His Luna, Their Alpha

7. Fierce

I woke to the memories of my day-long date with Erik. The window was still dark but I still knew I had to wake up. Besides, I was supposed to have a training session today and I wasn't sure what to expect.

I jumped out of bed, ready for my daily run. Once again, I rummaged through my bags, searching for something to wear. I decided on a simple black sports bra covered by a purple cropped tank-top. For the bottom half, I pulled on a simple pair of yoga pants that were about knee length. I looked pretty cute, if I do say so myself. My hair pulled into a slick pony. I smiled into the mirror and skipped out the door.

A silent trek down the stairs and I was out in the cool morning air. I smiled and jumped off the porch sprinting into the woods. As always, my skin prickled with the anticipation of the jog and the chill of the air. It was the time of year when mornings are cold but after the sun comes up, the Earth seems to melt at the mercy of it's will.

For now, it was nice and my wolf was perking up from her groggy state. She wasn't a morning person. I was pretty sure that I was jogging toward the lake Erik took me to yesterday. The sweet smell of crystal spring water engulfed my nose and told me I was close. I ended up on the rock outcrop that we had stopped at yesterday. I paused and took in the scene spilling out before me.

It was just as beautiful as the day before. The sun was fanning it's rays out from the east horizon. I had been out here longer than I thought. I quickly turned and started off back towards the pack house. I was actually thinking about what was supposed to happen later today. Training.

The pack house came into few between the trees. I was facing the front facade as I jogged into the yard. Logan came running out of the house, followed by a confused looking Blake. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a bit of movement. I turned to see Erik running toward me, before his arms wrapped around me.

"Kass," Erik and Logan yelled in unison. I fidgeted in Erik's grasp and glared up at him then over at Logan.

"What's going on?" I screamed feeling a bit flustered and a little worried from their frantic behavior. I looked up at Erik expecting an answer. I bit the inside of his lip, as if he didn't want to tell me. "Erik," I ordered. He glanced down at me and let out a breathy sigh.

"We had some rogue activity on our western borders this morning," he let out. "Our morning patrol found them and drove them off, and then I woke up and you were gone." he looked down at me, eyes full of concern.

"Well, luckily, I was on the eastern border." He smiled down at me then his face changed a bit.

"Why were you on the eastern border this morning?" He let go of his tight hold a bit and looked down at me. I shook my head and smiled.

"I was on a run," I stated in a 'duh' voice and pushed away from his embrace. "Who else is gonna keep these babies in shape?" I teased, tracing my fingers over my exposed abs. He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Together, we walked toward the pack house and Logan joined our little promenade.

"I just don't want you to get hurt," he whispered under his breathe. I smiled and snaked my arm around his waist to squeeze his side. As smile tugged at his lips the same as mine. "Or think about running back to Timber." I squeezed him a bit harder and he chuckled.

"Was anyone hurt?" I questioned further. The two looked down at me. I raised an eyebrow at the two and waited for the answer.

"Not seriously," interjected Logan. I smiled again as we continued inside.

"I need to change," I interjected and unattached myself from the group. I ran up the stairs to quickly change. I took off my nicer running pants and pulled on a simple pair of black sweats, leaving the crop top on. As quickly as possible, I stumbled down the steps and toward the kitchen.

I entered the kitchen and was greeted by a smiling Sarah and a disgruntled Hannah. Erik and his betas were at the table. My senses were immediately overwhelmed by the potent aroma of cinnamon. Sarah was baking. Yum!

When I approached the table, Erik jumped up to pull out a chair for me and I gladly took a the seat. He pushed the chair in and then plopped down beside me at the head of the table. I had crossed my legs and when I did so, my foot grazed the side of Erik's leg. I received a low growl from Erik and I quickly pulled my foot away with a short giggle. I really hadn't meant to tease him.

"Sorry," I whispered to him. He looked at me and chuckled bit.

"Umhm," he mumbled and playfully kicked my shin.

"Oww!" I exclaimed a hit his arm with the same playful manner. Sarah cut in by placing a plate stacked with steaming cinnamon rolls. As soon as the heavenly scent entered my nose, my attention shifted from Erik to my hunger. Five sets of hands eagerly reached towards the center of the table, each grabbing one of the sticky balls of dough.

After the first bite, I was in heaven. The sugar engulfed my mouth in a frenzy of goodness and the cinnamon teased my taste buds. Everyone else was riding the same train I was. Erik, Logan and Blake were already on their third roll whenever I reached for my second one. Everyone was still silent and continued eating. Sarah had even sat down and grabbed herself a cinnamon roll. She took her time eating it.

"What do you all have planned for the day?" Sarah broke the silence with a question. The rest of us looked up at her and I turned to look at Erik. If he kept his word, we would be training today. I raised my eyebrows and waited for his answer.

"Well, Kass was supposed to help with training." He looked over at me and my face exploded into a grin. He was going to let me do it.

"Kass shouldn't be training troops," Sarah protested. "She should be-" I put my hand up, stopping her mid-sentence.

"Don't worry," I assured her. "I want to." She eyed me a bit but then shrugged her shoulders, not wanting to argue.

"Uh, Erik," Blake cut in. "Shouldn't we be going?" Erik looked up at the clock then nodded. The four of us pushed away from the table.

"Thanks for breakfast," I quietly reassure Sarah. The others chime in with the same thanks as we head out the back door.

Before I can even ask where we're going the three break into a sprint. I'm quick catch up after their little head start as we run towards, what I assume is the training area.

By now the sun is up and the air is beginning to get warmer. I easily keep up with the group as we run at a brisk pace through the woods. Eventually, I found myself beside Erik. Our little moment didn't last long and we broke through the trees and onto a field where a bunch of trainees were already gathered.

The cluster of troops quickly lined up and the chatter died down. They stood at attention and waited for us to speak. I could tell that they wanted to know who I was and why I was here. Or maybe a few of them recognized me as the future alpha of Timber. I looked over at Erik who gave me the motion to talk. I rolled my eyes but stepped forward. Every eye turned to me.

"My name is Kass Aarons." A slight mumble shifted through the platoon as they recognized the name. At least they knew about werewolf politics. "Today, I am going to push you harder than you could have ever imagined. I am going to treat you exactly how I treat my fighters." Again there was a slight mumble. I guess I had a reputation. "We're going to run the course, twice," I instructed referring to the course. "Meet back here when you're done." Before they could really comprehend what was happening, I sprinted off towards the training course. It was essentially the same as the one at home.

Behind me, I heard the pounding of boots on the ground. Approaching the first obstacle, I dove to the ground. Barbed wire mud pit. My face was splashed with mud and it covered my stomach. I crawled on, careful not to get caught in the wire.

After that came a ropes course, which involved navigation, flexibility, and balance. I easily made it through and hurried to the next thing. A rope ladder. My personal favorite. I pounced on the flimsy thing and began to climb. It was a good twenty feet up. As I neared the top, I felt more people get on. I still had to go down while they were going up. I quickly flipped to the other side and scurried down. I was really far ahead of everyone.

Next came the A-frame. I was quickly over and sliding down the other side. On to the ten foot wall which I easily cleared. I was on my second round which was just as easy as the first. I even passed a few first rounders.

Of course, I ended before everyone and went back to our original place and waited. Erik and the betas had joined the group as well. Erik finished quickly after me and jogged up beside me, muddy and panting. I was hardly out of breathe.

"How did you do that?" He huffed out, holding his ribs. I laughed at his condition. Others were coming up after us already.

"Wait till I explain," I breathed out and winked. He let out a breathy chuckle but waited patiently. I stood in front of the breathless fighters. I was kinda shocked at their breathlessness. I looked out over them as the last wolf jogged up.

"We will do more laps everyday," I glare over the group. "That should have been a piece of cake," I comment whilst wiping a bit of mud from my forehead. "Partner up!" I yell across the field. "And not just with your friends."

"Look at Kass," I whipped around to see my betas striding toward me. "She's already got em scared." Olly commented. I laughed. Erik must have asked them to come. I turned to look at him and he just gave me a wink. I smiled at his attempt to make me a bit more comfortable.

"Now, let me introduce you to my betas," I announced. "Josh and Olly Dale. They will be helping me today," I shout to the troops.

"Why? Princess can't train us herself?" I whipped my head towards the voice. The wolves around him made a path and I was quickly squaring up the respectful fighter. He was at least a head taller than me and his muscles rippled beneath his skin.

"Excuse me?" I threatened.

"Kass," Erik called from behind me. I held up my hand to stop him. Always underestimating me.

"Why do you need your betas?" The brute pushed. I laughed.

"You think you could do a better job than me or them? I trained them. So if you think you can do better than any of us, be my guest." I stepped to the side to allow him the front.

"Alpha, why do you have a girl out here?" He looked around me to Erik. I shot Erik a look, telling him to keep quiet.

"Does it matter?" I detest. He chuckled a bit and I rolled my eyes. "How bout this? If you can beat me in a fight. If you can get the best of me and pin me to the ground, I will leave and not worry about training again." He smirked at my proposition.

"Kass, no!" I didn't break eye contact with the guy. "Zayn, you're not going to fight her," he ordered with his alpha voice.

"Erik, let her do it," Josh cut in. "She can handle herself." My betas always had my back. I quickly did a backflip away from him, landing lightly on my feet. The other wolves made a circle around me and Zayn. Blake and Logan were holding onto Erik's arms. I could tell that he didn't like this.

"KASSS," he protested. I didn't listen. I had to focus on my fight. Zayn cracked his knuckles and flexed his arm muscles. I looked down at my tails, checking for chips. This would be a piece of cake.

"Bring it on, puppy," he growled. I laughed at his feeble attempt at psyching me out. He was crouched in an athletic stance. I was standing with my hand perched on my hip. I was letting him make the first move. He clenched his fist a bit, dug his foot into the ground slightly and his face twitched. My signal.

He lunged for a punch which I easily dodged. Now we were a lot closer than before. I smirked and finally pulled my hands up. I loved a good fight. The adrenaline pumped and the hairs on my neck stood up.

I was pretty sure that my wolf wanted to take control, but I couldn't let her. I did however let her control my vision. There were a few miscellaneous gasp from what I assume was the sudden change in my eye color. If this was the same as anytime before, my eyes were a bright gold hue by now.

I let him go for another sloppy swing. I used his lapse in concentration to throw a jab at his stomach. He doubled over, his eyes turning a dark brown color, but quickly retaliated with a left hook which I wasn't really expecting. He caught me off guard a bit and clipped my jaw.

That only fueled my fire. I started towards him again, purposely being obvious about my move. I faked a jab at his stomach which he attempted to block. Instead of making contact with his abdomen, I switched over and got in a good lick in his jaw.

He stumbled back and I saw another opening. I lunged forward and punched his jaw again, with a sickening crunch. He spat blood.

"What's the matter, puppy," I teased. He growled. We were close. He lunged and I stepped back creating a gap of space. This was my chance. I quickly turned around spin kicking him, again in the jaw. Before my foot came down, he was quick enough to grab my leg. I didn't panic. I knew what to do. I easily twisted around and climbed to where I was sitting on his shoulders. A quick squeeze of my legs and a little leaning from me was all it took for us to be on the ground.

I untangled myself from him and jumped on top of him pinning him. I smirked before he threw me off of him and stumbled up. I snarled before jumping at him again. My fist made contact with his nose and the momentum from my outburst put us on the ground again. I was quick to grab his arms and straddle his stomach, assuring that he wouldn't get the best of me again.

Somewhere in our struggle, I had busted my lip and a bit of blood dripped onto his now ripped shirt. He tried in vain to get up but it was no use. I had won.

"Now," I breathed, still hyped from the adrenaline. "Do you see why I am training you?" He nodded and I rolled off of him, jumping up. The circle erupted into applause and a triumphant looking Erik broke through the men and ran up to me. I could see Josh and Olly standing back with smirks on their face. They knew that I had gone easy on him.

"Are you okay?" Erik demanded, wiping the bit of blood from my lip. He stared down at me. He seemed to lose focus. "Yours eyes," he whispered in awe. I blushed and looked down.

"Are they weird?" I asked trying to push my wolf back. I looked back up at him and was still pretty sure that my eyes were still a gold hue. He still looked mesmerized.

"They're beautiful," he breathed out. The world was a blur around us, but we were in our own bubble. Once again, I tried to force the gold out of my eyes with no avail. I guess my efforts showed on my face. "Stop," he held a hand up and brushed my cheek with his hand. "I like it," he whispered. I blushed again but stopped trying to push away the gold.

I turned away from him and back to the training fighters. I felt his warm hand wrapped around mine. A part of me loved it but the other part forced me to pull my hand away from his. I felt sort of bad, but quickly reverted my attention back to the training men.

"Anyone else want to question my authority?" No one said a word and a few eyes silently drifted over to a beat up Zayn. He had a blackening eye, and I'm pretty sure that I had fractured his jaw. He was holding his mouth at an awkward angle. I smiled inwardly. Serves him right, challenging an alpha.

"So, what I want you to do," I started, "Is get with your partner and spar. Focus on technique." I looked around. "I'm calling Zayn out, but his punches were messy, and easy to predict." I heard an angry growl from behind me and laughed. "If all of you are like that, your wolf fighting will be just as sloppy as your human fighting." I gave them a look, as if telling them to go work and began walking around the groups, fixing technical mistakes.

After a bit, I knew what needed to be done. I called Josh and Olly over to me, informing them of my plan. Both nodded eagerly and I turned around to call the group to attention.

"After looking at each of you and your technique, I have figured out what we are going to do next." They all looked a bit confused. Even Erik seemed intrigued. I looked at Olly and Josh and they took my cue.