12. Training to become one
2473 Words
Aleida POV
The wolf cubs are quiet and seem to be pleased with my closeness. I lay down on the lawn in my wolf form when we come back, and they immediately crawl near me. Their little tongues lick me, and I groom them back. It is a sad thought that they have been left to their fate in the forest.
We lie there close to each other until the vampires and Luis come up to me with inquiring faces. I shift, and Luis gives me a T-shirt to get dressed. The cubs don't look confused at all but rub their muzzles against me like before, and I lift them in my arms.
"Are those real wolf cubs?" Blake asks in surprise.
"Yes, it is. I found them when I ran in the forest; there was no wolf mother nearby. There's no way I'm leaving them there myself. Luis, bring out milk and baby bottles, these cuties are going to get a bath, " I say, looking smiling down at them.
"Yes, alpha," Luis answers and walks away.
The vampires look at me with confused faces while Blake smiles at my motherliness. He is one of the few who knows how hard it is for me to be away from my puppies, which makes him understand why it is essential for me to take care of these wolf cubs as if they were my own.
"This is important to you, right?" Blake asks with an uncertain smile, and I answer the question with nodding.
"Yes, I miss my own puppies every day, and it physically hurts me that I don't have them near me," I answer quietly with a voice that breaks at the end. "It pains me that I cannot protect them from myself. I won't have to protect them from me; I'm their mother! But fate obviously has other plans."
"You will learn how to control it, just as you did in the fight earlier. It went so well! You're in control more than you think, but your insecurity puts a spanner in the wheel for you," Blake replies with a sad smile.
"I know, and that's why I can't go home yet," I answer and walk into the packhouse.
I walk up the stairs with the wolf cubs and take them with me into my bathroom, which has a large bathtub. Carefully I put them down on the floor and begin to fill the tub with just enough warm water. The puppies sit next to me with their heads crooked and look curiously at what is happening.
"Soon it's finished and then you two thugs can get clean," I say smiling and scratching the puppies between the ears.
Like dogs, their tongues hanging out of the corner of the mouth of contentment. It is not particularly surprising that the puppies are calm in my presence. Wolves, like many other animals, recognize dominance and follow the one who is the strongest. I am the one who has the most power and makes the decisions here, so the puppies also follow my will.
They can probably even recognize my maternal instincts and thus also realize that I do not want to hurt them. Given how underweight and dirty they are, I think they've been on their own at least for a couple of weeks. They're not babies, but to avoid them getting hurt, milk is the best food right now.
Wolves eat meat when they are old enough for it, and these two are. But as I said, since they are also underweight, it is to take a risk if the first thing I do is stuff them full of meat. Slow wins the race; after all, we learned this in the fairy tale about the hare and the turtle.
When a wolf does not need milk anymore, the mother trains the cubs to hunt for themselves, and when they become sufficiently skilled at it, they manage themselves. It doesn't seem like mom-wolf has had time to teach her pups that, which means I will have to do it. How fun, I'm already looking forward to it!
I carefully pick up the kids and put them down in the half-full tub. They seem to like the water, at least, if I'm going to judge it based on how they splash down half the bathroom. Luis has set up special shampoo for dogs in the room, and that's yet another reason why he's a fantastic beta. He thinks in advance about what I need.
"What should I call you, huh?" I ask them softly while I rub the soap into their furs. "I don't even know if you're boys or girls."
'They're boys,' Elisa says in my mind.
I don't ask her how she knows that, because she's my wolf part, she also has more knowledge than me. One pup licks the other and makes a grimace of the taste that I take for granted is not good. I laugh at them and rinse them off the soap to avoid more contortions.
"How about Cayden and Hunter?" I ask while I pick up one of the puppies in a towel.
He licks me in the face, and I giggle at the feeling. Apparently, they like their names. When both puppies are wiped with both towels and hairdryer, I open the door for them, both of them running out of the room and down the stairs, with me after them.
"Come back here right away! You're gonna get dirty again!" I shout and run after them across the lawn.
Pack members and the vampires stop to watch the spectacle. Luis and Blake laugh at the sight. In the end, I catch the puppies and growl low in warning for them. Them whines and licks me in the face like a 'sorry,' I melt there and then. With a sigh, I go back to the packhouse to feed them little monsters.
"Things are going well now I see," chuckles Luis and Blake are standing beside him with a grin.
"Oh, shut your mouth and heat the milk," I bite out through my teeth and Luis laughs again before going to the kitchen to do what I asked him for.
I sit down on the couch with a puppy on each side; they place their heads in my lap right away. Luis comes back with two baby bottles a few minutes later and smiles softly when he sees how comfortable the puppies are here. He hands me the bottles, and I just have time to reach out the bottles to the puppies, then drink them hungrily.
"You guys were really hungry, huh?" I coo at them.
"It's amazing how comfortable they are here, Aleida. You're really good with puppies," Luis says.
"I really hope I am, given that I have five cubs myself," I answer laughingly.
When the puppies are full, they climb to my lap and immediately fall asleep. I pat them softly and enjoy being " mom " again. Blake and Lucas come into the room; they sit down on the couch opposite me. My gaze has not left the puppies, and I find myself sniffing them.
"They're not your puppies, Aleida," Luis says sadly from his place at the doorway.
I nod sadly and sigh deeply. Luis puts a hand on my shoulder, and I feel the tears not far away. He picks up his phone and walks away; I have no idea where. After a while, he comes back with a laptop and smiles at me.
"What?" I ask in confusion.
"I have a couple of people who wants to say 'hello' here," Luis answers and put the laptop infront of me.
What I see on the screen makes me sob loudly. My mates, puppies, friends and brother are sitting there, smiling at me. The cubs beside me wake up and whines when they see me crying, their tongues lick my tears away and I chuckle at them.
"Hello, honey. It looks like you got two new companions there," says Miliano softly.
"Hello, everyone, and hello my babies!" I coo at my puppies.
"Mama!" the twins say at the same time and try to climb into the screen.
"Hi darlings, I miss you," I coo at them.
"Mama, come here?" Alex asks and I tear up again.
"Mama can't be with you right now, baby. Mommy's coming back home soon, I promise," I say and try to wipe my tears.
"Are those real wolf cubs?" Killian asks.
I laugh and start telling them about how I found the cubs; everything from the challenge to my spring ride. We talk about how everyone has it, about my progress, and how the triplets have evolved since I left them. It's a heavy conversation to have, but at the same time, it makes me happy to talk to them again.
"Good night, my loves! Sleep tight, I love you," I coo at my babies when the omegas comes to put them in their cribs.
"How have you been, Aleida? We miss you so much," Kian says, looking sad.
"Believe me, I miss you too, more than you understand. It's not time for me to come home yet, I still have unfinished business here. When everything is ready, then I come home, " I answer with a faint smile.
"What do you mean 'unfinished business'?" Kian asks with narrowed eyes.
"Michael left us, you know about that," I say and they nod in return. "But he also revoked his pledge."
"That could have killed you!" Miliano growls.
"Yes, but I was stronger, and I'm well now. I have better control too."
"It doesn't matter and neither does it take away the big problem of your best friend walking behind your back," Kian growls.
"Please, Kian. Let me handle this.these are my problems, not yours. What you're going to focus on is making sure our puppies grow up and are safe, everything else I take care of."
"We know that it's your problem, we just... It feels wrong that you are not here with us, we need you, baby," says Miliano and my heart aches by his words.
"I'll be home soon again, and when I am, I'll never disappear again," I answer, smiling lovingly.
We talk for a while before we hang up and I walk upstairs with the wolf cubs behind me. I go to bed and they jump up shortly thereafter. They lay close to me and my thoughts slip away to my family that I desperately wish was here. But until then, I'll have to settle for my new cronies.
***
The next morning it's time for the joint training between two different races. I stand ready and waiting for everyone to participate to show up, I have a strategy on how we should put up the training, but I'm not sure if it will go as I have intended it.
Werewolves and vampires have had many disputes over the years. Even if everyone within our lands has at least a temporary alliance, that doesn't mean they'll be careful with each other, and that's what scares me a little. This can quickly turn into a war between who is the strongest.
"Welcome, everyone! Today's training will not be as it usually is. We have vampires with us who, first of all, should observe how we train, as well as what harm we can do. After that, you will observe how the vampires fight each other; in the end, you will fight each other," I say when everyone has come to the place and strolls back and forth. "There are only a few rules during this training; 1. Nobody kills anybody. 2. No fatal injuries are allowed. 3. No werewolf bites the vampires. In addition to that, you can fight however, you want, and if one wants to interrupt, then you do it directly without questions. Is that clear?"
"Yes, alpha," all the wolves and vampires say in unison.
"Then find a partner, and begin!"
A/N:
Hello everyone!
The first training between the two races, how will it end?
* Who do you think is the strongest, the coven or the pack?
* Will there be blood spill even though it's forbidden?
* What did you think about the chapter?
Please, let me know your thoughts!
Lots of love!
- Writer
