“This afternoon. The Alpha doesn’t let anyone on the grounds until he’s done,” he replies.
“So, you guys hang out here and play while you wait?” I probe.
“Yeah, most of the time,” Todd confirms.
I tilt my head, sizing him up. “How often do you work with the younger kids? I mean, if you’re out here that long, you must spend a good amount of time teaching them too, right?” I’m baiting him now, guessing they probably don’t do much of that and tend to ignore the younger kids who clearly look up to them.
Todd shrugs. “Uh, no. Not really. They’re too little to learn or be any good, so…” His tone makes it clear that’s the end of the discussion.
I raise an eyebrow. “So, you’re telling me that at**how old are you again?” I glance at Emily.
“Seven,” she pipes up.
“Okay, so at seven, you were too little to play, and you and your friends just sat around waiting to be told you were good enough to join? Or did you spend time practicing, getting better, and working with older, more skilled kids so you could improve?”
Todd hesitates.
“Exactly what I thought,” I say with a knowing smile. “From one warrior to another, the next generation can’t improve if you don’t teach them. Not everything can be learned by just watching. They don’t need to be included all the time, but imagine if you had a whole pack of little kids just sitting around on the sidelines. Or if there’s a rough game where they could get hurt, give them something meaningful to do while they hang out**something that actually helps them get better, not just keeps them busy. If you want to be a true warrior, you have to learn to pass on your skills. You have to act like a leader, even if you don’t want to be one.”
Todd looks down and kicks at the dirt, clearly thinking it over.
“I didn’t mean to step on your toes,” I add softly. “I just know what it’s like to feel overlooked and underestimated. How about this? Can we join you for a quick game? I don’t know how to play, but I’d love to learn. I only have a little time before I have to head to morning training.”
“You’re training with the Alpha?” Todd asks, surprised.
“Yeah,” I say with a wink. “Like I told you, the only way to get better is to practice with people who are better than you and put in the work.” I reach for Emily’s hand. “You, Em, are on my team. I’m going to need you to be really patient with me because I have no clue what I’m doing.” She just giggles, grabs my hand, and pulls me onto the makeshift field.
Todd grumbles, “I guess we’re doing this then,” and the other boys look equally annoyed. I feel a bit guilty for hijacking their game, but honestly, they just want things to stay the same and focused on them**that’s typical for their age group. I work with a bunch of kids like this back home.
“I only have ten minutes, so we need to make this quick,” I say, glancing at Emily but addressing the older kids.
“Do you want everyone to pair up?” Todd suggests.
“Sure, if they want. I’m sure a few of them can hold their own. I’m definitely not one of those people**I’ll just follow Emily around while she schools all of you,” I joke. Emily’s face lights up, and Todd laughs when she tells him she’s coming for him.
That’s the spirit. It’s supposed to be fun.
The game kicks off, and it’s way faster-paced than it looked from the sidelines. Just as I suspected, Emily is a natural**a fierce competitor who quickly took advantage of the boys who had been “just playing around” during the first few minutes. After she scored a goal and teased the goalie for being a weak pansy, explaining what he needed to do to improve, the game got serious. Most of the teens paired up with smaller kids, working together to move the ball down the field. True to her word, Emily was patient with me, but being the strategist I am, I mostly passed the ball to her.
She did set me up for a goal, which the goalie deliberately let in**I’m pretty sure he was stroking my ego.
I glanced at my watch. “I have to run, but this was a lot of fun. Next time I’m in town, I’ll definitely join again. Now, can someone point me to the fastest route to the training grounds? I don’t want to be late.”
Todd jumped in eagerly, then cleared his throat. “Well, we need to do our morning run anyway. We could do that and show you the way at the same time.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
I noticed they’d been “running” all morning playing soccer, but didn’t say anything.
“Sure, that sounds perfect! Running in a pack is way more fun anyway.” They all smiled at me, and just like that, it felt like a party.
Everyone dropped their gear in a pile near the field**no one seemed worried about it**and we took off. Even Emily and the little kids joined in. Thanks to the shortcut the kids showed me, the jog was only about five minutes. We arrived at the training grounds laughing and chatting like we were celebrities, the morning sun casting a warm glow over everything.
Ryker
Although it frustrates me deeply that my Beta, Gamma, and Delta are all off with their girls, neglecting their duties, I can’t deny the quiet satisfaction I feel running alone through my pack’s territory. The cool, damp soil beneath my paws is invigorating, and the steady stretch and flex of my muscles this early in the morning melts away any lingering tension I’ve been carrying.
This solitary run clears my mind like nothing else. I need to get Claude back under control, but I fear the only way to do that is by sending him back to the Moon Goddess. The problem is, Claude has his claws dug into too many people in his region. If I make a move against him, it could spark an uprising and innocent lives might be caught in the crossfire. I’m counting on Robin to help me identify the key players involved**those we can either bring over to our side or confront as a group, making a brutal example out of anyone who dares challenge me or my pack.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.