Xander



Damien joined our training for the first time today.

Liam and I had established a routine that worked very well so far.

We had our personal training in the morning, tutorials with the pack in the evening and runs with Leila at night.


Although he'd somewhat improved, Damien still cowered in my presence.

'You'll need to see more than the ground if you want to train" Liam said, distributing the wooden swords.


'Sorry."

He lifted his head and stared at the sword for a bit.

'Why wooden?"

'Mostly, to teach how to wield the force of your opponent to your advantage. Putting too much force behind your strike will break the sword but yielding your opponents force output perfectly will cause harm to him." I explained.

'Oh?"

'You weren't taught that way?" Liam inquired. We began to do stretches.

'No. When I was in Alpha Xander's pack, I didn't join the guards and when I joined Antonio, they taught with real swords."

'Even when teaching newbies?"

'Yes, there were multiple cases of injury but Antonio said it was in preparation for war, after all people get wounded in war."

'What an ass" Liam replied, 'let's begin. I'll fight with you Damien before you fight with Xander."

Damien nodded and took a stance. It looked the same as usual but different in a way. He stood ready for battle but held himself like he was ready to flee.

Was this part of his fighting stance or just a manifestation of his cowardly nature?

They began to fight as Damien attacked.

Damien was a dirty fighter and it made Liam struggle as he kept parring and avoiding his dirty tricks.

Soon Liam got tired of the sand to his face, the little hits with body parts.

He tossed his sword, grabbed Damien's collar and threw him to the floor with a neat suplex.

'Why the fuck are you fighting like that?!"

I just watched, deciding not to separate them.

'Like what?"

'A cheating scum. You're fighting dirty."

'Dirty? I was thought to use everything to my advantage when fighting. I apologize if you think it's dirty but I think in war, everything counts when fighting."

Liam groaned and released him, 'I can't even be angry with that reason. But fighting dirty is wrong, if someone graces you with a one on one battle, the least you can do is fight fairly."

'That's how all Antonio's men fight. They'll take every chance to have the upper hand."

Damien got up and dusted his clothes.

'Was it Antonio that trained you?" I asked.

'No Alpha. It was Amelia. She's very fast on her feet and a sly opponent but, she's better with the arrow than the sword."

I could tell from the way that he moved. He was quick on his feet and recovered quickly from every blow to return the favor.

'Alpha!!"

I turned and saw Jean running towards us. Liam went to her and I followed.

'What's wrong?"

'A woman…she appeared out of nowhere…right beside Leila"

My wolf took over.


****


I rushed into the house.

The door might have broken I'm the process.

My wolf took in the scents; Madam Kimmy, Lelia…Hera.

I calmed down and shifted back.

Hera won't harm her.

After dressing, I went to meet the ladies. They sat at the back, madam Kimmy had served drinks and Hera was petting Lelia's hair like she was her pet.

'Hera."

I ignored the urge to snatch Leila from her hold.

'Alpha. How nice of you to join us."

Liam and Damien walked into the room.

'Oh? What a surprise." She got up and walked to Liam.

I held Leila's shoulders and she looked up at me.

'Are you okay?" I whispered.

'Yes. She didn't do anything to me but I don't know who she is."

Hera was stroking Liam's face, staring at him in amazement. Liam looked uncomfortable, his fists clenched tightly.

'She's a volana wolf."

Madam Kimmy's eyes widened in shock.

'A volana wolf? What's that?" Leila asked, looking at Hera in confusion, 'why is she touching him like that?"

'I don't know. I'll explain what she is later."

'How lucky you are. Your stars must be in total alignment. I guess your mother was really good to earn such. A daughter with so much power and a son hand picked and blessed by the goddess herself. Amazing."

'Thank you" replied Liam, looking uncomfortable.

'Hera, what brings you here?"

'Hmmm…" she didn't look away from Liam or stop her stroking fingers, '... Antonio has conquered another pack. You have their scent lingering, blessed one."

'Antonio took Lucian's pack? Why? What does he gain from it" Liam brows arched with clear confusion.

'He's getting greedier. He's been searching for your sister nonstop along with his daughter."

'Wait, Amelia is missing?" asked Damien.

'Yes, she has passed this place a few times, trying to pinpoint her mate's scent. I wonder how long it'll take for her to realize how close she is to finding you."

Damien sighed looking weary.

'Hera, what do you want?"

'I ran into Antonio. He's power crazed and has a sorcerer working with him."

'That's not good…" madam Kimmy said, '...if the sorcerer starts asking questions, we'll be found sooner or later."

'You came to warn us. Thank you, I appreciate that."

'No Alpha, I was just passing what I knew. I came to teach that one."

She finally released Liam and turned to us. My grip on Leila's shoulders tightened.

'Excuse me?"asked Leila.

'You'll be found soon, it'll be best for everyone that you can at least control how your emotions affect your powers then."

It was annoying that all this had to happen, Leila was still recovering and I still didn't trust Damien but Hera was right. We needed everything at our disposal.

'Okay. I agree. But, you talk like you know my mother. Do you know what happened? My memory is vague." Leila asked.

'Of course. Your mother was a good friend of mine."