Page 112 of Red River

Since I had noticed his curious glances before, it didn't come as a surprise to me.

"No one’s excluded from martial arts training." I turned to Igor. "If any of your brothers want to train, you’ll show them all the basics you’ve learned from me—proper stance, how to throw a punch, and some of the philosophy behind it all."

Igor nodded solemnly.

"For the next few days, you’ll be teaching them the fundamentals. And when I get back, we’ll test their knowledge. A student’s knowledge reflects the leader’s knowledge, you know?"I smirked and immediately saw the spark of ambition light up in Igor’s eyes.

"Of course. I’ll make sure they know their stuff."

He turned to his brothers. "Alright, who wants to train under Sensei Igor?!"

"I do!" Van lifted his chin proudly. "But it’s Senpai. Archer is Sensei."

Igor showed him the middle finger.

"Me too! Me too!" Aiden chimed in. "I want to be a warrior too!"

"I’ll decide after I see what you’re doing," Lake said, tilting his head. "I might like it… but honestly, I don’t really wanna get punched in the face."

"The best way to avoid getting punched in the face is training how to defend yourself," Igor muttered in a know-it-all tone. "Trust me, I’d know."

"You could also just… avoid fights," Lake shot back.

"That’s exactly how an omega would think!"

Before I could step in, Van snapped, "Igor! You need to quit it with these dumb insults!"

"Chill, dude, I get it. I was just joking, it’s not illegal. But Archer’s right, you’re all my brothers, and that’s how I’ll treat you." He sighed. "So, Lake, are you in or not?"

Lake scratched his chin thoughtfully, then smirked. "I’ll decide after I watch a bit more closely. You’re not the boss of me, I’m an independent artist!"

"Independent my ass…" Aiden muttered, making faces, but Lake rolled his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his brother.

I smiled to myself, seeing Lake’s stubborn little expression. He was definitely going to grow up strong-willed, whether he was an alpha, beta, or omega.

After wrapping up with the boys, I headed to the kitchen and had a quick chat with Oliver.

He seemed downright thrilled when he found out we were True Mates—and even more excited when he heard River was going into heat. He immediately started planning everything—getting the boys to school, adjusting their schedules, grocery shopping, and all the other responsibilities. I promised him a raise, of course, but he just waved it off and said, "I’m really happy to help. If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite Milo over more often too. The boys get along with him pretty well!"

"No problem. Maybe bring his younger brother, Avery, too? I feel bad sometimes that we always include Milo but never him."

Once everything was sorted out, I suddenly felt a strange tug in my head, like something was pulling me upstairs. I smiled to myself, knowing exactly what it was.

When I got back to the living room, the boys were arguing over when to start training and whether they should do their homework first.

"I leave for five minutes, and there’s already a rebellion against the new commander?" I teased with a grin.

Igor huffed in annoyance. "Don’t worry, I’ll keep things under control."

"Just not with an iron fist. A real leader is the most persuasive, not necessarily the strongest." I winked.

"But strength helps!"

"Only in desperate situations." I nodded firmly, as if sealing some great truth.

Igor instinctively mirrored my nod.

And then, one by one, all the other boys copied him, like a little army.

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