Cel grumbled at me.

Dark blue eyes glance up at me and Molly huffed, her nose nudging my leg. She came to about my chest, about four feet, an average height for a female wolf. Molly's wolf was gentle and softer than her human counterpart, but I could see the mischief in her eye.

My nervous gaze found Phoenix from where he stood on the sideline, and he gave me a small nod and smile. My hands shook and I closed my eyes to take a deep breath. I was well aware of the other wolves around me were finishing their shifts, and a few even staring at me. They had obviously heard about my wolf and it being my first time to shift, so most likely were curious.

Cel. I called.

With a gasp, she lurched forwards and I let the shimmer consume me. I landed swiftly on all four paws and shook out my fur. Wolves around me grumbled and I turned to glance at Molly to see her gaping at me. When I huffed and rolled my eyes she barked before coming up to sniff at me.

I stood a foot taller than her dark grey wolf, my black fur thick and bouncy as we approached each other. Her wolf's ears were pinned to her head as she bowed her neck to me. I licked her snout in return, accepting her submission. Molly's wolf grumbled before coming to rub her body underneath my neck.

I looked up at the crowd of wolves to see many turning to stare back at me. Some barked in greeting, others pinning their ears back as they sniffed in my direction. Our wolves had never met, the power radiating from Cel obviously put them on edge. I was as tall as some of the males here, my head towering over all of the females. I could sense some of them couldn't wait to challenge me and whimpered to myself.

A sudden snapping of bones turned my attention to see Sean had shifted into his grey wolf. the only difference between him and his sister was that Molly had black streaks through her back and tail. And obviously, Sean was larger, about the same height as me, just wider.

Phoenix began to lay out rules again, distracting a lot of the stares. "We start by running..."

I tuned out as I looked over the vast number of wolves, I was scared. Why did Cel make me do this?

"...and Gamma Sean will be shifting in case something gets out of control..."

Sean's grey wolf suddenly trotted over to me and stepped over the sidelines. Cel raised her head at the intrusion of his approach and let out a low grumble. Sean returned the sound before standing face to face with me. His wolf lowered its head which Cel accepted, and he wagged his tail. His snout sniffed as he observed me before happily wagging and returning to stand beside Phoenix.

His hazel eyes met mine and a stern frown went with his taut stance. He scrutinised my wolf. Ares rose to the surface and Cel raised her head, puffing her neck up at the challenge.

Phoenix smiled, a facial expression so pretty I was stunned. I could feel how eager Cel was to greet him, her need to lick him was strangely overwhelming.

"We begin on my count!" He commanded.

Wolves yipped and jumped about in glee, the hundred or so of us spread well out. At Phoenix's words, they all began to run but I stood confused. Molly's wolf head nudged my shoulder and barked.

'We run first to spread out.' She spoke. 'Jog then run.'

I nodded in return and allowed Cel to pull forward and socialise. Her large paws pounded the ground as we ran and barked at nearby wolves. Some of them were so instinctively in tune with her dominance that they bared their neck already. I knew she would not fight these wolves.

Cel approached where Sean and Phoenix stood and slowed her pace a little to stand before them. She bowed her head in respect of her Alpha, our head coming to stand at his chest. Ares growled, a brief satisfaction coming through the bond.

'Be fair, no Luna commands.' He smirked.

She yipped in agreement before turning and beginning to keep up with the other wolves.

Her power always amazed me. She was so fast and strong; this run wasn't even her fastest and she was loving it.

"3...2...1...Go!" He roared.

•••

wc: 3114

What was your dream job as a kid versus now?

Mine was to be a vet but turns out I get squeamish and faint 😂 now it's a dog behaviourist/kennel handler/zoo keeper

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