Part of the Promise (Book 3 in the 'Part of' Series)

Chapter 4 Tactics

Chapter 4 Tactics

Aiden's POV

"You've got to be quiet." A whisper came from the other side of the very small room. I flinched slightly and tried to curl my arms further around myself, the warmth escaping as I moved. "You'll wake him up." Some movement came behind me.

"We are quiet." A quieter whisper came from just behind me. The hairs non my neck stood up and I could feel goosebumps forming. "Ready?" I was very confused about what was going on but knew to expect something.

"Ready." An almost identical whisper answered. "Attack!" I felt the bed move significantly as creatures jumped upon it. I yelped in surprise, sitting up almost immediately. I missed Channon's body by inches as he jumped onto me. Abilene stood laughing in the corner.

"You woke him up early!" She exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. "We'll have to work on your sneak attacks." The two children on the bed grinned at me before hopping off.

"We can work on all kinds of attacks." Chnnnon said happily as he jumped up and down. "We hardly slept last night." Channing nodded in agreement

"Yes, we get to beat up some people!"He said excitedly as they both looked up to Abilene.

"I can see where you get it from." She nodded and ruffled their hair. "Right, let's go attack breakfast whilst Aiden gets ready yeah?" The twins nodded and ran out of the door. "Sorry about that, they're very excited for today." I shook my head and waved her off slightly.

"No no it's alright." I yawned lightly and rubbed my eyes. "Did Ralph know they were coming in here?" She nodded and crossed her arms before leaving with a wave. I let out a breath of relief. I know that Ralph had changed a lot when it came to how he viewed territory. The fact that he is starting to fill out the alpha role meant that the way he saw some things changed. I don't understand it much but it wasn't too drastic of a change.

I hurried to get ready for the day in a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. I slipped on my usual trainers before heading downstairs and to the livingroom. I paused for a moment as I saw Harlow still curled up on the settee. I didnt want to disturb him so I backed out of the room, abruptly stopping as I ran ito someone.

"Sor-" I turned around to see Ralph, who was smirking at me slightly. "Hello." I grinned slightly as a blush came to my cheeks. I hadn't noticed that he was holding onto me until I tried to start walking again. "Hey." I whined lightly and pouted.

"Nope, my prisoner now." He leant closer to me and gave me a warm kiss. I couldn't help but smile into it, it was the cute small moments which made the situation a little brighter. "Good morning." The vibrations from his deep voice met my chest and made my heart flutter.

"Very good morning." I responded happily as the two of us walked into the kitchen. Channon, Channing, Lowell and Oran were sitting at the table whilst Beaumont and Tempest were working near the oven. I sat on a stray chair whilst Ralph opted for the floor. "And good morning guys." I got a chorus of greetings inreturn.

All the children were practically buzzing by the time breakfast ended, they had to be reminded several times to eat slowly or else they'd get sick. I ate my breakfast with many sets of eyes staring at me, grins getting bigger with each bite I took. "I might just hav-" I started to tease but then the kids started to push me towards the back door. "Ralph can you get me some water please? "I exclaimed as I attempted not to trip on the doorframe.

Booming laughter came from inside the house. Harlow had woken up a few moments ago and was getting ready. I was a little frightened to keep the others waiting so I suggested we start a little early. Moss and Tempest were the ones who would be training us. I'm sure the other members of the pack would be lounging in the garden and eating popcorn if they could.

"Right. So let's start with strengths and weaknesses alright?" Moss had clapped his hands and started to pace. I felt like we were actually taking part in some sort of military training, my back was straight and I was hanging onto each word. "What are the strengths of wolves?"

"They have claws." Melina surprised me by answering. She was wearing nothing too different to what she usually wore, except her two pigtails were replaced with a single ponytail.

"Yes, well done. Claws can be used to scratch people or other wolves. " Moss nodded as he continued to pace. "Another?"

"They're strong." Lowell mentioned hopefully. He and Oren were two fo the quietest kids that I've ever met. I didn't know them too well, it was something which saddened me slightly.

"Yes, more?" Moss seemed to be searching for something specific.

"They're fast-"

"Used to living in nature-"

"Good fighters-"

"They're part of a pack?" Melina said quietly. A spark came to Moss' eye and a grin came onto his face. Melina stepped back slightly. It was a little bit of a creepy expression.

"Perfect! That's the answer we were looking for." Moss nodded in approval as Tempest stepped forward.

"Packs protect each other and we look out for each other. We know our own strengths and weaknesses and we share them with our family. That's why the majority of us know who we partner with. The dexterus and agile go with the strong fighters." Harlow slipped out fo the door and walked over to me quickly.

"Though, this isn't the best example." Moss gestured to all of us standing in the line. "Lowell and Oran would be a great team. Lowell is agile whilst Oran is strong." The two boys grinned and nodded their heads. "We have an uneven amount of wolves so I'm not sure what we could do there but we don't have to worry about that right now."

"Yeah Melina might get a partner in the future." Randall had poked his head out of the kitchen window, it seemed to be his permanent station. He winked at us slightly before he shut the window.

"Yeah..." Tempest trailed off awkwardly. "Anyway. We are going to be focusing on working according to our strengths." That was the beginning to one of the most fun and yet most brutal workouts of my life.