As Yet Untitled
Chapter 38

I was so nervous for today that I woke up before the sunrise. I watched the sky changing through all its colours as I got myself ready for the day ahead. Unfortunately, the sight did nothing to relax me. This would be the real test of the pack’s acceptance. Knowing and seeing are very different things and I sensed that some of the pack were wary of me yesterday. Today they might not be able to hide their fear, they may decide to reject me after seeing my wolf.

I didn’t bother putting in any contacts when I got dressed, since I can’t shift with them in. As off-putting as it might be, the pack will also need to get used to my human eyes since I would likely be shifting between forms a lot in battle. However, I decided that I will continue to wear contacts the rest of the time, since Jack suggested I need to be more approachable and I know that the red of my eyes has the opposite effect.

Hoping to avoid as many people as I could until training started, I headed to the kitchen once the sun had finished rising. I cooked myself a fairly light breakfast; a few sausages, eggs, toast and a few pieces of fruit. Some pack members came into the kitchen as I ate. I tried to keep my head down and made small talk as they began to cook up breakfast for the rest of the pack. I’m not sure if it was my fear and nerves or just force of habit but I made sure none of them saw the red rings of my eyes. Keeping my head down, I headed off to the training area once I finished.

I sat in my thoughts for a while as I digested my meal. I have no idea how anyone is going to react today. Hopefully, most of my pack will accept me after they get over the shock of seeing my wolf, but what if they turn against me? I couldn’t fight off a whole pack if they decided I was a threat. Then there was also the question of our allies’ reactions. They would undoubtedly react badly, my pack have at least had a warning of what they will see today, but our allies don’t know what they’re stepping into. The only thing keeping me from freaking out completely was the knowledge that I could command the Shadowhide Alpha. If I could get a strong Alpha like him to submit to me, I should have no problem in forcing his top warriors into submission if need be. Hopefully, it also means the warriors from Silverstreak pack would submit to me if they reacted too badly. Though with how few warriors the Silverstreak pack were able to offer I likely would be capable of fighting them off on my own.

“How are you feeling?” Jack’s voice brought me out of my thoughts and I turned to face him as he sat beside me.

“Nervous,” I sighed. “But this has to be done. We need to know friend from foe on the battlefield everyone needs to get familiar with each other in wolf form.” I state firmly hoping I don’t sound as shaky as I feel.

“The pack will accept you and I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” He wrapped his arms around me, comfortingly and I relaxed slightly in his embrace.

“I was wondering, if you’re not busy today, will you help me with training?” I asked into his chest. I’m hoping that if our wolves stand next to each other mine won’t look so out of place.

“Sure but Ko won’t be very happy so you’ll have to make it up to him.” Jack laughed slightly, releasing me from our embrace, before opening his mind-link. Presumably, he was telling his mate that he would be busy today.

“You know you could get Ko to join us for training. He’s been slacking ever since you two mated.” I teased, laughing when my brother’s cheeks turned red.

“We just prefer private training.” Jack mumbled.

“Oh I bet you do.” I winked and Jack’s cheeks turned an even brighter shade. I laughed at him before the wind shifted and I caught the scent of wolves from a different pack.

Jack noticed it too and stiffened slightly before relaxing. “Silverstreak’s warriors have arrived.” He told me, clearly he was more familiar with their scents. “I’ll tell everyone to prepare for today’s training.” He said before zoning out to open his link to the pack.

Ten men I vaguely recognised approached the training grounds and I sighed. Of course, they were all going to be men. Does anyone train women to fight around here? My adoptive father always told me how she-wolves were far more vicious than males, that was why they made some of his best fighters. Unfortunately, it would be too late now to start training the she-wolves of other packs; they would never be ready in time for the battle. I guess I’ll just have to work with what I’m given.

Jack greeted the men as they approached and explained how we would be conducting training today. I turned my back to them not wanting them to see my eyes just yet. Members of our pack began to filter out onto the training grounds, they made themselves comfortable relaxing on the grass awaiting instructions. After a few minutes both Jack and James approached me.

“So what’s happening I thought we were training?” James asked quietly.

“We are still waiting for the Shadowhide warriors. Assuming they intend to uphold the agreement we made, which is looking less likely by the minute.” I responded.

“They’ll uphold it. You didn’t see the look on Alpha Beardsley’s face after you dropped him. There’s no way he would stand against us. Let’s give them a few more minutes before we start.” Jack’s voice was sure and steady. I nodded in response. The longer we waited the more nervous I got.

Suddenly a large group of wolves broke through the tree line in front of me. I tensed again not sure why we hadn’t been alerted of any intruders. Everyone behind me was up on their feet in seconds taking up defensive positions. The wind wasn’t right for any of us to catch their scents.

A/N- I have officially completed my bachelor's degree now!! I had my last exam on Saturday (I know, how awful is the idea of a Saturday exam?!). I'll try to get back to writing a new chapter every day but I might need to do every other day instead, since I now have to be an adult and go find myself a job!

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for the cliff-hanger at the end! Leave a comment to let me know what you think, I love reading them! x

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