A Royal Pain

chapter nine

Standing in my closet, I suddenly felt overwhelmed. This was the first time I'd really be interacting with the pack. I needed to make the best first impression possible. Was there a dress code? Oh god. I can't believe I didn't ask if there was a dress code.

A knock at the door interrupted my thoughts. "How did I know that you wouldn't be dressed yet?" I grinned at Kim's words. She knew me better than I knew myself. "Come on. I'll pick out your outfit."

Only a few minutes later, Kim decided on a form-fitting black top and shorts. We entered the training area and I was immediately greeted by all kinds of stares. Then the whispering began. Even a deaf person could tell that the warriors were talking about me, with the way they all looked in my direction. Kim squeezed my arm and stepped up to a podium in the center of the field. Different exercise equipment was strewn about with a large square in the center, almost like a boxing ring. I assumed it was for demonstrations or one-on-one fights. Various dirt trails lead in different directions for pack runs.

Kim began to talk about what the day would look like and how I would be leading it. I decided that we would be going for a four-mile run, and then practice sparring so I could see where everyone was at.

After coming back from the run, the warriors looked like they had barely broken a sweat. Not for long. "Change of plans," I called out. "We're going to be doing a little cardio first."

I began to demonstrate the workout we would follow. It was one of the tougher exercises that the royal guards did. It would be interesting to see how Mason's warriors handled it. I stepped into the boxing ring so everyone could see my movements.

The routine was hard for me, which was saying something considering the fact that my DNA literally made me stronger than most wolves. About ten minutes in, I could see some of them getting tired. I mentally noted to pair those wolves up with each other when it came time for sparring.

As we neared the abdominal section of the workout, buckets of sweat were pouring off of every warrior in the room. "Come on, guys! Don't give up yet," I cheered. They were doing surprisingly well.

We finished with some sprints, which made my muscles scream in protest. I could feel the exhaustion set in not only for me but for everyone else. "Good job everyone! You did great. Grab a drink and then we'll pair up." I walked over to the corner where Kim was standing with Charles. They'd been quietly observing for the last half of training. "So, how'd I do?"

"That was..." Kim trailed off.

"Amazing," Charles said. "I've never seen the warriors that tired. If you keep training them like that, we'll have an army on our hands."

I smiled. Back home training was the best part of my day, and it felt great to get back into that environment. "I'd love to, but I'm not done with them yet."

I stepped back up into the ring and called everyone back to the field. "The next half hour is going to be a little more relaxed. Everyone partner up." They immediately got into pairs, which made my life a lot easier. "We're going to be sparring. Strength and agility are important, but at the end of the day it comes down to your ability to fight for the pack. Can I get a volunteer?"

In the back of the crowd, I saw a hand shoot up. I gestured for them to come forward, which was a mistake.

"Livia? You're a warrior?" Of all people, I least expected Livia to be a fighter. She seemed the type to worry more about a broken nail, but appearances could be misleading.

She rolled her eyes. "What, you gotta problem with that?"

I shook my head and leaned down to help her into the ring. "Not at all." My wolf wanted me to rip her throat out, but I knew I should take the high road. Brian had told me that she felt guilty over my attempted kidnapping a few days ago.

She tried to kiss our mate! Break her neck.

No. We need to give her a chance.

My wold growled in return, but she knew I was right. "Tell me when to shift, Your Highness," she said mockingly.

I turned to face the crowd. "We won't be shifting today. All of the sparrings will be down in human form." I would be lying if I said that the look of shock on Livia's face wasn't enjoyable.

Whispers broke out amongst the crowd. It was nearly unheard of for packs to fight in human form, which is one of the main advantages that royalty had against other wolves. We knew how to fight with or without our wolves.

"Is she crazy? We can't do that," someone loudly said.

I chuckled. "You can and you will. Why do you think the royal guard is so good? They can defeat someone in or out of wolf form."

Livia's smile faltered. Maybe I could show her my status after all. "But, you can't expect me to-"

I turned to face her. "I don't expect you to do anything, Livia. Shift if you want." Another round of whispers burst out of the crowd. I brushed them off, choosing to get into a fighting stance as she did the same. Immediately I could pick out everything wrong with her position. Looks like I had a lot of work to do with the warriors.

She didn't waste time lunging at me, which I easily dodged. Her movements were clumsy and overdramatic. The next time she came for me I caught her by her neck and held her into the air. Miraculously her fist landed on my cheek, making me drop her. Livia growled and before I could blink, a small brown wolf was standing in her place.

Her wolf tried to go for my feet, which was expected. I jumped over Livia with ease, managing to kick her in the snout. She fell back, which made it easy to lunge forward and grab the scruff of her neck.

Livia's efforts to kick me with her hind legs were futile as I lifted her into the air. "So," I said to the audience. "Let's start sparring."

. . .

After the training session, the warriors flooded into the packhouse kitchen. Freshly made food was laid out for us, which was a blessing after not eating all day. Kim and I were making our way to a private corner when someone nearly knocked me to the floor.

"Ohmygod, I'm so sorry!"

I looked over to see a dark-haired girl grabbing my shoulder to steady me. She was gorgeous, with deep brown eyes that I would kill for. "It's fine," I said. "I'm Aurora."

She cast her eyes downward. "I know, Your Highness. My name is Everleigh."

I gave her a small smile. "That's a gorgeous name."

She was about to reply when someone behind me caught her attention. She waved them over and a muscular wolf came into view. He was clearly a warrior and looked nearly identical to Everleigh, dreamy brown eyes and all. "This is Elon, my brother."

He bowed his head in submission. "Princess Aurora, what a pleasure to meet you," he grinned.

"Oh, I remember you!" Kim said eagerly. "You sparred with Jackson, didn't you? Very impressive."

I instantly knew who she was talking about. Elon had put up a hefty fight with another one of the pack warriors. They sparred for an extremely long time. Jackson put up a good fight, but Elon ended up besting him. I remember looking to Brian and seeing how impressed he was as well, although at the time I was slightly more focused on Elon's biceps.

"Of course," I nod excitedly. "Brian and I would love to talk with you about your future as a warrior." A quick glance around the room told me that Brian and Daniel were in a conversation a few feet away.

"As a matter of fact," I said. "I'll introduce you now." I had just put my hand on Elon's arm to guide him when a throaty growl erupted from behind me.

Whipping around, my wolf immediately got excited to see our mate with a furious expression on his face, staring at where my hand met Elon. His chest heaved with every breath. I could tell his wolf was close to surfacing. "Mine," he snarled.