The Heart of the Shadow

3. Louis

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Ryka's POV
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"Let's go Ryka! Training time!" Father yells.

"Five minutes Dad!" I hurriedly tie my shoes and brush my hair into a ponytail. My feet pound loudly as I run to the backyard, not wanting to face the consequences of being late. Father is standing in the yard, staring at his watch.

"Made it with 30 seconds to spare. I let you off this time, but I expect you out here ten minutes early next time." I nod in approval.

"What are we doing today?" I hide my yawn from Father, he hates when I yawn, makes it seem like I'm not listening. Can you blame me though? It is 5:30 in the morning for crying out loud. I begin to stretch as he recites the plan for today.

"We're doing our morning routine, then going to train with the rest of the Warriors. Alright let's go." We begin our 12 mile run around part of the packs land.

"Do you know what we're going to be working on with the Warriors?"

"You're going to be with Ray, working on the pups."

   "So 10-15 year olds?"

   "No, 10-19 year olds. You know what we call pups Ryka." I huff in annoyance.

   "They hate me, they're not going to listen to me."

   "You have to put them in their place. Remember when you were 8 and thought you could take me? You poor little pup." He chuckles as he relives the memory.

   "Yes, I remember. You had me pinned in less than 10 seconds. You have to admit though, I beat you fair and square on my 10th birthday." He shoves my shoulder as I laugh.

   "Only because you cheated."

   "Excuse you, I did not cheat!"

   "Oh, so distracting me with my mate isn't cheating?"

   "I had nothing to do with that! It was all Mother's fault!"

   "Child, when you find you mate, it will be the happiest day of my life."

   "But, isn't that what all Father's don't want for their daughter?"

   "Not me, you'll finally have someone's ass to kick that isn't mine. You're much stronger than I am now."

   "Did you just admit defeat, Old Man?"

   "I am not old, thank you very much."

   "Yeah, because 36 isn't old."

   "If you call me old one more time I will take you down."

   "Come get me Old Man!" I sprint towards the front yard of the Pack House, leaping over several children sitting on the ground. Weaving through the throngs of wolves, I make my way to the yard of Alpha Manor, where all the nobles, including me, live.

   "Ryka!" He sees me standing in the front yard and charges at me. His shoulder slams me into the ground. My knee slams into his chest, successfully knocking him off me. I quickly slam his back to the ground, his arms grab onto my shoulders and flip me over his head. I use my momentum to stand up.

   "Fight me you Old Geezer!" He leaps into a fighting stance, we begin circling each other.

   "When I get my hands on you child!" He growls as I fake a jab at his stomach. I wait for him to make the first real move, and he does. His left leg shoots out to kick my ribs, I jump back as his right fist hurtles towards my face. He sets a series of short fast punches, which I block. I quickly kick him in the chest. In his moment of weakness I tackle him to the ground. As soon as I think I have him pinned, he uses his legs to switch our positions. I flip him over my head and stand back up again. He tries to get up but I jump on him again. This time I make sure he can't get back up.

   "Submit, you've lost." He bares his neck and I nudge it with my nose as a sign of acceptance. I move to get off him as my mother interrupts.

"What have I told you two about sparring outside of training grounds?" We bolt up and hang our heads in defeat. She has her hands on her hips and a disappointed look on her face.

"To stop." Father and I say in unison.

"Get to the training grounds, Alpha is waiting for you two. You'll have chores to do when you get home." We sprint to the training grounds, not wanting to face anymore of Mother's wrath. As soon as we get there, Alpha Mark is waiting with all the Warriors.

"Ryka, take the pups to the East side, Luke and I will take the West."

   "Yes, Alpha. Pups! I'm leading the run to the East ground. Let's go!" We only have to go three miles so it should be easy for everyone. I begin the run, only going about a mile before I'm interrupted.

   "Quit pushing me!" I hear a small voice yell.

   "Why should I?" A gruff voice responds. I spin around and run backwards to survey the pups. A child is being pushed around by an older teen. I nod to Josh, a 19 year old, he begins leading as I travel to the small pup.

   "What's going on here?" The pup runs in front of me as I run next to the teen.

   "Nothing."

   "It doesn't seem like nothing."

   "It's not like you have any control over me anyways."

   "Oh, is that so? Well then, when we get to the grounds, I have a special exercise for you. Pup, come with me." He nods his head and I take his hand. We fight our way to the front and I take the lead again.

   "Thank you Ryka."

   "You're welcome. What's your name?"

   "Louis."

   "If you ever have any problems just come to me, okay?"

   "I will."

   "How old are you? I haven't seen you in training before."

   "I'm 8, I just shifted last week."

   "Would you like to privately train with me?"

   "Yes!" As we near the center of the East Grounds I see Ray standing in the center. I throw my open hand into the air, instructing the wolves to jog in place. Ray walks around and checks to make sure everyone is still running. He pulls out one pup that isn't running, the same teen that was bullying Louis. I close my hand into a fist and pull it down.

   "Separate into your combat levels! I need level 1 in front of me! All other levels follow suit!" The levels are only for the pups, it's like a year level in school, but for Warriors. Five pups line up in front of me, including Louis. As soon as all wolves are lined up, Ray and I pair them together according to skill level.

   "Who's my partner?" Louis asks.

   "I am. Follow me while I pair these pups up." As soon as all the wolves are paired, they all choose a dirt circle to spar in. I quickly survey before I start training with Louis. In less than 10 seconds I already see someone disrespecting me.

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Sup Shadows! I know most of you don't even read these so I don't know why I continue them. Leave me some suggestions on what my followers should be called. I just felt like posting today even if it isn't Monday. Comment if you have any concerns. See ya!

Night_Shadow
3/2/19
3/28/19