His Hybrid Archer

4 - Lance's Bestfriend

Lance Kyle 

    "Hey Dane!  Do you wanna go spar with me?" I shouted down from my bedroom window.

    A second later, Dane popped his head out of the window below mine.  He glanced up and asked, "At the normal spot?"  The whole time he was wiggling his eyebrows at me like a goofball.

    "You know it!" I replied with a wink, then I closed my window and sprinted out of my bedroom.

    On my way to the door, my mum curiously asked, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

    "I'm going to spar with Dane.  I'll be back in a few hours," I gushed as I ran past her.

    "You better!  I have a nice family dinner planned for tonight!" I heard her holler from behind me, but I didn't stop to respond.  I was too excited about sparring with Dane at our favorite spot.

    We liked to venture to the corner of the Jungle Pack's border and spar there.  It was easier, because there was a big, wide open area where we could easily move around.

    I had just turned seventeen a few weeks prior. I had been spending all of my time either studying at school, learning the ropes with my parents, or training with Alfonso.  I was beyond ready to have some fun, and sparring with Dane was just what I needed.

    Dane somehow managed to beat me there.  As soon as I broke through the tree line, he immediately charged at me.  Luckily, I was used to that, and I was able to easily defend myself.

    We spent the next hour sparring and practicing our battle techniques.  Of course, Alfonso had followed me, because that's his job.  However, he stayed in the background and let us have our fun.

    When we were done sparring, he walked out into the open and gave us some pointers like usual.  It never bothered me or Dane when he did that.  We always gave him our full attention and absorbed the information he shared with us.  We did this to make our own fighting skills better.

    As soon as Alfonso was done giving us pointers, Dane and I jumped up and sprinted back to the castle.  The second we ran through the front door, Lizzie jumped in front of us and indignantly asked, "Why didn't you take me with you?"

    "Sorry, Liz.  We wanted to have some guy time," I nonchalantly replied.  I was trying to ignore the hurt swirling in her violet eyes, but she made that impossible.

    She stepped closer and poked my chest, as she sassily retorted, "Don't forget I can take you down, future king."

    "Ha, I'd like to see you try," I teased before I swiped her leg out from under her.  As soon as her butt hit the ground, I stood over her.  A second later, I bent down and started tickling her sides.

    Right away, Dane jumped in on it and sat down on her lower legs.  He started tickling her thighs and it was hilarious.  We had his sister yelling and thrashing under us in no time, which attracted an audience of curious cubs.

    When we were done making Lizzie squeal, I curiously asked the cubs, "Does anybody else want a turn while we have her pinned down?"

    Instantly, wide smiles stretched across their faces, while mischievousness crept into their eyes.  A few seconds later, a mob of cubs ran towards us.  Once they had Lizzie pinned down, Dane and I moved and let them have their fun.

    We watched the cubs relentlessly tickle Lizzie for a few minutes, then we headed upstairs.  When we reached the floor with the Beta's living quarters, Dane and I bumped fists, then we split ways.  

    I was almost to the top of the stairs, when I heard Lizzie angrily yell, "I'm going to get you both back for that."

    I just shrugged my shoulders in response, then I continued to the front door of my family's living quarters.  I couldn't blame the blonde haired fireball for being mad.  We totally set her up to get tickled, then we left her hanging with cubs all over her.

    I liked Lizzie, don't get me wrong.  We had grown up together, with her being almost a year younger than me.  Whereas, Dane was only a few months younger than me, and that helped us to remain best friends over the years.  There wasn't anything I wouldn't do for him, and I was sure he felt the same way about me.

    As soon as I walked through the front door, my sister Alana cheekily asked, "Did you have fun sparring with Dane?"

    Alana was eleven months younger than me and one year younger than Lizzie.  Alana had been crushing on Dane for years, but she would never admit it.  Instead, she would just act innocent while she asked me random questions about him.

    About three years ago, I walked up beside Alana without her knowing.  She was sitting on a bench gazing at Dane.  There was no mistaking the look of infatuation swirling in her sapphire and ice blue eyes.  

    Yes, me and all of my siblings had multiple colors of rings that made our eye color very unique.  It was because of our royal bloodline.

    Dane also seemed to have a crush on Alana, but he wouldn't dare speak of it around me.  I was very protective over my younger siblings.  Everybody knew to watch what they did and said around them, or face the wrath of their big brother.

    When I didn't answer right away, Alana probed again and timidly asked, "Well, did you have fun?"

    I chuckled at my little sister, then I cheerfully replied, "We had a blast!  On our way back, we pinned Lizzie down and let all the cubs attack her with tickles."

    "You didn't," she breathed out with her eyes wide in surprise.

    "We did, and it was hilarious," I replied with a triumphant smile on my face.

    "You shouldn't be so mean to Lizzie," Alana pouted with her pretty eyes full of sincerity.

    "Don't worry, sis.  Nobody hurt Lizzie.  They just tickled her," I assured my adorable little sister.

    "You know she doesn't like it when you guys tickle her," she adamantly retorted.

    That made me laugh, then I gave her a quick hug.  "She will be over it within the next few hours," I nonchalantly replied, as I pulled back from the hug.

    "Maybe," she mumbled before she ran toward the dining table.

    When I glanced over, I saw my mum setting the table.  Before joining them, I made a quick trip to the bathroom and washed my hands.  

    I didn't like to eat without washing my hands.  After hearing about my mum contracting the bad infection that almost killed her, I became a little paranoid about contracting any type of infection.

    Since then, I have always washed my hands before eating.  Also, I didn't let anybody touch my face.  If I got injured, I went straight to the waterfall, and let the amazing place work it's magic to heal me right away.  

    It was amazing how it possessed a healing power for werecats.  Also, it was one of the most peaceful areas on the Jungle Pack's territory.  It was one of the few places I planned to show my mate, as soon as I found her.  

    I just had to wait less than a year, and I would be able to search for her.  If she wasn't a part of the Jungle Pack or Midnight Pack, I had every intention of traveling to other packs.  I would find my mate no matter how far I had to travel.

    When I finished washing my hands, I joined my family at the dining table.  We didn't always have nice sit down dinners with only our family.  When we did, it was always nice.  

    My parents were both good at cooking.  Plus, it gave us a chance to catch up on everything going on in our lives.  My parents more or less knew what was going on in my life, since I was around them a lot.  It was part of my training to be the future king.

    However, the three of us didn't get a lot of time with my siblings.  Having family dinners gave us more time with them, and that was never a bad thing.  My siblings were very well-behaved, and they were always happy and smiling.