Page 31 of Rejecting the Future Moon Goddess

“Looks like everyone is here.” I change the subject so that we can focus on training as Mika arrives last.

“What took you so long?” Lace asks, and Mika just sighs.

“Long story short, Gem’s dad scares me.” Mika answers, and I chuckle. My father linked me as soon as hearrived at Hidden Claws, finally free from pack duties, to make his way down here with some Warriors to take care of the Blakes this morning. I had a feeling he would be speaking to Mika before I see any signs of him.

“What did he do?” I ask out of curiosity, watching Mika shiver with fear for a moment.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He mumbles and looks away. I guess Mika had a front-row seat of just the type of torture tactics my father can perform on wolves, considering the Blakes are traitors to the Goddess and the Crown. Deciding to drop the subject, I lead the siblings towards the group of wolves going through the warm-up stretch Ariven is leading and motion for them to stop.

“Okay, wolves, the last few days of me being here has been spent analyzing how you all train and to be honest, you all could use some work.” I call out, waiting for everyone to stand to attention before I continue, watching a few eager faces brighten up at the prospect of being properly trained.

“Many of you might remember, I was once a member of this pack. As such, I remember the days Alpha Sorus and Luna Reena had everyone run twenty miles.” I see the look of dread on their faces and internally groan.

“I also know that when the Blakes took over, they stopped this. This means the majority of you are out of shape.” A look of guilt washes across the group in front of me, and I know my words are true. Great, I have even more work ahead of me.

“So, I am going to go easy on all of you. Since the youngest of this group is sixteen and just starting to really focus on training, you all will run ten miles, and after a quick break, we will go into hand-to-hand practice. Lace and I will be looking to see whom we can trust to train the pups ages ten to fifteen,so work hard and know a promotion is up for grabs.” I continue, seeing a look of relief and confusion on the Hidden Claws pack faces. A she-wolf with curly red hair tied into a bun raises her hand.

“Yes?” I ask, allowing her to speak.

“Why do we have to train the pups?” She asks. I motion for Lace to answer.

“Because we want every wolf to know basic defense. With the Soulless population on the rise, knowing defense can turn the tide in any fight and give the pups enough time until help can arrive.” Hushed conversations arise after the answer is given, some agreeing to pups training, some thinking they are too young. I roll my eyes, ready to cut in and get training going, but Ariven beats me to it.

“The reason why Silver Crystal Crescent was able to grow so fast is because everyone is trained from the age of five. We make games for the pups to enjoy that help to improve their small bodies. It is beneficial to their health overall and makes transitioning to regular training easier.” His statement cuts the conversations short, and I smile, ready to start the training for the day.

“So, just a few rules before we start the run. One, no shifting into wolf form. We want to train your human side to be just as strong as your wolf. Two, anyone who shifts will have to perform one-hundred suicides after being injected with a small dose of Wolfsbane.” A collective groan goes through the crowd, and I chuckle. Suicides suck. Suicides while weak with Wolfsbane suck even worse.

“Geminie will be in wolf form as we expect your human form to be able to keep up with a wolf. Of course, she won’t be going too fast, but will be running and trying to keep the pace similar to a Soulless on the verge of death.” Lace cutsin making me I smile before I run behind a large tree while Lace continues to explain everything included in todays training to her pack. I quickly remove my clothes, folding and storing them in a water proof bin then shift into my wolf form. As usual, the tuft of fur keeps falling into my face and I growl in frustration as I trot from my hiding spot toward Ariven.

The crowd gasps in surprise as the sun reflects off of my fur, the prism-colour caused by sunlight shimmering with the silver stars on my body. Ignoring the awestruck stares, especially the one from Mika, I paw at Ariven’s pocket and shake my head, indicating the fur blocking my eyes is annoying me. He chuckles and reaches into his pocket, revealing two hair clips when he pulls his hand back out.

Bending down, he helps to pin my fur back, and I am able to see properly without fur in my face.

“Come on, guys, we all saw her wolf last night during the fight.” Mika growls, stopping his pack from continuing to talk about me. I roll my eyes, deciding now is a good time to start the run and trot off down a route that will be challenging for a ten-mile run.

“And that’s our cue to run!” Ariven calls out, the sound of the group running being heard behind me makes me run faster to really test theses wolves' limits.

?Chapter 28 – Unexpected Hot Training?

"I think you're trying to kill us!" A she-wolf calls out. Looking over my shoulder, I spy a petite brunette trying her best to keep up with me, her face flushed with exhaustion. I search through my memories and finally place her as Lena, a she-wolf whose mother was the second-in-command to the Trackers in the pack. I remembered the days she would push me into lockers downstairs and ruin my homework. She caused many headaches and is the reason I had to make duplicates of my work.

I huff out a breath, wanting to get a bit of petty revenge and pretend to ignore her, picking up speed and making sure she stayed just far enough behind.

“I… I’m s… sorry Gem… inie…” She huffs, the strain evident in her voice. She manages to keep up with me, my indifference falling as my ears point in her direction. Slowing down my pace, I allow the she-wolf to catch her breath while my packmates call out through the link that some of the Hidden Claws wolves have passed out.

“I was… A bitch to you. You didn’t deserve it.” Lena continues. I nod, agreeing to her statement and noticing her breath evening out. She is definitely a strong wolf and a good candidate to train the pups. I slow down a little more while we continue the rest of the run in silence, my hostile pettiness gone now.

Finally, the starting point comes into view and a sigh of relief is heard from the she-wolf beside me. We turnto look at each other in union, a grin on her face as we nod, a silent agreement to race to the end. Wolf against human, the two of us push ourselves to the limit, each pulling ahead of the other every so often. The wind rushing through my fur makes me feel like I’m flying, and I relish in the challenge that Lena provides. Her human form is strong, not surprising, as her mother most likely trained her to be a top-notch Tracker.

The run soon ends with Lena and I crossing the boundary into the training field at the same time, the race between us a draw. I watch Lena fall to the ground, gasping for breath, her face red and sweat dripping down her skin. Chuckling as best a wolf can, I trot to where my clothes are stored and shift, putting my clothes on swiftly and walking towards Lena, stopping once to grab a few water bottles from the cooler.

“Apology accepted, Lena.” I call out, the she-wolf sitting up at the sound of my voice, just in time to catch a bottle of water I throw her way.

“Really?” Shocked and confused, Lena takes a moment to look at me with scepticism. I chuckle, coming to sit beside her and taking a sip of cool water.

“Yeah, really. You gave me a sincere apology and you are a strong wolf. Lace needs that in her pack.” I answer, watching her take greedy gulps of her own water and accepting the second one I hand her way once she finishes the first.

“You’re stronger than I realized.” She admits, and I smile, thinking back to the nights Lizaria would train me.

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