Lucinda POV
Well rested, fed and dressed in her retrieval gear, her bow slung on her back, Lucinda grabbed the two smaller cases off her kitchen table and headed into the packhouse. She wouldn’t normally train the twins fully kitted-out, but today was a special day, and she already had permission from Alpha Corey to do so. As long as he got to see the pictures.
Today she had a surprise for the twins. Today they would get their very first real compound bow, one each, of course. To keep with them always; to practice with at will. When she was not there to train them, she couldn’t wait to show them their gifts. They had been asking now for six months, and Gabby and James had finally agreed to it, and let Lucinda know without telling the girls. Lucinda had been very happy and had gone off to have Manny create the Bow’s tailored to the girls sizes.
She used her boot to knock on the Gamma suite door. It was opened by Lauren, who squealed at the sight of Lucinda in her outfit and then her eyes moved to the two cases, and she was yelling for her sister Simone, screaming about Bows.
Simone came from a room opposite the living room, and the two of them started jumping up and down screaming with excitement. They had both turned eight while she had been away and these were actually their birthday gifts.
Gabby waved her in, and motioned to the fact she was kitted out fully. “Why the kit-out?”
“Got permission from the Alpha for the twins' birthday. Plus got someone to annoy.” she’d smirked thinking about that big bastard who’d called her a ‘mutt.’ She had won their knife throwing duel on their last encounter, and she wanted him to be reminded of his loss. He was an Alpha and she had bested him. It amused her and Ky’ra to no end. Seeing that he was here for the mating ball, they had decided to remind him of his loss.
“Ah, you must be talking about Alpha Nicholas.” Gabby nodded, “He thought I was you last night.”
Lucinda saw Gabby visually shudder “scared the Goddess out of me... I’d leave that one alone if I were you.”
“What did he do to you?” Lucinda frowned. She didn’t like the sound of the encounter, and she was not about to stand around and let an Alpha be cruel to her friend.
“Nothing really. Stepped right up to me and demanded I apologize to him.”
“He expects me to apologize for what exactly?” Lucinda frowned. She had nothing to apologize for. The man was lucky he was still breathing. He should be thanking her for not putting that arrow through his heart, or eye, for that matter. She had just been doing her job. There was nothing to apologize for.
Ky’ra snorted ‘He’s pissed off you beat him.’
Lucinda agreed, ‘Well, that big bastard can’t win everything. There is always someone out there better.’
She handed the cases over to the girls now that they had finally calmed down, and were waiting patiently for their gifts, all calm-like. She watched them open the cases and start screaming all over again. Inside the cases were not just their bows, but little black matching outfits. That were very similar to hers.
“Well, go put them on.” she encouraged them. “So we can go train.”
They were off like a shot to their room.
“Did you really have to?” Gabby laughed at her.
“I did... I really did.” Lucinda laughed back at her. “Come on it'll be so cute, all three of us running around in black, sporting bows.” she grinned right at her friend “Good family picture opportunity hey.”
“I’ll get my phone.”
“Use mine.” Lucinda smiled, she wanted the pics on her phone. Gabby took her phone and once the girls were all dressed, they stood with their bows and posed in lots of different ways. While Gabby took lots of photos, she sent a few to her own phone and to James’s as well. Lucinda insisted on one to the Alpha, explained she’d promised him, seeing as he was allowing her to train them, all kitted-out today.
Lucinda headed off with the girls to the training ground. They were so darn cute in their little matching outfits carrying their bow cases. She sighed, she loved them so much, she was glad Gabby and James had accepted them. The two little girls before her were so happy. Lucinda didn’t know if she could have raised them to be so happy. Yes, she loved them to bits, but sometimes looking at them brought back that dreadful day, and made her so very sad.
She walked, they ran once outside. And as she walked past the Hummer she’d seen that big bastard; she now knew his name. Alpha Nicholas, standing next to watching her this morning, Ky’ra surged forward and clawed down the driver's side door in several places, puncturing around the door handle, and then continued to walk past, dragging her claws all the way down the rest of his car.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Call me a Mutt.’ she’d snarled ‘I’ll act like one.’ then she had chortled.
‘Oh, you're going to get us into so much trouble.’ Lucinda shook her head and looked around, thankfully no one was watching them to identify it was her. And she chuckled as well. ‘I think he deserves it to, sized up Gabby and scared her.’
Her wolf was unpredictable at times, a law unto herself, calling Ky’ra a mutt was not nice. Then the way his wolf had stood up to tower over her, a show of dominance this morning. Then finding out he had frightened Gabby, it was not particularly surprising to Lucinda that Ky’ra had found an amusing way for them to pay him back, for all the insults.
Ky’ra had bared her teeth and snarled at his wolf this morning, showing him she didn’t care for his display of power. He was not her Alpha. They were not required to bow down to him or his wolf, and now she was really showing him how much she to, could be disrespectful to another wolf.
‘Disrespect.’ Ky'ra stated.
‘Deserves disrespect.’ Lucinda agreed.
Halfway through training she could feel eyes upon her, and turned her attention in the direction she felt it come from. She saw that big bastard watching her from the corner of the packhouse, his Beta next to him; Alpha Nicholas, Gabby had said. ‘Go ahead and watch’, she thought.
Turned away from him and continued to train and instruct the twins; who were now dressed as she was. They had been training with her for two years now, and knew what to do. How to follow her lead, and they paid attention, were eager to learn and be just like her.
New bows took some getting used to. She was here today helping them to get used to their new weapon. Fine tune them, and have them learn to use them correctly, make those tiny adjustments so they were better fitted for the girls.
Ky’ra’s hearing picked up the word mutt again, and a snarl erupted from her, her whole body stilled.
Lucinda tapped both girls on the shoulder, she retrieved her own bow from her back, then stepped in front of them, so they could watch her, and follow. Notching an arrow, the girls mimicked her actions exactly. Then she turned and looked directly at him, brought her bow around and aimed her arrow right at him. “Call me a mutt again. I dare you.” she and Ky’ra snarled right at him. Both girls were also aimed at him. She knew his enhanced Alpha hearing would have caught her words.
She watched as his Beta put a hand on his Alpha’s shoulder, who was taking a step forward. He’d realized her intent, it was not a challenge she was offering, it was a direct threat, that if he called her a mutt once more, she would put an arrow in him, regardless of who he was.
Lucinda knew she couldn’t actually shoot him. It would likely start a war, but she could put one into the wall right next to his head. His Beta seemed to have more common sense, held him back. Lucinda turned her own bow away from him, and back to the target down the other end of the training ground, all the while still staring right at him.
She never looked away from him, then let her arrow loose. She knew her aim would be true, this was a skill she had mastered years ago even without her wolf. Mastered, yes, but still trained to do. Every day she was able to train.
Both the girls let fly down the training ground as well, their moves still mimicked hers as she expected them too. She watched as his eyes moved to sight her shot. She registered him, realizing she had not missed her mark, appeared a bit more than surprised.
Then she simply turned away from him, and walked away with the twins in tow, to collect their arrows. He left not long after that.
Lucinda continued to train with the twins, the last thirty minutes being with knives, and throwing practice. The girls were still learning this one and only got to use wooden training blades.
They were still getting used to the feel of them, and they were still having difficulty with not getting the bladed end into their desired targets. But it was new to them. James didn’t want them learning to play with knives at all. But Lucinda wanted her baby sisters to be able to defend themselves, whether from a distance or up close and personal. Up close and personal was the likeliest problem, so she had pushed hard on the subject, and he had finally relented just three months ago.
She sent them home for dinner and headed home herself, for food and a quick nap before border patrol. Tonight rogues would be in higher numbers, and she wanted to be well rested. She was intending on heading out earlier as the moon was rising at 2100. So she needed to be on the border and already alert by then. So a quick two-hour nap was due before her upcoming 10 hours of patrolling ahead of her.
She left the house in wolfen form at 2000. Making sure to be well gone, before the Goddess started playing matchmaker with the wolves. She could already hear the music being played, the mating ball was now underway, up in the ballroom on the eastern side of the packhouse. Any un-mated wolves from the pack were allowed to attend, all border patrols would be mated wolves with the exception of herself.
She would not be attending the ball, never did, and Luna Lindy had held one every 3 months, for the last eight years. So far so good, the Goddess had seen fit to leave her alone.
Her mating to Matthew on her 18th birthday, was because her birthday had fallen on the full moon itself. It had been one of those rare days when you could see the moon in the afternoon sky already. Cheeky Goddess she was, always managed to sneak in a few ways to mate off her wolves unexpectedly.
Though wolves found their mates only on full moon nights, hence mating balls under the full moon. There were a few lucky ones that connected outside of full moons, though Lucinda figured their beasts must be pretty special to do that.
Alpha Corey mind-linked her just after she started patrolling ‘Lucinda, you don’t happen to know anything about a visiting Alpha’s car being damaged, do you?’
‘I know nothing.’ she replied, but there was a smile in her voice, she was unable to hide it. She was nearly laughing and desperately trying not to. And technically it wasn’t her.
‘Ky’ra wouldn’t happen to know, would she?” he was not stupid. And her amusement would be heard down the link.
‘Ky’ra does as she pleases Alpha, I can’t control her sometimes.’ she was laughing now. She couldn’t help it even Ky’ra was fully amused.
‘For the love of the Goddess Lucinda...get to my office now.’
‘On patrol Alpha. Extra rogues will be coming in. Can it wait? It's not like he’s going anywhere right this minute, now is it!” she was still laughing and couldn't help it. She knew Ky’ra had stuffed up the door handle, and he wasn’t going to be able to get the door open any time soon.
‘ Fine...but you and Ky’ra get your butts in my office directly after patrol. DO I make myself clear.’
‘Yes Alpha, perfectly clear.’ she laughed. Oh, they were in so much trouble.
‘I mean it.’ he snapped at her angrily, at all her amusement, and severed the link.
‘Ah, Ky’ra, look you got us into trouble again.’
‘Worth it.’ she snorted and the pair of them giggled.
‘Shame we didn’t get to watch his reaction. I bet it was priceless.’
‘We got a tail, it seems.’ all amusement was gone from them now.
‘What?’ Lucinda frowned, Ky’ra was in full control, being that they were in wolf form.
‘Beta blood...that big bastards Beta.’
‘Do you think they know it was us? If he wants a fight, I will leave it up to you.’
There were many rogues to deal with that night and, to her surprise and Ky’ra’s, that big bastards Beta stepped in and fought alongside Ky’ra. He was a good fighter too, though he seemed a little too in your face, always trying to get between her and the rogues when he wasn’t fighting one himself.
Ky’ra had growled at him on more than one occasion to warn him to back off. Being a Beta, he’d ignored her until she’d gotten so pissed off she’d actually bitten him, sank her teeth right into his rib cage.
His wolf had snarled at hers. They couldn’t communicate due to not being from the same pack. But he seemed to get the message or appeared to and backed off somewhat, giving her room to do her job for the rest of the shift, thank the Goddess, or it was going to be a full on fight between his wolf and Ky'ra.
He’d not trailed her home, thankfully. Ky’ra was more than pissed off by his constant company. She had not been informed by her Alpha of his being out there to assist her, and she did not need it, as far as she was concerned.