The Warrior's Equal

"Little Eva! Where are you? Come out come out wherever you are '' my mother's beautiful voice ran clear through the forest. I giggled slightly, partially hidden behind a tree, occasionally sticking my head out to see if my mother was close. "Gotcha!" I heard her sing. As she grabbed and flung me into the air and tickled me causing a loud laugh to erupt. "Now we have to find your father, can you help me find him Eva?" My mother asked. I nodded my head in excitement as I followed behind my mother. She stalked between the trees crouching slightly and she ushered me forward. "You see this Eva?" She asked, pointing towards a plant on the ground. "Ya" I replied furiously, nodding my head. "Doesn't this look squished to you?" She asked again. I looked closer and noticed the plant seemed to be broken. I nodded again, not sure what this sad plant had to do with finding my daddy. "It means he was here. Can you find any other squished plants?" My mother asked. "Of course mama!" I replied before furiously searching around for more. "Here mom!!" I yelled excitedly as I found more crushed plants. "Good job Eva!" My mother exclaimed. The excitement carried through our bodies unaware of my father creeping up slowly behind us. "Gotcha!" My father yelled as he threw me into the air catching me deftly. I couldn't contain my loud laughs. A happy family. That is what I remember of my parents. I don't know how it happened but shortly after I was left alone. I was only five years old when I became an orphan. I wasn't a part of a pack at the time, so a nearby pack took me into their orphanage. I have been here ever since. I will be turning 16 in a month. Since I was an orphan, with no family I was tasked to help out in the kitchens some mornings. This was to "pay my way" through mandatory schooling. In school, I am taught history, English math, and self-defense. I didn't have many friends, so I was always alone To help take up time I volunteer at a clinic because it reminded me of my mom. And on the weekends I worked at a pool because it reminds me of my father. When I am working at those places I feel less alone. I am working in the kitchens this morning, which means waking up early and heading to the packhouse. I am usually the first to arrive because others have complained about it being too early leaving a lot of work to me. I have to prep for breakfast chopping vegetables and clean leftover dishes. It isn't hard work, but it is monotonous. Today was going to be a hectic day since the beta's son just turned 18 last night. Which means he would be able to find his mate and most likely introduce her to the pack. I was happy that I would be able to be a part of something so loving. Ever since I lost my parents and came here, I have been lonely. Which is another reason I keep so busy. Can't be left alone with your thoughts if you have no time. “OH, Silvia! That’s where you were!” I turn, surprised by the noise, pulling me from my thoughts. It was getting lighter, which meant it was probably around Eight o’clock now. I had been zoning out while cooking for three hours. I hadn’t even noticed the omega’s join me. Silvia was one of the omega’s that helped. She was beautiful. With golden-brown hair, only slightly curly, just enough to look like a princess. She was tan and had a lovely hourglass figure. She had many suitors who came into the kitchen wanting to spend time with her and “help” any way they could. It usually just ended up as a mess that I had to clean up. “Where else would I be?” Silvia raised her eyebrows, making a face at the man who asked such a stupid question. Since she was here every morning. “Well, I don’t know... I just didn’t think you had to do this anymore after ya know, finding out you are the beta’s mate…” He started to frown. He looked like an injured puppy. I wasn’t sure if it was because she made fun of him or because she had found her mate, and it wasn’t him. “come on, Tristan, just because I am mated to the beta doesn’t mean I can just quit my job!” she gave a little giggle while tapping him on the shoulder playfully. His eyes met hers, with a bashful smile coming to his lips. “and either way,” Silvia continued, “we aren’t fully mated yet, so I need to wait for that” she looked down to the ground while brushing the hair out of her face. She was embarrassed to mention mating with another male. Tristan took a couple of steps towards her. Moving his hand up to her face, just before his hand touched Silvia, a booming voice from the dining room rang out. “Hello everybody! As you may know, I have found my mate!” Daryn, The soon-to-be beta. Pointed towards the surprised Silvia. She was standing right near the window, where we serve the food in perfect view of everyone. She started to blush furiously before Daryn waved her over to stand next to him. She quickly walked out towards his outstretched hand. They looked amazing together. With her long golden brown locks and chestnut complexion, Silvia contrasted nicely with Daryn’s short dark hair and ivory complexion. It was nice to know that he was proud of her. Although she was an omega. Typically, if beta’s or alpha’s get a mate below their station, they reject them, which is not the case for Silvia, most likely due to her striking features. “I am proud to introduce the pack to my mate! Silvia! And as beta, I officially declare from henceforth, she will start learning her beta duties.” He smiled down at the surprised Silvia. Not only did he inform the pack that she was his mate, but he also informed them that she wouldn’t be partaking in the duties of an omega anymore. The crowd of people in the dining area started cheering for the new couple, causing me to turn away to lessen the noise. While I turned, I caught a glimpse of Tristan. He was staring at Silvia, a smile was formed on his mouth, but it didn’t reach anywhere else. I could see he loved Silvia. Probably thought she was his mate for a long time as well. “Tristan,” I stammered before I could understand why. He turned to me, with tears brimming his eyes. “You don’t have to watch,” I remarked, using the sweetest voice I could muster. I didn’t like seeing Tristan sad. He wasn’t exactly a nice person to me, but he didn’t have to watch the love of his life with another man either. He sneered at me but ended up taking my advice and walking away. The announcement had briefly stopped people from working in the kitchens causing us to be behind a little. I didn’t mind, but with the increase of people coming up for seconds and thirds now, it got a little too close for comfort. Breakfast went by quickly after the huge announcement was made. The omega’s left shortly after helping me to clean up. It was strange to feel like you've already had a full day, before even ten o'clock, but that's what life was like for me. After I double-checked the kitchens, I walked towards the packs’ orphanage. I had to get my bags for class. I would be late, but they couldn't say much because I was doing my official duty for the pack. Most people don't start helping the pack till they are 16, but I was an exception. Because I didn't have parents to participate in helping, I had to do it for myself. I was a sophomore in high school this year. It was already the middle of the school year, so everything was just routine. Go to school, listen to the lectures, do the homework, then after-school activities. Mine was my job and helping at the clinic. Because this was a werewolf school, there were no humans, meaning it was a pretty safe place to use too much strength or talk openly about mates and things. It was nice to not have to hide my identity. The worst thing about high school was the hour worth of gym class every day. Which is the first subject after my exhausting morning. It wouldn't seem like much, but they work you out like none other: no sports, just combat training and a lot of cardio. I wasn't the most muscular wolf out there and was more near the bottom rung, but it didn't faze me that much. All it did was give me some friendly people to talk to. I didn't enjoy gym class, for the exercise but for the two girls I had half-friended. We only speak during gym, but it is fun anyway. "I heard the beta found his mate!" giggled my half- friend Ezra. She was an omega, with beautiful blonde hair and sharp green eyes. "Hey, Eva, what do you think about the pairing? Pretty cute, right?" Tara asked me, smiling. Tara was a gamma, with amber hair and yellow-brown skin. "Ya, Silvia deserves a guy who will treat her well," I said back. With a tone of indifference. I didn't care that much for Silvia nor Daryn. They were just strangers to me. "You know, you should eventually start caring about pack matters. I mean, they are going to lead us in the future!" Ezra stated. I nodded back in agreement. I should probably care more, but I never really thought of this pack as home—just a rest stop. So I really couldn't care less. " It's fine Ezra, it's not like we will ever actually talk to them. We are a small town but still so far apart, ya know?" Tara said, smiling wistfully. She was a brilliant person, and I appreciated her being an equalizer. "You're right Tara, I just worry for her, you know? What if she runs into them and doesn't know who they are? Wouldn't that be bad?" Ezra stated back. " I do know what the alphas and betas family look like. I just don't care to learn more. I will be respectful. It's okay, Ez, no need to worry," I stated back, forcing a smile on my face to reassure her that I would be okay. "Alright. I guess." Ezra said, unsure if what I had just said was truthful or not. “You will be going to the ceremony though, right?” Tara asked. “I don’t know. I don’t really enjoy the noise of it all. I think I also might work. It’s Friday, right?” I Inquired. “You are always working,” Ezra whined. “Ya, it’s on Friday. You should def come, though. We only talk during gym, and it’d be fun to chill outside of school,” Tara explained; she had a light smile on her face as she looked over at me. I smiled back, blushing a bit. I didn’t think they would want to hang out with me. It would be fun to try, at least. “Okay, I might be late, but I will be there.” I beamed; the excitement of being asked to hang out was too much to contain within myself. Brrorolmgmmfmf, the alarm rang, signaling the end of our 30 minutes of running. The next half hour was fighting practice. We had on off days on whether we used weapons or not. Although we all took gym through high school and learned combat, most of what was taught are self-defense. If you were chosen to be a warrior, you would really know more about fighting. Ezra and Tara were paired up, which left me alone again. Not that I minded too much, it usually just meant that the gym teacher would let me skip the sparring and just practice the moves. Once I double-checked that everyone had paired off, I went to my usual place a bit farther from the others to begin my own training. Until Mr. Velo, our gym teacher called me. "Evanne. Don't have a partner again?" He smirked with a devious glint in his eyes. "Same as every day, sir," I replied casually, continuing my practice. "Well, I think I have a solution to your problem there, Evanne." He smiled wide as he said those words. I didn't know what he had planned, but I did not like it one bit. Just as I was about to reply, a boy about my age stepped into view. He was tall and lean. He had nice golden brown hair and a roguish smile to complete the look of a deviant. I couldn't say anything as they both walked right up to me. Mr. Velo began speaking, "Well, we have an extra student today who graciously offered to help you train! Now, why don't you introduce yourselves then continue the practice." He smiled as he walked away, but not before quipping to the boy "Make sure to train her well. I am sure you know what you are doing." I stared at him, unsure of what to do. My thoughts were flustered with the sudden unexpected variable thrown my way. "I'm Cal." He said. Reaching his hand towards mine. "Evanne," I said back. I decided not to shake his hand as I felt sweaty from the run. Noticing that I wasn't going to take his hand, he slowly put it down, looking a bit irritated. "You know, we are going to have to touch anyway to spar? Or are you going to continue just shadowing?" He was eyeing me, waiting to see how I reacted. "I know. I just didn't want you to touch my sweaty hands." I said bashfully as I feel my cheeks redden, realizing too late how stupid that sounded. "Ha, how considerate." He said, a smile rising to his face after realizing that I wasn’t purposefully rude. "Now, are you ready? We will start with drill one,” He stated. I nodded in reply, then got into position. We circled around each other, slowly evaluating each other’s distance and stance. He would often reach his hand out, liking like he was trying to grab the air in front of my face. I began the first drill by lifting my leg aiming for him; he blocked with ease. Then he did the same. After a bit of that, we went into the next drill, a two-for-two. Which required doing two kicks and punches in different places. Because it was sparring, we never went full force, just practicing the moves. He was better than me, by a lot. But was considerate towards me, teaching me correct posture or better ways to punch or block. It was very thoughtful of him. I felt like I learned more from this one lesson than I had the entire six months of school. We finished up the drills just as the teacher began to yell to get into the showers. "You aren't too bad. For someone who's never actually sparred with someone else." He stated, walking with me towards the school showers. "Thanks, I really had a lot of fun." I smiled as I told him. "Will you be here tomorrow?" I asked. "No, I was only here today because I missed my training this morning." "Oh," I said, not being able to keep the disappointment that laced my voice. "Hey, don't worry, though. I'll talk to Teach and see if I can come back a couple times." I couldn't keep the smile from appearing. "Really? Thank you. That would be really nice." I was practically jumping with joy. I didn't necessarily care that he trained with me. But I did really enjoy actually putting what I've learned to use. Also, having him correct and teach me some tricks was a good perk. “Thank you for helping me train today,” I said. “No problem. See you later,” cal replied, giving me a smirk as we both entered our respective locker rooms. I quickly rinsed, put on deodorant, and headed to my next class.