by K A Faul
“Lots of things, but there were so many sticks up there already, it’s gotten crowded, so I think it’s extra painful.”
“He’s normally uptight, but he’s become a downright bitch lately.”
Mina shrugged. “He’s easy to ignore.” She threaded her fingers together and stretched her arms into the sky. “Not saying I won’t enjoy getting a few hits in during combat training.”
Linh snickered.
Mina leaned toward Linh. “But it was an awesome jump, right?”
“Couldn’t have done it better without wings,” Linh said with a grin.
Some movement caught Mina’s attention, and she turned. The fox she’d spotted before sat in front of a stump, staring at her.
“I think he’s hungry,” she said. She wasn’t sure why she even thought that.
“What?” Linh turned, and the fox scurried off.
“Oh, nothing,” Mina said. “It’s just like that fox knew me.”
She didn’t know what to make of it. It was far too small to be a shifter, and the only werefoxes she knew of in the entire state were the small handful in Seattle.
Linh patted her on the shoulder. “Let’s get some lunch before you go beat the stuffing out of Drill Sergeant Pretty Boy.”
Mina and Linh both laughed.
Chapter 2
Mina sighed as she stepped into the huge sand circle marking the training ground. Burning braziers surrounded the entire area, pushing back the recent nightfall and illuminating the sand in an eerie, flickering glow.
A light breeze sent a shiver through her, despite her leather jacket. It had been a chilly April.
A few dark spots in the sand caught her attention. Bloodstains.
Mina knew the place well enough. She’d been training here for most of the last year in a variety of two-legged and four-legged combat techniques.
Her face twitched, and tension spread through her neck. Something about the training ground had always bothered her. Just a bit too much Hunger Games in flavor for her taste. She preferred going to the sparring rooms at the community center.
The crunch of steps in sand reached Mina’s ears. She turned toward the source. Thomas’s shadowed form stood in the distance on the other side of the training ground.
“You’ve seen me fight,” Mina said. “You know I’m not a wimp.”
“My alpha told me that you didn’t receive much in the way of training before you shifted.” Thomas took a few steps forward.
“No different than anyone else here. How about you?”
“No, I guess I wasn’t that different.”
Mina nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like we want to have the Unturned risking their lives when we werewolves can handle it.”
Thomas stared at her for a second, something calculating in his eyes. “Unturned? Like your brother?”
“Yeah, like my brother.” She stepped farther into the circle. “What about him?”
“Well, he’s Unturned. Just, it can be hard, you know, having an older brother who never shifted.” Thomas shrugged.
“Not like that’s rare. Most families around here have Unturned, and I don’t give any crap that he’s Unturned. Was it so different where you came from?”
“No.” Thomas raised a hand. “Not saying that I do care, but you have an Unturned brother, and your other brother, who actually was a shifter, went missing.”
“Is there a point to this, Thomas?” Mina snapped. “That happened a long time before you got here. It’s old news in Golden Oaks. It’s old news in the clan, even.”
A thin smile appeared on Thomas’s face. “Just checking.”
“Checking what?” Mina narrowed her eyes, a sickening sensation spreading through her stomach. She didn’t like Thomas being a step ahead of her.
“That you still at least take your family seriously.”
Mina sucked in several deep breaths and slowly let them out. She didn’t want to give Thomas the satisfaction of knowing that he’d gotten into her head.
“Who cares about that?” Mina asked. “Tonight, I’m here to take some fighting seriously.”
Had it just been about getting her in an aggressive mood? She couldn’t be sure. She would take it out on him either way.
“Okay, nothing super serious,” Thomas said, cracking his knuckles. “Basic two-legged fighting. No weapons. Never know when you might get jumped and not have time to shift. A werewolf should be ready and able to fight in both forms in all conditions.”
Mina nodded slowly and pulled her jacket off. She tossed it out of the circle. She might be able to heal easily enough, but she didn’t want to stain or tear her jacket. She loved that jacket.
“Will it piss you off if I admit I’m going to enjoy punching you in the face?” she asked.
Thomas chuckled. “As long as you keep your focus, I don’t care if you enjoy it.” He raised a hand and gestured with his fingers for her to attack.
Mina raised her fists and dropped into a stance, slowly closing the distance between them and trying to circle Thomas. She’d watched him fight more than a few times, and as much as it pained her to admit it, even to herself, he was good, which made sense, given that when he wasn’t training her, he helped his alpha, Sheriff Storm, maintain order in Golden Oaks.
Thomas kept her in sight, also trying to find his opening. “I don’t get you, Mina.”
“Really? I don’t think I’m that complicated.” Her gaze flicked all over him, trying to find an opening.
“You’re the daughter of a great wolf. A wolf who saved this clan after the coup.”
“You don’t have to convince me my father rocks. I already believe it.”
A frown appeared on Thomas’s face. “The point is that your father knew trouble, had to kill because of it, and you act like more trouble will never come, that you can just be carefree. Just because you’ve been safe in Golden Oaks doesn’t mean you’ll always be safe.” His eyes narrowed. “Lots of things out there would love to kill a werewolf princess if they could get the chance.”
Mina darted forward, swinging a fist. Thomas blocked it and then swung at her. She leapt back, avoiding a blow to her face by an inch.
“Do I look like a vampire to you?” Mina asked. She enjoyed the confusion on the man’s face.
“What?”
“I said, do I look like a vampire to you?”
They exchanged a flurry of blows, but neither could land a solid hit.
“You look like a spoiled young woman,” Thomas said, his breathing turning ragged. “Why?”
“The point is, I’m going to die someday. You’re going to die, too. Maybe not tomorrow, but someday.”
Mina feinted to the side and then kicked at the off-balance Thomas. He caught her leg and threw her backward. She rolled on the ground and hopped back to her feet, grinning. A good sparring session always helped to wash out her built-up tension.
“So?” Thomas said. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means if you’re going to die anyway, sitting around being uptight and depressed about it doesn’t help.” She tried to throw Thomas off-guard again with a series of quick jabs, but he blocked them all. When she backed off, he repaid her by slamming a fist into her stomach.
Mina hissed and stumbled back. “Life’s more fun when you just enjoy it, Thomas,” she coughed out. She winked, despite the pain. It would fade soon enough. “And I intend to enjoy life to the end.”
The Rite Initiate rushed at her trainer. He raised his fists, but she ducked, sweeping with her leg. He grunted and fell. She leapt off the ground, trying to kick him while he was down, but he jerked his arm up, blocking her boot. He returned to his feet in seconds, shaking out the arm she’d struck.
“Nice move,” Thomas said. “Good.”
“Good?” Mina snorted. “I think that’s the first time in a while you’ve actually suggested I’m not a total screw-up.”
“Maybe not a total screw-up. The important thing is, you’re a werewolf. You’ll
heal, and you shouldn’t be afraid of the pain, and I don’t think you are. I can work with that.”
“Not a fan of pain, to be honest,” Mina said. “But I’ve seen some good healing in my time. So, yeah, I can deal.”
“I’ll give you that. But I don’t like the rest of your attitude. Peace is fleeting for our people, and I don’t think you understand that. You think this is all a big joke.”
“No, I think your lectures are all a big joke.”
They both charged each other. Mina again tried a sweep, but this time, Thomas was ready. He grabbed her leg and yanked. Her head smacked against the packed sand, leaving her seeing stars. She could only imagine what it would have been like if he’d taken her down over some concrete.
Mina grabbed the man’s foot before he connected with her stomach, and she pushed him backward. She hopped back to her feet in the time Thomas was still stumbling. Her stomach and head throbbed, but she wouldn’t be giving up anytime soon. Not to him.
“Shift,” Thomas yelled.
“Huh?”
“Shift. You have a lot of experience on two legs, but what about four legs?”
“Plenty, but wouldn’t that be less useful given the point of this exercise?”
Thomas shrugged. “Not like clans never fight and werewolf struggles never happen.”
Mina let out a sigh and rolled her eyes. She pulled off her shirt and tossed it behind her. Her sports bra flew to join it next. She could shift without taking her clothes off, but she didn’t want to risk tears or getting caught.
Thomas watched, but there wasn’t any hint of lust in his eyes. She didn’t expect any. Anyone who grew up around shifters got used to the naked body. There was a time and place for lust, and it wasn’t in a bloodstained sand pit during combat training. After a second, her trainer started pulling off his own clothes.
With a deep breath, Mina called to her wolf. The pain shot through her body, every bone, every muscle, down to every cell. She managed not to whimper even as her body tore itself apart from the inside. Bones twisted. Fur erupted until a black-coated wolf with a red stripe on her head replaced the young woman.
She hadn’t timed herself in a while, but the last time she found she could shift in under thirty-five seconds. Unpleasant as it was, it was a vast improvement over the minute it had taken her during her first shift.
The white-coated Thomas waited as Mina finished shifting.
She inhaled deeply. All that pain, all that discomfort. She couldn’t say it wasn’t worth it. The world came alive with the shift. She could hear the faint flutters of birds in the trees, make out the sweet smell of distant flowers on the wind, and her eyes cut through the darkness outside the training ground.
Ready? Thomas thought to her.
Mina never could understand why werewolves could send thoughts to each other in wolf form but not when in human form. She’d heard a lot of theories, but they all just amounted to the same thing: because Rogan wished it that way when he’d turned their wolf ancestors into shifters.
After that shifting pain, you’ll have to seriously up your game to impress me, Thomas.
Mina’s heart raced, and she let out a low growl. On four legs, the bloodlust of the challenge flowed into her, spurring her to take on the other wolf confronting her.
Thomas leapt at her. Mina charged right at him, managing to run under him. He landed and rounded on her immediately, baring his fangs. She bared her own.
You’re still just an Initiate, but you think you have all the answers, Thomas sent to Mina.
Well, not all the answers. Just the most important ones.
Mina bounded toward him, sweeping with a claw. Another fine advantage of being a werewolf instead of just a normal wolf: actual sharp claws you could use in battle.
Thomas didn’t even try to dodge her blow. Her claws caught and tore, satisfaction shooting through her.
With a growl, her opponent jumped forward, his jaw open.
They fell in a tangle of limbs, but his wounds didn’t matter now that Thomas had his jaw around her throat. He rested his sharp fangs against her neck.
Do you yield, Mina?
If I say no, are you going to rip my throat out?
Don’t tempt me.
Her inner beast battled between the burning will to fight still in her and survival.
You win. After a moment, Mina added, bitch.
Thomas growled and then released her. She fell to the ground with a yelp. He backed up slowly, his tail wagging.
Mina growled, still wanting to taste a little blood. The bastard thought too highly of himself.
You got lucky, she sent.
Just like you got lucky with your little tree stunt?
Mina let out a single bark, the closest she could manage to a laugh in wolf form. Are we done?
Yes.
About a half minute later, Mina lay naked and bruised on the sand. The wounds to her body would probably be gone by the time she hit her bed tonight, but the wounds to her ego would linger for a while longer.
Now back on two legs, the bloodlust drained out of her. She didn’t look at Thomas as she put her clothes back on. She didn’t want to see the smugness on his face.
“You’re a spoiled princess,” Thomas said.
“Oh? Am I now? Can I be Princess of Flavor Town?”
Thomas snorted. “You can’t be serious for five seconds?”
“Five seconds yes. Five point one, not so much.” Mina offered him a grin.
The spreading frown on the man’s face only fueled her desire for more snark. She wondered if Thomas would ever catch on to that.
“I’m not going to say you didn’t show some good moves just now, but you don’t get that bad things can happen, and so you don’t care. Not really.”
Mina finished slipping into her T-shirt, then grabbed her jacket. “Is there a point to your latest lecture? Some actual practical point?”
“Just because your father is king doesn’t mean your Rite of Passage will be any different. You have to go through it like any other wolf, and you need to be ready for anything.”
“Like what?”
“Wolves fail Rites.”
“Not all that often.” Mina zipped up her jacket. “And I don’t plan on failing.”
Thomas shook his head. “Wishing doesn’t make it so.”
“Neither do your lectures, or Garett accusing me of cheating with Linh’s help.”
“She’s not clan. She’s not even a wolf. Maybe it’s good that you remember that.”
Mina marched right up to Thomas and locked eyes with him. “I grew up around Linh. You only came to Golden Oaks six months ago.”
His expression didn’t change. “I’m still a wolf, not a raven.”
“And like you told me, wolves sometimes kill wolves.” Mina offered him a faint grin. “I’m loyal to my family and my clan, but I’m also loyal to my friends, and you can go screw yourself if you think I’m pushing my friend away because she was born a raven instead of a wolf.”
Thomas waved a hand dismissively and walked away. “That friendship with that bird is going to hurt you soon.”
“Maybe, but you should stop worrying about me and get your operation soon,” Mina yelled after him.
“What operation?” he called back.
“The surgical removal of those sticks up your ass.”
Thomas grunted and didn’t say anything else. Mina would take that as a win. That didn’t stop her from flipping him off when his back was turned.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Mina nibbled on a sausage link when her father, the king of the Golden Claw Clan strolled into the kitchen.
She didn’t normally reflect on her last name or clan name, but for some reason that morning, it struck her as weird.
People believed that werewolves could be harmed by silver because of rumors spread after a single hunting incident a few centuries prior.
Their true weakness was gold, with even a thin layer over a harder met
al being effective, and the werewolves had no problem spreading the silver rumor around.
The clan name was their way of projecting strength to other werewolves.
The thoughts drifted away, consumed by amusement.
Every once in while, like that morning, Mina couldn’t help but be amused that the king of a werewolf clan lived in a five-bedroom ranch house. It wasn’t that she wanted to live in a palace, but she suspected her kind were one of the few of the supernatural races to be so down to earth.
“Good morning, Dad,” she said, her mouth still full of sausage.
Nothing like starting the morning with a little delicious protein. Mina didn’t know how vegetarians did it. Then again, she’d never heard of a vegetarian werewolf.
“Good morning.” Her dad scratched at his chin through his dark beard for a moment, a faint frown coming to his face.
Mina looked up from her sausage. He obviously had something on his mind, but she wasn’t going to be the one to ask, as there was a good chance she’d screwed something up by being less than politically minded in her dealings with her trainer.
The older her father became, the harder it was at times to relate to him. Even though he only looked to be in his late forties due to his werewolf nature, he was going on seventy-five. She was the youngest of his children at eighteen. Talk about a generation gap. World War II had still been going on when he was born.
“Anything you want to tell me about?” her dad asked. “Or should I say, is there anything I need to know about?”
Yep. I screwed up. I could be brave, or I could play stupid. Hrmm.
“Not particularly.”
“Not particularly?” Her dad stared at her, a question in his eyes.
Sometimes the best way to escape is to run straight past the danger.
Mina sighed after a few seconds. “I need someone else.”
“Someone else? What are you talking about?”
“Someone else to help with my training. Thomas is annoying. So I need someone else.”
Her dad laughed and shook his head. “He needs to train you, not be your friend. I didn’t like my trainer either, nor my pack alpha for the Rite.”