Page 77 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate
Luna stood there, wearing a blue dress that hugged her figure in all the right places.
What a woman.
He wasn’t sure he could ever get used to seeing her like this. She looked nothing like the terrified brown-haired woman he'd hunted down weeks ago with her silver hair now falling past her shoulders in waves.
"They need to learn too," he responded, although he knew that wasn’t what she asked. "Xavier won't spare the children, and you know it."
Luna approached, her eyes locked with his. "And they will learn, but not like this." She turned to the children with a warm smile. "Are you having fun?"
The smallest girl shook her head, clutching her staff with two hands.
"Well, that won't do at all now, will it?" Luna said, taking a staff from the rack. "Learning to protect yourselves should be exciting."
She knelt down, her dress pooling around her. "Now come, kids. Can any of you tell me what a wolf's greatest strength is?"
A girl with pigtails raised her hand. "Our teeth?"
Luna smiled. "Those are important, yes. But our greatest strength is our pack. Wolves work together." She took the staff from the girl with pigtails and demonstrated a simple block."Now, let's try something. When I swing, you all block together, okay?"
She made a slow, obvious swing, and the children raised their staffs in unison, giggling as they successfully blocked her attack.
"Perfect! Now you're a pack defending each other," Luna praised. "Let's try again, but this time, after a block, someone will need to counter. Who wants to try?"
Every hand shot up eagerly.
Wow.
Dominic watched, transfixed, as Luna transformed training into a game the children wanted to play. Their fear melted away, replaced by laughter and determination. She moved among them with natural grace, adjusting stances and offering encouragement.
Within minutes, they were executing basic blocks and strikes with more enthusiasm than skill, but they were learning.
Watching Luna teaching the children stirred something primal within him.
His wolf pushed forward, recognizing their mate in her element.
Imagine her with our pups.
Luna laughed as one of the boys successfully landed a gentle strike against her staff, and the sound washed over Dominic like a caress.
"Alpha, are we continuing?" Tyler's voice broke through his thoughts.
Dominic cleared his throat, forcing his attention back to his fighters. "Yes. Pair up and work on disarming techniques."
As his men resumed their drills, Dominic was repeatedly drawn back to Luna and the children. She had them moving in formations now, their small faces locked in concentration as they followed her instructions.
"That was excellent!" Luna clapped as they finished. "You're all natural defenders of the pack!"
The children beamed under her praise. Gone was the fear that had gripped them when Dominic first called them.
"Can we train with you again tomorrow, Mistress Luna?" the smallest girl asked, looking up with eyes even Dominic couldn’t say no to.
"Of course," Luna promised. "If your alpha agrees."
All eyes turned to Dominic, including Luna's.
"Same time tomorrow," he conceded without argument, his voice gruff.
The children cheered before running off to show their parents what they had learned. Dominic watched Luna as she placed the practice staffs back in their rack.
