☽ Chapter 13: Time to Train ☾

?Chapter 13 – Time to Train?

"You know better then to run off!" Alex growls furiously, pacing the room in his anger. I just roll my eyes, focusing on drying my hair with the towel. After playing in the forest with the mysterious man, I returned to the temple covered in mud. I was lucky that a Temple Acolyte helped me to my room, where I was met with a frantic Alex trying to find me. His lecture began then, mud dripping onto the floor below me as he went on and on about me sneaking out in the morning without his knowledge until I managed to escape into the washroom where I promptly focused my energy on shifting into human form. I knew he would be waiting for me to exit, so after showering, I took my sweet time running a bubble bath and enjoying hot water and endless time to myself for the first time ever. “Alex, I don’t get why you’re mad. You needed sleep, and I just had to see what my wolf was like.” I retort, causing my brother to stop dead in his track and send an incredulous look my way. “Geminie, you are the future Moon Goddess for crying out loud!” He throws his hands in the air in frustration, as if scolding a pup. “Gee, Captain Obvious, I had no clue!” I snap at him sarcastically, flinging the towel at him. “You don’t get it, Gem, you need to be safe and guarded as our race’s next Deity!” He argues back. This time I growl in frustration, snatching the pillow off the bed and aiming for his head. “What I need, Alex, is a LIFE! I have been a slave and trapped for years, always watching what I do or how I act because I never knew when another beating would come.” Rage washes over me as I reply to his statement. Seeing the guilt in Alex’s eyes calms me down slightly, but I was no longer the same wolf I was a week ago. I want to live my life to the fullest now, find my birth parents and actually enjoy myself for once. “Gem-” “Save it, Alex. You know the life I have lived until now. You know I’ve been trained by Lizaria and can fight. I am safe here and because of this I plan to learn just who I am!” With that, I walk away from my brother, needing to cool off from his words. I understand his concerns and worry, but if his intention are to lock me away, then I won’t allow it. I have already had my freedom taken from me because of Bastian and Jasmine, I refuse to lose anymore. “Miss Geminie?” Walking along the corridors of the Temple, I soon find myself lost until a familiar voice calls out to me. I turn to see Ira coming towards me and sigh with relief. “Miss Ira,” I greet politely, doing my best to suppress the anger still swirling inside me. “You okay, Little One?” Her inquiring gaze reminds me of Lizaria, and without hesitation I explain to her the fight with Alex I have just had. I tell her my feelings on having to be guarded and protected like some damsel in distress and the thought of not being able to be free. I hate the thought of not being able to live my life now that I am free from Hidden Claws. “Well, when you start training, I can guarantee the people who need to be protected will be your enemies. Most Goddesses possess powers beyond that of regular wolves and you definitely will have to find your own soon.” Ira’s words comfort my mind and being able to express my feelings helped to dissipate any anger I have left. The thought of training and becoming stronger excites me. “When can I start training?” I blurt out without thinking, and the she-wolf before me chuckles. “How about right now? I’ll send an Acolyte to Alex to let him know you’re with me, and he can go train with someone else.” With her confirmation, Ira leads me down more twisting corridors. I hope that with her guidance, I will become strong enough to protect the life I want and those around me who I love.

◆◆◆

My body hits the ground hard, the wind knocked out of me as the she-wolf who Ira has me partnered with today growls in warning, heeding me not to stand. But I ignore her. With a grimace of pain, I stand on my paws, staying low to the ground. “Remember, Geminie, you are not allowed to use your powers.” Ira reminds me, as if I could forget. For the last few days she’s been helping me connect with my powers while training my speed and stamina in wolf form. Each day, she has me sit in a moon pool for hours on end, meditating and focusing on harnessing any sort of magic I could feel in the air. The elements were the ones that quickly came to me. I spent hours practicing controlling them until I could grasp onto them properly without the chance of harming another wolf unintentionally. Once I was able to grasp the beginning of the powers I was gifted with, she would then take me to the arena to fight an Acolyte, either in human or wolf form. Within three days, I knew my wolf form lacks the endurance and training that my human form has achieved. I need to work on my speed and agility the most. Speaking of training, the Acolyte before me lets out a threatening growl. Her fur stands up threateningly as I slowly circle her, watching for her next attack. She has a slight limp to the right hind leg where blood from my attack earlier still spills from. The Acolyte is in pain, and I can use this to my advantage. The she-wolf makes her move finally, letting out another ferocious growl before leaping into the air. Instead of dodging, I run forwards, moving underneath the Acolyte while she is still air bound, and sink my teeth into the round calf on her hind leg. A howl of pain followed by whimpers is her response, so I use my momentum and throw her to the ground. Her body rolls once, twice, thrice, until hitting the wooden pole that is the barrier to the arena with a sickening thud. Now is my chance. I race towards her body and grasp her throat in my jaw, my hind paw on the wound I have inflicted. She whimpers beneath me and thrusts her throat toward me as best as possible, knowing her place in defeat. With the match now over, I release the she-wolf from my maw and give her wound a quick lick, helping to speed up the healing process. I have won; there is no need to continue. “Yeah, Gem, that’s my daughter!” Happy for the fur covering my body, I turn in the direction where Maverick Starlight stands with Alex, a proud grin on his face. Yesterday, my father arrived after news of me being found, and put the responsibility of his pack in the hands of my Uncle Stephen—his Beta. Rolling my eyes at his antics, I can’t help but feel my heart swell at the parental praise he throws my way - the feeling of parental love something I feel like I can never get used to. Trotting away from my defeated opponent as Acolytes come to take her away to the infirmary, I head to Ira, who smiles at my approach. “You are a fast learner, Little Wolf. I think it’s time for you to make your own pack. We can talk about this after you’ve cleaned up.” She praises me, surprising me with her honest opinion of my progress and the fact this Temple Priestess believes I am ready to be on my own. My tail thumps happily at the prospect of creating a place to call my home. As much as my father would love for me to join Northern Snow, I know that pack will become my little brother’s when he comes of age. Although I am the eldest and therefore its rightful heir, I could not take away the title that he has been training for his whole life. I turn to look at Maverick, catching Connor gaze at me with the same silver-grey eyes inherited from our father, looking at me with awe. [I’m going to go shift and bathe, I’ll see you all in a moment.] I link to my family, seeing Alex nod and say something to Connor while my father turns to talk to Amberle. The spitfire of a she-wolf and her mate Dominic were in the middle of a peace treaty with my father when the news broke of my being found. She was curious about what kind of wolf I would be after being missing since the day I was born, and the two leaders of Blood Moon agreed to negotiate the terms of the treaty with my father while on the way to see me. It was upon meeting her that we learned we are cont?rae, wolves whose spirits recognize each other with a spiritual bond. A cont?rae helps the Moon Goddess to grow, train, and follow the path of good. She soon agreed to be one of my training partners and teach me how to run a pack after I declined my father’s offer to join Northern Snow and stated my intentions to create my own place to call home. Amberle’s mate, Dominic, is out hunting with the Temple Warriors and hence leaves his wife to her own devices, something I soon realize leads to some mischief from the fire-furred wolf. With a grin and the vision of my future growing clearer each day, I trot towards the shower room so that the conversation Ira wants to have with me about creating a pack can happen a little quicker.