Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 9

Harley had failed to ask when training would start.

Looking back on it, she didn't know why she thought it would start later. Maybe she'd been holding too tightly onto the idea that Will would be nice and let her sleep in like an actual human being.

Instead, she'd been tackled. "Wakey wakey!" Someone shouted in her ear.

Once the initial panic was over—her brain immediately telling her she was being attacked—she let out a groan and burrowed further under the covers.

"Harrrrrrrllleeeyyyyyyyy" Bailey somehow found her hip and tickled it. "This is your wake up call."

She mumbled something into her pillow that sounded an awful lot like 'Go the hell away'.

"I would, but I can't." The sheets disappeared and Harley was left looking bleary-eyed at her friend. "Our all-powerful rogue hunter wants to get you started."

"Why couldn't we start later?"

At that, Bailey shrugged. "Will is a morning person."

"But I'm not. Isn't this supposed to be my training?"

Her friend laughed. "It is. You know what? You go give him a piece of your sleep-deprived mind and I'll stand back for moral support...with a video camera in my hand."

That sounded like a terrible idea. Harley didn't know Will very well, but she did know him enough to know that he could be stubborn when it came to defense and protection.

"Ugh, fine. I'm getting up."

It took her twenty minutes to brush her hair and teeth and put on a t-shirt and sweatpants. She could've done it a lot faster if she had to, but she dragged her feet as a way to rebel at the god-awful hour.

Her tiny clock on the dresser said eight. Eight!

Bailey waited outside the doorway. "Ready?"

"As much as I'll ever be." She rubbed at her eye. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Will trains the rest of the wolves in a clearing about a mile from the pack house. He wants us to meet him there this morning...though I'm sure you'll be bouncing back and forth between the clearing and the workout room in the basement for the rest of your training."

They began their walk over to where Bailey directed them. Because it was eight in the morning, the sun was already out, but it hadn't gotten quite warm enough yet for Harley's tastes. She should've grabbed a coat. Instead she had to cross her arms to keep the cold from settling in.

It took them about 15 to 20 minutes to find the clearing and when they did, Harley's footsteps almost halted.

There wasn't much to the area—really it was just a section without trees. With the overhang of the trees, grass refused to grow much more than a few straggly patches here and there.

She could smell the damp dirt at her feet, but that wasn't what had her freezing up.

Will stood in the clearing ahead of them, his broad back to them. Wolves of all colors and sizes formed a loose circle around the commotion in the middle.

Because of the angle, she couldn't quite see the violence. But she heard it.

And that was enough.