As the training was usually held in the afternoon, other students and sometimes adults of the pack came to assess the progress of the younger members.
Today, there was a crackle of excitement in the air. Hudson Bennett the Alpha of Bloodrose and his son, Brodie, the future alpha had come by to watch.
They wanted to cherry pick the best fighters to be part of their elite warriors. It was the highest honour for any fighter.
"How they looking Theo? Any elite among this class?", Hudson's rich, sonorous voice quizzed the combat teacher.
He took great pride in the fact that he was in the elite for his class and that he son followed in his footsteps.
"A few promising ones my Alpha. Even some of girls are shaping up to be some of the best.", Theo didn't mean that to sound condescending.
The females were encouraged to fight and to be able to defend themselves but very few ever made the elite status warriors.
Hudson smiled at this."That's great to hear. I can't wait to see them in action.", he nudged Brodie, "What about you son?"
Brodie was a contrast to his father. Although he was tall and muscular like him, Hudson had dark hair, not quite black but close. There was a small streak of grey starting to appear around his left ear and his eyes were also a deep brown. They held warmth to those who pleased him and could shatter a person who didn't. Brodie had his mother's unusual silver hair and crystal blue eyes. He didn't often say alot but he took everything in around him.
"Sure dad. It'll be entertaining if not fruitful.", Brodie didn't want to get his hopes up. He had another agenda for being there. He wanted to see if his mate was there. Brodie had yet to feel the pull of his mate. Although still young, at 20 years of age, he craved it.
Theo calling "Hustle up!", brought Brodie's attention back to the present. The students had done their warmup and now it was time to spar.
First up were two burly looking youngsters. They were strong and evenly matched. Although not the quickest or most agile, they fought well and would make the pack proud.
There were a couple more rounds of guys. The winner of the last fight staying on against the next opponent.Hudson was loving watching the brutality that was unfolding, each fight getting more aggressive than the next.
Brodie on the other hand, had let his mind wander over to the females in the group. He was trying to see if the pull was there or if he could smell his mate. So far nothing. He was disappointed. Many of the girls were very pretty, some of them were extraordinary. 'Whoever becomes their mates are lucky sons of bitches' he thought glumly.A raucous applause shook him from his reverie. Three of the boys had face splitting grins. Hudson had chosen them to train with the elite warriors.
Now it was the girls turn to show their worth. They all clambered to be seen by the Alphas, especially Young Alpha Brodie. Very few actually cared if they got picked out as fighters. Their goal was to be the next luna of Bloodrose Pack.
The only female that hung back was Talia. Her small frame hid her easily amongst the others. She wanted to fight. She needed to get rid of the negative feelings that had built up inside. Only fighting could release them. She had to be smart, she wanted to take on as many opponents as possible.
Talia watched the first couple of fights. Sizing the other girls up and looking for their weaknesses. Quietly she stepped forward, ready to be the next competitor.
There was stifled laughter and sniggering as Talia stepped into the circle. The girl that had won the last fight was at least a head taller than her 5ft 4 frame and nearly double the width! Her arms matched Talia's thighs. However Talia was calm, she didn't look in the least bit worried.
Some of the girls, including Rose, thought she would be instantly crushed so took more of an interest.
Hudson and Brodie knew she was the orphan girl, adopted into their pack, they too were weary of her and never showed any interest in her. It was easier to pretend she wasn't even there.
Brodie felt a twinge of worry as she stood to face the girl nearly twice her size. 'Poor little thing will be nursing her wounds and ego for some time to come' he thought.
The bigger girl wanted this finished quickly. She wanted the honour of being singled out, with that thought in her mind, she charged at Talia.
Talia stood there, feigning indifference, with a slight tilt of her head she sidestepped just as the girl was about to trample her. She stopped suddenly, wondering where the little pixie had gone. Talia was behind her and quickly and silently swept her legs from under her in a smooth motion. The girl landed on her face in the dirt. This enraged her, jumping to her feet, she lunged at Talia.
Talia ducked and dodged several blows aimed at her. She was as graceful as a ballet dancer, as fluid as water. With one well timed hit, Talia thrust the palm of her tiny hand into the girl's face, a sickening crunch sounded as it connected with her nose. Blood spattered as she she fell backwards, defeated.
The people in the crowd that weren't paying much attention didn't understand what had just happened. There was a tiny, pixie like girl standing in the middle of the training circle with not a single scratch on her and a girl on the ground covered in her own blood, writhing around while the bones knitted back together.
Everyone was paying attention now.
Another couple of contenders came and went. Talia dispatched them just as easily as the first, barely breaking a sweat.Brodie was excited by what he saw. It was almost unearthly, Talia's movements were ethereal as if the moon goddess herself was standing there.
Ayla was next up to fight. A confident smirk appeared on her face, "Times up dog! I hope you enjoyed your little moment of glory, it's the last you'll have." Ayla sneered as she came close.
She quickly swung her arm at Talia's head, but Talia blocked the advance, ducked under and twisted Ayla's arm behind her back. Her foot stamped on the back of Ayla's knee sending her to the ground, arm still pinned behind her, it was the only thing stopping her eating dirt.Ayla was furious and growled audibly when Talia bent low to her ear and whispered, "Your move". In her rage, Ayla broke free of Talia's grasp and took a fistful of her hair, bending Talia backwards as she towered over her. "Get out of this dog", Alya's smirk had turned into a sinister grin. She wanted to make this girl hurt and bleed.
Talia braced herself and kicked off from the ground, twisting over Ayla as she did, landing as nimbly as a cat on the other side of a red faced Ayla. Her scalp hurt but losing a small chunk of hair was worth seeing her opponents angry, scarlet face.
The crowd was silent, not wanting to distract the fighters.
"You bitch! How dare you!", Ayla screamed at Talia, lashing out with all her might and fury. If she had been more in control, Talia would've been worried. Ayla was strong and fast but her emotions made her sloppy.
Talia managed to escape the path of each blow, except one where it caught her neck, thin gouge marks instantly appeared with drops of blood forming along each one.
Ayla smirked again, "Not so clever now dog, eh?" Talia touched her neck tentatively and felt the thick, warm, wetness of blood. Fury raged inside her. Enough.
Talia looked straight at Ayla and her smug face. With a speed that nearly defied nature, she ran at Ayla. Talia slid through her legs and kicked her to the ground from behind. The move was so quick that neither the crowd or Ayla knew what had happened.
Talia was than on Ayla, turning her onto her back by her shoulder. She sat on her enemy and punched with all her might, letting all her grievences go. She stopped suddenly exhausted by the release of her fury. She stood up to walk away.
No-one spoke, no-one dared. Everyone looked at Talia, panting heavily and Ayla slowly getting up from ground. With her back turned to her grounded opponent, Talia didn't see Ayla stand up, seething and growling uncontrollably. Ayla was already eighteen and had her wolf, which burst forth and leapt at Talia.
Brodie wanted to intervene. This was against their rules, but his father put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. Hudson wanted to see what the little pixie girl would do now.
Talia turned in time to see the brown and white wolf land on top of her, snapping it's jaws, aiming for her face and throat. She squirmed and fought off the wolf but it was stronger than Ayla in her human form.
She was running out of energy. With one final surge she braced her foot on the wolfs underside and grasped its shoulders at the same time and pushed with all that she had.
Talia had flipped Ayla's wolf into the air, she landed on a nearby bench that shattered with the impact.
Sweating profusely now and utterly exhausted, Talia started to unbind her hands and walk towards the shower rooms. The crowd erupted which caused her to stop.
"Talia Christie. It would be my honour if you would join our elite warriors. Will you train side by side with them?", Hudson was almost fearful of this unknown, little girl but knew that such ability was rare and was an asset to have on his side.
Talia looked at the Alpha then bowed her head in respect."I thank you for the great honour my Alpha, but I do not want to be a warrior." Talia bowed her head again and left the stunned alpha and pack members to go and have a well earned shower.
Talia left the speechless Alpha and the stunned crowd behind her and continued on to the shower block.She went to the very end and stripped. Wolves were notoriously unabashed and free in their naked forms but Talia, who wasn't bothered by others nudity, was shy of her own. She wanted her mate to be the only one to see her intimately. It was an old fashioned notion which she clung to dearly.As the water cascaded over her, a slow, heartbreaking tune escaped her. Her smooth voice spoke of love lost and the despair of losing one's self and destined mate.Brodie was quicker to shake off the daze that the little girl had left them in. He decided to go and find her. Talk to her and perhaps persuade her to train with the warriors. There was a tightening in his body at the thought of being able spar with her. Shaking his head, he took off in the direction she had taken.Hudson saw his son sprint off to foll
Talia woke up fully after an hour of arriving at the hospital. The pungent odour of disinfectant invaded her nostrils. She also detected a subtle hint of lavender, turning her head towards that gentle note, she saw her mother sat beside her. Worry lines were etched into her forehead."Hey Ma! Don't frown so much. Those lines will become permanent.", Talia smiled weakly as she spoke to Violet.Violet studied her daughter's face intently, "Oh sweetheart, thank the goddess that your alright!", a small sob escaped Violets lips."Ofcourse I'm fine. It'll take a lot more than a wall to take down a she-wolf like me.", Talia thought humour would be the best way to soothe her mother's fragile nerves. A small ghost of a smile appeared on Violets face. It was working."Yes, but it's enough to send me into a mass of worry.", she gently scolded.Talia sat up slightly, assessing her body as sh
Talia looked up from her hands, "Is there? I mean, I'm just an orphan. There's nothing special about me at all.", tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. This was so unlike her. Dr. Stewart curbed his excitement as he watched her. He couldn't help wanting to discover why this girl was different. He never imagined that she wouldn't be intrigued. Most people of her age wanted to be special, wanted to stand-out, but not her. "It's alright young one. I won't keep you here against your will but maybe if you could answer a couple of questions, just to satisfy an old man's curiosity?", he was gentle with her. Gaining any information was better than nothing. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to help you any. Can I think about it?", Talia was conflicted. The sudden attention that she was receiving made her uncomfortable. Apart from her adoptive parents, she wasn't used to any kind of affec
Dr. Stewart came by to thank Talia for agreeing to help him. He took several viles of blood as samples to carry out various tests on. The doctor said he'd be back to ask a few questions once he had finished his rounds.Talia was nervous but her parents gave her encouragement. Brodie had to leave but promised to be back in time if she wanted him to be. She did. She really did.She had never needed or wanted a friend but now Talia didn't want him to go. When she thought about Brodie, there were little flutterings in her stomach. It was strange and new but somehow comforting at the same time.Talia passed the time catching up with a school assignment for English. Writers block kicked in. Normally she would go for a run to clear her mind but this wasn't an option just now so she settled for a shower instead.She had just finished changing into a hoodie and shorts when Brodie came back with
The air in the room was thick with expectation and anticipation. They all wanted to know what Talia had learned. Brodie had some idea as he was linked to her.She felt terrible but she really wanted to be alone for a while and didn't want to talk about it. She needed to take a beat and process it first."I know you want answers but honestly I'm exhausted and could do with some time on my own.", Talia looked at Dr. Stewart, "Do you think I could leave? I would like to be back in familiar surroundings."Violet was about to protest. After what she had just witnessed she wanted Talia to stay another day or two."Please? I'm fine. I want to be at home.", Talia opened her eyes wide and pouted slightly. This trick had work since she was a young child."OK darling, if the doctor agrees then we'll take you home now." Talia pumped her fist in her mind then turned to face the doctor."Physically there is nothing stopping you. I'd like you to make an ap
There was an electric charge connecting them as their lips met. It was as if the world around them dropped away, leaving only them.Talia was initially in shock but as the kissed deepened she knew that it felt right. Brodie was the man she was supposed to kiss for all time.Brodie was beside himself with joy. Nothing in this moment could be sweeter than kissing this delicate creature in his arms.Talia parted her lips so that Brodie could explore her mouth with his tongue. This being her first ever kiss she followed his lead.They pulled apart, breathless. "Talia...that was... Wow!", he held her face and stroked her cheek with his thumb."Mmhmm", Talia leaned her face into his palm before pulling away from him.The loss of contact between them left Brodie feeling bereft but before he could bemoan the fact, Talia had crawled over to his lap and cuddled in close to him. Her body fitting in the gap between his legs and chin perfectl
It had only been three days since Brodie left me at the edge of the woods but it felt like an eternity.My mother tried to ask me what had happened between us but I sat silently whilst pushing my food around my plate. The glances shared between her and my father did not go unnoticed, just unacknowledged by myself.My appetite was gone, but I intensified my running routine, secretly hoping to bump into Brodie. So far it had been pointless.As I went on my third run of the day, I wondered why it bothered me so much. Brodie was the future alpha and up until a few days ago he didn't even know I existed. I'm sure he would forget about me in the same space of time.As I approached the edge of the forest I slowed my pace. The combination of more exercise and less food was making me tired. I stopped and rested against a tree, bent over slightly with my hands gripping my thighs.With my eyes closed and my head bowed, I focused on my breathing and the slowin
I sat in my father's office with a sullen expression on my face. I haven't slept well in the past few days and it's affected my temper."Brodie...", my father begins, "As you know I've been getting complaints about the way you have been conducting yourself the last few days. What do you have to say about it?"I shrugged my shoulders in response. "There's not a lot to say dad. I'm fine.", I'm staring at my hands with my head bowed."You are NOT fine Son. Honestly, you are next in line to become Alpha of Bloodrose. You can't go pissing people off just because you haven't got your own way!", Hudson knew that Brodie was too much like him. If he didn't like something, he sulked like a child. A trait that needed a lot of work to suppress it."It's not like that dad. She.... Talia told me she plans to leave. She can't. She can't leave me!", the anguish was clear in Brodie's voice.Hudson looked at his son with sympathy, "Where is she going? Does she want