by Tamara White
I step out into the hall, closing the door behind me. My father smiles warmly. "After you, Emerald."
We walk side by side down the hall towards the elevator. When we get inside and the doors close, I almost burst with joy. "Where to?" I ask, unable to contain my excitement.
"We're going down to the forest to train.” He beams, obviously just as happy as I am.
There's something about being with another wolf and running that has me bursting with happiness. Wolves need to burn off their energy daily, and I am still struggling to find the balance between my two natures. My beast is a mix of both races, but some days, she needs the physical burn of a hard workout, and on others, she just wants to sleep. I never noticed that when I was with the pack. I was so busy trying to fit in among the others that I kept myself physically exhausted and never had the time to notice just how weird my beast is compared to normal wolves.
Especially with feeding. I've been drinking the guys’ blood and lots of coffee, of course, but the need for food is almost completely gone. Sure, when food is placed in front of me, I'll eat it, but the hunger, the craving for meat I felt as a wolf is disappearing, replaced with a lust for blood.
I close my eyes and shake my head to clear it. That's something I can think about at another time.
The elevator doors open, and we step out into the beautiful underground forest. My beast is practically vibrating inside me with her need to be released.
"Can I shift?"
He shakes his head sadly and directs us towards a well-worn path among the trees. "I thought we'd run as humans today. The guys would be able to sense if you shifted through the soul-tie, and the last thing we want is them killing the pack in their hurry to get back to you," he says with a roll of his eyes.
I laugh because I can see it playing out exactly like that. If I shifted, the pain and momentary fear I’d feel from it, followed by the excitement would confuse the hell out of the guys.
As much as the thought of not shifting disappoints my beast, I won't because I know he's right. I don't want the guys hunting me back down to the coven and causing an incident because of my desire to shift.
We take off at a slow-paced jog, which quickly speeds up and becomes a race between the two of us. I laugh as my father moves ahead of me on the trail. He thinks he can beat me, but I know different. Speed was one area I always excelled in.
I grin before picking up the pace. My legs burn at first, but the more I push myself, the faster I go. In no time, I pass him, laughing at the way he tries to keep pace with me.
My father's face reddens as he tries to catch up to me, but it's no use. I have both vampire and wolf speed on my side.
The clearing we started at is up ahead, so I push myself a little harder for the final stretch, laughing when I clear the tree line, my father a minute behind me.
I fist pump the air while my father bends over, putting his hands on his knees and taking deep breaths. When he's recovered enough, he smiles at me proudly. "You won that round, but I'd appreciate if we didn't tell your mother about this. She already hates me eating unhealthy food. If she finds out I was beaten by my own daughter, she may make me go on a crazy health cleanse or something." He shudders, a sliver of real fear in his eyes.
If there's one thing you don't do, it's take food from a wolf. He may just bite you out of starvation. I feel for him, I truly do.
I laugh. "Don't worry, Dad. I can train with you so you can get back to your normal wolf standards."
My father's face pales and I frown, wondering what I said to upset him. His eyes mist over, and he has to clear his throat a few times before he can speak. "You just called me Dad."
I think back over what I said and feel the blood drain from my face. I did call him Dad. "Oh."
I don't quite know what to say, so I just stay quiet and try to pretend it didn't happen, choosing instead to focus on stretching out my muscles.
My dad always used to stress the importance of stretching before and after training. Knowing I called my father 'Dad' makes me miss my dad even more and leaves me feeling more confused than ever.
What does it mean? I don't want to betray my dad, but the word just slipped out. I hadn’t even realized I had called Axel ‘Dad’ until he mentioned it.
My father sits down beside me as I stretch. I keep my gaze focused on my task, even when he starts speaking to me. "Emerald, it's okay for you to call me Dad, too. I know it’s hard, but I swear I don't want to replace Brent in your life. He raised you and is your dad, which I respect. Nothing will change that. I just want to build my own relationship with you. To bond the way we should have while you were growing up. If that's too hard for you though, just tell me, and I will understand completely."
I sigh and turn to meet his eyes. I can see the pain in them and feel shitty for being the source of that hurt. "I know you don't want to replace him. It’s just my issues. I'm worried that the longer I'm away from him, the less I will remember him, or worse, that he'll forget about me. I mean, I'm not even his biological child. He has Brendan to lead the pack now that I'm gone, but I can't bear the thought of being replaced. Not to mention all the trouble Dad is in because of me. He may not even be Alpha anymore," I admit sadly. "It’s hard for me, because I feel like if I talk about him, I'm hurting you and my mother more since I barely know the two of you. I don't even mention him to my soul-ties for fear that it will lead to anger at Brendan. It’s just better for everyone if I stay quiet and pretend nothing is wrong and that none of this bothers me."
"Oh, Emerald, my sweet girl. You don't need to hide your feelings from us. We all understand how much you love Brent, and Brendan, despite what he did. You wouldn't be who you are if you didn't show at least some small ounce of compassion. It makes us love you more, knowing after everything you've been through, you still try to find the good in people. The only advice I can give you is to be careful. Some people truly want to be good, others don't care about right or wrong anymore, only power."
"As for your soul-ties, if you sit down with them and express your fears and concerns, I’m sure they will listen because as your soul-ties, it’s their responsibility to look after you, both emotionally and physically."
With that, he gets to his feet, holding out a hand to me. "You ready to train against your old man?”
Eleven – King vs Princess
Emerald
I bounce around on my feet, and my father smirks. "Do you want to know more about your dad and I, Emerald? Maybe a little incentive for your training?" he suggests, his eyes full of light after our emotional talk.
I nod eagerly, not taking my eyes off him for a second. My father used to drill into me that once a fight has started, you never take your eyes off your enemy, unless they’re dead or unconscious.
We start off slow, assessing each other. Then I lunge, trying to catch him by surprise.
He laughs and easily steps out of the way, using my momentum against me to send me scrambling in the dirt.
I get to my feet quickly before he can spring an attack on me, but he just stands there, his face filled with… cockiness?
"Brent obviously hasn't changed his training. That's the exact same move he used to use on me when we were children. He hated being the younger brother, you know? He knew that I would always be Alpha unless something happened to me, so he had to fight even harder to prove himself. Not that he really needed to, though. I always knew he was Alpha material, but archaic rules dictated the first born is typically chosen as Alpha."
"Huh? I thought my dad was older than you? Maybe I got confused?"
He smirks and shifts his body weight to the right before attacking me with two quick punches. I dodge the first, but the second grazes my right side along the ribs. It doesn't hurt much, and I'm sure I've already healed by the time I'm out of range.
"Your dad is most definitely younger than me. I watched him being born. Your grandmother made sure I was in the room because she thought it would teach me how to respect women." He shudd
ers, obviously recalling the memory vividly, and I can't help but grimace in sympathy. No way would I make anyone watch me give birth, if I didn't have to. Sure, the father would be there, but I would never make a child watch something that gruesome. And I’m sure it was gruesome. Most shifter births are.
All pack members over the age of thirteen are taught how to deliver a pup, just in case our healers are not around at the time of labor, because if a woman gives birth without proper care, she may just die from it.
Usually, we need someone stronger than the wolf there to force the shift, so we can heal all injuries, but sometimes the wolf helping may not be dominant enough to force the shift. If that is the case, she will most likely bleed out from any injuries that occured while giving birth.
My father seems distracted by his thoughts, and I make another attempt at an attack, only for him to step to the side, avoiding me yet again. I somehow trip over my foot and am sent sprawling to the ground, my knees grazing on impact. I feel a small bit of blood run down my leg and my father’s gaze tracks it.
He shakes his head with a sigh. "Your dad really hasn’t changed his style of fighting at all, even after twenty years. Such a shame. Just means I have to teach you more than I thought."
I grin and feint to the left, laughing on the inside when he takes the bait. By doing so, he left himself open for me to swipe his legs out from under him. I leap away before he can get to his feet, a wide smile in place. "Did my dad ever use that trick?" I ask mockingly.
He narrows his eyes, but the glint in them tells me he finds me funny, rather than a threat. He circles me for a moment, but then his gaze shifts over my shoulder, focusing on something behind me. They widen in fear, and I whip around, ready to respond to the unknown threat, only to be tackled from behind. I'm pinned to the ground by my father, who is chuckling above me.
I groan and drop my head forward, feeling foolish for falling for such a trick. It’s the oldest one in the book, after all. I let my senses be lulled into a false sense of security, so when I thought I was about to be attacked from behind, I responded without thinking. Such a foolish mistake to make.
He climbs off me, leaving me to scramble to my feet. "Use all of your senses, Emerald. You're not just a wolf. You're a vampire as well. All of your senses should be more advanced than that of a normal vampire or wolf. If an attacker really was approaching you from behind, you would have heard, smelled, or at least felt them before they got close enough to do anything. But, you responded to my cues rather than listening to your own instincts." He sighs with disappointment.
Screw it. If he's already disappointed, what's the harm in going all in then? Nothing. I lash out, attacking with all I have, using my full strength and hoping I can make some kind of impression. I want to prove I can handle myself against anything. I'm not some little girl that has to be left behind out of fear that I'll get hurt. Okay, there’s a chance I’m still a little upset the guys left without me, even though I told them I understood.
We don't speak as we exchange blows. He blocks every punch, kick, and swipe of the legs, and I can only hope he'll tire soon. That's when I realize that while I may have beat him on the run, it was only because he let me win. There's no other explanation for the level of stamina he's showing me right now. How could he have been so tired then, yet be able to match me blow for blow now? Yep, he definitely let me win.
People start to trickle in, and begin preparing for their own training. While we’re aware of them, my father and I continue to fight back and forth, neither of us allowing ourselves to get distracted. The more intense our blows get, the more people stop what they’re doing to watch, eager to see a sparring match between their King and Princess. When it becomes obvious we're evenly matched and neither of us is gaining any ground, my father backs off and starts to circle me again, looking for weaknesses in my defense. "Brent didn't just limit you to normal classes, did he?"
I laugh, but there’s no joy in it. "Normal? You've got to be kidding me, right?" He doesn't respond, and he looks confused by my words, so I elaborate. "I was never normal in the pack. My trainer was Jeremy, and he was ruthless. The only reason I learned to defend myself properly was because Dad insisted I learn other techniques beyond what was covered in normal training. He was convinced only he could teach me properly, so we started training every day, morning and evening, until he was satisfied I was improving. But even with his extra training, I couldn't use those skills in normal classes. Jeremy would have beaten me within an inch of my life if I looked even remotely strong compared to the other pack members. He was so convinced I would never be Alpha of the pack and treated me in such a way that nobody else would respect me either.”
My father frowns and moves slightly. My eyes track his movements carefully, but he's just distancing himself before speaking.
"Don't take this harshly, Emerald, but your pack doesn't respect you in part because you didn't stand up to Jeremy. Yes, he would have made your life even more of a living hell, but you took the easy way out. The pack would have respected you a lot more if you had stood up to him each and every day. I get in hindsight it’s probably better that you didn't, because you may have revealed yourself by accident, but wolves respect strength above all else. Jeremy bullying you is just another show of strength, and it translates to the pack that if he can bully you, the future Alpha of the pack, then he can bully anyone and get away with it. Why would they offer to help you when in their eyes, you were too weak to lead them when you couldn’t stand up to him on your own? That's what being Alpha is. You have to be strong enough for anything and sometimes, you have to accept that you will be the only one capable of making things change for the better."
I shake my head, outraged. "You have no idea what I went through. He made my own brother hate me. I guess cousin is the more accurate term really, but either way, he made Brendan hate me just because he was bitter. He hardly had any power left in the pack, all because my dad took his enforcer position away."
He cocks his head to the side. "And have you not yet realized that Brent trained you the way he would an enforcer, if not better? If you had to face Jeremy right now, you should be more than capable of defending yourself based on what I’ve seen. That's what Brent was training you for. To prove your worth among the pack.
"The only ones who undergo that rigorous level of training are pack members that want to become an enforcer or Alpha. He was grooming you to lead, whether you knew it or not."
The surprise must show on my face because he chuckles, while the gathered vamps mutter among themselves. "Yes, your father knew exactly what you would be capable of and has trained you well. And to think, you haven't even reached your full potential yet," he muses.
I sense a sudden tension in the air just before the wind shifts behind me, alerting me to an incoming threat. I dodge the attack from a vampire, and my father uses my distraction as an opportunity to lunge towards me, hoping to catch me off my guard.
I twist, reaching out to grab his arm before throwing him across the area we were training in. He lands in a heap next to a few vampires, but quickly gets back to his feet. His eyes are the amber of his wolf, which shows me how short his control is right now.
He runs at me, throwing punch after punch, and I block each blow. My beast responds to the wolf shining in his eyes, and I work my way closer, sneaking past his defenses and landing a punch straight to his jaw.
He's thrown back a few feet, and I see his eyes roll shut. After a moment passes with no movement, a few vamps gather around him, shaking him gently to see if he is okay.
I watch fascinated by the care they show, but refuse to go to his aid. The witch may have fooled me with the whole 'oh, you've knocked me unconscious trick,' but I won’t fall for it again.
I guess it also helps that I can feel his elevated heartbeat through my shoes, reverberating in the ground. I don't know how I’m sure, but I just know it’s his, and I also know he's fully aware of everything around him.
I stand where
I am, with my arms folded across my chest for a few more moments before I hear the sound of laughter coming from him. He sits up, cracking his neck with a groan and grins over at me. "I take it you've fallen for that one before."
I smirk back at him. "Yep. Besides even if you were unconscious, I knew you'd heal, eventually."
He chuckles and climbs to his feet, stretching out his body. I must have caused a little more pain than I thought.
My father addresses the vamps who are gathered around us. "Show’s over, guys. Get back to your own training."
They disperse without needing to be told twice, giving me looks of appreciation as they move off to different areas, leaving us alone again. I try my best not to blush under their appraisal, but I can't help it. They look like they are actually impressed with me rather than hating on me, which I guess is better than at my pack. I hope I can prove myself worthy to them all.
My father makes his way over to me, wearing a massive grin. "You did amazing, Emerald. With a bit more time and practice, I reckon you could easily best Talon."
I can't help the dreamy smile that crosses my face. Now that will be the day. Talon is all kinds of powerful. Being able to beat him would mean I've learned something pretty epic. Or I cheated. Not going to lie, I have considered it. I think Nik and Dev would both help me out if it meant taking him down a peg or two.
He places an arm around my shoulder in a way that feels comfortable, like we've actually bonded. "I know your dad would be proud of you. Just as I am.”
Twelve – Felicia’s Return
Emerald
After sitting with my father for a bit, he dismisses me from the underground forest.
"Sorry, Emerald. As much as I’d love for you to stay, I have to train these recruits. Besides, Talon and the others should be back by now."
I smile reassuringly. "Oh, that's okay. I was planning to head back anyway. I need another shower. I'm sure I'm stinking up the place after that workout."